Side: Yuki
Day three since the allied army began its march.
There is only one day left until Ratz and the advance team reach the Demon King's Castle. The main army is progressing without a hitch; they're just about to reach the hidden route leading from Roshure toward the castle.
From here on, they would be entering monster territory, so their marching speed would drop slightly. However, since Slakichi-san had already cleared the path ahead, there shouldn't be any major problems unless something unexpected happened.
Liliana and Elju were dutifully marching with the army. Well, they sneak back here every night through the hidden gate to sleep. After all, there's always the risk of assassination.
Oh, and as for me, I left the marching to the Doppel. Just walking all day sounded boring.
"Haaah, I'm so free today."
Yes, I dumped my military work onto Steve.
Seraria and the others are busy with their usual work. Ria is doing her final training session with Derieu, since the raid on the Demon King's Castle is the day after tomorrow.
Tomorrow, all members participating in the castle raid were scheduled to take the day off to rest. That's why everyone was cramming work in today. Well, if I said, "Let's play together," they'd immediately come along, but I didn't want to disturb them.
"...To have this much free time is actually pretty rare."
After breakfast, I washed the dishes, sent everyone off, and was now leisurely drinking tea.
Sitting on the veranda with the morning sunlight streaming in felt pleasantly warm.
Even if I wanted to go to school, I was technically supposed to be accompanying the army, so casually going outside would be bad.
The military headquarters was fine since only people who knew I was a monster worked there, but I couldn't go there either because I wanted Steve to grow into his role.
"It's just past ten, huh..."
I thought about doing the laundry, but Killue told me, "Please relax on your day off, Yuki-sama," so I wasn't even allowed to hang the clothes. Well, everyone has their own preferences for underwear, so having me touch them might be a bit awkward anyway.
...Maybe I should invite Killue out somewhere?
She's always taking care of the inn, and lately she's been the main one handling cleaning, laundry, and cooking. I thought she must be busy, but she said, "Thanks to excellent tools like the washing machine and kitchen appliances, it's really not a problem at all."
Compared to the civilization on this continent, I suppose she's right.
Washing by hand and starting a fire with firewood for the kitchen is a massive pain. As for cleaning, this inn has an auto-purification system that handles fine dust, and if you put trash in the large bins, it just disappears.
Since it would be horrifying if children or animals accidentally fell in, living things are excluded from the disposal system... That feature once backfired when Tori went to throw out trash and a bunch of cockroaches came flying out, nearly destroying her mentally.
"Alright, let's invite Killue out."
I carried my tea to the kitchen and went looking for her.
Hm? She wasn't in her room or the banquet hall. The laundry was already finished...
Ah, there she is.
"Fuh! hah!!"
With the laundry finished, Killue was now practicing with knives.
Due to her position as Sheila's maid, she can't carry long weapons like Qual does, so she specializes in knives—things that can be used as concealed weapons. Like the other wives, her level should already be in the 200s from leveling, yet the expression she wore while training remained deadly serious.
"Killue."
"Ah, Yuki-sama."
The instant I called out to her, she stopped training and turned toward me.
"Do you always train after you finish work?"
"Yes. My assistance for Sheila-sama doesn't begin until the afternoon, so I train here as soon as the laundry is done."
"Do you have any hobbies? You know, for fun?"
"Hobbies? I have no time to spare for idle play or amusements; if I have such time, I prefer to use it to temper myself. But if I had to say, it would be reading. I study what I wish to learn before bed or during breaks."
"Books, huh. I see. Is that where the stories you tell Aslin and Filia come from?"
"Yes. I am not educated enough to invent stories from scratch, unfortunately."
"I see, I see. In that case... Killue, would you spend the day with me?"
Whoops, whoops.
I could talk to her after inviting her. Wasting time standing here wasn't a good idea.
"Eh? Ah, but Sheila-sama..."
"Sheila, can I borrow Killue for the day?"
