Beside the extremely excited Eriri, a smaller, younger silver-haired loli also stared wide-eyed at Su Mo. The silver-haired loli wore loose pajamas, held a drawing board, and looked equally agitated.
She was clearly in the middle of drawing and had rushed in with Eriri after seeing Mashiro's progress.
"Big Brother Master! Sa-Sagiri wants to know too!"
Sagiri was a novice maid in Su Mo's residence, and like Eriri, she possessed drawing talent. Although both their talents were far inferior to Mashiro's—they hadn't entered the true halls of art and were merely commercial artists—Sagiri, as an illustrator, was technically a better artist than the specialized doujinshi artist Eriri. Of course, in terms of narrative skill, Eriri was stronger than both of them; even Mashiro had to admit that the blonde, twin-tailed girl had a talent for drawing adult comics.
Therefore, upon seeing Mashiro's progress, Sagiri was even more excited than Eriri. The original Mashiro was already a genius she had to look up to. The current Mashiro was completely beyond her comprehension.
"If I and my mom could also become stronger like Big Sister Mashiro..." A look of yearning flashed in little Sagiri's eyes. Was there anything luckier in the world than a mother and daughter advancing together?
"So, what happened? What are the seniors talking about?"
Behind the two, completely confused by the change in the two girls and unable to understand the situation, was Ginko Sora, who had just started her job that day. She was in the middle of being lectured by her senior maid, Eriri, about various matters and was dragged in haphazardly simply because she was standing nearby. She had finally met the legendary Shogi Master, finally played against him—though it was a complete and utter defeat—but for her, it was an immense honor.
She had thought that after passing the interview, she could work here as a maid and occasionally seize the opportunity to ask Su Mo for shogi lessons. She hadn't expected to be dragged in by two seniors, leaving her completely baffled as to what had happened.
"Was that Senior Mashiro's painting really that good?"
"Extremely good!" Looking at the bewildered Ginko Sora, Eriri took a deep breath and said, "To put it simply, it's at the level that would be featured in school textbooks across the world."
"What?!" Ginko Sora's eyes widened. She could barely believe her ears. To be featured in a national textbook usually required an achievement at the level of a Shogi Master. Even those officially recognized as Shogi Masters or Ryūō in the shogi world only barely qualified for Japanese textbooks. But to be included in textbooks across the world, the threshold was incredibly higher. At least figures like Da Vinci or Van Gogh were the only ones who qualified.
Although she had only met Mashiro once, she looked no older than fifteen or sixteen. Was this not a joke for someone so young to have such an achievement?
"Don't doubt it. This is absolutely not a joke." As if seeing through her thoughts, Eriri shook her head. "A so-called genius has to have this level of achievement. When an existence like Master can appear, what's so surprising about Mashiro's talent?"
"...Oh, right!" Hearing Su Mo's name, Ginko Sora froze slightly, then reacted. With Su Mo as the ultimate example, although Mashiro's existence was also far from common sense, it seemed less extraordinary when compared to Su Mo.
"So the seniors here are all this strong... No wonder they qualify to be Master's maids." The silver-haired girl sighed, and thinking that geniuses of this level were her colleagues, a sense of urgency welled up in her heart.
At the same time, she still had a small doubt. "By the way, Senior Eriri, why was Senior Mashiro dressed so strangely just now? And there seemed to be a smell of heather... Was that a perfume?" Recalling the scene, she felt Mashiro Shiina's appearance was quite strange.
"Cough, cough! Mashiro's attire... ignore it. Just consider it an artist's eccentricity!" Hearing the question, the blonde, twin-tailed maid glanced at Su Mo unnaturally, then pretended to be calm as she explained, "As for the strange smell, if you queue up nicely, you'll have the chance to experience it later... And you don't need to call her Senior Mashiro. She's not a member of our maid corps. She's just a pet Master keeps."
"Pet?!" Ginko Sora blinked, somewhat unable to accept such a progressive relationship. After looking at Su Mo, she didn't think this Shogi Master would be a weirdo who enjoyed that kind of play. Could this title also be an artist's so-called eccentricity?
