A More Formal Introduction

With the mafia guys once again put in their place, which was underground, my friends regrouped at the center of the intersection.

It was a long battle, and people took some nasty hits. Marek’s wounds weren’t too bad, since Miss Cynthia used a potion to heal him earlier, but Indena had to be carried around by Uncle. That poisoning she got was getting to her, not to mention some of the hits she took.

Just to fix her up a little bit, I began casting my healing spell to ease her pain.

“Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man! I’ll heal you up as fast as I can!”

A healing wave of light left my palms and entered her skin, causing any major wounds to close up.

“Hmm…” Miss Cynthia continued to inspect her even after the fact. She was especially worried about Indena’s ailment. “She’s still got too much poison in her system,” she concluded. “I have a first aid kit back at the limousine. There’s a cure poison potion in there, so please follow me.”

A limo? That was a pretty stylish way for a maid to get around.

Marek had recovered enough that he only needed Miss Lauri’s shoulder to walk, while Uncle had to carry Indena around.

“Sorry I’m useless…” she grumbled, having a hard time keeping her eyes open.

“You did more than enough to help us out,” Uncle clarified for her. “Take it easy for a while.”

“Shrimp, you okay?” she asked me.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I was just stuck in a net for most of the time, so I didn’t take any damage. I needed a rest though, since my combat efficiency tanked.

“I’ll have to keep a better eye out,” she weakly spoke. “I doubt we’re done with those losers.”

With her on guard, I was much more confident that those mafia guys wouldn’t get the jump on us again.

“Don’t try to shoulder the whole burden by yourself,” Uncle said to her. “We’ll all have to watch out.”

“Yeah, but I promised to keep Yalda safe...”

Indena also had to protect Yamin too, at least whenever Mella came running for a challenge. Maybe she was taking on more than she could handle. Knowing her though, that was a challenge she was willing to fight.

People were starting to flood back into the streets when the battle ended, along with guards who were coming to investigate the situation. The mafia must have been keeping them from getting close. We hustled away before anyone suspected we were involved.

Miss Cynthia’s limo was just a few blocks down, so we weren’t too suspicious hobbling over there.

“It was fortunate that Marek paged me when he did,” Cynthia said, showcasing a small pager device. “I was on standby until you all were ready to be picked up.”

That explains a lot, especially why she just randomly showed up and helped us out.

“So, you're the Wellington family maid?” I asked.

She didn’t answer me right away, since she was laying down Indena in one of the back seats of the long limo vehicle, treating her poisoning.

“Forgive my rudeness, but I will formally introduce myself once everyone has been properly treated.

We gave her a few minutes to stabilize Indena, and she even took some time to check on the rest of our conditions. When she got to me, she didn’t seem to know how to inspect me for any signs of damage, so she concluded I was okay.

With our recovery temporarily concluded, Miss Cynthia stood in front of us and cordially bowed.

“It is a pleasure to meet you all. My name is Cynthia, and I am a maid of the Wallington family. I hope I can serve you all with great pleasure.”

Cynthia was very pretty. Her bangs were cut just above her eyes, the rest of her hair flowed all the way down to her back. It was extremely blond, almost yellow. The richness of it made me wonder if it was natural or not.

“Wow, a real life magic maid!” I got all giddy. She looked just like the ones in anime. “Can you fly with an umbrella, or fight evil with a ball and chain weapon?”

Cynthia pulled out her wand, causing a glittery light to form over it and change the wand into an umbrella. She held it up and lifted into the air.

“Woah!” I cheered. “How are you doing that?”

“That’s a secret,” She landed back on the ground and booped my nose. “Pardon my assumption, but are you Mistress Asamo?”

“Yes. But you can call me Yalda.”

“Very well, Mistress Yalda.” Now she’s calling me exactly what the bees back home did. “And on that note, this man must be your Uncle, Master Asamo.”

Uncle did a nod and tipped his hat to her. “That would be correct. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Cynthia.”

Now Miss Cynthia’s attention turned to Yamin. “Mistress Kintsugi, it’s always a pleasure to see you.”

“Likewise, Cynthia.” Yamin warmly smiled. “Is Riley home yet?”

Cynthia shook her head, then returned her wand to its normal state and hid it in her dress. “Unfortunately not. Master Riley is still deeply involved in the entertainment industry, but he may be visiting home soon.”

I tugged on Yamin’s shirt and quietly asked “Who’s Riley?”

“He’s pretty much my cousin.” she answered. “We go pretty far back. You’ll know him when you see him, I assure you.”

I wanted to ask what he did in the entertainment industry, but Miss Cynthia was sworn to secrecy, and Yamin didn’t actually know. He sounded mysterious…

Next came Indena…who was unhappily still laying in the back seat of the limo. “Thanks for saving me from the poison…but please don’t call me mistress…” she said, struggling to sit up.

“Understood,” Cynthia bowed. “What would the spunky fire mage prefer for me to call her?”

Sensing a chance to let her ego shine, Indena’s mind instantly went to the dumbest thing she could think of.

“Call me the Fire Lord Indena, the Greatest of All Time.” She had such a crap eating grin. It was very disappointing to everyone. Glad the poison didn’t melt her spirits.

She wanted to be known as the goat, but she was more of a ham if you ask me.

“Very well. I shall refer to you as Fire Lord Indena, the Greatest of All Time.”

Miss Lauri shook her head in her hands. “Please don’t call her that.”

Unfortunately, Miss Cynthia couldn’t budge, Since that’s what Indena chose to be called. The tragedy of being a servant was that you had to obey people if you wanted to get paid.

It’s not much different from me needing to obey human orders, but I at least have some free will to decide if I want to do something or not, especially if it’s not something good. Guess it’s a little different though, since nobody pays me.

Miss Cynthia then greeted Miss Lauri, who wasn’t afraid to give her a big hug.

“I love this girl so much!” Miss Lauri squeezed the life from the young maid. “She’s amazing!”

“I…” Miss Cynthia squealed out, her face turning purple. “I love you too, Mistress Samual…” She patted her on the back a few times.

After being released from mama bear’s loving clutches, it came time for Marek to be greeted. Both of them seemed rather awkward about the interaction though.

“Marek...” She left out the ‘master’ prefix she’d used for Uncle.

“Cynthia…how…how have you been?” He had a hopeful smile.

“I finally found another job, as you can plainly see. Mistress Adalyn was kind enough to hire me after…” her hands clenched tightly on her skirt and her legs tilted nervously. She fought hard to keep from cringing with concern.

The tension between them was so thick that you could cut it with a knife. We all awkwardly stared on until Cynthia decided to clear her throat.

“Forgive me.” Cynthia said. “This is unbecoming.”

She turned around and gestured for all of us to enter the limo. We all piled in, but before I sat down, I turned to Cynthia and frowned.

“You didn’t say hello to Samael.”

“Samael?” she looked at my snake, who happily coiled up in my hair. “Oh. Hello, Master Samael.”