The environment here, as it turned out, was not very conducive to resting. Vendors had started setting up an hour ago, getting ready to handle the impending flood of customers. Being such a large festival, there was no shortage of excitement, and there was a tangible buzz in the air. Tangible and audible , as particularly motivated vendors had their employees loudly reciting greeting phrases en masse to warm up their vocal cords for what would doubtlessly be a taxing day. For a long while his ears were assaulted by echoes of “look around, take your time” and “thank you, come again.”
“For a school event, some of these guys are taking things pretty seriously,” Sain said as he looked around.
Not all of the booths were standard roadside fare. Some looked like legitimate stores, with uniformed staff and windowed walls, beyond which lay shelves lined with items that looked to have very little mercy for the health of one’s wallet.
“Yeah, it looks like a couple of the more famous stores in the capital city have set up shop here, too,” said Alicia. “They’re probably targeting the guests more than the students.”
The festival was meant to entertain not only the students, but all visitors, which explained the dizzying variety of its vendors. The sheer incongruity of it all was fascinating and, in a way, gave it a unique sort of character. For the next three days, this place was going to be a hub of activity and generate a lot of business. The vendors clearly knew this and had every intention of squeezing as much profit from the event as possible. Despite its short duration, plenty of them had begun work many days in advance to put up very elaborate stalls.
“Whoa... Maid?”
Sain’s sudden remark earned him puzzled looks from his friends.
“Oh, I mean— Not Maid, but a maid. Over there.”
They remained confused until they looked in the direction he was pointing, where they spotted a girl in a maid uniform handing out flyers.
“That smile looks so fake. Also, her bows are too stiff,” said Melia.
“Oh, come on. Cut her some slack. Besides, I think there’s a certain amateur charm to her.”
He watched with a kind of pensive fondness as the girl went about her work. Beside him, Melia’s cheeks began to inflate like a pufferfish.
“...Oh, I see how it is. Master Sain likes those kinds of maids.”
“Huh? What? I didn’t say anything about liking—”
“Just so you know, she’s really just an amateur on the inside. All looks and no substance. Cooking, cleaning, washing, looking after her master... That’s what maids are about — perfecting their skills. But apparently, Master Sain would rather have a maid who just puts on a show and pretends to be loyal. Master Sain likes fake maids.”
“Th-That’s not what I mean. This isn’t about what I like...”
It occurred to him that he’d inadvertently wounded Melia’s pride as a maid. Granted, ever since moving into the dorm, he’d stopped asking Melia to perform her usual maidly duties. As a result, he’d lapsed a bit in the thoughtfulness department. Just then, the flyer-distributing girl in question approached him.
“Would you happen to be a Jenifa student?”
“U-Uh, yes?”
“Welcome to Honey Love, then! We’re a maid cafe, and we’d love it if you’d come in and spend some time with us, Master!”
The girl in the maid uniform gently placed her hands around his. Then, she looked up at him and smiled.
“U-Um, err...” he stammered, feeling a fluttering sensation in his stomach.
He stared at her in a daze as she casually slipped a flyer onto his outstretched palm, spun around, and walked away. He quietly watched her go, her frilly skirt shaking with each step she took.
“Hmph!”
A grunt entered his ears mere moments before a fist slammed into his side. The impact made him double over.
“Ooof!”
He groaned and looked up, only to flinch at Melia’s murderous glare.
“That was totally your fault.”
“...Agreed.”
Alicia and Marni were both on her side.
“Someone seems to be letting it go to their head, aren’t they, Master ?”
“I-I’m so sorry... I’ll reflect on my actions. I swear.”
It’d been a long time since he’d seen that look from Melia, but he recognized it immediately as the face she made when she was about to snap. Half-panicked, he put every bit of sincerity he could muster into his apology. In the process, however, he furtively slipped the flyer for the maid cafe into his coat pocket.
“You know, it’s sort of weird to be bringing this up now, but Maid can be a pretty confusing nickname,” said Alicia.
“That’s been bothering me for a while, actually,” said Melia. “Is it just me or am I the only one who got a really lazy nickname?”
“Th-That’s not true! It’s just that, uh, we met each other so long ago, and at the time, you were the only one I called Maid, so...”
