Five minutes before Rita returned to the dormitory.
"Lord Elias ntioned yesterday that he wanted to eat so higher-grade beef. Conveniently enough, I purchased a batch of A5 ribeye steaks so ti ago. Considering the weather has been warming lately, perhaps I should make cilantro ice cream for dessert after the al."
Rita shopped for supplies while planning lunch.
As a maid, she naturally knew her master's schedule. However, Elias had not said whether he would make it back from Anti-Entropy in ti, so even if Rita prepared lunch with great care, there was still a high chance all her effort would be in vain.
But as a maid with professional standards, Rita Rossweisse pursued absolute perfection. Even if there was only a one percent chance Elias would need it, she would prepare everything in advance.
As a side note, among the people from the Previous Era group, the only one Rita truly welcod was Eden. First, the other woman was elegant like herself. Second, Eden possessed countless treasured wines that could make Rita's cooking even more exquisite.
(If Lord Elias doesn't co back to eat, then I'll let Lady Durandal have it. Otherwise it would be wasted.)
In any case, even if her master did not eat it, her best friend could solve the problem.
A certain silly goose had recently complained that ever since Rita started following Elias, she had grown colder and colder toward her. Rita, you heartless woman who abandoned your best friend the mont you got a man.
"However, there are more and more people living in the dormitory lately. Preparing als has beco increasingly troubleso. Perhaps I should discuss it with Miss i. In the future, she can prepare everyone's food, while I prepare only Lord Elias' als."
Rita murmured to herself with a scheming smile. If i could hear that, lightning would probably already have struck.
After returning to the dormitory, the maid removed the wine-red high heels from her feet, slipped her stockinged feet into slippers, and brushed her lace-gloved fingertips across the floorboards. The spotless cleanliness made her nod in satisfaction.
Though she stood in the role of a servant, Rita was cleaner, more elegant, more refined, and more composed than anyone else. In truth, she was the one in the dormitory with the most noble-lady temperant.
But in Rita's own words:
"If a maid cannot present a perfect appearance, then she lowers her master's reputation. As one who serves, that is the one thing absolutely unacceptable."
"Moreover, my master is the noblest and greatest hero in this world. Being able to serve that lord is the greatest honor of Rita's life. Since that is so, I naturally cannot permit even the slightest carelessness. I already... must never commit another disgraceful mistake again."
Because in the past, she had committed what she herself considered an unforgivable error... a betrayal. Yet in the end, she had still been granted generous forgiveness and trust.
And so, from that day onward, the maid nad Rita Rossweisse secretly swore that she would offer everything she had and devote herself wholly to serving Elias.
Therefore, compared with the others in the dormitory, Rita's feelings for Elias were far more complex and special—loyalty, admiration, love, guilt, self-reproach, nervousness. Like a bottle of bittersweet fine wine, they intoxicated Elias completely.
Today as well, Rita intended to present perfect cuisine to the master she loved. With the resolve of one stepping onto a battlefield, the maid put on a white apron and opened the refrigerator to take out ingredients.
What entered her sight was a cat stuffing itself shalessly.
The ingredients she had painstakingly gathered had been reduced to utter chaos.
The corner of Rita's eye twitched. Then her smile beca even brighter. (A truly perfect maid must maintain her smile even when angry.) Soon after, she produced a scythe taller than herself from sowhere unknown.
"Hehe~ What a naughty little thing. To think you trespassed into a lady's bedroom and stole food without permission. Today I shall kindly provide you with a complintary sterilization surgery."
"ow ow!!"
The maid's frigid aura was colder than the chill spilling from the refrigerator. Timid Pardofelis imdiately began trembling.
"Sterilization is a good thing afterward. It can help cats avoid ovarian cysts, uterine fibroids, and illnesses like feline AIDS. No need to thank . Because Rita has a helpful master, as his maid, I should occasionally do such 'good deeds' as well~"
"ow ow ow!"
Under Artificial Cascade, Pardofelis sucked in a cold breath and instinctively used her tail to cover her lower body. Sterilization my tail! She still wanted to give Elias little kittens in the future!
Although she could see the cat's resistance, Rita had no intention of letting her go. After all, raiding the refrigerator truly had angered this maid.
"To a maid, the refrigerator is equivalent to an armory. And theft of military supplies is a grave cri no matter where you place it. The highest punishnt is death. So... have you prepared to repent, little kitty?"
"ow!" (No!)
In desperation, Pardofelis instinctively unleashed a burst of power.
