A guest room at the end of the second-floor hallway.
I'm shown into the room Munieka is renting.
A bookshelf, a closet, and a bed. Makes sense, since it's a rental.
No personal belongings in sight. There's a worn-out white trunk beside the bed.
"There's nowhere to sit, so please, take the bed."
"O-Okay."
I sit on the bed as offered. Once I do, Munieka stands in front of me.
She starts to lower herself to sit on the floor, and I hurriedly stop her.
"W-Wait, what are you doing!?"
"As a maid, it would be improper for me to sit above my master."
"Th-That—ah, fine, do whatever you want."
Munieka gives a small nod and sits in seiza.
"Then, regarding our discussion. I believe you've already realized this, but I am currently not in anyone's service. That includes the matter of being a bodyguard."
"You stopped guarding Leold, right?"
"He was merely one of the 'Four Cut.' There was no need for it. The bodyguard role was purely for appearances."
"The 'Four Cut'?"
"A high-ranking executive of Kuun Hunt. One of Averld von Rootbelt's confidants."
"Ah, so like one of the Four Heavenly Kings."
I knew he was strong, but I didn't realize it was to that extent.
"Appearance?"
"Even so, he is the Third Prince of this country."
"Th-That guy!?"
That worn-out old man?
"He is a dissolute prince who gave up his claim to the throne, mind you."
"…He's still royalty, though?"
"I'm bound by confidentiality, so I can't go into details, but he does his job properly in his own way. Anyway, to return to the matter at hand — I submitted my resignation during the attack on Kuun Hunt's headquarters."
"I heard about that."
"Even without that, I would have resigned. You probably know the reason."
Munieka removed her hair ornament and stared at me with her purple eyes.
Enchanting purple eyes. They were also proof of her belonging to the supreme race, the Edda.
She had always hidden them behind her hair ornament because they drew too much attention.
I voiced my question.
"Why me?"
"Because I felt fate."
"That's…"
"At first, it was mere curiosity. I was shaken when I heard the rumor that the Witch had taken an apprentice. And when I learned it was a man, I genuinely thought the end of the world had finally come."
"Th-That far…?"
"I don't think you can imagine, Master. The Witch was the most deeply solitary among all the Class I delvers. She had always been that way. Everyone expected she always would be. But that changed. What do you suppose those of us who had believed in her, admired her, and worshipped her thought about that?"
"So you were one of them too?"
"I never worshipped her, but I did respect her. Just a little. I think it's because I wanted to live strongly on my own. I don't know why. The idea of living together with someone — I simply couldn't think of it that way. I've agonized over that, too."
"Then why become a maid?"
Serving someone was the complete opposite of that.
Actually — was she not talking about something really deep inside herself?
"Perhaps that's exactly why. Because I realized I couldn't live alone. And yet I don't think I can live together with someone, either."
She might actually want to live together with someone.
She wants to live with someone, but she can't live with someone.
That anguish was something only she could understand.
"That was hardest during Chardina, four years ago. When I was twenty-one, I decided being a maid was my true calling. I've been a maid ever since. Most of all, I learned the joy of serving. But I couldn't make it a master-servant relationship. No matter what."
"Oh..."
Munieka looked up at me and said clearly:
"The first person I ever called 'Master' was you, sir."
I trembled. Body and soul, I shuddered.
"W-Why... why me...?"
Unbelievable. Why was it me?
Why did the special treatment keep piling on?
When I thought about it, a possibility flickered through my mind.
I didn't want to think that. I really, really didn't want to think that.
The reason people liked me, the reason they were coming to like me — it was because of Generous.
"Master?"
"Muniéka, I'm not the kind of person who becomes something special like that."
"— Master, do you remember the first time we met?"
"Yes. The headquarters of 'Dragon Fang Rou'."
"That time, Master found the hidden room and discovered the safe. I was impressed by how smoothly you handled it. The witch's apprentice. I acknowledged that back then."
