Looks like a Job for a Maid The-Tales of a Dismissed Supermaid Vol 2

Nina’s Travel Diary

I’m leaving on a journey, so I indulged myself with a new notebook! I intend to use it to write about my travels.

My first new acquaintance is a mage called Emily. She’s ever so talented—in fact, she can cast Fifth Degree magic! The only thing was that she had a little trouble with her mana meridians, so I offered my services to loosen them up. After that, I continued on my journey...with Emily as my companion!

A travel companion! Can you believe it?

We’ve now come to the Freja Kingdom. This is the first time I’ve left the country. Here, I accepted a request for a maid and ended up meeting an inventor called Astrid. She’s ever so talented—there I go, writing the same thing I did about Emily. In any case, the two of them became fast friends, which is perhaps why Astrid said she wants to join us on our journey. I feel like I can rely on her for anything!

The three of us next headed to Izumi Mine in the Werther Duchy. I wanted to take a tour of the mine, but then I met a lupalune girl called Tien. She was suffering terribly—her sense of smell is so strong that all food tasted awful to her. So I took the liberty of cooking her a meal myself.

There was a cave-in within the mine tunnels, and since then, we’ve been busy with getting the mine up and running again, and all sorts of other things. But, thanks to that, we got to know Tien, and she’s going to join us as well!

She says that she was separated from her parents and wants to find them. Although she looks small and sweet, she’s terrifically strong.

It truly is a marvelous thing to travel. I’ve visited all sorts of places and met such wonderful people!

My Journey So Far

The City of Sickle, Crecente Kingdom → The Merchant City of Fulmoon → The Freja Kingdom, the Land of Invention → Izumi Mine, the Werther Duchy.

Prologue: Supermaid Seeks Employment!

Rumors were quietly circulating in noble circles.

Count Mirkwood, a distinguished noble from the Crecente Kingdom, had seen his power crumble like a castle built from sand. It had all been upheld by a certain maid.

Lord Tuyledo Fal Vilhelmscott, one of the eminent great mages known as the Five Sages, was besotted with a certain maid.

In the Werther Duchy, its ruler the duke was so eager to get his hands on a certain maid, he had offered a king’s ransom for her.

“I hear that if you have this maid, your house will never get dirty and you’ll be free from all diseases.”

“Really? Well I hear she’s a good luck charm whose presence alone will make you wildly rich.”

“Goodness! I heard she cooks up marvelous delicacies like nothing anyone has ever tasted before.”

“The story I heard was different. Apparently, this maid can even bring the dead back to life.”

Fortunately for the maid in question, the rumors grew not only legs, but tails, wings, and even antennae as they spread, and so fewer and fewer people took them seriously.

“Hey there, Miss Maid! Out on errands? You won’t find better quality spices than mine! Put in a good word for me with your master, won’t you?”

“Oh, erm, I’m actually unemployed at present...”

“What’s this? Fallen on hard times? I’ll introduce you to an agency, if you like.”

“That’s very kind of you, but I’m actually on my way there right now.”

“Well then, I hope you find a good job!”

“Thank you!”

The maid at the heart of all the rumors bowed to the stallkeeper, then hurried on her way.

She was in Central Fontain, the capital of the Werther Duchy. It was the smallest of the capital cities she had seen so far, but it had good access between all its major facilities and a vibrant populace.

One of its defining characteristics was the network of canals that crisscrossed the city. The Werther Duchy had an abundance of water and maintained waterways that were clean enough to drink from. The citizens even used them to wash their dishes and do their laundry.

Near the city was a lake so vast that it extended beyond the horizon, all the way to the mountain range that divided the Freja Kingdom and the Werther Duchy. Both the sources of the lake’s water and its outflows remained a mystery. There was no record of it ever flooding, even in the heaviest rain. Vast amounts of water had to be leaving via subterranean outflows, but efforts to survey it were hampered by its population of giant carnivorous monsters.

The residents of the capital did not appear to be afraid of them. This was because the lake was also teeming with frog monsters, and the giant monsters were content to prey on those instead. That being said, if a boat attempted to cross the lake, a great, fishlike shadow would appear to send it down to the depths. The lake therefore endured as a piece of untouched wilderness.

Ultimately, all the citizens noticed was that there was plenty of water for them to use, and all who lived in the capital enjoyed its benefits.

The agency for maid work in Central Fontain was in the city center. The tidy stone building was, just like the others, unsentimental in a way that put one in mind of administrative tasks. A little stone bridge stood over a large flow of water.

“This must be it,” the maid said to herself. She brushed the dust from her clothes, felt her two braids to make sure they hadn’t come loose, and confirmed her headpiece sat straight. She ran smoothly through these checks in just a few seconds.

“Right. Time to go and look for a job.”

The maid—Nina—stepped through the door into the agency.

It had been late at night when they arrived in Central Fontain. Nina’s companions—Emily, Astrid, and their new addition, Tien—were quite possibly still asleep. Nina, born in a small village and only ever knowing that village and the household that employed her, had only one wish: to see the world.

She was on a journey to see the sights. But seeing the sights cost money. It wasn’t that they were penniless, but Nina and her companions all agreed that they should earn what they could when they could, and in a capital city, there ought to be plenty of work.

The plan was to stay here for a while, maybe even as long as ten days. In that time, they’d explore the city and bolster their savings before heading to the next town. Also, as Tien wanted to search for her parents, Nina wanted to allow her to do so while she herself earned some money through short-term maid duties.

Perhaps because it was first thing in the morning, but when she entered the agency, she found it packed with people. Most of the women were dressed demurely, and most of the men were well-groomed. None of them wore maid uniforms—such things were supplied by the estate one worked for. Therefore, Nina stood out, but while some looked at her in surprise, no one said anything to her or whispered behind her back. These were professionals.

Everyone here looks like they’ve worked in a household before! Nina thought, smiling. She thought of others in her profession like an adventurer thought of their party members.

Over the course of her long journey, she’d forgotten how it felt to be in a place like this. If this were the adventurers’ guild, no doubt someone would have come up to say, “Hey, little maid, are you lost?”

“Next, ple— Goodness, you have your own uniform?” the middle-aged woman at reception exclaimed as Nina approached.

“Yes, ma’am. But I’m happy to wear any uniform a household may want me to.”

“And your reference letter?”

“I...don’t have one.”

“In that case, your ident— Goodness, the adventurers’ guild? And you’re from out of town... From a different country, in fact.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The woman smiled brightly. “I’m afraid I don’t have any work for you, sorry. Next, please!”

“Eh?”

Nina didn’t cry out in dismay. The truth was, she wasn’t that surprised. A maid’s job required her to live in her master’s house. They were judged on points like whether they had a clear-cut background, or how diligently they applied themselves to their duties.

In other words, a reference letter made all the difference. A maid without one could use her identification papers to get jobs that did not require full access to an employer’s estate, then, once she had earned the household’s trust, move into formal employment. That was how this world worked.

“Ahhh...” Nina groaned. “I knew they’d be strict, but even so...” As she left the agency, she couldn’t help but look up at it a little resentfully.

“I suppose I could go and help Emily or Astrid or Tien...”

Far from distinguishing herself with her talents, the maid about whom all the nobles were talking couldn’t find a job at all.

Chapter One: Intrigue in a Venerable Merchant House

The main thoroughfare of Central Fontain, capital of the Werther Duchy, was lined with shops belonging to merchant houses. The only businesses permitted to operate there were long-established merchants who had been trading for generations.

One of these was the Golding Merchant House. It was a venerable establishment that, while not large, was known by anyone and everyone who lived in the capital.

Inside the Golding Merchant House, however, all was not well.

“This is hopeless. We’re deep in the red.”

The store was deserted.

Clare Golding, head of the Golding Merchant House and the manager of the store, sat in her office, her head in her hands.

No matter how many times she went over the books, no matter what angle she came at them from, the accounts were squarely in the red. She squinted at the figures, wondering if someone could have tampered with them, but it was unmistakably her own handwriting. They told her that the funds in her bank account, accumulated over generations before her, were steadily dwindling.

“Ugh... What a mess.”

Clare had beautiful auburn hair that grew thick and wavy. She wore a headband to keep her bangs out of her face. At twenty-eight years old, she was sturdy and full-figured, and taller than average for a woman. In this world, people commonly got married in their teens, so Clare was very behind. She wasn’t in a hurry, however.

“Hey, Clare.”

She jumped as a tall man came in the back door. He was ruggedly good-looking and clearly older than Clare. A beard grew from his square jaw, and his rough hands were covered in fine scars.

“Are you heading to the workshop?” Clare asked. The man was dressed like a typical craftsman in an apron made from a heavy fabric on top of overalls.

“Yeah, I am. Are you— Ah, reviewing the accounts?”

“U-Um, yes...” Clare closed the account book so that he wouldn’t see what worried her, then went over to his side.

“You all right?” he asked. “You’re frowning.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Clare put her arms around the man, who was even taller than she was. Doing this put her at ease. For a moment, she could drive her anxiety over negative account balances from the front of her mind.

“You keep up the good work with those magical items, Kett,” she told him.

“Of course.” With a wave, Kett left.

Once he was out of earshot, Clare exhaled. “I can’t tell Kett, but I don’t know what to do... I’ve gone all in on magic items, but they’re just not selling. Even after he worked so hard to develop them...”

Clare returned to her chair, then let out another long sigh.

Just then, the shop assistant came in.

“Ma’am, there’s someone here.”

“Well, this is a shop. People are supposed to come in.”

“No, ma’am, she says she wants to talk to you.”

“To me? Who is she?”

“Well, erm...” The assistant looked anxious. “She’s a maid.”

After failing to get any work at the agency, Nina returned to the inn only to find that Emily, Astrid, and Tien were already gone. She’d left a note saying, I’ve gone to the agency to look for work. Beneath her handwriting were two new notes:

Gone to the adventurers’ guild to ask about lupalunes.

—Emily, Tien.

I’m going to check out the inventors’ society.

—Astrid.

“Oh...”

This left Nina with very little to do. Cleaning their room at the inn took her a matter of minutes—she left it so unbelievably spotless that it would make Emily, who’d get back a few hours later, do a double take—so what was she to do with the rest of her time?

“Oh!” Just then, something occurred to Nina. “This is Central Fontain!”

She was thinking of her new party companion, Tien, who had worked in a mine while half starved. The mining town relied on imported food that used a preservative Tien couldn’t bear the smell of, so she had barely been able to eat anything.

In order to help Tien, Nina had sought out ingredients not treated with that preservative—and now, she remembered that the merchant house that supplied the meat she’d found was based right here in Central Fontain.

It was called the Golding Merchant House, a long-established meat seller. In this world, where monsters and bandits prowled the lands outside the cities, securing enough land to farm livestock was no easy task. At the very least, Nina wanted to thank them.

She arrived at the Golding Merchant House a little before lunchtime.

Before going in, she paused.

The stone steps that led to the door were caked with mud, and the shop sign looked faded. It was clearly not taken care of.

Nina opened the door and went inside. “Hello...”

Although it was daytime, the shop felt gloomy. The buildup of grime on the windows prevented light from entering properly, and the lamps were dimmed. The shelves near the entrance were lined with magic items, raising still more questions in Nina’s mind.

The Golding Merchant House were meat sellers, weren’t they? And why, when they sold magic items, did they use oil lamps in the store...?

As Nina ventured deeper in, she found a cabinet of meat tucked away in a corner, but it was poorly stocked with only salted and smoked products that didn’t look very appetizing.

“Oh, hello there.” The shop assistant noticed Nina and came up to her. “Huh? A maid? Who do you work for?”

Was there really only one assistant in such a large store?

“Is the manager in?” Nina asked.

“The manager? She is... Shall I go and get her?”

“I’d be very grateful.” Nina bowed.

“Just a moment,” the assistant said, disappearing into the back.

Nina looked around again.

Something wasn’t right here.

The shop hadn’t been kept clean, and when she checked the prices of the magic items, they were rather steep. At the very least, they would have gone for half as much in the Freja Kingdom where Astrid was from.

Then there was the pork. The way it had been shoved off into a corner like an outcast was simply heartbreaking.

“I’m Clare. This is my shop...” The manager had arrived. “Which estate are you from?”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am,” Nina said, bowing gracefully. “My name is Nina. Actually—”

The manager gasped. “D-Don’t tell me you work in a noble’s house?! But that must mean someone finally appreciates our magic items! At last... I knew Kett’s talent would be recognized one day! I always believed proof would come out about the others... You know, the Nuuk and Rondat Merchant Houses, the ones who stole our designs!”

Nina blinked as she tried to take in this bombardment.

“Erm, I beg your pardon, but there’s been a misunderstanding. I’m not employed by any household at the moment.”

“Say what?”

“Also, it wasn’t magic items I came about. I actually wanted to talk about the meat the Golding Merchant House sells.”

Clare just stared at her.

“I, erm...”

Nina was baffled. She didn’t think she’d said anything odd. It was the manager who’d brought up magic items. The misunderstanding ought to have been cleared up.

But the manager clenched her fists, her body trembling.

“Get out.”

“Sorry?”

“I said, get out! Not only are you not here for magic items, but you want to talk about meat? Meat?! I bet the Nuuks hired you to come here and torment me!”

“H-Huh? Huh?” As Nina blinked in confusion, the shop assistant rushed over.

“C-Calm down, ma’am.” She turned to Nina. “I think it’d be best if you came back another day.”

“I never want to see you again!” the manager shouted.

“I-I beg your pardon!” Nina bowed quickly then fled the shop.

The shock set in as soon as she made it out. Even now, Nina couldn’t work out what had just happened. All she’d wanted to do was offer her thanks to the Golding Merchant House for supplying preservative-free meat to the mining town.

Instead, she’d been given short shrift and told to “Get out!”

“...and that was the end of it.”

Back at the inn that night, Nina and the others recounted what they had gotten up to that day. Emily and Tien went first. They hadn’t learned anything about Tien’s lupalune parents.

Nina went next.

When she was finished, Emily and Tien fell into a stony silence.

After a while, Emily growled, “What merchant house was this again?”

“The Golding Merchant House...”

“Got it. So now I go and blow their shop sky-high, right?”

“What?! No!” Nina exclaimed. How on earth did that mean that she “got it”? “Where did you get that idea from?!”

“Good idea, Emily,” Tien said. “Chi will help.”

“Tien?! Not you too?!”

“Tien’s picking up what I’m putting down. You went out of your way to thank this merchant only for them to chase you out just ’cause they got the wrong idea! These Goldings are rotten to the core.”

“Chi agrees.”

“No, it wasn’t like that! It was just a misunderstanding, all right? Please don’t do anything rash...”

Privately, Nina was confused. Since when had Emily and Tien been so radical? All right, perhaps Emily had always had a radical streak, but Tien was usually so levelheaded...

“Pffft... Heh heh... Bwa ha ha ha ha!”

Astrid, who’d been watching from the sidelines, burst out laughing.

“A-Astrid, please stop laughing and help me!” Nina implored her. “If we don’t stop them, these two might do something terrible!”

“Sorry, sorry. They’re just upset because someone was rude to you, Nina. Don’t worry, they won’t actually burn down the shop or smash anything.”

“Y-You’re sure...?” Nina glanced at Tien and Emily.

There was a long pause.

Neither of them would meet her eyes.

“Huh?” This time it was Astrid’s turn to get nervous. “You weren’t serious, right? Because it’d be pretty messed up if you were.”

Emily and Tien didn’t answer her.

“U-Um, anyway... It sounds like there’s more to the story with the Golding Merchant House, doesn’t it? I reckon it could be interesting to poke around a bit.”

“Huh?” Emily said, scowling. “They just acted weird out of nowhere. Why does that make you want to investigate? What, are you curious?”

“Well, there are two reasons.” Astrid crossed her long legs and held up one slender finger. The pose made her look like a model.

“The first is that Nina wanted to thank them and still hasn’t been able to do so. For them, it was just business as usual, but to Nina—no, to all of us, they’re the ones who provided the food that saved Tien’s life. That makes this especially important.”

“I mean, I guess. But—”

“Also, I have a feeling this isn’t just about thanking them.”

“Huh? What’s that mean?”

“You’d have to ask Nina. I don’t know.”

“Huh?” Emily turned to look questioningly at Nina.

She laughed nervously. “Nothing gets by you, does it, Astrid? I did hope to ask them about their meat preservation methods. But I didn’t get the chance, so it doesn’t matter.”

“Don’t assume you’ve missed your chance yet,” Astrid said.

“What do you mean?” Nina looked puzzled.

Astrid raised another finger. “I said I had two reasons, remember? The second...is this.”

As she spoke, she pulled a piece of paper from her pocket and laid it on the table. It wasn’t large, but it was a proper magical certificate that couldn’t be forged.

The other three leaned in to read what was written on it.

Werther Duchy Inventors’ Society Commission of Services

Inventor Astrid Mahogany shall undertake the following services:

- Repair of magic items specified by the client.

- Confirmation of details of repairs through consultation with client.

Compensation: 5,000 tellus.

Client: Golding Merchant House.

Five thousand tellus was roughly equivalent to the monthly salary of an important government official. The Golding Merchant House had put in a request to the inventors’ society, and Astrid had accepted it.

“I haven’t told you what I was doing today. How about we start with that?”

Astrid grinned and began to speak.

The early morning in Central Fontain was crisp and clear. The smells of bread baking and soup warming on the stove wafted out from households throughout the city. Street hawkers steamed buns and potatoes in enormous pots and set out packed lunches of sandwiches full of what at first looked like chicken but upon closer inspection turned out to be frog. Apparently, they used the meat of frog monsters caught in the great lake nearby.

Astrid stifled a yawn.

Last night, she and Emily had stayed up too late drinking wine after deciding to raise a glass to “Our safe arrival in the capital!”

Nina and Tien had slept soundly. In the night, as was usual for her, Tien had gone and curled up in Nina’s bed. Nina had risen before dawn to make Astrid some soup for her hangover.

“That soup was an absolute lifesaver...” Whatever had been in it, it had warmed her from the inside out. Astrid, whose fingers and toes got cold even in summer, felt pleasantly toasty. She was a little lightheaded, but that would sort itself out soon enough.

“Having Nina around is going to ruin me,” she mused. Astrid was self-aware about her lack of self-control and had absolutely no plans to change.

“Ah, this must be it.” She’d arrived at the Golding Merchant House. She knocked on the front door but got no response. She went around the back, emerging into a narrow alley just in time to run into another woman heading for the back door.

Astrid was tall, but the woman was the same height if not a little taller, and had a mane of thick red hair.

“How may I...?”

“I’m from the inventors’ society,” Astrid said, smoothly producing the request form. The woman took it.

“You’re an inventor...?”

“Sure am.”

“But you’re a woman.”

“Well, by the looks of you, so are you,” Astrid pointed out.

The woman looked briefly stunned, then said, “Y-You’re right, that was rude. I’m Clare Golding.”

“Astrid Mahogany, bona fide member of the Royal Freja Inventors’ Society, at your service. Here’s my credentials.”

“The Freja Kingdom?!” the woman gasped. “That’s the crème de la crème of inventors! Anyway, let’s go inside. I’ll make us some tea before we talk business.”

She beamed at Astrid as they shook hands. Clapping her on the shoulder, Clare ushered Astrid into the shop and to her cluttered office, lined with different account books. A small kitchen area was tucked away in the corner.

As she made their tea, Clare said, “I really am sorry for saying that about you being a woman.”

“Don’t worry about it. Happens all the time.”

“But that’s the thing. People are always telling me ‘a woman has no place heading a merchant house.’ I should know better than to think that way myself... Here you are.”

“Thank you.”

She handed Astrid a cup from which wafted the earthy, sweet aroma of corn tea. After that, they sat and chatted for a while.

Clare was exuberant but, like a good merchant, knew how to keep her audience entertained. Astrid watched her, wondering if this could really be the same person who’d chased Nina out of the shop in a rage.

Hoping for answers, she asked, “By the way, has the Golding Merchant House always traded in magic items?”

Clare sighed deeply. “You’re not from this country, so you wouldn’t know, but...the truth is, our business was always in buying and selling meat from livestock farmers. I doubt there’s a restaurant or hotel in the Werther Duchy that doesn’t know the Golding Merchant House.”

“Gosh, that’s quite something,” Astrid said. “But you don’t seem happy about it.”

Clare hesitated. “Because it’s you, I’ll tell you,” she said softly.

Although they’d only just met, Astrid being an inventor from the Freja Kingdom with an official commission from the inventors’ society had apparently boosted her trustworthiness in Clare’s eyes.

“Ever since I was little, people teased me and called me ‘pig girl’ just because my family were meat sellers.”

With that, it all made sense.

Clare had a complex about her family business. Through pure bad luck, when Nina had shown up and begun talking about meat without so much as glancing at the magic items, it had triggered Clare’s insecurities.

It must go really deep... Astrid thought. Clare had been wrong to lash out at Nina based on a misunderstanding—Astrid had been outraged too. But now that she’d heard the other side of the story, it sounded like Clare had it hard as well.

Just then, she heard the back door open.

“Clare? You in here?”

It was a man’s voice.

“Yes, I’m here, Kett! Just give me a minute!” Clare stood up and went over to the door, but not before checking her hair. There was a spring in her step.

Ahhh, so that’s how it is... Astrid knew what was going on between Clare and Kett. She couldn’t see them, but she could hear their conversation.

“What are you doing in so early?”

“About that... I heard you called in the inventors’ society. You didn’t, did you?”

“I did. I wasn’t going to tell you.”

“Why not? Am I that unreliable?” The man didn’t sound disappointed or confused. At least to Astrid’s ears, he sounded angry.

“It’s not like that. I just didn’t want to interrupt your research. I told them I wanted someone to come and repair some magic items, but the real reason is...”

Their voices lowered, growing muffled.

“So that’s what this is about? You could have just told me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. In that case, I’ll just introduce myself to this inventor you hired.” The man’s voice had abruptly turned bright.

He followed Clare into the office—then froze for a moment when he saw Astrid.

“O-Oh, um...”

“The name’s Astrid. I’m the inventor who picked up your request to the society yesterday.”

“I’m Kett... I’m an inventor too. I design new products for the Golding Merchant House.”

They shook hands.

Astrid looked over Kett’s attire, a well-tailored jacket and trousers. He was pretty easy on the eyes too—she could see why Clare was attracted to him. Kett gave her a once over as well.

They released the handshake. “You...” He broke off. “No, never mind. Clare, I’ll be in the workshop.”

“Okay. We’ll probably drop by later on.”

“I know. I’ll get out of your way when you do.”

Kett went out the back door again. Clare gazed after him as though she didn’t want him to leave.

Just now...he was obviously surprised, Astrid thought. He must have been taken aback because Astrid wasn’t what he’d imagined when he’d heard “inventor.” In other words, he’d assumed she was a man, only to find she was a woman. And for some reason, that had put his mind at ease—at least, that was how it had looked to her—and he’d left.

“When Kett showed up... Well, I’d started developing new magic items alongside our meat business, and to tell you the truth, it wasn’t going well. But he still agreed to come and work for me. You must know how hard it is to find a skilled inventor! And he’s still here giving his all to this job.”

“I suppose it’s no wonder you fell for him.”

“E-Excuse me? I didn’t... It’s not like that!”

“The way you two were just now, a blind person would have picked up on it.”

“Y-You think so? You think we look like a couple?” Clare squirmed, blushing furiously.

Astrid let out a small sigh. She wasn’t here to listen to Clare moon over her crush.

“Anyway, it sounds like you didn’t hire me to repair some magic items. What exactly is it that you want from me?”

“Oh, you heard that...” Clare’s dreamy expression vanished and her voice grew serious. “The truth is...we’ve been bugged. I want you to find the device.”

As Clare had said, the Golding Merchant House was a long-established meat seller. Since the days of the previous head of the business—her late father—their profits had gradually declined. There were various reasons for it—from the growing influence of rival merchant houses to the farmers who’d supplied them going out of business, reducing the amount of meat they could sell.

To Clare, the biggest challenge was her father’s aversion to “new things.” So, after he passed away and she inherited the business, she’d decided to go into developing and selling magic items. Her plan had been to work on development while she had money to spare, but the endeavor turned out to be more of a money sink than she’d expected.

Few of the designs succeeded, and the business accounts had rapidly emptied out, forcing her to cut back on employees. Driven into a corner, she felt she had to find a way to succeed no matter what.

That was when she met Kett.

He was a drifter from a foreign land. Unable to find work in Central Fontain, he had been spending his days in taverns getting blackout drunk on cheap liquor.

Clare, realizing that tomorrow she could find herself in his shoes, felt sorry for him. Initially, she took him under her wing, giving him a meal and a place to sleep—she no longer had any staff living on-site, so the room was empty, and she had no shortage of food.

It was then he revealed he was an inventor.

Kett explained that he’d had a falling out with the master of the workshop where he’d used to work. He’d ended up leaving and making his way to Central Fontain, but because no one knew him, he couldn’t find anyone to hire him.

“Then why not work for me?” Clare suggested, not thinking much of it. Kett said that if she’d give him meals and a bed, he was happy to. “Though I’d be even happier if you’d throw in a glass of wine,” he had added.

Once he started work, he turned out to be exceptional at it. All those designs that hadn’t gone anywhere were forgotten as Kett produced one new product after another—and they all flew off the shelves. The better their products sold, the closer Clare and Kett became. Just when she thought that so long as she had Kett, the future was bright for the Golding Merchant House...

“...the trouble began,” Clare finished. From there, her expression became grim.

She and Astrid had gone out of the office into the customer-facing part of the shop.

“We’d just finished a new magic item and were about to release it...when someone else released an identical product.”

“What do you mean, ‘identical’?” Astrid asked.

Magic items weren’t sold in massive quantities. Examples included a heater the perfect size for a house, or an auxiliary power unit for a cart, or an oven tailor-made for a kitchen. Magic lamps were found everywhere, but they were mass-produced, so developing and selling them wasn’t much of a moneymaker. Inventing new magic items typically meant selling fewer products at high prices.

“And I suppose once this other magic item went on sale, it ate up all the demand before you could release yours,” said Astrid.

“It gets worse,” said Clare. “Everyone called us thieves!”

“Ah...”

Astrid could see why. Of course they’d be accused of copying when the other product had been released first. Clare had thought long and hard about what could have happened, and eventually, she arrived at an answer.

“You think someone bugged the Golding Merchant House?” Astrid asked.

“That’s right.”

Clare thought that someone had stolen her design. Even in the Freja Kingdom where Astrid was from, inventors were always stealing each other’s designs for magic items, so she could see how Clare had come to that conclusion.

But even so...

“Hmmm...” Astrid folded her arms, considering. The shop was supposed to open in half an hour, but since the sole employee was yet to arrive, she had time to think it over properly.

Based on Clare’s demeanor, she didn’t trust the shop assistant either—even though the assistant didn’t go anywhere near the workshop. She didn’t even want the inventors’ society to know of her suspicions, which was why she had put in a false request for the “repair of magic items.” On top of that, it seemed she’d specifically chosen an inventor who wasn’t from the Werther Duchy.

Clare mistrusted everything. And yet when Astrid, a female inventor from the technologically advanced Freja Kingdom, had shown up on her doorstep, she’d trusted her straightaway.

She only trusts the people she wants to trust... Astrid thought. That could end badly.

While part of her mind continued with its analysis of Clare, she said, “It’s unlikely that there’s a bug.”

“H-How do you know? You haven’t even looked yet.”

“First of all, while magic listening devices certainly exist, they can’t operate for long periods of time. Let’s say it’s about this big.” Astrid raised her hands to indicate an object about the size of a lunch box. “That’s as small as listening devices get at the moment, and anything larger would be easy to locate, right? Well, a device of this size could run continuously for about five days at the most. Then someone would have to replace the mana crystal that powers it, which means they’d be sneaking in here every five days, or come in pretending to be a customer. Can you think of anyone who comes here every five days, or at least on a regular basis?”

Clare thought about it briefly, then shook her head. She couldn’t think of anyone, then.

“Another possibility would be to attach a larger device to the outside of the building. We can check the exterior, under the floor, and inside the roof, if you like.”

“Th-Thank you!”

They did a once-over of the shop before the shop assistant arrived, then moved to the office and break room. When the assistant checked in on them later, she gave them both a confused look.

“What are you doing, ma’am?” she asked. “You’re all covered in soot.”

Having found nothing inside the building, the two of them headed outside. The shops of the other merchant houses were open and the street was bustling with people. Those who passed nearby looked curiously at Clare and Astrid as they peered at the walls and roof of the building.

“There’s nothing here,” Astrid said. Their search hadn’t uncovered anything.

“N-Nothing...?”

“I mean, I can’t say I’m surprised. If I wanted to steal information, I wouldn’t plant a listening device out here—I’d put it in the workshop. Or I’d just break in and steal the designs directly.”

“I suppose...” Clare said. “But Kett insists there’s no bug.”

“Didn’t he agree to let you investigate earlier?”

“Well, I begged him to let me take one look. Shall we go over?”

“Yes, let’s. Better now than later.”

The two of them headed for Kett’s workshop. Kett looked a little irritated—Astrid wasn’t sure if that was because they didn’t believe him when he said there wasn’t a bug, or because he simply didn’t like people coming into his workshop—but he let them in as he’d said he would.

“I’ll leave you to it,” he said. “I’ve tidied some things away so you’re free to look around, but only Clare touches the safe.”

“Thank you, Kett,” said Clare.

“It’s nothing... Besides, you won’t find anything.” With that, he left.

Astrid regarded the workshop.

It wasn’t very large. There was no second floor, but a ladder reached up to a hatch that opened onto the roof. It was bolted tightly from the inside, and nothing was up there but a heavy layer of dust. The workshop itself was rather different from Astrid’s own. She too had been burning through her savings for the sake of her research—while living in a house full of trash—but even she had better tools than this.

These are all way out-of-date, she thought. Everything from the experiment setup to the tools for carving out magical circuits was ancient. And on top of that...

Astrid stared at the well-ordered work space, pondering.

“Astrid...?” Clare asked. “Something the matter?”

“Huh? Oh, no... Say, Clare. All the inventing tools here look like they’ve had a long life.”

“Well, Kett does use them every day!”

Clare had interpreted “long life” as “well used.”

“How long has it been since Kett started working on inventions here?”

“Let’s see... It must be about three years.”

“Has he ever asked you to buy him new tools?”

“We did talk about it early on, but... Well, buying new magic tools costs money.”

“So this is what he’s done all his recent work with?”

“Yes. Didn’t I just say that?” Clare paused, then said, “What are you getting at?”

“Nothing, just double-checking.”

Having made sure of that much, Astrid turned her back on Clare and began a thorough search of the workshop for any listening devices.

Clare is too smitten with Kett, she thought. If she hadn’t heard about Clare blowing up at Nina the previous day, she might have said that something seemed fishy. And that something was related directly to Kett.

If she said something, Clare would probably get angry and refuse to listen, then throw Astrid out.

I could just take the money for the job and leave. But then there’s what Nina said...

Even at a time like this, the little maid popped up in Astrid’s mind.

“I did hope to ask them about their meat preservation methods...”

Astrid wanted to make sure Nina didn’t leave here disappointed.

I always just do what I want, huh? she thought.

Astrid wasn’t doing this for Clare, and she certainly wasn’t doing it for herself. She was keeping up this charade purely so that Nina would be satisfied.

“Did you find a bug?” Clare asked.

“It’s not here.” Astrid had already known she wouldn’t find anything.

“Are you sure...? But then how did the other merchant guilds steal our inventions?!”

“Magic items aren’t all-powerful, you know. Like I said, even if they’d managed to plant a bug, they’d have to change out the mana crystal. To get into the workshop—”

Astrid looked at the entrance. Unlike the hatch in the ceiling, it required a key to lock. It was also extremely solid and sturdy.

“—they’d have to come through that hatch,” she said. “The windows are fitted with iron bars, so no person could get through them. There’s no other way in, right?”

Clare was silent. She didn’t look convinced, but she nodded.

“And you and Kett are the only ones with the key, right?”

“Well, yes...”

“Then we have to conclude that the other merchant houses found some other way to sell your products ahead of you.”

“Another way...?” Clare sounded unsure of herself. She’d gone from angry to suspicious to disheartened. Her emotions were all over the place—she must feel totally cornered.

“I don’t know what it is,” Astrid said, “but I’d like to investigate a little more, if you don’t mind.”

“I...”

“In the meantime, I need you to tell the inventors’ society that I failed to complete your request. Can you do that? You mustn’t tell a soul about it. That includes Kett, your friends, and your family.”

“B-But why?”

“We want to make our enemy complacent,” Astrid said, letting the word “enemy” slip out without thinking.

“No! That’s not what I meant! I want to know why you’d do all that for me. Failing to complete a job will hurt your reputation as an inventor. Even if I tell them later that I lied, that won’t fully undo the damage.”

“Ah, I see,” Astrid said.

Something else became clear to her. Clare was a merchant to the bone. She understood the value of trust, and she believed that no one did anything unless they had something to gain from it. Astrid didn’t know how to talk to such a person.

So, she said, “I just feel like it. Do I need a reason?”

If Clare wouldn’t take her word for it, then they had nothing more to say to each other. She’d have to find some other way to help Nina reach Clare.

But if she did trust her...

Then this could get interesting, Astrid thought to herself.

Clare’s eyes darted around nervously. All her exuberance from when Astrid first arrived was gone.

“I-I don’t understand you...” she stammered.

“Inventing isn’t a matter of business,” Astrid said. “At least, not to me.”

“Well, it is to me.”

“So I see. That’s too bad.” With that, Astrid exited the workshop, leaving Clare where she stood. It was a pity, she thought, that the gap between how she and Clare thought about things was too great to be bridged.

“But I guess it makes sense,” she said to herself. “We come from different countries and different backgrounds. And besides, no successful merchant would wholeheartedly trust someone they’ve only just met.”

Astrid began to walk away from the Golding Merchant House, when—

“Wait!”

Clare came running out of the workshop.

“I do want your help,” she said.

It was Astrid’s turn to be confused. “Why the change of heart?” she said. “Here I thought you’d never understand someone like me.”

“I don’t know how to explain it... But I realized that you’re the kind of person who can’t be bought. It occurred to me that maybe...maybe asking you to do this will turn things around for me.”

“I see,” Astrid said slowly.

No successful merchant would trust someone they’d only just met. That, Astrid was sure of.

But she was also sure of something else.

“I accept. I’ll do everything I can to help you.”

In order to succeed as a person, you had to be able to trust your instincts.

Astrid returned to the inn, thinking she’d take a nap before the others got back. She opened the door to their room—and froze.

“Welcome back, Astrid!”

“That was fast!”

“Chi knew that with your abilities, a mere repair job would take no time at all.”

Nina, apparently still eager to clean, had her sleeves rolled up and was holding a rag. Emily sat by the window reading a book, and Tien trailed after Nina at a loose end. They were all there.

“Um...? Why are you all here?”

“Duh, we were waiting for you to get back,” Emily said. They must have wanted to know if her meeting with Clare had gone well.

“Tien seems to think you finished the job, but not me. The truth is, you made the client angry and she chased you off!”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

It seemed her nap would have to wait. Nina—who at some point had neatened up her maid uniform again—appeared with steaming cups of tea that smelled of honey. A cup in hand, Astrid sat down and began to tell them everything.

