Vol.5 Ch.88 - The daily life of a prince

Hiii! My name is Marina, but don’t tell anyone (it’s a secret!). Well, if youreally must call out to me for whatever reason, then I’d prefer you refer tome by my pseudonym, Mariabelle Pandora! Right now I’m on my first day ofworking as a maid for the Grys Castle, amazing right?When I was first offered this position by the Prince of the estate, Adam, Iwas actually quite nervous about whether or not I was gonna be capable ofdoing all the chores that I was tasked with, but it doesn’t seem like that big ofan issue for now. Back then, I was quite surprised by his Highness when hebrought up the idea, but a small part of me really wanted to see if Lune wouldget jealous about it or not (and he was).Seriously though, he was so confused about the situation! It was genuinelyhilarious to see! He was trying his best to act like he didn’t care, but thenhe’d prance around in circles around his room murmuring all sorts ofnonsense, trying desperately to get his mind off of things. Then again, I don’tthink he needs to worry about it so much, I’m not gonna leave him (not thatwe’re dating though, he’s apparently taken).In any case, after confirming that I wanted to join the ranks of the Grys RoyalFamily, at least in a worker sense, Adam was very excited and got straight tobusiness. Either he’s someone who cuts straight to the point, or he just reallywants to see me toil away while serving him (I’d much prefer the former, ofcourse).“Thank Heavens!” Adam grabbed both my hands and jumped for joy, “I’m soglad you agreed to my terms! Oh, pardon me, you shan’t be seen workinghere without the proper attire. Come, come!”Ehh? Marina thought, this guy’s got some screws loose. I probably shouldn’tbe left alone in the same room as him, like… ever.“Alright, Mariabelle!” He said as pointed me towards the dressing room,“The head maid will help you get fitted into your new work clothes. Pleaselisten to everything she says, you wouldn’t want her to make a mistake in hermeasurements!”“W-Will do!” I tried to sound enthusiastic about this, “(Luune…! Savemeee…!)”“What was that, Mariabelle?”“Nothing! I’m gonna go change now!”“Ah, as you should.”Geez, that guy's really giving me a weird feeling. Don’t get me wrong, I’mglad he’s helping us get back home. In any case, it’s better to be working withsomeone proficient in Entropic than for us to approximate what our employerwas telling us. He’s a kind, gentle and childish soul with a frail naivety tohim, but I can’t help but feel like that’s just a front for him to hide someulterior motives. Dunno what they could be, but for now I’d much rather havesomeone else with me at all times.“Here you are, Madam.” The head maid held out a tailor’s tape as she hadme stand up straight, “Alright, please strip.”“Huh?!”The head maid had just said something incredible, and with such a straightface that it seemed like a matter of course! M-Maybe I misheard her? Shedoes have quite the strong Cardinic accent, despite speaking Entropic. Yeah,surely that’s the case!“Madam?” The head maid asked me again, “There is nothing to worry about.We are the only two people in the room, and I was tasked with taking yourmeasurements so we can have you properly fitted with your own personaloutfit. Please strip.”“O-Oh… Well, okay…”Ugh, this feels really uncomfortable… I don’t like it! She’s touching me insome really weird places! God, is this why Lune was so worried about me?Wait, why does the thought of Lune pop up the moment I get undressed?! Ugh,if he saw me like this, then I’d be hearing nothing but ‘I told you so!’ until theend of time!Just then, the thought of Lune standing right in front of me popped into myhead. H-Hold on! I’m not wearing any clothes! S-Stop staring, dummy! Ugh,this is the worst! Me and my stupid imagination! Oooh, but it’s kind of nice ina weird way…“Mariabelle?”Hmm? Yes Lune?“Mariabelle! Snap out of it!”“Wuh, huh, fueh?!” I was forcefully dragged out of my daydream by Adam.“Geez, did you sleep properly last night? Your snoozing face is quite anadorable sight, but sleeping on the job is a no-go!”“Ah, umm, sorry.”“No worries,” He sat back down, “So, how’d it go with Erendelle? Did sheget all the measurements right?”Ah, so the head maid’s name was Erendelle. It’s a really hard name toremember, so I’ll just stick with Erie.“Yeah, everything fits super well! I’ll be sure to thank her later!”Complimenting the maid outfit I was given by my employer, I was sure towin him over this way! I thought, Actually, it kinda feels nice to wear! It’ssnug in all the right places, but it’s also frilly enough to give me properventilation! Truly the perfect fit for a working house lady such as myself!“Ah, I’m glad!” Adam heaved a sigh of relief, “You look very beautiful in it,but I wouldn’t want you to work in uncomfortable clothing. You see, thisoutfit may appear strange in a way, but I assure you it was hand sewn by thefinest of tailors specifically with the job of a maid in mind.”“Shucks, you really like complimenting me, don’t you?”“Heh, about that… I-”“Master Adam!” Erie burst into the room with her usual poker face, “Oh,you’re here too, Mariabelle? Good, you two, please come to the Castle gates,we have an unusual visitor.”Visitor? Marina thought, Could it be Lune, perhaps? Man, if he saw mewearing this, his jaw would totally drop all the way down to the floor! Heh,can’t wait!Although, when we got to the gates, the man standing there wasn’t at all likeLune. His hair was somewhat short and black, and he wore some reallyunusual clothes. This fella was walking around in nothing but shorts and ashirt with some weird markings written on it. It’s not any script I’ve everseen, I’ll tell you that much. In any case, he was as carefree as can be (evenmore than me somehow) as he casually approached the prince and did aweird bowing motion with his whole upper body.