The information had Tigaro befuddled. “Gave you...food?”
“The rationing system!” said the man. “Kaito became the Sword Saint and negotiated on our behalf. Now, for the sake of all the hungry hybrids, periodic deliveries of food and supplies are made!”
“For the hybrids...?” That certainly explained the livening up Tigaro had noticed. Without the pressure of a Sword Saint’s request, the crown would never implement something like a food distribution system. It was probably true that Kaito was responsible for the change.
What she could not understand, however, were his intentions. She could not imagine that a human would go out of his way to help the hybrids just because. There must have been something that he was seeking in return for his assistance... She couldn’t arrive at any guesses, but she knew there had to be some kind of string attached.
She was racking her brain for answers when, suddenly, joyful shouting from the direction of the main street interrupted her thoughts. They were cheering Kaito’s name. The children’s faces lit up the moment they heard.
“Kaito came back!”
“We have to go say hi!”
Immediately, everyone in the area started dashing off toward the avenue. Tigaro followed along.
There, amid a throng of onlookers which strained the narrow street’s capacity, stood a single human surrounded by hybrids. Having heard that he was the Sword Saint, Tigaro had expected a more muscular, robust figure, but the man she saw was young and slender in build.
He had black hair—something she had rarely seen before—and wore a white T-shirt underneath a black long coat. A silver badge affixed to his collar sparkled in the sun.
Despite his complete encirclement by the crowd of hybrids, his face betrayed no hint of annoyance. On the contrary, he was greeting everyone in turn with a bright smile.
So that’s...Kaito.
At first glance, he seemed like a genuinely kind young man. For exactly that reason, Tigaro knew that his persona was affected. Young, fresh-faced, high of status due to an appointment as Sword Saint, widely lauded as a hero for saving the city... It made no sense for a human with his looks, standing, fame, and power to be so kind to the hybrids of the city. There would simply be no benefit to him. He must, Tigaro thought, be trying to win the people over for some as yet unknown purpose.
As if he’d sensed her eyes, Kaito turned and met her gaze. He continued to stare straight at her without once diverting his attention elsewhere.
What the...? What is he looking at? Can he tell that I’m suspicious of him? she thought to herself. She couldn’t be sure, but it would be best nonetheless to avoid doing anything conspicuous. She hid herself behind the man next to her—the same one she’d been speaking to earlier—and pretended to have been pushed by someone so as not to make the motion stand out.
“Kaito! What brings you back here today?” the man asked.
“To be honest, I came to look for someone who might work as a live-in maid back at my place.”
“Ooh! In that case, you ought to meet Tigaro. She was a maid until just recently!”
H-He said my name!
With the callout, staying hidden had become more suspicious than showing herself. She nervously stepped out from behind the man.
“Hello, my name is Tigaro.”
“Good afternoon, Miss Tigaro. Is it true that you were working as a maid until just recently?”
“Wh-Why are you speaking like that?” she asked. It was the first time a human had addressed her with respect. It was so off-putting that she couldn’t help but ask.
“Because it’s our first meeting. If the formalities bother you, I can always cut it out, but...”
“Please do.”
“All right, then. So you were a maid, right?”
“Until last week.”
“In that case, if it’s all right with you, would you like to come work at my place?” he asked. Many of the people who’d gathered around chimed in, encouraging her to take him up on the offer: “You should really do it!”
It was only yesterday that Tigaro had decided that she would never again work for a human. She’d been determined to seek out Frieze and begin a new life as an adventurer.
It was clear, however, that Kaito was up to something and nobody here had picked up on it but Tigaro. Everyone else had already fallen under his spell. Perhaps, she thought, it was better to take the opportunity to observe his movements up close in order to ascertain his plan.
“All right, then,” she said after a pause. “I’ll be your maid.”
“Thank you. You’ll really be doing me a huge favor! Walking would take a while, so I was thinking we could fly back to the house, but...Tigaro, are you all right with holding on to me while we fly?” he asked.
Tigaro was opposed to any human touching her, let alone a man. Still, for the purpose of ensuring a smooth infiltration, she knew it was necessary to set such qualms aside and avoid any conduct that would rub him the wrong way. She nodded pleasantly and gestured, like a princess being helped atop a horse, for him to lift her.
Though it had been the case for a while, she became suddenly aware of how many people were intently watching their interaction and found herself feeling a little embarrassed. Bit by bit, her face flushed red.
“Well, see you next time, everyone,” Kaito said with a warm smile. The two of them began to ascend. In no time at all, the people below looked as small as ants.
“Y-You’re flying pretty high,” Tigaro said.
“Flying at about this altitude makes it easiest to find the house. It’s a little safer if you put your arms around my neck, just in case...”
“Th-That’s all right. At this height, at least.” She wasn’t comfortable clinging to a man so closely. To avoid it, she put on a brave front despite the fact that it did not feel remotely “all right.” She was petrified. Without a conversation to distract her, she felt she might start to cry, and crying in front of a human would be too great a humiliation to bear. “I, uh, don’t think I asked about payment yet.”
“Now that you mention it, that’s true. If you’ve got an expected salary, let me know.”
“How about five gold coins?” she said after a moment’s thought. Of course, she hadn’t lost her sense for money. Knowing it was far too much to ask, she had intentionally gone high in order to test his supposed good nature.
In her previous position, she had received two gold coins a month in addition to room and board. Even that had been exceptional. Hearing her ask for five gold coins, Kaito was sure to snap back with something like “You’re damn greedy for a stupid hybrid! How about I drop you, huh?!” Pushing him to the limit would force him to reveal his true character.