Once she was finished, the other three sat there deep in thought. Emily was the first one to break the silence.

“Okay, so let’s see if I have this straight. The Golding Merchant House tried to pivot into the magic item trade but messed it up. Then she took her frustration about that out on Nina?”

“Chi will never forgive her.”

“Good, Tien. Give in to your rage!”

“E-Emily?! Tien?!” Nina stammered, growing flustered. Astrid looked like she was at the end of her rope.

“Cut it out, you two. Did you even listen to what I said?” She managed to get Tien to sit back down.

“I guess I feel a bit bad for this Clare woman,” Emily said grudgingly.

“Well, right now what I want to do is solve her problem for her.”

“You mean find the bug?”

“No, not that.” Astrid shook her head. “There was never any bug.”

“Say what...? But this other merchant house is selling copies of the magic items she designed, aren’t they? They’re obviously stealing the information, unless— Aha! I’ve got it!” Emily folded her arms and laughed under her breath. “The culprit is none other...than the locksmith!”

Nina and Tien gasped.

“Anyone with a master key could sneak into the workshop to steal the designs. Kett and Clare are the only ones with that key...or so it seemed! In fact, the locksmith also kept a copy!”

“Wrong,” Astrid said promptly.

“Aw, c’mon! What else could it be?!”

“Clare said Kett made the keys.” Astrid explained that when Kett came to work for the Goldings, the workshop keys had been the first thing he’d made.

“Okay, then what about a worker doing repairs on the workshop? Someone like you?”

“What?! Astrid is the culprit?!”

“Nina, we just arrived in this city together, remember?”

“O-Oh, yes...”

“And Emily, stop throwing out wild theories.”

“Oops.” Emily laughed sheepishly, then poked her tongue out. What that was supposed to mean, no one had a clue.

“I think the truth is much simpler.” Astrid drained her tea then set down the cup. “Someone is leaking information to another merchant.”

There were more gasps.

“I don’t think it can be Clare. Maybe if she were trying to self-destruct, but she doesn’t strike me as the type. Then there’s the shop assistant. She’d have the opportunity to get the information, but Clare told me she isn’t allowed near the workshop. It’d be suspicious if she were lurking around there. Which only leaves one possibility.”

Astrid hadn’t been able to say this to Clare. Earlier, she’d still hoped it wasn’t true.

“Kett is double-crossing her.”

“Clare?” When Kett arrived back at the Golding Merchant House office that evening, he found Clare hunched over an account book and groaning.

“Oh, Kett!” she said. “Did you just get back? You were gone a long time.”

“Well, I thought you’d need the full day to search the workshop from top to bottom.”

“Far from it. It didn’t even take all morning.”

“Really? So did you find anything?”

“Well...” Clare was about to tell him that they hadn’t but Astrid was going to keep trying, but she stopped herself. Instead, she sighed and shook her head. “No, we didn’t. It was a waste of time.”

“Oh, well. That’s what I told you. Is that what’s got you down?”

“No, it was that inventor. What a nightmare! I’ve nothing good to say about her, so I reported the job a failure.”

“Huh? You did?” Kett looked taken aback. A failed job was no laughing matter. The damage it could do to one’s reputation was significant enough that sometimes people even took their clients to court over it.

“It’s not like you to go that far,” Kett went on. “Isn’t conflict bad for business? Couldn’t you have given her a few coins and not said anything either way?”

“Well, I suppose. But she was totally beyond the pale! She even insulted you, can you believe it?”

This seemed to convince Kett. He nodded. Of course Clare would respond to an insult to him by reporting a job a failure—she was totally smitten with him, after all.

“Oh, right. Well, I’m sorry you had to deal with that. You’re better off forgetting all about her,” Kett said. “Anyway, I have plans for dinner, so I’ll be off.” Smiling, he turned to leave.

“Kett?” Clare called after him.

“Hmm?”

“You...um...” she began, then shook her head. “No, never mind. Don’t drink too much!”

“Huh? Oh, right. I know, I know.” With that, Kett left.

Clare watched him go in silence. Then, with a long sigh, she slumped back into her chair.

“I’m used to secrets. They’re part of being a merchant,” she said to herself. “But I hate lying to Kett...”

Even after dark, the streetlights blazed bright, their reflection sparkling in the water of the canals, and the streets still thronged with people. These were the best days of spring before it gave way to summer.

“Yaaawn...”

“Did you just wake up?”

It was dark out when Astrid opened her eyes after her nap. She could hear the bustle of the streets outside—the night was still young.

The only other person in the room was Emily. “Nina is getting things ready in the room next door, and Tien went out to get to work,” she said.

“That was fast.”

“No, you’re just too relaxed.”

“I’m a late-blooming genius,” Astrid said loftily. Emily rolled her eyes.

When they went over to the next room, they found Nina building something that looked like a carrying frame to be worn on one’s back. It was made from wood with straps attached.

“Astrid, you’re awake!” she said. “I’ll put some tea on.”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s nearly dinnertime anyway.”

“Seriously?” Emily stared at her in disbelief. How could anyone have it in them to think about dinner after falling asleep straight after lunch?

“Erm... I built this for carrying the magic item. Do you think it’ll be all right?” Nina asked.

“All right? This is amazing! I didn’t know you were a carpenter as well as a cook, Nina.”

Before she fell asleep, Astrid had made a request of Nina—that was why Nina had built the frame—but she figured anything would be fine so long as it could carry a heavy magic item. Astrid hadn’t expected Nina to go so far; with this, just one person could do the carrying by themselves.

“Oh, any maid could do the same,” Nina said.

There was a brief pause as Astrid and Emily just barely fought back the urge to tell her how wrong she was. They’d known Nina long enough to have built up some resistance on that front.

Just then, an inn worker knocked. “Ma’am? There’s a merchant here. Says you called him?”

“Yes! Thank you for letting me know!” Nina bustled out of the room.

Emily watched her go then said, “Everything’s going smoothly, huh.”

“You’ve got no idea how lucky it is Nina had a merchant house contact. Magic items like these are rare, so there aren’t many stores that have them in stock.”

“She said she met one of their merchants on a coach journey. Only, that guy tried to talk her into working for them...”

“She caught his eye, huh? I guess merchants have a better eye for talent than nobles.”

“Yeah, they never miss a way to turn a profit.”

“Speaking of which, which merchant house is it?”

“Huh? Um, what was it again? She said she met him at the maid agency while I was at the adventurers’ guild...” Emily racked her brains for a while, then said, “That’s it! The Vick Merchant House!”

Astrid stared at her.

“Um, Astrid? You okay?”

Astrid squeezed her eyes tight shut and massaged her temples with her thumbs as though she had a splitting headache.

Hesitantly, Emily asked, “Is, um, the Vick Merchant House famous...?”

“They’re not just famous—they’ve got stores in every corner of the continent. Back home in the Freja Kingdom, they’re one of the biggest merchant houses around. They’ve been stocking more magic items lately too.” Astrid sighed, staring off into space. “Of course... It makes sense that they would try to bring Nina on board.”

Just then, there was a click as the door opened.

“Thank you very much,” said Nina. “You didn’t have to carry it all the way inside.”

“Think nothing of it.”

A smiling young man came in carrying a large box. He had short, silky blue hair and intelligent eyes that made him look more like a scholar or an official than a merchant. At the same time, he had a muscular physique and a healthy tan.

“Oh yes, let me introduce you,” said Nina. “These are my travel companions, Emily and Astrid. Emily, Astrid, this is Firth. He acquired this magic item for us! I didn’t expect to find you here in Central Fontain!”

“I just got in today by coincidence. When I heard you’d made an order, I thought I’d deliver it myself.” Firth set the heavy item down on the table, then turned to Astrid and Emily.

“My name is Firth Vick. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

The two of them looked at each other and shared a silent exchange.

Vick? Had he just said Vick? Vick as in the Vick Merchant House Vicks? It had to be.

“What’s the matter with you two?” Nina asked, looking puzzled. Apparently, she had no idea what sort of person she’d gotten involved with.

“U-Um, nothing,” Astrid said hastily. “Thanks, Firth. Don’t worry about explaining how it works—I know my way around magic items.”

“Ah, yes, you’re an inventor, aren’t you?” Firth smiled at her. “In that case, I don’t suppose I could trouble you to tell me what you intend to use this for? It’s not every day we get an urgent order for a recording device.”

The item for which Nina had been building a frame and that Firth had just delivered to them was none other than a magic device that could record voices and play them back. They were mostly used to record important meetings between nobles or diplomats to prevent he said, she said situations. Naturally, they were not cheap.

“I’m pretty sure I don’t have to tell you anything,” Astrid retorted. “We paid you a fair price for it. What we do with it afterward is up to us. It’s not like a weapon where there’s an obligation to state your intended use.”

She didn’t like the searching look Firth was giving her.

“Well, unless you give me a satisfactory answer, I can’t sell it to you.”

“Excuse me?” She couldn’t believe her ears. A merchant refusing to sell? And an expensive magic item at that!

“You look like you’re wondering what sort of merchant would look at a small fortune and not bite.”

“Well, I—”

“Personally, I don’t believe in doing business deals that I don’t agree with. Especially when they pertain to Nina.”

“Nina is our companion and party member. You have no right to talk to us like that,” Astrid growled. Now she knew what that look in Firth’s eyes had meant. He was trying to deduce if Astrid and Emily were trustworthy. As if it were any of his business.

It was, of course, the exact same suspicious look that she had given Emily back when she first met Nina, but she’d forgotten that.

“I may only be a humble merchant, but I take good care of all the relationships I make in my work. That includes my relationship with Nina. Apparently, it isn’t Nina who plans to use this magic item but you, Astrid. Assuming that whatever it is involves her, I think it is my business to ask you what you want to use it for.”

“Fine. I’ll take my money elsewhere.”

“Good luck finding a shop with this in stock. Let alone one open at this hour.”

Astrid gritted her teeth in frustration. Then—

“Th-That’s enough, both of you!” Nina cut in. “Astrid, you can trust Firth. It’s thanks to him that I was able to take the job to clean your house.”

Astrid’s eyes went wide.

Back in the Freja Kingdom, Nina had been unceremoniously turned away by the maid agency because her former employer—Count Mirkwood—hadn’t given her a referral letter. Firth had shown up just in time and offered to be a reference for her.

“And Firth...” Nina went on. “Astrid and Emily are very dear to me. I want you to be friends.”

Firth met Nina’s gaze squarely, then bowed his head. “I apologize,” he said in the end. “As a merchant, I ought to be ashamed of myself for holding the item you purchased over your head as a negotiating tactic. Do forgive me, Astrid.”

“Forget it,” Astrid muttered, refusing to look at him. “I was the one who asked Nina to buy it.” It was unusually childish for her.

“Well, Nina,” said Firth. “That’s the delivery complete, so I’ll be going.”

“B-But... Don’t you want to know what we’re going to use it for?”

“No, Astrid was right. This magic item doesn’t come with an obligation for the buyer to declare as much, so—”

Just then, they heard rapid footsteps, a click, and the door swinging open again.

Tien burst into the room. “The target went into a tavern with what looked like a merchant. We should go now if we want to bug their conversation.”

The other four all stared at her in silence. People didn’t just use the word “bug” like that in casual conversation.

“Did I just hear her say ‘bug their conversation’?” Firth said, smiling sweetly.

Tien cocked her head questioningly, apparently unaware that she’d said anything wrong.

“I’ve changed my mind,” Firth said extremely reasonably. “I’m going to need you to tell me what you’re up to.”

They walked down the nighttime street to the sound of falling water, perhaps from one of the canals. Tien took the lead, followed by Nina and Firth, who walked side by side. On Firth’s back was the carrying frame to which the magic item was strapped. He was the very picture of a traveling merchant, looking far less unnatural than a maid, a mage, or an inventor ever could have.

Behind them, walking at a slight distance, were Emily and Astrid.

“It’s not like you to get all worked up like that,” said Emily.

“Who, me? I was just being cautious in case he wanted to take advantage of Nina.”

“Uh-huh...”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing!” Emily said. Astrid, it seemed, was back to her old self.

Well, I’m sure she has her reasons. Emily wasn’t going to pry. One day, Astrid would probably tell her herself.

In the end, they had told Firth everything. It was too much trouble to try and keep it a secret, and as a merchant himself, Firth wasn’t totally unconnected—though the biggest reason was to keep him from trying to stop them.

So, they told him about the Golding Merchant House, their theory that Kett was a traitor, and why they needed the recording device to get proof. At first, Firth listened with an air of nonchalance, but as they came to the heart of the matter, his expression grew serious.

“I did hear the Rondats were selling magic items at absurdly low prices,” he had said.

Selling magic items cheaply wasn’t itself a crime, but at that price point, they couldn’t have been making much profit. Customers rushed to buy them up until everyone who wanted one had one, leaving them with a small amount of leftover stock.

“Doing that makes no sense—unless they were trying to undercut another merchant house.”

While the Golding Merchant House got their new products ready for sale, the Rondats released the same product a little ahead of them to eat up all the demand. That left the Goldings with all the items they’d produced sitting around gathering dust.

“But it can’t be that the Rondats stole the designs to make their own version. The merchant house that did the original design would still be able to manufacture it faster. Rather than assume that the Golding design was leaked, it’s more likely that the Rondats fed the Goldings the information so that they’d manufacture the items at a loss.”

With that, Firth announced that he was coming too. Astrid tried to veto this, but he said, “It’ll help your case to have an unconnected merchant on your side to testify about this.” She couldn’t think of an argument against that.

Also, Nina immediately said, “We’re glad to have you, Firth!”

The long and short of it was that Astrid couldn’t stand Firth. Worst of all was how pleased he’d looked at being thanked by Nina.

The five of them followed Tien through the main streets of Central Fontain, then down a number of back streets until at last they reached a dimly lit alley. It was the sort of place you definitely didn’t want to be alone in. The gloom was too much for Astrid’s eyes, but apparently, Tien could see just fine because she set a brisk pace.

“Could you—” Just as Astrid was about to ask her to wait up, light blossomed from Firth’s hand as he produced two small, portable magic lamps.

“Here,” he said.

Astrid took it with a scowl and muttered, “Thanks.” The lamp was small but gave off more than enough light. This was a highly efficient magic item that she knew had only just been released in the Freja Kingdom. She couldn’t stand that Firth had them.

Tien came to a halt. “It is that tavern with the red door,” she said. Ahead of them, a small lamp illuminated a faded red door with a brass sign that read The Redrib Rooster’s Perch. That had to be the name of the tavern.

According to Tien, Kett had left the Golding Merchant House and come here about an hour ago.

“All right, I’ll go take a look around,” said Firth.

“Why you?” said Astrid. “From here on out, this is our business.”

“Well, Kett doesn’t know me, and if it’s a Rondat merchant he’s with, I’ll recognize them. And above all, no one will look twice at a man walking into a tavern—I’ll stand out less than a female inventor.”

“I used to go out to drink by myself all the time back in Freja,” Astrid protested.

“Dude, that’s just sad,” Emily muttered, even though no one asked her.

“Okay, fine,” said Firth. “Then how about everyone except you come with me?”

“Why can’t I—”

“Because Kett knows what you look like, duh,” said Emily.

Astrid gritted her teeth.

“I’ll go with Firth,” Emily went on. “It’d be weird for a maid to be in a tavern, and Tien’s still too young. Although, maybe leave the magic item? That’ll definitely draw attention.”

“Ah, hold on,” Astrid said. “I could rejig the circuitry to make it sensitive enough to record from outside.”

Firth looked taken aback. “This is a complicated piece of machinery. Building it gave our inventors a lot of trouble.”

“Excuse me.” Astrid held her index finger up to Firth’s nose. “How about you leave the inventing to the inventor, merchant boy?”

Firth flinched.

There was a long pause, then Emily said, “Okay, how about this, Astrid? If they’re by the wall or in a private room, I’ll get as close as I can then clap twice. Then you come around the outside to that spot. If I clap three times, they’re in the middle of the tavern.”

Firth protested. “But they won’t be able to hear you clap from out—”

“Understood,” Tien said, cutting him off. “If they are in the middle, Chi will go in with the recording device from the roof.”

She took the carrying frame from Firth, shouldered it, then nimbly leaped her way up to the top of the neighboring building. She quickly identified a way to climb up, then returned to the ground.

“It will be easy,” she concluded. Through all of this, she hardly made a sound.

“This girl isn’t normal either,” Firth said under his breath.

After Firth and Emily disappeared inside The Redrib Rooster’s Perch, Nina, Tien, and Astrid went into the narrow alley that led behind the tavern. Even here, there was a waterway, but in the absence of light, the surface looked black. Rats scurried away as they illuminated their surroundings with the magic lamps that Firth had left them.

“Erm... Astrid?” Nina said.

“Hm?”

“I... I’m sorry.”

Astrid blinked in confusion at the sudden apology.

“It’s just, well, this all happened because I wanted to say thank you to the Golding Merchant House,” Nina explained. “Then I decided on my own to contact Firth. You...don’t like him very much, do you?”

“That’s not true,” Astrid lied. There was no getting around the fact that she couldn’t stand him, but if she could just get through today, he’d go away and she might never have to see him again. She was enough of a grown-up to want to keep things amicable until then, even if it meant lying.

“Firth is a very good person.”

“Mm.”

“Like I said before, if it weren’t for him, we never would have met.”

“Mm, I know.”

“I’d be very happy if the two of you could be friends.”

Astrid bit her tongue. Why? Why is she so hung up on what I think of Firth?

Her vague misgivings rapidly multiplied. For that matter, what about Firth did she find so objectionable? She’d almost never had such a strong reaction to anyone else before—even the inventor women back in Freja who’d said nasty things about her.

“Firth is a trustworthy merchant,” Nina went on. “Once you go back to being an inventor, I’m sure he’d be a great help to you.”

Oh... So that’s it! Astrid thought as it all clicked into place.

Nina had gone to the Vick Merchant House because they were known for selling magic items, but that wasn’t the only reason.

She’d wanted to introduce Astrid to Firth as a potential business partner for her future inventions. Now that Astrid thought about it, the way that Nina had immediately agreed to Firth coming with them after it came out that they wanted to use the recording device for questionable purposes had been unlike her. She’d probably thought it would give Firth and Astrid more time to get to know each other.

In other words, Nina had done all of this for Astrid. Not for Firth.

What was I thinking... Just like that, all of her ill feelings evaporated. She still wasn’t quite sure where her violent dislike for Firth had come from, but for some reason, she felt like all the weight had lifted from her chest.

“You’re right. I’ll apologize to Firth later for laying into him like that.”

“Oh, no—I didn’t mean you had to apologize...!” Nina stammered.

“There’s just one thing I’d like to clear up.”

“To...clear up?”

“Right.” Astrid smiled. “I appreciate that you were thinking about my career as an inventor. But right now, I’m not an inventor—I’m a member of Maid & Co. We only just formed this party! I don’t want to think about what happens after I leave it.”

“Oh...”

“I want to be with you, Nina.”

Nina’s eyes went wide. She blushed and shuffled her feet awkwardly.

At this point, Tien butted in. “Astrid, you were altering the magic device.”

“Aaand the moment’s gone.” Astrid sighed.

“Emily is waiting. She clapped twice.”

“Oh, whoops.”

Astrid’s ears hadn’t picked up anything, but Tien had apparently heard the claps loud and clear. She pulled a magical circuit modifying tool from her pocket. Tien watched her intently.

Like a dog possessive of its owner, Astrid thought with a wry smile.

Holding the magic lamp in her mouth, she removed the cover on the recording device to expose the circuitry with a practiced air. Once she’d deciphered it, she got to work making alterations. She was done in a matter of moments.

“Right, that should do it.”

“Wh-What? Already? Amazing!”

“Nina,” Astrid said with a grin, “any inventor could do the same.” She tidied up her tools, then turned to Tien. “So where can we hear them from?”

“Over here.”

Astrid and Nina followed Tien a little farther down the alleyway. Astrid took the hose-like appendage that hung off the device and pressed the suction up on the end to the wall of the building. The three of them started at the voices that emerged from the device.

—Lemme buy you another drink.

—Ah ha ha. No, you’ve already been too kind.

“That’s Kett, isn’t it?” said Nina. Astrid nodded and turned on the record function.

Emily stepped through the tavern door into a cheerful but relaxed babble of voices.

She had plenty of experience in the kinds of taverns her fellow adventurers patronized, and had even been to fancy restaurants. This sort of calm atmosphere, however, was a first for her. The interior made copious use of natural wood, which was a contrast to the perfectly ordered streets. The lighting was subdued, and there was a generous amount of space between tables. There was even mezzanine seating.

The clientele was probably predominantly merchants—everyone was smartly dressed. There might have even been some nobles among them.

It’s a good thing I’m with Firth. Astrid and I would stand out like a sore thumb.

Emily took care with how she dressed, but she was attired to set off on a journey or an adventure at a moment’s notice. Her clothes were nothing like what these merchants wore.

A male waiter approached them. “Is this your first time here?” he asked.

“It is,” Firth replied. “I’m from the Vick Merchant House.”

“The Vick Merchant House! I don’t hear that often.”

A customer at a nearby table looked up at the name “Vick,” but no one farther away appeared to have heard them.

The Vick Merchant House really was well-known.

“Two of you, is it? The counter is free.”

“Actually, I think we’d like a table. Do you mind if we choose our own? I’d like some quiet.” Firth pressed a silver coin into the man’s hand.

“By all means,” the man said. He examined the coin with a look that said he was impressed by the Vicks’ generosity, then disappeared off into the back of the tavern.

“You can bill us for that later,” Emily said, expecting him to insist otherwise. Instead, Firth winked at her.

“Oh, I will. I am a merchant after all.”

He’s handsome enough to pull that off, Emily thought.

“Right, where shall we sit?” said Firth.

The tavern was about half full, so there were empty tables to choose from. The two of them walked through the dimly lit room when—

“Uh?” Emily spun around as someone grabbed her hand. “Hey, what’s the big—”

“Shh!” Firth pulled her away deeper into the tavern. “I just saw the Rondat Merchant House’s deputy manager,” he said. Emily gasped.

“He knows my face, so I don’t want him to see me. He was alone, though...”

Just then, a man stepped out from the back of the room and right into Emily and Firth’s path. They collided in front of the toilet.

“Huh?” The man eyed them suspiciously, his face flushed from drinking. He was ruggedly handsome and had a beard.

“I do apologize,” Firth said. “My friend here was just looking for the bathroom.”

“Oh, I see.” The man moved past them, then went to the table where the Rondat deputy manager was sitting.

“Do you think that was him...?”

“Yes, that must have been Kett.”

The man matched the description Astrid had given them. There was no doubt about it. Emily was fervently grateful that no one Kett would recognize had come.

She and Firth took the table next to the Rondat deputy manager and sat so that Firth had his back to them. Then, Emily clapped twice.

The waiter from earlier came over to them. “Ma’am, there’s a bell,” he said. “I’m not a dog who comes when you clap.”

“Oops, sorry! Bring us some drinks, would you?”

The man looked at Firth as though he didn’t think Emily should be drinking, but Firth just grinned. As he walked off with an air of resignation, they sat back to listen to the conversation at the next table.

“Lemme buy you another drink.”

“Ah ha ha. No, you’ve already been too kind.”

The pair were chatting good-naturedly about the recent goings-on in the Rondat Merchant House. For some reason, Kett seemed to know all the Rondats’ staff by name. This went on for a while until the waiter came back with a copper tankard of wine mixed with fruit juice. Firth’s drink was strong liquor—the man had probably decided a young girl like Emily would prefer something sweet. She picked it up with the air of a seasoned drinker and took a hearty gulp. He frowned at her, then left.

“Hey, Firth. How long does that magic device run for?”

“It should last an hour...” he said. “But do you really think they heard you?” He seemed highly skeptical that Nina, Tien, and Astrid were really out there with the recording device on the other side of the stone wall.

“Oh, they heard me.” Emily, on the other hand, didn’t doubt it for a second.

Firth sighed. “Well, so long as Nina isn’t in any danger... You seem awfully sure, though.”

“Yeah, well. In their own way, Astrid and Tien are the same as Nina.”

“Really? I suppose the nonhuman girl did seem to be stupendously strong, but that inventor—”

He broke off as the Rondat deputy manager said, “That Clare woman sure is stubborn, huh? I wanna get this business with the Goldings over with.”

“Mm, she...certainly isn’t one to quit.”

“She doesn’t suspect you, right?”

“Not at all. Like I said, she’s convinced that someone planted a bug. She even hired an inventor to come and look for it.”

“Hmph. Maybe we should have planted a bug for her to find. It’d make the shock even bigger when we release yet another product ahead of her just when she thought she was safe.” He chortled. “That’d be the nail in the coffin for her and the Golding Merchant House. Then we Rondats will be free to snap up her meat business.”

“Ha ha... That’s very devious. I can see how you got to be deputy manager.”

Firth, noticing how Emily’s hand trembled as she gripped her tankard, muttered, “Stay calm.”

“That no-good, slimy piece of—”

“Don’t do anything to draw attention to us.”

They weren’t close, but there were no other tables between them, and unlike Firth, Emily was fully visible. If she began to act unusual, the man from the Rondats would surely notice.

“You’re one to call people devious!” The deputy manager laughed. “What was it they called you again? Your other name?”

“Come on, don’t bring that up.”

“Oh, I remember. Snake Egg Kett, right? People bring you into their homes and take care of you, only to realize too late they’re harboring a venomous serpent... You could have kept swindling people back home if you’d just changed your name.”

“I like the name ‘Kett.’ It rolls off the tongue, and it makes me sound vulnerable. Like an old friend.”

“It’s not a name we hear much in these parts. Is it common in the Yupiter Empire, then?”

“Oh, it’s everywhere.”

The Yupiter Empire was one of the Werther Duchy’s neighbors. It sounded as though Kett had crossed the border after being exposed as a conman.

“What’s it like, ruining a woman’s life? I suppose you enjoy it? You don’t feel guilty at all, I bet. Your whole life’s built on lies, after all.”

“I wouldn’t say it’s all lies... Anyway, you’re the one who decided to use me. I was going to try and make a life as an inventor or, failing that, a magic item repairman.”

The Rondat deputy manager roared with laughter. “Oh, please. You were dying to con her. I just gave you a push.”

“That isn’t—”

“Don’t play innocent. In any case, so long as your name’s on a wanted list, you’ll never live an honest life.”

“I know that... But only this once, you hear? Once this business with the Golding Merchant House wraps up, you said you’d get me money or a job.”

“I know, I know. You’ll get whatever you want.”

“And one more thing... I want you to leave Clare alone once she gives up her business.”

“Oooh, I see how it is. Leave her alone or get a knife in the back, eh? Trust a first-rate swindler to know when to say when.”

“That’s not what I... Well, think that if you want, but you promised me—”

“Aren’t you going to order anything else?” came a voice from behind Firth.

He and Emily had been so caught up on listening in, they failed to notice the waiter looming over their table.

“You’ve only had one drink,” he said to Firth. “Aren’t you a Vick merchant? You could order our house special of sautéed blue deer brains with your spare change!”

The Rondat deputy manager looked around with a start. “Did he say Vick?” he muttered.

Kett looked over too—then froze as he saw Emily and Firth.

He recognized them from earlier. They’d only spoken a few words, but this man had years of experience in deception. He knew how to read people.

“Let’s go,” he said, standing up.

“What’s that?”

“Sorry, but I’ve had enough for today.”

“Kett? What’s got into you? The night’s just getting started!”

“I agree,” chimed in a third voice. “I’d love to hear what you have to say.”

Firth made his way over to stand right next to their table.

The deputy manager’s eyes bulged.

“Y-You... You’re from the Vick Merchant House! You’d better not go putting on airs in this city. You newcomers always get cocky and end up crashing and burning.”

“Oh? You mean like the merchant house your agent has been feeding false information to in order to steal their business?”

“H-How dare you?!” The deputy manager leaped to his feet in a drunken fury, but Kett cut in.

“Wait! This is a trap,” he said. “I don’t know what his angle is, but he’s trying to provoke you. He probably wants to start a fight so that the guards will come.”

Firth looked as unruffled as ever to Emily, but apparently, Kett was right on the money.

What’s he trying to start a fight for?! That wasn’t part of the plan! Internally, she was panicking, but she was as stiff as a statue on the outside.

“How frightful!” the deputy manager said. “To think the Vick Merchant House would resort to such underhanded tactics—I’ll have to let our business associates know.”

He sneered at Firth as though to say he’d never fall for such a cowardly ploy—despite the fact Kett had to talk him down first. They were probably used to suddenly having to play such games.

Kett and the deputy manager left some money on the table, then walked away. Firth had to stand there and watch them go. Emily was sure she wasn’t imagining the look of frustration on his face.

“Hey, Firth...” she began.

“I’m sorry. I wanted to get them taken into custody so that the guards would investigate Kett... Now that he knows we heard him, he’ll think the game is up and flee the city.”

So that’s what he was up to, Emily thought.

“In that case, you can relax.”

“Relax? How can we relax? How will you get Clare to face the truth if Kett disappears?”

“Oh, no. That’s not what I meant.” Emily grinned. “My party members are on it.”

As if on cue, they heard the deputy manager shouting from the entrance. Before him, three girls stood defiantly in the open doorway. Emily didn’t even have to look—she’d already known that they would come.

They were, of course, a maid, an inventor, and a lupalune.

“Who do you think you are?!”

“Kett, Deputy Manager,” said the maid. “You conspired through cowardly means to ruin the Golding Merchant House. Do you admit it?”

“Eh...? You, maid. Who do you work for?”

A merchant at a table near the door muttered, “What sort of trouble have the Rondats got into?”

“W-We’ve done nothing of the sort!” the deputy manager said, growing flustered. “All our business dealings are in full compliance with the law. You’re going to find out what happens when you spout lies and slander, maid! Who is your master?”

“I have no master.”

“Eh?” He looked at her suspiciously, then clapped his hands together in understanding. “Oh, I get it. That’s what this is about? You think this little act will get you a job!”

“Deputy Manager...” Kett said warningly. He recognized the tall woman standing behind the maid—the inventor. “We’re in trouble. That woman is the inventor that Clare hired.”

“What?! You idiot—you were followed?!”

“N-No, I— Oof!” Kett staggered as the deputy manager’s fist hit his face.

The deputy manager seemed to know he ought to leave, because he rounded on the three girls. “You think you can ruin our reputation by spreading falsehoods? We’ll hunt you down with everything we have and see that you pay! The Rondat Merchant House does not tolerate wrongdoers!” All this was merely an attempt to appeal to the other merchants in the tavern. With that, he shouted, “Get out of my way!”

But Nina held both her arms out to block the door. “I will not! You will apologize to Clare!”

“No maid talks to me like— Eh?”

Tien had grabbed hold of his raised arm.

“H-Hey, let me go!” He tried to shake her off, but Tien didn’t so much as blink. Her hand was like solid rock around his wrist.

Just then, a new voice spoke up.

“Kett...?”

A woman even taller than Astrid emerged from among the passersby on the street.

“C-Clare...”

It was Clare of the Golding Merchant House. Neither Emily nor Firth knew what she was doing there, but Kett was the most bewildered of all. Only Nina, Tien, and Astrid knew that after Astrid had turned on the recording device, Tien had run to the Golding Merchant House to tell Clare about Kett’s whereabouts.

“Kett, you’re hurt!” Clare cried. She slipped past Tien to rush to Kett’s side, then pulled out a handkerchief to wipe away the blood around his mouth. “What happened? You never brawl. And that man...”

Clare knew, of course, that the man in Tien’s grip was the deputy manager for the Rondat Merchant House.

“Clare, I—” Kett began, but Firth cut him off.

“I suggest we go somewhere with fewer eyes on us.”

The whole tavern had fallen silent.

“Who are you?” Clare asked.

“My name is Firth Vick, from the Vick Merchant House. I’m responsible for overseeing all the Vick Merchant House’s business in the Werther Duchy.”

His words hit like a thunderbolt.

“The Vick merchants’ favorite son?!”

“They say he’s the rising star of the next generation...”

“I didn’t know he was in the city!”

A great commotion broke out among the merchants. Apparently, they all knew his name. The tavern waiter fidgeted nervously—he’d thought Firth was just an ordinary young merchant.

“You’re that famous?” Emily muttered. Firth winked at her, then turned to the deputy manager who, released from Tien’s clutches, had been trying to make a quiet escape.

“Does that work for you, Deputy Manager?”

He flinched, then turned around. “Y-You... You have no authority to—”

That was when Astrid hit play on the recording device.

—That’d be the nail in the coffin for her and the Golding Merchant House. Then we Rondats will be free to snap up her meat business.

Even through the hubbub, the deputy manager’s voice was clearly audible.

“We may not have authority,” Nina said. “But we do have proof.”

The deputy manager crumpled to the ground.

It was a long night.

They first relocated to a meeting room at the Vick Merchant House to hold a business meeting. To cut a long story short, the Rondat Merchant House agreed to pay the Golding Merchant House not only for damages caused, but the same amount again on top of that.

It came to a considerable sum. Still, the deputy manager accepted it at once when Firth gave him one final push:

“If you accept these terms, we will keep this affair a secret from the manager and the Rondat family themselves.”

Then and there, they exchanged signatures. No sooner had the agreement been finalized than he scurried away.

“Was that good enough for you, Clare?” Astrid asked. “As someone who’s dealt with merchants myself, what he did was way beyond the pale. If you went public, he’d have to leave town. It’d be a major blow to the Rondat Merchant House too.”

But Clare shook her head with a sad smile. “You heard, didn’t you? What they were after.”

They’d wrung a full explanation out of the deputy manager. The Rondats had been coveting the Goldings’ meat business for themselves—so much so that they’d been willing to break the law to get their hands on it. Clare hadn’t realized how appealing her connections were to other merchant houses.

“In the end,” Clare said, “all this comes down to money. That’s all the merchant houses see. I’m no different. I started trading in magic items to try and improve my profits—I was in it for the money too. The way I see it, handing that deputy manager over to the guards won’t get me my lost profits back, so making him pay it all back is the most effective punishment for him.”

In this case, Clare was quite right. The deputy manager would be at his wit’s end trying to think of a way to pay the Golding Merchant House back. It wasn’t a sum one man could hope to procure, so no doubt he’d end up using the Rondat Merchant House.

Hearing her response, Astrid realized something.

Oh... So that’s what I was thinking.

The reason she’d gotten so annoyed at Firth and lashed out at him became clear to her.

She herself was the owner of the Mahogany Merchant House. As an inventor, it was a necessity in order to sell one’s inventions—but her merchant house was very different.

Astrid’s only goal was to invent. Firth’s Vick Merchant House, the Golding Merchant House, and the Rondat Merchant House—theirs was to do business. Of course, even among inventor merchant houses, there were plenty whose only goal was to make money, but all the same...

These were the people who had made Astrid’s life a misery. That was why she had, without realizing it, had such an intense negative reaction to Firth. Talking to Nina had cleared up her initial misgivings, but now that she fully understood the source of her feelings toward him, she felt completely satisfied at last.

