The Demon King's Descent
The customers swarmed in the moment I opened the shop door. At first I had no idea what was going on. But of course—it turned out the rumor that Charlene had driven off Sephirot had spread like wildfire, and now everyone was flooding the place.
“Is that the maid lady? No way. That delicate-looking girl actually beat the crap out of that evil bastard?”
“Hey, miss! Let’s grab a drink together!”
“Maid lady, I wish to confess my burning passion to you. Please stop working here and—”
“Big sis maid, look at me for a second. If I worked here too, it’d be fine even during the war, right?”
Because of all the people crowding around her, Charlene couldn’t even do her job properly. In the end, she climbed straight onto a table and shouted.
When Charlene yelled in that loud voice, every eye in the room instantly locked onto her.
The noisy interior fell deathly silent the moment those words left her mouth. Her tone had been gentle, but the warning behind it was crystal clear.
Gulp. Even I swallowed hard at the threat.
Luckily the warning worked. After that, the number of customers trying to chat her up for no reason dropped dramatically.
I handed her the cookies I’d just baked and said, “Our teahouse maid sure is popular.”
“Master? Save the pointless chatter until after we close. For now, just bring out the snacks and tea. We’ve got customers piling up.”
Hmm. More customers definitely wasn’t a bad thing. Sales had been climbing lately and I was paying off my debts nicely. If only this damn war would end soon…
While we were busy working, a strangely familiar voice drifted in from the entrance.
“The teahouse is quite lively today. Is it because the maid here is both strong and beautiful?”
Huh? That voice…?
I poked my head out toward the table area and nearly jumped out of my skin.
“P-Princess Mage?”
What was the princess doing here again? I rushed over and bowed deeply.
“Y-Your Highness, what brings you to this humble—”
“I came for a cup of tea. There are rather a lot of customers, though. Would it be all right if I asked the others to leave?”
Ugh… I couldn’t exactly refuse. Not when the princess herself was a customer. She must have read the reluctance on my face, because she calmly added,
“Don’t worry. I’ll pay more than enough to compensate.”
Just then Charlene appeared, wiping her hands on her apron.
“My, my. What an honored guest we have. What brings Your Highness to a place like this?”
There were definite thorns in Charlene’s voice.
“Charlene? Nice to see you. Though your tone doesn’t exactly sound welcoming. Is this how this teahouse treats its guests?”
“Not at all. It’s just that a noble person like yourself keeps visiting such a shabby place…”
“No need to worry. Today I came specifically to see Kailon.”
“Pardon?”
Charlene looked genuinely surprised for once. In the meantime, the princess’s escort knights began clearing out the other customers. Once the knights set the mood, everyone else scrambled out of the shop in a hurry.
Hmm. At least this gave me a chance to rest for a bit.
“Charlene, why don’t you go rest upstairs for a while? I have something to discuss with Kailon.”
When Princess Mage smiled sweetly and said that, Charlene let out a disgruntled “Hmph” and headed up to the second floor.
“Kailon. Are you getting along well with Charlene?”
“Huh? Haha… well, we manage somehow… May I ask why you wanted to see me…?”
“Because you’re Charlene’s master, of course.”
Master? I scratched my cheek and answered seriously.
“That’s just something Charlene decided to call me on her own. I’m really nothing more than her employer…”
“No. It seems Charlene genuinely considers you her master.”
“Excuse me?”
“Women understand these things.”
What? While I tilted my head in confusion, Princess Mage took a small sip of tea and continued.
“Right now, our empire—our imperial family—needs Charlene’s power more than anything. Kailon, please persuade her to lend that power to our side.”
“Wouldn’t it be faster if you spoke to her directly? How could I possibly—”
“I already told you. You are Charlene’s master. Your will matters more to her than her own. So? I’ll offer suitable compensation, of course.”
Hmm… It was true that I had pulled Charlene out of that ice, but… decisions like this should be left to Charlene herself. It felt ridiculous for me to be ordering her around.
“I think it would be best to respect Charlene’s own wishes. I’m just the guy who happened to hire her—”
“Why do you think Charlene insists on working here?”
“Pardon?”
Princess Mage, who had been idly touching her teacup, looked at me with clear, sparkling eyes.
“With Charlene’s looks and power, she could live comfortably for the rest of her life without ever working again. So why would someone like her willingly become the maid of your little teahouse?”
“W-well… I never really thought about it deeply—”
“It’s a matter between man and woman. Charlene is in love with you, Kailon.”
Wh-what?
Princess Mage gazed out the window and continued calmly.
“That’s why she will gladly follow whatever decision you make. Kailon?”
Suddenly the princess stood up and stepped beside the table. Then she bowed her head deeply toward me.
“Y-Your Highness!”
What the—? I hurriedly tried to stop her.
“Please. Our imperial family desperately needs Charlene right now.”
Her eyes were glistening with unshed tears. If the princess suddenly acted like this…
Just as a heavy silence fell over us—
-BOOM!!
A tremendous roar echoed from far away. What now?
While I stood there stunned, Princess Mage dashed outside. Sensing that something was very wrong, I followed right after her.
The moment we stepped out, the sky above was thick with dark clouds.
Th-that…?
-Crackle! Boom!
Black magical energy was gathering in the sky that looked ready to pour rain at any moment. Not just me and the princess—every single person on the street had stopped in their tracks, staring up at the sky in a daze.
