It’s a bit cringy, but it can’t be helped.
There’s no one around.
Just as I was about to place my hand over her head.
“Master!”
Makoto calls out to me and rushes in for a hug.
She tightly wraps her arms around my waist.
“Makopi, just for today… I want to be spoiled. Starting tomorrow, I’ll go back to being the diligent sword of my master… Is that alright?”
Why does she keep calling me that?
Sigh.
“Do as you wish.”
“Okay!”
Makoto smiles while wiping away her tears.
Seriously.
Is she doing this on purpose?
[It’s just like my partner to be this way.]
With the now-familiar voice of the Black Prince, that day’s date came to an end.
It feels a bit suspicious, but hey, a good thing is a good thing, right?
*
At the same time.
Shuo Hero Academy Dormitory.
Olivia’s room.
“Hmph, hmmm.”
Olivia sits in front of her vanity, humming a tune.
On the vanity sits a poster for the summer festival and fireworks.
It’s a poster for the Sanno Matsuri, one of Japan’s three major festivals.
“I, I’m not really that interested in such a festival but…”
Olivia puffs her cheeks.
Her face turns red.
Despite mumbling that she’s not interested, Olivia has thoroughly studied the festival.
Because going to the festival is one of the traditional dating courses in Japan.
“Ughhhhh…”
The thought of Kim Deok-Sung makes Olivia’s face flush red.
A moan escapes her lips.
Olivia knows.
That he has been hanging out with Eri, Rin, and Makoto recently.
She tried not to care, but of course, it bothers her.
“Honestly, what a foolish idiot…! Even with me, his dedicated maid here, he dares to hang out with those, those thief cats…!! Ughhhhh!! I can’t believe it! Scoundrel!”
Olivia shouts with a flushed face.
She smooths her hand over the poster.
“I absolutely must… go with him… A-as his dedicated maid, I will escort him! Because I’m his dedicated maid!!”
Just as Olivia yells this to herself.
“Princess.”
A calm voice reaches her ears.
It’s Bella’s voice.
Startled, Olivia quickly shoves the summer festival poster into the drawer.
“W-what’s the matter, Bella?”
Olivia turns to Bella.
The brown bob-cut beauty, Bella, bows respectfully and speaks in a low voice.
“There’s a call from the homeland.”
“What’s with the sudden call?”
“Is it time to go?”
Olivia’s gaze shifts to Bella.
Bella speaks with a rarely trembling voice.
“It’s about the engagement.”
The moment I hear Bella’s answer, Olivia’s flushed face instantly turns cold.
Doesn’t this seem a bit strange?
After the meeting with Makoto.
It’s Monday, on the way to school.
As usual, I eat the toast and cola Han Seo-Jin prepares for me and head out of the dormitory with my backpack.
“Good morning, Kim Deok-Sung!”
As I come down to the dormitory entrance, a beautiful girl with a navy ponytail, Rin, waves her hand.
“Did you sleep well last night, my lord?”
“My master! Eri Ling missed you!”
Beside her are Makoto and Eri, now in the same class and commuting together.
“Where’s Kurosawa? Did he go with Ishihara again today?”
“Yes.”
Rin nods her head.
Lately, it feels like our protagonist has been dumping these burdens onto me.
[That friend Kurosawa Yuji. Quick-witted, huh?]
The Black Prince babbles nonsense.
Quick-witted? That Kurosawa Yuji?
Typical light novel protagonist from the early 2010s, always going “Huh? What?”—calling him quick-witted is just absurd.
I almost let out a laugh in disbelief.
Just stop talking.
Yet, something feels off.
I shift my gaze.
“······.”
There’s Olivia, staring at the ground with a stiff expression.
Our eyes meet.
“Ah······.”
Olivia lets out a low sigh.
She approaches me.
“I’ll carry your bag today. After all, I’m your dedicated maid.”
Olivia puts on her usual young lady smile.
But it feels a bit awkward.
[Partner. Our Olivia. Doesn’t this seem strange?]
