Arianna Hayama Arialdi found herself frowning as she waited for her master to return.
She had been informed that she was going to be receiving cooking lessons from the newest Campione and despite being told that the boy was simply an unbelievably good cook (she had even confirmed it by tasting some of the food he gave to Erica), it still stung.
Objectively she could honestly say that he was a better chef than she was but subjectively she found herself hating the fact that Erica considered it necessary for her to receive lessons.
She supposed that she was simply letting her pride overtake her mind, after all, up until now she had always been praised for her cooking (well, except for her stew but obviously they all simply found it too good to comment on), so to suddenly be told that she was going to be receiving lessons was quite the blow.
But in the end, she was Erica's maid and she would undertake these lessons because it was her job to do so, regardless of her pride.
"We have returned," the call of her master broke her out of her thoughts as she made her way to the front door before freezing at the sight before her.
Not only was Erica-sama and Godou-sama there, so was Mariya Yuri, Kusanagi Shizuka and Narukami Yū.
It was the last one that made her breath hitch.
She didn't know how, but there was just something about the eighth Campione that made her heart flutter and her mind start focusing on thoughts that shouldn't belong there.
She knew it wasn't an authority or the aura of a Campione that was doing this to her… no, it was something unique to the man himself, a charisma that permeated his very being and made him into more than just a person.
It made him something unique, something that she was sure no woman could resist if he tried to seduce them.
"Anna-san?" her mind snapped back to place upon hearing Godou call out her name in confusion, causing her cheeks to flush before she gave out a greeting.
"Ah, my apologies, I was not expecting guests," she tried to cover up her weakness, hoping that they didn't ask any further questions.
"That's fine," the Eighth Campione started to speak and she knew that he was not the same as the Seventh, the differences between their very demeanours and natural charisma was obvious to her.
That's not to say that Godou didn't have Charisma, but his was a very… special kind of charisma, the sort that only really made itself clear when you had spent a long time around him (though it usually required dangerous situations for it to really come out on top of the time it took).
"So I take it you are Arianna-san?" the oldest of the group asked easily and she gave a curt nod, her previous moments of weakness no longer affecting her as much as they had initially.
"Yes, Narukami-sama, it is a pleasure to meet you at last," she said with a formal bow. She had heard that the teen was a pleasant person and seemed to be content with balancing a normal life and his status as a Campione.
"So, I am supposed to give you cooking lessons," he claimed with an easy smile and she found herself no longer hating the fact that she was being made to train under this teen.
"Y-yes," she agreed before a thought popped into her head, "would you like to try my stew?"
"Alright then," she beamed a smile at the teen as he agreed to try her pride and joy.
There was never a point in time when Yū thought he would be happy to have tried Mystery Food X, however now he found himself thanking the kami that he had already been forced to try that abomination.
It had been the only thing that saved him from this maids stew.
"How is it?" she sounded far too proud and he found himself asking her one simple question.
"Have you ever tried your own stew?" he found himself dreading the answer.
"Yes, it's wonderful isn't it?" she stated chirpily and he found himself wondering just what was wrong with the girls taste buds to let her consider this… this thing wonderful.
"No," he decided to state it bluntly, realising that trying to dress it up nicely would only make her miss the point, "it's horrible."
"What?" she sounded disbelieving and the way her eyes were wide at his claim only made her look like someone had just told her her mother had been murdered, "no, that's not possible, Godou-san, Erica-sama, you agree that my stew is wonderful right?"
She looked at the two most experienced with her cooking and Yū noted the way they refused to meet her eyes or answer.
He could tell the look on her face meant that she couldn't believe what she was hearing, couldn't believe that the two people she was most associated with would turn their backs to her on this matter.
"Is that why you are always saying you're full?" her question towards the other Campione and the European knight was clearly one that indicated that she was hurt by the fact that they wouldn't defend her… or was that really it?
Was she really upset about the fact that her stew wasn't liked… or was she upset that no one told her? Honestly he didn't know her well enough to really tell.
Once again, the two that were more experienced with her food remained quiet as they refused to look at her.
"Oh come on!" he blinked upon hearing Shizuka call out in irritation, "there's no way it can be that bad!"
He decided to let her do what she was about to do, knowing that it was probably the only way to get her to accept the truth of the statement.
He wasn't in the least bit surprised when she nearly spat out the stew she had just tried before taking a deep drink of water and then nervously turning towards everyone else and making a sheepish statement.
"Eh, he… I guess I was wrong," he could tell from the way Arianna-san was deflating that she took that as a personal blow so he decided that it was time to simply end the conversation.
"Well, I think it's about time for me to start helping Arianna-san with her cooking," and with that he proceeded to simply enter the kitchen before noting that the black haired maid was still standing there with a downcast expression.
So he simply returned, grabbed her arm and pulled her into the food preparation area with Shizuka following, ready to learn as well.
Godou couldn't stop himself from cringing as the three returned with a pair of bowls, both held on a tray that was being carried by Yū-senpai himself.
Honestly, he had found his heart wrenching at the look on her face upon his refusal to support her stew… honestly he was sorely tempted to simply lie and say that it was wonderful, however he knew that doing so would simply render what Yū-senpai was doing worthless.
That's not to say that he was happy with the blunt way his senior stated the fact that her stew was horrible but he guessed that trying to sugar coat it would have made it harder to get her to accept what he was trying to teach her.