“What incredible magical power.”
Someone placed a hand on my shoulder. The familiar voice belonged to Charlene.
“Charlene! Do you know what this phenomenon is?”
When I asked, she swallowed hard and answered while staring seriously at the sky.
“It’s the magical energy of the Black Dragon King, Apocryon. Even I’ve never faced a Demon King’s power before.”
“Then…?”
“It looks like the Demon King will appear nearby very soon. That’s the trace of a spatial summoning spell… or rather, long-distance teleportation magic unfolding in the sky over there.”
What the hell?
“Charlene! I beg you! Please stop Apocryon! Please?”
Suddenly Princess Mage grabbed both of Charlene’s hands with a desperate expression.
“Why should I…”
Charlene avoided the princess’s gaze and took a step back.
“Hey, Charlene? If Apocryon destroys this city, won’t our teahouse get wrecked too?”
When I asked while breaking out in a cold sweat, Charlene thought for a moment before nodding.
“Probably. But if Apocryon just leaves on his own, I won’t have to fight him, right?”
Huh? What?
“Look, Charlene. I don’t think a Demon King who came all the way here is just going to turn around and leave.”
“The imperial family has competent negotiators. Master? Let’s mind our own business and keep running the shop. The higher-ups will take care of the Demon King. Isn’t that what we pay taxes for?”
With that, Charlene spun around indifferently and walked back into the teahouse.
What the—? Was this girl overestimating us humans? Or was she sulking?
She seemed upset that I had sent her upstairs earlier so I could talk with the princess alone. While I stood there opening and closing my mouth in confusion, Princess Mage suddenly stepped in front of me.
“Kailon?”
“Yes?”
Ugh. Now what?
“You don’t want to die young either, do you? Go convince Charlene. Right now.”
The princess’s eyes suddenly blazed with fury and irritation. I’d thought she was a gentle, pure-hearted princess, but… this was her true nature coming out.
Tsk. Guess I had no choice.
I hurried after Charlene and entered the teahouse.
“Charlene! This is no time to be acting so carefree—”
“You were having such a nice chat with the princess earlier. Didn’t she tell you how to handle this?”
Charlene was mopping the floor with a cold mutter.
What the—? Was this idiot grim reaper actually jealous?
Ugh… If only I had power like Charlene, I wouldn’t have to go through all this trouble.
I quickly stepped in front of her and forced a bright smile.
“Charlene? We can talk about trivial things later. Right now a Demon King is about to show up, so we need to do something, don’t we? The maid of our teahouse listens to her employer, right? Yeah?”
Charlene stopped mopping, wiped sweat from her brow with the back of her hand, and answered.
“Master. I don’t think I can win this time.”
What?
“Wh-what? You’re a grim reaper, aren’t you? You’re supposed to be strong!”
“Right now I’m a grim reaper using a human body. In my original form I could blow away a Demon King’s underling with one hit, but I’m human at the moment. What can I do?”
Ugh. Was she serious? But why was she so calm about it? We could all die to Apocryon!
“Are you for real, Charlene?”
“Yeah. I’d have to fight to know for sure… but I think I’d lose.”
Just then a familiar voice came from the teahouse entrance.
“Even so, Charlene, I beg you.”
Princess Mage? Wait, had she been listening to our entire conversation?
The princess slowly approached us and bowed deeply before Charlene.
“Charlene. I know this is an unreasonable request. Still, please stop him. At least try.”
This bow was far more serious and respectful than the one she had given me earlier. I could feel that she had cast aside all pride and status to make this plea.
Whew… At least it seemed the princess hadn’t heard the part about Charlene being a grim reaper.
Charlene scratched her cheek with a slender finger before answering.
“Then could you grant me one request, Your Highness?”
“Yes? What is it?”
“Last time when I was chasing off that Sephirot guy, one of my maid uniforms got completely torn. Could you prepare a new one for me later? I think I’ll need to change before heading out today.”
“Pardon?”
What the hell? Was she serious?
Charlene just kept scratching her cheek while avoiding the princess’s gaze. Princess Mage looked stunned for a moment, then let out a small laugh.
“As many as you want.”
In front of the walls of Marenost.
The magical energy that had been crackling between the heavily overcast storm clouds finally revealed its true form.
-Crackle… fizz… pop… BOOM!!
A massive explosion. Once the dust settled, a man of enormous stature appeared. And there stood Apocryon, wearing a black coat with a huge sword resting on his shoulder.
As Apocryon took a few steps forward, he spotted a small figure crouched down tying her shoelaces on the other side.
It was Charlene. Today she wasn’t wearing her maid uniform. After finishing her laces, she stood up.
“You look dumber than I expected, Apocryon.”
At Charlene’s words, Apocryon let out a booming laugh.
“So you’re the brazen little lady who defeated Sephirot.”
Charlene blinked her crimson eyes and replied,
“If I told you to just turn around and leave right now… you wouldn’t listen, would you?”
Apocryon slammed his massive greatsword into the ground with all his strength.
-KUUUUUUUUUUNG! KWAAAAAAAANG!
The earth shook violently and split open in a straight line with a deafening roar.
“I was summoned to destroy the human realm.”
Charlene let out a small sigh and reached out her hand to summon her enormous scythe.
“Living as an ordinary teahouse maid is really hard, Master.”
She muttered those words quietly.