Chapter 405: The Enlightening Maid
It seemed that the situation wasn’t particularly urgent, given that they were requesting a meeting. A few Dark Elves could be subdued with El around, and there were a decent number of TYPE Series patrolling the grounds. With a guest room available, it was fine to leave them waiting for a day.
“Is it really okay to keep the guests waiting?” Ivan said, looking exasperated, but there was no real issue.
“It’s unexpected, after all.”
More than anything, I wasn’t particularly fond of those Dark Elves. Let them wait a day or two; if they couldn’t hold out, then so be it.
“For now, I’ll focus on maintaining the hot springs today.”
“Is that so…? Well then, I suppose I’ll go explore the surrounding area.”
Ivan seemed to be pondering something as I had no intention of leaving, but when he suddenly looked up, his gaze swept around. While not a significant threat, there was a faint presence of some Monsters nearby, and he seemed inclined to check it out.
“I’ll go too!”
“Woof woof!”
It appeared that Phonia and Nil were tagging along as well. They wouldn’t be able to assist with the magical civil engineering we were about to undertake, and merely watching would likely bore them.
“Understood.”
Thus, while Ivan and the others went off on their own, the construction of the facilities began at the hot spring site.
“Welcome back, Master.”
After a day’s labor, I returned home in the evening, greeted by Sebastian, the butler, and El.
“I’m back.”
“It’s rare to see you with El,” Sebastian remarked.
El, who was usually busy absorbing Japanese culture and technology, rarely took care of things around the house. She wouldn’t take over the work of the hired help we had brought in.
“I wanted to send the guests home as soon as possible.”
It seemed that El was the only one here who could speak the Elvish Language, and she had initially been the one dealing with the visiting Dark Elves.
There were many foods, Magic Tools, and facilities that didn’t exist in the village, and they had bombarded her with questions, interrupting her work continuously. While they hadn’t shown outright hostility, treating them as guests had been stressful, especially with their pretentious attitudes surfacing from time to time.
However, as the Hinomaru had roots spread throughout the continent, it seemed they had managed to find someone else who could speak Elvish. Three individuals had been dispatched as an emergency mission. After passing on the message to “enlighten them,” El had taken over dealing with the Dark Elves, but it seemed she hadn’t seen any significant change in their behavior.
“What on earth did they come here for?”
“They said they wanted to apologize to you, Master, but their attitude didn’t seem sincere.”
“Really?”
It certainly sounded dubious. Even though I wasn’t the one they were directly dealing with, it was hard to believe they would genuinely apologize after irritating El.
“I’m not too keen on it, but I suppose I should at least acknowledge them…”
They were unpleasant guests, but if they were willing to apologize, I might as well hear them out. If their attitude didn’t change afterward, that would be their problem.
After quickly preparing myself, I headed toward the guest room where the Dark Elves were. A notice had already been sent ahead that we were on our way, but I wondered how they would respond. Had the dispatched staff managed to enlighten them?
Upon reaching the guest room, I saw an unfamiliar maid standing by the door, bowing and knocking. She was likely one of the reinforcements, dressed impeccably in our household’s maid uniform, her movements flawless. With slightly pointed ears and a tanned complexion, she appeared to be a Half-Dark Elf. My first impression was that she seemed like a capable maid, which gave me a glimmer of hope.
“Master has arrived.”
“…We have been waiting for you.”
I was taken aback by the surprisingly humble words that greeted me as I entered the room.
“Wait, what are you doing?”
In the living room of the guest area, the Dark Elves were performing a perfect dogeza—an act of deep apology.
“Are these people really Dark Elves?”
Turning to El, who was with Rio, another maid who had been waiting in the room answered. She was a Half-Elf with pale skin and slightly pointed ears, exuding the aura of a capable maid as well.
“Yes, these are indeed the Dark Elves who visited this mansion. Since they came all this way, we wanted to provide them with the utmost hospitality.”
The Half-Elf maid flashed a brilliant smile.
“We wanted them to experience the magnificence of this mansion… and by extension, the greatness of our Master, firsthand.”
The last person was an elderly woman, a human who seemed to embody both strictness and kindness, reminiscent of a retired head maid.
However, the notion of “experiencing” something felt condescending, suggesting they had been forcefully taught a lesson using the advanced technology of our mansion. It seemed they had a more aggressive side than I had anticipated.
While I had no idea about the level of civilization in the Dark Elf village, it was easy to imagine they weren’t particularly advanced. After all, our guest room was equipped with a television and other modern amenities. To the Dark Elves, it must have felt like being struck by incomprehensible over-technology.
According to El, the incident had begun when the Dark Elves were spotted peering suspiciously around the grounds early in the morning. Since I had informed El about the Dark Elves, she had chosen to engage in dialogue rather than confrontation.
I was relieved that things had been settled peacefully. It seemed they had learned quite a bit, which was all the better.