--King's castle courtyard square.

　A pleasant afternoon with the sun shining through the trees.

　Futa was troubled.

　Should I tell him? Should he tell them about his blunder?
　But if he found out that he had aided in the scam, his relationship with Lilac might be compromised in the future.

　His only contract with Lilac was to make a match.
　But right now, he wants proof that Futa is strong.

　If Futa gets into a hundred-fold fight with Richter, for example.
　I didn't want Lilac to think that.

　I didn't want to, and I wouldn't want to have that guy around.

"No matter how hard you try, you'll never be a knight!　Why don't you give up while you still can!

　Suddenly, his voice echoed in my ears from the earlier meeting.

　I have no intention of becoming a knight. But...
　"But the part about "no matter how hard the unemployed try" was painful.

　The fact is that the result of the unemployed's continuous effort was that of the eight hundred championships.


　I want to live up to Lilac's trust, no matter how unemployed I am.

　Futa knows.

　Lilac's sword. He knows that she fights alone and that she's always honing her sword for betrayal.

　That's why she wanted to reduce the possibility of her own betrayal.


"Princess.
What?　Is there a problem?
I will not fail you, Princess.
What, a sudden declaration? ...... is... Well, I don't expect you to betray me.
I'm glad to hear it.
Hoota?　What's with the big smile? I don't know anything about it.

　If they don't think I'm going to betray them, I'll just have to earn their trust.

Futa is ...... sometimes like this, a lack of communication skills.
What?
I shouldn't be shocked.
I'm sorry, ........ I was raised not to talk to people.
...... That's okay. It's not like I'm looking for counseling or anything.

　Lilac shook her head and turned to Futa.

"Futa. Please do not let me down.
"Yes, of course. Yes, of course.
...... is a good answer. I'll take that as a yes.

　Hooter knew.

Oh, here's a clever line: ......
"You're not going to be my mate. I'm fine with that.

　More than that," Lilac continued.

"You're looking forward to tonight, aren't you?
"Yes. Good luck.

　Lilac smiled softly and then a voice called out from afar.

"Here you go!　Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Don't say "weird tea.
...... Mmm-hmm.

　Lilac seemed to be laughing heartily at Corona's and Futa's dumbfounded remarks.




















　--That night. Futa's private room.

"Hey, Futa-sama...
"Hmm?

　Just as he was about to start training with Lilac, a voice called out from behind him.
　I turned around and saw Korona lying on the floor as usual. On the floor.

I think the floor is dirty.
I've just changed the carpet and this is the one and only time I can roll on it.
Oh, yeah. ...... I just walked there.
I just walked there.

　Corona's eyes became like batten marks.

　Of course, everything but the bed is clogged.

You say "mighya" but you don't move.
If it's too late, the maid's way is to live short and thick.
What are you talking about, ......?

　What are you talking about?　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what's going on in your life.



　He was even more restless than usual, and incidentally, the way he glanced meaningfully at Futa bothered even Futa.

What is it?
Can I say something?
"Whatever you say.
I'll tell you what.

　Corona thrusts her finger at him.

　As he had told her to say whatever she wanted, Futa thought that she would be unfazed by whatever Corona had to say.
　He was used to being called names, and if someone as close as Corona was to him, he would be able to fix whatever she said.

　What came out of her mouth, however, was something Futa hadn't expected.


"Did you play a hundred games or something?
"Now ......

　All the words he had planned to say disappeared from his mind.

"Why ......?
"Nothing, nothing. You were so sensitive to that word during the day, you know?

"You're either picking up horse bones and training them to be stronger than you are, or you're trying to beat the princess in a hundred games.

　Richter's words flash back to me.

I'm sure you're not the only one.　I'm not sure what to make of this.
"...... I see.

　I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I'm not the only one.

　I'm sure you can guess with all this material.

　He let out a long, deep breath.

　I looked up at the ceiling, but nothing had changed.

　But. I wonder if I should say goodbye to the ceiling I've seen every time I wake up from sleep.

...... This is it?
Huh?
The princess doesn't want someone who's going to lose on purpose at her instigation.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no!

　I'm not sure what to do.
　The next thing you know, the chair Corona was sitting in had fallen over.
　It was a tremendous reflection.

"What the hell? You're so naive.
That said...
The maid didn't say that to get rid of Futa-sama. I mean, what is it? Does it bother you that much?
Of course it is. I'm the one who ruined the game.
Huh.

　Corona didn't seem to understand at all.

I don't know, but... Does it matter to you, Master Futa?
To me, too. You never know when someone who has done something like that once might do it again.

　Corona nodded her head, a question mark on her face.

　You'll be able to find a lot more information on this subject in the following article.


　You'll be able to find a lot more information on the web.

What's going on here?
"A lead?
"Am I a dog?

　Futa closed his eyes.

　Now that he knew, he wanted to tell Corona everything.
　There was no reason to hide it anymore.

　The echoes of the daytime buzzing.

"No matter how hard you try, you'll never be a knight!　Why don't you give up while you still can!


　That was just before I became a champion. That's what the audience used to say to me.
　They were probably just as afraid of Futa becoming a champion as the nobles are today.

　No matter how hard you try, you'll never be a true fighter. So give up.


I said. I just wanted to prove that there are things you can do with hard work.

　I thought a fighter would be perfect for that.

I wanted to show that even though I was unemployed, I could compete with the real thing.

　I was confident in my skills.

But I was wrong. They had their own style and I didn't.

　Becoming a champion didn't change that.

　I trained, and I trained, and I trained.

"And then...

　He muttered quietly. Then he continued.

After all," he muttered quietly, "I was never qualified to be a swordsman when I got involved in the "eight hundred and forty-five. That's what it came down to, you know.

　"I couldn't become a fighter if I was unemployed.

　Futa's big regret.

　After listening to the story, Corona's eyes blinked.



　She was about to give a wry smile, wondering if she had come this far and still hadn't gotten the message about the world of warriors, when Corona stood up.

　She pulled out a flower from the vase on the side table and said, "Go ahead.

"Come on!
"Whoops!

　She splashed water on them.

"Corona, what are you doing?
It's not the unemployed's fault, it's yours.

　Wiping his face, Futa looked up at Korona.
　Unusually, she had a sharp look in her eyes.

　She was angry.

"What?
I'm not sure what to make of that.
"...... Don't blame the profession?
It's not a surprise. I'm not sure if it was harder being unemployed or if it was harder than being a maid, but...

　I hadn't asked about Corona's occupation, by the way.

But still, your actions are all your fault.
...... I see.
That's how reality works. No matter how bad the cards you're dealt, if you do something wrong, it's your fault. It's an absurd world.

　Feeling strangely real, Futa held his tongue.

"But even so, if you blame your 'profession', you're finished there. It's the end of your life. There are many bad people like that.
......
The maids don't care if those bad people die or get caught for their bad behavior.

　But.

"You can't be one.

　I'm not sure what to say.

"...... is harsh.
"That's right. We're brother and sister, right?
We're not brother and sister.

　Corona laughed.
　She regained her composure a little and said to Futa.

"So all you can do is reflect.
"Reflection.
"Yes, yes. The maids are often remorseful for their mistakes.

　She says, "Yes," with both hands.

Reflection. What should I do?
Well, why don't you just say you'll never do it again, no matter what happens?
Is that what you want?
No?　Then he'll never be able to forgive himself. It's not a good life.

　Corona says, tilting her head.

　Reflection. I'll never do this.

　In my heart, I've thought this for a long time.

　But...

I don't know if I can look forward to that.
It's good. If there are any who still complain, the maid will clean them up.
"Thank you .......