The Tea Time Strategy Meeting
“Then I’ll head straight to prepare the celebration banquet. Once the schedule is finalized, I’ll send word to your residence.”
“Yes, understood.”
Marine gave a light, fluttering wave as she left, and I kept my head bowed at a perfect ninety degrees until the Northern Archduke’s figure vanished completely.
“Right, I’ll go fetch my things now.”
“Yeah…”
Marine took off toward the dormitory in a hurry, using her mana to speed across the grounds.
“…She’s something else.”
Normally, after breaking through a wall and having your mana properties change, it takes time to adjust to the new nature of your power. But true to her genius reputation, Marine had become a Sword Master only recently and was already using her mana to perform mid-air steps.
“Young Master~”
Cani had just returned to the residence, bringing Serina and Carden along with her. I’d felt a little uneasy leaving Cani behind since she lacked real combat strength, but I was relieved she’d found her way back safely. I wasn’t sure why she’d brought the other two, though.
Serina froze for a moment in front of the residence, clearly stunned by its size, before hurrying after Cani. Carden, on the other hand, showed no reaction at all. Even though she was currently living like a beggar, her background was beyond gold spoon—it was adamantium. The residence of a (former) ducal family probably looked like a toy to someone whose home was the Demon King’s castle.
“Come in.”
“U… um.”
Serina seemed to shrink a little, newly aware of the gap between her and the grand residence.
“They’re friends, so show them around properly.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
After entrusting Serina and Carden to the servants, I gently pulled Cani aside.
“How did you get close to those two? And why bring them all the way to the residence?”
“Aren’t they both your friends, Young Master?”
“They are.”
“Well, I brought Leni because she was shivering in the arena and I felt bad for her. As for Serina, the area in front of the knight faculty dormitory was packed with people and she’d lost her way. I did well, right?”
“Yes, you did well.”
If that was the reason, I could accept it. After a quick whispered exchange with Cani, I headed to the drawing room.
Inside, Carden was listlessly picking at her food while Serina chatted enthusiastically with the chef about cakes. I already knew how passionate Serina was about baking, so that wasn’t surprising. What was strange was seeing Carden so unenthusiastic while eating. It looked like she’d been intimidated by the killing intent Marine released at the end of the duel… or maybe she was just depressed about not getting any cola.
I sat down across from Carden to figure out what was bothering her.
“Master, why do you look so down while eating such delicious food? Is it because of how Marine went berserk at the end of the match? Don’t worry about that. I made her sign a contract guaranteeing everyone’s safety.”
Carden shook her head as she put a piece of finely sliced steak into her mouth.
“That’s part of it, but there’s another reason.”
“What is it? Are you upset about the cola? Don’t worry, I’ll send you as much as you want.”
“Really?”
Only then did Carden’s face brighten. Curious, I asked another question.
“But hasn’t your allowance started coming through now? Are you still short on money?”
“It got cut off…”
“What? You’re the Demon King’s daughter, and they cut your allowance?”
“I’ve been contacting home constantly, but they keep saying they can’t send any…”
“Did you fight with your father again?”
Carden took a sip of cola from her glass before answering.
“It’s embarrassing to admit, but my father is a huge daughter-obsessed fool. No matter how big our fight was, there’s no way he would cut off my allowance.”
“…”
“I think my younger sibling is behind this.”
“Younger sibling?”
“Yeah. I have a younger brother who’s basically been confirmed as the next Demon King. It looks like Father is stepping down and my brother is taking over.”
“Are your relations that bad?”
No matter how bad sibling relationships got, cutting off allowance seemed extreme.
“We’re not exactly close, but we’re not on terrible terms either… I don’t know why it was cut.”
After listening to Carden’s situation, I thought for a moment.
“Master, I’ll cover your living expenses.”
“Th-that still feels a bit wrong…”
“Aigo, why are demons so pure-hearted?”
“…”
“Don’t worry, I wasn’t planning to give it for free anyway.”
Carden immediately covered her chest, eyes wary.
“My… my body is off limits!”
“…”
She’d crossed her arms to hide her chest, but it only made her breasts poke out more between them, giving her an even more suggestive appearance. She clearly had no idea.
“I’m not interested in a demon’s body. I just want you to be my friend in exchange for a friend fee.”
