The Day Arrived, and We Rolled Out Full-Throttle Service

"Well then, the time has finally come. Maid Cafe Leon is now open for business!"

A demure dress of Airi's design, paired with a pure-white apron piled high with lace and frills.

Inside the mock-stall entrance, Manager Seara gathered the staff and made her announcement with a smile.

The event organizers had provided a fairly spacious tent, roughly the size of a slightly oversized convenience store. The interior, even more compact than the Magic Shop Leon, Royal Capital Store itself, had been thoroughly prepped, and it looked ready to welcome customers at any moment. Tables and chairs lined up in neat rows, a cooking space set up at the back. Up near the ceiling, a cluster of the luminous floating colonial algae known as "Hitodama" filled the metal-frame-and-fabric tent with a warm light. The male staff, Raul among them, were decked out in butler outfits Seara had tailored to match the maid uniforms.

It felt almost like the morning briefings held every day at the register counter back at the Royal Capital Store.

Looking around at every one of her staff just as she always did, Manager Seara continued in a gentle but firm tone.

"As you all know, today's sales have Fino-chan riding on them. Which means there is absolutely no way we can lose. Let's all do our very best, shall we?"

"Mm…"

And then.

Stepping forward at Seara's words, Fino looked up at the staff and spoke up.

"Everyone… thank you so much for working so hard for my sake…"

The young demonkin girl bowed her head haltingly, picking her words with care.

This might be the last time. Behind a slightly stiff voice, a thread of unhidden anxiety the girl couldn't quite mask peeked through.

As if to blow that anxiety clean away, Raul deliberately laughed brightly.

"Hey, what's with that meek face? You've got the maid uniform, the customer service, the omurice. It's all nailed down. There's no way we're losing!"

"That's right. Just think how hard the rest of us worked for your sake… Besides, if you weren't here, who exactly would mind the register?"

"Yeah, yeah. If Fino-kun weren't here, who'd sweep the fallen leaves off the dragon parking lot…?"

"That would be Visor-kun's job, wouldn't it?"

"… My apologies."

The Assistant Manager bowed his head as the Manager pronounced his sentence with a smile.

"That's right, that's right," Seara murmured, fishing something out of the cardboard box on the table. Beaming, she went on:

"Which is where this secret weapon comes in. Everyone, please put these on."

"Wha—?!"

"Wow, so cool!"

What Seara held out were what looked like fluffy little triangular tufts, paired with similarly fluffy stick-shaped items. In short, a set of animal ears and tails.

She handed a pair to a speechless Airi and a sparkly-eyed Fino, then dug back into the box.

"Both the ears and the tails fix themselves in place wherever you stick them on… here, these are for you. Raul-kun, Visor-kun."

"Wh— us too?!"

"Oh, come on… give us a break here…"

"Hehe. I've been making these little by little, in between work, for today."

While the reluctant male staff accepted their sets, the Manager, who'd already fixed a pair of pure-white cat ears to the back of her own head-dress, continued proudly.

"Actually, they're magic items, and they synchronize with the wearer's brainwaves to move… There, there, Visor-kun, what a good boy."

"Hngh—!"

The instant the manager stretched up on her toes and patted the Assistant Manager's head, the red tail behind the seat of his trousers flicked back and forth.

As Visor froze stiff, Seara smiled mischievously and gave him a teasing wink. "… See?"

"Whoa, you're right! These things actually move?!"

Fino's voice rang out happily as she made the black ears poking up from her silver hair twitch and the black tail tacked to her bottom wag merrily.

Beside her, Airi, whose golden ears now drooped dejectedly from the honey-colored hair, hesitantly spoke up.

"Um… M-Manager, I've gotten used to the maid uniform, so that's fine, but the ears and tail are kind of embarrassing… d-do we really, really have to wear them…?"

"My, my."

Wagging her own fluffy white tail in front of the bashful girl as she hunched her shoulders, Manager Seara smiled kindly.

"Airi-san, you look incredibly cute, you know? Don't you think so, Raul-kun?"

"Eh? Y-yeah!"

Suddenly addressed, Raul let out an embarrassingly cracked yelp.

The instant he did, Airi's tail sprang up.

"—'All-A'?!"

"—?!! N-no, that's—!!!"

The moment Raul complimented her, Airi's tail began wagging happily.

Pressing both hands down on the unstoppable tail, her face bright red, Airi shouted in a panic.

"Th-this… my tail moving like this, it's really, really not…! It's nothing like that, I'm telling you!!!"

And then.

