Yuzu-neesan Falls Instantly

Yuzu-neesan arrived about thirty minutes after I had given Reine a lap pillow.

Reine had already started completely melting into it, but when the intercom rang, the faint crease that appeared between her eyebrows was something I decided not to notice.

And since she also looked just a little sad when she lifted her head from my lap, I told her, “We can do this again when we have time, okay?” Her face turned bright red, and she immediately teleported straight to the entrance where Yuzu-neesan was waiting. Cute.

Of course, I teleported there immediately too, so it wasn’t like Reine actually managed to escape from me.

You cannot escape from the Demon Lord. That’s common knowledge in this world.

Jokes aside, though, Yuzu-neesan would only be confused if Reine opened the door for her.

Imagine coming to the house that was also your family home, only for some complete stranger—especially one dressed head to toe in a maid uniform—to suddenly open the door. Anyone would be confused. I know I definitely would be.

So I had Reine stand behind me and opened the door myself, and Yuzu-neesan first gave me her usual gentle smile before composing herself, immediately looking toward Reine… and widening her eyes.

Hmm. I was sure the maid outfit itself surprised her, but it was probably more like she had been overwhelmed—by Reine’s presence.

Reine gave off none of that faint sense of unfamiliarity you sometimes got from someone dressed in brand-new formalwear.

It was the same with cosplay or ceremonial clothing: you could usually tell at a glance when someone wasn’t used to wearing something. They somehow looked out of place, or like the clothes were wearing them instead.

But Reine wore her maid uniform flawlessly.

It had nothing to do with whether it simply looked good on her. You could tell instantly that this was something she wore as a matter of course in daily life, and even her movements were elegant without ever becoming stiff or overly formal.

Because she understood exactly what the clothing and her position called for, and carried herself accordingly, there was no sense of incongruity at all.

On top of that, Reine was currently suppressing her presence as part of her duties as an attendant.

Her presence was so faint that an ordinary person probably wouldn’t even notice she was there unless she entered their field of vision.

That very Reine lightly pinched the sides of her long skirt and bent gracefully at the waist.

It was the style of greeting used by maids in our previous world, and when Reine performed it, the motion was genuinely beautiful.

“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lady Yuzuriha. My name is Kotono Shinomiya, Lady Rinne’s attendant and the maid entrusted with protecting this household. Please call me Reine.”

“…Huh? Why Reine?”

“If I told you my real name would attract too much attention, I believe you would understand.”

“Your real name would stand out? Shinomiya… —Wait, don’t tell me… Shinomiya, with the ‘shino’ from ‘driving rain’ and the ‘miya’ from ‘shrine’…!?”

“Yes, precisely.”

“W-Wait… why is someone from that Shinomiya family…?”

Which Shinomiya family was “that” Shinomiya family?

Yuzu-neesan’s face had gone beyond pale and turned almost completely white.

“Reine, explain.”

“Certainly. The Shinomiya family would, in simple terms, correspond to this country’s former peerage. Among such families, ours is particularly unusual, and the higher one rises in various industries, the harder it becomes to ignore us. Those involved in entertainment, due to the nature of their work, tend to understand families such as ours better than the average person, which is likely why Lady Yuzuriha reacted this way.”

Former peerage, huh…

So basically nobles, right?

“Huh. So your family is a really big deal?”

“It is merely an old family. From Lady Rinne’s perspective, they are no more significant than dust.”

“I see. By the way, will there be any problems with Reine staying here?”

“None whatsoever. I have already silenced that family and those surrounding them.”

“Then that’s fine.”

“—Waaait just a minute! That is not fine!? In fact, that sounds like an extremely serious problem!”

“Now, now, Yuzu-neesan. Why don’t we talk inside first? Reine, no need to guide us. Go prepare everything.”

“Certainly. If you’ll excuse me.”

Leaving Yuzu-neesan and me standing there dumbfounded, Reine smoothly walked away.

Hmm, even the way she walked was as straight-backed and stylish as ever.

Around me, she teleported without hesitation, so it was actually pretty rare for me to watch her walk normally like that. Even when we walked together, she always stayed diagonally behind me.

For the time being, I led Yuzu-neesan farther inside.

She kept asking how on earth I had met Reine, a member of this apparently incredible Shinomiya family, and what kind of mistake had led to someone from that family becoming my maid, but I just kept deflecting her with, “Now, now,” until we reached the living room.

The truth was, I hadn’t actually worked out any cover story at all for how Reine had come to serve me.

Mom hadn’t even asked in the first place.

Anyway, after calming Yuzu-neesan down and dodging her questions, I had her go through the standard handwashing and gargling routine before we entered the living room, at which point she froze again.

“…What happened to this room? Was it always this clean…? Doesn’t it look like we just moved in…?”

“Reine cleaned it.”

“…Isn’t this cleaner than what a professional cleaning service would do? She only arrived yesterday, right? Shino—Reine-san, I mean.”

“Yeah. She did all this in about thirty minutes.”

“…………Thirty minutes…?”

Technically, it had only taken around five.

