A Master of Hospitality
It was a hair-trigger moment. In that instant, a top-grade mana stone flashing a vivid blue-green caught Blow's eye.
He didn't hesitate. His hand came down on it, and he drew the mana out at once. True to a stone of the highest grade, the mana moved through his body exactly as he willed it—an uncanny, almost miraculous sensation—and he chose to cast the most basic spell he knew.
⟨ Kinesis ⟩
The three barbarians began to bob upward. Whether it was the top-grade stone or his own excess, their heads shot up as if they might crack against the ceiling, and Blow poured every ounce of focus into controlling the mana.
"Wh-what is this?!"
"We're floating! Floating!"
"Young master?"
Ornn was the first of the three to grasp what was happening. He twisted around, puzzlement written plain across his face.
Blow scratched his head and, leaving them where they were, walked slowly forward.
"Haha. Stay like that for a moment. I was in a bit of a rush."
He came to a stop before a thoroughly dazed Rachel and bent at the waist as deeply as he could.
"I'm sorry, my lady. I never imagined it would come to this..."
"Been a while, hasn't it? Running into people who dare spill aura right in front of me."
"I'm sorry."
At those words Rachel seemed to come back to herself. Her brow tightened, and she shot him a sharp look.
"Feels like I've just found one more reason to kill you, Blow Deblique."
"If you're going to kill me, perhaps you could do it after we go upstairs? Haha."
Rachel's face went sullen. A moment later her arm hooked around his neck, and she yanked his head tight against her side.
"My lady!"
"Felt good, didn't it! Teasing me over communication magic!"
"When—when did I ever tease you!"
"Every time, you bastard. Every single time!"
Sophia, Rachel's escort knight, could only stare in wonder. How in the world did this man called Blow Deblique manage to answer her, line for line, even in a situation like this?
Blow's calm, thorough explanation cleared the misunderstanding between Rachel and the barbarians in no time. Once they heard what Rachel had done during the Greig incident, the barbarians were full of admiration, and Lady Rachel herself wore a smile, calling it a refreshing experience the more she thought about it.
"Even so, most people would back off the moment they saw my Black Blade."
"Even if that Black Blade split me in two, I couldn't. I owe the young master a debt."
"Right. I could feel it, you know—how thick that sincerity was. When you stood in my way. Hm?"
Rachel regarded Ornn with open interest.
Blow scratched his head, thinking something else entirely.
I only put them to work a few times, and they're calling it a debt of gratitude... Well. If a good thing is a good thing, so be it.
He put on his business face and looked from one side to the other.
A few more words passed between Ornn and Rachel. In the meantime the door of Hills opened, and Yulia came in with her confidante, Marchen.
"Lady Rachel, Young Master Blow!"
"Oh! Yulia Edfolk! It's been a while."
"You're early. I told you yesterday we should come together."
"No need. Thanks to that, I had a fine experience."
"What do you...?"
When Yulia heard what had just happened, the color drained from her face. She turned a dumbfounded look on the three barbarians standing blankly beside them.
"That's a relief."
"Why? I'm not the sort who just charges in."
"I wouldn't go that far. I'll sit beside you for now."
"The Caipol crowd is in rough shape... Did that bastard Blow infect you too?"
Rachel was smiling as if she didn't truly mind. Yulia took the seat beside her, and Blow, who had been standing there reading the room, quietly planted himself in the chair across from them.
"Have the two of you had lunch?"
"No, young master. I came to Hills to eat."
"Obviously. I've been keeping my stomach empty since last night for this."
"Then I'll have them prepare the dishes we were saving for the gathering."
"Hey, that won't do."
Rachel narrowed her eyes and shook her head.
"Those'll be more fun if we eat them when the time comes."
"Fair enough. Then please choose freely from these."
Blow handed Rachel a menu, then passed one to the barbarians still standing in a row beside them.
"You three eat before you go, too."
"Ah, would that be all right?"
"Sure. I've been wanting to treat you sometime, and this works out. Sit at the next table."
"We're grateful for the consideration."
"It's gonna be delicious!"
"Last time I tried it, the pork was the best!!"
The three took the neighboring table at once. They were so enormous that the three of them alone filled a seat meant for eight.
"Hans."
"Yes, young master!"
"Bring up an oak cask."
"Ah, yes sir!"
At that, color rushed into Bahama's and Rihendel's faces, and they started shouting in delight.
"Slayer of Dusk Block! Blow Deblique!"
"True Manly Man! Blow Deblique!"
Yulia and Rachel, watching them, chuckled and turned their eyes on Blow. His face had gone an uncommon red. He stared at nothing at all and simply put away the water in front of him.
"You're weak to praise, aren't you, Blow Deblique."
"No, that's... I'm not."
"Just give me everything I haven't tried."
"Right away."
"This place is pretty decent, unlike you, Blow Deblique."
"That's thanks to the barbarians over there, and to the help you gave us, my lady."
"I helped?"
"Just a manner of speaking."
"Haah. This guy, honestly."
Rachel shook her head. Blow shrugged at her.
"But to be honest, it is true. At the last dinner, didn't you pay something like eighty gold on your way out? You even gifted a mana stone."
"I did. Still, thinking back, that inn had a little more romance to it."
"Nynix?"
"Yeah. Cramped as anything, packed in shoulder to shoulder. That was the good part."
"Ah. So that's why Skadi said what she did yesterday."
"Lady Sethelund said the same thing I did?"
"Yes. Lady Hetaya said so yesterday. That those days were better."
"Look at you, going out of your way to correct me."
