The Law of Attraction, or Perhaps Not?
"Whoa, is it morning already..."
Nairin chuckled softly as she watched the woman still lying in bed, wriggling to pull the duvet up to her eyes. The disheveled appearance from the night before was gone; in the mirror stood a blue-haired knight who was, by any measure, captivating. She had already finished grooming herself and was ready to head to work. She gently stroked the hair of her partner, who was still lost in the haze of sleep, and planted a light kiss on her forehead.
"I'm heading out. Get some rest."
"Ngh..."
Leaving behind her partner, who waved a hand weakly with a voice drained by exhaustion, Nairin left for work. "Phew..." Breathing in the crisp morning air, which was starting to turn chilly, felt like it washed away the last remnants of sleepiness.
It had already been a month since Nairin was officially assigned to the security team.
"Oh my, are you alright?"
"Oh, yes...! Thank you!"
"Did you get hurt anywhere?"
"Thanks to you catching me so quickly. *Hehe*, it’s a newly bought dress, so I wasn't used to it and almost tripped."
"I see. If you need, I can accompany you all the way inside. How about that?"
"Then, please do."
She saved young ladies who were about to trip over their own dresses. She also caught people who insisted on smoking despite the clear "No Smoking" signs in the restaurant.
"I'm sorry, but smoking is not permitted here."
"Oh, ahem..."
"If you need, shall I guide you to the smoking area?"
"Hmm, no, it's fine. I shall be careful from now on."
"Since there are other guests present, I would appreciate it if you could refrain from excessive displays of affection."
"Ah, oh, right..."
"I told you not to do that...!"
She even curbed couples who were busy exchanging saliva in the corner, thinking no one could see them. She also acted as a bridge for guests who had requests that were too personal or embarrassing to voice comfortably.
Seeing her perform even better than I had expected put my mind at ease. They say the first button is the most important, don't they? She had built the security team—which had to be started from scratch—perfectly. I didn't know much about security, so I had delegated full authority to Shion and Nairin. That decision had been correct.
Nairin had utilized her experience from the Knights Order to flesh out what had previously been just a skeleton crew. How many people were needed, how the shifts should be handled, and what attitude to take toward guests—it was no exaggeration to say she had built it all from zero. It also seemed like she had grown closer to Shion, whom she would be seeing often.
"What do you think of this? It looks good to me..."
"Hmm, if it's for Director Arcelia Rosenheim to wear... I think this one would be better."
"Oh, really?"
"Yes. This one matches the Director's skin tone and the accessories she usually enjoys wearing much better."
Above all, since Nairin also liked women, it was a huge advantage to have someone to ask when choosing gifts for Arcelia.
"Young Master? I'm here too, so why go through the trouble of asking Team Leader Nairin..."
"Shion, you just say everything I pick is fine."
"...It is something the Young Master picked, so naturally, wouldn't it be?"
Seeing Shion tilt her head as if asking what the problem was, I found myself reflecting on how she ended up like this. She didn't seem like this when she was younger...
"So, how can I get objective advice?"
"..."
She would say everything was good unless it was at the level of, 'Are you giving this as a gift? Did you hurt your eyes?' I felt sorry for Shion, but her input wasn't much help as a reference. It was better to ask Nairin, who was well-versed in meeting women and was a woman herself.
Perhaps Shion realized this, as she looked sullen and her ears even drooped.
"And I can't ask you about the gift I'm going to give you, either."
"That, too, is true...!"
At my words, she recovered instantly, her tail swaying softly as if she were in a good mood. Seeing her still wearing the ring I gave her last time, I thought I should have taken better care of her sooner. As I got used to her being close by, I sometimes forgot that Shion was also one of my most precious people.
"I'm not one to talk, but it seems the President has also met quite a few women."
"Does it look like that?"
"Yes, very much so."
"Hmm... I think it's just because I've been with Shion for over 10 years."
"10 years?"
"That is correct. It has been 15 years, 3 months, and 12 days since I met the Young Master..."
Seeing Shion, who remembered even the exact number of days, Nairin blinked and then slid back a step. She seemed overwhelmed by Shion's intensity.
"Right, right. Let's leave it at that."
I clapped my hands lightly to get their attention. "Nairin, you must have adapted well after working for a month now. Right?"
"Yes. Thanks to the Chief Secretary's help, I was able to adapt quickly."
"Good. Then it's fine for Nairin to attend the monthly regular meeting from now on."
"The regular meeting, you say?"
"The meeting held once a month. You've heard of it, right?"
"Yes."
"When it was held last month, the security team was still new and the framework wasn't fully set, so you sat it out."
As I leaned forward and crossed my legs, Nairin nodded while maintaining an 'at ease' posture. No, there was no need to go that far.