“Friend fee…? What’s that?”
“It means I pay you to be my friend.”
“You get paid to become someone’s friend?”
Carden looked completely unconvinced.
“Even though I lived in the Demon Realm, don’t joke about things like that. No one would believe you.”
“…”
“Besides, if you buy a friend with money, is that really a friend? It’s just a service worker.”
“…”
It was an irrefutable point. Although she’d been treated as a special friend after coming to the human world, Carden—who had always been popular and surrounded by friends—seemed unable to grasp the concept of a friend fee.
“Just accept that such a thing exists and move on.”
“Ah. You came up with this ridiculous idea because you knew I wouldn’t accept money for nothing… Thank you…”
“Uh… yeah…”
“Then what do I need to do, formally?”
I pointed at Serina, who was staring intently at a blueberry cake.
“Just join me, Cani, and that pink-haired friend every Saturday for tea time with Marine. The pay is the same as Serina’s—one gold per week. I’ll give you ten gold in advance.”
“Got it.”
With the final member, Carden, added, the regular tea time group was officially formed.
A Sword Master, a romance fantasy heroine, the likely successor and possessor from the continent’s richest family, the Demon King’s eldest daughter, and a cute maid. The last member seemed a bit weak compared to the rest, but we’d assembled a truly overpowered party.
The lineup looked ready to march off and defeat the Demon King at any moment.
Since everyone except Marine was already here, I figured we might as well hold a simple strategy meeting for Saturday’s tea time.
Tap. Tap. I lightly rapped the table to draw everyone’s attention.
“Everyone here will be attending the Saturday tea time. I’d like to come up with a basic strategy before the first one. Any thoughts?”
Carden’s hand shot up immediately.
“What’s the purpose of the tea time?”
Oh, right. I’d only explained the goal to Serina.
Purpose of Tea Time: Improve Marine’s Sociability
“Since you’ve all met Marine before, you already know, but even as her childhood friend, I have to say her social skills are the worst.”
“They really are.”
“Yeah, she has zero manners.”
“…”
Even Serina, Marine’s most passionate follower, stayed silent and implicitly agreed with me.
“I believe the reason Marine turned out this way is simply that she has no experience interacting with others, so she’s clumsy at dealing with people.”
Serina listened with serious eyes. Cani, however, looked rather indifferent.
“She does have me as a childhood friend, but at some point we only saw each other once every six months at best. After she entered the academy, even those meetings became rarer.”
Carden, who hadn’t understood the friend fee concept at all, surprisingly listened to my explanation with full attention. She might not get it, but since she’d taken the money, she clearly intended to do her best.
“That’s why I want to fill in those missing experiences starting now—playing together, eating together, laughing together.”
Serina cautiously raised her hand.
“But didn’t Lady Marine promise to have tea time in the garden last time? If we suggest going somewhere to play, won’t she refuse?”
“No matter how fun the activity is, forcing it makes it boring, right? That’s why I didn’t set any conditions like that.”
“Hmm… Well… If you suggest it, Lady Marine will probably follow along, so maybe it’s fine.”
“The goal is for her to experience many different people, not just me. So I won’t intervene much.”
“Th-then how should we persuade her…”
“Figuring that out and making it happen is our job.”
“…”
Serina, who had been shot down by Marine countless times, wore a grave expression. She must have realized just how difficult this quest would be.
In contrast to the serious Serina, Carden laughed boldly.
“What? That’s nothing. Just walk up to Lady Marine and ask her to play with us, right?”
The three of us loners—including me—stared at Carden in disbelief.
“Wh-why are you all looking at me like that?”
I let out a small chuckle.
“If you succeed, I’ll give you ten thousand colas.”
“I’ll remember that. During this week’s tea time, I’ll definitely win her over. Make sure you have the cola ready.”
I smiled at Carden, whose gentle Leni persona had half faded away to reveal her true, confident self. Cani and Serina, both of whom had experienced Marine’s coldness firsthand, couldn’t hold back their laughter either.
It seemed that even after nearly dying to her, Carden still hadn’t fully grasped what Marine was like.
Our Marine was incredibly cold to anyone who wasn’t me.
Since we’d be working together from now on, it wouldn’t hurt for Carden to experience her once.
Fighting, Carden.