“Konnichiwhat’s up!” He blurted out, “I’m Issei Kaido! Pleasure to meetyou!”“Kon-what now? Just what are you saying to me? Do you not know who Iam? I’m the Prince of the Royal Family of Grys-!”“Yeah yeah, I heard. You’re the generous Prince who just gives out free helpto people in need, no? Boy, people really are generous in this world, huh?”What this strange man was saying at first sounded angsty and arrogant, but thelast comment that he said quite offhandedly had us all take him seriously, ifeven for a moment.“What do you mean ‘in this world’? Is there any other?”“Of course, and I’m from it!” The fellow with a strange name said, “For yousee, I was born and raised in another world, one with different rules ofnature as compared to yours, and while I was out with my classmates in aschool trip to visit the Pyramids of Giza, I was peering off into the distanceand saw something at the top. Just then I blinked, and…POOF! I wastransported here!”Yeah, this is just some random weirdo. I’m sure he’s just trying to extort theGrys’ generosity, but isn’t this taking it too far? Come on, no one’s gonnabelieve you, man!“Alright then, Mister Kaido,” Adam got close to him, “if this is really thecase, and your story is in fact real, then prove it.”“Prove it?”“Exactly, you claim you’re from a different world than ours. One whichdoesn’t have the same rules apply to it, one in which there exist terms I’munfamiliar with, such as ‘School Trip’ and ‘The Pyramids of Giza’. You’rewearing extremely unusual apparel, which makes me wonder what else was‘Transported along with you’.”Oh? I thought Adam was just gonna shoo him away, but he actually amusedhim this far, huh? Nice one, nice one! Now he’ll have to either back up hiscase or head on to where he came from!“Oh, that’s all? Then…” He pulled something rectangular out of his shortsand showed it to us, “Check it out, a phone! With this bad boy, you can callanyone who also has a phone (as well as signal), you can watch a myriad ofvideos on it (provided you have access to the internet) AND you can playtons of games on it!”While the other Maids and His Highness were skeptical of this mysteriousrectangle’s abilities, I somehow felt from this guy’s voice that what he wassaying was the absolute truth. So, I stepped into the conversation to ask himsomething.“Can you play chess on it?”“Mariabelle!” Adam reprimanded me recklessly entering the conversation.“What? I gotta know!”Issei’s eyes lit up the moment he heard my question. He tapped the glassscreen on his ‘phone’, but after a moment or so of tapping away, hisexcitement got curbed.“Ehh, I don’t really play chess, so I don't have it downloaded… Will shogido?”What the hell is that? Bootleg chess? Miss me with that off-brand crap!“But wow, the prince’s maid sharing a somewhat mutual interest with myown? This really sounds like the plot of an Otome game or something!”“I don’t know what an ‘Otome’ is, but I’ll assume you’re using it as acompliment and just move on.”“Smart idea.” He answered back seriously, “The land of Otome games is aslippery slope. One misstep and the girl will be gone for good. I know doovers exist, but to me it’s not realistic unless you get your desired ending firsttry!”While Issei and I were sharing a lovely conversation about… something,Adam was trying his best to keep calm the entire time. Even still, I guesssomething was bugging him, or he was just feeling way too uneasy about ourunexpected visitor that he had snapped on the spot.“Alright, I’ve heard enough! Now you’re just spouting nonsense! Get the hellout of here, you lunatic, or I’ll have to call forth the guards to personallyarrest you!”“Whoa whoa! This is usually the part of the story where you believe me andappoint me as your knight or something!”“You? A knight? It’d be easier to imagine Mariabelle wielding a sword andswinging it around than your scrawny ass!”Hey, don’t rope me into this! Just for that, you'll get an extra large dose ofscolding!“Really, Your Highness? You’re saying I’m a muscle-brained dope orsomething?”“A-Ah, Mariabelle, I didn’t mean…!”“Tsk tsk,” Issei joined me in making fun of Adam, “really now, no delicacywith the ladies… So much for the dreamy prince act.”“You…! Get the fuck out of my sight!” Adam gestured with his hands that hewas ready to call in the guards at any moment.Now here’s an interesting fella, I thought, I can’t just let him get away! Sowhile he was dejectedly turning his back at us to go elsewhere in his travels,I quickly gestured to him to come here and discreetly told him to wait untilmy shift ends.“Oh ho!” He chuckled, “Falling for me already?”“You wish! I’m just interested in that shogi thing you mentioned. That, andI’ve got someone I’d like you to meet.”Judging by his reaction, he immediately realized what I was planning to do.That’s right, I’m gonna take him home and introduce him to Lune!Lune’s been a bit under the weather these days, holing himself up in his roomtrying to think up all sorts of junk to make. He said it’s nothing to worryabout, and that he always wanted to try his hand at inventing things, but it wasbecause of his family that he simply didn’t have the time. That’s why I’minviting this Issei guy to meet him. Of course, he’s probably chock full ofpotential invention ideas so they’ll probably get along, but also I’d like tohave someone keep an eye on Lune while I’m away at work. He might gethimself killed if he tinkers about with the wrong materials…