After the thirty-minute break concluded, Beatrice reappeared in the arena. Her expression was grim, and her nerves were visible to everyone watching.
"Now then, let us welcome the zenith of the maid world... Chairman Ein!"
Prompted by the commentator's announcement, Ein slowly made her entrance. There was an overwhelming sense of power in her gait and a regal dignity in her posture. Even to me—someone who didn't truly grasp the nuances of Maid Power or Maidric Auras—her presence possessed an undeniable, staggering intensity.
"Ugh... It’s... just as I feared. Her Maidric Aura is staggering..."
"Just looking at her feels like being crushed. To think she’s merely standing there normally... As expected of the pinnacle of maids..."
For some reason, Frau and Luna looked as though they were struggling against some invisible weight. Looking around, most of the maids in the spectator seats seemed to be in the same state.
Of course, since Lilia, Akane, and I didn't feel any pressure at all, that familiar sense of alienation returned in full force.
I understood the logic behind it, at least. I assumed they were being intimidated by the aura of an overwhelmingly powerful individual... but since we couldn't even perceive a normal Maidric Aura, Ein's supposedly gargantuan presence was completely lost on us.
"...Well, I can guess how strong she is based on everyone’s reaction, but is Ein-san really that amazing? To me, she’s always just been Chrome-sama’s maid..."
"Of course she is. Chairman Ein is the absolute peak of the profession. Her base Maid Power is 530,000... however, that is only during her downtime. It’s rumored that when she exerts her full effort, her power level exceeds one hundred million."
"...The power inflation is off the charts."
It was just as Akane said. In a world where reaching 100,000 made you a Super Maid—a status held by only a handful of people across the globe—suddenly hearing numbers like 530,000 or a hundred million was surreal. It really put into perspective just how far above everyone else Ein stood.
"When challenging the Chairman, your fundamental worth as a maid is put to the test. Her aura is so immense that it naturally nullifies any specific maid techniques. In her presence, skills like a Maid Burst cannot even be activated."
"...I see. That’s quite something."
Lilia nodded with an indescribable expression as she listened to Luna's fervent explanation. Nullifying abilities... that was a classic, straightforwardly broken trait you'd expect from a final boss.
In short, it meant that petty tricks wouldn't work against Ein. You had to compete purely with the skills you had honed through years of service. That was the gist of it, at least.
"The Chairman possesses the Supreme Maidric Aura. It stands above all others and suppresses them entirely. However, the Chairman herself has mentioned a rumored rival who possesses a 'Phantom' Maidric Aura. Supposedly, that is the only force capable of rivaling the Supreme version... but as the name suggests, it remains a total mystery."
"Can we stop? Does there have to be more specialized jargon this late in the game?"
As Akane retorted to Frau’s hushed, serious whispering, I glanced behind me and spoke in a low voice that wouldn't carry to the crowd.
"Do you actually have an aura like that?"
"That is a malicious lie. Please, just stop... In the end, it’s just that I’m not intimidated by Ein-san’s presence. I wish she’d stop treating me like a maid and wrapping me in some weird aura by association..."
Alice’s voice came back sounding utterly repulsed. It seemed that, as I had suspected, Ein was just saying whatever she wanted. Alice really did have it rough.
"Now then, as is tradition, the challenger shall select the format of the competition. We will now present the list of events registered within the final lottery magic tool. Beatrice-san, please choose from among them."
I see. In a match against Ein, the challenger got to pick the event, meaning they could play to their own strengths.
"By the way, has anyone ever actually won?"
"No, not once. Far from winning, no one has ever managed to draw out even half of the Chairman's true potential."
"Figures."
Honestly, I couldn't imagine Ein losing at anything. Even if someone like Camellia challenged her to a fight, she’d probably end it in an instant, and she had surely mastered every other maid-related skill to perfection. There was simply no opening.
"...Ugh, I’m already dreading what comes after this. I shouldn't have been so quick to agree just because they threw a massive bag of money at me."
"Hmm?"
"No, it’s just... she’s always so loud, pestering me every single time to enter the tournament. Eventually, I got fed up and told her that if she put up enough gold, I’d take her on for one match... and well, she did."
"I see. Good luck with that."
Apparently, there was going to be an exhibition match following this contest. Even though Alice sounded miserable about it, she admitted she’d been lured in by the pay, so it was her own fault.
Serious-senpai: "Wait, you’re going out there?"
???: "Not as myself, but as Alice-chan... well, a disguised version of Alice-chan. I'm dreading it, but they really did pile up the gold... And if I think of that amount as payment for just one match, it’s a pretty sweet deal."
Serious-senpai: "She’s been completely bought out."