I had crossed paths with Mikumo Akane-san before, and her Kansai dialect and leopard print clothing left a lasting impression on me. Since she played the role of Hero before Kaori-san, I was a little nervous because she was definitely older than me.
A few moments later, I heard a knock at the door and Anima entered with Mikumo Akane-san and another woman with chestnut-colored, semi-long hair, wearing a maid uniform.
Mikumo Akane-san wasn’t dressed in the leopard print outfit I had seen before, but in a clean suit, and although she had a rather petite figure, she looked quite presentable.
I guess she really would wear a suit when she does business huh…… As such a thought popped into my mind, I got up from the sofa and greeted her.
[It’s nice to meet you, I’m Miyama Kaito. Thank you for coming all the way here today.][No, it’s us who should thank you for inviting us. I’m Mikumo Akane. This is Frau, my escort and secretary.]
[I’m pleased to make your acquaintance……]
……Arehh? She doesn’t speak with that Kansai dialect anymore? Also, the emotion I feel with my Sympathy Magic…… She seemed to be nervous?
[Let’s not talk while standing up, so please have a seat. Ahh, it’s okay if you use a casual tone. I’m younger than you anyway……]
[……Fumu…… Hmmm. Well, if that’s what you say. Ahh, then you can also call me by my name, Akane. I’ll also call you Kaito.]
[Yes.]
At my words, Akane-san seemed to be thinking for a moment, and then nodding once, she stopped speaking with her current tone. As I had urged, we sat down on the sofa facing each other, while Frau-san stood behind Akane-san.[Well then, Master. I will take my leave.]
[Unnn. Thanks, Anima.]
I had Anima guide Akane-san here because they were acquainted with each other, but since Anima also had work to do, she couldn’t stay and chat with us.
As I was thanking Anima, who left with a bow, I saw Frau-san had brought her face close to Akane-san’s ear, and they seemed to be talking to each other.
[……Chairman, is it alright to be that casual?]
[I think it’s alright. He seemed like a nice child at a glance, so I don’t think he would be put off by something like this.]
I couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but there was no particular point in asking about it, so I just sat down on the sofa too. At that moment, there was a knock at the door of the room, and Illness-san brought in tea, as I had requested in advance.
But then, something unexpected happened. As soon as Illness-san entered the room, for some reason…… Frau-san fell to her knees.
[……This is…… impossible……]
[Wait, Frau? What’s the matter?]
[A- Are you alright?]
Akane-san and I called out to her, but Frau, shivering as she looked at Illness-san, only muttered.
[……Maid Power…… 100000…… No, it’s much higher than that…… Much higher than someone like me can measure……]
[ [ …… ] ]
I wondered if something happened, but the words she said made me stiffen. Ahh, Maid Power huh…… Unnn. Must be that……. I mean, she’s just using that word as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world, but is Maid Power actually a commonly known term in this world, not just something used by those involved in that crazy Maid logic? Seriously, what the heck is going on in this world……
[F- For a maid like her to actually exist…… I- I can’t win against her…… As a maid…… she’s just on a different level……]
[……The heck are maid levels?]
[……What in the world are maid levels?]
It seems that she was shuddering at the extremely high level of Illness-san’s Maid Power…… Is Maid Power like those power levels in those battle mangas?
I’m not really sure what was going on, but it seems that it wasn’t only me who was thinking like this, as Akane-san also doesn’t seem to be able to keep up with the situation, muttering the exact same thing at almost the same time, to which the both of us looked at each other.
And just like that, Akane-san and I shook hands. Unnn, I’m really relieved…… Seeing that Akane-san, who should have been in this world much longer than me, was also taken aback by the words “Maid Power” and all that other stuff, I’m seriously relieved.
[……Hey, Kaito. You understand them?]
[I’ve had it explained to me a few times by people I know, and I couldn’t understand it…… nor do I want to understand it.]
[Should’ve known.]
[However, I feel like their ideology has been infecting me lately and I really dislike it.]
[I get what you mean~~ They talk about it as if it were common sense…… and before I know it, I’m starting to think that “I guess that’s just how things are”, and I kinda dislike it.]
Strangely, in this one moment, I felt far more at ease with Akane-san than I had been a moment before. Well, thinking that this was because of some meaningless connection with Maid Power…… I kinda dislike this……
<Afterword>
Makina : [My children! Today, Mother is going to share with you a little secret story that might be a little fun to read over.]
Serious-senpai : [Eh? What’s with that, all of a sudden……]
Makina : [What I’m referring to this time is about Alice and the False Phantasmal King Pandora in the Six Kings Arc. In the Six Kings Arc, rather than have her clone take that role, Alice instead had Pandora act as the False Phantasmal King. This is some kind of hint to my beloved child, but it also confirms the difference in the two’s skill with their Recognition Inhibition Magic.]
Serious-senpai : [Hmmm, Alice is a master in Recognition Inhibition Magic that can deceive even the Six Kings and the Supreme Gods, right?]
Makina : [Unnn. Alice may be capable of that, but Pandora is unfortunately not as good as Alice. Of course, Pandora is still quite powerful, as she is the Phantasmal King’s Head Subordinate and was called the Strongest Count-rank, but even so, High-ranking opponents would still feel something out of place with her Recognition Inhibition Magic. With that in mind, let’s review the events of the past.
① First encounter with the Phantasmal King after defeating the War King’s subordinates
Makina : [In this scene, both Bacchus and Ein didn’t recognize “Alice = Shalltear”. What I want you to notice is that afterwards…… Pandora, the False Phantasmal King, “appeared after Ein was gone”. This was done because Ein would likely feel that something was out of place.]
② Megiddo’s appearance at Lilia’s mansion
Makina : [Here, neither Megiddo nor Chronois realized that Alice was disguised as Kuromueina, and only my beloved child did.]
③ A scene newly written in the Light Novel
Makina : [Actually, in the Light Novel, the scene where Alice kidnaps my beloved child, a new scene where Ozma, Illness and the False Phantasmal King Pandora appeared has been written, and the Author seemed to have been quite particular with this scene…… Illness, who is lower in rank than Pandora, doesn’t seem to have noticed it, but Ozma “is asking questions because he felt something was out of place with the way the Phantasmal King speaks”. If they had kept on talking, there’s a good chance that Ozma would have noticed.]
④ The scene where Alice’s true identity is revealed
Makina : [Here too, even if there was a Supreme God in that scene, they weren’t aware of her identity. However, when the False Phantasmal King Pandora showed up, Chronois, who is much more powerful than her, “felt something out of place with her tone and she questioned her about it”, right? In fact, there’s a description like that where a superior opponent is about to notice it.]
Serious-senpai : [Heehhh…… So, why are you even talking about that now?]
Makina : [I just wanna have a scene for myself!]
Serious-senpai : [……You sure are carefree.]
