“Ahhhh, I missed you, solid ground...” Oltea said.
“I think that’s the longest trip we’ve taken so far,” I said.
“Thanks for the hard work, Kaito. Are you tired after all that?” Frieze asked.
“I feel fine. Any fatigue I might’ve felt got washed away chatting with you all!” I said. Additionally, the long trip had satisfied my desire to use my beams. Compared to firing off Death Beam, Stick Beam and Jet Beam fell a bit short, but it had been a pleasant time nonetheless. I was happy.
“So, Chestnut...did you feel all right with flying?” I asked. She had hardly opened her mouth the entire time we were in the air. Noticing her silence and worrying for her, Tigaro had tried to occupy her with conversation, but she had only responded with the bare minimum.
She was gazing idly upward at the sky as I asked. Hearing my words, she looked back down and smiled in my direction.
“It was a wonderful experience... The scenery is stunning from way up there. I could get lost just staring. Thanks for the fun time, Kaito,” she said, looking genuinely spellbound. She must have been a nature lover. I was worried that she had been so quiet because she was scared, but being stunned into silence by the view was about as good a reaction as one could hope for.
Seeming reluctant to part ways, she continued, “I’ll call upon Mr. Monstro and meet you back here.”
“Monstro’s probably gonna be surprised to see me back so soon. Takes three days by boat to get here.”
“Probably so, but more than that, I think he’ll be happy. He asked me to have you back in time for the night of the full moon,” Chestnut said. It was three days until the next full moon. Had she traveled by ship, Tigaro would barely have made it.
“Even if he wanted to apologize right away, why before the full moon?”
“In all likelihood, it has something to do with the Moonlight Feast.”
The Moonlight Feast?
Seeing my head tilted in inquiry, Chestnut began to explain. According to her, Monstro prepared food each and every day and had it sent to a man named Beelzé who lived nearby. He lived alone in a house that sat atop a precipitous cliff, and Tigaro’s job had been to bring him his meal each day.
Monstro always took great care in making the man’s dishes, but especially whenever the moon was at its fullest. On those nights, he put in a great deal more effort to make things special. Feeling that gourmet food demanded not only the best ingredients but also the most beautiful server, he always had the most attractive maid on the estate bring the food to Beelzé.
“Because the Moonlight Feast is an exceptional occasion, Monstro wanted Tigaro to come back and serve the food. Tigaro was always the most beautiful maid working at the mansion, you see.”
“Please, I’m not even cute...” Tigaro said, blushing.
“The only person who thinks that is you,” Chestnut said, letting a smile show. “Okay, I’ll be right back.” She gave us a quick bow and headed into the mansion.
Looking at the flower bed in front of the house, we made idle chatter while we waited.
“Pretty flowers, aren’t they?”
“These ones are used as ingredients in the cooking.”
“You can eat flowers?”
“I wonder what they taste like...”
And so forth.
“Ooh, Tigaro! You really came back home,” came the voice of a man from inside the house. As he stepped outside, we got a look at him. The man, perhaps in his mid-fifties, was slender in build and had large, dark circles under his eyes, which only accentuated his general appearance of poor health. I figured that he must have been Monstro, but he looked nothing like I had imagined he would. Having heard he was the mayor, I had pictured someone whose appearance reflected his affluence... Perhaps his role governing such a huge settlement kept him too busy for adequate sleep.
“Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Monstro. My name is Kaito. I know you’re a very busy man—I must apologize for bothering you like this without warning.”
“Nonsense, I heard about why you came here from my maid. You’ve brought Tigaro back to me. I’m truly thankful for that kindness. When I heard about the way the Sword Saint saved the royal capital from certain destruction, I hoped I’d be lucky enough to have the chance to pay my respects to him in person some day, but... Well, to meet you like this is...”
Monstro spoke distractedly, repeatedly glancing over my shoulder with an awkward disquiet in his eyes. The object of his fixation was the woman standing half hidden behind my back: Tigaro. As if discovering her resolve, she stepped out into the open to show her face.
“Is it true that you want to apologize to me?” she asked.
“U-Uh, yes. Of course, it’s true. I was not myself that day... I’ve since sworn that I’ll never again treat any of my maids so cruelly. Which is why... Which is why I’m asking you to come back to the estate! Please, I beg you to return. Like this!” he said, and bowed very deeply. It was an unthinkable move from someone with his personality, and Tigaro’s eyes widened in confusion at the sight.
“I-It’s all right. I understand. You can lift your head now.”
“Then do you...forgive me?”
“Not for raising your hand against me, no. But I don’t blame you for firing me. Thanks to your dismissal, I was able to meet Kaito.”
“...I heard about that from Chestnut. So, you’re an asset of Kaito’s these days,” he said, then paused. “And how much are you paid for your services?”
“Five gold coins...”
“I’ll pay you double that! Please, just come back and work for me again.”
“It’s not a question of money. It’s about your character. I’d still choose Kaito over you even if he weren’t paying me a cent,” Tigaro said, speaking clearly and leaving no room for misinterpretation.
Monstro’s face ran red with impatience. “Th-Then at least let me apologize for being so rude to you!”
“The apology you already gave was plenty. Besides, it isn’t me you need to apologize to now; it’s Chestnut.”
“O-Of course I apologize to Chestnut! But still, even her forgiveness wouldn’t satisfy me. So, so... Ah, right! Let me make it up to you by hosting you for the night. Kaito and the rest are all welcome to join you, of course. That would be no problem at all,” Monstro stammered. His desire to atone must have been overwhelming, for he was frantically bobbing his head. His remorse seemed genuine. There was likely no need to remind him of his promise never to act cruelly toward his maids again. For that reason, we’d probably be fine to stay. Besides, I wanted to ask him about the stampede anyways.
“What do you say, everyone? Should we take him up on it?” I asked.
“Well, we haven’t decided where to stay tonight yet anyways,” Oltea said.
“I’m fine with it,” Frieze said.
Tigaro, seeing our curiosity piqued, let out a sigh.
“All right. If everyone else is fine with it, then I guess we can stay for just one night,” she said.
“Thank you! Oh, thank you all so much! I’ll pull out all the stops and give you nothing but the best hospitality. You won’t regret it, I promise!”
With our night’s lodging decided upon, relief set upon Monstro’s face. He looked as though we had saved him.