“Now, what are we going to do with you, Kett?” said Firth. “Even if Clare demanded monetary damages, I doubt you have the means to pay her. If we hand you over to the guards, your crimes in the Yupiter Empire will come to light, and I expect you’ll go to jail for a long, long time.”

“Go ahead,” said Kett. His hands were clasped in his lap and his gaze fixed on a point on the table. “It’s no more than I deserve.”

“Just... Just a minute,” Clare cut in. “Could you give me and Kett some time? To talk?”

“I’d advise against that,” Firth said. “As you now know, this man is a con artist. He won’t think twice before trying to talk you around to his side.”

“He’s right, Clare,” Kett agreed. “You shouldn’t trust me.”

“No!” she insisted.

Kett sighed. “Clare, you sound like a child.”

“It’s just... It’s all been too much,” she said. “I couldn’t work out why I was the only one so conflicted. But when I really thought about it, it made sense... Kett, you were trying to protect me, weren’t you?”

Kett fell silent, while everyone else was left confused and wondering. Protect her?

“For a while, after I first found you dead drunk in that tavern,” Clare went on, “you genuinely worked hard to design magic items. There’s no way that was an act.”

These were memories none but Clare knew about.

“Do you remember your first invention? You know, the one for carpenters to maintain their tools. I thought it was a surefire flop, but the five you made sold out right away, and then we got orders for five more. The other merchant houses scrambled to put out their own versions, but by then, people had started to say that the Golding Merchant House’s magic items weren’t to be taken lightly. I was so proud.”

Kett listened but said nothing.

“But starting from the next product, we were forestalled by other merchant houses. It was mostly the Rondats, but sometimes the Nuuks too. It was after that first invention, right? That was when the Rondat Merchant House contacted you.”

“Yes,” Kett said heavily. “He said the Golding Merchant House was in a precarious position, but if it went down now, you could still avoid losses...and that if you sold off the business, you’d make enough to spend the rest of your life in comfort. He said I should help him.”

Nina and the others, even Firth, were all wide-eyed with shock. Only Clare didn’t seem surprised.

“I thought it was something like that. For a conman, you’re a real bumbler. Why didn’t you just talk to me?”

“He threatened you,” said Kett. “‘There’s no telling what might happen to a merchant woman on her own’ was what he said. If they’d resorted to violence...I wouldn’t have stood a chance.”

“We should have charged him ten times as much,” Firth muttered in disgust.

“So what was the plan, Kett?” Clare asked. “What were you going to do after I sold off the Golding Merchant House for small change?”

“The Rondat Merchant House said they’d find me a job as an inventor,” said Kett. “I’m...not the sort of man fit to be around you.”

“You mean because you ran cons in the Yupiter Empire?”

“Yes.” Kett nodded.

“Stupid.” Clare laughed weakly. She sounded both sad and lonely. “You’re so stupid... Though I’m the stupidest one. Can you believe it? I actually think there must be some explanation for your past misdeeds.” Her eyes shining with tears, she turned to Firth. “Would you be willing to stay quiet about Kett?”

“It’s not a crime to stay silent about a crime committed in another country, so yes... But are you sure?”

“I am. Astrid? What about you and your friends?”

“No objections here,” Astrid replied. Nina and the others nodded.

“Lucky you, Kett. You’re free. You can go wherever you like. Just take care you don’t get taken advantage of. A conned conman’s a lost cause.”

“Clare, I—”

“Shall we wrap this up? Firth, you’ve been so helpful. I’ll call at the Vick Merchant House sometime soon.”

With that, Clare left the room. Nina and the others followed soon after. Astrid glanced back at Firth and Kett who remained in the meeting room—then the door closed behind them.

Morning broke two days later. Two visitors arrived at the Golding Merchant House just as it was opening for business.

“Good mor— Oh, you’re the inventor from the other day! And...a maid?” The shop assistant looked surprised to see Astrid and Nina. For one thing, if they were here about Astrid’s job, they would have come to the back door.

“Is the manager around?” Astrid asked.

“Y-Yes, just a moment.” There was a hint of recognition in the shop assistant’s eyes as she looked at Nina, but she immediately hurried out the back to get Clare.

“Do you think we should have waited a little bit more?” Nina said anxiously.

“I doubt it’d make much of a difference. Besides, we’re not planning on staying in town much longer.”

“I suppose so...”

“The way I see it, the sooner you get what you want to say to Clare off your chest, the better.”

Just then, Clare emerged. “Oh, Astrid... You came to see me?”

Astrid’s jaw dropped. Clare was haggard, with dark bags under her eyes. Clearly, she had not slept. Astrid had thought that surely she’d be all right after a day, but Clare looked as far from all right as it was possible to be.

“I’m fine,” Clare mumbled. “I’m not as much of a wreck as I look. Hey, bring us some tea, would you?”

“Yes, ma’am!” The shop assistant disappeared into the back room. Clare staggered over to a stool and sank down into it.

“‘Fine’ is the last thing I’d call you,” Astrid said.

“Well, business doesn’t wait. What can you do? Besides, right now...it’s easier if I keep busy.”

Astrid regarded her.

Clare had cut ties with Kett. Logically, she should have been relieved to be rid of the man who’d wronged and deceived her. But people’s hearts weren’t so simple.

“Anyway,” Clare went on. “You didn’t just come here to see me mope, did you? I haven’t retracted that failed job report yet, but you’ve got my word that I’ll do it.”

“Actually, it’s Nina here who wanted to talk to you.”

“Nina? Wait... You’re...!” In an instant, Clare made the connection between Nina and the maid who had come to see her three days earlier. Nina had been at the meeting at the Vick Merchant House, but apparently, she hadn’t noticed then. Of course, she’d had more pressing concerns.

“You’re a friend of Astrid’s?!”

“Well, strictly speaking, we’re in the same party.”

“I... I see. I’m sorry for kicking you out the other day. I was convinced you were an agent from one of the other merchant houses.”

“I’m sorry too. I had no idea you were so beset by enemies.”

“No, you shouldn’t apologize! It’s all on me—I got the wrong idea. I really am very sorry.” Clare placed her hands on the counter and bowed deeply.

“You really needn’t apologize.”

“No, this is the least I can do to make things right.”

“But really...”

“No, no.”

Unable to take any more of this, Astrid cut in.

“Okay, okay. Clare, we accept your apology. Nina forgives you. End of discussion.”

“You’re sure...?”

“Of course.” Nina beamed at her, and Clare smiled back.

“I can’t believe I treated a nice girl like you the way I did...”

“Not like how you were with me,” Astrid cut in. “You get why you treated us differently, don’t you?”

Clare gave a meek nod.

“That’s the important thing. Now, Nina has some things to say to you.”

At Astrid’s prompting, Nina began to tell Clare all about Tien and thank her for supplying meat to the mining town. Astrid spared Clare a glance.

She’ll be all right.

When Nina had first met Clare and the Rondats’ deputy manager, the first thing in their minds was to question her about her employer. Astrid, meanwhile, had won Clare’s trust at once. All she had to do was show Clare her inventors’ society commission and her registration with the Royal Freja Inventors’ Society. In other words, her title and credentials.

These were, of course, tremendously important, inasmuch as they established one’s identity and ability. But since setting off on this journey with Nina, Astrid had realized there was something more important: the person themselves.

What good was an impressive title if it was bestowed on a bad person? As far as Astrid was concerned, Nina was far more worthy of Clare’s trust than she was, and that was no easy feat, especially for someone as fearful and suspicious as Clare had been.

“—and so Tien and I are both truly grateful. You’re doing wonderful work here at the Golding Merchant House!” Nina finished.

Clare looked uncomfortable. “That was all my dad... I just inherited it.”

“You’re too modest. I think it’s very admirable of you to take over his business and carry it on.”

“Don’t say that. If I had any knack for business, I wouldn’t be sitting here agonizing over how our sales keep dropping.”

“Ma’am, you work very hard!” the shop assistant cut in, bustling in from the back with a steaming kettle and a tea set. “I’ll leave these here for you.”

“Tidy up out back, would you?” Clare told her.

“Yes, ma’am!”

Clare watched her go, then turned back—only to find Nina was already making tea.

“H-Hey! You’re my guest! You can’t do that!”

“I am your guest, it’s true, but I’m also a maid.”

“Huh? No, but... Huh?” Clare, bamboozled by Nina’s peculiar logic, looked pleadingly at Astrid. “She can’t do that, right?”

“Oh, just leave her to it. She says she wants to. Plus, Nina makes amazing tea.”

“Huh...? But this is just the same old tea I always— Holy moly, that is good.” Clare’s eyes went wide as she took a sip.

“Tea leaves do matter, but how you brew them is just as important,” Nina said.

“Wow... I never imagined it could make this much of a difference. You really know what you’re doing.”

“Oh, any maid could do the same,” Nina said breezily, but her tone turned serious as she went on. “If you’ll excuse my boldness, Clare, I have a proposal for you. I actually had two reasons for coming to see you today. The first was to thank you, and this proposal was the second.”

“No thanks are needed. It’s all just business after all. But tell me about this proposal.”

“It’s a method for transporting meat.”

“What sort of method?” Clare looked perplexed—as well she might after hearing those words come out of a maid’s mouth.

“Other food supplied to Izumi Mine is preserved with purple bell lotus pollen, but at the Golding Merchant House, you don’t use it.”

“Y-Yeah... Purple bell lotus has a very faint smell that the chef there hates, so we made special provisions. That was how you were able to help your friend, right?”

“Right. But are you aware of the difficulties that creates?”

“Of course I am. More of the goods spoil. But that can’t be helped.” Not using preservatives meant that the outer parts of the meat had to be cut off and thrown away. As a result, preservative-free meat fetched a high price.

“But it’s such a waste!” Nina exclaimed, leaning forward. “To throw away all that meat that the farmers worked so hard to produce!”

“W-Well, yeah, but unless I use preservatives, what am I supposed to do?”

“Would you consider other preservation methods?”

“Huh?”

“What about chilling your products? That’s my proposal.”

“Oh, I see what you’re getting at.” Clare nodded as comprehension dawned. “But I’m afraid that won’t work.”

“Why is that?”

“Magic chill boxes do exist, but even empty, they’re too heavy for an ordinary coach, so they just raise transport costs. On top of that, the items themselves are expensive.”

“What if we could get around those problems?”

“Well, in that case— Wait, what?! Do you have a solution?!”

Nina glanced at Astrid, who said, “We do.”

She unfurled the design blueprints she was carrying.

“What is this?” Clare asked.

“The chill box is designed to be left on board, so you don’t need to worry about the weight,” said Astrid. “Well, unless a person needs to lift it.”

“H-Hold on. What’s this? It says ‘wetland frog skin’ here... Does this use monster parts?!”

“Wetland frog skins are airtight and excellent insulators. And most importantly, they’re light and cheap.”

“I’ve heard of them before, but the reason they’re cheap is because they tear so easily. It’s not practical.”

“My top priority with this design was to keep the weight down,” Astrid explained.

“I’m sure it’s light, but what about this power output? That’ll only keep half the chill box cool!”

Clare—as expected of someone who dealt in the development of magic items—easily honed in on the key points of the design.

“When I first came up with the idea, I dismissed it too,” Astrid agreed. “But Nina had a different point of view.”

“A maid...?” Clare looked incredulously at Nina.

“Well, erm...” Nina was flustered by all the attention. “First of all, let’s consider that long-term preservation isn’t the aim here. They have their own chill boxes in Izumi Mine, so you only have to keep the meat cool until it gets there.”

“But this device can’t...”

“If the farmers had their own chill box, they could chill the meat before transport. Ideally, they’d have an ice house so they could put ice in with the meat. Once it’s wrapped in wetland frog skin, it won’t leak.”

“Oh...” Clare’s mouth fell open. Lots of people used ice to keep products cool, but no one had thought to combine it with a magic chill box. This new design assumed that the ice would melt and worked to slow it down.

“B-But the problem is still the frog skins!” she stammered. “They’ll tear after a few uses, and then what?”

“You make sure you always have spares on hand. In fact, you could even treat them as single-use.”

“S-Single-use...?!”

“There’s no shortage of wetland frogs in that great lake near the city. They’re hunted for meat.”

“W-Well, they’re cheap...”

“Apparently, they’re also very large and easy to catch, in which case even the amount of skin here should only add a couple of tellus to your material costs. Whereas the value of the spoiled meat you currently throw away—”

“Is about ten tellus per trip,” Clare finished. “You might be onto something.”

The idea of single-use products was almost entirely foreign to this world—especially when it came to magic items. Not even Astrid, an inventor, had been able to imagine a lightweight chill box that was detachable and fitted with wetland frog skins that anyone could replace.

“Huh? Hold on. Just hold on a minute,” Clare said slowly. “This will make seafood cheaper to ship too. And it’ll be huge for the fruit trade...”

“That’s right.” Astrid sighed. “This may well result in a revolution for distribution chains.”

Monarchs and nobles paid exorbitant sums to order fresh food from far-off lands. They had their own wagons fitted with chill boxes for this very purpose.

Things were different for commoners. Jerky and dried fruit were cheaply available, but only people who lived near orchards could eat fresh fruit. Even if it were a little more expensive, the ability to ship fresh meat and fruit would change people’s lives. It would, it was no exaggeration to say, open their eyes to a whole new world.

Clare stared at Nina, dumbstruck. Nina just looked back at her questioningly.

“Th-This girl came up with this? You’re kidding,” Clare said weakly. “This has got to be...I don’t know, the latest innovation out of the Freja Kingdom or something. I saw the news, you know. There was that groundbreaking discovery in converting fairy magic into mana...”

“The Freja Kingdom had nothing to do with this. Oh, and incidentally, I wrote that paper about fairy magic.”

“Wh-What?!”

“And it was Nina here who gave me the final piece of the puzzle.”

“Whaaat?!” Clare whirled around to look at Nina again.

“I-It was just a little idea I had! The rest was all Astrid’s genius, truly, it was!”

“Because of your ‘little idea.’ Or rather, because of all the unexpected knowledge you’ve got in there,” Astrid said.

“Don’t be silly. It was an idea any maid could have come up with.”

Clare looked at Astrid in disbelief. Astrid shook her head.

“Whew...” Clare sighed. “Well, I definitely won’t go judging anyone by titles or appearances again.”

“That’s how I felt after I met Nina,” Astrid said, laughing. Then she looked back at the designs. “Now, this idea is still only on paper, so you’ll need to run a lot of tests before it’s ready to use. Still, it’s an innovation in magic items, and my hope is that it’ll help your main business too. For the research—”

“The Golding Merchant House isn’t up to this,” Clare said, pushing the plans away from her.

“Huh...?”

“I’ve already made up my mind to give up on magic items,” Clare said, smiling weakly. “I just wasn’t cut out for it.”

Astrid said nothing. She’d suspected Clare might say something like this. It was only natural after the betrayal she’d suffered. She and Nina had agreed in advance that if Clare said no, they wouldn’t push her.

“I don’t have an inventor to research magic items...and I’m not going to hire another after Kett. I’m shelving that project along with my memories of him.”

“Clare...”

Her feelings for Kett were written plainly on her face. More than the number of years they’d spent together, it was the experience they’d shared of staking the fate of the Golding Merchant House on their new endeavor that had given them depth.

“I’m sorry,” Clare said. “This is such an exciting idea. It might change the world. But you should take it to someone el—”

Before Clare could finish, the door flew open.

“I’d like to hear more about this idea.”

Standing in the doorway was a man with a ruggedly handsome face who stood even taller than Clare. His clothes were unchanged and disheveled, and his hair was a mess. His eyes, however, burned bright.

“I didn’t mean to, but I couldn’t help but overhear... If you need someone who can handle magic items, I’m your man. Please let me do it.”

“Kett...” Clare rose unsteadily to her feet, then rushed out from behind the counter to stand in front of him. “Kett! Why? Why did you come back?!”

Kett stepped into the shop, then dropped to his knees and pressed his hands and head to the ground.

“I’ve got no right to ask this of you!” he cried. “But please... Please let me work for the Golding Merchant House one more time! I know it’s a selfish request... And I don’t need money. All I want... I just want to work for you...”

“Oh, Kett!” Clare sank down and threw herself over him, then burst into tears.

“Clare—” Nina took a step toward Clare, but Astrid held her back.

“Whoa there, Nina. Let’s give them some time alone.”

“Right...”

Astrid and Nina slipped out the front door of the Golding Merchant House. As they left, Astrid flipped the sign beside the door from OPEN to CLOSED.

Nina and Astrid waited a while before visiting the Golding Merchant House again. This time, Clare greeted them with a bashful smile.

“I’ve decided to hire Kett back,” she said.

Kett bowed deeply to them as well. “I want a chance to do things over.”

It was undeniably concerning to have Kett hanging around Clare, given his history. But in the end, it was her decision.

Kett had told her everything about his past. There was indeed a wanted notice for him as a con artist who had tricked women about his intentions to marry them. The alleged victims, however, were only identified by vague descriptions like “noble lady” or “daughter of a wealthy family.” These women were apparently abusing their influence to try and make him their own.

But that still left the question of why there were multiple women after him.

Until a few years earlier, Kett had been something of a playboy, and the truth was, he had strung them all along. He admitted that the blame for the whole affair lay with him. Still, he swore that he had never cheated any innocent people out of their money. He wasn’t getting any younger, so he’d decided to give up his rakish ways and move to the Werther Duchy to build a steady life.

Later, Astrid and Nina related all this to the others at the little tavern next to the inn. Nina had already left, but it was mostly empty but for them.

“So Kett did have his reasons,” Emily said, sipping wine from a goblet. “Well, women do love a man with secrets. ’Course, it goes the other way around too.”

She spoke as if she were a total expert on the subject. Astrid and the others naturally had no idea that this knowledge came from the movies and TV dramas she’d watched in Japan. She still hadn’t told them about her reincarnation.

“Chi does not understand. Why would she hire back a traitor?” Tien asked. A mug of hot milk with honey sat in front of her.

“Who knows? I doubt even Clare knows the answer to that question,” Astrid said.

She was drinking wine like Emily. Nina, meanwhile, was fast asleep back at the inn. This was an official assembly of the Keep-Nina-From-Getting-Into-Trouble Alliance (if official was the right word for their unscheduled and fairly frequent but irregular meetings).

“Anyway, Astrid. What happened with those magic device designs you took with you?”

“I entrusted them to the Golding Merchant House. When I finished going over the plans—or rather, the concept of single-use materials—with Kett, he was shaking. He could see just what a revolutionary idea it is.”

“Chi does not really understand, but throwing out these ‘single-use’ items is wasteful, no matter how cheap they are.”

“Well, strictly speaking, these won’t go entirely to waste. If you bury wetland frog skins, they break down straightaway. They’re actually already being sold as compost.”

“I’ve heard of adventurers taking a few wetland frog skins with them when they go to lands that get heavy rain,” Emily added. “Apparently, they just bury them if they tear. Then they find plants sprouting where they buried them when they come back.”

She turned back to Astrid. “If they’re gonna go large scale with this, they’ll have to control the distribution of wetland frog skins. Dealing with that’s going to be a whole other problem, even if the lake is crawling with frogs. Do you reckon the Golding Merchant House can pull it off? From what you said, it doesn’t sound like they have enough people.”

“Apparently, the Vick Merchant House is going to lend them a hand.”

“Ooh. Your mortal enemy.”

“Hey, I never said that. I don’t have any bad feelings toward him anymore.”

“Uh-huh... So, did you apologize?”

“Huh?”

“You told Nina you were going to apologize for laying into Firth, right?”

Astrid was briefly lost for words.

She had said that to Nina, but that conversation had taken place in the alley behind the Redrib Rooster’s Perch. Emily, however, had been inside the tavern with Firth.

She spun around. “Tien!”

“Do not look at Chi.”

Nina would never have blabbed, which only left Tien. The lupalune girl sipped her milk with an air of nonchalance, but refused to meet Astrid’s eyes. That could only mean that she was indeed the culprit.

“And here I thought you were a naive, innocent little girl...”

Emily chuckled. “It shows she’s growing up! A woman’s gotta spill her secrets, after all.”

“Pretty sure you mean a woman’s got to have her secrets.”

“What good’s a secret unless you can enjoy it with your friends? But forget that—what did you and Firth talk about?”

Astrid was dubious. “Why are you so interested?”

“I mean, the two of you, all tall and slender? You’d make the most gorgeous couple!”

“Whuh?” Astrid gaped at her. “Wait, hold up. Don’t tell me you’ve been thinking about silly things like that.”

“Silly? I don’t think so!” Emily retorted. “It’s all inventions, inventions, inventions with you. Keep that up, and you’ll miss your chance to find a husband!”

Astrid groaned. “It’s all Nina’s fault. She makes life so easy that I can just think about inventing all day long... I could forget all about love and romance and marriage...”

“I mean...I know how you feel,” Emily admitted.

They were two lost causes, totally dependent on Nina. Though Nina herself would have said she did no more than any maid would.

“Nina is no good for both of you,” Tien piped up. “You would be better off letting Chi look after her and leaving the party.”

“Tien...” Emily stared at her. “Now that we’re friends, you’re getting cheeky.”

The assembly of the alliance continued on late into the night. The next morning, Nina and the rest of Maid & Co. departed the capital of the Werther Duchy.

In the capital’s main street stood a magnificent four-story stone building, rivaling any structure alongside it in size. Sunlight poured through its windows into a room where Firth Vick sat at a large desk. He looked up from the documents in front of him as another man came in.

“Working hard, eh, lad?”

“I asked you to stop calling me ‘lad,’ Manager.”

“But a lad is what you are. You’re the young heir to the Vick Merchant House.”

“I’m merely one of the candidates to be heir.” Firth let out a long, disgruntled sigh, then stretched where he sat in his chair.

The other man came up to the other side of the desk. Now in his middle years, he served as the manager of the Vick Merchant House’s main Werther Duchy branch, and had been serving them well since Firth’s grandfather was in charge.

“I looked into this Kett,” the man said. “It’s true that he’s a wanted man in the Yupiter Empire.”

“As we thought... What else?”

“Nothing else. No incidents worthy of the guard’s attention, no heinous crimes that would put the border garrison on alert. He’d have a hard time living in the Yupiter Empire with a wanted notice on his head, but that’s all.”

“In short, it’s not impossible that he committed a crime, but at the very least he’s not dangerous.”

The manager just shrugged. He liked a bit of banter; it had made him well-liked among both customers and the Vick Merchant House’s inner circle. But it never worked on Firth.

“Anyway,” the manager said, “about this proposal from the Golding Merchant House. Do we have leave to get things going?”

“Yes, of course. With all possible haste. Use our workshop on the outskirts of the capital and take care that no information is leaked.”

“Very well,” the manager said, though his face belied his words. These were quite the instructions coming from a man young enough to be his son.

“Good. I’d like a prototype ready in a month’s time.”

“I under— Wait, one month?!”

“Well, yes. I did say with all possible haste, didn’t I?”

The manager laughed nervously. “You must be joking, lad. For one thing, the workshop will be busy with another development project until the end of next month. We can begin building a prototype after that, but getting hold of an inventor won’t be—”

“Manager,” Firth said, raising a hand to cut off his rambling. “When I said ‘all possible haste,’ I wasn’t exaggerating. Speed is of the essence. Ask them to put all other work on hold.”

“I can’t do that! Look, you may be a candidate to be heir to the Vick Merchant House, but some things just can’t be—”

“I see. In that case, I’ll handle it myself.”

“Eh?”

“The Vick Merchant House won’t be involved.”

“H-Hold on, that’s not...”

The manager was caught off-balance. He had in fact been told by the current head of the Vick Merchant House himself to do everything in his power to help the man’s sons. It was a Vick tradition—the managers of the various branches stopped the young Vicks from pursuing dubious or unreasonable ventures but otherwise encouraged them in whatever they set their minds on. Whichever one produced the best results would be the next head of the house.

“Lad, I’m giving you my opinion as manager of the Vick’s main Werther branch. I know you’re responsible for the whole duchy, but you’ll give me leave to speak up when I must. Throwing money after an idea with no business prospects...”

“I’m saying you needn’t worry about it.”

“Come now, lad,” the manager said, not backing down.

Firth sighed. “Very well. I won’t be by this store for a while so that I can be sure not to get in your way. Oh, and I’m sure I don’t need to say this, but not a word of this leaves this room.”

“W-Wait, I wasn’t saying that you’re in the way, lad... Lad?!”

Firth rose from his chair, collected his papers, then left. The manager came after him but Firth ignored him, walking out of the store and heading back to the inn where he’d taken a room simply as “Firth.” He’d paid for it with money he’d earned himself as a merchant so it was hardly a flashy hotel, but lots of merchants stayed there so it was at least clean.

Firth laid out his documents on a table about a fifth the size of the last one.

“That man...” he said, shaking his head. “He’s a good manager when it’s business as usual, but he’s got no head for bold plans for the future...”

One of the documents before him was Astrid’s design plans. Clare had decided to reemploy Kett, and Firth had no intention of saying anything about it. On the contrary, it was what he’d expected to happen. He could see that they were both entirely hung up on each other.

He’d spoken to Astrid once since then. She’d turned her eyes away from him and mumbled something like, “I’m sorry.” Firth hadn’t known what to make of that. His attention had been drawn to the recording device that she’d brought with her.

“I’ve made some small tweaks...but I’d appreciate it if you’d buy it back from me,” she’d said.

Astrid’s improvements had made the device capable of picking up and recording even the smallest sounds—anything but what you’d call a “small tweak.” Firth had to acknowledge that she was a truly first-rate inventor. He paid her exactly the sum that Nina had paid him and got her consent to show it to the Vick Merchant House’s inventors for them to study it.

It was an absurdly good deal. Even considering all the efforts he’d made on Nina and the others’ behalf, he’d more than gotten his money’s worth. Then, Firth was once more confronted with Astrid’s excellence as she showed him her design plans: a magical chill box designed by Astrid based on Nina’s idea. Incidentally, Kett had the originals. This was a copy he had drawn up.

“It’s perfect...” Firth said to himself. “This is going to revolutionize trade.”

Everything was accounted for to just the right degree and simple enough that anyone who looked at the plans would immediately know how to build it. The simplicity was a shock to Firth, who’d assumed that plans were plans no matter who drew them up. Even an amateur like him felt like he could build the contraption by himself.

It was easy to explain difficult things in a difficult way. The real challenge was to explain them simply. In that regard, these plans had achieved quite the feat.

Just like Clare, he also saw the value in the plans. After changing the world of trade and distribution, this idea of single-use items might even change the whole concept of magic items.

Firth had explained all this, but the manager hadn’t understood it. Perhaps it was a hard sell for merchants like him who weren’t all that familiar with magic items.

“I need to hurry...” Firth muttered impatiently.

This was, he thought, a race against time. He needed to procure large quantities of wetland frog skins, but buying them up would lead to rumors, and canny merchants would catch on to what he was doing. In that sense, it was better that he hadn’t gotten the Vick Merchant House involved. The other large merchant houses watched the Vicks’ every move like hawks, but they wouldn’t pay much mind to Firth on his own.

The next question was one of people. The only ones who had seen the plans were Clare, Kett, and himself. Anticipating that things might turn out this way, he hadn’t shown them to the manager. If they hired new inventors, he would have to show them the plans. You couldn’t stop people from talking, so he’d need to find ones who knew how to keep a secret.

“But first,” he said to himself, “I’d better find us a workshop. After all, it’ll take time to find inventors to hire. If Kett goes on working at the Golding Merchant House, that Rondat deputy manager will definitely come sniffing around again.”

Since the events of the other night, the deputy manager had kept his head low and begun little by little to pay Clare compensation for damages. Still, who knew what he was thinking. Apart from him, the Nuuk Merchant House was also hostile to the Goldings. They wouldn’t miss a chance to interfere, even if their releasing the same products ahead of the Goldings had turned out to be mere coincidence. It was all a massive pain in the neck—but that was the nature of business rivalries. If Firth were in their position, he’d do the same.

“We’ll need a building suited to being used as a workshop in an out-of-the-way place... Yes, in that case it might be best to establish a new merchant house. Clare and I will manage it together and employ Kett, then split what profits it accrues.” He made a note of this idea. “But it won’t do to put ‘Clare’ or ‘Firth’ in the name. What to call it...” He thought for a moment then wrote another note. “That should do nicely.”

His note read the Asnina Merchant House.

The magical chill boxes produced by the Asnina Merchant House would enable fresh meat and seafood to be transported long distances at low prices, changing the lives of common folk throughout the land—but that was a little way off yet. As was the rampage of the giant monsters that lived in the lake following the overhunting of wetland frogs.

Firth looked down at his papers and noticed among them a page he didn’t recognize.

“Hm...?”

It appeared to be a handwritten memo of information gathered by the main branch. Firth picked it up, thinking he’d return it later—then one of the notes caught his eye.

Duke Werther issued order to search for maid from Crecente Kingdom. Goes by name “Nina.” Reward offered for her discovery and safe delivery to the duke.

Chapter Two: On a Lupalune Hunt—in Thundergard!

Tien, a lupalune, was on a quest to find her parents. So when she and the others got word of a pair of lupalunes—a man and a woman—they obviously had to go and investigate. It was during a bumpy coach ride that Tien began to voice her unease.

“Sorry. All this, just for Chi...”

“Oh, Tien. Don’t say that,” Nina told her.

“Chi...should not? Why should Chi not say that?”

“At times like this, you don’t say sorry, you say thank you. That way, everyone’s happy.”

Tien immediately perked up. “Oh! Thank you!” she said, smiling. Nina beamed back at her.

“Hey, Astrid...” Emily said quietly.

“Yes, Emily?”

“Do my eyes deceive me, or is Nina doing embroidery, mending our gear, and repacking all our luggage on a moving coach?”

“Your eyes are working fine.”

While she talked to Tien, Nina got on with all sorts of different tasks without a care for the jolts and rattling of the coach. She suddenly glanced up at Emily and said, “This is nothing for a maid!”

For some reason, Tien looked pleased with herself. “That is right. This is nothing for Nina.”

The coach continued on its way, and before long, they crossed the border and entered the Yupiter Empire. In a few days, they would reach the imperial capital of Thundergard. It was known by many names—the city where the sun never set, the thousand-year city, the glorious capital.

The town extended out far beyond the high stone walls that surrounded the city proper, and there was a long line leading up to the gates.

The sunlight grew slowly brighter, reminding all that summer was just around the corner.

It was said that the first lupalunes were born of a union between a human and the beast god known as the Moon Wolf—though whether this was true, none could say. They were identifiable by their glossy hair as black as a moonless night, pointed wolfish ears with white tips, and bushy tails. In addition, they were physically far stronger than humans but also burned through energy faster, so they were always getting hungry. Their ears and sense of smell were also far keener, a trait that some in the past had used to become successful chefs.

“—and if we want the latest info about them, we’ve got to ask a merchant or an adventurer! It’s the golden rule in this world!” Emily said, putting on an air of authority. “They’ve got the freshest news. No one else travels as far and wide as they do.”

“What do you mean, ‘in this world’?” Nina asked.

“I... Uh... Nothing. Come on, to the adventurers’ guild!”

“A-All right.”

Emily hadn’t told Nina that she’d been reincarnated from Japan. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to, but it didn’t seem necessary, and besides, she doubted she could explain it properly.

The four of them found lodgings then headed out into the city. Within the walls, much of the city’s old architecture remained, the stone buildings seeming to loom almost forbiddingly over the streets. The shops announced themselves with brass signs that seemed to sprout from the walls and stood five stories tall so that you had to crane your head to look up at them.

In addition to the shops selling food, clothing, and daily necessities that were found in any old city, the capital of the Yupiter Empire also boasted such services as amanuenses, lost item finders, and auguries.

“Oh, my... It’s so far to the other side!” Nina exclaimed.

The first thing that amazed her was the size of the city’s main roads. They were so wide that multiple coaches could travel along them abreast and looked like it would take a minute to walk from one side to the other. Train cars carrying freight ran along tracks in the streets, their engines fueled by magic—though no faster than walking pace. At one point where the tracks intersected, there were as many as ten guards using hand signals to direct traffic. The freight cars got priority, while pedestrians and horse-drawn vehicles had to wait for them to pass.

Some of the locals stifled giggles when they noticed Nina glancing this way and that at everything around her. They probably assumed she was a country girl in the capital for the first time—which was in fact true. As expected of natives of the glorious capital, they dressed with sophistication unheard of in towns along the road. Women wore patterned jackets and pantsuits, while almost all the men donned top hats or flat caps.

Astrid smiled as she watched Nina. “Enjoying the sights?” she asked.

“Oh... I-I’m sorry, I stopped walking, didn’t I? It’s, well, it’s just all so very grand.”

“I know what you mean. All these people, and even magical freight cars!”

“There’s that, but also even with all the traffic, the roads are well paved so hardly any dust gets kicked up and everything stays clean. There are even drainage channels to prevent flooding when it rains... That attention to detail is a sign of a truly prosperous city.”

Privately, Astrid was stunned. Nina had never studied magical items, let alone city planning, but she could immediately pick up on these most important points.

“Huh... You’re not wrong, Nina. Actually, it’s the current empress who’s responsible for making the city so beautiful.”

“Is it really? What a wonderful lady!”

“I think so too. She declared that the empire owes its prosperity to its subjects who reside here—and they love her for it. The empire’s been in an era of stability since she took the throne.”

“How amazing...”

“Right? It’s the first time the empire’s been stable for a half century since its founding.”

“Gosh... Wait, half a century?!” Nina couldn’t help but be astonished. “H-How old is she?”

“Let’s see... I think she’s in her sixties...”

“B-B-But that means she must have become empress as a teenager...”

Banners and flags bearing the words Her Imperial Majesty hung along the main street. They were also adorned with what looked like merely three concentric circles but was in fact a shorthand symbol for the empire. The empire’s official crest was a sun and moon connected by a sword and surrounded by circles radiating out. Only the imperial family could use it, so around the city, people made do with the shorthand alternative.

These sorts of celebratory decorations were commonplace in other countries too, so Nina hadn’t paid them much attention. But now her eyes were drawn to the words 50 Year Jubilee. The number 50 was especially large.

“Nina, Astrid!” Emily called, waving to them from the far side of a wide pedestrian crossing. “If you’re gonna stand there chatting, we’ll leave you behind!”

Beside her, Tien was fixated on a horse tethered to a parked coach. Her eyes gleamed as it snorted.

“Oops. Coming!” Astrid called back.

The Thundergard Adventurers’ Guild had five locations throughout the city. Four were near the main gates and specialized in accepting and dispatching quests. Emily, however, led the way to the central guild branch, where the guild’s core activities were conducted. It was frequented by both adventurers seeking news and servants of the nobles who were the guild’s major clients.

The stone building it occupied looked well over a century old. The history imbued in the weathered bricks was palpable. It had been built for strength, with heavy walls and pillars. In the past, when Thundergard had warred against monsters, it was said that the guild had been a base for the combatants who’d needed it to be absolutely impenetrable.

Inside, the lobby was large and full of tables of people deep in conversation—none of whom paid Nina and her friends any attention as they entered—as well as several notice boards covered in too many posters to count. Some advertised requests for protection, ingredients, or monster hunting; others were for missing persons, lost items, wanted notices, and offers of information; and then there were the shadier posts, like requests for dangerous items, news of deaths, and quests into dangerous areas.

