“Welcome home, Master.”
“I’m home. And stop calling me Master.”
Maria greeted me as soon as I returned home from the hospital. I tried to caution her about my title, but I was already giving up and just went through the motions.
“Maria, are you alright now?”
“Yes, I’m fine now. My level increased, and I got a little carried away. I was too ambitious without knowing my own limits, and this is the result.”
Maria bowed her head with a composed expression. From what I could see, she didn’t seem bothered by what Rustiara had told her anymore.
“No, it was my mistake. I was too confident in my plan and misjudged when to back down.”
“Heh. I thought you’d say that, Master. Thank you.”
Maria smiled a little and thanked me.
“Why are you thanking me? Because of my mistake—because of me, you were put in danger?”
“But that mistake was made out of concern for me, wasn’t it?”
Maria continued, still smiling.
No. It wasn’t that noble. I made Maria overexert herself for my own self-preservation. I unconsciously just wanted to avoid a scene from the past.
“That’s overthinking it. I don’t have the luxury to care about others right now.”
“No, that’s not it. You didn’t want to make me sad, so you couldn’t decide when to stop, could you? You hesitated to destroy my dream, didn’t you?”
Maria spoke as if I were a good person. But that was an unfair assessment. While there was some truth to it, the fundamental cause was my lack of decisiveness and mental fortitude.
“I told you it’s not like that…”
“Heh heh.”
As I continued to deny it, Maria smiled at me. After smiling for a moment, Maria’s expression suddenly darkened, and she continued speaking.
“—But it’s certain that I can’t be of use in the labyrinth anymore. Now that I know I’m only a burden to you, Master, what should I do…”
She spoke as if deep in thought. I was surprised by the sudden shift in her demeanor. Her expression was somber, as if everything she had said before was a lie. Of course, she couldn’t have just forgotten about it. It was impossible to sort out her feelings in just a few hours after returning from the labyrinth.
“Calm down, Maria… It’s not like you can’t do anything. We can just take our time and find something you can do here.”
“…Am I allowed to be here?”
When I said “here,” Maria asked back, sounding puzzled. I was taken aback and asked again.
“…Were you planning on leaving?”
“Of course, I will definitely repay your kindness. But there’s no longer any reason for me to be a burden in this house…”
“Wait, wait, wait…! Where did your strong will from before go? You’ve let yourself get too down. Are you an idiot?”
Just recently, she was so full of confidence, but now she was a shadow of her former self. Seeing such a change, I could only strongly deny it, feeling a sense of urgency.
“That strong will… it was all an act…”
Maria replied with self-deprecation. I didn’t understand what had made Maria so weak. But I knew for sure I didn’t want to see Maria looking so sad. Her current state reminded me of when we first met. I needed Maria to be resolute, or I would be in trouble. If she were to leave with the same strong demeanor as before, I wouldn’t mind. But if she left with that sorrowful expression, I would be overcome with regret and worry.
“There are things for you to do. I want you to cook here. I’ll entrust this house to you, Maria.”
So, I tried to give Maria a reason to exist, anything at all. The first thing I thought of was cooking. With her skills, I was sure I could rely on her for housework.
“But before, you said cooking was fine…”
“That was just an excuse to get you to come to the labyrinth. I really wanted you to come with me to the labyrinth then, so I was being mean.”
It wasn’t a lie. At that time, I truly wanted her help in the labyrinth more than I wanted her to cook.
“Is that so…?”
“So, this time, I’m asking you. I want you to cook every day in this house.”
Now, I wanted to ask her. When I implored her with a serious face, Maria replied with a troubled expression.
“B-but, every day…? Sigh, you still say the most idiotic things, Master. That’s a really embarrassing line. You don’t even mean it…”
“Yeah. After saying it, I felt really embarrassed…”
Maria looked at me with a exasperated expression, as usual. As long as Maria’s spirits returned, I didn’t care how she looked at me.
“Alright then, I’ll gratefully accept the job given to me. Thank you, Master.”
“Yeah, I’m counting on you.”
We shared a wry smile and made a new contract. The dark shadow from just moments ago was gone. However, I couldn’t tell if Maria was acting, so I couldn’t relax just yet.
“Well then, since we have the time, let’s cook together today.”
“Together?”
Since I couldn’t relax, I decided to observe her by cooking together.
“Yeah, I want to see your cooking skills, Maria. I’m confident in my own cooking, but probably not as good as yours.”