‘I was just thinking the same thing.’
Today, Olivia seems a bit different.
Unusually unnatural.
‘It feels like she’s trying too hard to maintain her composure.’
[I just thought that too. You know, partner. Even pretending otherwise, you were the first to worry about my sister, huh? You sly fox. I knew it!]
Since I fell into this crazy world, Olivia has been the one by my side the longest.
I thought I knew her best as a person, not just as a light novel character.
So, sensing an awkward atmosphere like this is a piece of cake.
‘Is something going on?’
Suddenly, unnecessary worry starts creeping in.
[Why not ask Bella? I’m worried too.]
The Black Prince suggests.
If it were someone else, I’d ask them directly, but we’re talking about that prideful tsundere, Olivia.
Even if I ask, I doubt I’d get a proper answer.
In moments like this, it’d be better to ask her maid, Bella.
That’s the Black Prince for you.
Such a conclusive thought for an Olivia expert.
‘Alright then.’
It better not be anything serious.
“Hey, what are you doing without giving me your bag?”
Olivia pouts, her cheeks flushing pink.
“Okay, here’s the bag. Take it.”
With a quick motion, Olivia grabs my bag with a smile.
The shadow that briefly appeared earlier has long since vanished.
“Great! As your dedicated maid today, I’ll faithfully serve you!”
Hehehe.
Still sporting that young lady smile, Olivia stands beside me.
“Truly, your Highness, I can’t even compare. But Eri Ling will also do her best for you, my master!”
“Kugh······. I’m still far behind······. More training is needed.”
“·····. I need more training.”
“Master······.”
Leaving behind Eri, Rin, and Makoto’s voices, I take out my phone and send a message to Bella on my way to school.
[Bella]
[Suddenly, a personal contact?]
[What is it? Master’s master.]
[Could it be that you’ve actually developed an interest in me?]
A reply flies back almost instantly with a read receipt.
This playful messaging is something I still can’t get used to.
[Bella’s teasing spirit is still as lively as ever. It’s nostalgic. By the way, partner, looks like you’ve gotten pretty close with Bella. Trading jokes and all.]
Ignoring the Black Prince’s words, I send a reply.
[No]
[I have something to ask. Personally. Are you free after club activities?]
[How bold of you to steal a lady’s time! Truly, the reputation of the ‘Black Beast’ isn’t unfounded.]
Bella’s reply comes right back.
Receiving a message like that after a long time leaves me bemused before I even get angry.
[That’s not it.]
[I’m serious; it’s really important.]
[If you say so, understood. Master’s master.]
[Let’s meet in the dormitory laundry room after club activities.]
After checking Bella’s response, I put my phone back in my pocket.
But Olivia, it really can’t be anything major, right?
*
After school. Club activity time.
Cooking Club Room.
Inside the room, impressive shelves are packed with cookbooks bought with the club’s budget. I sit at my desk.
“Hey, Kim.”
“Hyung, it’s been a while!”
Today, surprisingly, Ishihara and Yuji, who usually skip club activities on the pretext of practice, are here too.
Thud.
The club room door closes.
“Looks like everyone’s gathered?”
Kasumi, sitting right by the window, puts down the book she was reading.
For reference, the seat I’m in is directly in front of the club room door.
It’s just the two of us, Kasumi and I, sitting alone at the end of a long rectangular table.
A smile curls on Kasumi’s lips.
The book she was reading isn’t a light novel but a cookbook suited for the club’s theme.
“Hoshino-senpai, why did you suddenly call everyone together?”
Rin asks.
“Fufu. Curious about why we’re all here, huh?”
Kasumi opens the cookbook and hides her face behind it.
Seeing that makes me a bit anxious.
Thud.
She slaps a poster down on the table.
“I got the information that the Sanno Festival is happening in ten days. Fufu. I want to gather the newcomers to go to the festival together for some club unity.”
A poster featuring the loud announcement of the festival and fireworks in Japanese catches my eye.