“Amazing...” Nina gasped.

“Right, we want that counter over there,” Emily said, pointing.

“You think they’ll have news of lupalunes?” Astrid wondered.

“They’ll have it.”

At the Werther Adventurers’ Guild, Emily had heard of a pair of lupalunes in the capital of the Yupiter Empire. Lupalunes weren’t the sort of species that you came across just anywhere—indeed, they hadn’t seen a single one in the Werther Duchy capital. With how rare they were, Emily assumed they would be happy to see Tien. If they could find them, of course.

When they reached the counter, the woman behind it greeted them with a smile and said, “Hello, how may I help you today?”

All the guild workers were dressed in deep purple uniforms with pale green scarves held in place with silver pins that sparkled distinctively.

“We’re looking for information,” Emily told her and introduced Tien. She recounted how the lupalune had been abandoned in the mining town of Izumi in the Werther Duchy, that she was now searching for her parents, and lastly what they’d heard about lupalunes in Thundergard.

“I see...” The woman blinked at Tien with her black hair and pointed ears, then her gaze moved past Tien—to the maid standing behind her.

“I don’t suppose your name is Nina, is it?” she asked.

“What? Oh, ye—”

“Nope, it’s not!” Emily said loudly, cutting Nina off. Her Nina-in-danger antenna had just pinged, letting her know that Nina was about to get herself into trouble.

“Huh?” Nina, of course, didn’t know any of that.

“This maid is called Noodle, ma’am,” Astrid said. “I just hired her here, in Thundergard.”

“A-Astrid?!”

“Emily, I’ll take Noodle and head back to the estate, all right?”

“Thanks!”

With that, Astrid steered Nina quickly out of the guild. Once they were gone, Emily turned to Tien, who nodded at her. As a member of the Keep-Nina-From-Getting-Into-Trouble Alliance, she was on board with their policy of removing Nina from the scene any time things looked risky. Incidentally, they currently had six policies, a number that looked like it would only increase.

“She’s from Thundergard? I beg your pardon,” the receptionist said. “I only wondered because you don’t often see a maid and a lupalune together.”

“Well, lupalunes as a species are pretty rare,” Emily replied. “The truth is, I only met that maid today. Is, uh, the maid traveling with a lupalune in trouble or something?”

“Oh, no. It’s just that Duke Werther is apparently searching for her. Say, didn’t you mention you’d come from the Werther Duchy?”

“Y-Yeah! But we were just passing through! We actually came from Freja!” Emily said hastily, trying to gloss things over. She panicked a little at the sudden mention of such an important figure. Why’s the duke of Werther of all people looking for Nina?!

“Ah well. In that case... You said you were looking for a pair of lupalunes. I expect you mean the ones in the Dark Frost Mercenaries.”

“They’re mercenaries?”

“Yes, and of some renown. That band is well-known in other countries too. We’re glad to count them among our fellow imperial citizens. You know, I think the pair of lupalunes in question were just the right age to have a daughter as old as Tien.”

Emily gasped. “They’re a couple, then?”

“That is what I’m told.”

Emily and Tien exchanged a hopeful look.

“The man’s name is Pearly Cloud, and the woman’s name is Morning Star.”

Emily and Tien returned to the inn to find Nina with her arms folded, pouting as hard as she could. It was obvious she wanted them to know she was angry, but at the sight of her, Emily only said, “Aww, what’s got you looking so adorable?”

“I-I am not adorable!” Nina said furiously. “Emily! Why did you get rid of me back there?!”

“Oh, that. Well, it turns out Duke Werther is looking for you. Which means...you did something, didn’t you?”

“I haven’t done anything! Besides, we were together the whole time that we were in Werther!”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Now you mention it...” Emily paused, then quickly rallied. “But even if you didn’t mean to do anything, you still might have. Think back. You can’t remember any trouble you got mixed up in, or something that he might really want to thank you for? There’s got to be something. Don’t worry, I won’t be angry.”

“There’s nothing! And that won’t change just because you ask me nicely!”

Emily looked at Astrid. “You buy that?”

“Seems suspect,” Astrid agreed.

“Chi thinks so too.”

Despite Nina’s best efforts, none of the others believed her.

Finally, Emily said, “Well, we’ll just have to wait for Nina’s memory to come back to her.”

“I didn’t do anything!”

“Say, Emily,” Astrid cut in, “what did you find out about Tien’s parents?”

Nina looked like she might cry when Astrid ignored her. Tien patted her consolingly on the head.

“Right. Long story short, it’s not impossible that the pair of lupalunes in Thundergard could be Tien’s parents. But even if they’re not, they might be able to tell us about other lupalunes.” Emily related the rest of what the guild receptionist had told her.

“Tien,” Nina said, “what are your parents’ names?”

“Xiao and Baicai.”

“Those are totally different...”

“But lupalunes usually go by different names with those other than our own kind. My mother and father could be calling themselves Pearly Cloud and Morning Star.”

Nina’s eyes went wide. She seized Tien’s hand as it stroked her hair—yes, Tien had been patting her head this whole time—and squeezed it tight.

“Then we must go and find them!” she cried.

Tien nodded and mumbled her assent, a little flustered by Nina’s enthusiasm.

“Ah, but before that,” Emily cut in, “there’s something else we need to do.”

“Something else?” Nina repeated.

“What is it?” Tien asked. Both of them looked nonplussed.

In response, Emily only grinned.

Adventurers and mercenaries were similar in that they lived life on their own terms, but how they did so was entirely different. Where adventurers fought monsters, mercenaries fought other people, earning money in exchange for fighting in wars. They worked not as individuals but rather in bands of several dozen members.

The Dark Frost Mercenaries kept a grand mansion on a sweeping estate within Thundergard. Owning such a large property, even on the outskirts of the city, made it clear that they earned good money. The mansion was surrounded by high walls that obscured all but the roof of the third story.

“What a large house...” Nina said.

Astrid whistled, then turned to Emily. “Are mercenary companies this lucrative, then?”

“Well, they operate on a bigger scale than an adventuring party, so it figures they’d earn more too.”

Only Tien said nothing. She was perhaps about to meet two of her fellow lupalunes—but it wasn’t nerves making her quiet.

The reason for that was the hat.

Even though Emily didn’t know why Duke Werther was looking for Nina, she assumed that it wasn’t good. The fact that news of it was spreading also posed a problem. Apparently, the reward just for information about Nina was a whopping ten thousand tellus—enough to pay for lodgings for all four of them for two months. Emily decided that in order to avoid trouble, it was best to cover up that they had a maid and a lupalune. Hence, the hat.

“Chi’s ears itch.”

The oversized pageboy hat fully covered Tien’s lupalune ears. Unfortunately, it also seemed to be quite uncomfortable for her.

“Hang in there,” Emily told her. “You can take it off once we’re back at the inn.”

“So Chi must wear this the whole time while out in town.”

Emily, unable to come up with a better solution, just said, “Come on, let’s go.”

The four of them approached the front gate of the Dark Frost Mercenaries’ estate. It was shut, but through the steel bars they could see the mansion. Off to the right was a large open space that appeared to be used by the mercenaries for training, though just then, it was deserted. There was no bell, but as they waited in front of the gate, a stout man came out of the door of the mansion.

Yawning, he came down to meet them. “Eh? Who’re you supposed to be?”

“We heard we’d find two lupalunes here,” Emily said. “Their names are Pearly Cloud and Morning Star.”

“You heard right,” the man said. “But I ain’t gonna let you see ’em.”

“Huh?! Wh-Why not?”

“’Cause they’re busy, aren’t they?”

Pearly Cloud and Morning Star, the man told them, were famous not just in the Yupiter Empire but abroad too. They were the Dark Frost Mercenaries’ “star players,” so to speak, and many clients put in requests specifically because of them. Some even sent donations.

“They don’t see nobody that doesn’t have an introduction or a prior appointment,” the man finished. “You be on your way now.”

Emily, however, had expected this kind of reception. “Oh really?” she said. “Well, what do you say after you see this?”

“Eh?”

Emily pushed Tien forward, and with a “Ta-daaa!” whipped the hat off the girl’s head. “That’s right, she’s a lupalune too! I reckon Pearly Cloud and Morning Star would like to meet her, don’t you think?”

The man looked taken aback for a moment—but then he said, “Blow me down, if those aren’t the best-made pair of false ears I’ve ever seen!”

Emily gaped at him. “Uh... False ears?”

“Look here, miss. We get no end of folk showing up here in the hopes of meeting Pearly Cloud and Morning Star, and about one in ten of ’em claims to be a lupalune. So off with you already! Shoo!”

“B-But—?! You’re kidding!”

But the man walked away without so much as a backward glance.

“Who the hell does he think he is? I’ll show him, making a fool of me like that!” Emily slammed her fist down on the table.

“Ma’am, please be gentle with the furniture...”

“Oh, sorry...”

She apologized to the owner of the little restaurant where she and the others had stopped off for an early lunch, a bald but bearded man with bulging muscles who brought them fluffy gnocchi coated in a rich tomato sauce flavored with garlic and anchovies. It was absolutely delicious. It even satisfied Tien’s discerning nose—she wolfed down one mouthful after another.

“The look on your face back there was priceless,” Astrid said, snickering a little. “It makes me laugh just thinking about it.”

“Shut up and help me think about how I’m gonna get revenge on those stupid mercenaries!”

“Always straight to violence with you, isn’t it? I think what you meant to say is ‘How are we going to introduce Tien to Pearly Cloud and Morning Star?’”

“Right, yeah. That...and how to exact my sweet revenge.”

Emily held such a bad grudge against the man for stonewalling her that she was at risk of forgetting what they were there for.

“Hmm...” Astrid crossed her long legs, considering. “We just need to confirm whether they know anything about a lupalune girl separated from her parents in the Werther Duchy, or the whereabouts of other lupalunes. For that, all we have to do is talk to them about Tien.”

“Easier said than done when the ones we want to talk to never go outside,” Emily grumbled.

Needing to know more, they went back to the adventurers’ guild after lunch. Most adventurers gathered here, so it was the best place to ask around.

Although mercenaries didn’t have their own guild, the different companies did recruit from the adventurers’ guild. Right now, however, there were no recruitment notices. Most of the posted jobs were for guards to escort the clients to seaside resorts; it was, after all, nearly summer.

Speaking to different adventurers, they learned that whenever Pearly Cloud and Morning Star led the Dark Frost Mercenaries into battle, they never lost. They were among the most famous mercenaries in the empire, but the more their fame grew, the more people tried to curry favor with them, hoping to leech off of their achievements. Fed up, the pair stayed shut up inside the mansion.

“I guess they can’t help but stand out with black hair and those white-tipped ears...” Astrid said.

“Looks like if we want to talk to them, we’ll have to find a way to infiltrate their mercenary company.”

“What about you, Emily? You could be a mercenary.”

“Except they’re not hiring, are they?”

“But I mean, you could just say you’re a Fifth Degree mage.”

Emily sighed. “Think about it, Astrid. If I revealed that then sure, they’d probably hire me. But do you think they’d just let a Fifth Degree mage walk away? I’d end up stuck working as a mercenary for years.”

The Fifth Degree magic that Emily could cast was exceptionally powerful—the kind of high-level magic that could decide battles.

“True... Well, it was nice knowing you, Emily.”

“Hey, don’t just make up your mind to leave me behind! Why don’t you sneak in? You could repair their magic items or something.”

“These organizations have merchant houses on call for that sort of thing. A stranger would never get inside.”

Emily groaned in frustration.

“If I may...” Nina, who was wiping tomato sauce from around Tien’s mouth, spoke up. “What if I sneaked in as a maid?”

“Huh?”

“Maids come and go all the time. Scullery maids sometimes change every month. It’d be only too easy for me to get a job—”

“No way,” Emily and Astrid said in unison.

“I already know how that would go. You wouldn’t make it five minutes without drawing attention.”

“Nina, the fact that no one noticed your talents before was basically a miracle. We shouldn’t hope for the same miracle to repeat itself.”

“Wh-What?” Nina was totally lost.

“Chi also does not want you to put yourself in danger. Especially not for Chi’s sake.”

“Is it just me, or are you saying you’re fine with Astrid and me putting ourselves in danger?” Emily said. “But I guess I see your point. I can use magic to get out of any scrape I find myself in. Nina, on the other hand...”

“I’d be just as helpless as Nina in a scrape against an entire mercenary company,” Astrid pointed out. “But I’m with you on this.”

“Do you think I’m that unreliable?” Nina said with a huff.

Tien shook her head emphatically. “You are very reliable,” she said, “but not with this. Still, Chi is grateful that you want to help.”

In the end, it was decided that Emily, Astrid, and Tien would go out and look for information that might lead them to contacting Pearly Cloud and Morning Star.

Nina, however, had other ideas.

“I see, so you’re...Nina, was it? The one from the agency?”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“You know this is a mercenary company?”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“Some of them are rough folk. Then there’s others like the captain and Pearly Cloud and Morning Star who live like nobles.”

That evening, a new maid knocked on the door of the Dark Frost Mercenaries’ estate. She was let in through the back entrance and interviewed by the housekeeper, a plump and kindly woman.

“I understand, ma’am! I worked in a noble’s household in the past.”

“My, my. Did you really? May I see your reference letter?”

“Erm, well... The thing is, erm...”

Faced with the housekeeper’s questioning stare, Nina blurted out, “M-M-M-My things were all stolen on the way to Thundergard! T-Truly, they were! I wasn’t cast out for breaking a vase, nothing like that! And I was framed for that, anyway!”

This was where Emily would have rolled her eyes and said, “Wow, you suck at lying.” But alas, Emily was not there.

The housekeeper looked a little stunned. “Oh dear, you poor thing... Now, are you quite sure you know what you’re getting into working here?”

She was surprisingly easily convinced. Of course, there was a reason for that.

“So long as you work hard, I’d be more than happy to write a reference for a maid of your caliber when you move on. After all—”

This maid had come along with a letter of recommendation—straight from the agency.

“—they said you’re the most exceptional maid they’ve ever encountered!”

Nina laughed nervously.

Unable to give up on the idea of infiltrating the Dark Frost Mercenaries, she’d set off for the agency that assigned work to maids. As she didn’t have a reference letter from her former employee, they had not been welcoming.

Nina, however, desperately pleaded to be given a chance to prove herself.

Under normal circumstances, Nina would have wanted to avoid being a nuisance and so not pushed as hard, but this time was different—these might be Tien’s parents. She remembered how Tien had been back in Izumi, suffering and barely able to walk straight. She ended up that way as a result of being separated from her parents. Nina wanted more than anything to see them reunited as soon as possible.

That was why she had ignored Emily and the others when they told her “no.” She had to take matters into her own hands.

To the agency, though, Nina was an annoyance they wanted to get rid of, so they set her a devilishly difficult task: cleaning out the storage area in the agency’s attic. Neglected for years, it was buried in dust and infested with bugs. The agency gave her an estimate for how long it would take, assuming she wouldn’t finish.

Nina got it done in half that time—but there was more to it than that. The agency staff never had any intention of giving Nina the job, no matter how quickly she finished. Securing a referral for a major client like the Dark Frost Mercenaries would not be so easy.

There was a trap in the task they set her. Cleaning the attic caused it to shake, making dust fall from upstairs into the room below. This would be both a disruption for the staff and outrageously rude to the clients. As soon as the moment came, they planned to storm up the stairs and tell Nina that she’d failed.

But not a speck of dust appeared. Nina came back down in half her allotted time, her uniform spotless. The staff member thought she must have given up—until they went upstairs and their jaws gaped. The floor gleamed, the boxes were all ordered, and the sun shone in through the windows for the first time in years. It looked like a different room entirely.

Oh dear, I hope I didn’t overdo it... Nina felt a momentary pang of regret—but she had a goal, and it was to infiltrate the mercenary company.

It took the dumbfounded staff member five minutes to come back to their senses, at which point they immediately wrote a letter to the Dark Frost Mercenaries, adding that they’d happily refer her anywhere she liked. The agency, rigorously meritocratic as it was, was, in a way, egalitarian.

Unaware of all this, the housekeeper carried on with assessing Nina as usual.

“This is a very large household, so there’s lots of work. The laundry maids are particularly short of hands...” She briefly looked Nina over. Washing, drying, and bringing in massive piles of laundry was heavy labor, and she clearly didn’t think the tiny girl in front of her was up to it.

“I’ve worked as a laundry maid before, ma’am!” Nina said.

“You have...?” the housekeeper said doubtfully. “Oh, well, let’s see how you fare.”

“I’ll do my best, ma’am!” Nina said, bowing deeply.

And with that, she joined the maids of the Dark Frost Mercenaries.

“NINAAAAAAA!”

When Emily returned to the inn and read the note left there, she yelled at the top of her lungs.

The note, written in Nina’s handwriting, said, In the end, I still believe that the best course of action is for me to infiltrate the Dark Frost Mercenaries as a maid.

“Chi will go and bring her back.”

“Hold on!” Astrid called out to Tien, who was about to rush off then and there. “Listen... What if we let Nina handle this?”

“Astrid!” Emily exclaimed. “Are you crazy?! It’s too dangerous!”

“She only got hired as a maid. There’s nothing dangerous about that. Well, not usually. Yes, she’s on a mission to learn more about Pearly Cloud and Morning Star, but even that I wouldn’t call dangerous.”

“Well, maybe, but still...”

“Chi does not want to cause hardship for Nina,” Tien muttered.

“That’s kind of you,” Astrid said, “but let me ask you this. If Nina were in danger, what would you do?”

“That is obvious. Chi would go and help her.”

“Even if it meant risking your life?”

“Of course!”

“In that case, you shouldn’t oppose Nina’s undercover investigation—the one she’s doing it for is you.”

Tien’s eyes widened, and she clamped her mouth shut.

“I admit I’m a little glad to see Nina doing what she wants without any regard for us,” Astrid said with a crooked smile. “You know how she’s practically the embodiment of consideration for others. She definitely knows we’ll worry, but she decided to go in there anyway. That’s because she believes in our party. She believes that we’re family. And she believes that we’ll accept her decision.”

“Hrmm...” Even Emily felt like this made sense. “Okay, but Astrid, are you really not worried? About Nina...getting into trouble?”

“Oh, I’m worried out of my mind. That’s why we’ve got to be ready to go to her rescue the moment anything happens.”

“Wanna give me some specifics?”

Astrid raised her index finger. “First, we shift our lodgings to somewhere close to the mansion. We can look for a place we can observe them from. Next...”

Emily was shocked at the speed Astrid drew up such a meticulous plan. She said as much to Astrid, only for her to reply:

“Well, I guessed something like this might happen.”

That same day at the Dark Frost Mercenaries’ estate, a shock wave rippled through the servants’ quarters.

“It can’t be...”

The housekeeper and the maids could scarcely believe their eyes. The servants’ quarters were located in a separate building, consisting of one large room that slept ten maids and the housekeeper’s room. It was only one story, made of wood, and had gotten extremely rickety in the forty years since its construction—or had it?

Now, the outside walls were squeaky clean, the front door that had needed a good shove to open swung to without a sound, and the floor in the corridor was so polished that it was slippery underfoot.

“Welcome back, everyone. Your dinner is ready.”

Standing there with her head bowed was, of course, Nina.

“N-Now see here!” the housekeeper spluttered. Her immediate thought was that Nina had put the servants’ quarters ahead of her actual duties. “You’re a laundry maid! Do you have any idea how much laundry the band goes through every day? And yet here you are, shirking your work to clean up our living quarters, when there was absolutely no call for it!”

“The laundry is all finished, ma’am! One of the senior maids kindly checked it for me.”

The housekeeper rounded on the maid in question, a tall girl in charge of laundry and cleaning. “Explain!”

“Sh-She’s telling the truth, ma’am... I, um, I don’t really know what happened. Before I knew it all the laundry was done and hanging on the line.”

“Don’t tell me you left it all on the line?!”

“N-No, ma’am... When I turned around, it had all been brought inside, folded, and put away...”

“F-Folded and...and put away...?!”

“I had time to spare, so I moved on to cleaning. Then this girl said she wanted to clean our rooms. I didn’t see any harm in it, so I said she could...”

The housekeeper stared at Nina, baffled.

Nina smiled back at her. “Dinner is waiting. Please, eat up while it’s hot.”

Needless to say, the dinner was so good that the maids kept going back for more helpings. It looked no different to their usual fare of meat and vegetables with a little soup, but the flavor was something else entirely. They polished it off in no time.

The housekeeper looked dazed. “Nina, you...you said you used to work for a noble family, didn’t you?”

“That’s right, at an estate in the Crecente Kingdom.”

“And are...all maids there able to do things like this? Laundry and cleaning and cooking...”

“Oh, any maid could do the same.”

“Any maid... Well, I suppose so. It’s a big world, isn’t it?” Curiously, she appeared satisfied with this explanation.

Nina just looked at her in puzzlement.

The next day, Nina was put in charge not only of the laundry, but of cleaning the main house too. She polished off so much of the work that four of the ten maids were left with nothing to do. Meanwhile, the other maids all clamored to switch their assignments.

“I want to do laundry!”

“Let me take cleaning duty!”

In other words, they wanted the jobs that Nina would finish for them.

“Oh dear... They’re all getting lazy...”

But the housekeeper was a shrewd woman. She realized that just as an effective medicine became poison in too high a dose, relying too much on one capable maid would end badly. She did misunderstand things sometimes—like when she’d thought Nina’s “any maid could do the same” was merely a sign that the world was full of all sorts of people—but she perceived very well the extent of Nina’s skills.

She also didn’t hesitate to act. She clearly defined the work that Nina was allowed to do and instructed her that she must leave the remaining tasks to the other maids.

Of course, this meant that after Nina whizzed through all her work, she was left at a loose end. But she had a unique talent—she was exceptionally good at finding new work. She started to tackle tasks that no one had gotten around to, from smartening up the training grounds, to weeding the back garden, to fixing the roof. In no time at all, the whole estate was immaculate.

Tien, who’d been keeping watch from afar, obviously noticed when Nina began clambering about on the roof.

“N-Nina?! What is she doing?!” she squeaked, panicking.

Soon, not only the maids but the residents of the mansion themselves began to notice the improvements in their living environment. Even the old man, who was always popping in and out through the back door to procure supplies for the mansion on the housekeeper’s instructions, had called out to Nina once.

“Look at you go!” he said. “It’s always admirable to see a young ’un working hard.”

“Oh, no. Any maid would do the same,” Nina replied. “If anything, sir, I admire you for bringing such vigor to your work at your age.”

The man chuckled. “I wish you’d tell my son that! The way he puts it, I’m an embarrassment and I ought to stay home.”

“I’m sure he just doesn’t want to see you exert yourself. He sounds like a fine son.”

“You’re a sweet girl. If my son were twenty years younger, you’d make him a good wife... Too bad, too bad...” Leaning on his cane and his back stooped, the old man tottered away. The son of a man his age was probably pushing sixty. Even if he were twenty years younger, he’d still be far too old for Nina. But she just smiled brightly at the old man as he left.

The mercenaries, too, caught on to the changes.

“Is it me or this place looking kinda sparkly?”

“I better not have heard the word ‘sparkly’ come outta your ugly mug.”

“Hey, leave off the name-calling!”

So went one exchange between two beefy, fierce-looking men with scarred faces.

Mercenaries were an even rougher bunch than adventurers. Their routine looked something like this: They rolled out of bed some time after lunch, headed to the training grounds to do drills, and then, when evening came, they went into the city to drink and make merry, only staggering back to the mansion after midnight. They became unruly when they were drunk—throwing up and smashing doors and walls and suchlike—so only the male servants attended to them at night.

Nina took it upon herself to clean up their messes and repair the damage they did so that the mansion was never anything less than spotless. In a matter of days, the whole place was transformed.

Despite how much she did to make the mansion a more pleasant place to live, there was one place that even Nina was forbidden to set foot—the third and highest floor of the mansion.

“The mansion has changed a lot of late, hasn’t it, Morning Star?”

“Yes, I hear it’s looking very clean. But I never go downstairs, so I wouldn’t know.”

The third floor was where the mercenary captain’s office and quarters were located, as well as the bedroom of Pearly Cloud and Morning Star. Their rooms were spacious and furnished in a style unlike any other in the mansion. The red curtains were adorned with gently swirling clouds picked out in gold thread, the floor was covered in black tiles that lent the room a subdued and unified feel, and the furnishings, crafted from a rare variety of wood, were a muted brown.

Morning Star was sipping tea from a white porcelain cup without a handle.

“Why don’t we ask for our room to be cleaned too?” Pearly Cloud suggested.

“Don’t be silly. From what I hear, the one doing all the cleaning is a brand-new maid. We can’t let her up here.”

“Everything downstairs is spotless while we’re up here choking on dust. How is that fair?” Pearly Cloud ran his index finger along the top of a shelf. Sure enough, it came away smeared with gray.

“No one else can reach up there anyway,” Morning Star said.

She had a point—at nearly two meters tall, the world Pearly Cloud saw was totally different to the one the maids did. He was powerfully built, and his open robe revealed a well-muscled chest. An old scar marked his strong jaw.

Pearly Cloud and Morning Star dressed differently to others in the city. Pearly Cloud wore something resembling a light kimono in pale blue, tied with a loose sash over baggy trousers. Morning Star’s attire was similar, except that her robe was a brilliant vermilion. Naturally, she also wore an undershirt that covered her chest. Both of them had long black hair—and ears, tipped with white, that stuck up on top of their heads. Their arms and legs were also covered in thick, black fur.

“Don’t think I don’t see what you’re up to. You want an excuse to call the new maid up here for yourself,” Morning Star said.

“S-So what if I do?” Pearly Cloud grumbled. “Maids love it when I make advances on them.”

“But the captain doesn’t like it, does he? That’s why only the housekeeper is allowed up here now. Have her entertain you if you’re that desperate.”

“I wouldn’t touch that old hag. Damn it all! How much longer do we have to keep living like this?”

“Who can say? I rather like it, though—eating and sleeping while the housekeeper sees to all our needs. There haven’t been any wars lately, so we can just lounge about.”

“Well I’m sick of it! I want out!”

“And go back to being poor? No thank you.”

Pearly Cloud looked grumpy, but he didn’t argue. With an irritated sigh, he stomped out of the room to his private quarters next door. Like as not, he’d sulk in there until he fell asleep.

“He’s such a child,” Morning Star said in exasperation, then yawned widely. “It’s true that we’ve got nothing to do... But oh well. Just looking at my treasures is all I need to keep myself amused.”

She reached out not for her teacup, but for a box encrusted with gems. She opened the lid, revealing an array of jewelry in brilliant colors, and selected a necklace set with a large, glittering emerald that sent light bouncing around the room. Morning Star stared into its depths, totally entranced.

Five more days passed. Nina still wasn’t allowed up the third floor, and she got next to no information out of the other maids.

“Only the housekeeper is allowed up there.”

“It’s so unfair! She gets Pearly Cloud and Morning Star all to herself.”

“Listen, I saw Morning Star in the distance the other day and she smiled at me!”

After hearing this, Nina went to the housekeeper. But in response to her tentative questions, the usually genial housekeeper’s eyes flashed.

“Don’t tell me you’re another one who only came here because you wanted to meet them,” she said. Nina hastily shook her head. It was clear that the Dark Frost Mercenaries valued Pearly Cloud and Morning Star very highly.

“But why are they so secretive?” Nina asked one of her fellow maids as they hung out the laundry. The other girl, who was the same age as Nina, had blue hair and adored gossip.

“Well of course they are! After all, they’re invincible so long as those two are around...or at least, that’s what one of the mercenaries told me.”

Such was the renown of the two lupalune mercenaries that the sight of them leading the charge into battle both emboldened their allies and demoralized their enemies. Mercenaries were usually deployed in local skirmishes where keeping up the combatants’ fighting spirit was of vital importance. The mercenaries’ confidence only grew with every battle they won, and the momentum had so far kept them from tasting defeat.

“Are there really that many wars going on?” Nina said. That was the fact that surprised her more. Like any maid, she’d always worked in estates, so she’d been unaware of the general state of the world, including that there was so much conflict in it.

“There hasn’t been one in about three years now,” the other maid said. “I mean, the empire is so powerful that no other country stands a chance.”

“I... I see...” What they were talking about was on such a large scale that Nina couldn’t wrap her head around it. Still, she grasped that the Dark Frost Mercenaries saw Pearly Cloud and Morning Star as the key to their victories.

“Did you come here to get close to them too, then?” the other maid asked.

“M-M-M-Me?! No, of course not!” Nina was thrown to suddenly hear the same question the housekeeper had asked her.

“Hmm... Well, whatever. Pearly Cloud is supposed to like his women mature and seductive, so you wouldn’t fit the bill anyway.”

“O-Oh...”

With that, the other maid walked off with her nose in the air. Nina didn’t know what to make of her final remark. Why had there been that edge in the other girl’s voice?

One day after another slipped away, and Nina still hadn’t managed to get word to Emily and the others. Doubt began to set in—until one day, things began to happen.

The housekeeper summoned all the maids first thing in the morning. They gathered in the dormitory, bleary-eyed and stifling yawns. At that hour it was still chilly, though by lunchtime the sun would have them all sweating, and with summer coming, it would only get hotter.

“I wanted to have a quick word with you before you start work,” the housekeeper told them. “The truth is, my father has fallen ill, so I’ll have to go away for a few days.”

Whispering broke out among the maids. Half were voices of concern for the housekeeper’s father. But the other half—

“Ma’am! Who’ll look after the third floor while you’re gone?” asked the blue-haired maid, raising her hand. They all held their breaths. This was what they cared about.

“I plan to give that duty to Nina.”

“Wha...?” The blue-haired maid gaped at her, speechless. Most of the others, however, seemed to have expected it. Nina was far and away the best at her job of any of them.

The blue-haired maid didn’t give up. “B-But why, ma’am?! I’m the same age as Nina, and she only just got here!”

The fact was, she didn’t understand. She herself was rather new to being a maid and hadn’t had the wherewithal to really watch the other maids work.

“If you don’t like my decision, you’re welcome to quit whenever you like,” the housekeeper said, shutting the blue-haired maid up. She then turned to Nina. “Can I trust you with this?”

“Y-Yes, ma’am!”

Here it was—the opportunity she’d wanted to contact Pearly Cloud and Morning Star, just when she least expected it.

“Do you mind if I don’t reduce the rest of your workload? Well, perhaps I don’t need to ask.”

“Of course not, ma’am! That’s no trouble at all.”

“Excellent. Well, that’s all I have to say. Off to work with all of you!” The housekeeper clapped her hands and the maids dispersed. Before Nina could say anything to her, the blue-haired girl fled back to her room, her hair fluttering behind her.

Why do I feel as though I’ve done something wrong? Nina thought. She had no particular interest in the two lupalunes. All she wanted was to find out whether they were Tien’s parents, or failing that, knew anything else about Tien.

“Nina! Come with me so I can tell you about the third floor.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Nina followed her out of the dormitory. I’ll talk to her later, she said to herself. I expect I’ll struggle to manage the third floor by myself, so surely everyone will understand if I ask her to help. She nodded, satisfied with herself.

“Nina... Just so we’re clear, you’re not to do anything more than what I tell you.”

Nina winced.

“I’m giving you this task because I trust your work. Not because I trust you as a person.” There was a warning in the housekeeper’s voice.

“I understand...”

“Morning!” It was the old man on his rounds. He called out to them as they were about to go through the back door.

“And a very good morning to you too!” the housekeeper said with an extravagant bow.

“Good morning!” followed Nina.

“Already hard at work, eh?” He turned to the housekeeper. “Right, I’ve put in all your orders, so you can expect them soon.”

“Thank you. Nina, you’re to handle those too.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“Now, about the third floor...” They bid the old man goodbye and went inside. “You know who lives up there, I trust?”

“The mercenary captain, Pearly Cloud, and Morning Star.”

“Correct. You’re to keep out of their sight while you work. I’ve told the captain and the butler that you’ll be up there.”

“Very good, ma’am.”

The Dark Frost Mercenaries’ mansion had plenty of maids but next to no valets. Unlike a noble’s household, mercenaries didn’t have to manage their holdings or deal with complicated accounting, so there was hardly any work for them. Having none at all, however, would have led to inconvenience, so there was a butler, whom Nina had hardly spoken to, with one assistant. In reality, they were essentially accountants who doubled as managers for the male servants. The man who’d spoken to Emily at the gate, incidentally, was actually a new mercenary.

“Here we are,” the housekeeper said.

Nina ascended to the third floor for the first time. There was of course no escalator or elevator, so they went up on foot.

“You’ll bring all their meals up from here. Ask the cook and he’ll spare some hands to help you. You clean anything that needs cleaning once a day.”

As the housekeeper spoke, Nina took down notes in her head. It was funny—she only ever had to hear instructions about maid work once to memorize them perfectly.

“I’ll show you the captain’s room first.”

The third floor was quiet when they reached it. It was still early in the morning. Sunlight filtered in through the corridor windows.

Nina fidgeted as they walked toward the captain’s room. The floor was dusty, and there was grime on the pictures hanging on the walls. Even the windows were clouded. She could hardly just start cleaning in front of the housekeeper, but it would feel so good to get it all cleaned up, and everyone would surely be happy about it. Just thinking about it made her very happy. For a maid, there was no greater satisfaction.

“Good morning, Captain!” the housekeeper said, announcing them before she opened the door. His room was on the northern side of the mansion. Without waiting for an answer, they entered.

At once, they were met by the musty smell of alcohol. The room was dark, and someone was snoring thunderously. Light peeked in from a gap in the curtains, revealing a spacious room with a sofa and a low table in the center. On the table was a bottle of alcohol, a cup toppled over on its side, and the remains of a meal.

Right by the door was a serving cart that the housekeeper pushed toward the table. Nina promptly set about loading it up with the bottle and other debris. She finished tidying the table in moments.

“You do work fast, don’t you?” the housekeeper said.

“Thank you, ma’am.”

“It seems the captain is still asleep.” Nina followed the housekeeper’s gaze to the neighboring room—then gasped. Women’s dresses—and underwear—lay strewn on the floor.

“Let’s be on our way, then,” the housekeeper said. “The captain detests being woken up, so you’re only to go in there when he’s awake.”

“Y-Yes, ma’am.”

The housekeeper looked at her. “What’s wrong? Don’t tell me you’re still innocent about all that?”

Nina was silent. She wasn’t a child. Even she knew what went on between men and women in bed. In fact, her mistress had taught her about it. But knowing it and seeing it with her own eyes were two different things, and Nina had absolutely zero experience in that area.

“So you have a weak point after all!” the housekeeper exclaimed. “I actually feel a little relieved.”

“I beg your pardon, ma’am...”

Perhaps it was a sign of a maid’s proper modesty, but just the sight of the fallen clothing was too much excitement for Nina.

“We’ll go to see Pearly Cloud and Morning Star next.”

At this, Nina perked up again. They crossed to the other side of the corridor where Pearly Cloud and Morning Star’s room was. Effectively, they occupied a position equal to the captain’s.

“There are four doors here, you see. Two lead to a suite. The other two are for Pearly Cloud and Morning Star respectively.”

“Housekeeper!” shouted a man’s voice from the room farther back.

“Oh, that must be Pearly Cloud... Nina, you follow me.”

