In the afternoon, Rem and Aqua returned to the mansion with their arms full of ingredients.
The moment she got back, Aqua started chattering excitedly to Hayashi Maki about her "adventure" today.
She and Rem had gone to the nearby village to buy food, and along the way she'd completely blended in with the children there.
Aqua even used her party-trick skill Flowers, Birds, Wind, and Moon to entertain them. The kids were dazzled, and now she had a flower crown on her head that a little girl had given her.
Hayashi Maki was a bit surprised. He hadn't expected Aqua to radiate such maternal energy, getting along that well with kids.
Well, she was a goddess. When she wasn't being an idiot, she really could be very gentle.
"Hey hey, Hayashi Maki, your little blue-haired maid is kind of shy and really bad at dealing with children," Aqua reported proudly. "The small animals didn't like her much either—she even got her hand bitten by a puppy."
"But I've already healed her! Absolutely zero chance of rabies, you can rest easy."
She lifted her chin, puffing up her chest, clearly waiting for praise.
Hayashi Maki froze.
"Rem got bitten by a dog? Did you notice anything strange? What exactly did the wound look like?"
He quickly asked.
Because that dog that bit Rem was very likely one of the mabeasts controlled by the assassin, the beastmaster Meili—brought here under Roswaal's orders to attack the mansion.
If she was bitten, there was a high chance a lethal curse had been planted, one that would kill her later.
Aqua shook her head automatically.
"I didn't really pay attention. She'd just been bitten, so I healed it right away. I'm a goddess, remember? There's absolutely no problem. You have to trust me!"
"…All right."
There was no way Aqua would realize the village girl was actually a hired killer, and that the "puppy" was a cursed mabeast. Given how flighty the goddess was, it wasn't surprising she didn't worry about details.
Hayashi Maki didn't press further. As long as Rem was okay, that was enough for now.
That evening, dinner was once again prepared by Rem.
With Felt and Old Man Rom gone, she had two fewer portions to cook.
During the meal, Rem and Ram stood behind Hayashi Maki as usual, and Rem would sneak glances at her elder sister now and then, then dart uneasy looks at her new master.
Honestly, Rem still didn't really feel like her master had changed.
She was grateful to Roswaal for saving her and Ram in the past, but more than that, she cared about her sister's safety.
After dinner, Emilia went through her usual routine—communicating with the minor spirits, deepening her control over her mana, and squeezing in time to practice magic.
The fight with Elsa the Bowel Hunter had left her with a strong sense of crisis.
She knew she still wasn't strong enough to protect herself. When things got bad, Hayashi Maki had been the one to save her.
Once Puck timed out and logged off, her weaknesses would be completely exposed.
So what Emilia needed now was to increase the amount of mana she could safely control, and strengthen both her offense and defense.
Strictly speaking, the magic system in this world was really weird.
Yin-aspected magic was the most mysterious and closest to soul-type magic. A lot of Yin spells were related to curses.
Aside from Yin, there was its opposite, Yang—like in the case of royal candidate Priscilla, known as the "Bloody Bride."
She had the Blessing of the Sun, wielded powerful Sun magic, and got a luck bonus during the day so that everything she did naturally shifted in her favor.
On top of that, she'd married into several noble households in a row, with each husband mysteriously dying soon afterward. She then inherited their titles and lands. Combined with her status as a royal candidate, she'd built up a terrifying amount of power.
Her knight, the helmeted, one-armed Aldebaran, was suspected to be a transmigrator as well and had a strange ability that dragged enemies into a separate space for one-on-one duels.
Hayashi Maki had something similar—but his was better. During a duel, he was completely invincible and could use all of his other skills freely.
And then there were oddities like Fire magic… that manifested as ice.
Emilia and Puck were perfect examples.
Puck was supposed to be a great spirit of Fire mana, a so-called "Beast of the End" that governed flames.
But together with Emilia, what they liked to throw around most was ice magic.
Rem was also good at flinging ice crystals at range and then closing the gap with her morningstar.
In truth, "Fire magic" in this world was really just temperature-control. Lower the temperature enough and that power naturally manifested as ice—just another sign of Puck's absurd strength and Emilia's innate potential.
Emilia herself wasn't simple, either. She was the "key" to a certain sealed door.
And the Witch of Vainglory, Pandora, the hidden final boss of this world, wanted more than anything to get her hands on what was behind that door.
Hayashi Maki guessed that whatever lay within it was the very core of this world—or its greatest authority.
But power like that never came free.
If someone's soul wasn't strong enough, and their mind not firm enough, gaining that authority would only twist them, causing their power to swell out of control and drive them insane.
The Witch of Envy, who devoured half the world, had been born from precisely that.
If Hayashi Maki wanted to fully seize control of this world, he would inevitably have to clash with Pandora— and the key to that would be Emilia.
Because Emilia was the key.
He didn't interrupt her training. Instead, he headed over to where Ram and Rem were.
The night was long, and he felt it was a perfect time to "bond" with his little maids and deepen their relationship.
Beatrice had gone off to chat with Puck, leaving Hayashi Maki alone as he smiled and said to Ram:
"Ram, come with me for a bit."
Ram had just nodded when Rem suddenly stepped in front of her.
"Elder sister isn't feeling well today. If there's anything Hayashi Maki-sama wants, please tell Rem instead."
"Rem!"
Ram frowned. This girl was way too bold. Saying stuff like that now was just walking herself into the tiger's den.
"Elder sister, please go rest. Rem can handle it."
Staring at her sister with serious determination, Rem then faced Hayashi Maki with the same resolve shining in her blue eyes.
Hayashi Maki met her gaze and couldn't help the way his lips curled upward.
"All right then. Rem, come wash my back tonight. Ram, get some rest."
He turned on his heel and left, not giving Ram a chance to object.
Rem hurried after him.
Ram watched her stubborn little sister go, and could only sigh heavily.
She could cover her a few times, but she couldn't keep shielding Rem forever.
Knowing her lecherous master as well as she did, there was no way he would just leave Rem alone.
All she could do now was hope he'd be gentle with her.
…
In the bath.
Hayashi Maki had already undressed and was soaking in the steaming water.
His torso was bare, muscles defined and balanced, his body the very picture of strength. It made Rem's cheeks color faintly just looking at him.
She took a deep breath to calm herself, picked up a towel, and began washing his back—serious, thorough, and meticulous, every motion professional and proper.
Her technique was a bit clumsy, but that only made Hayashi Maki more amused and pleased.