『Of course. Killue is your wife too, Yuki-san. Please, dote on her to your heart's content.』
"Alright, there you have it. Let's go, Killue."
I took Killue's hand. It was a bit early for lunch, so we decided to take a stroll first.
Our destination: the park in the residential district I built. Since it's a weekday, there aren't many people. It's only been about half a month since the country was founded; the residents are mostly former refugees who are able to work, so the park only held a few elderly people and those enjoying a day off.
"So, continuing from what we were talking about at the house—if you learn Japanese, you can read even more books."
"Japanese? Your homeland's language, Yuki-sama?"
"Yeah. You might have seen them briefly, but my country is overflowing with books. We have so many more varieties compared to here."
"I see. But mastering Japanese would surely take a long time..."
"If I taught you normally, yeah. But I can cheat with DP. The other wives have already used DP to get the skill and master Japanese; they're already devouring all sorts of books."
"Is it truly alright? For me to learn your native tongue?"
"I don't mind. Part of me wants you to know about my country, and Sheila has already learned it. I'm sorry the timing wasn't right for you and I'm late in offering."
"No, I am only grateful. I have no reason to be angry."
Having received her consent, we sat on a bench, and I used DP to grant Killue the Japanese language skill.
"Ngh...!? W-What a complex language. Hiragana, Katakana, Kanji, and... loanwords?"
"Ah, did it hurt? Sorry. The sheer volume of information tends to put a strain on the brain."
"No, it's fine. To think one can master Japanese with just this... the power of a Dungeon Master is truly marvelous."
"For now, why don't you see if you can read this?"
I handed her a light novel I'd brought from home.
"What is this?"
"It's a Japanese book. A story about someone who went to another world, much like I did."
"Oh, so there were others who were able to return?"
"...Maybe."
"?"
Even if I call it a fictional story, this place is essentially a fictional world to me. It's hard to explain.
"It's like a record of that person's adventures. It's one of the stories I use as a reference."
"I see, how wonderful. To leave a record and prepare for what's to come."
Killue looked at the book with sparkling eyes. Man, she's taking this seriously.
"Anyway, just have a look. I want to make sure you can actually read it first."
"Ah, yes."
Killue nervously flipped the page and followed the characters with her eyes.
"I can read it. I can really read it!!"
"Great. Then keep that book. There are sequels, so if you like it, you can read more. If you don't like it, you don't have to force yourself. I have plenty of others."
"It feels like such a luxury... but thank you very much."
"Well then, I'm starting to get hungry. Let's eat out."
I took Killue to the Experimental Hall, where it was safe for me to show my face.
* * *
"Um, is it really alright for just the two of us?"
"It's fine. Everyone usually has different lunch schedules anyway, right?"
"Yes, but... to have you all to myself like this, Yuki-sama..."
"It's fine, really. Let's just enjoy ourselves."
"Yes!! Then, what shall we order?"
"Let's see. I came up with most of the menu items myself. Is there anything you'd like to try, Killue?"
I held the menu out so Killue could see. As we both leaned in to look, our shoulders naturally touched.
"Hmm... Oh? Is this pasta? Did you teach them this?"
"Yeah, it was popular at home, so I gave the recipe here. If it goes well, we might open a dedicated pasta shop."
"A specialty shop? Certainly, with this variety, that would work. In that case... I'll have this Japanese-style Pasta with Mushrooms. I didn't get to eat it the other day."
"Got it. Then I'll have the Caesar salad and the Salmon and Ikura pasta. Excuse me! We'd like to order!"
"Comin', General!"
"This, this, the salad, and this one for dessert."
"You got it. Comin' right up."
The waiter headed back to the kitchen.
"Dessert?"
"Yeah. I ordered something I suggested after I saw it finally made it onto the menu. Look forward to it."
"Yes."
We enjoyed our pasta, and finally, the after-dinner treat arrived.
"T-This is!?"