“Y-Yes, ma’am!” She hadn’t expected to get the chance to meet him so soon.

The room stank of drink just as the captain’s had. Pearly Cloud sat slumped on the floor next to the bed, his hair disheveled and dressed in a sort of bath robe that hung upon around his chest.

“Ugh... My head’s killing me. Get me water.”

“Here you are, master.” The housekeeper, as if she had anticipated his request, poured him a glass of water from a pitcher.

“My head...” he groaned.

“I take it you’ve been drinking again, master? And rather heavily too...” The housekeeper glanced over at the table where Nina, with her typical quickness, was already busy clearing away bottles and wiping the surface clean.

“Wait... Who’s this girl...?”

“My name is Nina, Master Pearly Cloud. If you like, I could bring you a bowl of warm soup.”

“Eh? Why would I want anything hot like soup?”

“I beg your pardon. I thought it might help with your hangover.”

“Oh? Well in that case, let’s try it.”

“Very good, master.”

Pearly Cloud stared after the new maid in confusion until she left the room.

“Who was that?” he demanded.

“Her name is Nina. I’ll be away for a little while, so I asked her to stand in for me.”

“Come on. What can a little thing like that know how to do?”

“She’s an excellent cook.”

“Oh? Wait, don’t tell me she’s the new girl?”

“She is indeed, master.”

“Huh...”

The housekeeper trusted in Nina’s skill as a maid. That was why she hadn’t stopped Nina from offering Pearly Cloud soup.

There was a knock at the door.

“I’ve brought your soup, master.”

“Wait, already?” Pearly Cloud was taken aback. Hadn’t she just left? Still, he obediently accepted the bowl and spoon that she offered him.

It was brown and clear, unlike any soup he’d ever seen before. But when he took a sip, his eyes went wide.

“What’s in this? It’s the best damn soup I’ve ever had!”

“Thank you, master.”

“Bring me another bowl!” Pearly Cloud raised the bowl to his mouth and drained it, not even bothering with the spoon. Nina brought him another bowl and he drained that too.

“Ahh...” he said, rubbing his belly. “That feels better. In fact, it’s made me sleepy...” He yawned. “I’m going to take a nap.”

“Very good, master.”

The housekeeper and Nina went back out into the corridor.

“That soup smelled very good. Whatever did you put in it?”

“I made the broth from simmered veal bones,” Nina said. It was a soup called fond de veau. It wasn’t flavorsome enough on its own, so Nina had added some seasonings, but it still had a rich, gamey taste. Nina had made it for Tien before.

And he liked it too! I thought he might, given that Tien loved it so much.

Nina assumed that as they were both lupalunes, they’d have similar tastes.

“You must have gone out of your way to make this,” the housekeeper said as she sipped the leftovers.

“The truth is, while I never ever dreamed that I’d be coming up here to the third floor, I thought I’d ask you to recommend it to Master Pearly Cloud for me. Warm liquids are good for hangovers, you see.”

Nina had guessed based on the amount of expensive drink consumed on the third floor each day that its residents were heavy drinkers. She’d therefore decided to make this soup in the hopes of catching Pearly Cloud’s interest.

“Well, I never. I’m glad I’ve got you to take care of things for me.”

“Thank you, ma’am. I’ll do my best.”

“Hiring you was a proper stroke of luck, I do say.”

Nina nodded in agreement.

“That’s that, then. I’ll leave things with you!” The housekeeper left the mansion through the back door and was gone.

Nina bowed to see her off, then said, “Right. Time to get to work!”

She set about completing her tasks.

She didn’t notice the blue-haired maid watching her from behind.

Morning Star rang the bell for breakfast, only to blink in surprise when a young girl appeared.

“You aren’t the housekeeper... Oh, that’s right. She said something last night about going away for a few days.”

“My name is Nina, and I’ll be waiting on you for the next few days. I’ve brought your breakfast.”

“Thanks...” Morning Star slowly made her way over to her chair, by which point Nina had already finished laying the table. There was a basket of steaming, freshly baked bread, jars of different kinds of jams, and a bowl of soup similar to what Nina had served to Pearly Cloud.

“You do your job well, I see.”

“It’s nothing, ma’am.”

“But this is too much for me. A bite or two will do.”

“Yes, ma’am, the cook told me that. But may I suggest that you start with the soup?”

“Hot soup for breakfast...?” Morning Star didn’t sound enthusiastic.

The housekeeper and the cook had told Nina about her preferences. This was a mercenary company, so most of the food was hearty fare—the meatier, fattier, and saltier, the better. But while the roughneck mercenaries couldn’t get enough of it, Morning Star didn’t share their tastes. Apparently, all she ate in the morning was a little bread with jam. Perhaps for that reason, she was very slender—she looked even thinner than Astrid.

Although, Nina thought to herself, it is a lupalune trait to appear slight while actually being incredibly strong.

Morning Star picked up the spoon and sipped a mouthful of soup. Her eyes went wide.

“This is amazing...” she gasped. “I even... I feel warm all the way through.”

Nina had used a spice that warmed and energized the body. It was eyewateringly expensive, but Roy had taught Nina how to use it back at Count Mirkwood’s estate, and wealthy as the Dark Frost Mercenaries were, they kept a good stock of it.

Morning Star polished off the soup then spread jam on a piece of bread.

“Mmm, that’s good! For some reason, I’m ravenous today.”

“If you please, ma’am...”

“Hm? What was that?”

“I wondered, um...if you would like some tea? To cleanse your palate.”

“Oh. Go on, then.”

In fact, Nina had wanted to bring up Tien. But no maid worth her salt would dream of interrupting her mistress’s breakfast to bring up a private matter. If she were asked, that would be a different story. Nina would wait until Morning Star finished eating. She mustn’t forget to conduct herself as befitted a maid.

But just as Morning Star was mopping up the final crumbs, she heard the thud of heavy footsteps from the hall.

“Hey, maid! I’m starving! Where’s my breakfast?”

“Pearly Cloud? You’re up very early...and you’re not even hungover? That’s a first.”

“Well, wait until you hear this. That new maid brought me soup that got me sweating like a pig. Totally got rid of my hango— Oh! She’s here!”

“I just brought Mistress Morning Star her breakfast. Will you eat here, Master Pearly Cloud?”

“Huh?” Morning Star blinked at her. “When did you go and get that?”

The service cart beside Nina hadn’t been there a minute ago.

“Here will do fine.” Pearly Cloud sat down opposite Morning Star. He was scratching his arms a lot, Nina noticed with curiosity. Lupalunes mostly had skin like humans except for their arms, which were covered in wolfish fur. Pearly Cloud was scratching the area on his arm where his fur ended. The skin was red, like a rash.

“Smells good!” he said as he began to eat with gusto. Unlike Morning Star, he started his day with meat roasted on the bone. “Mhmm, it’s so tender... What is this, anyway? The cook’s new recipe?”

“If you please, master, I made it myself.”

“You what?! That old mule let you use his kitchen?!”

Nina laughed sheepishly. Stubbornness was a common trait among the cooks in these large estates.

“Yes, he was most obliging when I explained what I wanted to cook...”

“Huh. Well, this is damn good.”

“You’re too kind, master.”

Nina had made him a dish using the meat of a bird known as the tenderfowl. It was notorious for turning as tough as leather when cooked, prompting many a frustrated cook to wonder how the hell it had gotten its name. Raw, it was soft and juicy, so its primary use was as food for estate guard dogs.

There was, however, a way to cook tenderfowl and keep it that way. Nina had learned it not from Tuyledo the elf sage, nor from Roy the cook, but rather from a book she’d stumbled upon while cleaning the Mirkwood estate’s private library.

You mixed a large amount of salt with egg whites, slathered it on the meat like a coat of cement, then roasted it. It was known as a salt crust. It rendered tenderfowl meat melt-in-your-mouth soft. The recipe had just happened to be in a travelogue of a journey, through a land in the east across the great sea.

Roy had been gobsmacked when Nina told him about it. “I’ll be damned... That’s one hell of a discovery,” he’d said, and the cook at the mercenaries’ mansion had reacted exactly the same way when Nina told him about it.

“It’s Nina, isn’t it?” Pearly Cloud said. “You’re not from the Yupiter Empire, are you?”

“No, master. I used to live in the Crecente Kingdom.”

“Aha. So that’s why you’re such a good cook, is it?”

“Oh, no... Any maid could do the same.”

Pearly Cloud nodded thoughtfully at this.

“Hey, give me some of that,” Morning Star said.

“Huh? Since when do you eat breakfast?”

“What does that matter? I’m hungry today.”

“There’s more, so—” Just as Nina was about to offer her another portion of tenderfowl, she heard the captain’s bell ring.

“Off you go. We’re fine here,” Pearly Cloud said.

“Are you sure? Excuse me, then.” Nina bowed, then hurried off to the captain’s room. As she did so, she remembered that she still hadn’t asked about Tien.

“Oh dear. But I’m sure I’ll have another chance.” The housekeeper had only just left, after all.

Just then, there was a faint CLATTER from somewhere in the mansion. Nina stopped short. What was that? Which room had it come from?

The bell rang again.

“On my way, master!” she called, then hurried on.

The day flew by at a dizzying pace.

The mercenary captain wanted breakfast, so Nina went to prepare it. It also turned out to be the day that Pearly Cloud and Morning Star made an appearance at the training grounds, and it was their habit to take a bath together in private afterward. Nina would have liked to watch them train, but between getting things ready for them, running the bath, and tidying up when they were done, she didn’t get so much as a glimpse. She only heard the roar of cheering voices from outside.

Later, she tended to the captain again. He’d told her he was going out around noon with the woman he’d brought back last night, so she saw he was properly dressed and saw him off, and before she knew it, it was lunchtime.

The cook, obstinate as he was, respected Nina’s skill in the kitchen and stood by with his arms crossed, watching her as she prepared her own variations on his recipes. It was as though he were surveilling her...or rather, studying her.

Pearly Cloud and Morning Star emerged from the bath looking like different people, their hair and fur sleek and shiny. They ate lunch, then declared they were sleepy and went to take a nap. There was no time to mention Tien.

Nina was sweeping the hall when the mercenary captain returned home—with a different woman on his arm. For a sixty-year-old, he had the strapping build of a much younger man and was in excellent health in more ways than one.

“I’ve got a business meeting! Bring wine!” he demanded, leaving Nina to puzzle out what “business meeting” and “wine” had to do with each other. Once she’d seen to that, the butler summoned her to inform her that an envoy from a noble was out at the front of the mansion demanding to see Pearly Cloud and Morning Star, and she was to handle the matter.

Nina thought to herself that handling nobles wasn’t really a maid’s job, but presumably the housekeeper always dealt with such things. So she went down to the front gate, where there waited a man wearing fine clothes and a look of irritation.

Nina explained to him that she couldn’t let him in to see the lupalune couple. It was the Dark Frost Mercenaries’ rule, one that they had permission from Her Majesty the Empress to enforce. This was true—the previous captain had gone to the empress to negotiate for this right.

Unfortunately, thinking mercenaries were beneath him, the noble’s servant didn’t listen and kicked up a huge stink.

“Refusal of an audience will be taken as an act of defiance against Baron Hitbalt!” he bellowed.

“I’m terribly sorry, sir. Those are the rules of this household...”

“Are you mocking me, girl?!”

“I beg your pardon, sir.”

“Enough! I demand that you open this gate!”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have the authority to do that.” Nina bowed repeatedly, hoping against hope that he would give up and leave.

Just then, the old man who ran errands emerged from the mansion.

“What’s all this then?” he said.

“Who are you supposed to be? I serve Baron Hitbalt!”

“Do you really? I’m told these folk have the right to refuse summons even from nobles—the empress herself granted it to them.”

“Stuff and nonsense!” the servant snapped. “You will bring those lupalunes out at once or make an enemy of the Hitbalt house!”

“Oh? Well, I see nothing wrong with that.”

“Y-You...?!”

“What?!”

Both Nina and the noble’s servant stared at the old man in shock.

“The Dark Frost Mercenaries are among the greatest in the Yupiter Empire,” the old man said. “They’ve got nothing to fear from a mere baron.”

The servant gaped, opening and closing his mouth like a fish. “I’ll hold you to those words, old man!” he cried, then he mounted his horse and rode away. He could have argued more, but perhaps he knew the old man was right.

Nina knew no such thing, however.

“Oh dear, this is terrible! You can’t just say things like that to a noble!”

“Can’t I?” the old man said, nonplussed. “I’ve been coming here a long time, miss. They won’t give two figs what some baron thinks.”

“That’s not what I mean! Speaking out of turn like that could get you sacked!”

The old man blinked. “Well I’ll be. Are you worried about me, miss?”

“How could I not be?!”

He chuckled. “It’s nice to still be worried about even at my age.”

“I really mean it!” Nina insisted.

The old man looked up at the mansion. It was still and silent. “Even after all that commotion, no one came to see what it was about.”

“Well, it’s the maids’ job to attend to visitors...”

“Is it? Shouldn’t the butler or the master of the house come out to see nobles?”

“E-Erm... I’ve only just arrived in the Yupiter Empire, so I wasn’t sure what the custom was...”

“There, there. It’s not you I’m angry at, miss.”

Now that he mentioned it, Nina realized that he really was angry. But she couldn’t figure out why.

“But never mind. I’m old. I doubt I’ve got much more work in me. Still, it’s been a pleasure to meet a sweet girl like you right at the end.”

“Let me make you some tea to say thank you.”

“No, no. You needn’t bother with an old man like me. You’re busy, aren’t you? Off you hop.” With that, the old man tottered away. Rather than go inside, he walked around the outside of the building toward the back entrance.

“Goodbye!” Nina called after him. The old man gave her a little wave.

After he was gone, she put herself back on track. “He’s right,” she said. “I’ve still got work to finish.” She went back to the mansion, opened the front door, and stepped inside—

“There she is! That’s the maid! Nina!”

It was the blue-haired maid. She and several other maids stood in the entrance. At the sound of shouting, a few mercenaries appeared to see what the fuss was about.

What was the fuss about?

Nina stared in confusion as Morning Star and Pearly Cloud emerged from the third floor of the atrium and descended the stairs. The blue-haired maid stood waiting at the bottom of the staircase.

Morning Star’s face was hard, and fury burned in her eyes.

“I am disappointed,” she said. “You seemed like such an excellent maid.”

“M-Ma’am...?”

“Oh, you’ve got some nerve. You must have known what’d happen if you were caught stealing my necklace!”

Morning Star was so incandescent with rage that Nina trembled before her. The other maids shot her looks of utter contempt.

When the mercenaries realized that Nina was the subject of Morning Star’s anger, they advanced on her, growling, “You forget your place, maid!” and “You’re dead meat!”

“This necklace is my pride and joy,” Morning Star hissed at her. “Not a day goes by that I don’t check on it, so I knew right away that it was gone.”

The blue-haired maid produced a silver tray upon which lay a necklace set with a great emerald. Morning Star picked it up. The gemstone glittered brilliantly in the light.

“S-Steal...? I don’t understand...” Nina stammered.

“Don’t play the fool with me! This maid found it and brought it to me. She found it in your bag!”

“What?!”

“Everyone in this house knows how much I love this necklace. But you just got here—you had no idea. So when I discovered it was missing, this maid knew just where to look. And sure enough, she found it!”

Nina had no idea what was going on, but she had to defend herself. At this rate, everyone would believe this false accusation.

But something was wrong.

Nina tried to open her mouth but couldn’t. It was as though she’d been turned to stone. She knew this feeling. It was just like last time—back when the housekeeper at the Mirkwood estate had framed her for breaking the vase.

There was no one who’d believe her, no matter what she said.

No one to stand up and testify to her innocence.

Her job as a maid—the job she was so proud of—snatched away from her...

“Lock the doors! She mustn’t escape!” shouted Pearly Cloud. At his order, a line of mercenaries formed behind Nina and slammed the front door shut. Surrounded by enemies on all sides, Nina was completely alone.

“Hmm... Something is not right with Nina.”

Tien lay on top of a steeply angled roof overlooking the Dark Frost Mercenaries’ mansion. She was as still as though she’d been glued in place and wore a cloak of the same crimson as the tiles. No one watching from a distance would have guessed there was anyone on the roof.

“Leave it, Tien,” came Emily’s voice from the dormer window beside her. “Even a noble can’t do anything to hurt her from the other side of the gate. You stay put.”

Emily was holed up in an attic room that they’d rented to keep an eye on Nina. Meanwhile, Astrid was running all over the capital working as an inventor (or rather, as a handywoman) to earn money for their travels.

The mansion was over a hundred meters away. Tien could only catch glimpses of Nina through the windows, but that was no problem for her sharp lupalune eyes. She observed Nina bustling around every day and relayed what she saw to Emily. Together, they were on Nina Watch.

Tien saw the whole exchange between Nina and what appeared to be a noble’s servant at the mansion gate. She could tell that Nina was having a hard time, but to Tien’s frustration, even when the man got angry, Emily told her to leave it. Of course, if she made a scene and it was discovered that she and Nina were in the same adventuring party, all the work Nina had done to infiltrate the mansion would be for nothing. Tien knew she mustn’t let her feelings ruin everything—not when Nina was doing it all for her.

“Oh!”

At Tien’s gasp, Emily poked her head out of the dormer window. “What’s up?”

“That old man is going over to where Nina is.”

“Is it just me, or is he winding up that servant? Look, the guy rode off.”

They watched as Nina followed the old man back up to the mansion. Trouble appeared to be averted for now, but Tien wasn’t sure whether to be relieved. Nina still looked uncertain.

“Looks like Nina’s having a tough time...” Emily said. “I don’t know why she doesn’t just talk to—what was it again? Pearly Cloud and Morning Star?—and get this over with. But I guess that’s easier said than done when they’re celebrities...”

Tien said nothing.

“Tien? What’s up?”

“Chi...cannot stand it.”

“What d’you mean?”

“Nina is enduring great hardship for Chi,” Tien said, clutching at her chest. It sounded like every word was an effort for her. “Chi wishes she would not worry and simply be happy.”

“I know,” Emily said. “I feel the same way. But we can’t do anything about it. We’ve just got to hang in there.”

“Chi knows that, but—” Tien broke off abruptly. “Something is not right with Nina.”

“Huh?” Emily looked over at the mansion. With her human eyes, all she could make out was the open door, but Tien could see Nina standing there in the entrance. No, not just standing. She was frozen to the spot.

A burly mercenary appeared from one side to close the door. Just before he did so, Nina turned back for a moment.

Tien saw the flicker of terror in her eyes.

“Nina is in trouble.”

“Huh? Wait, what? What did you see?!”

“Chi must go!”

“T-Tien?!”

Tien didn’t hesitate. She took a few steps forward—then leaped off the edge of the five-story-high roof.

“TIEN!!!” Emily screamed.

The newsboy cap slipped off the lupalune girl’s head and tumbled through the air in her wake.

Nina was pinned to the spot by hostile glares.

Wh-What should I do? I don’t know what to do...

Clever and quick-witted as she was when it came to her work, now that she found herself cornered, all of Nina’s skills deserted her.

“Did you really think you’d get away with this?” Morning Star demanded. “You must think very little of us...and as mercenaries, we can’t have that.”

“Yeah. I think I’d better snap those sticky fingers of yours clean off.”

Nina cried out in terror as Morning Star and Pearly Cloud descended to the first floor and advanced on her.

She had to say something. She had to make them see the truth.

But her memories of Count Mirkwood’s house held her fast. She couldn’t move a muscle.

“Someone hold her down! I don’t want her thrashing about in pain!”

“Aye, sir!” Two mercenaries seized Nina from either side. She felt like her shoulders might snap under the force of their massive hands.

“Now for your punishment...” Pearly Cloud reached for Nina’s hand, when—

BOOM!

The door of the mansion flew open—well, “open” wasn’t really the right word. What it actually did was fly off its hinges into the entrance hall.

“Whoa!”

“What the?!”

The door slammed into the mercenaries who were standing in front of it, sending them sprawling. Fortuitously, this also meant that rather than hit Nina, it skidded off to one side. The maids were all screaming.

And there, amid the chaos, panting hard—

“Nina! Are you all right?”

“Tien?!”

In a split second, Tien registered the mercenaries restraining Nina.

“Are you idiots asleep on your feet?!” Pearly Cloud roared. “We’re under attack!”

“B-But sir...! That’s a lupalune!”

“A what?!”

A ripple of uncertainty swept through the room.

“Unhand...Nina...!” rasped the lupalune girl.

Then, before their eyes, she vanished.

Tien had moved so fast that no one’s eyes could follow. Suddenly, the two mercenaries restraining Nina groaned in pain.

“Oof!”

“LET HER GO!!! Get your filthy hands off her!”

Tien was holding both mercenaries by the wrists, freeing Nina from their clutches. By then, everyone had found their bearings—only to lose them again right after.

Tien—a tiny little girl—casually tossed the two burly men aside like they weighed no more than pillows. They flew through the air in graceful arcs before smashing unceremoniously into the floor. Both of them let out agonized wails.

“Are you all right, Nina?!” Tien asked urgently.

“Wh-What are you doing here?”

“You are! You are all right...” The smaller girl hugged Nina tight. Nina hadn’t realized how cold and stiff she’d become until she was wrapped up in that embrace. Tien was so small, yet so dependable.

“Now hold on just a minute!” snarled Pearly Cloud. “Forgotten where you are, have you? Don’t think I won’t kill you just ’cause you’re a lupalune!”

At his words, the mercenaries who’d been bowled over by what they’d just witnessed regained their composure.

“Y-Yeah! Surround them!”

“You ain’t gettin’ outta here, brat!”

“Call the rest of the men!”

It was two small girls against a huge crowd of fighters. But then, they weren’t mercenaries for nothing—they knew full well that they couldn’t judge Tien’s strength by her appearance.

“I’m so sorry, Tien,” Nina said. “I only wanted to help you...”

“Chi wants you not to worry about that.”

Tien watched the mercenaries that surrounded them like a hawk. But even with her incredible strength, Nina didn’t think she could beat all of them.

You could have cut the tension in the hall with a knife. Everyone was waiting to see who would make the first move.

Nina clutched Tien tight, then—

“What in the blazes is going on here?” roared a voice from above them.

The mercenary captain emerged from the third floor of the atrium. His clothes were disheveled and he slurred a little as though he were drunk. The commotion must have drawn him out—though the woman he’d brought back was nowhere to be seen.

“This maid stole my necklace,” Morning Star said. “We are ensuring that she does not escape.”

“What? That’s all?” the captain said, stomping his way down the stairs. “Then what are all those men do— Hey! Who smashed the door?!”

He stopped in his tracks, eyes bulging.

“That brat did it,” Pearly Cloud said.

The captain turned to look at Tien. “Is that...another lupalune?! A real one?!”

“That is right. Chi is not a fake like them.”

The captain looked like he’d been hit over the head. “What d’you mean, ‘fake’?”

The mercenaries, meanwhile, began to whisper excitedly.

“Wait, so that girl really is a lupalune, then?”

“You reckon she’d join us? With three lupalunes, we’d be unstoppable!”

“Shut up, you imbeciles!” Pearly Cloud shouted, then rounded on Tien. “You think you’re safe just ’cause you’re a lupalune, huh? Well, you don’t know the Dark Frost Mercenaries! We’ll teach you not to underestimate—”

“You talk too much,” Tien said, cutting him off. “Fight me already, you fake.”

Nina could tell Tien was baiting Pearly Cloud—but why did she keep calling him a fake? If Tien wanted to find her parents, she ought to try and get information from Pearly Cloud and Morning Star, and they’d never talk to her if she provoked them like this. And what did “fake” even mean?

But Nina had no time to ponder the questions whirling through her mind.

“Come on then, brat!”

“Pearly Cloud, no! She’s just a child!”

“Shut up!”

Trembling with fury, Pearly Cloud ignored Morning Star’s protests and advanced on them. Tien moved in front of Nina to face him head-on.

“I’ll send you wailing back to your mother!” With a bellow, Pearly Cloud threw his massive fist at Tien.

Nina instinctively closed her eyes—but there was no crash of impact, nor was Tien hurled across the room. All she heard was a dull thump.

“Huh...?” Nina opened her eyes a crack.

Tien had one hand in front of her, gripping Pearly Cloud’s fist.

“Wh-What the hell?!”

Pearly Cloud shook with effort, but Tien used her strength to absorb the impact of the blow. She didn’t move an inch.

“Chi would have realized straightaway had Chi come instead of Nina.”

“Huh?!”

“You are both fakes. Chi should have known. You smell all wrong.”

Pearly Cloud barely had time to look shocked before Tien spun around, locked her other hand below his elbow, and hurled him across the room instead. Pearly Cloud was a big man, but her throw sent him all the way down to the other end of the hallway. He smashed into the ground and rolled a few times.

“N-No way... Pearly Cloud?!”

“The mighty lupalune warrior...”

“She beat him?!”

For a moment, the mercenaries were gripped by shock.

“Get it together, you numbskulls!” bellowed the captain. “Right, Pearly Cloud got careless and made an ass of himself. No one is to breathe a word of this to anyone!”

The mercenaries all nodded.

“Ugh... Shame to waste a lupalune, but what can you do? Deal with those two. I want them dead! Don’t let them outta here!”

There was a roar of assent from the mercenaries. They raised their weapons.

“Nina...” Tien softly. One-on-one, she’d made short work of Pearly Cloud, but it seemed she knew she stood no chance outnumbered. “Chi will clear you a path...”

However, just as she was about to tell Nina to run, someone else emerged from the depths of the mansion.

“Look at all of you, an army of men waving swords at two little girls. And you call yourselves mercenaries?”

It was an old man. The only old man who had any business being in that house. Apparently, he had hung around after helping Nina with her altercation at the gate.

“Stay back!” Nina cried. “It’s too dangerous!”

But for some reason, the mercenaries flinched and fell silent at his words.

He chuckled. “Look at you, worrying about me even now. You really do have a heart of gold. Don’t you think, Morning Star?”

“Yes, sir... That is... No, I mean...”

Despite standing above the other mercenaries, even Morning Star seemed rattled by the sight of the old man.

Her reaction baffled Nina—just like she was with the old man himself. Gone was the kindly, unassuming grandpa she’d known. In his place stood a battle-hardened warrior—though his smile was the same as ever.

The mercenaries parted to let him pass as he strolled over to Tien and Nina.

“B-But what about our reputation?!” spluttered the captain. “If this gets out, we’ll lose our standing as the empire’s strongest, Captain!”

Had he just said “Captain?” How could that be? Nina had been told that the man living on the third floor was the captain.

“Let me explain,” said the old man. “As all the older servants and mercenaries know, the real captain of the Dark Frost Mercenaries is me. That’s my son—the acting captain.”

Nina gaped. She couldn’t find her voice, but internally, she was screaming. This man, whom she’d assumed was no more than a merchant running errands, was the master of the house?

He’s the mercenary captain?!

“I’d hoped you were ready for me to officially hand over my title... But you’re not there yet.”

“D-Dad... Captain, I mean... That’s not fair! It’s thanks to me that our mercenary company got this big!”

“Idiot. You still don’t get it, do you?”

“G-Get what?”

In response, the old man pointed to the doorway. Without the doors, it was now wide open to the outside. And outside, there stood a mage. Her staff was raised.

“Emily!” Nina cried.

“If any of you lay a finger on Nina, I’ll blast this whole damn house into a pile of dust.”

It was clear she wasn’t bluffing. The mercenaries were seasoned warriors—they could tell the difference.

Emily’s magic was already swirling around her, a vortex of power that sent her fiery red hair whipping about her face. All she had to do now was let it loose.

No one was in any doubt. This was war magic.

The mercenaries knew what spells like that could do, even against a whole army.

“Not one of you noticed the mage on our doorstep getting ready to cast war magic,” the old man said. “The capital’s strongest? You idiots are a DISGRACE!!!”

He bellowed the last word so loudly that all the magic Emily had worked so hard to gather scattered and fizzled out.

Meanwhile, the captain—or rather, the acting captain—slumped his shoulders in defeat.

In the parlor on the first floor, Nina, Tien, and Emily sat down opposite the real captain of the Dark Frost Mercenaries.

“Dear me, what a poor impression we must have made on you,” he said.

“I was awfully surprised to find out you’re the captain,” Nina said.

“I didn’t mean to hide it,” he said. “But I have to train up my successor, you know. Ah, that’s very kind of you.” He accepted the cup of tea Nina offered him with a smile.

“How do you always just pop up with a pot of tea?” Emily asked.

“Any maid would do the same.”

Emily groaned. “I mean, you do make really good tea, but still...”

“Well I’ll be!” the captain said as he took a sip. “This is good tea. The aroma and flavor are quite extraordinary.”

His look of delight contrasted rather strongly with Emily’s frown.

“In any case,” he went on, “I’d like to apologize for all the trouble we made for you young ladies.”

He bowed his head, then proceeded to tell them about the Dark Frost Mercenaries and the future of the company.

His son was, in fact, a fine warrior. He’d tapped him to be the next captain, but in peacetime, the man had turned out to be a good-for-nothing drunk who spent all his time chasing after women. The old man couldn’t bring himself to hand over the reins to such a man. Instead, hoping to encourage him to become more independent, the old man had left the mansion—all, as it turned out, for nothing.

“But maybe it’s for the best,” the old man said.

“Wait, what?! You’re gonna put your drunk son in charge of a mercenary company?”

“Emily, that’s rude!” Nina said, but the old man just chuckled.

“Your mage friend doesn’t mince words. But that wasn’t what I meant. I’m not going to make him captain.”

They looked at him in surprise.

“You mean...there’s another candidate...?”

The old man shook his head. “The job of a mercenary company is to fight wars. Some call us disposable, or nobles’ dogs... Even so, we took pride in our work. We even built this fine mansion. But there hasn’t been a major war for three years now.”

Nina remembered hearing the same thing. As the Yupiter Empire grew stronger, its enemies grew fewer. There were other large nations like the Crecente Kingdom, but such great powers didn’t want to waste resources on a massive conflict.

“That’s three years without drawing our swords, and likely many more to come. And so I wonder—maybe we’ve become unnecessary. Maybe no one needs military might any more. A very fine thing, don’t you agree?”

“I don’t understand...” Nina said. She didn’t know what else to say.

If it were a simple question of need, then yes, perhaps the mercenaries were unnecessary. But what if she were in their place? If there came a time when maids were no longer needed, would she be able to accept it as readily as the old man did? All of a sudden, she didn’t know what to think.

“Lately, I’ve been thinking that it might be best to disband while I’m still alive. Anyone who still wants to be a mercenary can go and join another company or go abroad. They could even become a regular soldier or an adventurer. But the fact is, Thundergard doesn’t need all these mercenary companies any more.”

“But Captain...”

The old man took another sip of tea. “Delicious,” he said with satisfaction. But then a bitter look came over his face. “The trouble is, my son thinks differently. He dressed up those two—Pearly Cloud and Morning Star—as lupalunes to bolster our public image.”

“Dressed up? You mean those two are really—”

“Aye, they’re just humans. Before they joined us, they were slum urchins living on scraps. They had no past, which made them easy to disguise as lupalunes. They played the role well too...” He glanced at Tien. “But not well enough to fool the real thing, eh?”

“They smell wrong,” she said, looking smug. “Chi knew straightaway.”

That reminded Nina—Pearly Cloud had been scratching his arm where his fur met his skin.

“So their fur and ears are all fake?” she asked. “Pearly Cloud seemed to have a rash on his arm.”

“Aye, all fake. We dyed their hair too.”

“Goodness... That’s incredible. I had no idea.”

“And you wouldn’t believe what the dye costs... A silly waste of money, if you ask me.”

The dye had slipped by Nina. Her duties had mostly been household chores, so she hadn’t paid much attention to their hair. She’d have to study even harder going forward.

“That said, my son was right about them. Pearly Cloud and Morning Star distinguished themselves in our last battle three years ago and got everyone’s tongues wagging about the Dark Frost Mercenaries’ lupalunes.”

As a result, people had started to come to the mansion to try and meet them—even nobles. The old man had gone directly to the empress and had the two lupalunes declared off-limits. It was pretty incredible that he’d had such a connection with the empress, but then, he had spent many years leading his mercenaries into battle for the sake of the empire.

“But me? I say that if a mercenary company can only keep its dignity through pretense, it’s better off not existing at all. We should be glad that there’s peace in the empire, and grateful to Her Imperial Majesty for bringing it about.”

Indeed, it was gladness Nina heard in the old man’s voice, not resignation or sorrow.

He really loves his country... Listening to him, Nina couldn’t help but feel happy too.

“Anyway, that’s enough about my mercenaries. What I want to know is what led to this whole kerfuffle!”

“Well, what happened is...”

Nina told him about the incident with the emerald necklace.

The allegations against Nina were cleared up in an instant.

The blue-haired maid came clean and confessed to orchestrating the whole thing. Jealous that Nina, the new girl, had been chosen to wait on Pearly Cloud and Morning Star, she’d stolen Morning Star’s treasured necklace and slipped it with Nina’s things. She figured that if she were the one to find it once Morning Star noticed it was gone, she could both win the lupalune’s regard and get Nina thrown out, killing two birds with one stone.

When she finished talking, Emily sighed.

“How dumb can you get...”

The blue-haired maid should have known that finding the stolen necklace would make her the prime suspect, but Morning Star was just as bad for swallowing her story hook, line, and sinker.

“Are you sure it’s wise to let her off?” the captain asked Nina. “That young lady tried to pin you with a crime.”

“Yeah, people usually get thrown in jail for theft,” Emily added. “And you could have been hurt!”

They’d given Nina the final say in whether to turn the blue-haired maid over to the city guard or deal with her themselves, but to the confusion of both Emily and the mercenary captain, Nina simply forgave her in the end.

“If you’re soft on people like that, they’ll just think they can get away with it again,” Emily protested.

Nina laughed sheepishly. “A-Anyway, Captain, I don’t suppose you know anything that might help us find Tien’s parents?”

That was their real goal, even if the revelation that Pearly Cloud and Morning Star were not lupalunes had made it unattainable.

As Nina had feared, the captain shook his head.

“I wish I did, but no. Lupalunes are rather distinctive with their looks and incredible strength. If there were any news to be had in Thundergard about them, I would’ve heard it... I suppose that’s why you took this job, is it? I can’t tempt you to keep working here?”

Nina shook her head. “I’m terribly sorry...”

“Ah, well. Can’t be helped. Besides, I’m not so shameless that I’d expect you to stay after the ordeal you just went through.”

“Tien, you must be disappointed too,” Nina said. “We didn’t find a single clue about your parents...”

“Hm? Chi is already over it.” Tien turned to Emily. “We should go. Now that Nina is not a maid here, there is no point in us staying any longer.”

“Huh? What’s the big hurry?”

“Indeed. Won’t you at least take a day to rest?” the captain added. “I’d like to make this up to you.”

“That is not necessary.” Tien rose abruptly, took Nina’s hand, and ushered her out of the room.

Emily sighed. “Um, I guess I’ll be going too, then.”

“Just a minute, Miss Mage. Where are you staying?”

“I can tell you, but I don’t think we’ll be sticking around long. We’re traveling around, seeing the sights, you know.”

