“Well, I’ll be taking my leave first.”
“I enjoyed the lunch so much!”
“Please join us again if you like! Elena-sama?”
“Yes, of course.”
Just as Elena left the cafeteria after parting with some acquaintances she was having lunch with.
“Wa!”
“Ahh, Ara.”
She bumped into Shea, who was carrying study materials.
“Hello, it’s been a long time! I was not expecting to see you here.”
“Fufu, long time right? Haven’t we met like this before?”
“Yes, we have.”
“What are you doing here today? With all the study materials at this hour.”
She looked down and asked a question while looking at the study material she was interested in.
“Ahh… I had some questions about a class, so I consulted with my teacher.”
“I see. You’re amazing as always.”
While performing the duties of a valet, if there was something she didn’t understand, she would take the trouble to ask about it.
“But, why don’t you be a little kinder to yourself? You’ve got all this free time, don’t you?”
“No, no! I’m free to do what I want, so I have to make the most of it!”
“That’s true, but isn’t resting your body one way to make the most of it? Or did Beret say something to you?”
“N-no! I’m doing this because I want to.”
“It’s not in your best interest to whip your body when it’s tired, is it?”
Elena blinked widely at this point.
She noticed one thing. Shea’s eyes were shining brightly.
“Ehh? You really aren’t tired?”
“Yes! It’s thanks to Beret-sama… ehehehe.”
“Thanks to Beret…? I wonder if I can ask you about that in a different place. I’m very curious.”
“Of course!”
They were in front of the cafeteria. They decided that it was not appropriate to have a long talk there and moved on.
∮
Then they moved into the wide hallway to resume the conversation.
“So, how come you aren’t tired, Shea? It must be hard to work while juggling with school work, isn’t it?”
“What can I say, I’m not busy at all right now. I’m even confident that I’m the most comfortable of all the maids of honor…”
It was Shea, who laid her small hands on top of each other and made an apologetic smile.
“Has Elena-sama heard anything? From Beret-sama?”
“No, I haven’t heard anything. He never tells anyone, even when he does something praiseworthy.”
“Oh, so Beret-sama is not like that just to me, is he? He’s like, ‘I’m just doing what I’m supposed to do,’ isn’t he?”
“Yes, that’s right! He’s being weirdly cool…”
“He’s so cool and dignified, right?”
“I-I didn’t say that. I hate people who hide their good qualities.”
Elena swore, but Shea, who was well aware of the compliment, returned to the main topic with a pleased look on her face.
“The reason I’m not tired is because Beret-sama has changed his principles.”
“Principles?”
“Yes. First of all, if I don’t finish my assignments at the school, I have to work on them before my work as a valet. Secondly, when Beret-sama goes into his bedroom, that marks it as my free time from there.”
“Ehh? So you’re saying that your schoolwork takes priority and he has cut back on the amount of work you do, Shea? Normally, the maid of honor’s work comes first, and she has to keep working until their master is asleep, right?”
“That’s true!”
Shea was bragging very fondly about Beret. She continued her words with the glee of a child who had received a stuffed animal.
“Elena-sama! What do you think will happen… if I continue doing my job in my free time…!?”
“Will Beret praise you?”
“No, Beret-sama will be angry!”
“Ehh? He’ll be angry?”?
“Yes! ‘You can do the remaining work tomorrow, go take a break’ is what he said!”
Shea was not sarcastic. He was concerned about her health. She had an overflowing smile on her face because she knows this.
And the reporting had not stopped yet.
“And besides, the next morning, the places I left undone are clean!”
“You mean Beret is doing the rest of the cleaning…?”
“Beret-sama always says, ‘I don’t know,’ but he gets a little restless when I ask him about it.”
“Huh. A dumb culprit. Shea must be very proud of her master.”
“Ehehe, I’m really proud… Whenever I feel like I’m having a hard time, Beret-sama immediately goes to the bedroom. He watches me very closely.”
She nodded happily and squinted shyly.
“He’s doing some good things, but he’s also doing some unorthodox things….that Beret. Do your classmates know about that, Shea?”
“I answer questions when they ask, so yes.”
“Then I guess he’s getting popular among the servants, right? That Beret.”
“Yes. When I talk about Beret-sama, about 10 people gather!”
“T-That’s a lot!”
“Yes! Few of my classmates believe the rumors about Beret-sama!”
“…”
Shea said it as a matter of course, but it was Elena who instantly understood the logic of the story.
“It’s because of Shea’s personality. Absolutely. You’re so happy and grinning like ‘Nyaa Nyaa ehehe’ and boasting, ‘My master is awesome!’ right? That’s believable. As expected.”
“I’m not grinning like that.”
“You’re lying. Your face is melting even now.”
“!!”
This was like being told that you have a ‘sloppy face’.
Shea then hid her face with her yellowish-white hair to avoid being seen by others.
“Then let me ask you one such question. I’d like to get your perspective on this, Shea.”
“Wh-what…?”
“It’s Beret, and he’s going on a date during the holiday. I heard he’ll be together with Miss Luna.”
“a..u.. haaa!?…?”
The person who told Beret that “Luna-sama doesn’t play” thus learned about the situation.