“Excuse me, Miss Aoyuki,” Iceheat ventured. “May I ask you something?”
“Nrrow?” Aoyuki mewed, spinning around.
“Because of your unique abilities, you usually get held back here in the Abyss during missions. Does that bother you at all?”
“Rraow!” Aoyuki said with a smile, which indicated that her answer was an emphatic “no.”
Aoyuki was the third-best fighter of the four SUR warriors, bested by Nazuna and Ellie, but more proficient than Mei. Aoyuki was powerful in her own right when fighting alone, but where she really excelled was when she was leading an army of monsters into battle. But to date, no opportunities has arisen for Aoyuki to command an army of overpowered creatures to take on Light’s foes. But despite being relegated almost exclusively to noncombat roles, Aoyuki didn’t seem to express any grievances about the situation. Her denial had been immediate and unequivocal—so much so, in fact, Iceheat was left at a total loss for words.
Aoyuki followed up by tilting her head downward slightly, so that the edge of her cat-eared hood covered her eyes in a vaguely ominous manner.
“If you find that anything is upsetting you, I suggest you inform our master in person,” Aoyuki said in a cool, even voice. “Master is highly magnanimous when it comes to our needs. He is able to provide for the desires of his servants. The real problems at hand are any disruptions to your duties caused by a failure to voice your discontent. Do know that, above all else, master values our honest opinions.”
“I’m not discontent at all with the duties that Master Light has given me, but...” Iceheat paused. “But it’s simply that I myself am concerned about there not being many opportunities to wield my weapons on Master Light’s behalf. Thank you for listening, Miss Aoyuki.”
“Mrrroww,” Aoyuki purred, looking up and smiling at Iceheat, before waving a hand at her, which was likely her way of saying, “Don’t mention it.” Iceheat reflected on what Aoyuki had told her while gazing at the monster tamer’s cute gesticulations.
I do have a bad habit of keeping my insecurities bottled up to myself, because I’m afraid of what Master Light might think of me if I were to complain to him about it, Iceheat thought. But Miss Aoyuki’s right. Master Light isn’t the type of gentleman who thinks less of his subjects when they bring up a concern. In fact, I myself am being disloyal to Master Light for doubting his benevolence!
As Iceheat started to come to terms with her own faults, she inwardly lauded Aoyuki for helping her to make this breakthrough.
Because I rarely ever speak with Miss Aoyuki, my usual impression of her is someone who gets angry like a cat whenever Miss Nazuna is bothering her, Iceheat reflected. But she really is a Level 9999 retainer, just like Miss Mei. A true paragon of principle.
Just as Iceheat was beginning to see Aoyuki in a whole new light, someone else knocked at the door to the office. Iceheat called out for the visitor to enter and the door swung open to reveal Annelia, the UR Level 5000 Cardkeeper. Together with her brother, Alth, Annelia ran the Card Depository, one of the busiest parts of the Abyss. But despite her hectic work schedule, she had managed to find some time to come visit Iceheat in the office, and the Cardkeeper scurried up to the grappler maid.
“Oh, Icy-poo! I heard everything, sweetie!” said a visibly concerned Annelia. “Are you still feeling grumpy about not getting to go on missions? I’ve been so awfully worried about you! But don’t you worry, kiddo! I made sure to finish up all my work extra early so that I could come and keep you company. Just let me take really good care of you and forget all about your saddies, okay?”
“Ah.” Iceheat clutched her head and groaned. “Oh, no...”
Annelia considered herself a big sister to everyone in the Abyss, regardless of their age or rank, and as such, she referred to everyone she liked as her “kiddo,” taking it upon herself to baby them like a real elder sister would. Much like a lot of people in the Abyss, Iceheat found Annelia’s frankly odd behavior grating and demeaning.
“No, look, everything’s fine,” Iceheat said as politely as she could manage. “I’ve already talked it over with Miss Aoyuki, and thanks to her, I feel like I myself have made something of a breakthrough. Isn’t that right, Miss Aoyu— Huh? Where did she go?”
Iceheat had been about to call on Aoyuki to back her up and convince Annelia that her “services” were not presently needed, but despite craning her head in every direction, she couldn’t find the SUR warrior anywhere in the office. It turned out that Aoyuki had made herself practically invisible to the senses and sneaked out the door before Annelia noticed she was there. Aoyuki was the most resourceful of all the four Level 9999 warriors, and she wasn’t above throwing Iceheat to the wolves if that was what it took to escape from a potentially aggravating situation.
She abandoned me to save her own skin? Iceheat realized. Miss Aoyuki!
“You poor, poor thing,” Annelia cooed. “You’re so crushed, you’re seeing things. But don’t worry, honey! I’ll stay with you all day until you’re feeling better, okay?”
Despite the rather infantilizing offer, Iceheat knew Annelia meant well, which placed her in the difficult position of trying to turn the Cardkeeper away without needlessly antagonizing her. Meanwhile, Aoyuki was half skipping down the hallways of the Abyss, delighted that someone else had been caught in Annelia’s smothering clutches and not her.
“Mrrrew,” Aoyuki purred as she pranced back to her work.