"My, my, is this the venue for some sort of costume party?"

A sneering, falsely polite woman's voice carried in from the tent's entrance.

The staff looked up reflexively, and their expressions hardened to wariness in an instant.

"Ka-chan…"

"A-Assistant Manager Karen?!"

"… What do you want?!"

"I came to pay my respects before the contest, and to confirm today's rules once again."

Her high heels clicking sharply, the suited woman walked into the tent, binder tucked under her arm. Without so much as a smile, she opened her mouth.

"Today's contest is to sell omurice at a maid cafe and compete on total revenue. Naturally, selling anything other than omurice constitutes a foul, but…"

"… Too bad for you!"

Raul snatched up one of the "Phantom Eggs" stacked beside him and called out at Karen's provocative tone.

"As you can see, we've got eggs too, and we'll use them to make omurice so good your lot won't even be in the running!"

"… Is that so. How wonderful."

The moment Karen saw the egg Raul held aloft, her eyes narrowed, just a fraction. But she still answered in the same flat tone of Amada's Assistant Manager.

Then, from behind her, another figure suddenly appeared.

"Good morning, you small-fry magic shop folks! At long last, the day of destiny is upon us!"

"…!"

Hazel hair and hazel eyes. Walking in without the slightest reserve, Amada's new manager Cloud caught sight of Fino and exclaimed:

"Oho, a proper, orthodox maid uniform… magnificent! Choosing a maid cafe showdown was the right call after all! And now, Lady Fino, there's something I'd like to confirm with you…"

So saying, Cloud spread out something he'd been hiding behind his back right in front of Fino.

"Left or right, which is more to your liking?"

"Wha—?!"

Swaying confidently in Amada's manager's right and left hands were two negligées of see-through translucent fabric, in sweet white and pink designs.

As Raul and the others were left speechless, Fino timidly opened her mouth.

"Umm, the right one…"

"F-Fino-san!"

"—DON'T PICK ONE!!!!!"

Hastily pulling Fino behind him, Raul glared at Manager Cloud.

"… We are not giving up Fino, no matter what!"

"Hehe. Well, do your very best!"

Cloud strode out of the tent with a hearty laugh. Karen followed with a sigh.

"Ka-chan…"

"…"

Karen didn't stop at the sound of Seara's voice behind her; she walked right out and vanished outside.

And then.

The high, ringing peal of a bell suddenly carried in, and the staff of the Magic Shop Leon, Royal Capital Store all caught their breath.

The bell of the Luminoa Grand Bell Tower, its sound amplified by magic to toll the hour across the entire royal capital.

At the same moment, fireworks went up inside the venue to announce the start of the event, and the buzz of the crowd that had been waiting outside surged in like a bursting dam.

"All right, everyone, let's go."

"Yes!!!!"

At the Manager's call, the staff nodded with serious expressions, as if a switch had been flipped.

They braced themselves to deliver the very best greeting to whichever customers came in…

But.

One minute passed. Two minutes. Five minutes…

Even after nearly fifteen minutes, not a single soul appeared at Leon's tent.

"…"

The buzz of the crowd carried in from beyond the tent. But however long they waited, no customers came into Leon's tent. The atmosphere grew heavier by the minute. Unable to bear the anxiety any longer, Raul kicked at the ground.

"Ah, Raul-kun…"

"I'll go check on things outside!"

The moment he said it, he bolted out of the tent.

And the instant he laid eyes on the scene before him, Raul stood there with his mouth gaping open.

Directly across from Leon stood a large tent draped in thick, luxurious velvet, clearly in a different class from Leon's own. Above the lavishly gathered drapes hung a striking, enormous signboard emblazoned with a golden logo.

Maid Cafe Miracle-Amada.

"Welcome, Goshujin-samaaa!"

Amada maids ran call-outs all around, signboards and flyers in hand. Their dresses were cut to emphasize the chest, paired with aprons trimmed in generous lace. Between very short skirts and knee-high socks, their thighs flashed what they called the absolute domain.

The event had barely started, and yet a line was already forming in front of Amada. The maids at the entrance handled the queue with brisk efficiency, sweeping a steady stream of customers into the lavishly decorated tent.

"Hehe, Goshujin-sama, won't you take a look at this?"

"Huh…?"

An Amada maid called out to a thunderstruck Raul, pushing a full-color flyer into his hand. Reflexively accepting it, Raul lost his words altogether at the vividly printed menu.

