Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. Chapter 222 - I Am the Newly Hired Maid

Chapter 222: I Am the Newly Hired Maid

 

“I’ve made it just as you requested.”

Miruel handed me the plant-type tool he had been diligently growing until just moments ago.

Its leaves had formed the shape of a gas mask. Despite having been created without any advance preparation, the craftsmanship was remarkably refined.

 

[Masterpiece — Calming Tool for Insane, Violent Humans]

[A tool created by the druid Miruel, who had grown utterly exhausted by the rampages of the outrageous delinquent Michelle. It can store within it the fragrance of Heavenly Fragrance Jasmine, his own [Refreshing Companion].]

 

“It’s a tool that continuously emits a calming fragrance for both the body and mind.”

Miruel looked confident.

“With this, even that human who’s basically a wild bison should become sufficiently cal–”

He stopped speaking halfway through and glanced toward the bed.

“What’re you staring at, you white-eared bastard?!”

Clank! Clank! Clank!

Even though she was supposedly in a calm state, she still looked much the same as an outlaw flying into a rage.

“…I take that back.”

Miruel sighed.

“Completely taming that human is impossible.”

“That was to be expected.”

Michelle was a walking strategic weapon.

She rampaged wherever she pleased, and with that temper, she was practically a living nuclear bomb.

Although I’d successfully recruited her into the expedition, I’d never expected to control her perfectly in the first place.

If I could occasionally get her to act the way I wanted, that alone would already be the ideal outcome.

“Still…”

Miruel continued,

“She’ll be considerably calmer while wearing this tool.”

“The fragrance needs to be replenished once every week, so I’ll continue visiting regularly.”

“You really don’t have to go that far.”

“No.”

Miruel shook his head.

“Someone who helped me obtain a Unity Guild pass deserves at least this much.”

Clank! Clank!

“White ears!”

Michelle roared.

“If I ever see you again, I’ll rip those ears clean off!!”

“…Next time, I’d better come fully equipped with defensive gear.”

Startled by Michelle violently twisting her entire body, Miruel hurriedly left the room.

“I’ll head over to Pendrick now.”

He smiled.

“Since I’m already here, I promised to help with his training.”

“That’s admirable friendship.”

“Haha.”

Miruel scratched his cheek.

“Actually, I’m mostly doing it for my own selfish desires. Pendrick’s unique constitution gives his sweat a very unusual scent. Ever since I lived on the Eastern Continent, it’s been impossible for me to resist.”

[I never imagined there’d be another pervert on roughly your level….]

After Miruel headed toward the training hall where Pendrick was practicing swordsmanship…

“Please stand her up.”

Sergius carefully lifted Michelle, whose entire body remained restrained.

“Butler!”

Michelle bared her teeth.

“Don’t touch me!!”

She actually tried to bite Sergius. It truly resembled the movements of a wild beast.

Naturally, the experienced butler casually dodged, then fitted the Calming Tool for Insane, Violent Humans over Michelle’s face.

“Phew.”

He sighed in relief.

“Now I finally feel a little more at ease.”

“You’ve worked hard, Butler.”

“Butlerrrr!!”

Sergius hoisted Michelle over one shoulder despite her violent struggles.

“You’ve tied me up like this! Where do you think you’re taking me?! I’m not going anywhere until you untie me!”

“Lord Karr.”

At the butler’s call, I immediately cupped Big Sis’s cheeks with both hands and met her gaze.

“Let’s go.”

“…Ghk.”

Michelle trembled, her face full of inner conflict.

Eventually, all the strength drained from her body.

“This is comfortable.”

Sergius smiled peacefully.

“If I’d known it’d be like this, I would’ve recruited a half-elf as a maid long ago.”

Just as the relieved butler began walking away while carrying the Madam…

Bzzzzzt!

The Exalted One suddenly, in an unusually stern tone, asserted Their right to Dress Up Karr.

If I postponed it again, even the broad-minded Lord Su’eje might truly become upset.

So I humbly obeyed.

“Shrrrk!”

Accompanied by the sound effect that had already become second nature, I activated [Transformation].

My appearance became exactly what the Exalted One preferred.

A handsome, androgynous face.

A slender, almost delicate figure.

A golden maid outfit.

An extremely polite way of speaking, yet with an unpredictability that made it difficult to anticipate where the conversation would go.

