Chapter 249: Queen Competition (2)

The life with personal maids was largely different than usual.

For example, upon waking up, the three helped him take a shower, culminating in a playful battle over who would scrub his back—which Eve quietly won.

Then came the challenge of choosing his attire.

Instead of his usual suit, the girls attempted to dress him in something… different.

Eve’s choice was what one might describe as typical king attire: several layers of noble clothing paired with a furry red cape. While it was grand, it was also extremely uncomfortable, leading Axel to firmly decline. He felt like a spring roll in that attire!

Fenrir’s choice was similarly rejected. It consisted solely of underwear, accented by what appeared to be a fur skirt around his waist. He looked like a caveman in that outfit, but the sight did manage to make Eve and Ria blush.

Finally, there was Ria’s choice.

It was closer to smart casual attire: a white inner shirt layered with a Hawaiian shirt, beige long pants secured with a brown leather belt, and sporty white rubber shoes.

“…I guess this one it is.”

Since it was reminiscent of what he usually wore back in his original world, he had little aversion to it. In fact, it felt so “modern” that he couldn’t help but wonder if Ria had cheated—perhaps consulting Navi for suggestions.

After all, Witcheria’s fashion wasn’t that far removed from this world’s, but it was certainly a far cry from modern styles.

Ultimately, choosing his clothing for the day wasn’t a significant matter, so Axel let it slide.

Once they finished, they headed to the dining hall for a meal. However, this time, Axel found it difficult to sit still.

“You three… Don’t you plan to eat?” he asked, glancing at the three girls standing right behind his chair. “There are plenty of seats left, you know?”

“As maids, we shall have our meal after Master finishes.”

“We are maids. It’d be rude for us to eat with you, My King.”

“Can I? Yay~!”

“Eh?”

Aside from Ria, who eagerly jumped at Axel’s words like a hungry child, the other two remained rooted in place. They watched Ria with envy as she playfully fed Axel with her spoon.

“Here, say Ah~!”

“Ahh…”

Axel complied, as if his body were on autopilot.

Although since their meals were nearly identical, the taste was virtually the same.

’This isn’t so bad…’ But Axel hadn’t had this kind of experience in a while.

It felt nice having someone feed you while they wore a wide, seemingly joyful smile.

After breakfast, Axel didn’t head to his office; instead, he went to the training grounds.

He had skipped training the day before. In fact, during the entire time Arianne was away, he hadn’t trained at all. However, today she would resume teaching the newbies, and Axel didn’t want to miss it.

Along with Ria, he made his way to the training grounds.

As for Eve and Fenrir? They were still eating, as they claimed.

Even if they hurried, it would take a few minutes before they could reunite with the two. Thinking back, Ria was quite clever for eating with Axel, despite it not being typical for a maid—eating with him allowed her to accompany him without delay!

By the time Axel arrived, the warm-up runs around the training ground were already over.

It was around 8 a.m., so he was technically late for practice—only the sword swings and form training remained. “Perfect timing,” he thought, almost as if it was just as he intended.

Running wouldn’t really enhance his stamina like it would for the others.

While he could use it to ingrain movements into his body, forging muscle memory, with his high stats, keeping pace with the others wouldn’t yield much benefit.

While the others were doing a thousand practice swings, Axel and Arianne were sparring some distance away.

Their focus was purely on sword skills, without fully utilizing their stats.

It was a confirmation of technique and form—nothing fancy. A spar that lasted about a thousand exchanges, compressed into a short span of five minutes.

“Here, a towel!” Ria offered as soon as Axel sat down.

“Oh, thanks.”

Axel took it and wiped his face. Although he wasn’t really sweating, his face had gotten dirty from the dust they kicked up. After wiping his face, arms, and neck, turning the white towel into a shade of dirt, he passed it back to Ria.

“AH!”

Just then, the other two finally arrived, albeit delayed.

Ria turned to face Eve and Fenrir, lifting the towel in her hands. A grin spread across her lips, as if she were challenging the two—or flaunting her “victory” over them.

Axel, of course, noticed this subtle dynamic among the three.

At the same time, he found himself re-evaluating Ria in his mind. She wasn’t merely a plain, troublesome loli; she was also quite the strategist and actress. In fact, her current behavior made Axel wonder whether everything she had shown him until now had been calculated, rather than her “real” self…

Though, of course, it was genuine. Ria wasn’t concealing anything from Axel. The only difference today was that she was “fighting” against Eve and Fenrir, an engagement where she couldn’t afford to hold back.

In short, she wasn’t just being devious; she had simply entered serious mode!

After the morning practice, Axel returned to the office.

Beatrix was already there, engrossed in the tall stack of papers beside her… and the even taller stack on Axel’s table.

“You three finally made it,” she said with a smile before standing up. “Now then, let’s distribute the work equally, shall we?”

With a wave of her hand, Beatrix called over three extra tables for the girls. She then distributed one stack of papers each to Eve, Fenrir, and Teruria, ensuring the contents were random and shuffled to eliminate any bias—even towards Eve, her niece.

Axel sat at his desk, staring at the stack of papers that seemed less intimidating now that three stacks had been moved away. However, a mountain of paperwork still loomed before him.

As they worked, Axel took advantage of any idle moments to evaluate the three girls.

Eve was working efficiently—competently and fast. She wrapped up the papers she could handle on her own and set aside those that required Axel’s confirmation.

Ria appeared to be struggling, her stack hardly budging. It looked as though she didn’t know where to begin.

But the most surprising of all was Fenrir…

“Master, these are the summaries, and these are the ones needing your attention. Can I have another stack, please?”

While Eve had completed only a quarter of her papers, Fenrir had already finished hers! She hadn’t worked sloppily, either. Documents that needed reporting were summarized, and those requiring Axel’s approval were organized by type and importance. She accomplished all of this in just an hour!

After handing her another stack, Axel felt a sense of relief.

With Fenrir’s help, Axel felt a glimmer of hope. It seemed they might finally escape this overwhelming mountain of paperwork! Axel couldn’t shake the thought.

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