In the room, Aqua's eyes lit up when she saw the twin-tailed blonde loli in Hayashi Maki's arms.
"Such a cute spirit! As expected of my Axis Church grand bishop, you snagged her this fast!"
Once again, Aqua's understanding of Hayashi Maki's girl-chasing skills was refreshed.
Hayashi Maki gave a smug grin. "Of course. Who do you think I am? I'm the grand bishop of the Axis Church founded by the great water goddess Aqua herself!"
"Beatrice, let me formally introduce you."
"This blue-haired woman here is the true form of the water goddess Aqua, founder of the Axis Church — Aqua-sama!"
"Water goddess?"
Beatrice stared skeptically at the blue-haired woman standing there with hands on her hips, chest puffed out in pride.
"Hayashi Maki, are you serious? This is the first time I've ever heard of 'gods' even existing in this world."
Aside from that big chest, what about her looks divine at all?
Hayashi Maki was the only one who looked like a god to her.
This man had swooped in fast, giving her a reason she couldn't reject, and rescued her from the hopeless contract she'd been trapped in for centuries.
Hayashi Maki patted her little head, smiling as he explained, "You'll understand later. Aqua is a goddess. This world doesn't have its own gods."
"But Aqua's a goddess from another world. Officially we're just traveling merchants, but our real goal is to save this world."
"Save the world?" Beatrice blinked, a little skeptical, but quickly hugged his neck tighter and nodded hard.
"Betty understands. I'll help too. Whenever you need something, just tell Betty!"
Her cheerful voice and shining gaze were full of trust and longing.
Whether Aqua was a goddess or not didn't actually matter to her.
She only listened to Hayashi Maki.
"You're so good, Beatrice. I'll be counting on you."
He stroked her soft blonde hair; it smelled nice and felt amazing in his hand.
After soothing the little spirit, Hayashi Maki turned to Aqua. "Where's Felt? How are things between you two?"
Aqua waved lazily. "Not bad. But that kid's still really unsure about her future, and full of fear."
"If we want her to join the Axis Church, we need to get rid of that fear."
"In that case, let me talk to her. You can go chat with Emilia and learn more about this country and the basics of this world."
With that, Hayashi Maki carried Beatrice out to where Felt was.
The little girl was sitting on the grass, looking miserable and lost in thought.
Rom had been dragged off by Rem to help prep ingredients in the kitchen, so Felt was alone with her worries.
"Hey, squirt, what's with that face? Looking that depressed totally wastes the chance to enjoy being a guest in a noble's mansion."
Hayashi Maki sat down beside her with Beatrice in his arms.
Felt's eyes lit up for a moment when she saw him, but then she pouted.
"What, it's you. And you work fast — already picked up the great spirit loli? You really are a dangerous man."
Hayashi Maki chuckled. "Beatrice was always destined to be my contractor. I came here specifically to pick her up. What, are you afraid I'll make a move on you too?"
"I'm not afraid at all! And even if I was, it's not like I could stop you if you really tried anything."
Felt was realistic enough about that. But she couldn't help blurting out the question that had been gnawing at her.
"Hayashi Maki-sama… what am I supposed to do? That clown-faced noble doesn't look like a good person at all. With my status, the moment I leave I'm just going to be treated as a rival candidate and assassinated, right?"
Seeing her so nervous, Hayashi Maki smiled gently and reached over to ruffle her hair.
"Don't worry. My guess is Reinhard is standing guard outside the territory. He's not the kind of guy who'd let something happen to you."
"And you've got me too. You're my chosen maid now — I'll protect you."
"That said, your identity really is a huge problem."
"Felt, why don't you just join the Royal Selection? With that red-haired Sword Saint, and the fact you really are the late king's daughter… it's not something you can just pretend doesn't exist."
"I know you don't love this country, and you despise the nobles. You probably don't care about fighting over some dragon contract either… but if you never even try, how will you know what you're capable of?"
"If you hate the nobles, then become king and abolish the ones you can't stand. Isn't that better?"
Felt rolled her eyes at him.
"You think I'm stupid? Leaving aside that red-haired knight, it's obvious you've already been charmed by Emilia-sama and those two maids. You'll definitely be on their side. Why would I want to compete with someone like you?"
Hayashi Maki burst out laughing.
"So that's what you're worried about. In that case, just join the Axis Church. Didn't Aqua explain our requirements?"
"I'm the grand bishop of the Axis Church. Once you join, we'll never be on opposing sides."
"The truth is, Emilia's joining the royal selection because she's looking for a way to free her frozen homeland. She's too kind and too pure — not exactly ideal king material."
"I never planned on letting her actually take the throne. The important thing is that the Royal Selection happens at all."
"So we're not opponents. If anything, we should be allies."
"As for the red-haired Sword Saint — he's got a huge sense of justice and really wants to save this country. If you agree to participate, he'll devote himself to clearing your obstacles. You really don't need to worry about him targeting you."
"And don't forget: I'm here, too. I'm a very possessive man. My own maid is someone I fully intend to protect myself. So relax. Even if I'm not right by your side, I can still guarantee your safety."
Felt stared at him for a long moment, then her gaze firmed up.
"So basically I don't actually have a choice and have to join this stupid Royal Selection, huh?"
"And yes, you really are treating me as your maid, you womanizer."
"Haha, can't help it. I just really like cute girls."
Hayashi Maki reached out and ruffled her hair again, then said seriously:
"Honestly, you could refuse. From what I know, there's another candidate for the fifth slot."
"But I don't want you to regret it later. This is your chance to change your fate and shine on your own stage."
"If you brush it off and end up regretting it someday, you'd probably blame me, right? That's why I think you should join."
Felt held his gaze, then squared her shoulders.
"Fine. I'll participate in that stupid Royal Selection. But listen — you're not allowed to help Emilia-sama bully me or gang up on me. And you have to guarantee my safety!"
"No problem."
Hayashi Maki nodded with a smile, then suddenly leaned in and kissed her.
Felt's eyes flew wide open, her cheeks turning scarlet all the way to the tips of her ears.
Clearly she hadn't expected him to kiss her out of nowhere.
But this was exactly how Hayashi Maki protected people.
A kiss marked the initial contract. It let him watch over her via his "god's-eye view" and rain down his hellfire on anyone who tried to hurt her.
Two birds with one stone.