"What?"
Rita's beautiful eyes widened in surprise. From the cat before her, she sensed an enormous amount of Honkai energy.
Her preliminary judgnt placed it at least at the Emperor-class level.
In an instant, the maid's gaze turned serious. Through quantum transfer technology, she equipped her battlesuit. With Rita's strength, even facing an Emperor-class Honkai Beast was no ti for carelessness.
"To think it is actually an Emperor-class Honkai Beast. How strange. Why would there be an Emperor-class Honkai Beast inside the Academy? Could this be another sche from Archbishop Otto?"
At present, the only organization still hostile to St. Freya Academy was Schicksal. Sending a cat-shaped Honkai Beast as a spy was exactly the kind of thing Rita believed that dog Otto might do.
"Forget it. No matter what, since you are a Honkai Beast, there is no need to hold back... Ah, right. Lord Elias said he can eat Honkai Beasts. Since you consud so many of my ingredients, then please compensate by becoming ingredients yourself."
Rita's battle intent rose by several more levels. As a cook, she was quite interested in opening up new culinary genres. At this mont, her mind was already considering how best to prepare Pardofelis.
"ow ow ow!" (Cats are so cute. How can you eat cats!)
"I have no idea what you're saying. In any case, die."
Rita launched her attack with lightning speed, her war scythe slashing toward the cat's body.
Pardofelis sucked in a cold breath as all her fur stood on end.
This woman was far too ruthless. She had beco such an adorable kitty, yet Rita could still bring herself to strike!
In truth, this was not ruthlessness but caution. Rita had once suffered quite badly at the paws of a cat-shaped Honkai Beast before... Even while wearing the fourth-generation Godsbane Suit, she had still co away injured.
From that day onward, she had lost all affection for cats.
And now, seeing yet another cat-shaped Honkai Beast appear before her, mories of past humiliating defeats surged up. Rita made up her mind that this ti, she absolutely would not lose her composure. She would go all out.
However...
"ow ow ow!" (Don't co any closer!)
Boom—!
Frightened by Rita's overwhelming aura, Pardofelis nimbly dodged the scythe strike. Then, almost instinctively, she lashed out with all her strength in a divine kitty tail-swing, slamming it straight into the maid.
The next second, Rita felt the world spin. She was sent flying directly from the second floor down to the first.
Rita: "???"
Miss Rita had flipped over yet again.
(Huff... huff... That scared to death.)
Pardofelis trembled pitifully. From her ek appearance, no one could tell that just monts ago she had blasted an S-rank Valkyrie away with a single strike.
Though Pardofelis might seem weak, that was only in comparison to the Fla-Chasers. As a high-ranking MANTIS, even naked she could rival a Valkyrie clad in S-rank battlesuit.
Not to ntion that she was currently in a state of Artificial Cascade. Although outwardly she looked like a harmless and adorable tabby cat, this was undeniably Pardofelis' strongest form.
In her panic, she had struck with full force. For Rita, who was only wearing third-generation B-rank Valkyrie battlesuit—Phantom Iron—and one that did not excel in defense, blocking that blow would have been a miracle.
"Is... is this even reasonable?"
Unaware of all these factors, Rita lay sprawled across the dining table in the living room, arms and legs splayed. For the first ti, she began to question her life.
She was an S-rank Valkyrie, right?
She used to be an emotionless assassin, right?
She had just gone all out without any carelessness, right?
Then why had she lost to a cat again and again and again?!
Rita trembled as she climbed off the table. No matter how strong her ntal resilience was, her defenses were shattered at this point.
"I... refuse to believe I will always lose!"
"ow ow ow!" (Why are you coming again!)
Hoisting her dark green war scythe, Gene Reaper, onto her shoulder, Rita fixed her gaze on Pardofelis on the second floor and launched another challenge at this Fla-Chaser bearing the Signet of [Reverie].
Pardofelis had no desire to fight at all and imdiately prepared to run. Unfortunately, though Rita might not be able to defeat her, she could certainly prevent her from escaping.
"Don't even think about running! Stalker Carbon, go!"
At Rita's command, a steel hound materialized.
"Awooo!"
"owaaah!" (There's a dog!)
Developnt code HD-603, an automatic hunting weapon known as the Stalker Carbon. It was also Rita's pet. Once it locked onto a target, it would never let them escape.
At the sa ti, the battlesuit she was wearing had been designed specifically for pursuit, greatly enhancing agility. It was enough to keep up with Pardofelis' speed.