Supervised by Chef Kawagoe! Under the title, set with a portrait of the celebrity chef recently popular on MagiVi, lined up nearly thirty varieties of special omurice: tomato sauce, demi-glace, curry sauce, white sauce, and so on, paired with chicken, beef, seafood, dragon, and other fillings. On top of that, sets could be paired with a choice of several salads, soups, desserts, and drinks. The dessert column was filled with gorgeous cakes and parfaits, and the rich variety of menu items all looked elaborate and absolutely delicious.

Wait, what?!

"H-half off with a coupon?!"

"Yes."

The Amada maid smiled brightly at the unsteady note in Raul's voice.

"The bottom portion of this flyer serves as the coupon. We also have a first-come-first-served novelty giveaway, as well as souvenirs prepared for our customers. We look forward to welcoming you home, Goshujin-sama… Ufufu, Goshujin-sama, won't you take a look at this?"

The Amada maid moved on from Raul to call out to another customer… and Raul stood rooted to the spot, the flyer crumpled in his fist.

… I was naive… Raul couldn't help muttering inwardly.

Just as Amada's manager had said, the gap between Amada and Leon was laughably overwhelming. No matter how hard we struggled, there was no way we could've won from the start…

His fists trembled, clenched so hard his nails threatened to break the skin. Yet in stark contrast to the rage boiling in his gut at his own helplessness, his back and limbs were suddenly growing heavy and cold.

A bottomless sense of powerlessness and despair. Robbed of hope, Raul's vision dimmed.

… Against a shop like this, there's no way we can win…

"Raul…"

And then.

A voice murmured at his side.

His sleeve was clutched tight.

When the boy turned his head, somewhere along the way a girl had come to stand beside him.

"…"

She'd probably chased after Raul when he bolted from the shop.

Her aqua-blue eyes were wide as she stood there. The black ears peeking out from her silver hair drooped powerlessly, and her faintly tinted lips trembled just slightly.

The small girl stood frozen in front of Amada's tent, as if the sight had shocked her into stillness.

As the tremor in the arm that clung to him traveled through Raul, the boy bit down on his back teeth.

What the hell are you doing, getting all weak-kneed, idiot?!

The boy scolded himself in his head. Are you really gonna give up here?! The only time it's allowed to give up is after you've wrung out every drop of your wits, worked your body until it broke, screamed your throat out until you collapsed… after you've done absolutely everything you could do!

Didn't I make a promise to her?! To Fino. To win, no matter what?!

Heat returned to his body.

Clenching his fist tight, Raul threw his voice for all he was worth.

"WELCOME!!!!!"

The girl beside him snapped her head up.

A few people in Amada's line glanced over, and pouring out every last ounce of strength he had, until his body felt like it would burst, Raul shouted again.

"MAID CAFE LEON IS ALSO OPEN, RIGHT ACROSS THE WAY! WE CAN SEAT YOU IMMEDIATELY!!"

The girl stared at him in a daze.

… And then, taking a deep breath, she raised her voice to follow him.

"Th-thank you for your patronage!"

"MAID CAFE LEON, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATRONAGE!!!!!"

… Feeling the girl's warmth right beside him, Raul murmured "Sorry" in his head.

I'm not going to give up anymore. I'll keep my promise with you no matter what, so…

"THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATRONAGE!!!!!"

Raul shouted with every fiber he had.

And then.

"Um…"

Someone tapped Raul's shoulder.

 

*

 

"Welcome home, Goshujin-sama."

"S-Seara-san is in cat ears!!!!!"

The moment Manager Seara greeted him with a smile, the boy practically leapt into the air as he shouted. It was Ciel Script, Manager Seara's biggest fan, and Amada's top young employee at the Royal Capital Store.

"… Good grief, one customer, finally…"

The Assistant Manager sighed as he watched Ciel look about ready to ascend to heaven, and Raul couldn't help pressing a hand to his forehead.

"… To think the one and only customer who made it here was this guy…"

"Oh, come on, didn't I tell you I'd come even if it was the final war?"

Catching Raul's grumble, Ciel adjusted his thick glasses and puffed out his chest.

"I'm a man who keeps his promises. Keeping promises is the most important thing for a salesman. Of course, if there's anything in this world more important than trust, it would be Seara-san, and Seara-san alone."

"R-right…"

"… Tch. Kid's got a big mouth on him…"

Raul mumbled non-committally, and the Assistant Manager muttered in apparent displeasure.

And then.

"Hehe, what a splendid attitude."

Returning with a silver tray balanced in one hand, Manager Seara smiled and gave Ciel a small bow.