“Ah, well. In that case, I hope you’ll remember this: If you’re ever in trouble, you can come to me. I’ll do whatever’s in my power to help.”

“Sounds good,” Emily said airily, then she followed Tien and Nina out the door. They weren’t in the corridor outside. It wasn’t until she exited the estate and started down the main street of the city that she caught up to them.

“Tien, slow down a bit!” she called out. “Why’d you hightail it out of there, anyway? If he wanted to give us a free meal, what’s the harm in that?”

“Look at Nina.”

“Huh?”

Emily turned her eyes to Nina. She was paler than usual, her lips purple.

“Nina?! What’s wrong?!”

“I-It’s nothing. You needn’t worry...”

“She would only have gotten worse had we stayed in that place.”

“What’s wrong with her?!”

“R-Really, I’m fine... I just... I remembered when I was thrown out of the Mirkwood Estate...”

Emily’s eyes went wide as she finally understood. Nina hadn’t simply felt physically threatened in the confrontation. She’d had to endure the pain of old wounds reopening. That was why she’d forgiven the blue-haired maid so quickly—she’d wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.

“Nina... I’m sorry. I was totally oblivious.”

“Don’t worry about me.”

She’d put on a brave face even as she brewed tea for everyone. Emily had underestimated how stressful the question of how to handle the other maid’s crime would be for Nina. Now that she thought about it, her tea had been cold by the time she drank it. Usually, Nina would have offered to brew her a fresh cup, but she must have been too overwhelmed by that point.

Emily wondered what to say to Nina. Something comforting? Nina definitely needed that. But they had to do something else too. Something to brighten things up. Something they could do together.

Emily pondered for a while, then said, “Hey, we can talk about it properly when Astrid gets back, but I’ve got an idea. What do you say we go kick back at that beach resort down south?”

After the girls left, the mercenary captain stared for a while at the table.

Then, he rang a little bell to summon the butler.

“You called, sir?”

“Tell me. What have you been doing?”

“P-Pardon me, sir?” The butler realized belatedly—the captain was angry.

“You sent a brand-new maid to deal with a noble’s envoy, then when everything went to hell over Morning Star’s necklace, you were nowhere to be found. Explain yourself.”

“I-I’m terribly sorry, sir. I was tied up with the accounting...”

“Were you now? Sounds like I’ll have to hire someone new.”

A look of relief spread over the butler’s face—but only for a moment.

“You’re dismissed.”

“Wh-What?!”

“I’ve got no use for a butler who doesn’t understand the importance of his duties. Now get out of my sight.”

“B-But captain, sir, I’ve served your mercenary company for year—”

“Get out, I said! Don’t make me say it again!”

Cowed by the captain’s wrath, the butler spun around and scurried from the room.

“Now to have a word with my idiot son. Time to tell him I’m disbanding the Dark Frost Mercenaries... Ah, but wait. First, there’s the matter of that maid.”

He reached for the bell again to call the housekeeper, then stopped as he remembered she wasn’t here.

“I’ll see to it as soon as she gets back,” he told himself. “Nina didn’t want her handed over to the guards. I’ll respect that. Still, as master of this house, I’ll have to fire her and report her to the employment agency at the very least.”

Even in a city as big as Thundergard, once word got back to the agency that she’d been dismissed—and for involvement in a theft, no less—a maid would never find another post. It was only proper that he do that much, and indeed, he wanted to do more. But Nina’s declaration of forgiveness had made him unsure of how to proceed.

He sighed. “I can’t believe I had to let such an exceptional maid go...”

He didn’t have any regrets about breaking up the mercenary company, but he did regret letting Nina go. He couldn’t help but wonder what might have been if he’d revealed his true identity to Nina earlier, or if he’d spent more time at the estate and noticed her suspicious behavior...

But perhaps it wouldn’t have made a difference. Nina’s sole goal had always been to investigate lupalunes.

“H-Hello, dad...”

His son entered the room along with Pearly Cloud and Morning Star, breaking through his musings. The man was over sixty, and yet he was sweating nervously and seemed to cringe as he sat down across from his father.

“Shut it, muttonhead.”

“B-But... Come on...”

“I’ll give you a talking-to later,” the captain snapped, then turned to glare at the other two. “Pearly Cloud. Morning Star.”

The two imposter lupalunes averted their eyes awkwardly.

“You haven’t forgotten what you owe the Dark Frost Mercenaries, have you? Had we not plucked you two out of that slum, like as not you’d have died there. You remember what you owe us, I trust?”

Pearly Cloud mumbled his assent. Morning Star, however, looked annoyed.

“Of course,” she shot back. “Why else would we be dyeing our hair and covering ourselves in fur for this lupalune charade? We avoided going outside to avoid blowing our cover.” She took a breath, then continued. “We took our swords and risked our lives on the battlefield, and you call us ungrateful? Go ahead! We’ll go out and make sure everyone knows the lupalunes were a lie. That’ll be the end of the glorious Dark Frost Mercenaries.”

“Whoa, Morning Star. You’re getting carried a—”

“Well, that’s convenient.” The old captain cut off Pearly Cloud’s attempts to restrain Morning Star. “I’d be much obliged if you would.”

“Wh-What are you talking about?” Morning Star was thrown but quickly recovered. “Oh, I see how it is, Captain. You think I’m all bark and no bite. Well, think again. Like you said, I started life in a slum. I’ve got nothing to—”

The captain sighed, and Morning Star instantly lost her voice. Despite putting her life on the line in battle countless times, that one sigh was enough to cow her. For in that sigh, she could hear that the captain was well and truly disappointed in her.

“I’ve decided to disband the Dark Frost Mercenaries,” he said.

Complete and utter shock met his words.

His son, the acting captain, stared at him in disbelief. It couldn’t be true. This had to be another test for him.

Pearly Cloud closed his eyes as though deep down, he’d known this was coming.

“Th-That’s crazy,” Morning Star stammered. “You shouldn’t joke about things like that, Captain.”

“Who’s joking? I’m properly furious, you know. Even after all that, I suppose you’ve still got no plans to apologize to that poor maid for the way you terrorized her?”

“You can’t be serious. It’s just one maid! After all we’ve done to keep everyone safe, if anything, she should thank us!”

“And that there is why I’m disbanding this company.”

“That doesn’t make any sense!”

“I don’t need your understanding. Not anymore.”

Morning Star’s eyes widened. “Pearly Cloud!” she shouted.

He said nothing.

“Are you going to sit here and take this?”

“It’s over, Morning Star,” he said at last.

“I won’t let this happen...” Morning Star said wildly, glaring daggers at the captain. “So long as we’re here, the Dark Frost Mercenaries are invincible!”

“Back off, B—”

But Pearly Cloud’s attempt to talk her down came too late.

As far as she was concerned, the old man was out of his mind. If he would just give up the captaincy, the Dark Frost Mercenaries could carry on.

He was just a senile old man.

He had one foot in the grave already.

Morning Star sprang over the sofa, knife in hand, and struck with terrifying speed at the old man’s throat. One sure slash, and his life would be over. A killing blow.

“Huh?”

The next thing Morning Star knew, she was spinning through the air like a top. Then she slammed into the wall.

“B— Morning Star!” Pearly Cloud shouted. He looked like he was about to move, but the captain barked, “Leave her be!” He froze where he stood.

The captain turned to his son. “You didn’t even educate them properly, you stupid lunk.”

“I-I’m sorry, dad... But Morning Star must know they called you the Axe-Wielding Harlequin here in the capital...”

“Saw me shrunken with age and thought I’d lost my touch, eh?”

“I, I guess...”

Old though he was, the captain was the one who’d built the Dark Frost Mercenaries into what they were today. No matter how many years passed, a mighty warrior was still a mighty warrior. Morning Star’s desperation must have been such that she’d forgotten.

There was a groan from the wall as she slowly pushed herself up.

“If you’d taken the news with any grace at all, I might have reconsidered,” the captain sighed. “As it is, I’ve got nothing more to say to you. The Dark Frost Mercenaries are over, and that’s final.”

The other three hung their heads as they traipsed from the room, Morning Star leaning on Pearly Cloud’s arm.

The captain let out another sigh, this time of utter exhaustion. Morning Star had been a good girl, once. She’d never had a harsh word for anyone in the house. If anything, Pearly Cloud had been the difficult one.

He knew how it went. Money, jewels, privilege—those things changed people, and they’d fight to keep hold of them. Most of the opponents he’d battled in the past had been like that. Some would stop at nothing, even sinking to open criminality.

“Maybe this is just what Morning Star needs,” he said to himself.

Although she let her emotions take over when faced with adversity, she was usually a kind person. And Pearly Cloud, despite his abrasiveness, had his heart in the right place when it really counted. They’d grown up practically as siblings. They’d be all right so long as they were there for each other.

He grimaced. “Dear me, I’ve got a lot to do...”

Disbanding a mercenary company was easier said than done. There were all sorts of people who’d have to be notified and a mountain of paperwork to file. The butler would’ve been the perfect man for the job, except that he’d just fired him. In other words, he’d have to do it all himself.

“Drat ’n’ tarnation...” he muttered. The thought of the gargantuan task ahead of him made him slip back into his old mercenary way of speaking. “But that’s the way of things, ain’t it? Gotta clean up my own damn mess...”

Realizing he was thirsty, he reached for the tea left out on the table. It had long since grown cold, but the aroma remained. He took a sip and sighed in satisfaction; the tea smoothed out his rough edges, turning him back into the old man he was.

“She did splendid work and made no mistakes. I really am sorry we had to part on such unfortunate terms. But no...” he murmured, leaning back on the sofa and beginning to doze. “I ought to be glad that I got to meet...such an excellent maid. I’d seen a maid like her only once before... Dear me... How am I going to tell the empress...that I’m disbanding...”

And with that, he fell asleep, a peaceful look on his face as though he was looking back on memories of his youth.

Chapter Three: “What Do You Get When You Mix a Beach Resort with Hot Springs?”

Travel was wonderful, Nina thought. Working at an estate was wonderful too, of course, but both could be true at the same time.

The events in the Yupiter Empire’s capital had rubbed salt in the still-unhealed wounds in her heart. The betrayal, aspersions, and refusal of anyone to believe her had caused her real pain. But the members of Maid & Co. (Nina still wanted to do something about that name) did believe her. She knew that no matter how much trouble she was in, they would help her. Knowing that she had friends who would never break her trust was a balm for the sting of betrayal.

Thanks to Emily, Astrid, and Tien, Nina had quickly got back on her feet, and now they were on their way to Côte Sud, a beach resort south of the empire.

“Look!” Emily called out from the driver’s seat. “We’re about to leave the forest!”

Nina hurried up to join her. Over Emily’s shoulder, she saw the edge of the trees, and beyond them were the brilliant blue sky, white clouds...and the glitter of sunlight on water.

She let out a sigh of amazement. This was her first ever glimpse of the ocean. Her heart fluttered as she breathed in a scent unlike anything she’d encountered before. Summer was approaching, the air was damp and earthy, and mingled in there was something fishy and almost sweet.

“So this is the ocean...”

Truly, travel was wonderful. This was a sight she’d never have seen if she’d stayed working at an estate. Her unpleasant memories from Thundergard were rapidly fading away, and it was all thanks to Emily, Astrid, and Tien, who’d brought her on this journey.

“Nina, love!” called a gruff adventurer. “Gimme another helping!”

“I’ll be right there!” Nina hurried over.

“Don’t bother with him,” Emily told her. “He can get it himself!”

“Aw, don’t be like that. The grub tastes better when Nina dishes it up.”

“I don’t care. I don’t want you taking advantage of one of my party members. Anyway, didn’t we agree to sort out our meals separately?”

“If that’s how it is, how about joining our party? What d’ya say, boys?”

There was a rumble of approval.

“How many times do I have to say this?” Emily snapped. “No thank you!”

The whole trip had been like this. The other adventuring party was here on the same job as Maid & Co. Emily, with a stroke of genius, had taken up a merchant house’s request for protection on the way to Côte Sud. This way, they didn’t need to organize a coach or pay for anything—in fact, they were getting paid.

At first the other, rougher adventurers had poked fun at them. “A bunch of kids on guard duty? Oh yeah, real scary,” they’d jeered.

But as it turned out, Tien was faster than anyone at noticing and taking down monsters, and Emily could pick off any aerial threats or monsters that Tien missed with her magic. Meanwhile, the head of the merchant house that owned the caravan had jammed it full of magical devices, and whenever anything broke down, Astrid was on hand to fix it.

Between the three of them, they left the other adventurers with nothing to do, and that wasn’t even counting Nina, who whipped up such a feast whenever they stopped to camp for the night that she had the other adventurers salivating. The head of the merchant company had brought his own cook, but even he couldn’t resist Nina’s cooking. She’d ended up cooking for all of them.

Now they kept saying the same thing:

“We’d love for you to work for our company!”

“C’mon, join our party!”

Emily’s answer was always no thank you.

“Ugggh. I was worried about this,” Emily muttered. She, Astrid, and Tien sat around their party’s campfire. They’d stopped for the night on a hill overlooking the ocean. Nina, meanwhile, was hard at work serving dinner.

“Oh, come on, Emily,” Astrid said. “You knew she’d had an offer from a merchant before.”

The offer in question had come from Firth of the Vick Merchant House, with whom they now held a strong bond after running into him again in the Werther Duchy.

Emily groaned. “This is such a big caravan that I thought we could stay incognito.”

“Well that was silly. Nina can’t help but stand out.”

“Hey! What about you, huh? If you go bibbidi-bobbidi-boo fixing magic items, people are gonna notice!”

“The malfunction was causing the caravan to overheat. It was going to catch fire. I would’ve left it otherwise.”

“Hmph...”

“You are both too careless,” Tien declared, causing them both to round on her.

“You stand out the most of all of us!” Emily retorted.

“Yeah, you’re one to talk,” Astrid agreed.

That day, Tien had gone hunting. Her catch wasn’t a monster, just a wild boar, but the creature had been so fat that there was more than enough meat on it to feed the fifty or so members of the caravan. After that, Nina worked her magic to serve up wild boar stew for dinner.

Boar meat was usually especially gamey in summer, but she eliminated this through clever use of herbs. Despite the season, it was chilly after the sun set, making the warm stew extra delicious. The merchants and other adventurers had also agreed to pay for their meals on top of the fee for the protection job, so their purses were comfortably heavy.

“Well, either way...” Emily said. “I reckon we should stop taking protection jobs after this.”

“Probably for the best,” Astrid agreed.

“Chi thinks so too.”

They concluded their emergency meeting by updating their name to the Keep-Nina-from-Getting-into-Trouble-and-Also-Watch-Out-Ourselves Alliance.

Côte Sud was famous for its signature white sand beaches that extended fifteen kilometers from east to west. Steep mountains loomed just back from the coast, leaving only a narrow strip of land fit for habitation. What little space there was, however, was jam-packed with enormous hotels. This was, after all, one of the Yupiter Empire’s top resort destinations.

Among them were five particularly grand establishments. The exterior of each was a different color—red, blue, green, black, and gold. The gold one was the newest and most magnificent, bedecked in gold leaves that on their own would have cost a king’s ransom to replace. The glitter of its gilded walls was visible for miles around, securing the hotel’s reputation as the premier holiday destination for nobles and wealthy merchants who saw opulence as a virtue and set apart a great store by how much they could stand out.

Surrounding all this luxury were trees of a kind Nina hadn’t seen before.

“Whatever might those be?” she wondered aloud.

“Oh, those are palm trees. You get coconut juice and oil from them.”

“Can you really?” Nina gasped. “You’re so knowledgeable, Emily!”

“’Snothing,” Emily mumbled. She didn’t usually blush at direct praise, but she could hardly admit that she’d seen the same trees in a different world.

“All right, everyone!” called the merchant who’d employed them. “That concludes your protection duties!”

The adventurers all palpably relaxed. Even with easy jobs, this moment was always a relief.

“And if any of your purses are feeling extra full, we’d welcome your patronage at our hotel,” the merchant added, unable to resist a little self-promotion.

“That’d better come with a discount!” one of the adventurers called back.

“Of course. As a special favor, we’ll knock off...ten percent!”

“Gee, how generous!” The adventurer rolled his eyes, drawing a big laugh from the crowd. Everyone felt able to joke around now that they were safe in Côte Sud, the immediate dangers behind them.

The leader of each of the parties went up to get the head of the merchant company to sign off on their job. When Emily’s turn came, he said brightly, “You and the rest of Maid & Co. are welcome to stay for half price. We’d love to have you!”

A man with a round face and a goatee, he had treated all the adventurers with equal courtesy throughout the journey. It had made Emily think he was trustworthy, but now, she wasn’t so sure.

“Half price? Sounds like there’s a catch.”

The man laughed sheepishly. “Well, I hold out hope that our hot spring hotel might convince you to sign an exclusive contract...”

“Not gonna happen,” Emily told him. “We’ll be leaving the empire eventually.”

“That’s a pity.”

“Still, we’ll drop by if anything comes up.”

“I look forward to it,” the man said, his smile never faltering as he took Emily’s job form and signed his name: “Mals Mojito.”

Even his name is round, she thought.

After making their farewells, Astrid went to the tourist information center and was given three recommendations for lodgings. The first was expensive but clean, the second moderately priced but safe, and the third was cheap but a little dodgy. Incidentally, the hotel operated by the Mojito Merchant House was far more expensive than even the first of Astrid’s options. They clearly catered to a more well-to-do kind of customer, because even at half price, the nightly rate was still pretty steep. That glittering gold hotel must charge even more...

In any case, it was only just past noon, so they decided to go take a look at each of their options. However you looked at it, the first was a risk-free option, though the rooms were a little small for the price. The second was unexpectedly nice. Meals weren’t included, but Nina could take care of that, and it’d be fun to go shopping around the resort town.

“Now for number three...”

It was entertaining just going around the different inns. The view of the ocean was blocked by the line of bigger hotels, but in the gaps between them they caught glimpses of sunlight and dazzling white sand.

Before anyone could stop her, Emily took off, running and leaping down to the sand.

“Time to hit the beach!” she hollered, holding on to her hat to keep the wind from blowing it off.

The beach was divided up into several sections. There were wealthy families with servants in tow amusing themselves, and children splashing about in the surf. Their pale complexions suggested that they weren’t locals. They all gave each other a wide berth, which kept the beach from feeling crowded. The sun was scorching, but there was a wonderfully cool breeze.

“Ahhh, that hits the spot,” Emily sighed.

“What’d you go running off like that for?” Astrid said as they caught up.

“The ocean is so vast...” Nina murmured.

“Chi has never seen it before either.”

Nina and Tien drank in the new sights.

“Guys, guys!” Emily said suddenly. “We can’t have a beach holiday dressed like this! Let’s go get new clothes!”

And so the four of them set off for the shops. There were plenty of stores catering to everyday customers, not just the guests at the luxury hotels.

“Come on in! And where have you young ladies come from? You won’t find dyed garments like these in the capital—”

“—seashells for souvenirs? This color is unique to Côte Sud—”

“—try our juice! You haven’t had the real resort experience until you’ve wandered around with a coconut in one hand—”

Nina’s eyes sparkled as she looked at different wares. It was all so new and fresh.

“Nina, here.”

“Oh!” Nina accepted a carved-out coconut full of fruit juice from Emily.

“You’ve never gone shopping for yourself in this sort of place, right?” Emily said. “Y’know, splurging on snacks, that kind of thing.”

“I... Erm...”

“C’mon, don’t hold back. We’re at a resort! The whole point of this place is indulging yourself!”

Astrid couldn’t help but chime in. “Mm, but there’s such a thing as too much indulgence. That outfit, for example.”

Emily wore a red aloha shirt, linen shorts, and sandals, to which she’d added a necklace of bright blue beads and a colorful flower crown. It was anyone’s guess how she’d thrown the ensemble together so quickly.

“You’re getting a bit carried away,” Astrid told her.

“What’s wrong with enjoying myself at a resort, huh?”

“I mean okay, point taken. But maybe wait until we’ve found an inn and dropped off our things...”

“I understand, Astrid. I understand,” Emily said. “You feel left out!”

“What? No! Don’t act like you know what I’m thinking!”

“Ta-daaa! I bought this shirt just for you!”

“Ugh, did you pick that? That yellow is blinding.”

Tien, who’d been watching from the sidelines, said, “Emily does not have good taste.”

“Don’t think I forgot you, Tien! Ta-daaa!”

Emily thrust a shirt into Tien’s hands.

“Ch-Chi does not want this!”

“Your shirt’s sky blue!”

“Best to give up now, Tien,” Astrid said over her shoulder.

“A-Astrid?! When did you get behind Chi?!”

“Once Emily sets her mind on something, there’s no reasoning with her. Just let her see you wear it. That should satisfy her.”

The two of them changed into their aloha shirts. As Astrid had expected, Emily nodded happily. She had all her colors now—red, blue, and yellow.

“Oh my, you all look lovely!” Nina said, her eyes bright.

“You must have something for Nina too,” Tien said to Emily.

“She bought me this juice!” Nina said quickly. “It was delicious!”

“You are probably worried about falling victim to Emily’s fashion sense, but it is not fair that you only get juice.”

“N-Not at all! It really was very tasty!”

“This is for you, Nina.” Emily held out a light undershirt and a bottle of coconut oil. “I mean, I know I’m never gonna get you to change out of that maid uniform.”

Nina laughed sheepishly. “Well, I am a maid. But Emily, I can’t accept all this.”

“Sure you can! If you’re not going to change your outfit, you can at least wear something underneath that breathes. Everyone who’s got to wear heavy uniforms in Côte Sud swears by these undershirts from what I hear. And as for the coconut oil—you looked like you wanted it.”

“Emily...” Nina was touched by this thoughtfulness. She accepted both the shirt and the coconut oil and hugged them tight.

“Just so we’re clear,” Astrid said drily, “the only thing Emily paid for was the juice. I bought the shirt, and Tien bought the coconut oil.”

“Thank you... Thank you! I’ll treasure them forever!”

“Wait, didn’t you already finish the juice?”

“Plus shirts are made to be used and worn out.”

“Chi cannot wait for you to cook with the coconut oil.”

“Very true!” Nina said, nodding so seriously that the other three burst out laughing.

“Anyway,” Astrid said, “I think we’d better start thinking seriously about where we’re going to stay.”

The main street that ran along the coast was full of people, but there were no street stalls; only high-end boutiques which faced the hotels. The street stalls and eateries were concentrated a few streets back from the beach.

They had their eye on the third and final of the recommended inns, but as they made their way there, a very different side of the town came into view.

“I didn’t know there were streets like this here...” Nina murmured. As they went along, they met fewer and fewer people. There were hardly any tourists, and the buildings were low and dingy. Girls and boys in grubby clothes stared at them intently from alleyways.

Just then, a man in a loud shirt appeared before them, holding up an odd necklace.

“Well hello there, girls! Where might you be from? Here, I’ve got souvenirs that’ll blow your socks off.”

He was visibly disheveled and had the look of a gangster—nothing like the hawkers on the previous street.

“This can be yours for just one silver.” They saw the glint of a blade in his hand. “I’d think twice before saying no if I were— OWWW!”

Tien twisted his arm around then flung him down the street like a rag doll. There was no sign of any accomplices coming to his aid.

“Tien! Are you all right?!” Nina cried.

“She’s fine,” Emily reassured her. “You’ve gotta show thugs like that who’s boss or more will just come sniffing around.”

Emily’s words proved true—once everyone saw that Nina and the others, far from easy marks, were dangerous in their own right, no one bothered them. Something seemed to be bothering Nina, however. She kept glancing around and didn’t say a word.

Their destination was the Sable Fin Inn, a two-story wooden building. The doors rattled on their hinges and wind probably whistled through all the gaps.

“Uh-uh, I don’t think so,” Emily said.

“Let’s at least take a look inside before we make our decision,” Astrid suggested. “This place is closest to the beach, and I heard there are hot springs nearby too.”

“Ugggh...” Emily looked agonized.

The truth was, that was the main reason Emily had wanted to come to Côte Sud. The Yupiter Empire was vast, and this was just one of its many beach resorts. There were even some close to the capital, though they were too cold to swim at. The reason they’d spent days on the road to get to Côte Sud in particular was because of the hot springs.

When they’d been deciding where to go, Emily had been ready with a suggestion.

“We’ve got a beach resort... We’ve got hot springs...”

No one commented on her odd tone.

“And what do you get when you mix ’em together? Paradise, that’s what!”

The others had met her with silence. In all honesty, they didn’t know what she was on about. But they could tell she really liked hot springs for some reason, so they agreed that Côte Sud seemed fine.

It wasn’t just hot springs Emily loved—it was baths. No home in Japan was complete without a bathtub, but that wasn’t the case in this world. People wiped themselves down and went swimming in summer, but Emily was yet to have a good soak in a tub of hot water. Astrid was crazy about saunas, but that wasn’t remotely the same thing as a bath.

From what she heard, only the very wealthy had tubs in their homes. It was rank class—no, bath inequality! The Mojito Merchant House’s hotel, incidentally, had its own hot spring on-site. None of the three inns Nina and the others were considering even had a bathtub.

“A hot spring...nearby...” Emily gritted out. “There’s nothing better...!”

“No need to grind your teeth,” Astrid told her. “Mind you, it’s just a public bath. Anyone can use it if they pay.”

“Talk about a miscalculation... I just assumed all the inns would have hot springs you could dip into any time... This was a giant mistake...”

“What sort of fantasies did you have about hot springs anyway?” Astrid asked.

But before Emily could answer, they were interrupted.

“What’re you lot doing lollygagging in front of my inn? Either come in or clear off!”

The landlady, a woman with impressive biceps, emerged from the front door.

“We’d like to come in!” Nina said at once.

“Huh? Wait, really?” The landlady looked taken aback.

“Yes, please. Do you have any rooms available? We’ll be staying a few nights—though I’m afraid I don’t know how many yet.”

“Nina, what’re you doing?” Emily hissed.

Nina bowed to her and said, “I’d like to stay here.”

It occurred to Emily in that moment that there was more to Nina’s decision than met the eye.

“I mean... I guess,” she said reluctantly. “It is close to the hot springs...”

They went inside. Immediately before them was the reception desk, with a staircase beside it leading up to the second floor. Beyond the stairs was a hallway with the first-floor guest rooms.

The landlady told them that she was usually to be found in her house out the back of the inn. The bell at the desk would reach her there.

They took two twin rooms on the second floor: one for Nina and Tien and one for Astrid and Emily, just like always.

Once they were settled, Emily came over to Nina and Tien’s room.

“Right. Why did you want to stay at this inn?” she asked.

Nina hesitated for a moment. “The main street was so bright and clean, but the moment we turned down one of the back streets, it was no different from the slums in the capital. That didn’t seem right to me and, well, perhaps it’s presumptuous of me, but I wondered if there might be some way I can help...”

Honestly, Emily had expected Nina to say something like this. But much as she wanted to help Nina achieve whatever she set her mind on, she had no idea what they could do. There was a gaping chasm between the lives of the privileged classes of nobility and royalty and the people who lived in slums, and Emily, having come from Japan, could tell that in this world that disparity was inescapable. Côte Sud was a microcosm of imperial society, laying bare its inequality in the space of a few streets.

“You don’t think it’s a good idea?” Nina asked.

“Well, y’know...” Emily sighed. “Look, if that’s what you want to do, I’m here to help.”

Nina’s face brightened at once, and she threw her arms around Emily. “Thank you!”

“N-Nina, gerroff... It’s too hot for this.”

“She looks pretty pleased if you ask me,” Astrid commented.

“No one asked you!”

Astrid laughed, then said more seriously, “I do understand Emily’s doubts, though. Our power to change things is limited. Do you have any ideas about where you want to begin?”

“I do,” Nina said. “You mentioned a public bath before, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, it’s about a ten-minute walk away.”

“I think we should go and spruce it up.”

Nina’s first priority was improving the sanitary conditions.

Astrid made a thoughtful noise. “But even if we do, places like that cost money to run. You can’t make it free.”

“Hot springs use magical devices, don’t they...?”

“Ah, I see where you’re going with this. I could fine-tune their magical devices to cut down their rate of catalyst consumption and lower their operating costs, then we use that as a bargaining chip to get them to lower the entrance fee. You’ve thought this through. Public baths exist to serve the general populace, so making them cheaper would help to achieve your goal...”

“Yes, that’s exactly it!” Nina said excitedly. “You’re amazing, Astrid—you practically read my mind. Only, well... I hate to put this all on you...”

“Don’t worry about it. Tinkering with the magic devices for a hot spring facility might even give me some ideas for my own inventions.”

“Then I’ll make sure everything’s spick-and-span!” Nina said.

“Chi will move furniture to make it easier to clean.”

“Thank you, Tien!”

Nina looked more and more excited as the conversation went on.

Emily, however, was frowning.

“There’s nothing for me to do,” she muttered. She couldn’t see any way magic could be useful here.

They left the inn and headed for the public bath. Nina glanced this way and that as they walked, probably thinking of ways she could improve life in the slum.

And here I thought we were here to relax... Emily thought glumly.

“You look like you wish you were kicking back on the beach,” Astrid remarked.

“Well yeah, duh. And stop reading into my expressions, would you?”

“This isn’t so bad, is it? Look how much Nina’s perked up.”

It was true. The shadow that had lurked in Nina’s eyes since they left Thundergard had cleared away. Now that she’d found something she wanted to do, the best course was to let her do it.

“She’s a workaholic,” Emily muttered.

“You could say that,” Astrid agreed. “I do worry... The problems of slums are so complicated and entangled that I don’t know if Nina’s efforts alone will be enough to find a solution. Still, I’ll do whatever I can to help her.”

“Look at that, our inventor’s all fired up.”

“I mean, I was as good as useless back in Thundergard.”

When hell broke loose back at the mercenary mansion, Astrid had been the only one absent, having been away on a job for the inventors’ society. Her work had paid for their travel and lodging costs, but all the same, Emily could tell it bothered her that she hadn’t been there.

“You shouldn’t get hung up on that,” Emily told her.

“Oh really? Then I suppose you won’t mind gritting your teeth and putting up with being useless this time around.”

“Gah...” Astrid was right. Emily couldn’t think of any way she could help with the public bath.

“Nina,” Tien said suddenly. “That building smells strange.”

She pointed ahead of them at a wooden, single-story building that was even older and more run-down than the Sable Fin Inn. They were far enough from the beach here that the smell of the ocean was overpowered by a rotten stench. It had to be awful for Tien with her keen nose.

“Huh? According to the map, that’s the public bath...” Astrid said.

“Seriously? But there’s no one there. Are you sure that’s it?”

“Seems so.”

They approached the building only to find its double doors shut fast and a sign that read CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. There was no one else on the street. It felt like a ghost town.

Tien, who was pinching her nose, said nasally, “There is someone inside.”

Her ears twitched. She must have heard something.

“Let’s go in,” Nina said. “Hello? Is anyone there?”

She pushed the door open, letting in a ray of light that illuminated a cozy entranceway and a reception desk with no one behind it. To the left was a sign that said WOMEN and on the right a sign that read MEN. There was also a shelf for bathers to leave their shoes. It was old and battered, but otherwise spotless.

“I wonder what ‘closed until further notice’ means,” Nina wondered aloud.

Just then, they heard footsteps.

“My, my. And who might you be then?” An old woman appeared, her back hunched. “Tourists, are you? I’m afraid we’re closed for business...”

“When are you opening again?!” Emily demanded. She was, after all, the most invested in finding a hot spring—but then, none of the others had experienced them before.

“I wish I knew...” said the old woman. “It’s been two years and two months since the hot water stopped flowing.”

“NOOOO!!!” Emily cried, dropping to her knees.

“Whoa. You can’t be that disappointed,” Astrid said, alarmed.

“Are you the manager of this facility, ma’am?” Nina asked.

“I am. I keep it clean just in case the spring comes back to life again. But after two years, well... It may be a lost cause.”

“You don’t have any idea what happened?” Astrid asked. “A malfunction with the magical pump or something?”

A problem like that was something she could fix. But the old woman shook her head.

“We called in an inventor to take a look, but they said that wasn’t it.”

“I know it’s a lot to ask, but would you mind if I took a look at it?” Astrid asked. “I’m an inventor myself.” She produced her inventor credentials from the Freja Kingdom.

The old woman hesitated. “That’s very kind of you, but I’m afraid I’ve nothing to pay you with.”

“Oh, I don’t need any payment. We—well, mostly my friend here—just really, really wanted a soak in a hot spring. We’d be happy with a free bath after it’s fixed.”

“That’s certainly no trouble. It’s only a copper to use the bath in any case.”

Nina blinked in surprise. These days, there was almost nothing you could buy for a single copper. Even the cheapest meat skewer at a street stall would cost five coppers at least.

She couldn’t help but cast her eyes around the entrance. It was as old and run-down as the building itself. There was no way the old woman could afford to maintain the place charging only one copper coin, but despite the wear and tear of age, everything else was neat and orderly.

That old lady must be taking care of it, Nina realized.

As a maid, she could tell from a room not only how skilled the person who cleaned it was, but the attitude with which they approached their work. Since the hot spring stopped flowing, the old woman’s gentle and caring hands had tended to this bathhouse every day without a break for the whole of the two years and two months. Nina could feel her warmth.

She and the others took off their shoes in the entrance then followed the old woman down the wooden hallway. Taking off one’s shoes was a rarity in this world—presumably this place just had the rule because it was a bathhouse. It did seem a little odd when Emily slipped her own shoes off without a second’s hesitation.

As they headed for the bath, the old woman explained that although the bathhouse was a public facility, they didn’t receive any funding from the governing lord—which, because Côte Sud was one of the empire’s premier resort towns, was the imperial family itself. The local magistrate had no interest in the place beyond how much he could raise his tax revenue, but when she only charged one copper for entry, there was nothing left over to pay taxes with.

The bathhouse had been around for such a long time that they had permission to continue to draw water from the hot springs, but otherwise, they’d more or less been abandoned.

“People came to bathe here every day back when the water was still flowing...” the old woman said with a wistful smile. “It was so full of life and energy. But no water means no people...”

She gazed ahead of them into a large room. All the windows were shut so no light came in, but it appeared to be a hall of some sort. Nina and the others only saw an empty room, but perhaps the old woman could still see it as it was in the old days, bustling with people.

“I suppose there’s no reason for me to be here anymore...” she said. “That’s a sad thought. For us women, this was a place to share gossip. There’s no secrets when you’re all naked in the bath together. And the men always said the bath was a place where anyone could get along. They’d come here to make up after they got into fights then moan about how the hot water stung their scratches... Ah, here we are.”

The door to the bath was ajar. And the bath itself...was outside.

There was a stone path that was comfortable to walk on even barefoot and what seemed to be an area to wash off complete with a drainage channel. The area was hidden from view by tall walls and trees that kept it concealed even from the resort hotels in the distance. Farther back, they came to the bath itself.

It was far, far larger than Nina had imagined, and dotted with artfully arranged rocks. The worn and rounded edges were a testament to its many years of use. It was, of course, empty. Astrid went to inspect the magical pump, but she returned with a frown.

There was nothing wrong with it.

“I guess the hot spring dried up, then...” Emily said as soon as they stepped out of the bathhouse. It was the most likely possibility.