Subconsciously trying to rationalize things for Su Mo, Ginko Sora suppressed her confusion and asked her final question. "So, Senior Eriri means that Senior Mashiro... Miss Mashiro's growth, under Master's guidance, has reached the point of being featured in textbooks across the world?!" She was gradually becoming more adept at addressing Su Mo, following the example of Eriri and the others.
"Yes!" Eriri nodded frantically, then looked at Su Mo with an incredible gaze. "The key point is that yesterday, Mashiro hadn't reached this level of growth. Although she was amazing before, she could only hold a small, well-known exhibition, still a step below master level."
"But in less than a day, she has become unbelievably strong... No one but Master could have done this!" Eriri was absolutely certain of this conclusion.
"What?!" Ginko Sora's worldview was shattered once again. "To achieve such progress in a single day, how is that possible?!" Even if Su Mo was a once-in-a-generation genius with unfathomable wisdom, this was too much to even attempt. "Even if Master is willing to teach, wisdom is not something that can be passed on so easily. Senior Eriri's idea is too exaggerated—!"
As an outsider who had just joined the residence, Ginko Sora's common sense was more aligned with the outside world, so she didn't believe Eriri's judgment was correct. It wasn't that no one but Su Mo could do this; it was that not even Su Mo could do this!
However, she was interrupted by the AI before she could finish her sentence.
"Yes, he can!" Hatsune Miku spoke in an incredibly relaxed tone. "Eriri's guess is correct. Mashiro received Master's grace and gained a talent that exceeds human limits!"
At this, the eyes of Eriri and Sagiri instantly became fervent, and their breathing quickened.
"Even Miss Miku says so?!" Ginko Sora was extremely surprised. She knew of Hatsune Miku's existence as the AI housekeeper—her resume had been filtered and accepted by Miku—and she couldn't believe even the AI chose to believe such an incredible thing.
But she still couldn't understand. "How is something like this done? Aren't both talent and wisdom impossible to transmit to others?"
"According to common sense, yes!" Eriri patted Ginko Sora's shoulder. She could understand Ginko Sora's thoughts, but as a veteran maid, she understood another thing better. "But common sense—it doesn't apply to Master!"
"Exactly! You're catching on!" Hatsune Miku nodded proudly. "So, we rushed over to ask one thing: Master, could you also bestow your grace upon us?"
Eriri and Sagiri stared intently at Su Mo, their eyes filled with expectation. "We don't need as much as Mashiro... Half, no, one-tenth is enough!" They weren't greedy. Just one-tenth of the blessing would be enough to elevate their skills to the limits of their imagination. It would even be enough for her to start her path with adult comics, using them as a medium to enter the hall of art!
Hearing Eriri's words, Ginko Sora's eyes also grew hot. Although she still didn't know how to enhance her talent, if this was true, wouldn't she also have a chance to become the Shogi Master who swept the entire shogi world?!
Faced with the trio's direct request, before Su Mo could say anything, Hatsune Miku chuckled mischievously.
"According to past records, Master's blessings are generally unlimited. How much you can take mainly depends on your technique, stamina, and capacity... If you have Mashiro's resilience, you might even receive more grace!"
At this, the eyes of the three girls grew even more fervent. They could really receive a blessing, and potentially even surpass Mashiro's grace? Go, go, go! Who wouldn't rush for this?!
"So, Miss Miku, how exactly do we do it?" Even Ginko Sora couldn't wait to ask.
As for this question, Hatsune Miku didn't keep them in suspense and quickly gave the answer.
"It's simple! Just as Eriri said, Master is good at breaking common sense... And this time, the common sense Master broke is—knowledge cannot be transmitted sexually."
At this, the three girls froze instantly. Eriri and Sagiri exchanged a look. The blonde and silver-haired girls, with perfect synchronicity, immediately knelt down. Behind them, Ginko Sora's face was flushed, steam rose from the top of her head, and her body was rigid in place. However, she didn't choose to leave.