Okay, I guess it's time to start serving normal "Yamano cuisine"...
No, as expected, since it was a party for the Viscount Yamano family (me), the guests who were probably expecting to be able to eat a variety of Yamano dishes would be disappointed if I only served plain dishes.
So, we had to serve normal Yamano cuisine that everyone was expecting.
I thought that if I released it from the beginning, people wouldn't enjoy the plain food that was advertised, so I decided to present it this way.
And since they had already had enough of the promotional food, I had accomplished my goal.
All that was left was to make sure the guests were satisfied.
No matter how excited you were about other parts, it was meaningless if you fail the audience's expectations in important areas. It would also affect the rate of future visits.
"Serve the usual Yamano cuisine. Sweets and everything!" (Mitsuha)
"Okay!" (Maid)
I gave instructions to the Yamano family's (my) maid, whom I had brought from the territory.
The instructions were now passed on to the chefs and maids borrowed from other families...the Marquis Bozes's royal residence, the Viscount Reiner's royal residence, and the other chefs and maids who had been rented from the royal palace, as the guests were probably expecting. Food was served.
Of course, there were some things that had never been released before. Staying in a rut leads to boredom and low ratings, so you have to constantly add something new.
And then…
"Colette-chan, are you ready for that..." (Mitsuha)
"All is well!" (Colette)
Yes, Colette-chan would do anything to meet my expectations without hesitation. Therefore, there was no way she wouldn't get excited when I ask her something like this, and there was no way she would slack off.
"Alright, prepare to activate!" (Mitsuha)
"Aye aye, ma’am!" (Colette)
After saying that, Colette-chan ran off.
Well, about me too...
"Everyone, the next entertainment is about to begin. Please enjoy the performance performed by the maids, the pride of our Viscount Yamano family! ...Now then, the Yamano Family Maid Squad, 'The Maid-san', debuut!!" (Mitusha)
Then, near the center of the venue, our maids rushed out into the space vacated for the stage.
...Yes, this is the secret ball this time.
Mach, this is it~!!
The one that Colette-chan and Sabine-chan saw in the New Continent.
Yes, it was a concert held in the central plaza of the royal capital of Kingdom of Vanell, open to both aristocrats and commoners.
The performance we saw, by the Children's Troupe of the Society at that time...was just a song and dance in name only...it was respect and homage, quotation and reference, and left-right reversal.
The maid girl squad and adult squad of the Viscount Yamano family (me) were much older than the Society children's group. So, the hem of the skirt was just so high that you could barely see their knees... Of course, when they danced, the skirt fluttered around, so you could see their knees. Well, a little above that...
Also equipped with fluttering decorations, a cat ear headband, and a tail.
The first song that plays was "Maid-san March."
No, it was not a particularly naughty song.
In a bar in the commoners' district, it's okay to have some naughty singing and dancing, but this was the royal palace, a party venue attended by nobles, royalty, and some very wealthy merchants, and it's for the upper class. There were ladies and children in attendance, so naughty things were not allowed.
Therefore, both the melody and lyrics were bright and energetic pop songs. And the maids danced energetically to the song.
The costumes were original, but it was clear that it was inspired by a maid outfits. I added a magical girl-like image, cat ears, and a tail. It was a greedy set packed with a variety of delicious items.
Even the nobles usually looked at them with the view that "Servants are lowly creatures of a different species than themselves, and are nothing more than tools," but now it seemed that they were captivated by the energetic and lively appearances of the girls who were clearly maids.
There were only a few of our maids, so there weren't many people, but the space that could be used as a stage was small. The entire hall was large, but it was filled with tables and play equipment, so it didn't look too bad.
Beatrice-chan and Beatrice-chan also wanted to participate, but that was not possible.
The two of them were so busy that they didn't have time to practice, and even if they did have time, there's no way we would be able to make Her Highness the Princess or the daughter of a Marquis danced with the maids with their skirts flying. Having Colette-chan joined was the best we could do.