"Because Skadi hates being called that."
"You've got a sweeter side than I thought, Blow Deblique. Keep this up and I might fall for you."
"You think so? That would be troublesome for now."
"The young master does look after his own."
At Yulia's words Rachel let out a hollow laugh and picked up the Westriver Salt-Grilled Pork that had already appeared before her.
"You've finally come to your senses. Meat, not potatoes."
"A restaurant ought to have something worth chewing, shouldn't it?"
"That's why I said you've come to your senses."
With that, Rachel put the food straight into her mouth. While Yulia, and Sophia and Marchen whom she had brought along, lifted their forks as well, dishes kept covering the table. Rachel tasted them one by one, then suddenly stopped chewing and fixed her eyes on Blow.
"Hey."
"Yes."
"Your little chef's gotten a lot better. This is good enough to kill for."
"Thank you so muuuch!"
Melo had popped out to greet them before anyone noticed. Rachel stroked the girl's head and spoke to Blow in an envious tone.
"Where did you even find a kid like that? Are you just lucky?"
"In Melo's case, yes."
"The seasoning is unreal. Think I'll have a beer with this."
Megan, who was watching only two tables—the barbarians wolfing their food down as if it might vanish, and the table where Rachel sat—set a Pilsner Paulos down in front of Rachel at once.
"It's beer, but the bubbles are coming up?"
"Pilsner Paulos. A lager with a dry taste."
"Paulos? Getting beer out of that place can't be easy."
"No. It wasn't easy."
"Don't tell me you've got ties there too?"
Rachel had asked on the off chance, and Yulia answered in her place.
"Of course. The young master is quite close with the Saintess."
"Him and the Saintess?"
"Yes."
"That's the strangest combination I've heard yet."
"The Saintess even bestowed a blessing upon him."
"I've got nothing to say. Nothing at all."
Rachel's mouth had fallen slightly open. She poured the beer straight down it.
"Whoaa—this is insane."
"I'm glad it suits your taste."
"When are you opening a branch in the Imperial Capital! Blow Deblique!"
"You should ask my partner about that. Senior Yulia."
Where Blow's hand pointed, Yulia's eyes were fixed on Rachel, bright with triumph. At that confident face, the wind went out of Rachel. She let out a thin sigh and grumbled.
"Ugh. Greig, that brat, is truly useless. I should have made the first move."
"Still, if it weren't for Greig, this connection wouldn't exist, would it?"
Hearing that, Rachel's expression turned subtle.
"Since when do you say something actually right? All you ever do is say things that get you hit."
"Now that I think about it, that's why."
"Actually, the same goes for me. If it weren't for Greig, I might never have met Young Master Blow."
"Wouldn't we have met eventually? The school is right next door."
"You mean if people are fated to meet, they'll meet someday? See, you do have a romantic side, Young Master Blow."
Yulia Edfolk smiled, bright and pleased. Blow had only been talking about probability, and here she was twisting his words into something warm. Looking at her, he had no choice but to go along.
"Something like that."
"Somehow I don't think it is."
Rachel made a displeased face and shoved a mussel into her mouth. Meanwhile, at the next table, the three barbarians were polishing off their twentieth plate.
Rachel studied them, then beckoned to Megan, who stood ramrod straight at her side.
"Yes, my lady. Is there something you need?"
"I'll settle that table's bill as well."
Blow, a question mark practically floating over his head, turned to Rachel.
"My lady, I was planning to treat them today."
"No. They gave me a novel experience, and I enjoyed it."
Rachel's mouth curved into a grin. Ornn, who had stopped eating, answered her with a smile that was, for some reason, full of heat.
"I'll eat with gratitude, Lady Rachel!"
"You seem like a man I can actually talk to. How about taking a drink from me later?"
"It would be an honor, Lady Rachel Campbell."
"The boss's friends! Are our friends!"
"Black Blade of House Campbell! Lady Rachel!"
Rachel's name had suddenly slipped into the very chant Bahama and Rihendel used when they praised Blow.
...Now she's even taken over the hospitality.
While Blow burst out laughing before he could stop himself, Rachel, in high spirits, waved her fork and knife about. Yulia, who had been staring blankly at the scene, leaned in and whispered at his ear.
"They seem to understand each other. Those two."
"Probably because they're martial artists. That's a part I could never grasp."
Rachel's glare snapped onto them, her brow drawn tight.
"What are you whispering about, right in front of a person."
"You and they seemed to understand each other so well. It was fascinating."
"Yeah? I'm a very open person."
"Are you?"
"Yeah, you bastard. Get me another beer."
Sophia, who had been diligently cutting into her pork ribs, watched Blow handle Rachel with such easy cheek, then met Marchen's eyes. Marchen answered her with nothing but a soft smile.
Late that evening at Hills, after Rachel had returned to the hotel with Yulia and with their retainers, who had somehow grown rather friendly, Blow worked the stiffness out of his body and spoke casually to Alice, who was getting ready to leave.
"Good work, Alice. Managing all right?"
"Yes! E-everyone's been s-so kind!"
"That's a relief."
"You worked hard today too, young master!"
"You did too."
Alice bowed in stiff little jerks, the way Linne had when she first started, and Blow smiled and waved.
Once Alice and Rowbedi had clocked out, Megan came over.
"Young master, I'll close for today."
"All right. It's oddly quiet today."
"Yes. Today Lady Skadi hasn't—"
She had barely begun when the door eased open and Skadi poked her face inside.
"You're here."
"Is it over?"
She asked it carefully. Blow smiled at her.
"Come in."