Saito said, bowing his head respectfully. Of course, it was an empty gesture, a complete mockery.
Louise's eyebrow was twitching furiously. She was on the verge of blowing her top, but Saito was too absorbed in his excitement to notice that.
“Why don't you go ahead and sing it?”
“'Lou-Lou-Louise is such a hopeless case~ A magician that can't even use magic! But that's all right! Because she's a girl…'”
Saito held his stomach as he burst into laughter.
“Bwahahaha!!”
He was laughing at his own joke. Perhaps he was just as hopeless.
When they arrived at the dining hall, Saito pulled out a chair for Louise.
“Just remember, my lady. Don't cast any spells on the food. Just imagine the mess if it exploded.”
Louise took the seat wordlessly. Saito was feeling thoroughly satisfied, having got one back on the rude and arrogant Louise with his putdowns. Even the usual excuse for a meal didn't bother him as much.
While the meager soup and bread he got served was still painful to behold, it was a pretty even trade-off for getting to laugh so much earlier.
“Right then, Founder someone-or-another. Your Highness the Queen. Thanks a bunch for the crappy food. Itadakimasu.”
As he went to eat, the plate was snatched away.
“What are you doing?!”
“Th-th-th…”
“'Th-th-th'?”
Louise's shoulders shook angrily, as did her voice. Somehow, she'd managed to reign in her overflowing fury until they'd arrived at the dining table. Probably so that she could bestow an appropriate punishment.
“Th-th-th-this familiar, how dare it say s-s-s-such things to its m-m-m-master?”
Saito realized he'd gone too far.
“I'm sorry! I won't say any more, so give me back my food!”
“No! Absolu~~tely not!”
Louise screamed, twisting her cute face in rage.
“One meal cut for every time you've said 'Zero!' And that's final! No exceptions!”
In the end, Saito left the dining hall without having eaten anything.
I shouldn't have been so sarcastic about it… But it was too late to regret.
“Haa, I'm starving… Damn…”
Clutching his stomach, he leaned one hand on a wall.
“Is something the matter?”
He turned around to see a normal-looking girl in a maid's outfit carrying a big silver tray, looking concernedly at him. Her black hair was neatly adorned with a headband, and her freckles were cute.
“It's nothing…” Saito waved his left hand.
“Are you by any chance the one who became Miss Vallière's familiar…?”
It seemed she noticed the runes inscribed on Saito's left hand.
“You know me?”
“A little. It's become quite a rumor, you know, that a commoner was called by the summoning magic.”
The girl smiled sweetly. It was the first carefree smile Saito had seen since he came to this world.
“Are you a mage too?” Saito asked.
“Oh no, not me. I'm a commoner, just like you. I serve the nobility here by doing domestic duties.”
I'm actually from Earth and not a commoner, but it's probably useless to try explain. Saito decided to just introduce himself.
“I see… Well, I'm Hiraga Saito. Nice to meet you.”
“That's quite a strange name… I'm Siesta.”
At that point, Saito's stomach grumbled.
“You must be hungry.”
“Yeah…”
“Please follow me this way.”
Siesta walked off.
Saito was led to the kitchen located at the rear of the dining hall. Lots of large pots and ovens were lined up inside. Cooks and other maids like Siesta were busily preparing food.
“Please wait one moment, okay?”
Siesta had Saito sit on a chair placed in the corner of the kitchen and disappeared hastily into the back.
She soon returned with a bowl full of warm stew in her hands.
“This is some stew made from the leftovers of the nobles' meals. If you don't mind, please eat this.”
“Can I?”
“Yes. It's only the staff meal though…”
Her kindness was touching. This was completely different from the soup that Louise had given him. He scooped up a spoonful and brought it to his mouth. Delicious. I'm going to cry.
“This is so good~!”
“That's great. There's plenty if you want seconds, so take your time.”
Saito ate the stew as if in a dream. Siesta stood watching him, smiling sweetly all the while.
“Weren't you given anything to eat?”
“That girl went and took my plate away when I called her 'Louise the Zero.'”
“Oh no! You shouldn't say things like that to nobles!”
“Noble schnoble. Getting all high-horsed just because they can use magic.”
“You must have a lot of courage…”
Siesta looked at Saito with an expression of amazement.
Saito gave Siesta back the empty bowl.
“That was really tasty. Thanks.”
“I'm glad you liked it. Feel free to visit whenever you're hungry. If you don't mind having whatever we're having, I'd be happy to share.”
Such a kind offer. Saito was even more touched.
“Thanks…”
Saito suddenly broke out in tears, surprising Siesta.
“Wh-what's the matter?”
“No… It's just that it's the first time anyone's been so nice to me since I came here… I got a bit emotional…”
“Th-that's an exaggeration.”
“It's not. If there's anything I can do for you, just tell me. I'll lend a hand.”
He wasn't particularly interested in something like washing Louise's underwear, and would much rather help this girl instead.
“In that case, please help me serve the desserts.”
Siesta said with a smile.
“Okay,” Saito nodded enthusiastically.
Lots of dessert cakes were arranged on a big silver tray. Saito carried the tray, while Siesta picked up the cakes with tongs and served them one by one to the nobles.
One mage in particular stood out. He had curly blonde hair, wore a frill-trimmed shirt, and looked rather self-important. There was a rose stuck in his shirt pocket too. His friends around him were poking all kinds of fun at him.
“So, Guiche! Who're you going out with now?”
“Who's your lover, Guiche?”
So it seemed the prideful mage was called Guiche. He gently raised a finger to his lips.
“'Go out?' I hold no one woman in such special regard. After all, a rose blooms for the pleasure of many.”
This guy's likening himself to a rose. An egotist like this is far beyond help. He was the kind of narcissist that made onlookers more embarrassed than himself. Saito glared at him, hoping he'd just die.
At that moment, something fell out of Guiche's pocket. It was a small glass bottle with a purple liquid swirling inside it.
I don't really like this guy, but I should still tell him he dropped something.
Saito called out to Guiche.
“Oi, you dropped this bottle from your pocket.”
But Guiche didn't turn around. This guy's ignoring me!
Saito passed the tray to Siesta and bent down to pick up the bottle.
“I said, you dropped something, playboy.”
He placed it on the table. Guiche shot Saito a dirty look, and pushed the bottle away.
“This is not mine. What are you talking about?”
Guiche's friends then realized where the bottle came from and raised a loud commotion.
“Ooh? That perfume, isn't that Montmorency's?”