Ein-san’s unexpected behavior had completely derailed the conversation. I-I was sure she was just saying that to tease me, and she hadn't actually gone through with it. She didn't, right? Wait, did she?
Because of Shiro-san’s Blessing, I was able to nullify certain types of magic. While the exact criteria remained a mystery, any spell judged to have "hostile intent" toward me was cancelled out.
For instance, under normal circumstances, Alice’s transformation magic didn't unravel even if I touched her. However, according to Kuro, if Alice intended to "deceive" me, the blessing flagged it as hostile magic. That was why her magic broke when we first met and during the mixed bathing incident at the Six Kings Festival. Otherwise, her disguise held up even if we had physical contact.
I suspected the same principle applied to stopping time. In reality, I couldn't perceive Chronoa-san’s time stop, nor could I move while time was frozen. But if Chronoa-san tried to use it to restrain me or block my path, I imagined the blessing would kick in. Then again, the logic was fuzzy, and if I asked Shiro-san, she’d definitely just say, "Who knows?"
Authorities were essentially degraded copies of Shiro-san’s power, so they might still work... though Fate-san’s Authority of Fate got nullified, so maybe not. Shiro-san had apparently been tweaking the settings quite a bit since I first arrived. Healing magic used to get bounced back, but now I could receive it like a normal person. The fine details were beyond me. In fact, I felt like Kuro had a better handle on the mechanics than Shiro-san herself, so I might ask her about it next time.
Anyway, my thoughts were drifting. The question was whether "stopping time and kissing" counted as a hostile act toward me... It was a bit of a gray area. In one sense, it was an act that ignored my consent, but if I were asked if a kiss from Ein-san was actually unpleasant... well, the answer was no. If anything, it might even make me a little happy.
"Kaito-sama?"
"Ah, no, sorry. It's nothing!"
Well, thinking about it wouldn't give me an answer, so I tried not to worry. If I overthought it, I’d just get stuck in a rut.
With that thought, I switched gears and pulled the black tea tin—the actual reason I was here—out of my magic box.
"Is this Nebula-sama's... May I see it?"
"Ah, yes. Here you go..."
"Excuse me."
I handed the tin to Ein-san, whose eyes were practically glued to it. She immediately opened it and began inspecting the tea leaves with intense interest.
"Um, you see, that is..."
"...Milk tea... no, are these tea leaves suited for Royal Milk Tea... perhaps?"
"Eh? You can tell just by looking!?"
"Yes. For a top-class maid, it is naturally a basic requirement to be able to envision the finished product simply by looking at the tea leaves and smelling their aroma."
There it was: the Mysterious All-purpose Maid Theory. The problem with her was that while her claims sounded like delusions, she actually had the skill to back them up.
In front of me, as I wore an expression mixed with surprise and exasperation, Ein-san continued to stare at the tea leaves with a serious look.
"...However, the finished image I'm envisioning is slightly blurred. Is the process different? ...I see. These are likely tea leaves extractable with 100% milk, requiring no step to open the leaves with a small amount of hot water."
"Y-You're correct."
"I thought as much. Now the image in my mind has finally become vivid. As expected of Nebula-sama. To think that even I would require a moment to envision the finished result... fufu, this is truly a new revolution."
It was quite incredible. Seriously, she had gotten everything right just by looking at the tea leaves. It felt like there was almost no need for an explanation anymore, but when I gave her a general rundown of what I’d heard from Nebula, Ein-san nodded in understanding.
She looked calm, but I could tell her excitement was rising and she wanted to brew some tea with these leaves as soon as possible.
While giving a wry smile at her reaction, I suddenly remembered something else and took a wooden case out of my magic box.
"Come to think of it, Ein-san. Nebula said that if I mentioned a 'commissioned item' for you... you would understand?"
"Ah, that would be the tea set I commissioned her to make. As a basic skill for a top-class maid, I used to craft my own tea cups and such for black tea... However, I realized back when Nebula-sama provided prizes for the Maid Olympia that her skill in ceramic creation far surpasses my own, so I have been commissioning her from time to time. After all, a maid cannot compromise on her tea equipment."
"...I-Is that so..."
I wished she would stop talking as if it were a given that a top-class maid could craft her own tea set. Normally speaking, maids and pottery had nothing to do with each other... but Illness-san could do it too, couldn't she? Wait, did top-class maids really have to be masters of pottery as well?
Honestly, I’d lost count of how many times I’d wondered this... but what exactly was a maid?
??? [That's the thing. What's so troublesome about Ein-san is that while she looks like she's spouting nonsense, she can actually do all of it herself, which makes her a real pain to deal with.]