Chapter 95: Real Maid

"Great! My moment has arrived!ヾ (≧∇≦)ﾉ" (Iris)

At that moment, interrupting Silvia’s words, a voice was heard that made everyone present look up, but by the time they all looked up, it was already too late—the girl was no longer at the top of the stairs.

Bang!

She was about to reach them, for with a huge leap that carried her over all the steps, she landed on the first floor, making the wooden floor creak.

"S-she is your wife..."(Silvia)

Putting aside the fact that she had jumped from the second floor, Silvia was a little baffled.

That girl was beautiful—too beautiful to be the victim of infidelity.

If Silvia had to be objective, Azalea was also very beautiful, but that girl obviously had something Azalea didn’t: she was a radiant young woman.

As far as she understood, men—and especially humans—tend to seek that above all else.

Elves had the peculiar trait that they looked young for most of their lives and only aged rapidly in their final years, so it was often difficult to determine their age, but she was certain that Iris was young.

Elves could easily determine the age of another elf, even if it was someone of high rank and advanced age who looked young, and although she was a half-elf, she still possessed that racial ability from her elven side.

Silvia was certain that this girl must be in her early twenties. She was even younger than Astan.

The situation really seemed all the more strange and jarring.

Iris’s arrival made Silvia—who had already been certain of the situation—begin to doubt whether it was all really just a misunderstanding.

She doubted that any man would be unfaithful to someone so beautiful, especially since Astan, by comparison, wasn’t all that.

"Yes, she’s my wife. Also, Iris, don’t come down the stairs like that. You might hurt yourself."(Astan)

"Call me ’love.’" (Iris)

"(ㆆ_ㆆ), no." (Astan)

"Why? Oh! Right, you’re really shy when there are a lot of people around. More importantly, honey, it’s my turn to give that girl a massage, right?" (Iris)

"...I guess so." (Astan)

"No, wait, I don’t... uh!?..." (Silvia)

Finally, Silvia snapped out of her thoughts and tried to protest. She didn’t want to be separated from Azalea and leave this potential adulterous couple alone.

But before she could do so, in a moment she didn’t even notice, Iris was already very close to her, looking at her with her sparkling turquoise eyes, which, for some reason Silvia didn’t understand, seemed excited.

"Heh! By the way, you’re a half-elf, right? Oh, this is the first time I’ve seen green hair. It’s really pretty. Heh, also, are you a real maid or is this just cosplay? If it’s cosplay, where did you get it? I want one like that. Hehehe..." (Iris)

"Um, well... I-I’m, hmm... what’s cosplay?" (Silvia)

Silvia didn’t know how to react to this incredibly beautiful girl who had come so close to her, and she didn’t know what to say, since she didn’t understand what Iris was talking about.

"Hey! Stop it. Remember what happened last time." (Astan)

From what Astan said, it didn’t seem to be the first time Iris had done that, and he wanted to stop her, but Iris seemed focused on what she was doing.

"Sniff. Wait, honey. For some reason, I feel something. It’s weird. She’s like a MILF, but something’s missing. Hmm, why do I feel like she’s almost forty? Oh, my upgraded radar? Now it tells me her age."(Iris)

"Stop that." (Astan)

"Wait, honey, there’s something else. Sniff, but she also smells like innocence. Huh? This familiar scent—oh! I remember now. Honey, do you remember that friend of mine I introduced you to, the one who’d never even had a boyfriend? She reminds me of her—she smells like a single woman... Oh!, I wonder what’s underneath?"

Silvia was overwhelmed by Iris, and although she felt she had to say a lot of things to counter what Iris had said, she didn’t have time because, just as she was about to do so, Iris did something that baffled her even more...

"Huh? What are you...? W-Wait, why are you lifting up my skirt?" (Silvia)

Yes, Iris, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, lifted Silvia’s skirt.

Luckily, Silvia reacted instinctively and stopped it from rising any higher than her knees.

"Huh? If you do that, I won’t be able to see. Could you move your hands? I need to check something important..." (Iris)

Even so, Iris didn’t seem willing to give up, and she even asked Silvia to stop, as if she were the one who had done something wrong. Silvia didn’t know what to do.

"Stop it. What did I tell you about treating customers? If you don’t stop, I’ll get angry!" (Astan)

Luckily, Astan stepped in, grabbed Iris by the collar of her yukata, and pulled her away from Silvia, causing Silvia to let out a sigh of relief.

"But, honey, she’s a real maid! I have to solve the big mystery: whether she’s wearing sexy lingerie or granny panties."(Iris)

Silvia, who heard the reason behind this invasion of her privacy, didn’t even know what to think.

