-From Mizera’s POV, during the time the main character went alone to the royal capital alone-
-This happened when the main character had to go to the royal capital-
Freed-san volunteered to act as milord’s escort.
If I recall correctly, he was the one who beat milord to a pulp before… wasn’t he?
Because of that, Aina-san and the others went on a quest, Shiro disappeared somewhere as usual, Wendy-sama took care of the house, cleaning, laundry, and shopping, and after helping her, I planned to use the alchemy room to continue my daily studies!
…Or at least, that was the plan.
「Now then, I hereby declare the start of the 24th ‘Peaceful Meeting to Divide Our Beloved Master’!」
‘Clap, clap, clap.’
Applause echoed through the room.
We were in the dining room where we normally ate together, yet for some reason, the skylight windows were covered with black curtains. The room was pitch-dark except for a few flickering candles that illuminated everyone’s faces instead of light crystals.
「Let’s get straight to the point… The Einzheil Festival is coming up soon. Therefore, as usual, we’ll peacefully decide who gets to go on a date with Master at the festival.」
「A festival date is special, but yeah… there’s not enough time for everyone to take turnsssu.」
「That’s right… and this time, Master will have his own stall. He’ll probably only have time during the lunch break to walk around with any of us.」
「If something unexpected happens, we might not even get that chance.」
「True… My lord tends to get caught up in trouble, so anyone lower on the list will have it rough…」
「Hmm. I want to go to the festival with lord…」
…Um.
「If we leave such an important matter unsettled until the day of the festival, we’ll end up arguing. So, let’s decide it here and now, cleanly and peacefully.」
When Wendy-sama said that, I could hear everyone swallow hard.
They were all ‘that’ serious about it.
But somehow… the more serious they got, the more ridiculous this whole situation seemed to me.
「Um, may I ask a question?」
「Yes, Mizera. What is it?」
「What exactly is this meeting about…?」
When I asked, Wendy-sama blinked for a moment, then smiled her usual soft and graceful smile.
「It’s the ‘Peaceful Meeting to Divide Our Beloved Master’!」
I didn’t really understand what they meant…
No, perhaps it was exactly what the words themselves implied…
「This meeting is to decide who gets to have skinship with our liege. For example, who gets to sit next to him when we eat out, or who shares a room with him when we stay overnight. We set turns for these things so we won’t fight.」
「Of course, if something happens suddenly, we might still argue. If our lord decides things himself, we go along with it. But if it’s something predetermined like this time, we discuss it in advance and decide peacefully.」
「Well, we also talk about various other things depending on the situation, so the topic changes from time to timessu.」
「Hmm. But the right to sit on lap belongs to Shiro. I won’t hand it over to anyone.」
「That’s one kind too! There’s also the right to feed master by saying ‘aah~’! But if you monopolize one right, your priority for the others dropsssu!」
「And if you give up your turn when your priority is high, you earn points. Those points accumulate and can be used later to increase your priority when it really matters.」
……
What should I do? They were explaining so passionately, but I still didn’t understand.
Rights of skinship? Priority? Points? Usage?
They all seemed perfectly serious, but… is this really normal in the world?
「Well, once you see it in action, you’ll get the hang of it.」
「R-right. I’ll just observe and listen for now…」
Yes.
It would be wrong to judge before understanding the whole picture.
It might turn out to be something constructive and meaningful after all.
「Alright then, let’s begin. Each of you, please state your desired order, secret note, and appeal. First up is…」
「「「Yes!!」」」
Before Wendy-sama could even finish, Aina-san, Sorte-san, and Renge-san all shot their hands up.
「You all know that if you choose first, you lose your other priority rights, correct?」
「Of course. But going first gives the highest chance to go on the date!」
「There’s a place I really want to go with my lord. I must secure that time, even if it’s short!」
「Understood. Then, let’s begin the appeal time.」
「Got itssu! The other day, when we went to the Adventurer’s Guild with Mizera, Aina, and Sorte, Sorte-tan was clinging to master’s arm all lovey-doveyssu!」
Renge-san placed one hand on the table, raised the other sharply, and leaned forward as she answered with vigor.