Colette-chan was always stationed in the mansion, so it was much easier for her to practice with everyone than Sabine-chan and Beatrice-chan, and she was also physically strong, so she would practice tirelessly to be of use to me....
…No, I stopped her, of course! I made sure she got some rest. And I gave her a strict order to sleep properly! She listened to everything I said, but the only orders she never listened were "Don't work," "Don't study," "Rest," "Sleep," and "Put your safety before mine."
It's really a problem
The songs continued, and after "Maid-san March" was "Maid-san Ballad" and then "Maid-san Elegy."
At first it was a pop and energetic song, then it was a beautiful melody with a slow tempo, and at the end it was a quiet lament. The life of a maid was divided into three stages, and each stage was beautifully expressed through a combination of music, lyrics, and dance, which consisted of circling and jumping.
Of course, it wasn't a last-minute performance, but I was shown some practice beforehand and had a dry run, so it wasn't my first time seeing it. Still, I thought it was amazingly done and I was impressed. Even though I knew the songs and dances of modern Earth. If people in this world saw it for the first time and heard it for the first time...
After the performance, singing, and dancing, the great hall fell silent. It's not that they're bored, they're just stunned and speechless. Even the children who I thought would not understand this kind of thing had stopped moving. Even the waiters and waitresses, who were supposed to never stop serving no matter what, were stiff.
After a while, applause broke out. The nobles applauded the maid sings and dances.
...Yeah, for everyone in "The Maid-san", this special occasion was something they never expected.
Somehow, the party hosted by the Viscount Yamano family ended successfully.
And advertising the produce from our territory that wasn't brought over from Earth... including the dishes and products that use them... achieved its goal.
With the classing Yamano cuisine and sweets, large playground equipment, and table games, it captured the hearts of the children who would carry the next generation on their shoulders.
The cost was quite low compared to other parties.
Hahaha, great success!!
But I was complained about by some nobles. For people who were planning to have a party in a few days. They told me to take responsibility and be in charge of the performance.
Well, I knew how they feel. I guessed people would compare it to my party. If it were a party with an important purpose, it would be a disaster. Well, there's only one replay.
"I don't know~!!"
...And I didn't expect that. I never thought something like that would happen after that...
As for the large inflatable rides, everyone thought, "Those seem really expensive, and you can't use them unless you have divine power," so they didn't end up trying them out ourselves.
However, bingo games were easy to play, and the equipment didn't seem to cost much. They could buy the card from me.
But the problem was, the prize.
In my case, I could buy things that were extremely attractive to people here at extremely low prices. However, there weren't many things available in this country that a noble would want to change the color of their eyes.
It seemed a bit tasteless for the prizes in this kind of game to be very expensive but not particularly rare. Also, if you prepared 20 or 30 such expensive items, it would cost the budget of several parties.
…So, what happened was…
Many of the aristocrats were enthusiastic about training their maids to sing, dance, and perform various other forms of entertainment!!
They started having their maids in their mansion do things like our "The Maid-san"!
Not only singing and dancing, but also drama, skits, magic tricks, and much more...
No, it's fine, right? The maids who like that kind of thing are happy, and it seems like they get paid more for it...
Also, there were plans for something like an entertainment competition for servants to compete against noble families.
Also, inspired by this, the noble artists and professionals who were active with patronage were becoming angry, wondering if they could afford to lose to amateur commoners.
Well, those things are fine, but I did something bad for the maids who were not good at such things...
Author's Note
This is a notice.
On Friday, December 1st, my work "I Shall Survive Using Potions!" Volume 10 of the novel has been published! (^^)/
Currently on sale is the comic "I Shall Survive Using Potions!" Volumes 1 to 9, and its continuation "I Shall Survive Using Potions!" by Sukima-sensei, who is in charge of the illustrations for Volumes 1 and 2 of "Zoku" and the novel version, has created a spin-off comic called "I Shall Survive Using Potions!" Thank you very much for reading Volume 1 of Hanano and Lotte's Journey for Two! (^^)/