In other words…

“Androgynous Beauty Maid Karr” Mode.

Its greatest feature was that, depending on the personality of the person facing me, I could freely alter the details surrounding my identity without creating any sense of inconsistency.

“Ta-da.”

I smiled sweetly.

“Lady Michelle, what thinketh thou of my new appearance?”

“…Ghhhh!”

Michelle’s reaction was anything but ordinary.

Her face immediately flushed bright red, while her pupils shook violently.

“……”

Desperately avoiding my gaze, she muttered quietly,

“…Turns out cultists aren’t completely useless.”

She seemed extremely pleased.

Crackle.

The Exalted One then even decided my course of action.

Capture everyone’s hearts.

“If you’ll be a good girl and listen obediently…”

I smiled gently.

“…I might continue giving you the reward I promised.”

“…!!”

Michelle’s eyes widened.

An endless storm of thoughts swept across her face.

Simply watching her was enough to make my own mind feel refreshed.

[Question — In the end, the things that filthy Su’eje demanded aren’t really all that different from how you normally behave, are they…?]

That was true.

Still, I understood Lord Su’eje’s feelings perfectly.

It was the same principle as visiting an expensive restaurant you rarely had the chance to dine at, only to end up ordering the same dishes you usually ate anyway.

“…The more I watch this…”

The butler looked strangely at the now-docile Madam, then opened the door across the hallway.

“Young Master.”

He bowed.

“I’ve brought Lady Michelle.”

Odilon’s room.

The Young Master, slumped limply across the sofa while drinking wine, looked at his mother’s current state before letting out a dry laugh.

“Mother.”

He smirked.

“You look like a criminal being transported under guard.”

Michelle snorted at her son’s remark, then glanced at the wine bottle.

“Odie.”

She frowned.

“You’re drinking wine again? A weakling like you… why’re you always drinking?”

“……”

After laying Michelle rather carelessly onto the bed, the butler nodded.

“I hate to admit it…”

He sighed.

“…but Lady Michelle is correct this time.”

“See?!”

“Please be quiet.”

Sergius casually rolled Michelle over into an even more uncomfortable position.

“…Thanks to Druid Miruel…”

Odilon muttered,

“…she’s at least less noisy than usual.”

Setting down his wineglass, Odilon held out one hand. Rosalia silently placed [Comforter] between his fingers.

Fwoosh.

After exhaling smoke, the Young Master turned his gaze toward me.

Holding the edge of my maid’s skirt, I curtsied elegantly.

“Greetings, Young Master Odilon. I am Karr, the maid who has newly begun serving this household as of today.”

“What idiotic stunt are you pulling this time?”

“Hmm.”

I tilted my head.

“Or perhaps… you find the concept of ‘a maid who’s secretly a man’ more appealing?”

“……”

“Why are you making that face?”

“It’s rather pathetic…”

Odilon muttered.

“…that I’ve reached the point where I have no choice but to rely on you.”

At first glance, it sounded as though he didn’t want anything to do with me.

But the true meaning was exactly the opposite.

Standing beside Rosalia as a servant of House Brites, I quietly asked,

“Does this mean… you finally acknowledge me as someone you can trust?”

“…No.”

“Do you truly dislike me that much?”

I leaned closer, bringing my face right in front of his, and whispered,

“Because despite your words…”

I smiled.

“…your face and body have already begun showing me subtle affection.”

“…Rosalia.”

The taciturn assassin simply lifted me into the air and carried me well away from the sofa.

“…Ha.”

Michelle, who’d been lying face-down in an uncomfortable position, suddenly curled the corners of her lips upward.

“Looks like…”

She grinned.

“Our little Odie finally made a friend, huh?”

“My.”

Still cradled in Rosalia’s arms, I shyly covered my mouth.

“Young Master… Do you truly consider me your friend?”

“…You’re merely someone contracted to our expedition.”

“Pfft!”

Michelle shook with laughter.

“Look at him telling such ridiculous lies.”

After laughing for a while, she suddenly frowned.

“By the way.”

She glared.

“When’re you finally going to cut that long hair? I told you it reminds me of your father. Just shave it all off! Seriously… Makes me want to grab you by the hair and shake you.”

She laughed leisurely one moment, then exploded with anger the next.

An utterly incomprehensible personality.