A summer festival.
It’s an unmissable event in Japanese subculture and, of course, appears in the “Weakest Hero” original too.
The scene where Kasumi flutters the Sanno Festival poster takes place in Chapter 1 of Volume 5.
Olivia, Rin, Eri, and the protagonist enjoy the festival together in a slice-of-life event scene.
Though it occupies a whole chapter, it doesn’t hold any particular significance in the story.
Especially since the chapter that follows it kicks off Saori’s student dispatch mission and the quest for Durandal.
Of course, since I’ve already secured Durandal at this point, the event in Volume 5 has little meaning.
‘Has it really been that long?’
[What time?]
The Black Prince questions.
I’ve felt this while spending time with him, but he can’t read all my thoughts.
He can only perceive the thoughts I intentionally send him for conversation.
I can only read your thoughts.
Thanks to that, I haven’t been caught by the Black Prince yet.
There’s no reason to tell him.
I need to go back.
‘It feels like the first semester is almost over already.’
[Soon it’s summer break, partner. What are you going to do during the break?]
Summer break.
The side story in the original volume 6.5 deals with the protagonist’s summer vacation events.
It didn’t come out in the TVA and was instead featured as an OVA episode, but like most light novel slice-of-life spin-offs, it’s not particularly meaningful.
Just some cute moments between the heroines and the protagonist.
I don’t need to follow that, so if there’s something I have to do during vacation…
‘I should rest.’
I don’t even know how long it’s been since my last break, but vacations are supposed to be for relaxing.
At that moment.
The Black Prince’s voice echoes in my head.
[Aren’t you going back to your home country? Korea, right? You should definitely go back during the break.]
Returning home?
That’s something I never even considered.
I picture the image of Korea I’ve seen as a knight.
A nation overflowing with toxic nationalism, my face plastered all over the streets of Seoul, the president fainting in tears after hearing my news.
I start to get chills in a way that’s different from the light novel.
The Korea Strait. Is it really okay to cross over?
But I can’t just not go when it’s right next door.
‘I’ll think about it then.’
It’s better to deal with such troublesome issues later.
Just as I draw my conclusion.
“Oooooooo! Festival! Eri wants to go too! Eri! I’ll wear a beautiful yukata that will make even the master fall in love at first sight! Get ready, everyone!”
“The essence of a yukata’s beauty comes from the charming curves of a generous bosom. Nishizawa. Someone like you with a flat chest can never truly represent the yukata’s full elegance.”
Plop.
Rin places her hand on her large chest.
“Kim Deok-Sung. Look forward to it. On the festival day, I’ll show you the true beauty of Japan.”
Beauty of Japan, huh.
Here we go again with the childish fight.
Rin’s gaze turns towards Eri’s chest.
A faint smirk appears on Rin’s lips.
“Ha! As expected, a flat chest like a cliff. Washboard.”
Eri’s face turns red as she receives Rin’s gaze.
Crossing her arms, Eri shouts while pointing to her chest.
“What? Did you just say that? Cow? The essence of fashion is the face! So the galaxy rank beauty Eri is the one who looks best in a yukata. I could care less about a lewd piece of local meat like you.”
Eri puffs out her cheeks as she speaks.
She’s calling herself a galaxy rank beauty?
No matter how pretty she is, it just makes me sigh.
“You can tell which is long or short, or big or small, when you compare them. Washboard. Of course, winning would unquestionably be me, Shinozaki Rin.”
“Fine. As the best beauty in the region, I accept your challenge, Cow. Let’s see who looks better in a yukata. Master, I’ll leave the judging to you!”
What?
What do you want to leave to me?
“I want to join too! I’ll make sure the lord acknowledges my yukata look.”
Bam.
Makoto, who had been quiet, raises her hand and shouts.
“Junior. Surely you’ll give my yukata the highest rating, right? I trust you, Junior. Even though you’re a black beast, you’re a kind man…”
And finally, Kasumi Senpai, who opens a cookbook to cover her face.