"Stop it, seriously! Ahem... Dear customers, I apologize. My wife is impulsive and a little weird and eccentric, but she’s not a bad person."(Astan)

Astan apologized and gave a slight bow.

"Fufufu~. Don’t worry, Silvia has a generous heart and wouldn’t get upset about that. There’s something more important. Iris, you remember me, right? It’s a pleasure to see you again."(Azalea)

Azalea, who had seen everything, beat Silvia to it and greeted Iris with a friendly smile.

"Oh! Of course I remember. Hehe. You’re always welcome, huehue~." (Iris)

Iris responded with a happy smile, Azalea, who was watching Iris’s reaction, realized that, unlike her, Astan hadn’t messed up.

She obviously believed that no wife would be this happy if she’d found out—or at least had any suspicion—about what she’d done with Astan.

Azalea truly realized how foolish she’d been in handling the situation.

Her carelessness had even affected Astan—which wasn’t good, since she’d only wanted to showcase her strengths—and now, thanks to Silvia, that had all been ruined.

So she couldn’t help but shoot Silvia a stern glance out of the corner of her eye, but she immediately returned to a gentle smile toward Iris, who was also laughing in a strange way.

She didn’t make a big deal out of her laughter or what had happened, since she remembered her brief encounter with Iris last time.

It seems that, as Astan says, she’s strange and eccentric.

Azalea made sure to keep that in mind: knowing the enemy was essential to winning the battle.

"All right. I guess Iris will take care of Silvia. Well, Astan, why don’t we get a head start?"(Azalea)

But what mattered most to Azalea right now was getting her massage, and with everything already arranged, there was no time to waste.

"...Right, but before that—"(Astan)

"Wait! That’s definitely not going to happen. I want him to give me my massage."(Silvia)

Silvia, who was still dealing with the embarrassment of what had happened, finally interrupted.

She hadn’t forgotten her goal, and although she was now a little unsure if that was really the case, she definitely wasn’t going to play along with Azalea.

"Silvia, don’t be unreasonable. Why give Astan more work when Iris is right here? Don’t you want her to give you a massage?" (Azalea)

"Don’t you want me to give you a massage?" (Iris)

Azalea replied, and Iris immediately joined in as well, looking sad that Silvia had rejected her.

"No, it’s not that. It’s just that I prefer him." (Silvia)

Silvia was a little frustrated. After all, Iris—who was obviously oblivious to everything that might be going on—was making things difficult for her. This was something that was also for her own good.

"Huh? Silvia, what’s this? Do you have some ulterior motive with Astan, who’s a married man?" (Azalea)

"💢 You... how dare yo—" (Silvia)

Silvia couldn’t believe Azalea would dare to say something so brazen, but before she could finish her retort, she heard Iris speak up.

"Do you have designs on my honey?" (Iris)

"No! Definitely not!" (Silvia)

She didn’t want any misunderstandings. In fact, she didn’t even understand why she had to clarify that in the first place, and it only made her glare even harder at Azalea, who simply looked away as if it weren’t her problem.

"...No? /_ \." (Iris)

"Of course not... Wait, why do you look so sad?" (Silvia)

"Ahem. Miss Silvia, don’t mind my wife. From what I can see, you want me to provide my services to you, right?"(Astan)

"That’s right. I don’t have any ulterior motives, but I’d prefer it if you were the one to give me my massage." (Silvia)

"Okay, I understand. All right."(Astan)

"Wait, I don’t think you should overexert yourself. My massages are already quite demanding, and besides, they take a long time. She might get bored. It’s better if Iris takes care of her."(Azalea)

"I understand, but, Miss Azalea, we have a strict policy of honoring our clients’ wishes as long as they’re within reason. In any case, if it’s just this once, I don’t think there’s any problem with you receiving a massage from Iris. I assure you her skills are even better than mine."(Astan)

"ah! No, you and me ugh!... Haaah~ Sure, I guess that’s fine. Silvia, you’re being unreasonable. I don’t want you to get yourself into trouble."(Azalea)

Azalea wanted to refuse and seemed like she wanted to say something else, but she held back and finally accepted it with a sigh.

She resigned herself to it and agreed.

After all, Silvia had come because of her own carelessness, and this was the consequence of that.

If she kept pushing the issue, she’d seem even less trustworthy and show Astan a side of herself that wasn’t very pleasant.

"I appreciate your understanding, Miss Azalea. Anyway, Iris ca—."(Astan)

Just when it finally seemed like everything was coming to a resolution and Silvia seemed confused about whether that was a good thing or not...

Creak

The sound of the door opening could be heard.

Silvia could see how the calm smile Astan had maintained almost from the start twisted for a moment, and, though it was only brief, his face truly looked surprised.

This, out of curiosity, made her turn around, and now she could see that the person entering was...