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There are no eternal allies or enemies in this world.

Even the United States, which seemed to maintain a subtle friendship with the Soviet Union, jumped into a cold war immediately after World War II ended.

Before that, France and England, the top stars of the field, fought for a hundred years, formed alliances, broke them, and repeated that cycle of forming and breaking alliances.

Even in a future where only wars occur for 40,000 years, if a demon intervenes, the various powers that had been fiercely battling each other would form a temporary alliance just to crush that intruder first.

There’s no need to discuss huge organizations or factions called nations.

Human emotions tend to evaporate unless there have been considerable deaths on both sides, and even then, they can be resolved if triggered.

Nascha and Mary were no different.

As Mary made her way to the room where Karem and Catherine would stay, she was guided by the glum-faced Nascha to the stables.

“…The wagon’s door and trunk won’t open.”

“It’s because of the recognition magic.”

The futile efforts of the Kikimoras, who even resorted to tools to open the wagon’s door and trunk, ended up being comically simple the moment Mary arrived.

Catherine’s magical wagon’s latch and trunk, which were made from six iron rods and twelve short iron bars, opened in an instant.

Mary had won decisively.

The Kikimoras clicked their tongues in disapproval.

The cargo in the wagon, which was wider inside than outside, was considerable since it had recently been invited for a hunt to hold items for three people to eat, sleep, and wear.

And surprisingly, under Mary’s control, Nascha and the Kikimoras began to move Karem and Catherine’s luggage.

Mary didn’t just watch, either.

She couldn’t allow her personal belongings, like Catherine’s magic tools and magic materials, to be touched by anyone other than herself.

So, she carefully moved those items herself instead of leaving them to the Kikimoras.

Despite their furrowed brows and clicked tongues, the Kikimoras did not obstruct or refuse.

After all, Mary was Catherine’s house fairy, and there was no reason for other house fairies to interfere when the house fairy was moving her contractor’s belongings.

Unless, of course, she looked to be struggling with them.

Mary was effortlessly lifting two wooden boxes at once.

“Thank you for your hard work. From here on, I’ll organize it myself—”

“Aren’t you in a contract relationship with your intended partner? We should—”

The two house fairies’ words overlapped and were abruptly cut off.

Cooperation ended right there.

Nascha looked up at Mary with narrowed eyes.

With a light scoff, Mary looked down at her, aloof.

The Kikimoras threw the first punch.

“Are you sure you won’t be away too long because of organizing the luggage?”

Wasn’t it time to go serve their master?

Nascha tilted her head as defiantly as she could, but her appearance only made her look cute.

Of course, that did not get to Mary.

“Aren’t you also playing the role of a maid?”

“I’m not the only attendant.”

Mary’s black eyes, which absorbed light, focused on Nascha.

“Since Karem is right beside me, it should be fine for a while.”

“Right beside you? Before that… Junior?”

“That’s right. I was first, and then Karem joined later to take over my kitchen duties. So, naturally, he is a junior, isn’t he?”

Nascha and the Kikimoras couldn’t refute that statement.

The logic was impeccable.

“But didn’t the contractor say you were a cook?”

“I heard that too.”

“Is the brownie mistaking its role—”

“Impossible. Displeasing as it may be, brownies are house fairies too.”

Faced with the flustered words of the Kikimoras, Mary’s aloofness intensified. As Nascha, who had been silently listening, raised her hand with a displeased expression, the Kikimoras promptly sealed their lips.

“Oh, so the position of the leader is quite secure.”

The qualification of the Kikimora leader was not based on skill or experience but on the ability to mediate when disputes and complaints arose.

The Kikimoras’ reactions indicated that Nascha’s handling had sufficiently satisfied the other Kikimoras up to that point.

Otherwise, Nascha’s luscious roll bun hair would have been claimed by another Kikimora.

“The contractor is a brownie’s junior, huh…”

“What do you think you can do if you’re displeased? Junior Karem has accepted this too.”