And so...
The battle between cat, dog, and maid officially began.
Three figures darted up and down through the dormitory. The commotion was so loud that passing Valkyries nearby thought renovations were underway.
...
After quite so ti, when Elias returned to the dormitory with the three girls—
They were greeted by a "tragic" scene.
The steel hound, Stalker Carbon, had been smashed into the floor, sparks crackling across its ruined body. Rita leaned on her war scythe, panting heavily, her usual elegance nowhere to be seen.
Though badly frightened, Pardofelis was completely unhard. After reverting to human form, she threw herself into Elias' arms, seeking comfort.
Rita: (I'm the one who wants comfort!)
Elias: "What kind of situation is this supposed to be?"
Pardofelis: "Boss Elias, I missed you so much!"
...
After hearing the full story, everyone fell silent.
i and the others stared at Pardofelis in shock. They had never expected this cat to also be one of the Fla-Chasers. Even if she claid to be the lowest-ranked among them, the fact that she could utterly overpower Rita was proof enough that Pardofelis' strength was far from ordinary.
Although it had all been a misunderstanding, the cause had indeed been the cat stealing food. Therefore, Pardofelis obediently apologized to Rita, and the latter, being magnanimous, did not pursue the matter further.
A good portion of the Valkyrie dormitory had been damaged, but that could easily be repaired later by having the Herrscher of Finality rewind ti.
However...
"Lord Elias, please dismiss ."
Rita spoke with hollow eyes, her voice tinged with dejection.
"Huh? Why?"
"Rita is not qualified to serve you. I am far too weak. I am not a maid worthy of standing at your side."
...
Rita reflected on recent events. It felt as though she had not won against anyone in a very, very long ti. Moreover, with the number of S-rank Valkyries at St. Freya Academy steadily increasing, she was no longer considered a rare combat asset.
Let alone T1 or T2, she had probably fallen to T5—a useless bottom-tier scrub.
And she knew she did not possess the qualifications to beco a Herrscher. She did not even have the talent to beco a pseudo-Herrscher.
"Haha~ You really are weak. You can't even beat a cat."
"Kiana, you're not getting dinner tonight."
"Don't rub salt into her wounds!"
The airheaded Kaslana idiot had barely finished speaking before being jointly suppressed by Elias and i. She did not even realize that Pardofelis' arrival actually affected her the most.
Soone's unique position as the only "pet girl" had just vanished.
But with Kiana's additional jab, Rita felt even worse. At that mont, the perfect maid resembled a rose on the verge of withering, only a few lonely petals left clinging to its stem. She looked unbearably pitiful.
"I-I'm sorry, Rita! I was wrong! You know I'm an idiot. Don't take my words seriously!"
"No, Miss Kiana spoke the truth. I apologize for being such a useless maid..."
Rita hugged her war scythe and crouched on the ground, clearly spiraling into self-isolation.
She was on the verge of becoming a new legend of defeat.
Elias could not help but laugh helplessly. With a sigh, he pulled his maid into his arms and gently stroked her head in comfort.
"Don't take it too much to heart, Rita. You didn't use your full strength this ti, did you? Otherwise, the outco would still have been quite uncertain."
"...I did use my full strength."
"You're lying. You're only wearing B-rank Valkyrie battlesuit—Phantom Iron. Without that dog, its bonuses are even worse than Kiana's initial White Cot."
One of Elias' hands wrapped around Rita's slender waist. The other slid along the battlesuit she wore, caressing the young woman's delicate body through the plating. A certain burning emotion gradually dispelled the maid's current desolation.
"What about that S-rank battlesuit, Argent Knight: Artemis? If you used that Godsbane Suit, you might not have lost."
"Lord Elias, I will never wear that battlesuit again. As for the reason... you already know it without saying it."
The mont Argent Knight: Artemis was ntioned, the faint blush of embarrassnt on Rita's face vanished, replaced by deep resentnt. If she could, she would tear that battlesuit to pieces.
Because that battlesuit was stained with Elias' blood.
Back then, Otto had used the control program within Argent Knight: Artemis to manipulate Rita's body and force her to betray Elias.
Therefore, to this maid, that Godsbane Suit had beco a symbol of her sin.
Now, Rita would rather use the B-rank Phantom Iron than wear the S-rank Argent Knight: Artemis—even though it was currently her strongest armant.
"That is the greatest sha of my life!"
"Ah~ You really do love to trap yourself in dead ends."
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