"Thank you for waiting, Goshujin-sama. Here is our homemade omurice. I'm not sure if it'll be to your taste, but please, enjoy."

"Y-YES!!!!!"

A glossy omurice was placed before him by Seara's own hands.

With a full-body shudder, Ciel gripped his fork and plunged it into the omurice.

"Mm. De-delicious!"

He muttered, dazed, the moment it hit his tongue.

Then, with the momentum of a starving dragon, Ciel set into the omurice.

"Wh-what is this, what is this?! I-I've never had omurice this good in my life! The rice is amazing, the filling is packed in, the seasoning is incredible, and this egg, this is a flavor I've never experienced before… munch munch… it's like, it's just bursting with love, you know? Munch munch… sure, Amada's shop has a huge variety on the menu, munch munch… but to keep turnover and efficiency up we use commercial frozen ingredients supervised by a celebrity chef, so honestly, this stuff is just not in the same league as the omurice here!"

"Hehe."

Singing the praises as he fought with the omurice in a trance.

Suddenly, Seara crouched down beside the young man… and bringing her face so close his skin almost prickled, she whispered in a sweet voice.

"Say, Goshujin-sama… would you tell me a little more about Amada's shop…?"

Peering up at Ciel from beneath her lashes in a coquettish pose, Manager Seara.

The white cat ears sprouting from her abundant chestnut hair swayed provocatively, and the tip of the tail extending from her enchanting hips traced lightly along Ciel's arm…

"Y-YES!!!!!"

In that instant, Ciel snapped to attention and shouted in a strangled voice.

"Coupon distribution, you say…?"

"Yes! From two weeks ago, we'd been slipping them into customers' shopping bags, and we're still handing them out outside too…"

"Ah, Manager, this… I got one from them earlier."

Remembering, Raul pulled the Amada flyer from his pocket and handed it to the Manager.

Looking over the full-color flyer, the Manager let out a cute little "hmm…"

"With the coupon, omurice for 250 gold. That's even cheaper than our half-price… well, since Ciel-kun told us they have fifty seats, the same as us…"

Pulling out her trusty MagiCalc, Manager Seara tapped at the keys with a difficult expression.

After a while.

The Manager, who'd been pondering with her fluffy tail swaying, finally spoke up.

"Even if we tried to compete on volume at low margins, we wouldn't stand a chance against their shop. To begin with, they've already opened a sizable lead on us…"

"Ngh…"

In that instant, Fino's face clouded with anxiety.

Leaning forward from both sides, Raul and Airi cried out.

"N-no way! There has to be something we can do!"

"Manager, we'll do anything… anything you ask of us!"

Their faces were deathly serious.

After a moment, lifting her gaze from her MagiCalc, Manager Seara murmured quietly:

"… In that case, let's compete with added value on our side."

"'A-added value?!'"

The staff parroted it back. Seara nodded. "That's right."

"The recipe of my late brother's that Raul-kun found for us, the delicious rice from the magic rice cooker the Hyper Kitchen Item Laboratory gifted us, Airi-san's cooking skill, the 'Phantom Eggs' that Fino-chan found… thanks to all of you, our omurice has turned into something pretty special, something you can't get anywhere else, so let's lead with that, shall we?"

"But just that alone…"

"Of course it isn't just that."

At Raul's words, Manager Seara nodded confidently.

"Service, customer experience, operations, ambiance, presentation, PR… everything we can provide besides the product itself becomes added value. And if the customer feels the added value justifies the price, they'll pay it without hesitation… Hehe, this is where salesmanship shines, isn't it?"

Smiling mischievously, the Manager glanced toward the surrounding walls.

"That settled, we'll need to make some changes to operations. And then… ah, Visor-kun, I have a little favor to ask of you…"

"Huh?!"

The moment the Manager addressed him, the Assistant Manager's tail bristled warily.

The Manager whispered something into his ear, and the Assistant Manager furrowed his brow in distress.

"I mean, sure, I did write the MagiVi syntax, and light-system stuff is something I'm decent at, but…"

"I'll handle the 'Magic Field' deployment, since that needs the mana… I'm good at finding effective 'Syntax Modules' and adapting them into new items, but since I never formally studied, I can't write proper syntax from scratch like you, Visor-kun… Please."

Manager Seara's pleading look.

Caught in her amber gaze, the Assistant Manager eventually nodded in resignation.

"Well, it's for Fino-kun… but, honestly, don't expect too much…"

"Yes, I won't expect anything."

"Eh."

"Hehe, I'm just teasing… Thank you, Visor-kun."