"All right, both Shizuka-san and Arianna-san have made some stew following my basic instructions," the grey haired teen stated calmly, "now it is time for the taste test."
Godou found himself flinching at the knowledge that there was going to be a taste test but he also found himself taking a deep breath and preparing for the worst.
"Now, the stew will not be the best," the complete lack of surprise on the faces of the two trainees made it clear that they weren't expecting it to be, "since stew has a habit of improving overnight, but it should be at least acceptable."
Godou had to admit, he did not know that point about stew but he supposed Yū-senpai would probably know better than him.
"Now, Itadakimasu," and with that the bowls of stew were placed before him and Erica, who immediately found themselves hesitant to eat the meal before them… admittedly it was only because he wasn't sure Anna-san didn't somehow manage to ruin the dishes with some sort of supernatural power but it made him hesitate anyway.
But in the end, he tried the broth based meal and found himself clenching his eyes in expectation of the oncoming pain.
However he was greeted by a flavour.
It actually tasted like stew!
He found himself nearly crying in relief, however he also knew that it was possible the bowl he was given was Shizuka's but given Erica's surprised look, it was clear that she too had a stew that actually tasted like stew.
"So, how is it?" Narukami-sama, for that is the only title possible for someone that could defeat the horrors of Anna-san's stew, asked easily.
"It tastes like stew," was the first statement out of his mouth, "it actually tastes like stew!"
He immediately knew he said something wrong as both Yū and Shizuka wore small smiles… but Arianna simply looked downcast, almost depressed.
He just knew he would have to apologize to her soon.
Arianna had to admit, she had never expected everyone to hate her stew.
However, despite that, what really hurt her was that no one had bothered telling her that her pride and joy was misplaced, that her stew was so horrible that no one wanted to eat it.
She really should have seen it given how long it took everyone to eat it, how Erica always claimed she was too full to eat it and so on and so forth.
But she had just been so blinded by her own love of her stew that she didn't even notice other people's dislike of it.
Honestly it was probably the single most shocking revelation she had ever experienced herself.
Then again she hadn't been forced to face a god before.
"Anna-san?" she found herself breaking out of her thoughts upon hearing Kusanagi-san call her name.
"Ah, Kusanagi-san," she simply responded while trying to hide her despair, knowing that the boy probably came to apologize.
Honestly she knew he was a good person and didn't want to hurt her feelings, she knew that he wouldn't do anything to hurt anyone intentionally.
However, that just made it hurt even more that he had hid it from her.
Really, it was knowing that he had been lying about her cooking and forcing himself to eat something he didn't like to make her happy that made her as upset as she was right now.
She prided herself in being the best maid she could be and knowing that she had been failing and no one had told her was simply… heart-breaking.
"Uh… about earlier," he seemed to trail off as if uncertain of what to say, then again he was probably trying to raise her spirits but in the end, it didn't really matter.
"It doesn't matter," she stated as bluntly as she could.
She wasn't surprised that he looked shocked at her claim, then again she knew that she wasn't good at hiding her emotions so saying that was probably one of the things that no one would expect.
"I made you eat something you hated for so long and you never told me," she claimed, earning a grimace off the dark haired teen, "but now I know… now I can get better and some day, I will make a stew that you will love!"
She had decided even before he arrived that she would improve, that she would make up for all the horrible stews she made him eat by making ones that he would love and eat with a gusto.
First though, she would have to finish her lessons with Narukami-san and master the art of cooking, she didn't want to make something horrible anymore… she would just have to focus on making sure she didn't add too many conflicting ingredients anymore.
The relieved smile on Godou's face said everything to her right that moment though.
She might have been upset but she knew she would get over it soon and Kusanagi-san wouldn't have to worry about it.
She would become an even better maid than she already was and prove herself worthy of serving a King and his Queen.
Yū had to admit that time passed by quite quickly after that.
Between his extra driving lessons, teaching Arianna-san and Shizuka how to cook, doing homework and hanging out with Godou and the rest of his group, he found himself having plenty to do… though he still made plenty of time to call his friends whenever he had a chance (Yosuke definitely sounded jealous of his new car but that was fine, it was just the sort of person he was after all).
He was also certain that Godou was trying his hardest to prepare a trip out of the country and most importantly, away from Erica but that was pretty much all he knew about the situation concerning the younger Campione and his holiday.
He himself had prepared for the summer holiday and the situation was not one he would miss for the world.
Sure it would take the best part of a day to get there (especially since he was going to be driving), but he would be seeing his friends again and in the end, that was more important to him than anything else.
Plus he knew that even Rise was going to be there while her manager sorted out all the details concerning her comeback tour and the release of her new album.
But eventually, the last day of term came and he found himself sitting in the main hall, listening to the principle give a speech as he once again found himself zoning out while simultaneously looking for Godou and his group.
They weren't there but he was honestly expecting that… Godou would want to avoid interacting with Erica that day so he would be capable of escaping her and he had learned that he needed to go to her apartment every morning just to make sure she woke up for school.
Eventually though the speech came to an end and Yū found himself walking to his car with a smile on his face as he entered the driver's seat and started the engine, knowing that his suitcase was already in the back seat.
It was finally time for him to return to Inaba.