「Wha… ha! So that’s why you said I hadn’t noticed it!」
「Of coursessu…! Even with the festival coming up, Sorte-tan was being all innocent and cheerful… so cute, rightssu?」
「Grrr…! Renge, you, wait, huh?」
「Fu fu fu. You noticed, huh? I’ve been keeping my skinship to the bare minimum latelyssu. All for this day! By the way, Aina was holding his other arm. During that time, I was keeping watch aroundssu!」
「Wh….but I wasn’t like Sorte! We weren’t alone, and there wasn’t any sweet atmosphere between us!」
「That’s true… but hey, Shiro.」
「Hmm. Lately, lord and I have been training together alone often. And the baths after that too…」
「Guuh… Th-that was a promise with my liege… guh…」
Aina-san trembled as if wanting to say something but unable to, then slumped weakly onto her chair.
「Alright, that’s settled. The right to go on the festival date this time goes to Renge-san.」
「No objections.」
「Yesss! I did itssu!」
「Hmm. Shiro will stay in the middle as usual. Giving up lap-sitting rights isn’t worth it.」
「Yes, that’s fine. Since Shiro can’t perform night service yet, her skinship priority remains high. Mizera, you haven’t had your turn yet either. Do you have a preferred order?」
「Ah, no… I’m fine without one.」
Somehow, I felt that someone like me, whose feelings were still uncertain, shouldn’t join in on this heated atmosphere.
Yes, judging by how Aina-san and Sorte-san’s faces lit up after I said that, this must be for the best.
「A-are you sure, Mizera?」
「Yes. I usually monopolize milord in the alchemy room anyway… and he even helped me when we made the cotton candy machine.」
「I see… that’s certainly enviable, but… it’s a festival, you know?」
「I’m still not that confident yet. Everyone should enjoy themselves together.」
I hadn’t even known such meetings existed… which means, I might actually be the one who spends the most time alone with milord.
He’s always by my side, helping with alchemy, but that must have reduced the time he spends with everyone else.
And besides, my feelings still aren’t completely clear…
I haven’t used the 『Vow for Life (Only One)』 either, so… I’ll hold back this time.
…Wait. Did I just say ‘this time’…?
「Then that settles it. I’ll take the third slot. Since the festival lasts three days, the first slot will be day one, the second and third will be day two, and the fourth and fifth will be day three. Of course, if any trouble arises, the schedule will shift accordingly.」
「Got itssu!」「Hmm.」
「Alright…」「Yeah.」
Each of them responded in their own tone, and the meeting came to an end――.
「Now then, for the next topic. We still have a lot to decide: who will attend to Master tonight, future skinship rights, and the order for bathing with him in the morning」
「Good thing Freed offered to take over today… we can finally have a proper discussion」
「Yeah. The festival schedule was disappointing, but we’ll make up for it in every other way」
「Ano, I’ll be sitting out from this one… I need to start now or the potion batches won’t be done in time…」
I still hadn’t finished today’s quota, and thankfully, orders from the Adventurers’ Guild had been increasing lately, so I wanted to get a head start on tomorrow’s work.
「I see… understood. Then we’ll expect you next time」
「Yes. Then, if you’ll excuse me…」
Stepping out of the dark room, the light felt a bit dazzling.
Behind me, the fiery battle for the right to be close to milord had already begun.
Everyone really does love him…
And well, I can understand why.
Still, he’s really popular, isn’t he…
I wonder if, right now, he’s with some girl I don’t know about in the royal capital?
No, that can’t be. Surrounded by such wonderful girls, there’s no way he’d go chasing others elsewhere.
…Right?
「…………Alright. Time to get back to alchemy」
I want to raise my level quickly so I can make potions more efficiently.
I don’t know when that day will come, but when I finally feel ready to join that kind of meeting, I don’t want to be left behind. I need to grow a lot more before then.
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