With an angelic smile, Manager Seara thanked the Assistant Manager. And then.

Suddenly, the Manager looked down at the girl beside her.

"… By the way, Fino-chan. Can you recite the eight standard customer-service phrases?"

"Eh? Yeah, I can…"

"Hehe, then please go ahead and do it for us."

"Y-yeah!"

Nodding hesitantly, her black ears perked up tensely, Fino began to recite.

"Uhh, welcome , thank you very much , certainly, ma'am …"

… Hm?

At Manager Seara's sudden line, Raul felt a flicker of déjà vu.

"… one moment, please , thank you for waiting , I sincerely apologize , excuse me, ma'am …"

W-wait… haven't I been through this before…?!

He remembered with a jolt.

Before Raul, who'd reflexively looked up at the Manager, Fino spoke the final line.

"… my apologies for the inconvenience…?! "

The moment the girl finished her recitation came a small snap.

And the next instant, the stitching on the maid uniforms the girls were wearing burst all at once.

"—?!!!!"

"Wha… kya… ahhhhh!!!!!"

The excess fabric peeled away from the girls' bodies almost audibly, as if a flutter sound effect should be playing.

In an instant, their shoulders and chest were exposed, and their demure long skirts grew even shorter than Amada's, and as the girls flushed bright red and hurriedly covered their chests, Raul couldn't help putting a hand to his forehead. It was that thing the Manager had pulled on him too at the beauty pageant, the trick where the eight customer-service phrases serve as the trigger to unravel the threads of the garment.

"Hehe, the Leon Original Maid Uniform, version two… the base design's Airi-san's, the skirt's Raul-kun's, the sleeves are Fino-chan's, the bust is Visor-kun's. I took elements from each of your maid uniforms and adapted them."

Twirling the now-much-shorter skirt, Manager Seara pulled out a notebook labeled Amada Royal Capital Store Showdown: Maid Cafe Operation Meeting , wagged her tail, and winked.

"Now then, the real show starts here. Let's begin our hospitality, shall we?"

 

*

 

A navy suit, her trusty binder.

Inside Amada's tent, Karen was watching the surroundings without letting her guard down and issuing instructions when she suddenly stopped, registering something off about the floor.

"… Something's strange."

Customers were filing in just fine, and the staff were working with composure. Everything was moving without a hitch… yet something was off.

To find the cause, Karen swept her sharp gaze around the shop, and quickly pinpointed the source of her unease.

The staff's movements were off. Somehow sluggish, idle… as if there were too many of them.

… Why?

Karen glanced at her wristwatch, and her eyes narrowed faintly.

The lunch peak was almost here. Karen, who'd calculated her customer numbers using statistical methods, had staffed for the time slot expected to be the busiest of the event. But if the staffing was running a surplus, that meant… they weren't drawing the customer numbers she'd projected.

A bad premonition pricked at her.

Karen made for the tent's exit at a quick pace, and what greeted her was a sight she could hardly believe.

"What…?!"

Where the Leon tent had been standing just a little while ago, somehow a shop now stood.

A single shop. Cream-colored walls and an orange roof. Among the row of single-color tents at the event venue, it stood out as the lone striking establishment, and a dense crowd of people had gathered in front of it.

"Hey, that shop over there, apparently it's something else."

A pair of young men passed in front of the stunned Karen.

"Yeah, I heard, I heard. 3,500 gold omurice, right?"

"But they're supposedly using some super rare 'Phantom Egg' or whatever…"

"That's the special ingredient that was featured on Watch's Cooking Show the other day, isn't it?"

"For 3,500 gold, it's gotta be one hell of a dish…"

"Seriously, it's amazing, and the cooking demonstrations, the maid show… it's all top-tier, apparently."

"Word is most of the seats are already filled. If we don't go now, it's gonna sell out!"

"'Phantom Egg'…?"

Finally coming back to herself.

Karen muttered, then quickly produced a pair of sunglasses from her chest pocket, slipped them on, and headed straight for the shop in question.

"Yes, yes, the 'Phantom Egg' praised lavishly by former [Hero] Watch on his very own Watch's Cooking Show, served as part of our Happy Omurice! Now available at our shop to rave reviews! The eggs are limited in supply, so once they're sold out, that's it! Miss this chance and you may never get to eat them in your lifetime!"

A red-haired man, looking somehow a little worn out, spun his sales pitch with a magic megaphone in hand.

A black-haired boy stepped out from inside the shop and called out, ringing a magic bell.