“What!?”

“Indeed.”

Of course, even though the title was junior, the reality was that they were in a competitive relationship, each waiting for any openings in the other, which Mary kept to herself.

“Most importantly, Junior Karem is the personal attendant of the contractor.”

“…A personal cook, and a personal attendant…!”

“That’s right. Of course, the brownie is me. But Junior Karem will, for a moment, represent me.”

At that, Mary cleared her throat inadvertently.

She had made herself scarce under the pretense of organizing the luggage for the contractor’s good time, but she didn’t appreciate that Karem had filled her absence.

“Right, you’re just saying that. Junior Karem is on a date with the contractor.”

0.001 seconds was all it took for Mary to convince herself.

With an even face, she continued speaking.

“Don’t you think I have enough qualifications to represent?”

“…Even so, I can’t just leave the luggage organization to you and return.”

“I clearly—”

“The contractor is our contractor—! Losing that would be—!”

Mary clicked her tongue inwardly at those words. So this is how you play it.

“The intended partner is a guest of Fellow Mansion!”

“Yet, it does not change the fact that the contractor is mine—”

Nascha seemed pleased with her perfect rebuttal.

That was an undeniable reality, and Mary’s mind was already moving at the speed of searching for Alicia in the Mage Tower.

There are no eternal enemies or allies in this world.

Mary’s argument was flawless, but this was the Kikimoras’ home ground, not hers.

Now, Karem was the owner of Fellow Estate, and Catherine was both his lover and guest.

The customs of hospitality dictate that:

The host must entertain the guest.

The guest must not cause trouble for the host.

If she said anything wrong here, the house fairy magic would surely label her a ‘bad house fairy’ for violating the customs of hospitality and deliver immediate punishment.

Thus, she opted for Plan B.

Mary swallowed her dry saliva and carefully chose her words.

“Then, shall we compromise?”

“Compromise?”

Nascha furrowed her brows.

That didn’t mean she declined; she simply didn’t understand what ‘compromise’ meant.

‘Everyone pay attention! Attention! Does anyone know what compromise means?’

‘Huh? What do you mean? I didn’t hear that.’

‘It’s the brownie who brought it up. I don’t know.’

‘Reaaaally no one knows, huh?’

Thus, while telepathy rapidly spread through the Kikimoras in Fellow Mansion, there was no Kikimora who understood what ‘compromise’ meant.

Fortunately for Nascha, she understood it as meaning she would at least hear it.

“Your contractor, Junior Karem, is your—”

Nascha began to grasp what ‘compromise’ hinted at, realizing it was a hassle to use that peculiar word.

“The intended partner is a brownie. She shall lead.”

“Don’t you think that’s a fair compromise?”

“Ugh. You’re a house fairy too, with a contractor.”

“That’s exactly right.”

Nothing has changed.

But the nuance had completely shifted.

“Haven’t we already cooperated once?”

For the Kikimoras, it wasn’t just once; it had been twice. Once to open the wagon’s door and trunk, and once when moving the luggage, totaling two times.

Mary pressed this point.

“Thus, disputes between two contractors who met in such a tightly-knit relationship are merely a nuisance for the contractors.”

“Ugh… You’re right. We definitely shouldn’t cause harm to the contractors…”

Nascha hesitated, and the Kikimoras behind her began to understand too, even though their expressions were still filled with discontent.

“If we don’t deny it, shall we adhere to the compromise?”

“…Let’s adhere to the compromise.”

With that, Nascha reached an agreement with Mary on behalf of the Kikimoras.

And.

“Haha. You foolish Kikimoras.”

Everything had gone according to Mary’s plan up to this point.

Of course, Mary’s proposed compromise was indeed true.

As a house fairy, she couldn’t violate the customs of hospitality.

Fellow Estate was their territory, so the greedy brownie would inevitably perceive it as a forced negotiation.

However, looking at the wagon’s cargo…

If you considered Karem, Catherine, and Mary’s luggage, the reality was starkly different.

