Bonus Chapter: The Reason I Started Calling Her Young Lady
The Reason I Started Calling Her "Young Lady"
―――― This happened one night.
“Young Lady, here’s the book you requested.”
“Thank you.”
She thanked me without even glancing up, her focus glued to the computer screen as her fingers danced incessantly across the keyboard. The screen was filled with incomprehensible, cryptic symbols and numbers—most likely lines of code—that were completely beyond my understanding.
“Dedicating yourself to development is all well and good, but overworking yourself is bad for your health.”
“I just need to reach a good stopping point.”
“…Understood. I’ll leave the book on the table.”
The Tendou family’s underground library is home to an extensive collection of books spanning every genre imaginable from all over the world.
Among them are rare research materials not available to the general public. For some researchers, it’s a paradise they’d pay a fortune to access.
Because of this, the library is tightly secured, and the books themselves are bulky and heavy, especially as their numbers grow. From time to time, I find myself fetching books from the library for the Young Lady when she needs them.
And more often than not, when this happens, she’s deeply engrossed in some kind of research or development project.
Talented and hardworking as she is, what’s truly remarkable about the Young Lady is not that she’s merely a genius—it’s the sheer breadth of fields where her talents shine.
When it comes to academic pursuits like studying or sports, the Young Lady excels, of course. But her talents extend far beyond that—into fields such as mechanical engineering, biotechnology, app and system development, menu creation for restaurants, theme park attraction design, marketing strategy, and even the arts. In all of these areas, she has delivered extraordinary results and accomplishments.
For example, the latest electric vehicle released by a Tendou Group subsidiary, which broke sales records, and the rocket that was successfully launched and reported on the news recently—both utilized patented technologies developed by the Young Lady.
It’s no exaggeration to say that she’s someone who moves the world. To serve someone like her is, without a doubt, a point of pride for me. Of course, even without these achievements, I respect her deeply, but I wouldn’t want to deny the incredible results she’s earned through her talent and hard work. She deserves every bit of admiration and praise.
“Honestly... getting so absorbed like this, what are you making this time?”
It’s bound to be something amazing—something I, an ordinary person, can’t even begin to imagine.
“The Lucky Perv Trigger Device.”
“Why on earth would someone with a genius-level intellect create something like that!?”
“Using a unique particle system I developed, I disperse these particles within a defined area. The particles then generate, interfere with, or control the kinetic energy of specific objects in the vicinity, triggering (in my opinion) the ultimate lucky pervert scenarios. It’s my custom-built combat gear.”
“What’s with the ridiculously silly name for such an unnecessarily elaborate device!?”
“And whose fault do you think it is that I had to make something so elaborate in the first place? I’m desperate enough to cling to this, you know!”
“Why am I the one being scolded here...?”
I mean, seriously, there was no way I could have imagined she’d be making something like this.
“Listen here, Kagehito. I’m being completely serious. Developing this device has been my long-standing dream.”
“If the researchers at the Tendou Group found out that your incredible talents have been dedicated to making this, they’d cry their hearts out.”
“Oh, really? For your information, the attitude control program used in the Tendou Group rocket that launched the other day? It was actually developed by me and is based on a program I created during the early stages of this Lucky Pervert Event Induction Device project.”
“I didn’t need to know that!”
Of course, I already knew that the Young Lady had been involved in the rocket’s development, but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine it came about like this.
“――――Phew... I think it’s time for a break.”
With a light tap of the keys, the Young Lady leaned back in her chair and stretched her arms.
Right on cue, I placed a freshly brewed cup of tea on the table. Since it was late at night, I’d chosen a decaffeinated blend—her usual favorite for this time of day.
It’s the ultimate compliment, of course, but after hearing what exactly she’s been pouring herself into until exhaustion, I can’t help but feel... conflicted. No, extremely conflicted. Seriously, what even is a "The Lucky Perv Trigger Device."? That’s not a name a lady like her should be saying.
“It’s clear and to the point, isn’t it? …Besides, let me remind you, the technologies born during the development of this device have already brought substantial profits, making the Tendou Group significantly stronger.”
“I really didn’t need to know that…”
More and more, I’m learning things I wish I didn’t know.
“Still… for the Young Lady to spend so much time developing this—it sounds like a surprisingly large-scale device for such a ridiculous name.”
“Well, yes. Once you involve artificial intelligence, it takes time for the system to learn properly…”
I almost fell to my knees. Barely managed to hold myself together.
Artificial intelligence. She’s putting artificial intelligence into something as absurd as a Lucky Pervert Event Induction Device.
“...Wait a moment. The artificial intelligence program Tendou Group invested an enormous budget into and developed independently—don’t tell me…”
“Yes, that’s right. I’ve provided the AI program for use in my Lucky Perv Trigger Device. Once this device is complete, Tendou Group’s AI will essentially be like an older sister to the AI in my device.”
"I didn’t want to know these truths, but they just keep flooding in endlessly...!”