"Esteemed guests, thank you so much for waiting! We are now accepting entry for the noon round! Customers with tickets for the noon round, please gather over here!"

"We sincerely apologize, but all tickets are sold out through the 2 P.M. round! Customers seeking tickets for the 3 P.M. round and later, please line up over here! Also, due to venue constraints, parties of three or fewer will be seated at shared tables. Please understand in advance!"

"What is going on here…?"

Karen muttered, narrowing her eyes behind her sunglasses. And then.

Among the people heading toward the entrance with their noon-round tickets in hand, she spotted one face she recognized.

The high heels clicked sharply as she closed in. Reaching out a hand, she spoke flatly.

"Ciel-san, please wait."

"Eh…? A-Assistant Manager Karen?!"

Soft golden hair, an amiable face, a slightly eccentric sense of fashion. Wearing the glasses he didn't wear on duty, the young Amada employee gaped at the sudden appearance of his superior.

"I'll be borrowing this from you, if you don't mind."

"Eh… wha… ahhh?!"

Without giving him room to refuse, she plucked the ticket from his hand.

Ignoring his protesting voice, Karen approached the entrance of Cafe Leon.

"…"

The shop that had looked from afar to have cream-colored walls and an orange roof was, on closer inspection, nothing of the sort. Just a perfectly ordinary tent painted in a way that gave that impression.

Karen poked at it lightly, the colors wavering at her touch, and she muttered to herself:

"I see… a camouflage 'Syntax Module'."

A 'Magic Syntax' that bent the refraction of light to change an item's color. Of course. That explained how a tent that had been white not long ago could transform itself in such a short span of time.

"… As expected of Seara-san. Quite impressive…"

In a flat voice, Karen ducked through the shop's entrance.

"Welcome home, Goshujin-sama!"

The instant Karen entered, a small silver-haired maid came running up to her: the very girl who was the object of today's mission. Karen's eyes flickered, just slightly, behind her sunglasses.

"Right this way, please!"

The pointed black ears popped out from the girl's hair as she announced it proudly.

The tail extending from the girl's skirt wagged merrily as she beamed.

"We'll prepare your meal right away, so please wait here at this seat!"

The girl bowed sharply and pattered off toward the back of the shop.

"… Hmph, nothing all that impressive."

As Karen watched the girl's retreating back, she swept her gaze around and muttered to herself.

"They've thrown a tablecloth over the venue's provided tables and put some flowers out, all sorts of minor flourishes, but they can't fully hide the cheapness, and on top of that, it looks like they're short-staffed…"

And then.

Suddenly, from the center of the shop, a wave of excited murmurs broke out.

In the middle of the rectangular shop floor stood an island-style cooking station.

The three maids gathered there bowed deeply to the surrounding customers.

"And now, for our esteemed customers, we shall prepare your meal."

"Fuhahaha! Goshujin-sama, watch closely!"

"P-please, take care of us!"

Each having declared themselves, the girls gripped the knives in front of them tightly.

"That maid in the middle with the fluffy hair, she's gorgeous and her knife work is so polite and elegant… ahhh, make her my bride!"

"No, no, when it comes to speed and looks, the blonde girl's the most insane, isn't she?! Whole piles of vegetables disappearing in the blink of an eye, you can't take your eyes off her knife work…"

"I like the little silver-haired one in the corner… her form's not quite there yet and she's a little clumsy, but there's just something about how earnest she is, you know?"

"All right, here we go."

Roughly fifty servings' worth. A mountain of vegetables and meat, the three of them carving through it in a flash.

The chestnut-haired maid took hold of the handle of an enormous frying pan, easily over a meter in diameter, set in the middle of the cooking station, and smiled mischievously.

"Hup!"

With a cute little call, the slender maid lifted the massive pan one-handed.

In that instant, the customer seats erupted in cheers.

"Hehe, this self-heating Magical Ion-Coated Frying Pan from the Hyper Kitchen Item Laboratory has a gravity-control 'Syntax Module' built in, so it's easy to lift even at this size, and it can heat up to 400 degrees in an instant."

Smiling cheerfully as she explained, the girl ladled oil into the pan.

At the satisfying juwa sound, the girl at the pan called out.

"All right, please bring it over!"

"Yes!!!"

Nodding, the two maids tossed the chopped vegetables from their cutting boards into the pan one after another.

The moment the girl at the pan gave it a big toss, the colorful vegetables danced through the air.

At the dazzlingly skilled handiwork, cheers rose from the audience seats.

"Thank you for waiting, Goshujin-sama!"

