Upon Nebulaās gracious agreement, Beatrice-san and Nebula met face-to-face. Beatrice looked surprised for a moment when she saw Nebula, but her expression quickly returned to normal and gave her a bow.
I think she was probably surprised that Nebula was small-statured being only 1m tall, but the fact that her expression immediately returned to normal after only a moment was remarkable.
[Itās a pleasure to meet you, my name is Beatrice. I apologize for calling you so suddenly.]
[Itās a pleasure to meet you, Iām Nebula. Please donāt mind itā¦ā¦ So, you wanted to see me?]
[Yes. I have heard that being around Nebula-sama, you and Teacher Illness have been constantly improving your Maid Power together. Feeling the desire to bear witness to it myself, I have come to visit.]
An information Iāve completely heard for the first time just got brought up? Since when have Nebula and Illness-san been enhancing each otherās Maid Power?
Glancing towards Lilia-san, she too was making a face that seemed to say āEh? Say what now?ā. Well, I guess thatās understandable. I mean, all weāve heard was that Nebula was getting along well with Illness-san, so it should have been that she was just curious because Illness-san was praising Nebula.
However, in contrast to our bewilderment, Nebula nodded her head calmly.
[Iām not related to that Maid Power and all that, but I do a lot of various things with Illness-san daily. I think it was no exaggeration to say that weāre improving each other because weāre both growing in the process. And as for you bearing witness, what exactly are you looking for?]
[Letās seeā¦ā¦ In that case, would you mind brewing me a cup of tea?]
[I donāt mind. I am the Absolute. I would never reject the wish of those who beg to know.]
Nebula, being the kind and good girl as always, gladly agreed to Beatrice-sanās request and took out a set of tools for brewing tea from her magic box.
Just when she started brewing tea though, Beatrice-san shuddered.
[T- That isā¦ā¦ E- Even when nothing had started yetā¦ā¦ Iām shivering? I, who am called the Super Maid of Heart and should have absolute confidence in my mental strengthā¦ā¦]
Thatās strange? Sheās just making tea, right? Why do I feel as if Iām watching a battle anime, where one guy got instinctively frightened because they could feel on their skin that their opponent is more capable than they imagined?
Thereās a huge temperature difference between Beatrice-san and the rest of us in this roomā¦ā¦ It seemed like Luna-san was the only one who understood what was going onā¦ā¦
And when it came time for Nebula to start brewing tea, Beatrice-san went down on her knees.
[ā¦ā¦That is, w- what beautyā¦ā¦ For it to be to this extentā¦ā¦ Her level as a maid is in another dimension!?]
I kinda feel like something like this had been said beforeā¦ā¦ Ahh, Frau did say that when she saw Illness-san, didnāt she? I wonder if Akane-san will suddenly appear out of nowhere around here? I want her sharp tsukkomi sometime soon.
[ā¦ā¦I can see it. On her back, the figure of the Goddess of Teaā¦ā¦ it was if Iām witnessing an Act of God!]
I canāt see itā¦ā¦ In the first place, what the heck is that Goddess of Tea? Do the people in the Maid World believe in such a God?
While I was thinking about that, Nebula finished brewing the tea and placed it in front of Beatrice-san.
[Thank you for waiting. How was it?]
[ā¦ā¦Please accept my apologies! Please forgive my rudeness in testing you. You are a maid of a status I couldnāt reachā¦ā¦ How in the world can I enter the realm you and Teacher Illness were inā¦ā¦]
Beatrice-san has a regretful expression on her face. Lilia-san and I couldnāt keep up with that temperature difference, but for some reason, Nebula nodded, looking as if she understood everything.
[I see, it seems that you have forgotten what is important.]
[ā¦ā¦What is important?]
[Your desire to improve is admirable. Even if you donāt reach the realm of this Absolute me, itās a noble thing that you could look up to the greater heights and keep on moving forward. However, what is the reason for your ambition? If you only want to master your craft, I suppose that is fine as well.]
After saying this, Nebula smiles, looks Beatrice-san straight in her eyes, and speaks.
[However, you are not a seeker of the truth, but a maid. In that case, rather than improve your techniquesā¦ā¦ Taking brewing tea as an example, shouldnāt the first thing you think about the face of the person who you serve the tea you brew?]
[ ! ? ! ? ! ? ]
[Your goal shouldnāt have been to improve your technique. As a maid, they who is the most important to you must be the one firmly kept in the center of your heartā¦ā¦ Right?]
[ā¦ā¦That was indeed the case, wasnāt itā¦ā¦ Because I was called a Super Maid and became one of the best maids in the world, I had become conscious only of honing my skills as a maid. It seemed like I had been putting the cart before the horse.]
Beatrice-san looked so moved that tears streamed down her face, and after closing her eyes, seemingly digesting the words Nebula told her, she vigorously bowed her head.
[Thank you for reminding me of something so important!]
[Donāt worry about it. I am the Absolute. Itās the role of the Absolute to show the way to those who are lost.]
[ā¦ā¦Master.]
Hmm~~ Is it finally time for me to throw out the tsukkomi? The heck is that!? What in the heck is happening!? Iām really feeling like I had just been left behind in that short amount of timeā¦ā¦ Also, Beatrice-san just seriously went and called Nebula Masterā¦ā¦ Geez, I donāt know whatās going on anymore!
***
[Afterword]
Serious-senpai : [All the Maids in that world sure have quite the character, donāt they?]
? ? ? : [And as usual, Nebula-san is quite broad-minded. She didnāt feel repulsed at allā¦ā¦ As expected of the Absolute.]