kscans

Chapter 418 - The Legendary Maid

Parfait left the church and headed towards the Maid Guild.

Diite had to attend a meeting to plan game events and couldn't spend time with Parfait.

"A meeting is important, but isn't celebrating Parfait-kun's birthday more so?"

Diite had said this via monitor to the real-world meeting room, but it was rejected.

It was rejected by Ney, one of the twelve executives on the AFO management committee. Another executive, Lunaria, said something similar to Diite, but this too was rejected by Ney.

Lunaria held the ultimate authority as the head of the Foundations, but Ney, the head of the Libra Foundation, had a bigger say in this matter.

This was because the Libra Foundation was the sponsor of this virtual reality, Another Frontier Online, and also the owner of Colony "Frontier."

Despite these circumstances, everyone was on guard, wondering if Lunaria's willfulness would explode.

But Parfait knew.

Lunaria would not brandish her authority over something like this.

To begin with, even though Lunaria held the highest authority in the world, it was rare for her to use it for anything. She would only exercise that authority when faced with extreme injustice.

She could be willful at times, but it was for trivial things. Like suddenly showing up at the shop and asking her father, Hayato, for pancakes, and complaining to her mother, Esha. And those complaints were mostly about not having time to play.

It was a set routine until Rosalie and Xenobia came to take her back.

Parfait often saw Lunaria in the news footage, but since she was close with her parents and often played with her, there was a funny story about how she thought Lunaria was a look-alike when she was a child.

Putting that aside, in the end, Lunaria and Diite yielded regarding the meeting.

This was because Ney had said, "You'll be able to enjoy the celebration without any worries after you finish your work."

And so, Parfait had left the church after telling the repeatedly apologizing Diite, "Don't worry about it."

Leaving the church, Parfait looked around the Royal Capital "Anhemudal" as she walked.

Many players seemed to be having fun. Some were just talking, while others were preparing to go hunting.

She could hear loud voices trying to sell food and medicine, and others calling out to anyone to form a party.

The delicious smell of grilling meat from the stalls wafted past her nose, and the warm sunlight alone felt pleasant.

She had heard many stories, but this was her first time logging into this virtual reality, and Parfait walked cheerfully through the lively place.

(My father and mother met in this world... it's such a strange feeling.)

They wouldn't tell her the details, but her parents had had a fateful encounter here.

(They said they met Ash-san, Instructor Ren, Master Benny, and Teacher Simon here too, but I wonder what kind of encounters they were.)

Parfait, at that impressionable age, was imagining all sorts of things about how her parents had met. The reason was that they wouldn't tell her the details, but her intuition whispered that there was some kind of secret.

Another Frontier Online, a full-dive VRMMORPG that had been running for nearly twenty years. It had a level of reality that couldn't be experienced in other games, and it had been said to be an impossible technology since the service began.

In the past, the servers had been on a spaceship, but now they were managed by the environmental maintenance server of Colony "Frontier." That Colony had been built with the latest technology, and there was no end to the number of people who wanted to move there.

From Parfait's perspective, she didn't dislike her father, Hayato, in fact, she could even say she loved him, but objectively, he was unremarkable.

When she asked her mother, Esha, "Why did you get together with Dad?" she would reply with the words "a folly of youth," but Parfait hadn't missed the fact that her mother's ears turned red, as if she was remembering something.

Her parents were like that, but for some reason, they lived in Colony "Frontier," which was said to have a relocation lottery with odds of several hundred to one, and what's more, they had been running a coffee shop there since right after it was built, when the odds must have been even higher.

She seriously suspected her parents, wondering what kind of bad deeds one would have to do for that to happen.

It was also a mystery why her parents, who were supposed to be ordinary citizens, were on good terms with Foundation officials.

The sight of famous celebrities like movie actors and divas coming to the coffee shop and chatting happily while drinking coffee seemed stranger and stranger as she got older.

She had decided to play in this virtual reality to meet Diite, but she also had the objective of investigating her parents.

She also had other goals, like wanting to run an animal cafe, or creating a place where she could talk with her friends anytime.

She hadn't decided what to start with, but soon her friends would also have their birthdays and be able to log in here. Parfait psyched herself up to do what she could before then.

(Ah, there it is.)

Just as she got fired up, she saw the Maid Guild building.

She knew the name, but a question arose, what is a guild?

It seemed her mother, Esha, had belonged to it, but when she asked for details, everyone became evasive. For some reason, the discussion would turn to what a maid is.

(I wonder what happened?)

Thinking this, Parfait headed towards the entrance of the Maid Guild.

When she entered the Maid Guild, she found it was a coffee shop.

The design was calculated to let in sunlight easily, the tables were spaced so you could relax without worrying about your surroundings, and the maids moved not only with smiles but also with what could be called perfect, beautiful gestures.

In an instant, she thought, "I want to be served."

"Welcome home, my lady."

Parfait was a little nervous when one of the maids spoke to her, but she decided it was best to reply like a proper lady and opened her mouth.

"Umu, kurushuu nai...?"

It was a phrase she had learned from Benitsuru, but it felt a little off. The reason was that everyone around her had stopped and was looking at her. She had no choice but to admit she had made a mistake.

But, as expected of the maids. Were they perfectly trained? They just returned a smile. And the customers also resumed their meals and conversations as if nothing had happened. They were also well-trained.

"Are you here for a meal today, or do you have a request for the guild?"

"Ah, um, is Rose-san here? I'd like to meet her."

"The Maid Chief? Excuse me, but may I ask for your name, my lady?"

"My name is Parfait."

"Parfait-sama. Please wait a moment. I will go and check. In the meantime, please relax at this table."

The maid bowed, asked another maid to bring a drink, and then headed up the stairs to the second floor.

(There are no openings in her way of walking...!)

Parfait was learning swordsmanship from Benitsuru, and she was also being taught how to place her center of gravity when walking. From that perspective, the maid from just now was a formidable person.

And the maid who brought her a drink also had no openings in her movements. Looking closely, it was highly likely that all the maids in this place were the same.

(I heard you shouldn't defy maids, but is it because they're strong?)

She took a small sip of the orange juice that was brought to her.

She was a little nervous, thinking, it's okay even though I don't have any money, right?, but she drank it all.

Just as she was thinking that she could drink as much as she wanted of the rather expensive orange juice from the real world here, the maid from before had returned before she knew it.

"Parfait-sama, the Maid Chief would like you to come to her office. I will guide you, so please come this way."

"Yes, thank you very much."

Parfait walked behind the maid and moved to the second floor.

On the way, she also saw stairs leading to the basement.

"What's in the basement?"

"There's an arena and a courthouse."

(Why?)

A large number of question marks floated in her head, but she let it slide. She felt it was something she shouldn't ask about, much like the truths of the universe.

"Parfait-sama, this is very rude of me, but are you perhaps Esha-sama's--?"

"Ah, yes. I'm her daughter. Do you know my mother?"

The maid's face showed surprise, but she quickly formed a smile.

"I have never met her, but I know of her. It would be an understatement to say that anyone in this community who doesn't know of Esha-sama, the legendary maid of the Maid Guild, is an amateur."

"Um, what legend...?"

The maid averted her gaze, still smiling, and started walking, saying, "This way, please."

For some reason, her back seemed to be saying, "Don't ask."

(What did she really do?)

Parfait became a little afraid of knowing the truth.