The old woman had apologized repeatedly to them as though any of it were her fault. She must have wanted the hot spring to come back to life more than anyone. Emily couldn’t bring herself to say to the old woman’s face that it must have dried up for good.

“Well, the only thing we know for sure is that there’s nothing wrong with the magical devices—though there’s obviously room for improvement. But my field of expertise is magical items, not hot springs...”

“If anything, Emily seems to know the most,” Nina piped up.

With a start, Emily realized she was right. She wasn’t an expert by any means, but she’d picked up a fair bit of knowledge about hot springs by growing up in Japan.

“I guess I am the most familiar with them of all of us.”

“The bad smell is coming from the hot spring,” Tien said. She was still pinching her nose against the stink of rotten eggs that hung in the air.

Astrid made a thoughtful noise. “It’s just the smell, so perhaps it’s coming from the intake pipe. But why would that be, Emily?”

“Um, hold on. Let me think.” Emily held up a hand and muttered under her breath for a while. Then she looked up at the other three and, with uncharacteristic uncertainty, said, “It’s possible—I mean, I don’t know for sure, but I think I’m right—that the hot spring hasn’t dried entirely.”

“What do you mean?” Astrid asked.

“Okay, so a hot spring is basically geothermically heated water bubbling up from underground. If the crust shifts, that can mess things up and make the spring dry up. It’s been... She said just over two years, right? But there weren’t any earthquakes around then, were there?”

“Earthquakes...?”

“Y’know, when the ground shakes.”

“Not that I’ve heard of.”

Emily didn’t know if it was just the region or if earthquakes were rare on this planet, but either way, if one did occur, it would be a major enough event for news of it to reach neighboring countries.

“In that case...maybe they drew too much water? If they used more water than seeps back into the ground, then over time, the hot springs would naturally dry up.”

“But then wouldn’t the baths at the luxury hotels have dried up too?” Nina asked.

“Yes! You’re right!” Emily blurted out. “The head of the Mojito Merchant House, the one we were protecting—he said his hotel was complete with hot springs! He wouldn’t say that if the spring had dried up!”

“So could it be that just this spring dried up while the one the luxury hotels use is still flowing?” Astrid said.

“That’s impossible. They’re too close together—they must be drawing from the same source.”

“Hmm...” Astrid mused. “Maybe the intake for the public bath is clogged. Though as far as I could see, there was no blockage or anything.”

Emily fell silent, thinking hard.

“I need some time to work this out,” she said at last. “I feel like I’ve almost got it. Sorry, do you mind if I go back to the inn?”

“No, of course not,” Astrid said.

Muttering under her breath, Emily walked away.

“Huh... Emily’s taking this really seriously. Do you think hot springs are really all that?”

“It seems to Chi that she is very deeply attached to them.”

“They must be tied to some memory for her, don’t you think?” Nina suggested.

“That could be it,” Astrid agreed. “But anyway, what are we going to do now? It doesn’t feel right to leave Emily and go stroll around the town.”

“True...” Nina cast her eyes around them, then said, “There might be something else we can do to help.”

A boy and a girl covered in grime peered out of the mouth of an alley. They looked around ten years old, but they were skinny and their clothes didn’t fit properly. They were also barefoot. Recognizing Nina and the others as outsiders, they stared—not with the intensity of surveillance, but with equal parts curiosity and wariness.

Nina made a beeline for them.

“Hello!” she said. Both of them answered with looks of open suspicion.

“We’ve just arrived here. Do you think you could tell us some things? I can give you a little pocket money for your trouble.”

She jingled the copper coins in her pocket, and the children’s eyes lit up.

“Or I have bread, if you’d prefer.” She lifted the lid of the basket over her arm to reveal it was full of freshly baked loaves—she’d borrowed the oven at the Sable Fin Inn earlier.

“What sorta things d’ya wanna know? And hey, ain’t you the ones who tossed that feller down the street before?”

Had he seen Tien fling that crook earlier, or had the rumor already spread?

The boy was still dubious, but his eyes never left the coins and the bread. He looked like he was weighing the risk of trusting strangers against his need to eat.

“What sort of things do you usually eat?” Nina asked.

“Huh?” The boy sounded nonplussed. “Why d’ya wanna know?”

“To me, it’s of the utmost importance. Here, there’s a copper for each of you if you tell me.”

Nina wanted to understand the current scale of this slum and the kinds of lives the people here lead. The only way to find clues as to what she could improve was to talk to the people themselves.

The boy and girl looked at each other.

“We want the bread.”

Nina smiled and said, “You’re welcome to it.”

Then, she listened as they told her how they spent their days, how they earned money, and what their families were like. When they were done, she handed over the bread. They tore into it with so much enthusiasm that they nearly choked, so she gave them some water too. Each roll was the size of both Nina’s fists together, and between the two of them, they devoured five.

“Thank you very much,” Nina said. “You’ve taught me a lot. Now, I’d like to ask you a favor. Could you come back here tomorrow morning? I’ll have more bread—or coins—for you.”

“Um... Can we bring our mates too, miss? They’re all hungry too.”

Apart from the five rolls they’d eaten, the boy and girl had also saved three. They probably planned to share them with their friends.

“Of course,” Nina said. “Bring as many as you like.”

“Thanks, miss!” Beaming, the two children scurried away down the alley.

Once they were gone, Nina’s brow furrowed slightly as she thought over what they’d told her.

Conditions in the slum were far worse than she’d expected.

Jobs were next to nonexistent. In the capital, even slum kids could find odd jobs doing errands or carrying packages, but in a small town like Côte Sud, the only jobs were in tourism—not an industry that had any work to offer children.

To make matters worse, they were all orphans.

They’d all been abandoned by parents who had no other choice. Perhaps it was a final act of kindness, leaving them in a place like this. The south was warm at least, unlike the north, where they’d have frozen to death. Staying alive was easier here than in lands with snowy winters. Here, there was food, so while they were hungry, they could survive.

The forest offered up many gifts that the children ate. They sought out wild tubers that were edible when cooked, even if they were chewy and tasted like mud, and dark purple berries with juice that left stubborn stains on their hands. Although intensely sour, they had just a hint of sweetness.

There were also the rocks out beyond the sandy beach that were swallowed up by the ocean at high tide. When the waves receded, they left small fish and little octopuses that were easy for children to catch, roast, and eat.

So, there was food, just not enough to fill them up. They had nothing else. They couldn’t keep themselves clean, and had no hope at all of getting an education.

“Nina, it is almost dark,” Tien said.

She looked up and realized that night had all but fallen around them. They went back to the beach where a few people strolled along the sand. They were clean and well-dressed—nothing like the children from earlier.

“How about we go get Emily and find something to eat?” Astrid suggested.

“All right...”

The only light that remained was a faint vermilion glow on the western horizon. Beneath the deep blue of the sky, the ocean sank into darkness, and even the white sand looked blue. Despite the refreshing breeze, Nina’s heart was heavy.

As they made their way back to the Sable Fin Inn, they ran into Emily coming the other way.

“What are you doing walking the streets on your own?” Astrid asked.

“Gathering information. There was something I wanted to check. But listen to this—I worked out something big.”

“What sort of thing?”

“The reason the hot spring dried up. I think...it’s that.”

She pointed up at one of the luxury resorts, taller than all the others, its walls still gleaming in the last of the day’s light.

It was the golden hotel.

The next day, Emily and Astrid went back to the public bathhouse while Nina and Tien went to meet the orphans.

“We can get the hot spring flowing again without any hassle for anyone if you’re right...”

“I’m counting on you to pull it off!”

Astrid sighed. “I’m a magical inventor, not a civil engineer...”

The old woman at the bathhouse was surprised to see the two of them again, but only too happy to oblige their request to see the magical pump one more time. Without any customers, she was probably just happy to have visitors.

“I’ll make some tea,” she said, bustling off.

Astrid took advantage of her absence to take a closer look not at the magical pump, but the source of the spring. A pipe led away to exposed rock, stained white by the minerals from the hot spring and rent with a crack from which wafted a foul smell.

“If the hot spring does come back, this definitely needs cleaning,” Emily said, wrinkling her nose. Astrid, meanwhile, wrapped a scarf over her nose and mouth. It was horribly uncomfortable in the scorching heat, but the smell was worse.

There was a rusted iron pipe embedded in the crack. It was a simple system—the pipe sucked up the hot water.

“Hmm... Looks like this extends about ten meters down,” Astrid said.

“Can you make it work better? Once we extend it deeper, it’ll need to pump harder, right?”

“It’s possible, of course. But it won’t be cheap. We don’t even know if we can find a blacksmith to do the job in the first place. This is a beach resort, after all.”

Emily made a smug noise. “I’m waaay ahead of you. I knew it was the right move to ask around yesterday. I talked to a local blacksmith who said if it got this hot spring flowing again, he’d do it for free! All we have to pay for are materials!”

Astrid blinked in surprise. “When did you get so organized? I don’t know... Maybe this is just me, but I’m doubtful that extending the pipe will get the water flowing again.”

“It will. Or rather, it’ll reach the water again,” Emily said, then qualified, “Well, probably.”

“Hmm... You’re confident in your theory that the hotel covered in those tacky gold leaves drained the hot spring dry?”

“Yeah, I am.”

The previous night, the four of them had dined out at a small tavern. They’d ordered a dish of fish caught in the ocean, deep fried in coconut oil, and served on a spectacular platter smothered in a fruity sauce. That alone had filled them up. Not only the juice, but even the iced tea had a fruity note to it—a fresh reminder that they really were at a beach resort far, far away from the capital.

After they’d eaten, Emily told them what she’d found out. The glittering, luxury hotel had gone up two years and two months ago. One of its selling points was its hot spring bath, the water of which was the same as the public bathhouse. And its bath was still fully operational.

“Given that the public bath dried up at the same time the hotel was built, it seems reasonable to assume that the hotel is stealing their water. I mean, that’s the only explanation.”

There was no other logical reason that only the public bath should have lost its water supply. The hotel had to be drawing so much that the water level at the source had dropped below what the public bathhouse’s pipe could reach.

Asking around, Emily discovered that she wasn’t the only one to reach this conclusion. The locals who’d used the bathhouse had tried to make inquiries, but the hotel had responded with violence and demands that they stop making false accusations. Word had it that the hotel had ties to some count over in the capital, so the locals had had no choice but to give up on the public bathhouse.

After they examined the pipe, Emily told Astrid, “Once we try pumping up water from deeper down, we’ll know whether I’m right or not. C’mon, let’s go.”

And with that, they left the bathhouse.

Meanwhile, Nina and Tien arrived at the spot where they’d met the boy and girl the day before.

“My goodness... I wonder if I made enough bread.”

“Chi has lots of copper coins.”

About twenty children were waiting for them.

The boy, his wariness from the previous day gone, came right up to them.

“Hi, miss, we brought our mates,” he said. The other children were all around his age or a little younger. It seemed he was a sort of leader for them.

He introduced himself as Panther. “I ain’t got no mom or dad, so I named myself.”

It turned out that all of them had either chosen their own names or named each other. Their choices were straightforward, like a pair of twins who went by Leaf and Coconut. They had a spot a little way inside the forest where they’d built a shack out of scraps of wood to sleep in. In the past, the locals had helped them out, giving them hand-me-downs and other bits and pieces.

“But those folks are all gone now. We never even see ’em no more.”

“Where did they go?”

“Dunno.”

The children were too busy staying alive to wonder about the people in town.

Something fundamental needed to change here, Nina thought to herself.

“Hey, do I get bread for telling you all that?” Panther said.

“I can tell you stuff too!” said another child.

“Me too!”

“And me!”

They crowded excitedly around Nina, who nearly fell over as they tugged at her basket. “Agh! H-Hold on a moment...”

Tien stepped in swiftly to steady her and took charge of the basket.

“No bread for naughty children,” she said.

“Sh-She’s the girl that tossed that gent down the street yesterday!” said one of the children. At this, they scattered again.

“Oh dear...” Nina sighed.

“Chi is sorry.”

“N-No, don’t be! It isn’t your fault. I just underestimated how forceful they would be.”

Panther, the girl from the previous day, and one more of the children had stayed when the others fled.

“Don’t worry, they’ll be back soon enough,” Panther said. “They’re hungry after all. Anyway, what d’ya want us to do?”

Nina considered this question. The easy thing would be to give them the bread. But what about after she and her friends were gone? The roots of their troubles went deeper than she’d imagined. Could she really do anything for them...?

Just then, her eyes met Tien’s, and she started as realization hit her.

Of course! I don’t have to take it all on my own.

She had Tien, and Emily and Astrid too. The four of them could work together. And she knew just where to begin.

“First things first, I’d like to see where you live,” she said. “Once I’ve cleaned it up, all of you—and your clothes—will get a wash too!”

There wasn’t a trace of doubt left in her eyes. Nina was a maid, so that was how she was going to help them.

“What’s that? A long iron pipe? Just how long are we talking here?”

“Ten meters. At a minimum. And it needs to be durable enough to be exposed to water for years on end without getting holes in it.”

“That’s a tall order...” The blacksmith folded his arms and frowned.

As a resort town, Côte Sud didn’t have many local residents, but they did exist. There was, however, but one blacksmith in the town. If the large hotels needed materials, they had them shipped over from the capital instead.

The blacksmith was built like a beer barrel and sported a bushy beard and a mane of hair that the bandana wrapped around his head couldn’t fully subdue. Emily had seen his kind several times before, but this was her first time speaking to a dwarf.

“Hmm... Ah well, I’ll make it work. I’ve got a few pipes about three meters long lying around. I can probably weld ’em together.”

“That sounds perfect,” said Astrid. “In that case, do you think you could set them up like...”

She and the dwarf launched into a discussion about the design. Astrid had come up with a leak-proof way to join up the pipes using the bare minimum of connections needed to extend the length. The welding would be simple enough, but as they didn’t know how many meters they needed to go, they wanted to add a little at a time, checking as they went.

They stayed holed up in the workshop until evening when they completed their prototype.

“Take this soap and give your clothes a scrub in that stream over there,” Nina instructed the children. “Then I’ll give each of you three small coppers, plus another two if you get them good and clean. Next, I want you to wash yourselves. Take care to get the roots of your hair. You’ll have fleas and lice. I’ll give you another five small coppers for that—so if you do all of it, you’ll get one big copper.”

The children all set off excitedly for the river. The water was shallow, not even reaching their knees at its deepest point, and the younger ones immediately began splashing and playing. Panther had to coax them with reminders of the big copper coins waiting for them before they finally got to work washing their clothes, then do it again when they returned to playing as soon as they were done. By the time they finished washing themselves, their clothes were mostly dry. Ragged as they were, once the children were dressed, they were barely recognizable.

They set off back to the shack, singing “Big copper coins! Big copper coins!” to their own peculiar rhythm.

“Big copper coins! Big...?”

The singing died away as the children stared, dumbstruck.

Their shack was built from scrap wood—just walls, a floor, and a thatched roof. That was what should have been in front of them. But something had happened to it.

“Wh-What’s that house doin’ here?”

The house used large trees from the forest as posts, with a floor suspended around thirty centimeters above the ground and a door in the entrance. The walls were made from tightly fitted wooden slats that would keep out drafts. There was even a proper roof.

What was more, there were two such buildings. The old scrap wood had been used in the construction, so they couldn’t exactly be called new, but they were both sparkling clean.

“Phew,” Tien sighed, wiping sweat from her brow. “This is easy if you have the wood.”

“N-No it ain’t!” Panther said before he could help himself.

“Yes, it is. Chi simply followed Nina’s instructions.”

At this, Panther remembered that Tien had effortlessly thrown a grown man. But that wasn’t the same as building a house.

“Nina told Chi how to do all of it,” Tien finished.

Just then, Nina emerged from the house.

“Ah, Panther! Welcome home!”

“B-Blimey! It’s a house! A house!” exclaimed one of the boys.

“Two houses!” a girl corrected him. “And this one’s mine!”

“This one’s mine!”

“Big copper coins!”

Whooping and cheering, the children all rushed toward the doors.

“Wipe the mud off your feet before you go in,” Nina called out to them.

Panther still couldn’t quite wrap his head around all this.

“Um, wait up, miss. Aren’t you a maid? Them that work in fancy mansions...?”

“That’s right,” Nina said.

“So how come you know how to build a house?”

“Any maid could do this!”

Panther cocked his head.

Was that true? Was this really normal for a maid?

His head tilted farther and farther to the side, but he didn’t get any closer to an answer.

“Anyway, I see you all washed yourselves properly. You’ve done an excellent job.”

“It’s nuthin’, really...” he muttered.

Nina giggled softly, then said, “I’ve cooked some food, so why don’t we all eat together?”

Panther’s eyes went wide as his nose picked up the aroma wafting out from the house—and it wasn’t just the smoke from the fire. His stomach growled.

“I smell grub!” shouted a boy as he came barrelling out of the house. The other children poured out after him. There was no holding them back now.

They all tucked into a meal of soup and bread in the new houses using new bowls and plates—of course, these, too, had been procured by Nina. The soup was a simple affair of simmered vegetables and a little meat, but for the children, it was a feast. They devoured bowl after bowl, then, bellies bulging, they all fell asleep in a heap.

Nina and Tien had made two houses so that there’d be one for the boys and one for the girls, yet here they were, all in the same spot. This was how they made it through life, Nina realized. By always sticking together. She couldn’t help but smile.

As she was washing the dishes, Panther came up to her.

“Hey, miss...” he said. “What’re you doin’ all this for? I heard there’s bad folk who round up kids to sell ’em off. Is...that what you’re gonna do?”

“Of course not,” Nina said, turning around to look at him. Panther didn’t notice the look of distress that flashed across her face.

He must have spent his whole life always having to distrust any kindness offered by strangers. Here in the south, they might not starve or freeze, but that was the best they could hope for. They’d never been cared for, never loved, never shown unconditional kindness by any grown-ups before. They’d kept themselves alive without any outside help.

“Are they all asleep?” Nina said.

“Yeah. Been ages since I saw ’em sleepin’ all peaceful like that.”

“Panther, since you seem to be the leader around here, there’s something I need to talk to you about.”

“Th-There is...?” he said, his hackles rising at the sudden shift in Nina’s tone.

“First of all, you should know that I’m no more than a visitor here to see the sights of Côte Sud.”

“Huh? Really? You mean you don’t work for some bigwig in town?”

“No. And before long, I’ll leave to go to a different town.”

Panther’s expression hardened. “So all the food, the houses—this is just ’cause you felt sorry for us?!”

“That’s not it.”

“It is too! I thought you were different from the other grown-ups!”

“Like I said, that’s not it.”

Panther turned away from her angrily, but Nina went over and took his hand.

“We threw these houses up very quickly,” she said.

Panther turned back to meet her eyes, vaguely aware as he did so that these houses weren’t the sort of thing you just “threw up.”

“That means that at some point, they’ll need repairs. We used wood and a lot of rope, and that will decay quickly in this humid climate.”

“So then we’ll have to go back to how things were?”

“That’s right.”

Misery filled Panther’s eyes. They’d lose the new houses they’d only just gotten. They’d lose Nina, who gave them delicious meals and copper coins.

“So what I want to do,” Nina went on, squeezing his hand tighter, “is to find a better way for all of you to live before that happens.”

“Huh...?”

“I want to teach you how you can make money and earn a proper living for yourselves. Will you let me do that?”

It was admirable how well the children had managed on their own, but as soon as one of them suffered a serious injury, or fell ill, there’d be nothing they could do. Nina wanted to make them safe and secure. Perhaps it was an arrogant wish, but it came from a place of real care. She wanted to show them how much she cared for them, and she hoped they would trust her.

It was already dark when Nina and Tien got back to the Sable Fin Inn. Emily and Astrid lay sprawled face down on their beds, totally wiped out.

“E-Emily...? Astrid...?” Nina said hesitantly.

There was a pause. Then, they both sat bolt upright.

“Let’s go!” Emily said.

“G-Go? Where to?”

“To get a drink! Nothing like a drink after a hard day’s work! Isn’t that right, Astrid?”

“Our opinions are aligned down to the millimeter!” Astrid agreed.

Nina was taken aback by how rapidly the two of them leaped into action, but also glad to find that they’d waited for her and Tien before going to get dinner. They headed to the same tavern as the day before and told each other about their days as they ate.

The dwarf blacksmith had been only too happy to help—after talking to him, it turned out he was a big hot spring fan—and said they could test out drawing water through the extended pipe the next day.

Nina recounted the day she’d spent with the children. When she got to the part about building two new huts for them, Emily and Astrid exchanged a look.

“Astrid, she’s at it again.”

“Let’s just be glad that those children aren’t going to spread rumors to any adults.”

They both nodded, satisfied. They wouldn’t be able to believe their eyes when they actually saw the huts, but that was a few days away yet.

“So what are you going to do with the kids?” Emily asked.

“I’d like to teach them skills that will help them in life.”

“Getting ambitious again, huh... Telling them is easy enough, but whether they learn it is another story, isn’t it? That’s if they even want to learn.”

Nina smiled brightly. “Well, Panther said he’d try for me!”

She didn’t know if he’d understood how much she cared, but he’d returned her gaze firmly and agreed to have a go. Then he, Nina, and Tien had discussed their plan. Once the children woke up from their nap, Nina taught them how to use the stove to make dinner and breakfast for the next morning, and by the time she was done, the sun was already setting. They waved goodbye to Nina and Tien until they were both out of sight.

“Yeah?” Emily said. “Well, if they’re motivated, that’s great. What’re you gonna teach them, then? Maid work?”

“Yes, I thought that’d be good for the ones who’re interested. But whether the hotels will hire them is another question...”

“Oh, true... With the kind of money those places have...”

In Côte Sud, the only places that could offer work for a maid were the luxury hotels. However, because they catered to the wealthy and privileged of the capital, not only were they operated by people from the capital, they also hired their staff there. Apparently, the hotels didn’t interact with the locals at all. They probably never considered the possibility that the Côte Sud locals could do maid and butler work.

“Perhaps we could ask Mals Mojito from the Mojito Merchant House,” Nina suggested.

“That’s an idea... He should talk to us, and I bet he’d be happy to take on anyone trained by you.”

But even as she spoke, Emily had misgivings. She didn’t want to end up owing Mals Mojito a favor, lest he get even pushier about asking them to work for him. He seemed nice enough as a person, but he was also a highly successful merchant. Nina would be no match for him in a business negotiation, and Emily and Astrid probably wouldn’t fare any better. Also, it was only because of Nina that they had any relationship with him. She doubted the kids could keep up that connection after Nina was gone.

“Even temporary work would be better than nothing,” Nina said.

“I guess so, though even that would come with a risk... But wait up. Nina, what’s got you so invested in these kids, anyway?”

“You...want to know why?”

“Yeah. I mean, every town has slums. We can’t go getting involved everywhere or we’ll never see the end of it.”

“I-I’m sorry. I’ll do my best not to inconvenience you.”

“That’s not what I mean! I’m not blaming you, I just... Uh... Oh man, how do I put this?”

“Emily is worried about you,” Astrid supplied helpfully.

“Worried...” Nina said thoughtfully. “Yes, that’s it. I suppose I’m worried too.”

“Huh? Worried about what?”

“Back in Izumi Mine, where we met Tien, the nuns and the priest took good care of the children at the orphanage. This town has nothing like that. These children don’t have any grown-ups to worry about them.”

“Ah...” Understanding dawned on Emily. “That’s probably true, huh. I mean, even the capital has orphanages at least.”

“By the time I was three, I knew I loved helping out with the housework. Then I met my mistress, and she encouraged me, made me want to be a maid. I thought that perhaps these children needed someone like that—grown-ups who’ll worry about them and teach them the skills they need to make their way in life.”

So that’s it, Emily thought. Now it made sense.

Of course, she’d felt sorry for the kids too. She might have thrown them some coins or bought them a meal—offered them her “charity.” But that only made the receiver—and the giver—feel good for a little while. It didn’t last. These kids knew that charity didn’t change anything, and so did Nina. That was why she wanted to teach them skills.

Nina is amazing... She might look like a little girl, but she was full of surprises—not just because she was a supermaid, but right down to the core of her character.

“Okay, I get it now,” Emily told her. “If you want to teach them life skills, then I’m all for it. I’m just not sure about introducing them to the Mojito Merchant house.”

“You aren’t? But why not?”

Nina still didn’t appreciate the worth of her skills, but Mals Mojito would jump at any chance to recruit her—this was the risk that Emily foresaw.

She sighed. Even if she tried to explain it, Nina would just say, “But any maid could do this.” Her so-called “mistress” had probably taught her that. Emily didn’t want to think about what sort of education Nina must have had to make her self-esteem so low. She knew it was thanks to the incredible lessons that Nina had learned from this woman that Emily’s own life had been turned around, but even so, she had a bone to pick with her for being so insensitive. So heartless.

“We’ve got a hard road ahead of us, huh?” she said. “Oh, but what about the boys? What’ll you teach them?”

“That’s just the thing—I don’t know. I thought I’d ask all of you what you thought.”

Nina had no idea what sort of jobs there were for Panther and the other boys. She knew that boys did work at estates as footmen and page boys and so on, but how they were educated was anyone’s guess. She had no idea if hotels even employed any to begin with.

Emily considered it for a moment. “Wouldn’t the best bet be for them to make their own money?”

Nina gaped at her. “Make...their own money?”

The idea of selling things to turn a profit rather than earning a salary had never occurred to her.

“Yeah. That’s how they make money now, isn’t it?”

“Y-You’re right! They said people buy coconuts, and fruit from the forest, and shellfish, and even large leaves that insects haven’t eaten!”

“Fruits and shellfish are edible, so there’s that. Coconuts can be turned into juice and oil, and they probably use the leaves as garnishes or plates.”

“Of course! Oh, but they said they only get one small copper for a coconut, so I don’t know if they can make a living that way. Especially given how heavy and hard to carry they are.”

“O-One small copper?! That’s way too cheap! They’re getting ripped off!”

“Ripped off...?”

“That coconut juice was two silvers a cup!”

“Nina, what Emily means is that the buyers may be paying the children unfairly low prices,” Astrid explained.

Nina’s brow furrowed. “But that’s awful. Those children work so hard...”

“Uh-huh. It’s starting to piss me off too. Forget grown-ups who’ll worry about them—some are even taking advantage of them.” Emily clapped her hands together. “Astrid, I’ve got an idea.”

Astrid sighed, giving her a long-suffering look. “I can’t even keep up with the ideas Nina comes up with.”

“Doesn’t this bother you?”

“It does, but... Oh, fine. Let’s hear this idea of yours.”

“I want you to make a magic item. Then I’ll use it to teach the kids life skills.”

“Uh... A magic item for children? All of a sudden, I’m feeling dubious about this plan.”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?! I’m the best at this sort of thing! I’ve got loads of ideas for ways to make money at a hot spring resort!”

With a hearty laugh, Emily downed her beer. Nina looked on, blinking in puzzlement. Tien had gone quiet some time earlier. It was late, and she’d long since drifted off to sleep.

The next day, Nina and Tien went back to the children’s huts. The older ones had gone out early to gather coconuts and fruit, leaving the youngest ones who couldn’t keep up. The girl who’d been with Panther when they first met him had stayed behind to keep an eye on them.

“I’d like you to not sell what you gather today,” Nina told her. “When they come back, could you all come to the public bathhouse?”

“The bathhouse? But the hot spring doesn’t come out there, right?”

“That’s right, but I have a very trustworthy friend who asked me to bring all of you there. We’ll go ahead. Meet us there later, all right?”

“O-Okay...”

“Then it’s a promise.”

Nina and Tien said goodbye to the children.

When they arrived back at the bathhouse, they found a crowd gathered outside despite the early hour. Just as Nina was wondering what was going on, a cry rose up from the crowd.

Several men had arrived carrying a bundle of iron pipes, and leading them were the dwarf blacksmith and Emily.

“Emily!” Nina called, waving.

“Oh, Nina! Over here!”

“Why are all these people here?”

“Dunno. I guess word must have got around that we’re trying to get the public bath working again.”

“But we only started yesterday!”

“I know right? It just goes to show how much people have been holding out for the hot spring to come back. Pressure’s on, huh?”

Emily laughed a little awkwardly, but she looked pleased.

Nina looked around. “Where’s Astrid?”

“Right now she’s working on that magic item for me. She’s already done all she can for the public bath.”

“Hey, Emily!” yelled the dwarf. “Where d’ya want us to carry these?”

“Hold on, I’m coming! You too, Nina.”

“A-All right. Tien, let’s go— Tien?” She turned back and saw Tien staring off in the opposite direction.

“There was a man watching us. But he is gone now.”

“Hm? Perhaps another local curious about the hot springs?”

“That is not what it looked like...”

“Nina!” Emily called back to them, so Tien didn’t say any more.

They went through the back of the bathhouse. The old woman’s eyes widened when she saw them all, but after Emily explained the situation, her surprise turned to delight. She announced that she’d make tea for all the workers, so Nina went to help her.

Tien, meanwhile, attached herself to the work team. When the dwarf blacksmith spotted her, he bellowed, “Get back, it’s dangerous!” In response, she lifted up several pipes on her own. Cheers erupted and the blacksmith’s attitude immediately changed.

“What’s your name, lass?” he asked.

“Chi is called Tien.”

“Tien, eh? A good name, that.”

“Of course it is good,” Tien said proudly. “Chi’s mother and father chose it.”

With that, the blacksmith roared, “Listen up, boys! Young Tien here’s gonna take the lead today! Follow her!”

There was a rumble of “Aye, boss!” from the assembled men.

Emily came over. “First let’s dismantle the old pipe setup, then we can install the new one. We’ll extend it piece by piece until water starts coming through again.”

“Understood,” Tien said.

And so, with the curious locals looking on, they got to work renovating the hot spring.

An hour later, Emily sank heavily to her hands and knees.

Down and down they’d extended the pipe, searching for the point where it would meet the hot spring. But about five meters below where the last pipe had reached, there was a THUD.

“It’s no good,” sighed the blacksmith. “That’s the end.”

No matter what they did, the pipe wouldn’t go any deeper. They’d hit rock bottom.

“Wh-What if we made the pipe narrower?” Emily said desperately.

“Any narrower and it won’t draw enough water to fill the bath,” the blacksmith said. “Time to give it up, Emily.”

“Damn it...”

The onlookers, seeing that it wasn’t going to work, drifted away one by one, shoulders slumped.

Emily pushed herself up with a look that said she wasn’t ready to throw in the towel yet and regarded the pipe. It gleamed in the sunlight, full of determination to suck up the hot spring and bring it to them—if only it could reach.

Emily groaned in frustration. “I should have known this was more than an amateur like me could handle.”

“C’mon Emily, it wasn’t all for nothing,” said the blacksmith. “To be honest with you, I never guessed anyone would take an interest in the bathhouse. Things really were better back when we had the baths. People didn’t have so many cares back then...”

Nina, who was also listening, gasped. “Erm, I’m sorry to interrupt,” she said, “but in the past—when the bathhouse was still open, I mean—you used to be in contact with the orphan children in the forest, didn’t you?”

“Huh. We did, now that you mention it. Folk couldn’t stand to see those young ’uns go hungry, so someone would always give ’em a meal or old hand-me-downs. Some taught ’em letters, and I myself taught a few a craftsman’s trade. Those folk’ll be workin’ in the capital now.”

Nina saw a glimmer of hope. The town of Côte Sud had come together to raise the orphan children as a community. But in just two years, that custom had disappeared.

“But now no one spares them a glance,” she said. “Do you think that’s because you lost the public bathhouse?”

She’d found it—the connection between her own goal and the hot spring.

“Aye, that might well be true.”

“I see... How interesting...”

In that case, Nina thought, she definitely wanted to solve whatever was wrong with the hot spring. Teaching the children life skills was important too, of course, but if the locals were more at ease, they’d be able to support the children in learning to stand on their own feet.

“But hold on, li’l maid,” the blacksmith said, scratching his head. “Might be that it’s more than just the hot spring... I dunno why, but around the same time, the town suddenly got a lot dodgier.”

“How so?”

“Folk I’d never seen before started skulkin’ around, running cons to swindle tourists, sellin’ overpriced junk at knifepoint, that sorta thing...”

Nina knew about that from experience.

The old woman came over and added, “They raised taxes too.”

“Right, and that was two years ago too. It’s been tough on folk like us with small businesses. I felt bad about the young ’uns in the forest, but I had too much on my plate without worryin’ about them too.”

“That’s awful...” Nina said, then quickly added, “Erm, I mean, not that I’m blaming you!”

“Maybe we ought to be blamed,” the dwarf said.

“It’s true...” the old woman agreed. “As they say, children are precious.”

They both sighed, looking troubled.

“It’s not over yet!” Emily said, leaping to her feet. “I’m not giving up yet!”

“Huh?”

“I’m going to take a bath in a hot spring, damn it!” she howled up at the sky. “That’s the whole reason I came heeere!”

With that, she turned to Tien. “Pull that pipe up!”

“All right.”

The pipe was many times taller than Tien herself, but she drew it back out without any difficulty.

“Wh-Whoa there, Emily. Just what d’ya think you’re doin’?” said the dwarf.

“I’ll tell you what I’m doing. Do you know who I am?”

“Y-You’re Emily, aren’t you?”

“I,” said Emily, “am a mage.”

“You are?!”

Emily apparently hadn’t said anything about herself at all.

“And there’s some things that only a mage can do!”

Emily turned to face the crack in the rock that led to the water source, then cried, “Spirits of wind! Heed my call and gather to me.”

It was an incantation—the words chanted by a mage to cast magic.

Everyone stared in astonishment at the dense vortex of power that swirled up around her. Mages weren’t exactly common, but there were enough around that most people had met at least one. The blacksmith and the old woman had seen their share of magic in the past. But they hadn’t seen magic like this.

Emily radiated with a phosphorescent glow so bright, it was clearly visible even under the daytime sun. A raging whirlwind spun up around her.

This was wind magic.

Nina knew that Emily could cast spells without an incantation. The fact that she’d used one now meant that she was attempting magic that required care and control.

“Spirits of earth! Heed my call and gather to me...”

The blacksmith goggled at her. “Eh?! Don’t tell me she’s double castin’?!”

“Is that very impressive...?” Nina asked.

“Impressive doesn’t cover it! Commanding two kinds of spirits at the same time is nigh on impossible. It’s the kind o’ thing bards sing about—I’ve only ever heard of it in epic tales!”

“Whaaat?!” Nina squeaked. She knew that Emily’s ability to wield Fifth Degree magic was a rare talent possessed by only a handful of people in any given country. Now it turned out she could also perform the extraordinarily difficult feat of double casting—that was why she’d used an incantation.

“Come to my fingertips and with thy spirit powers, pierce where I point thee.”

It sounded to Nina as though Emily was speaking with two voices. Was it the magic making that echo? Or something else?

“Oh?!”

There was a ROAR as a sudden rush of wind nearly swept Nina off her feet, but Tien’s hand shot out to grab her and pull her close, along with the old woman. The blacksmith was flipped over and tumbled away with a bellow. The earth shook, and a low, deafening scraping filled her ears while the howling winds swept sand and pebbles swirling skyward.

“G...!”

“...o...!”

“Wh...!”

Nina had the feeling someone was shouting, but she couldn’t make anything out over the cacophony. Though she could barely open her eyes, she squinted and just made out the figure before her.