"Based on what I've observed until today, I've judged that you can function properly as a team in our company."
"Thank you for seeing it that way."
"It's thanks to the security team doing well."
I waved my hand dismissively and got to the point. Things like this shouldn't be dragged out.
"The conclusion is that Nairin must attend the meeting this Saturday as the representative of the security team."
"Understood."
"Shion will explain the details, so just listen to her."
When I met Shion's eyes, she nodded as if to say, 'Leave it to me.' Hmm, it's certainly nice to be able to communicate just by looking at each other's eyes.
"Do you have any prior engagements this weekend?"
"N-no."
"It looks like you do?"
"It's not so much a prior engagement, but, well..."
"Ah, I understand. It won't take long anyway, so don't worry too much about it."
"Yes."
"Since I'm calling you in on the weekend, there will be extra pay, so keep that in mind."
I tapped the desk with my fingers and thought. "If it looks like it'll take a long time, I'll let you leave early on Sunday."
"Thank you!"
"Good. Then see you on the weekend."
I dismissed them, deciding to ask about any requests heard from guests or improvements felt in the field during the meeting. I also had to go for my shift change.
"Young Master, shouldn't we hire more concierges besides Ms. Delphi?"
"It's not easy, since we can't just hire anyone."
"...I will think more about whether there is a good way."
"I'd appreciate that. But is there anything more we can offer beyond this?"
The salary was already generous, and the benefits were good, but there were no applicants. To be precise, it meant there was no one who satisfied Shion's and my standards.
"Is it perhaps because the document with the Imperial seal is hanging right next to us?"
Even if they were of noble birth, most applicants lacked titles, so they felt burdened by the high-ranking guests. Once it became known that there was always a room kept empty for the Imperial family on the top floor, the number of applicants dropped sharply.
"If they don't have the guts for that much, how could they skillfully welcome the guests who come to our hotel?"
"That's true, too. It's not like their heads will fly off just because things go wrong."
"...Still, you are probably the only one who can drink with a knight belonging to the Dark Moon Order while smiling, Young Master."
"Oh, really? She's just quiet, but she's a better person than I thought."
Well, can you feel an aura or something? To me, she's just a boring person who has no hobbies other than drinking. ...Though I was a bit surprised when she suddenly entered the room while hiding her presence.
Another peaceful night shift. After seeing off Arcelia, who was leaving work earlier, and Shion, who had also clocked out, I was watching the counter by myself. The security team was on a 4-shift rotation, so they were still around, but I couldn't just call over the kids who were working hard and tell them to chat because I was bored.
Since the busy hours had passed, it was natural for things to be quiet. There were many guests who visited at night, but most checked in during the day or arrived by dinner time at the latest. They could drink at the bar in the hotel basement, or if that didn't work, they could order room service. If they wanted to meet people at a banquet, they could go to the banquet hall, which was open 365 days a year.
Thanks to that, it was always quiet at this late hour—or should I call it dawn, since midnight had long passed? It was always empty at this time.
"The night shift is always the most relaxed at this hour."
I checked the register again to see if there was anything to worry about, but everything had already been processed.
"Are requests for sheet changes the most common..."
Thinking about the laundry room, which was already running at full capacity, I wondered if I should expand it.
"Still, somehow, if I manage it well, it should work out."
Laundry was possible with magic, but the amount of laundry generated by the hotel was enormous, even for just a single day. Doing all of that with magic?
"How can I make this efficient..."
As I was pondering while spinning my pen, the revolving door turned, and a familiar face of a guest entered my field of vision.
"Oh my, are you on night shift again today?"
It was Asteria, who had become our hotel's first long-term guest. Because her specialty and hobby was star-gazing, she occasionally appeared in the middle of the night. She was mostly holed up in her room, saying she would live leisurely until the new observatory was completed. It wouldn't be strange if you thought of it as a 'hotel-cation'.
"We haven't been able to hire a concierge staff member, you see."
"*Hehe*, are you expecting a staff member like that child who handles the day shift?"
"Is my standard too high?"
"Wouldn't it be difficult unless it's someone at that child's level?"
"Haa... I suppose so."
As I sighed and lowered my head, Asteria approached and leaned her body against the counter. Wondering what it was, I lifted my head, and eyes like sparkling starlight filled my vision.
"...Is there something you need?"
As I asked while slightly pulling my neck back, she curled up the corners of her lips.
"Soon, a special connection is scheduled to arrive."
"Oh, did the flow of the stars tonight say so?"
"Well, what do you think? Will it be a good connection, or a bad one? Would you like to guess?"
Her eyebrows, curving into a smile, drew a graceful arc. Ha, damn. But why do I feel so uneasy?