‘They probably thought they had split it fairly down the middle.’

But to put it plainly, even if Karem’s luggage held various cooking utensils, it was still less in quantity than the garments Catherine was carrying.

Adding Mary’s luggage to that meant the ratio significantly tipped toward Catherine.

Naturally, if necessary, the house fairy magic could assist, so one could say that Mary’s luggage was almost negligible compared to Karem’s and Catherine’s.

Yet it still held enough quantity for a meaningful change.

That was a judge’s victory followed by another.

A total of two victories.

-But.

In her focus on organizing the luggage, Mary had forgotten the proposition.

That is, that the owner of Fellow Estate was Karem.

And the Kikimoras, who had already established their position in Fellow Estate before accepting Karem as a new contractor, were the ones who had set up shop.

Therefore, from the moment Mary visited Fellow Estate, she was already defeated by the Kikimoras.

Even if Karem declared his renunciation, the Kikimoras would be preparing meals while they were at Fellow Estate, and Mary had already eaten the lunch made by the Kikimoras.

In fact, she had eaten the most.

If the house fairy magic monitoring hospitality customs could speak, it might say that both of them were simply lacking.

Indeed, even though she had won from the start, the Kikimoras had been too unaware to notice.

“…I never thought the greedy brownie would actually yield.”

“Better than causing harm to the contractor. It’s only natural.”

Unaware of that truth, Mary savored a victory that wasn’t really a victory inwardly.

*

*

*

When the two groups of house fairies reached a dramatic agreement, Karem stumbled upon a hot spring.

It wasn’t particularly hard to find.

Since the moment they arrived at Fellow Estate, steam resembling hot springs had been wafting up, so he simply had to walk toward it.

Thus, after going around the mansion, he arrived at the back side of the garden.

Inside the D-shaped Fellow Mansion.

“Quite magnificent.”

Splash splash splash—

A strange, pleasantly uplifting scent mixed with the steam.

Even at this moment, the spring water bubbling from the center of the hot spring pooled in the gray stone basin, clear and transparent as crystal, without impurities.

He almost mistook it for a simple stone floor rather than hot spring water, not even noticing its presence if the surface wasn’t rippling.

The hot spring was adorned around it with statues, boulders, street trees, bushes, and small flower beds, creating an illusion that, despite being enclosed by tall walls, it was a scene straight out of a story or tale, thanks to the various murals.

“…Yeah, it is quite magnificent.”

Catherine agreed with Karem’s words as she hadn’t seen such a lovingly crafted hot spring in quite a while.

“I’ve only ever seen such a hot spring in Servianus. Did my lord indulge this much?”

“No way. It must be the Duchess.”

Catherine nodded as if in agreement with that reasoning and bent down to dip her hand into the hot spring water, still holding her staff.

Plop—

“…The scent, and with such clarity in the state.”

“At first glance, it seems a bit mystical.”

“Does it only seem mystical?”

Catherine’s face shimmered with slight admiration as she stirred the hot spring water, creating a small whirlpool.

“It seems that staying in it for a certain period yields some effect… There must be a reason why rare monsters have claimed this spot.”

“Strengthening effects?”

At Karem’s question, Catherine thought for a moment and shook her head.

“I’ll need to analyze it to find out.”

“Then why not take some with you?”

“No need to go that far.”

Catherine stood up, lightly shaking the water off her hands.

“You could just step in yourself.”

Indeed, given how wonderful this hot spring was, not stepping in would be a loss. It appeared to be the kind of luxurious hot spring that could easily fetch hundreds of thousands won if it were a hotel.

However, since Catherine was using the outdoor hot spring, she had to set that aside for the next opportunity—

“What are you talking about? You should get in too.”

“Huh?”

Without answering, Catherine quickly slipped past Karem.

With her staff in one hand and her other hand behind her back, the ears peeking out from her disheveled hair turned red from the heat of the hot spring.

 

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