Lord of Disease (JP-GL) 491

491: Welcome to Lital Hot Springs

Even though it was early autumn, the area around the fortress—no, the inn—was covered in snow, and the road was not visible. The ‘transport vehicle’ that was pushing its way through the snow, like a snowplow, was a Liverit sheep, pulling a passenger car.

A tangled, long gray fur, and three horns. A sturdy, four-legged magical beast species, with characteristics—meat quality—similar to a sheep. As expected of a ‘snow-spec.’ A travel speed that was far faster than on foot.

We had a wide-ranging partnership with Liverit Village, from the means of transport to the food menu.

After the war, since they had been working to restore the population, the supply of Liverit sheep meat had been temporarily stopped. Shipments to the high-end restaurants, centered on the capital, had also resumed, but Lital Hot Springs was now their largest customer.

The fact that the Black Hound Barghests had taken a job as a sheepdog was a major factor in the establishment of the partnership. Incidentally, we had also partnered with Tife Village, and the sweet side of the menu had also been strengthened with maple syrup.

We had a few other signature ingredients, and we also had the personnel to handle them. Like the female chef who had come with the landlady who had lost her inn. If it hadn’t been for her circumstances, she was skilled enough that she probably wouldn’t have taken a job at such a suspicious hot spring inn.

This place was, to put it nicely, a remote area, isolated from all the hustle and bustle. The idea was to have them enjoy the hot springs and the food, in the quiet.

I had not forgotten that in Wessphia, even though it was a high-end hotel, the food had not been very good.

The Liverit sheep pulled up right next to the covered plaza in front of the lobby, which could be called the ‘shuttle bus stop.’

Here, a maid was the equivalent of a nakai, so I, too, was lined up to greet them.

As I looked at the disembarking guests, I felt the gazes of some of the maids, who were looking at me with a reproachful look.

Among the maids, there were some who did not know that I was a former supreme commander of the Demon King’s army, the Lord of Disease, and there were even some who did not know that I was a former soldier. So, there were some who did not know the identity of the guests.

But for those who did. They would realize that the selection of people was like a gathering of the important people of this country.

Starting with Your Majesty the Demon King, whom I had seen for the first time without his crown, almost all of the members who had celebrated the retirement of the Lord of Disease at the flower viewing were present.

I ignored the reproachful gazes with all my might. Regardless of the identity of the guests, all I had to do was to serve them with all my heart. I had been hesitant to tell them beforehand, but it would be a problem if they were to be strangely intimidated, and if they didn’t know, then that was fine.

Rebecca, who was holding a trunk, stared at me. An exasperated expression.

“…Weren’t you on the management side?”

“I am.” I replied in a low voice.

I was, without a doubt, on the management side. But to save on costs and to lead from the front, at least until the business was on track, I would be working on the ground. When the opening staff had been trained, I didn’t know what I would do.

“But now, I’m the maid, Daisy. Now, young lady. —Shall I carry your luggage?”

“No, I’ll carry it myself. …To hear you speak so sensibly, I feel a sense of unease.”

“…That’s a little… unavoidable.” I returned to my normal self.

“‘Daisy-dono’ suits that attire very well. And you are matching with Liz-dono.”

“Daisy… sama. Is there anything I can help you with?”

Harken, who was saying nice things, and Samarkand, who seemed to have been unable to maintain his mental stability without adding ‘-sama.’

“…No, I’m a maid at an inn now, Samarkand.”

Unable to decide which was more important, the customer or the master of the blood contract, I decided to speak normally, in a low voice.

“To think that the day would come when I would see ‘Daisy-dono’ in such an attire.”

“It was worth it, to have survived.”

“No, I had thought you were a person with a beautiful flower in your head, but to this extent.”

The death knights—the heroes who had once been called the Order of Disease—were saying whatever they pleased. To see them in their private clothes, not their matching surcoats, was a little fresh.

By the way, did he just say I had a flower in my head?

The wraith assassins, who were in their usual deep purple robes, were also covering their mouths and looking down, their shoulders trembling. Just laugh.

“…Shall I carry your luggage, too, esteemed guests?”

When I showed them a business smile, they looked at each other and laughed, rattling their jawbones. Harken answered on their behalf.

“Thank you for your consideration. But it is fine. Be kind to women and maids—or so our master has always said.”

Of course, I thought that you should be polite to men and to people of other professions as well.

I—had ordered these people to die.

To open the front lines and to die a heroic death. To take the heads of the enemy commanders, under Liz’s command. To go to a battlefield with almost no hope of returning alive.

And on top of that, to survive.

All of them were orders that could not possibly be followed. …And yet, they had returned from a battlefield where it would not have been strange if not a single one had returned.

So, if I could welcome them now, without the regalia of a supreme commander. Then it was worth it, to have survived.

“Everyone, welcome to Lital Hot Springs.”

I greeted everyone again, with a smile.