She had shamelessly used magic to clean, after all.

Or rather…

“…Is this a restaurant?”

…I understood how Yuzu-neesan felt.

A candelabrum now sat on the normally plain round dining table, its candles casting a soft glow. It was already fully dark outside, and with the room lighting dimmed, the atmosphere became even more elegant, while the candlelight perfectly made up for the missing brightness without leaving the room too dark.

Glasses and cutlery had been laid out properly across the table as well, and it was obvious at a glance that they had been polished enough to reflect the candlelight.

This sort of thing had been normal for me in the past, and yesterday I had been feeling nostalgic and was the only one here, so I hadn’t really thought anything of it… but seeing the reaction of someone like Yuzu-neesan, who could practically serve as the representative of common sense, really drove home just how excessive this was.

Even the current me couldn’t help thinking, We’re not in a restaurant.

“Lady Yuzuriha, this way, please.”

“Y-Yes!”

Reine pulled out a chair, and Yuzu-neesan was seated by her like some honored guest.

…Um, Yuzu-neesan?

Yesterday, didn’t you say, “There’s no such thing as a real maid in this day and age, is there? Honestly, I’m going to properly assess her myself. And just so you know, I’m not going to grade her leniently”?

Yet now you looked like some gullible character in a two-panel gag who folded instantly.

Did she not realize it herself?

“Lady Rinne, thank you for waiting.”

“You really don’t need to be this formal.”

“I cannot allow that. If anything, I would prefer you to dress properly in a gown as well.”

“Absolutely not. We’re just having dinner with family.”

“…At least on your days off.”

“Denied.”

After casually shutting down Reine’s bad habit before it could get worse, I looked toward Yuzu-neesan sitting across from me, and found her staring at me with a blank expression.

“…Um, Rinne-chan, you never really gave instructions to the household staff before, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“…Right? And yet with Reine-san, you seem so… accustomed to it. Somehow you’re starting to look like a real member of the upper class…”

“I haven’t changed at all, though. Come on, Reine, loosen up a little. Yuzu-neesan is startled.”

“My apologies. I believed I had already relaxed considerably compared to how things were at my family home…”

Her family home probably meant the home of the aristocratic family she had been born into in this life.

Yeah, comparing anything to that wasn’t particularly helpful.

Besides, having too much of this demanded of me would make my shoulders stiff, and in my current life I wasn’t actually part of that kind of social class anyway.

That was why I had already told her yesterday that she didn’t need to do this kind of thing normally.

The reason she was doing it today was because the guest was Yuzu-neesan.

Reine didn’t particularly care whether someone judged her personally, but whenever that judgment could ultimately imply that my own decision had been wrong, she had a tendency to go all-out without mercy.

In this case, if hiring Reine turned out to have been the wrong choice, it would effectively mean that I had made a mistake, so apparently she had decided to serve and entertain Yuzu-neesan flawlessly as a maid.

Yuzu-neesan wasn’t some overbearing mother-in-law type, so she really didn’t need to worry that much.

Still, I generally let people do what they wanted, so I was going along with it.

“What are we having for dinner?”

“It will be served as a full course, so I shall bring each dish in order. Lady Yuzuriha, would you care for an aperitif?”

“Huh? Ah, well, since you’re offering…”

“Certainly. Please wait just a moment.”

Reine bowed smoothly and stepped away, and when I glanced at Yuzu-neesan again…

She was fidgeting a little like someone who had wandered into an upscale restaurant they weren’t used to, and it was honestly kind of endearing.

Apparently noticing me looking at her, Yuzu-neesan gave an exaggerated cough and looked me straight in the face.

“Rinne-chan, I’m a little late saying this, but… congratulations.”

“…? For what?”

“…Huh? Wait, what? You haven’t checked…?”

“Hmm?”

“…Rinne-chan, could you check how many subscribers your channel has?”

“Huh? Sure.”

Come to think of it, things had been hectic since Valentine’s Day with Reine showing up and everything, and ever since the collaboration with Effie-san and the others, I had been so busy for several days that I hadn’t even checked my channel, much less streamed.

Following Yuzu-neesan’s suggestion, I tapped around on my phone and… huh… huh?

“…One hundred fifty thousand?”

…That was strange.

When I collaborated with Effie-san before, I was sure I only had around eighty thousand…

Had it nearly doubled? Was something bugged?

“…Yes. The last collaboration sent you straight past one hundred thousand. I’d been meaning to congratulate you for reaching that milestone, but we were all running around because of the Valentine’s Day stream. …And then Effie’s comments yesterday apparently caused another sudden surge.”

“Yesterday?”

“Yes. During the Valentine’s Day stream, when she was talking about her enthusiasm for the upcoming OFA tournament, your name came up. Apparently that reignited interest in you.”

“Huh. I had no idea…”

“…At least check these things properly, okay? The same goes for streaming, but when you hit a milestone, it’s important to post a thank-you message on Monology too.”

“Okaaay.”

So much had happened that I had completely forgotten, but… yeah, she was right.

Maybe I’d do an impromptu thank-you stream later.