"That was the Relic. I'm really nothing special on my own."
"A Relic is still power. What exactly are you worried about? The one I was drawn to was Master himself."
They were kind words, but I scrunched up my face. Was that really true?
"…………Muniéka, do you know about Generous?"
"Yes, of course. A god of Edda. My family is technically one of the Six Houses of Edda — the Eldorado family — so we have more involvement than most. What about it?"
I used Generous. My hair and eyes turned purple.
I looked at Muniéka, expecting her to be startled — but instead, I was the one thrown off.
She was completely unfazed.
"Y-You're not surprised!?"
"I've actually seen it before. I was surprised that time, though."
"Before…?"
"Which means I already knew."
Muniéka spoke in a calm, matter-of-fact tone.
If that was the case, then fine. I told her what had been piling up inside me.
"I kept thinking about it. That it wasn't me people liked — it was Generous they liked. That I, myself, was really nothing underneath."
"Oh? So that's what it is."
If that were the case, then I—
"Not even the slightest bit. Generous doesn't govern any such abilities or Relics. Of course, being a god, there are worshippers. Some are even Narcissus-like. But Generous is nothing like that. Besides, a pseudo-deification Relic can only resemble a god superficially — it can never become the real thing."
"Is... that so..."
I felt relieved and the tension drained out of me. But I couldn't honestly feel happy about it.
As if picking up on that, Mnieka asked gently.
"Master. Why did you become Generous?"
"I... don't really understand it myself. But if this thing is the reason, then since you're Edda, if I just tell you that you were drawn to it rather than to me, surely you, Mnie—"
Without warning, Mnieka hugged me.
It was like a reflex — instinctive and unconscious, a sudden, impulsive sort of embrace pulling me against her chest.
"...This is a secret from everyone. Let me tell you the truth..."
Her voice was different from her usual tone, softer, almost a whisper murmured right by my ear.
And then, firmly — given our size difference — Mnieka pressed me snugly against her chest.
Soft and warm in a way that felt good, with a faint scent of flowers.
"R-really?"
"...If I said love at first sight, would you believe me...?"
"I believe you."
I answered without hesitation.
She said it in a teasing way, in a situation like that, but it didn't sound like a joke at all.
If anything, it felt like I'd touched something deep inside Mnieka's heart, and I found myself convinced.
Mnieka slowly pulled back and smiled at me lovingly.
"That's exactly what makes you amazing, Master."
Wh-what?
Oh, right. That's not what I meant.
I laid everything bare. Ugly, pathetic — and Mnieka answered anyway.
Mnieka had shown me the depths of her own heart, too.
I wanted to answer her. I wanted to face Mnieka head-on.
"U-um, Mnieka. Is someone like me really okay?"
"It's because it's you."
"Then, well, please take care of me. I'll do my best too."
"Yes. Master."
"Please don't call me 'Master'..."
And just like that, I formed a master-servant bond with Mnieka.
Before lunch.
Mnieka was preparing the meal.
Shaib headed off to work, unusually. Shiro was in the nap room.
I was using the flask and crescent vessel to brew tea for the first time in a while.
And then the witch returned.
"Pakira!? Hiii-yahn...?"
"Oh. So this is where the witch lives."
"It's been a while, Wof."
For some reason, Pakira and Hiyann were together.
As I stared in surprise, Pakira looked around and murmured.
"Quite the collection of women, eh."
"Isn't this paradise?!"
"Shut up, you."
"Why are you here, Pakira?"
"It's been a while, Wof. I heard you've been through a lot. I came to visit while you were sleeping, too. Glad to see you're in one piece."
"Thank you."
"And me?"
"Oh, right. You were here too."
"Hey!?"
Can't help giving her the cold shoulder.
She's Hiyann, after all.
"Actually, I need to borrow your strength. We've been struggling with investigating a chimera subspecies."
"...Struggling?"
What happened?
And why did you bring Hiyann along?