Between Maid Bursts and Maid Visions, the situation had veered into incomprehensible territory... but for now, it seemed Luna-san had secured the victory.
However, she looked utterly spent by the time she made it back to the spectator seats.
"It’s no surprise. The strain of a Maid Burst is immense. For now, she must focus entirely on recovering her Maidric Aura. Even so, she'll be lucky to have half of it back by the second round..."
"Indeed. She's more exhausted than I anticipated."
"It can't be helped. According to one theory, Maid Power can nearly triple during a Maid Burst. Wielding power that far exceeds one's natural capacity naturally leads to extreme fatigue."
"This is going to be a tough tournament."
Basically, I gathered that the technique was some kind of short-term power-up—a trump card that could bridge the gap in raw skill—but the trade-off was a massive drain on the user's stamina.
Wait, they were just making sweets, right? This sounded suspiciously like an explanation from a battle manga...
While those thoughts crossed my mind, I pulled a bottle from my Magic Box and handed it to Luna-san.
"Here, have this."
"Eh? Thank you very much. I’ll take you up on that."
Luna-san tilted her head in confusion but began drinking without hesitation. Beside her, Lilia-san—who knew exactly what was in that bottle—wore an expression of pure exasperation.
Well, look, as someone cheering her on, I couldn't just stand by and watch her struggle while she was that drained.
"This is... My Maidric Aura is actually returning!?"
"Ah, so it does work. I had a feeling it might."
"Mi-Miyama-sama!? What on earth is this drink...?"
"It's a Fruit of the World Tree beverage."
"Pffft—! Cough, cough!"
I’d offered it on a whim, but it seemed this "Maidric Aura" recovered just like Magic Power did.
I figured this would at least allow Luna-san to fight the second round at full strength. Just as I was feeling relieved, Akane gave me a firm pat on the shoulder.
"Kaito, I reckon you’re already part of that world, through and through."
"Please don't say that. Even if you think I'm abnormal, put me in a different category. I have no desire to be drafted into the Maid World..."
I knew she was reacting to the World Tree drink, but being lumped in with the maids felt like a serious case of character assassination. I really wished she’d stop.
Perhaps inspired by Luna-san’s performance, Frau-san also fought a magnificent match and successfully advanced to the second round. As the next stage began, the Super Maids finally entered the fray, promising even more intense battles.
According to the tournament bracket, the first Super Maid up was... Camellia-san.
"Now then, for the first match of the second round... we have the appearance of the Super Maid of Balance herself—Player Camellia!"
As Camellia-san walked onto the field with an unreadable expression, a roar of cheers erupted from the crowd. Her opponent was a formidable maid who had survived the first round, but the visible tension suggested she knew exactly what she was up against.
Then, just as the match was about to start, Camellia-san’s opponent suddenly dropped to both knees and assumed a posture of desperate prayer.
"There it is! The legendary Prayer Pose! Her luck is about to be put to the test!"
"Huh? What’s goin' on? Why’d she suddenly start prayin'?"
Akane and I both tilted our heads. According to the commentator, this was a tradition... but why? Just as the question formed, Frau-san stepped in to provide the exposition.
"This is a sight you'll see almost every time someone faces Camellia-sama."
"But why?"
"Because they have nothing left to do but pray. The versus format for the main tournament is decided randomly by a Magic Tool every time. There are dozens of possibilities... but when facing Camellia-sama, there is one specific outcome that acts as a joker."
"A joker?"
The moment after Akane asked her question, the Magic Tool finalized the choice.
"It's been decided! And it’s already over! The format is—Combat!! Oh, the opponent has collapsed in despair!"
"Ah... right. Yeah, that makes perfect sense."
"Exactly. While all professional maids are skilled in combat, no one—with the sole exception of Chairman Ein—can hope to match Camellia-sama, the strongest of the World King's subordinates, in a fight. If Combat is selected, the match is effectively over. The probability isn't high given the number of formats, but it has happened before—someone once drew Combat in the finals against Camellia-sama and immediately forfeited."
Like Akane, I found myself nodding in total agreement. Of course. There was no way to beat her in that category. I finally understood why the opponent had been praying—she’d been begging for anything but Combat. I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her.
Serious-senpai: "Well, obviously. No matter how many monsters roam the maid profession, they’ve got no chance against the strongest of the World King’s subordinates... It essentially means that facing Camellia carries a small but deadly chance of pulling an 'instant loss' card."