A magic-trick flip of the frying pan, footwork as light as a dance. One arranged the plates, one wielded the pan, one cracked the eggs… a brilliantly coordinated trio of maids whipped it up in no time, and a freshly made omurice was placed in front of Karen.

The moment Karen took a bite of the omurice marked with the Leon logo, her eyes widened behind her sunglasses.

"Th-this is…"

"Hey, hey, is it good?"

The silver-haired maid asked familiarly, tail wagging, unaware of Karen's true identity.

"I-it's not… like it's anything…"

Karen said in her usual flat tone, even as she worked the fork like a woman possessed.

And then.

"M-magnificent…!"

The elderly man seated beside her, who'd squared off with the omurice as though challenging it to a duel before lifting his fork to his mouth with theatrical gravity, suddenly opened his eyes wide.

"Not only is the 'Phantom Egg' used, the rice itself has an unfathomable umami, and the salt is balanced to perfection… mmmm, how does the meat of a cheap Hexa Chicken achieve such a rich and full-bodied flavor…? Ngh, the sweetness and texture of the Hane Bean are in exquisite balance… and the secret ingredient, why, it's antidote-grass?! Ahh, even this old man feels like a child again at this nostalgic taste… to think, in this lifetime, I would meet a flavor such as this…!"

"E-eh…?"

Karen couldn't help giving a quizzical look at the old man trembling beside her in transports of emotion.

A murmur ran through the surrounding crowd, reaching her ears.

"Hey, look, look! That old man at that seat… no way, he's…"

"Yes, no mistake! That's the greatest gourmet of this century, Lord Aji-Okina!"

"You're kidding! For Lord Aji-Okina himself to open his eyes… that's a once-in-a-lifetime event in the gourmet world!"

"No, seriously, it's that good, this stuff!"

"I don't really know what's going on, but thanks for liking it, Goshujin-sama!"

Bowing politely to the apparently famous old man, the silver-haired maid looked up.

"Oh, it's time! Goshujin-sama, I'll be right back!"

Declaring so, the silver-haired maid pattered off toward the center of the shop.

"Esteemed guests, thank you for waiting."

Finished with serving, the three maids gathered once more at the center.

The chestnut-haired maid looked around the shop and called out in a carrying voice:

"And now, our Hyper Maid Time begins."

"… H-Hyper Maid Time?"

Karen reflexively parroted back.

The chestnut-haired maid swayed her fluffy pure-white tail and explained cheerfully.

"For the noon round, we're holding a ten-minute Maid Photo Session. Customers with cameras may take as many photos of us as you like, to your heart's content, until the time is up."

"Hehe, take some cool pictures of me, Goshujin-sama!"

"Hngh…"

The silver-haired maid grinned and waved as she addressed the crowd, while the blonde maid drooped her ears and tail and shrank back in embarrassment.

In front of those two, the chestnut-haired maid spoke up.

"Now then, Goshujin-sama, if you have any requests, please don't hesitate to ask."

"Then, the three of you, come closer together!"

"Hehe, certainly."

The instant the call came from the customer seats, the chestnut-haired maid wrapped a hand around the silver-haired maid's waist with a calm smile, and at the same time gently pulled the blonde maid's body close to her side.

The moment she did, the blonde maid's tail twitched in reaction… and the blonde maid's face went as red as it could possibly go as she bit her lip enduring the embarrassment, her indigo eyes darting around.

"Silver-haired girl, put your arm around the blonde girl's chest!"

"Blonde maid, look up a little more!"

"Th-the brown-haired maid, push the blonde girl down on the floor!"

"And then, the silver-haired maid lies on top, like…"

Voices spilled over with heat and excitement.

As the requests escalated, the flashes of the magicameras went off without pause.

"Our maid show costs a hundred thousand gold per stage… and to manage all this without spending a single coin…"

Karen flushed faintly, her expressionless face cracking, and muttered bitterly to herself.

"Esteemed guests, thank you for waiting! We are now beginning entry for the 1 P.M. round!"

"The 5 P.M. round will be Gachinko Maid Pro-Wrestling! Cute maids twisting and grappling each other in a sweaty death match! Only a few seats remain. First come, first served!"

"…"

The Leon staff out front called the crowd. Karen ground her teeth.

Leon's seat count was the same as Amada's, fifty seats. Fixed at 3,500 gold per customer, that was 175,000 gold per turnover. The event ended at 6 P.M., so the seat-rotation count from noon to 5 P.M. was six. If every ticket sold, that came to 1,050,000 gold.