Killue stared at the object in front of her, trembling with shock. Well, it's a girl thing, I guess.
"It's called a Parfait."
"Pa-fey!?"
"I think the word comes from 'perfect.' Basically, the perfect form of sweets. Or rather, it's a dessert that says, 'I put a bunch of different sweets together!'"
"C-Could it be... this white mass in the center is..."
"Yeah, it's the vanilla ice cream you like."
"!!"
Her eyes wobbled with astonishment.
"This one is called a Strawberry Parfait. It's made using strawberries, which you also like, as the main theme."
"Strawberries as the main!? What luxury!!"
"As you can see, on top of the vanilla ice cream, there are sliced strawberries, and the whole thing is surrounded by quartered strawberries. The sauce is also strawberry, designed so you can taste the fruit even with the vanilla base."
"A-Ahh..."
"Well, it wouldn't look as good on its own, so I had them stick in some long baked biscuits. You can use them to scoop up the ice cream and eat it that way too."
"This is... a work of art. This is culinary art no matter how you look at it!!"
Huh? I thought she'd be happy and eat it, but she hasn't touched it. Instead, she's just staring at it in admiration.
This is bad... It's going to melt at this rate...
"By the way, there's another way to enjoy this parfait."
"Eh!?"
"It requires a specific condition."
"A condition?"
While Killue tilted her head, I casually grabbed a spoon, scooped up some ice cream and strawberry together, and brought it to her mouth.
While Killue tilted her head in confusion, I casually grabbed a spoon and scooped out a bit of the parfait. Naturally, I got both the ice cream and a strawberry at once.
"Ah! The artwork!!"
"The condition is: having someone important with you. Here, say 'ahh.'"
"Eh? But, for Yuki-sama to do that to me..."
"If you're going to complain, I'll just throw the parfait away. Is that okay? Treating a work of art so poorly?"
"Uugh... Ahh..."
Killue opened her mouth, and I popped the spoon in. She closed her lips and chewed slowly.
"I-It'sh delishush... sniff."
"Huh? You're crying!? Sorry, did it hurt? Was I too rough?"
"No. I'm just happy. So very happy."
Killue smiled through her tears, looking genuinely joyful.
"I see. Then let's finish the rest together."
"Yes!"
In no time at all, the parfait vanished into Killue's stomach.
* * *
After the meal, we chatted over tea at the Experiment Hall. Before we knew it, it was almost time for everyone else to return home.
"Well, everyone will be back soon. Shall we head home and get started on dinner?"
"Yes. Thank you so much for today."
"I might not be able to do this every week, but let's do this two or three times a month. I'm sure it'll be fun."
My words seemed to catch her off guard, as her eyes went wide, but she quickly broke into a brilliant smile.
"I would be honored to accompany you!!"
Yeah, that smile alone made the day with Killue worth it. Thinking that, I started walking toward the house, turning my back to her.
"...you."
Killue whispered something.
I was focusing on our surroundings and couldn't quite catch it.
"Did you say something?"
"No, just talking to myself."
"I see."
* * *
Side: Killue
Sheila-sama's husband.
A kind-hearted man who treats even a maid like me with the same care as his other wives... I think I understand what Ria-sama meant now.
A Hero isn't about having power, skills, or titles.
The person walking in front of me is someone who can work hard for the sake of everyone... He is the light of hope — a Hero.
That is why this feeling isn't just a duty to a master... It is the heart-felt emotion of a woman.
'Yuki-sama, I love you from the bottom of my heart.'
Sheila-sama says it's fine, but as a maid, such a statement is far beyond my station. Besides, if I said that loud enough for Yuki-sama to hear, I'd surely be added to the roster of wives immediately.
So, I will say it quietly.
"I love you."
Now, I must pull myself together.
Once we return to the inn, I must fulfill my duties as a maid!!
Since tonight is my turn... yes, I think things might get a little heated.
