Chapter 2 TIKR Vol. 1 Chapter 1 Part 1

Chapter 1 – The Master’s Return – Ex-Knight –

Five years had passed.

It was a bright, clear day in the Imperial Capital, the heart of the Eldstrom Empire. Down one of its many streets, a maid was walking, humming cheerfully.

“Oh, my dearest, beloved Master~ wherever can you be~? ♪”

The little tune she hummed was one she had written and composed herself. A song to praise her master, a song to be dedicated to him. It had three full verses.

She was slightly off-key, but there was an undeniable charm to her buoyant singing.

“All of our service~ la~ la~ la~ we dedicate it all to you~ ♪”

The maid was not alone.

Trailing behind her were twenty other figures, all dressed in matching maid uniforms.

A grand procession of maids. It was, to say the least, an unusual sight.

And yet, none of the passersby seemed to mind. In fact, upon recognizing the maids, they called out to them with friendly greetings.

“Prima-chan, thanks for your help the other day! You really saved us by catching that thief!”

“Not at all! It’s simply our job to keep the city clean!” the lead maid, Prima, called back cheerfully, never breaking her stride.

It was a spectacle that should have been impossible unless one had gathered and brought out the entire staff of a grand estate. But there was no master here with them.

That wasn’t a problem.

Because they were on their way to meet that very master.

“My handsome, wonderful Master~ my one and only Master~ I’m coming to get you right now~ ♪”

Having neatly finished the third verse, Prima finally stopped. The column of maids halted behind her.

Their destination was a restaurant. It was, by all accounts, a famous establishment frequented by nobles, and even by royals traveling incognito.

A maid standing next to Prima stepped forward and whispered discreetly in her ear.

“Our informant is already inside. It’s likely he is in there as well.”

“Understood. Thank you for your reconnaissance… Fufu, it’s finally time, isn’t it?”

Prima smiled, her voice bubbling with an excitement she couldn’t quite conceal.

Oh, at last. At long, long last. We’ve waited five whole years.

Brimming with high spirits, Prima strode to the restaurant’s entrance. She reached for the door—

“Master! Prima is here to—”

The instant she tried to open it, the doorknob exploded.

Prima wasn’t injured. She had snatched her hand back an instant before impact, already spinning her body away.

She looked down at the doorknob, now lying mangled on the ground. An unnatural hole had been punched through its side. No, it was a bullet hole.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. Are you hurt?”

A new voice. From further down the street the restaurant faced, another young woman appeared.

She wore a bold, active outfit that left her midriff and thighs exposed, with a black jacket thrown over it. In her right hand, she gripped the very symbol of a battlefield: a pistol.

A thin wisp of smoke still drifted from the muzzle.

Making no effort to hide the fact that she had just fired, the girl—Rosetta—smiled, a dangerous glint in her eyes.

“I had already decided I would be the one to open that door first. You’ll have to forgive me.”

“My, my, if it isn’t Lady Rosetta. As barbaric a greeting as ever.”

Prima then glanced behind Rosetta. More girls, all dressed in black suits, were gathering one after another.

Their numbers were roughly equal to Prima’s group of maids. And every single one of them was carrying a firearm.

“And what brings all of you here, I wonder? You won’t find the firefights you so enjoy in a place like this. The exit is that way. About-face, shoo, shoo!”

“Don’t be so cold. I’m not here looking for a fight today.”

Rosetta spun the pistol deftly around her finger.

“We have a very, very important client in this restaurant. So… I was wondering if you little wolves might just tuck your tails and run on home.”

“Aha, I see. In other words, it’s time for a ‘grand cleaning,’ is it?”

Prima calmly drew the shining blade she wore at her hip.

The other maids followed suit, drawing their own rapiers. They were a troop of maids.

More accurately—they were maids armed and armored, wearing knightly light-armor over their uniforms.

“It would upset our Master if the garden were to be sullied with gunpowder. Shall we tidy up for him?”

“Fufu, perfect. I was just thinking I needed a little welcome-back gift for the Boss. I wonder… would he be happy to receive a pack of well-tamed wolves?”

Sparks flew between the two women’s gazes. The crackle of electricity was just about to ignite the fuse.

And then, high in the sky above them, a massive, glowing crest materialized.

Instantly, Prima and Rosetta both froze. They looked up at the sigil unfolding in the air, and their faces twisted in identical expressions of disgust.

They both knew exactly what it was: the precursor to a magic teleportation.

“What a terrible day. An absolutely, unequivocally terrible day! To think two giant, filthy dust bunnies would appear just when I have so much cleaning to do!”

“What a… unique way of putting it. I feel like I’m dealing with a gun jam for the second time today.”

The sky seemed to warp…

And then, against the backdrop of the cloudless blue, a group of girls in white robes emerged, as if bleeding out of the very air.

Humans cannot fly.

As if to prove that simple truth, the girls descended slowly, one by one. But they did not crash. They landed as light as feathers on the stone-paved street.

It was a phenomenon that defied common sense. A sight that was almost mystical.

Both Prima and Rosetta knew that the young woman leading this group was known by many as ‘the Saint.’

The Saint, Kirsi, placed her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest, as if to scold the entire scene.

“No fighting.”

“Such a… grateful… and Saint-like proclamation. I hate to even ask, but… don’t tell me you also have business beyond this door?”

A terrible premonition striking her, Prima posed the question. Kirsi simply blinked her wide eyes.

“Can you… use the ‘Mind Reading’ magic?”

“A troublesome magic like that actually exists? I really wish you hadn’t told me that…”

Rosetta sighed. Prima looked just as bitter.

The three young women now understood. Though their specific goals were unclear, it seemed all three of them had business in this very restaurant.

If that was the case, there was only one thing to do.

“—It can’t be helped! I hereby declare the start of the Emergency Grand Cleaning Competition!”

“Everyone, try to minimize damage to the building! And please, be careful of ricochets!”

“Fighting… is unavoidable.”

A moment later, the three factions clashed. There was no signal.

If there was one, it was the moment each girl whispered the same words in her heart, like a sacred vow.

For our Master alone.