Amada's per-customer take, meanwhile, was 500 gold. Even with three turnovers per hour, handling 150 customers, that was 75,000 gold. Over the eight hours from 10 A.M. to 6 P.M., that came to 600,000 gold. Distributing those coupons to drive footfall and slashing the per-customer take had completely backfired.

… So, what to do? Karen narrowed her eyes. This was a complete miscalculation. Honestly, I'd been underestimating Leon, didn't think they could pull this off.

To get the silver-haired girl working part-time at Magic Shop Leon, Royal Capital Store — that's the order this time. By whatever means necessary, that one objective absolutely has to be achieved.

Yes, no matter what means it takes—

"Karen-kun, how did things go?"

And then.

A voice came suddenly from behind her. Recognizing it, Karen flinched and turned around, doing her best to mask her agitation.

"… Judging by your face, some sort of unforeseen incident occurred, then."

"…"

As Karen fell silent, the man let out an exaggerated sigh.

"Can't be helped, then. We'll go ahead and execute the plan… Leave the rest to me."

 

*

 

"Best sales go to Magic Shop Leon, Royal Capital Store's Maid Cafe Leon!"

"…!"

In front of the tent, its 'Magic Syntax' erased and restored to plain white, the staff of the Magic Shop Leon, Royal Capital Store stood.

The instant that voice rang out across the entire venue, the girl beside Raul wagged her tail with all her might and threw herself onto his arm.

"Raul!!!!!"

"…"

Feeling the girl's warmth through his arm, the realization gradually welled up inside his chest.

When he reflexively dropped his gaze, his eyes met Fino's as she clung to his arm, and narrowing her aqua-blue eyes, the girl smiled happily.

And then.

"Hehe, congratulations, Fino-chan."

"Well, it was worth all the hard work, wasn't it?"

"This way, we get to keep working with Fino-kun starting tomorrow too…"

"Waahh! Manager! Airi! Assistant Manager!"

Letting go of Raul, Fino turned to look up at her bosses, tail wagging hard enough to whip the air.

Watching the girl, something warm tightened in Raul's chest.

"I don't want to be anywhere but here… I just want to stay here, with everyone, like this…"

The tears the girl had shown him the night before flickered through Raul's mind.

How to put it… seriously, I'm glad, Fino.

Raul's gaze, narrowed in relief.

And then suddenly, something black streaked across his vision.

"What…!"

A massive black shadow blotted out his view.

Sharply pointed ears, a frame neither feline nor canine, a slick coat of fur.

A pair of eyes redder than blood stared straight down at Fino…

"FINO!!!!!"

Screams went up among the remaining crowd at the sudden appearance of a monster.

Frozen as stiff as a Hane Rabbit caught in a dragon's gaze, Fino had her arm gripped by Raul, who glared up at the black beast before him. What the hell is this thing?!

At first glance, it looked like a Dark Gigant Wolf, but a Gigant Wolf's eyes were green, not a burning red. Beyond that, it was a different size, and the face was different. A variant species?!

But why was a monster appearing in the middle of the city…?!

The instant he thought it.

A strong light spilled from the beast's slightly opened mouth.

"…?!"

"FINO, GET DOWN!"

A prickling sensation ran across Raul's skin.

He shoved Fino's body away on reflex and dove to the ground himself.

Between the two as they rolled in opposite directions, a blinding orb of light exploded, scorching the air.

The ground shook with a tremendous roar, and part of a tent was blown away.

Staring at the gaping crater carved into the spot where they'd been standing only seconds before, Raul could only blink at it as if at something he couldn't believe.

A monster that uses magic like this… he'd never heard of such a thing?!

In front of the briefly faltering Raul, the black beast leapt high.

"R-Raul…"

Once again, the black beast came down right in front of Fino.

The instant the girl tried to flee, the beast caught her up by the scruff of her neck in its jaws, and once more launched itself high into the air.

"FINO!!!!!"

"H-hey, that girl just got snatched up!!!!!"

"What the hell is that black monster?!"

Using the still-pitched tents as a stepping stone, the black beast leapt to the rooftops of the buildings lining the street. The beast's form vanished beyond the buildings in a flash… damn it!

Biting down on his back teeth, Raul tried to give chase…

And then.

"Hey, up there?!"

A shrill voice rose from the crowd.

Following the fingers pointing skyward, Raul looked up and could not believe his eyes.

In the evening-dusk sky over the royal capital…

A swarm of what appeared to be a horde of monsters was bearing down on them.