Seeing that Melia was visibly displeased, Sain hastily offered an explanation. Back when he was still publicly operating as the holy knight in the Holy Kingdom of Lightridge, the plan had been to assign dozens of maids and butlers to serve him when he reached the age of ten. However, as he already had a personal attendant in Melia, and she happened to be exceedingly competent, there was never any need to expand his retinue. As a result, she continued to serve as his sole attendant. Thenceforth, whenever he called for a maid, she would appear, and the name simply stuck.
Sain had never been particularly comfortable with the idea of being looked after by a servant, but Melia had an impeccable grasp of his sensibilities and always kept just the right distance from him. For anything he wanted to do himself, she’d maintain a hands-off attitude and watch from the sidelines. Meanwhile, she helped handle matters that were beyond his reach, but always kept her assistance subtle. He, of course, wasn’t blind to her contributions, and he was deeply appreciative of the delicate discretion she displayed. Throughout the years, it wasn’t so much her competence as an attendant as it was simple affinity that kept them working so well together. The two of them had good chemistry. That was why even after resolving to leave his homeland behind, he still brought her along with him.
“So you see? To me, Maid means you. There was and still is only one.”
“I see. That would have meant a lot to me... if I hadn’t seen the way you were looking at that girl.”
“Gah! That was... a surprise attack! I wasn’t ready!”
Melia was extremely dismissive of the girl in the maid uniform, but all things considered, it should be fair to say that there was a market for her services. After all, when she’d held his hand, his heart had almost leapt out of his chest. That had to be some kind of skill. Maid or not, she was a professional in her own right.
“On that note, Sain, I’ve got a problem with my nickname too. Miss Gold? Like, seriously? What’s the deal?”
“It’s your hair color.”
“I know that! I’m saying it sounds cheesy as hell! How would you like to be called your hair color?” complained Alicia.
“In terms of nicknames, Miss Marni seems to have the most fitting one,” said Melia.
“...I’m not really a fan of it, but thanks.”
What had started out as O Cloaked Reaper of the Stacks was reduced to Grim Editor before being further truncated to Miss Grim. Evidently, Sain should never be allowed to shorten nicknames; he had a tendency to turn them all into characters from children’s picture books.
“By the way... it’s almost time for the first round,” said Marni.
Sain nodded.
“Good point. Let’s move.”
The junior, intermediate, and senior divisions each had their own sports field outside. The battle expo employed them as arenas, and matches would proceed simultaneously in all three. Sain’s first match was taking place in the intermediate division’s field, which he was more than familiar with. Spectator seats had been set up around the field, and many of them were already filled.
“Do all the seats tend to fill up?” he asked.
“Yeah, usually. Just so you know, this is nothing compared to the semifinals and finals on the third day. For those, everyone moves to the senior division field, which is the biggest arena, and they do one match at a time.”
“I see. So this is only a third of the total audience, and three times this many people will eventually all gather in one place...”
Even with the audience splitting themselves up among three locations, this arena already had at least five hundred people. Presumably, the other two were no different. That, however, only served to emphasize the sheer size of the school grounds, which already held over fifteen hundred people and didn’t seem cramped in the least.
“It looks like contestants are supposed to wait over there,” said Melia.
She pointed toward the lecture hall. Above its entrance hung a new sign that read “Contestant Waiting Room.” Inside, students dressed in light, loose clothing were waiting with tense expressions on their faces.
“Well, this is as far as we can go. From here on, you’re on your own...” said Alicia. “Go get ’em out there, you hear? We’re rooting for you.”
“R-Right,” he said with a grimace.
His expression made Melia lift an eyebrow.
“What’s with the long face?”
“I... have to admit, I’m starting to feel a little nervous.”
“Oh, relax,” she said, waving her hand dismissively. “What’s the worst that can happen?”
“I lose and make a fool of myself?”
“You already do that on a daily basis, anyway.”
“I... But—”
“It’s okay. You already hit rock bottom. There’s no way to go from here but up.”
“...That must be the most demotivating pep talk I’ve ever heard.”
It was the kind of verbal harassment that normally would have drawn forth one of his usual hyperbolic responses, but he failed to produce one. His nerves really were doing a number on him, and bravado was beyond him at the moment.
Uh oh, I’m definitely getting too nervous for my own good.
He hadn’t been this anxious during the field exercises. The reason probably lay in his friends and their comforting presence. So long as they lent him their strength, he’d felt confident that they could overcome any challenge. The battle expo, however, was single combat. He could rely on no one’s strength but his own.
What if I step out there for my first match and immediately lose?