The arena was in an uproar over the presence of Alice... or rather, the mysterious masked maid. In the midst of the chaos, Ein spoke with a serene composure.
"She is my rival in the art of service. I invited her here specifically to cross blades with me today. She is notoriously averse to public appearances, so the negotiations were quite arduous, but I eventually secured her participation."
"W-What?! This mysterious figure is the rumored rival of Chairman Ein herself? The legendary 'Phantom Maid,' wielder of the Phantom Maidric Aura!"
"And so, I intend to conduct a match with her... but I am sure some of you harbor doubts. Doubts regarding the extent of her skill. Therefore, as a brief demonstration... would you mind brewing a cup of black tea for us? Any true maid in attendance will surely recognize your prowess through that alone."
"..."
At Ein's prompting, the Phantom Maid moved in silence. She began brewing tea with practiced, graceful movements. As the audience watched, the venue was swept by a fresh wave of astonishment.
"T-This... This is the 'God of Black Tea' that Chairman Ein displayed earlier! This maid truly is extraordinary!"
As per usual, she had apparently summoned the God of Black Tea—a phenomenon that remained completely invisible to me. Regardless, it seemed any lingering skepticism regarding the Phantom Maid's talent had vanished into thin air.
Beatrice-san withdrew from the center of the arena, leaving Ein and the Phantom Maid to face each other alone.
"Now, regarding the format of our match, I have a proposal. Do you remember the cooking duel we had during the Six Kings Festival? That match ended without a result due to outside interference. What do you say we use this opportunity for a rematch to settle the score?"
"..."
Ein was referring to the duel she'd had with Alice while we were staying over the day before the festival. Back then, the contest had been cut short when Isis-san served me a meal, taking the wind out of their sails. In a sense, you could almost say Isis-san was the one who won that day.
The Phantom Maid gave a silent nod of agreement to Ein's proposal for a rematch.
"Then it is settled. Let us prepare the ingredients and the equipment. We shall have five minutes for preparation. I trust that will be sufficient for our needs?"
"..."
"Excellent. No objections, then. Let the preparations begin."
No sooner had the words left her mouth than both Ein and the Phantom Maid vanished from sight. They reappeared a mere few seconds later, accompanied by a staggering array of ingredients and cooking tools.
Some of the items, like a massive fish that looked as if it had been pulled from the water just moments ago, had clearly been procured in those few seconds. Since I knew their true identities—and the fact that they could both manipulate time—I wasn't particularly shocked.
"Wh-Whad'ya mean?! Just like that... how the heck are they movin' so fast?!"
"That wasn't just physical speed. That was space-time magic... most likely time manipulation. As expected of Chairman Ein's rival, that masked maid is a powerhouse in her own right."
Hearing Akane-san and Lilia-san's comments, I tilted my head in confusion. Setting Akane-san aside... did Lilia-san really not realize the mysterious maid was Alice?
Ah, come to think of it, I see Alice so often that I tend to forget, but Ein rarely appears in public. Setting aside Maid Olympia and other maid-centric events, even someone in Lilia-san's position would almost never have a chance to speak with her. It made sense that she wouldn't know about Alice's rivalry with her.
"Those are all top-tier ingredients."
"Indeed. And many of them are notoriously difficult to prepare. Just looking at the selection alone reveals the sheer caliber of these two."
Frau-san and Luna-san were watching the arena with rapt intensity. Well, I had to admit, even I was looking forward to seeing Ein and Alice go head-to-head.
In terms of pure skill, the two were essentially evenly matched. I couldn't even begin to guess who would come out on top.
As those thoughts crossed my mind, Ein spoke again.
"Heh... My apologies. Five minutes was far too long. One was more than enough. Now then, let us discuss the match format. I see little point in saddling us with tedious restrictions. We shall each prepare what we consider to be our finest dish, and that shall determine the victor. However, if we cook at our true speeds, the audience will be left in the dust. Therefore, neither of us shall utilize time manipulation or excessive speed-cooking. The time limit shall be one hour. How does that sound?"
"..."
It was certainly better for the spectators to actually see the process rather than just seeing a finished product appear out of thin air. The Phantom Maid nodded once more, seemingly satisfied with the arrangement.
Satisfied with the response, Ein made a grand, ringing declaration.
"And one more thing! I hereby appoint Kaito-sama to serve as our Special Judge for this match!"
Hold on. What in the world is she talking about?! A special judge? In this situation? In front of this massive crowd?
No, no, I wanted to refuse with every fiber of my being. But with the announcement made so publicly, there was nowhere to run. Besides, my previous excuse for turning down the judging role—that I wanted to focus on cheering for Luna-san—was completely useless now that her part in the tournament was over.
"...Kaito-san, would you like some stomach medicine?"
"...I don't know if it will actually do anything, but yes, please."
Serious-senpai: "Behold, a precious shot of Kaito's recurring stomach pains."