“Oh no, there’s no way I could compare to you, Master.”
“No, Maria, you have a talent for cooking. Didn’t I tell you before that I can see talent? I can see your talent for cooking.”
“Cooking talent, you say?”
“Yeah, there’s no mistake about it. You can be confident.”
“Cooking talent…”
Maria’s expression seemed to brighten slightly. It would be a great help if she could solidify her sense of purpose. I began to earnestly teach Maria my culinary knowledge, hoping to make her enjoy cooking. I also learned about the cuisine of this world from Maria, and our conversation about cooking turned out to be more engaging than I expected. We stood together in the kitchen and began preparing dinner. Maria’s expression was bright throughout the cooking process. I was relieved that my choice wasn’t a mistake and continued cooking joyfully with Maria. For a moment, we forgot about the labyrinth and became engrossed in the act of cooking.
***
“I’m home. Wow, it smells good.”
Just as Maria and I were finishing dinner preparations, Rustiara returned, as if she had timed it perfectly. I left the remaining tasks to Maria and confronted Rustiara. Maria’s expression changed slightly, but there was nothing I could do about it now.
“Hey, Rustiara. I have a lot to say to you.”
“N-no, wait, wait! Listen to me first!”
As I spoke with anger in my voice, Rustiara immediately started making excuses. She continued to speak in a flustered manner.
“I didn’t tell Christ to take time off work without thinking. It was the result of careful consideration. I thought, he’s probably too considerate of the shop staff and can’t reduce his workload… so I decided to do it for him. You see, Christ is oddly indecisive about some things.”
“Yeah. It’s true that my efficiency there wasn’t that great. But I still had things I wanted to gather information about at that tavern. And the tavern has its own needs. If people suddenly decreased, the place would fall apart, you know?”
“I’ve thought about that too. I have information up to the 23rd floor, and if the shop can’t manage, we can just send Maria. She can help out.”
She emphasized that she possessed the information, seemingly trying to get away with it. However, the shop’s needs were a separate issue.
“I can concede on the information gathering. But is it really okay for someone else to take over my job so easily? And it’s not even decided that Maria will do it.”
“Awww. Christ, you were just washing dishes and clearing tables, right? Anyone can do that. And with her cooking skills, Maria would probably be better at helping with prep anyway. More importantly, wouldn’t cute girls be better for the shop? Whether Maria will do it or not… come on, Maria, say you’ll do it, right?”
Rustiara called out to Maria, who was cooking.
“If it will be of help to Master, I will absolutely do it.”
Maria replied with unnecessarily spirited enthusiasm. Hearing this, Rustiara turned to me with a “See?” look.
“Grrr…!”
I couldn’t pursue my attack against Rustiara’s clever excuse and let out a frustrated growl. I could pick apart every detail, but there was no reason to go that far. Rustiara did have a point in some aspects. Seeing my silence, Rustiara continued.
“If that’s the case, then if information gathering is needed, we can just ask Maria. See, it’s a perfect division of labor. Even you, Christ, aren’t so overprotective as to oppose this, are you?”
Ideally, I didn’t want Maria working at the tavern. That was because many of the customers were unsavory, but Maria’s level had resolved that issue. She couldn’t keep up with us, but Maria’s abilities were comparable to those of a seasoned explorer. If I opposed this now, I would inevitably be labeled as overprotective.
I had no choice but to change the subject. I couldn’t stand Rustiara gloating over me here.
“But the conversation isn’t over yet. It doesn’t change the fact that you acted on your own accord, and Maria’s involvement was only after the fact. Your selfishness isn’t forgiven.”
“O-okay. What’s for dinner tonight?”
“Actually, I don’t mind eating while we talk. It’s more delicious to scold someone while eating.”
“No, I won’t be able to enjoy my food…”
Sensing that the situation was turning against her, Rustiara tried to change the subject again. But I didn’t allow it, chasing her to the table where she had tried to escape, and sat down myself. Seeing this, Maria began to serve the finished dishes.
—And so, the second dinner began.
During that time, I continued to lecture Rustiara endlessly about her selfishness. Maria, with her eloquent speech, also cooperated partway through, so Rustiara couldn’t push back against us. In the end, Rustiara endured our scolding and apologized in a small, dejected voice. With that apology, the day came to an end.
As the three of us parted ways before going to sleep, everyone was smiling. The dark atmosphere created by the turmoil in the labyrinth had completely vanished. At least, that’s what I thought.
“End of Day Ten”