Fortunately, thanks to the calming fragrance of Miruel’s Heavenly Fragrance Jasmine, she merely grew irritated instead of flying into a terrifying rage.

“…Phew.”

Odilon let out a deep sigh.

If Michelle wasn’t removed from his sight soon, the frail Young Master might genuinely collapse from stress.

So I quickly spoke.

“Young Master. Starting today, Lady Michelle officially belongs to the Moonlight Expedition.”

“…I see.”

Odilon paused for several seconds, then continued with his eyes closed.

“Mother is an exceptionally powerful fighter. Our expedition’s strength has increased dramatically….”

He clearly wasn’t happy about it.

Yet he was doing his utmost to set aside his personal feelings and judge the matter solely by its practical benefits.

Purely in terms of ability, there wasn’t a single reason to reject Michelle.

The immense advantage before him was simply too great.

“…You don’t like that I joined your expedition?”

Michelle growled like a beast.

Her instincts were sharp enough to immediately detect hostility and rejection directed toward herself.

“Hey.”

She frowned.

“I don’t like it either.”

“…Really?”

“Grrrrrrgh!”

The moment I lowered my head dejectedly, Michelle once again released all of her inner turmoil through rough, savage noises.

“Hah….”

Witnessing the only weakness his mother possessed being exploited before his very eyes, Odilon quietly sighed.

“What an utterly ridiculous spectacle, Mother.”

“Shut your mouth.”

“Please.”

Odilon replied coldly.

“Conduct yourself in a manner befitting one of the Twelve Heroes. Stop snarling like an animal fighting over territory.”

“Big words.”

Michelle sneered.

“Coming from someone who spends all day wheezing like a sick dog.”

“The dog is you, Mother.”

Odilon answered immediately.

“Anyone would think you were a rabid hound.”

“What did you just say?!”

Was this really a conversation between mother and son?

Not even the slightest fragment of affection remained.

Only venomous insults and verbal abuse, bombarding one another like artillery fire from opposing armies.

“…My apologies.”

The butler, who had anxiously watched the confrontation, bowed toward me.

“Would it be possible…”

He asked politely.

“…for you to stop the two of them from arguing?”

“An easy request.”

I immediately summoned Perrin outside my body in his original size.

“Grrrrrr!”

The imposing presence of the enormous wolf finally caused the mother and son, who had been competing to wound each other’s hearts, to fall silent.

“Lady Michelle.”

I lightly tapped her arm.

“Now that you’ve become one of our party members…”

Rosalia obediently approached the bed.

“As captain, your very first mission as our newest member is…”

I theatrically pretended to beat on the empty air with both hands, then spread my arms wide.

“To train the members of the Moonlight Expedition.”

“…Not explore labyrinths?”

Avoiding my gaze with a flushed face, Michelle narrowed her eyes.

“That’s right.”

“Then why recruit me?”

She frowned.

“Someone like me could lead a hundred mediocre explorers like baggage and still conquer an A-Rank labyrinth. And you’re telling me you’re only going to use me as a training instructor? Are you an idiot?”

“That’s too harsh….”

“…Grrrrrrgh!”

The instant I puffed out my cheeks, Michelle’s momentum collapsed.

Crackle.

The Exalted One lavishly praised me, calling me an incorrigible half-elf capable of ruling over the desires of others.

“For now…”

I smiled.

“…I have no intention of bringing Lady Michelle on explorations.”

“…Why?”

“Because they’d become far too easy.”

Michelle Brites. The Execution Spider. One of the Twelve Heroes.

At present, our Madam was simply far too powerful for the current level of the Moonlight Expedition.

Even the nameless Demon King, still suffering from the aftereffects of the sealing ritual, would likely struggle to defeat her at this point.

“Therefore…”

I smiled.

“For the time being, Lady Michelle shall shoulder the important responsibility of strengthening the Moonlight Expedition itself.”

“Ah…”

Michelle buried her face into the bed.

“I don’t wanna. That’s so boring….”

I simply continued smiling warmly at her.

Unable to withstand my gaze, Michelle squeezed her eyes shut.

“…Fine.”

“Thank you very much.”

While I cheerfully waved a V-sign, Odilon leaned back against the sofa.

A smile spread across his face.

“From now on…”

He said,

“…continue serving as the leash that keeps Mother under control.”

It was the brightest smile I’d ever seen from him.