“Listen here… when I provided that program, the entire Tendou family development team was amazed. They were saying things like, ‘As expected of the Young Lady!’ They practically worshipped me like a goddess…”
The Young Lady suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
“…Hey, Kagehito. There’s something I’ve been curious about for a while.”
“What is it?”
“Why do you call me ‘Young Lady’? The other servants and staff in the group call me things like ‘Hoshine-sama’ or ‘Milady’”
“Oh, that. It’s not really for any big reason…”
“Even if it’s not a big reason, I still want to hear it. …Heh, to tell the truth, I actually quite like it—the way you call me that.”
“Is that so?”
“Mm-hmm. It feels… ‘special,’ somehow. But I realized I never knew the reason behind it.”
So, her curiosity’s finally gotten the better of her.
“Alright, then. It’s not something I’ve been hiding, so I’ll tell you. …Although it’s not much of a story.”
“Everything you say is important to me, Kagehito. No matter how small.”
As expected of the Young Lady—she’s trying to ease me into talking, setting the mood so I feel comfortable.
“...It happened after you took me in, Young Lady, and I decided to dedicate myself to serving you.”
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
To become a servant of the Tendou family, one must undergo various forms of training and discipline.
At a glance, the maids within the mansion may appear to be ordinary maids, but each of them has undergone rigorous training and possesses unique, specialized skills. That’s why the trope of sneaking into a household by disguising oneself as a servant, as often seen in fiction, is nearly impossible. It’s not something that can be achieved so easily. I, too, was diligently undergoing training, striving to serve the Young Lady as soon as possible.
...It’s truly nostalgic. Back then, the master would train me harshly every day. Thanks to that, I have now acquired the ability to withstand the impact of something like a large truck without injury by deflecting the shock. Though, if a rocket were to crash into me, I might end up with a bruise or two.
Fortunately, it seems I had a natural talent for it, and my physical training went smoothly. I also put in a lot of effort. As a result, I’ve reached the point where I can stand by the Young Lady’s side. …If anything, the hardest part was the academics. As someone who serves the Tendou family—and more importantly, as someone who serves beside the Young Lady—there was a countless amount of knowledge I had to acquire.
This, at least, was a matter of sheer volume, so I desperately crammed knowledge into every spare moment of my daily life. What helped me immensely at the time were the video materials the master had prepared for me.
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
“Video materials?”
“Yes. They were DVDs created together with Madam, and they’re truly amazing. The content is designed to teach all the necessary knowledge for study in an easy-to-understand way and in a short time. I was really saved by them, and now they’ve even been adopted as part of the Tendou family servant training curriculum.”
“Hmm. So those two made something like that... Even though they didn’t prepare anything for me back in my day.”
“Well, it’s knowledge specifically required for the Tendou family’s servants... Besides, in your case, Young Lady, you have such a brilliant mind that you wouldn’t need tools like that.”
“Fine, whatever… So, what exactly does this video material have to do with you starting to call me ‘Young Lady’?”
“……The truth is, there was a certain video mixed in with those DVDs.”
“A certain video?”
“Yes. A video that I happened to stumble upon by chance… Looking back, that was the beginning of everything――――”
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
The video material DVDs were tailored to match the progress of my training curriculum. The one I played that day happened to be about conduct for those serving beside the Young Lady. It was directly related to what I aspired to become—what I wanted to be—so I focused on the screen even more intently than usual.
What was shown was the way of life of a certain man. Amid heavy, falling snow, he protected the granddaughter of the clan leader—the Young Lady—to the very end, breathing his last in her arms. That final moment burned deeply into my heart. I learned then: this is the form of a man who protects his master.
And I also learned that referring to one's master as “Young Lady” is simply how it’s done in the Tendou household!
Incidentally, when I later passionately shared my thoughts with the Master and Madam, it turned out they had mistakenly given me a completely unrelated DVD. But still—I had learned something invaluable!
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
“………………Uh, so basically, you accidentally watched a yakuza movie that got mixed in with the materials, and it ended up influencing you?”
“That’s pretty much what happened.”
“That’s an even dumber reason than I expected.”
“You’re the last person I want to hear that from, Young Lady!?”
Especially from someone who’s busy building ridiculous things like lucky lewd accident devices.
“The Master and Madam thought it was amusing and told me, ‘Just leave it as it is,’ so it’s stayed that way… If it displeases you, I can make an effort to correct it immediately.”
“No, you absolutely mustn’t change it. I won’t allow it, and I won’t give you permission either. You’re going to keep calling me that.”
“I’m grateful for that, but… why?”
“Because the only people who call me ‘Young Lady’ are the shadows—my retainers. And even among them, the ones who use that term are only addressing me, right?”
“Of course.”
“That’s why.”
The Young Lady smiled, looking extremely pleased with herself.
“A special way of addressing me, and me alone? I think that’s absolutely wonderful.”
Bonus Chapter END
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