Emily looked almost godlike as she stood there, power pouring off her, a mage in full command of her magic.

Amazing, Nina thought, and at the same time, She’s beautiful.

This wasn’t the Emily that she knew. In other words, Emily’s power went far, far beyond anything that Nina and the others had imagined. She just hadn’t revealed it to them yet—she hadn’t needed to. Nina trusted and believed in her regardless, and Emily trusted and believed in her too.

Emily’s magic, the wind, and the roaring noise lasted another ten seconds or so before subsiding. Every pebble and speck of dirt had been blown away, leaving the ground as bare as though it had been swept clean.

“Is it over...?” Nina, who’d been clinging to Tien beside the old woman, looked up.

“Phewww...” The source of the uproar—that is, Emily—slumped to the ground.

“Emily?! What did you do?!”

“Man, I’m beat...” she said croakily.

“The blacksmith said that you were using double casting...”

“Yeah, I’d never tried it before, but it worked.”

“That was the first time?!”

“The important thing is, I opened a hole in the rock. Tien, add another section to the pipe and let’s try inserting it again.”

“What...?”

She’d opened a hole? It took Nina a few moments to process what she meant. Emily had used extraordinary magic just to dig down a bit deeper to get to the hot spring.

Tien didn’t seem fazed. “Understood,” she said. She let go of Nina and the old woman, picked up the pipe, and began to lower it down through the crack in the rock.

“N-Now hold on, Emily!” the blacksmith shouted. “You can’t just go castin’ dangerous spells like that without say—”

He broke off.

The pipe was disappearing deeper and deeper into the crack. It had already passed the point where they’d struck the bedrock earlier.

“If it goes any deeper, Chi will not be able to pull it out,” Tien said over her shoulder to them. “We need to extend it more.”

“H-Hold on... She used magic to dig a hole?! But she can’t have!”

“Is it really so strange?” Nina asked hesitantly. That was what Emily said herself, and it seemed perfectly reasonable to Nina. But the blacksmith looked dumbfounded.

“Magic, as I understand it, works by controllin’ spirits,” he said. “So basically, you can light a fire or summon water, but beyond that, you’re at the mercy of the spirit’s whims. That’s nothin’ if you just use a little bit, but not so when it comes to grand enchantments—they’re big and messy ’cause the spirits can’t be controlled. You can’t pinpoint a crack in a bit o’ rock like that to dig out.”

“You mentioned double casting—”

“Right! That’s what I’m sayin’! Keepin’ hold o’ two different kinds o’ spirit is all but impossible—they fight each other, see. I’ve lived a long time, but this is the first time I’ve seen anyone pull it off.”

“Hey, quit gossiping and extend the pipe already!” Emily shouted. She still sat sprawled on the ground.

“Th-That’s not...!” The dwarf collected himself. “R-Right. You’re right. This part’s my job...”

He still looked puzzled, but once Tien had drawn the pipe back up, he set to work welding another segment to it.

“Emily, that was incredible!” Nina cried.

“Heh...” Emily sounded smug. “I mean, I am a genius. ’Course it might all be for nothing if we still don’t get the hot spring going...”

But as she looked at the crack in the rock, a smirk spread over her face.

Her magic had succeeded.

“Ah... Looks like it was for something after all.”

A dense plume of steam was rising from the crack.

The children did as Nina had asked. Rather than sell what they gathered that day, they left it at the huts, then all headed to the bathhouse.

“Why d’ya think she called us here, Panther?”

As far as they could tell, the bathhouse was as still and quiet as ever.

“Dunno. But that maid wouldn’t tell us to do nuthin’ bad.”

“Reckon she wants us to scrub the bath?”

“What’s the point in scrubbin’ a bath that’s got no water?”

“I miss the bath... I’d just sit ’ere til a grown-up paid for me to get in.”

“Children! This way please!” As they chatted, Nina appeared—not from the bathhouse, but the alley off to one side of it. “I thought you must be arriving soon.”

Panther and the others trooped after her to the back of the bathhouse, where they found a crowd of adults gathered around a cracked rock—the onlookers who’d dispersed earlier had come flocking back when they heard the explosion of magic.

“Wh-What’s goin’ on?” Panther asked warily.

“Just watch,” Nina told him.

A dwarf, the group of men assisting him, and Tien, wiping sweat from her brow, were lowering a very, very long iron pipe into the crack. Steam was rising from it. Steam they hadn’t seen for two years.

If there was steam, there was hot water. In other words, as everyone there knew, they’d reached the hot spring. The grown-ups were silent, but there was burning intensity in their eyes. As the children watched the work progress, they found themselves clenching their fists in anticipation.

“Easy does it!” the dwarf shouted. “A pipe this long might snap on the way down, and we sure as hell don’t want that!”

Tien, who was standing closest to the crack, nodded.

Slowly, steadily, the pipe disappeared into the mouth of the crack. Panther watched the full length of it get swallowed up with eyes as round as saucers.

“Chi thinks the end hit something,” Tien said. Her face was flushed and damp, whether from sweat or steam, it wasn’t clear.

“Can you keep going?” the dwarf asked.

“Yes.”

They lowered in another three meters of pipe. Then they stopped. Leaving two meters of pipe jutting out of the crack, the dwarf set up a base to keep it locked in place while the other grown-ups attached a hose to its end. It was made from tanned monster hide that was both durable and impervious to leaks.

“I’m gonna turn on the magical pump!” Emily called.

The crowd fell silent again.

There was a HUMMMM as the pump came to life, followed by a WHOOSH as the air was sucked out of the pipe, creating a vacuum. No one said a word.

Ten seconds passed. Then twenty.

“Aw, what?” came a voice from the crowd. “Nothing’s happen—”

GLUB.

The pipe trembled.

GLUB GLUB GLUB GLUB GLUB GLUB.

The shaking intensified until suddenly, the hose swelled. Starting from the end of the pipe, the swelling rushed down the hose and toward the magical pump, from which a great surge of muddy water gushed forth. It was hot and giving off billowing clouds of steam.

“Th-There it is...” someone gasped, and a cheer went up from the crowd.

“Look, water!”

“It’s water!”

“The hot spring’s back.”

“The hot spring!”

It was hard to make out through the steam, but the murky color of the water faded to a paler brown.

“O-Oh my gosh!”

“The hot spring’s back!”

“Aw man, I’d kill for a bath!”

“Oy, you hate washin’ yerself!”

While the children babbled excitedly, the old woman sat on the ground beside the magical pump. The water splashed her knees, but she didn’t seem to mind. She scooped up a handful from the ground and stared at it.

“It’s a miracle... A miracle...” she said. “To think I’d live to see the hot spring back again...”

Tears began to spill from her eyes.

“You’ll reopen the public bath, won’t you?” someone in the crowd called to her.

“We’ve been holding out for it!”

“I just wish we coulda helped you...”

Just like the dwarf and the old woman had said, increases in taxes had made it hard for everyone to get by. It was all they could do just to take care of themselves and their own families—but they were, at heart, good people. The way they cared for the old woman was proof of that.

“Good work, Tien,” Nina said.

“It was nothing special,” Tien said, taking the towel Nina proffered. A moment later, however, her stomach growled loudly.

“It’s time for lunch!” Nina declared.

“I-It is nothing. Chi was much, much hungrier than this when Chi first met Nina.”

Nina gave a little laugh, and when she brought out the mountain of sandwiches she’d made for lunch, Tien wolfed down enough for three people in no time. The children dug in with delight, and by the time they were finished, the bath was full of steaming water. One after another, they plunged in.

For the first time in two years, the bathhouse rang with a chorus of happy voices.

“Surely not... That grimy old bath is up and running again?”

“Yes, sir. I saw the hot spring flowing with my own eyes.”

Inside the gleaming hotel wrapped in gold leaves, the man Tien had twice sensed watching them was delivering his report—he worked for the golden hotel. Before him sat a portly man, the head of the merchant house that operated this very hotel, the Golden Sunrise Resort. They were at his office, which also doubled as the manager’s office.

“But how can that be? Didn’t our expert say that if we guzzled up the water from deep underground, the public bath would dry up?”

“I’m afraid I’m not sure, sir... Perhaps we could increase our water intake?”

“Not easily. We’d have to improve the power output of our magical pump, and that costs money...”

“Shall I sabotage the pump at the public bath, then?”

The portly man considered it for a moment. “A decent idea, but the timing is bad. The tax inspector from the Thundergard Accounting Bureau will be here in five days, and it’ll be a real bother if they catch wind of this business. Leave it for now. Even if the bath’s open, it won’t get any customers. They won’t be able to squeeze any more taxes out of them.”

“Very good, sir.”

“It won’t be long now. Once this audit shows that tax revenue is low across that whole area, it’s all but guaranteed to be included in this year’s redevelopment plan. Then we can build another hotel on top of that slum!”

The portly man roared with laughter.

“Things went well with the hot spring, huh?”

Astrid arrived back that evening to find the public bathhouse bustling with customers. And yet Emily and Tien, the two main architects of this success, still looked disheveled. Nina, meanwhile, was neat and tidy.

“What’s up, Emily?” Astrid asked. “You haven’t tried the bath? I thought you’d be first in line.”

“Well, y’know... I thought I should let the locals enjoy it first. I bet there’s all kinds of stuff they can only talk about here, memories of how it used to be... It’d be awkward with a stranger like me hanging around. I can wait a few days. It’s not like the hot spring’s going anywhere.”

“Huh...” Astrid said, surprised. “I didn’t know you had it in you, Emily. I’m genuinely impressed. There aren’t many who’d do that.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Embarrassed, Emily changed the subject. “A-Anyway, how’d it go with those magic items you were making?”

“Just who do you think you’re talking to? I’m a Freja Kingdom inventor.”

Emily turned to Nina. “Right, then. Your time to shine, Nina!”

“Then let’s get started!”

Nina and Tien were holding a large basket full of fruit, leaves, small fish, and shellfish that the children had gathered that morning.

“Wait, you’re going to cook that now? You guys are tough...”

“Don’t be silly, Astrid!” Emily said cheerfully. “That’s our dinner too—we’ve gotta make an effort.”

“There’s enough for a proper feast here,” Nina added.

“You hear that? Just so you know, this kind of food will go great with wine.”

At this, Astrid immediately perked up. “All right, I’m listening. I’ll go buy the drinks, then. How many bottles, do you think?”

Emily and Tien rolled their eyes at Astrid’s sudden enthusiasm, while Nina just smiled.

The four of them turned away from the bustling bathhouse and walked away.

Panther and the other children gathered at the bathhouse around noon the next day, looking even better groomed. Some told Nina about how much they loved the hot spring and how much fun it was, while others were excited about the cooking area she and Tien had set up in the huts.

“Did you bring what you gathered today?” Nina asked.

“Yeah. Um... There’s six coconuts and loads o’ little fish. And we cut some sugarcane with the sickle we got. What’re you guys gonna do with all this?”

“First, I’d like you to try this for me.”

“Eh?”

Nina held out a large leaf—one that the children had gathered yesterday—on which laid out were little, golden brown fish. Nina had seasoned them, coated them in batter, and deep fried them.

“Smells good... A-Ah! Ith’ot!”

“Oh dear, don’t burn yourself!” Nina said quickly. “I just fried them.”

But despite her warning, the children rushed in to grab a piece and gobbled them down. The fish fit perfectly in their tiny hands.

“Ith’ot, but yummy!”

“So crispy! You can even eat the bones!”

It was rave reviews all round.

“What about this, then?” Nina said. Tien brought over a plate of crackers, beige speckled with pinkish patches—although this world didn’t have a word like “cracker,” as this sort of snack, whether made from rice or wheat flour, wasn’t common.

“Wh-What’re those...?”

“Just try them,” Emily told him. “Then guess what’s in them!” The recipe had been her idea.

Panther took a cautious nibble, then exclaimed, “Whoa, I never tried nuthin’ like this before!”

“Huh? Panther, what’s in it? What’s in it?”

“This is octopus, right?” Panther said to Emily.

She grinned. “Got it in one! There was an octopus in what you brought us yesterday, so we used that.”

Mix flour with water, throw in little pieces of octopus, press flat, cook—and voilà, octopus crackers. Astrid and the dwarf blacksmith had worked together to make a machine to press and cook them.

“Right, wanna learn how to make these?” Emily asked. The children all nodded eagerly. “Well, follow me! I’ll teach you how to use that gizmo.”

She strode away and the children ran after her, cheering.

Nina watched them go with a slightly weary smile.

“They’ve really taken a liking to Emily, haven’t they?”

“She is also a child, so they have a lot in common,” Tien replied.

“You’ve got such a good eye for people, don’t you?” Astrid said drily, and the three of them laughed. Then they followed after Emily.

Meanwhile, at the bathhouse, many of the Côte Sud locals were busy sweating and washing themselves clean.

“Ahh, there’s nuthin’ like a soak... Ever since this place dried up two years back I’ve dreamed o’ this bath so often I lost count.”

“You can say that again. Them city inventors and mages aren’t like the ones around here, eh?”

“If only we’d known, we coulda called ’em in sooner!”

The men all guffawed. Then—

“I never saw such a sorry bunch!”

There was a massive SPLOOSH as the dwarf blacksmith plunged into the bath.

“B-Boss? You ain’t talkin’ about us, are you?”

“Damn right I’m talkin’ to you! It’s been two long years since the spring dried up, but did any of you lift a finger to get it back? It took those girls—tourists! They used their brains and got to work. And now those same girls are holdin’ back from usin’ the bath so that us locals can have it to ourselves. We oughta be ashamed!”

The men all looked chastened. Eventually, one of them spoke up.

“But boss...life hasn’t been easy for us neither. To tell you the truth, I’ve got debts to pay. ’Course I cared about the bathhouse, but I could barely keep up with my own troubles. You’re lucky, y’know. Those girls came to you, so you got to help.”

There was a murmur of assent from several of the others.

The dwarf sighed heavily. “Aye, I’m the sorriest of the lot of us. I said the same as you—‘I’m too squeezed by these high taxes,’ ‘I wanna help but I’ve got my own troubles,’ that sorta thing. And y’know what they did? Offered to pay me fairly for my work—said they didn’t wanna be a bother or a burden on me.”

SPLASH! He slapped the surface of the water—hot spring water from deep beneath the earth. It was now clear of mud but still carried that distinctive odor.

“I’m ashamed... Ashamed o’ myself for gettin’ so caught up in myself I stopped seein’ the troubles o’ those around me.”

His voice trembled. The bathhouse fell totally silent.

After a pause, one of the men said, “Is there nuthin’ we can do?”

“We can’t do much alone, but maybe if we all pitched in, we could do sumthin’ to thank ’em.”

“That’s an idea...”

“I’ve got a big washing-up room you can use.”

“I’ve got... Lemme see... I could sort through the junk and see if there’s anything usable?”

“What’re we supposed to do with junk?”

“You tell me what anyone wants with a washing-up room!”

“What d’ya reckon those girls even need, anyway?”

Everyone began hemming and hawing as they pondered this.

The dwarf blinked. He began to chuckle, then broke out in a roar of laughter.

“Boss, you feelin’ all right? First you’re all weepy, now you’re laughin’ your head off...”

“I was never weepy, you bonehead! But you reminded me—those girls are tryin’ to teach those orphans in the forest all kinds o’ work.”

Everyone knew about the orphans in the forest, and now they remembered that, just like the bathhouse, they’d been too harried to worry about them.

“Seems like they’re teachin’ ’em how to make a living.”

“How are they doin’ that?”

“C’mon, there’s only one way to make money in this town—sellin’ to tourists.”

“But that ain’t easy, is it? Crime’s been up lately, and the tourists are all rich folk. They don’t come to this part o’ town.”

“Even so—sounds like those girls have a plan.”

“A plan...?”

The men exchanged glances. Normally, they wouldn’t have given the time of day to a bunch of girls with no life experience. But Nina and the others had proven themselves—with the revival of this very hot spring.

With another SPLASH, the dwarf stood up.

“Dependin’ on the plan, it might be that a washing-up room and junk could come in handy,” he said. “Me, I’m off to have a meeting with those girls. Anyone who wants to can follow me.”

There was a pause.

The men all exchanged glances again.

“I’m going.”

“Me too.”

“And me!”

One after another, they rose to their feet.

That day, almost none of the shops around town opened. This drew many complaints, at least until the locals learned what they were up to instead. Then they were delighted.

Five days passed. The tax inspector arrived dressed from head to toe in a forest green uniform despite the fact that the day was already scorching. He had a serious, pale face and was preternaturally tall, with narrow, catlike eyes that wouldn’t overlook a single small copper coin of tax revenue.

“W-We are honored to welcome you all the way from the capital!”

The first to welcome him were the heads of the five merchant houses who operated the large hotels in the town. They bowed their heads to the inspector as he stepped down from his carriage, his assistants at his heels. Ignoring the merchants completely, he briskly assigned each assistant the hotel they were to inspect.

“That will be all,” he told them. Only then did he turn his gaze to the merchants. “Have you prepared the documents as requested?”

“Yes, Inspector,” the five of them said in unison.

“Assuming that we locate no discrepancies in your accounting, we shall conclude our inspection by the end of tomorrow. If we do, however, it will upset our schedule, and you will face penalties commensurate with the offense.”

“U-Understood, Inspector. Will you take some time to recover from your long and arduous journey?”

“No need. We will sleep in our carriage. Do not bring us meals.”

“V-Very good, Inspector.”

All manner of bribery was useless with the tax inspectors, which was what made them so terrifying to the merchants. They rejected not only hospitality but even personal association. It wasn’t surprising that in the capital, it wasn’t white but rather forest green that they regarded as the ultimate symbol of purity.

The role of tax inspector at the Thundergard Accounting Bureau was one of the most prestigious career paths in civil service. After a rigorous education in the rooting out of corruption, they served as key state officials under the empress’s command. They were a species of person totally incomprehensible to merchants—and there was nothing so terrifying as what couldn’t be understood.

“I will make a tour of the town.”

The owner of the Golden Sunrise Resort raised his hand. “B-By your leave, Inspector, I shall accompany you!”

“I have no need of you.”

“But surely you’d find it convenient to have a local guide?”

The inspector fixed the merchant with a penetrating stare, but the man didn’t back down. He didn’t get to be head of a merchant house for nothing.

At last, the inspector said, “A cogent point. Come with me.”

“As you wish!”

The other merchants looked daggers at the man—he’d gotten the jump on them—but he was unfazed as he boarded the inspector’s carriage. It was cramped inside, and the seat cushions were thin. Almost at once, his bottom began to ache, and he wondered in astonishment whether they’d really come all the way from the capital like this. Not only that, but the inspector had said they slept in here. It was totally beyond comprehension.

“Côte Sud has seen a twenty to thirty percent increase in tourists compared to last year. Our hotel also maintains a high occupancy rate of around nine—”

“Count Oolonteil is listed as one of the beneficiaries in your business, correct?”

“Just so. His Lordship the Count has been most generous.” The merchant rubbed his hands together cheerfully.

Count Oolonteil was one of the most powerful nobles in the empire. In a few years, this inspector would be promoted out of the accounting bureau to a higher position in the civil service. He’d be granted a lifetime peerage, at which time he’d have to deal with Count Oolonteil. Therefore, the merchant thought it was best to make the most of the connection.

“His Lordship is the most exemplary gentleman,” the merchant added.

“The count is very vocal on the subject of advancing the redevelopment of Côte Sud.”

“Indubitably! The redevelopment will breathe fresh life into the town!”

And his own business would reap massive profits along with it. The merchant smiled at the thought.

“He bases his argument...on the unexpectedly sluggish growth in tax revenue from the commoner neighborhood.”

“Quite right, quite right! We resort owners pay enormous sums of money in taxes while that lot... Ah, but don’t think I’m complaining! It is of course the duty of every imperial citizen to pay their taxes.”

“That goes without saying,” the inspector said in a tone of finality. He didn’t look at the merchant.

Like hell it does! The merchant had to repress an urge to slap the man’s prim and proper face. The resort business was booming, but the higher his profits rose, the more he had to pay in taxes. He’d nearly thrown up when he’d seen the previous year’s projected bill. Money came in only to be taken away again—for a merchant, it was intolerable.

“He is correct that revenue from that area has remained stagnant...” the inspector observed. “The total amount collected has not risen with the tax rates.”

“It is not to be borne! Those idlers are squandering this fantastic location. They’re content with their little community businesses and fail to seize opportunities for growth. We resort owners couldn’t stand by and watch our countrymen parade their laziness on our doorstep. As imperial citizens ourselves, we had no choice but to denounce them, which led to the tax rate increase two years ago.”

“If I understand you correctly, you are saying that you petitioned for the tax rate to be raised.”

“You are exactly correct, Inspector. As imperial citizens who have been granted use of a modest sliver of Her Imperial Majesty’s domains, our primary desire is to see justice done.”

The inspector knew full well that the merchant houses’ interests were tied up in the redevelopment of the commoner neighborhood. On the surface, that posed no concern. Once he and his assistants made their report, Count Oolonteil would no doubt declare that anyone living in such a superb resort location who worked hard like a good imperial citizen ought to be able to pay their taxes, and the redevelopment would proceed.

And yet...

The inspector’s expression remained troubled. The logic of it was sound, but the ethics were dubious. Why hadn’t the tax revenue increased when the rate was raised two years prior? There ought to be a direct relationship between the two, but the revenue from the commoner neighborhood hadn’t budged. Reports also noted worsening public safety—was that related? And if it were true, why hadn’t the town guard done anything about it?

The most plausible explanation was that the rise in taxes had triggered an economic downturn in that area. The principled way to raise revenue would be to get the economy back on track. But such an undertaking fell outside the scope of a tax inspector’s duties.

“Has something concerned you, Inspector?” asked the merchant.

“No, I am not concerned,” he said, then paused. He spoke his mind. “Many merchant houses must stand to make very large profits should they build new hotels as part of the redevelopment.”

“You are quite right, Inspector. Though who can say which of the merchant houses fortune shall smile upon? In any case, the bountiful tax revenue it will bring in spells great things for the empire’s future, I’m sure.”

Given his position, the inspector could hardly argue with anything that raised tax revenue. His superiors and colleagues would only scoff if he brought up concerns about the ethics of the situation. The role of the Thundergard Accounting Bureau was to accurately apprehend and manage the flow of money—no more and no less. Inspectors had it drilled into them that they were to discard namby-pamby notions like ethics. An economic downturn in the commoner neighborhood of Côte Sud was of no concern to the bureau.

At least, that was what he told himself.

Gazing out the window of the carriage, the inspector started as his eyes alighted on the scenery before him.

“Yes, I see... So poor public safety and low tax revenue are the main factors driving the redevelopment?”

“Huh? Erm, yes, just so. One might also point to the deteriorating sanitary conditions, but those two reasons alone are more than sufficient, I’d say.”

“And those are reasons for clearing out this neighborhood to build an enormous hotel?”

The merchant hesitated for a moment. “For the increase in tax revenue that will result from that endeavor,” he said. “I say, Inspector, this is most curious. It almost seems as though you have some attachment to the area. Don’t tell me you sympathize with them?” He broke off, chortling. “No, no. I beg your pardon. I know better than to think that an elite imperial inspector would let sympathy for low-class commoners sway his judgment.”

“Indeed. My decisions are unfailingly objective. And to that end, I shall also be surveying the area in question.” The inspector gestured to the outside of the carriage with a jab of his thumb. “That was the lower-class neighborhood, was it?”

“Yes, it’s that general area.”

“Personally, I perceived no sign of a failing economy—neither poor public safety, nor what would result in low tax revenue. Pray tell me how it looks to you.”

“Wh-What was that?” Caught off guard, the merchant glanced outside again, then let out an involuntary gasp. An unexpected hint of a smile curved the inspector’s lips.

The merchant, it seemed, had been totally unaware. The inspector himself was of course also seeing it all for the first time.

Across the entrance to the commoner neighborhood was strung an enormous banner that read DOWNTOWN STREET. The houses were swept clean, the walls were all spotless, and delicious aromas wafted out from the street along with the hum of hustle and bustle. This had drawn in a great many tourists who were now strolling along the street, snacking on foods the merchant had never seen before.

“Well?” the inspector asked. “Given you volunteered to be my guide, the very least you could do is explain this state of affairs. If I may speak more directly, the commoner neighborhood is absolutely nothing like what the reports I read in advance of this visit suggested.”

“Well, that’s because... Um... The thing is...” the merchant stammered, mopping sweat from his brow.

“It appears to me that we can expect adequate tax revenue even without the redevelopment. Don’t you agree?”

In other words, the official recommendation of the Thundergard Accounting Bureau would be against redevelopment, with a one-year observation period. Such a recommendation would do more than just slow down the redevelopment project—it would leave it dead in the water.

Just what had happened here?

Funnily enough, both the inspector and merchant were thinking the same question. But where the inspector found the scene pleasing and invigorating, the merchant regarded it with unmistakable irritation and disgust.

The room was a sumptuous affair. It was in the same Côte Sud as the orphan children’s hut, but they might as well have been in different universes. Most striking of all was an enormous painting on the wall of two goddesses who gazed down upon the room’s occupants.

“I want an explanation! What happened over there?!”

The head of the merchant house had returned to his Golden Sunrise Hotel and flown into a fit of rage. All the executives in his merchant house who had gathered in his office gave him the same answer—they’d barely slept in days to get things ready for the tax inspector, and therefore, they had no idea. The merchant gnashed his teeth in frustration, but he himself had ordered them to prioritize this task, and the damage was done.

“Fine, just tell me what you know! Say something!”

“V-Very well, if I may...”

One of the executives spoke up, then the rest followed suit. As they pieced together their fragmentary accounts, the full picture slowly came into focus.

It began with the revival of the dried up hot spring and the reopening of the public bathhouse. That much, the merchant knew already. The very next day, the commoner neighborhood had been cleaned up beyond all recognition.

“Hold on,” the merchant said. “Aren’t you skipping over something? What does the revival of a hot spring have to do with cleaning up the streets?”

“Well, this is all secondhand so I can’t speak to the truth of it...but people are talking about a maid unlike any they’ve ever seen before...”

“A maid? As in, the ones that wash the dishes and do the laundry in big estates?”

“Yes, sir.”

“But what is a maid doing in the commoner neighborhood?!”

No one knew the answer to that.

After the streets had been cleaned up, the residents had come out in droves and set up all sorts of street stalls. Most sold food you could eat while walking around, while others offered little souvenirs. Apparently, the food stalls were being manned by children.

The commoner neighborhood was right next to the coast. Now that they’d tidied up the entrance and hung up a banner, the tourists noticed that something was there and began wandering in to take a look.

“The food the stalls are selling is surprisingly tasty,” one of the executives said. “They’ve got these little fried fish you can eat whole. They’re seasoned with a bit of salt and go down a treat with a glass of beer.”

“I’m partial to the octopus crackers myself,” said another. “Just the thing for when you’re a little peckish—and your fingers don’t get sticky.”

“With the ladies, it’s all about the sugarcane juice. It’s cheaper than fruit-infused water and satisfyingly sweet, but doesn’t leave a cloying aftertaste. I hear forest berries are the secret ingredient.”

The executives launched into a spirited discussion of the various food stalls, until— BANG!

The head of the merchant house hit the desk with his fist.

“Are you all idiots?! There’s a business opportunity ripe for the taking and you’re all standing around gawking! Take their ideas and make them ours! Take them all!”

The executives all stared at him. No one said a word.

“What? Do you have a problem with that?”

“If I may, sir...” one said at last. “We can’t just take their ideas. It isn’t the sort of food that we can serve in our hotel.”

“I beg your pardon?!”

“We’ve hired chefs who can keep up with the very latest Thundergard fine dining trends. It’s a whole different world to street food. Our guests would be furious if we tried to serve them this sort of thing.”

The merchant groaned in frustration. His executives were right. The guests would be baffled if street food showed up as part of their full-course dinner.

“It’s entertainment for a different class of customer to the clientele of this hotel—employees like ourselves, for example.”

In other words, the commoners’ street stalls catered to a totally different demographic to this resort hotel. They were not for patrons of the big five luxury hotels, but for tourists staying at mid-tier hotels or smaller inns, who just wanted to try food a little different than usual and have some stories to take home with them. The very fact that the food came from street stalls and not a hotel restaurant only added to the appeal.

The merchant drooped in his chair, overcome by shock.

“A-Are you all right, sir? There’s no need to get upset over a few street stalls. They aren’t even our competition.”

“Is that all you think this is?”

“Pardon?”

The merchant could see it already. More than likely, this trend would spread to wealthy customers too. Street food might not match the best restaurants in taste, but as an experience, it couldn’t be beat. The Golden Sunrise Resort offered up an experience too, and it was a straightforward one—you got to stay in the hotel wrapped in gold leaves at a top-tier beach resort.

But wealthy people were starved for experiences, so they always sniffed out new ones. It would just take one person saying, “Oh, you haven’t heard about all the interesting snacks in the commoner neighborhood?” and they’d all be desperate to try them. It didn’t matter if the food tasted good or not. The important thing was that once you’d tried something, you got to tell other people. The wealthy tourists would tell their friends, word would spread, and soon the commoner neighborhood would be the number one destination for affluent travelers everywhere.

For the merchant, this was a total nightmare.

For the wealthy tourists who’d already experienced the commoner neighborhood, the fact that it might be wiped off the map by the redevelopment project would be music to their ears. They could boast that they’d gotten to experience something that was now gone forever. But that would make all the other wealthy folk who hadn’t had the experience yet absolutely desperate to go. His hotel would get an influx of customers—and he certainly wouldn’t complain about that—but it would come with demands that the redevelopment be delayed. At least, that is, until they got to have the experience for themselves. In other words, people who previously had no interest in the matter at all would suddenly have reason to join the opposition.

Once word got out, it would be too late. If he were going to act, it had to be now.

“I want them crushed,” he said in a low growl.

“Sorry?”

“Crush them, I said! And where the hell are those thugs we paid off?!”

“S-Sir, you told them to lay low and avoid causing any trouble while the tax inspector was in town...”

Once again, he was reaping what he’d sown.

“Well tell them to get back out there! Now!”

“R-Right away!”

The executives scurried away from the office like a swarm of baby spiders.

“I’ve come too far... It was all going perfectly!”

He’d made Count Oolonteil his ally. Drained the hot spring that supplied the public bathhouse. Hired thugs to make the people feel unsafe. Even campaigned to raise the tax rate. This had all required money—an enormous investment of capital, all for the sake of pushing through the redevelopment project so that he could buy up the commoner neighborhood and put another resort hotel on top of it.

“I’ll be damned if a tax inspector and a few street stalls are going to ruin all my ambitions!” he bellowed.

As the day drew to a close, the orphans packed up their street stalls and headed back to the bathhouse. It was full of locals who now hailed them when they arrived.

“Hey, kid! Good sales today?”

“Look at that tear! Take it to my missus and she’ll stitch it up for you.”

“Don’t go splashin’ in the bath or that big scary dwarf’ll getcha!”

None of the hotel employees from the capital came near this place, so the children could relax and wash off the day’s dirt knowing that everyone around them lived nearby. After their baths, they next gathered at the Sable Fin Inn.

“Oy, we’re back!”

“That’s ‘we’re back, ma’am’ to you, kid,” grumbled the landlady. “If I’ve told you once...”

“We’re hungry!”

“My inn is rooms only! I don’t do meals, you know.”

“Aw, c’mon,” Emily said. “I saw that big smile on your face while you were cooking.”

“You pipe down!” the landlady snapped, flushing bright red.

Over the course of their long stay, Nina had seen that behind the prickly, unfriendly front she put up, the landlady actually liked people. Therefore, she made a request of her: to give the children a place to sleep—and only to sleep—at her inn. The landlady relented, though after grumbling about what they’d been eating and how wrong it was to make them work, she took it upon herself to feed them as well.

After all this time, the children, worn out from working all day, now had a place to return and dinner to look forward to, before ending it snuggling up two or three to a bed and falling fast asleep.

“Cheers!”

Once the children had finished their dinner, Nina and the others headed to their usual little tavern. The owner was a local who knew all about what the girls had done for the town and so told them, “Have the first round on the house!”

Emily got overexcited. “Fill the largest tankard in this establishment to the brim with beer!”

“I thought you’d say that,” said the owner, “so I got this from the back shelf,” and produced a glass as big as Emily’s head.

She was thrilled.

“Ahhh! Nothing like a drink on the house!”

“Mmm! You can say that again.”

She and Astrid gulped down their beers.

It had been three days since the street stalls had set up shop, and they were off to a good start. In fact, business was booming.

Emily’s assessment of Côte Sud’s potential—“People don’t come here all the way from the capital just to eat the same stuff they get at restaurants back home. There’s for sure a market for local food!”—proved to be spot on. Tourists couldn’t get enough of the quick and easy snacks on offer at the stalls. The fact that they were run by children drew attention too.

Tien constructed the stalls, Astrid built the magical devices for cooking, Nina prepped the food, and Emily supervised the whole operation. All four of them felt a strong sense of accomplishment.

Naturally, the support from the locals had been indispensable. They hadn’t even asked—the locals had just suddenly shown up and started to pitch in. Nina and the others didn’t know about the conversation that had transpired with the dwarf at the bathhouse.

Locals hadn’t just donated building supplies for the stalls, but had also cleaned up the streets, prepared the banner, and even set up their own stalls. Two or three stalls was a good start, they said, but the more the merrier.

At some point, Emily got the idea to have the children go look for pretty seashells to sell—after they put in a little work, of course. The children went and did as she suggested, and later, some of the adults who were good with their hands drilled holes and threaded cords through them to make bracelets, anklets, and necklaces. These sold astonishingly well. To the locals who saw seashells every day, they were nothing special, but to tourists, they were beautiful treasures.

“Who knew you had such a head for business?”

“Emily, you’re amazing!”

“Chi has to hand it to you.”

“Not too shabby, huh?” Emily took the praise from Astrid, Nina, and Tien without mentioning that she’d seen it all at a resort she’d visited in her past life in Japan. Everyone liked to be complimented, and she was no exception.

“It’s great that the landlady at the Sable Fin Inn took in those children, isn’t it?” Astrid said after a while.

“For sure,” Emily agreed. “Now that they’ve got money, it won’t be long till they have to deal with grown-ups with less-than-noble intentions.”

Even before they’d built the new huts in the forest, Nina and the others had known that the children would need a proper place to live in the end—somewhere with other people around and locks on the doors. Now that the street stalls looked set to bring in more money than anyone expected, getting them lodgings sooner rather than later had become necessary in order to buy them security.

This miscalculation did mean that Nina and the others had to find somewhere else to stay, but no one minded. The huts, in the meantime, would serve as a base for the children when they went foraging in the forest.

Each morning, the children split into three groups. The first got the stalls ready to open for the day, the second cleaned up around the stalls with all the youngest children, and the third—the largest of the three groups—went out to the forest and the coast to gather that day’s wares. With the fruit, they made sauces and their own meals, turned the sugarcane and coconuts into juice, and grilled or deep-fried the little fish and octopuses that they caught.

They also used the leftover flesh from the coconuts they’d split open to make coconut oil. It was a relatively simple process—scraping out the flesh, mixing it up, and leaving it to ferment naturally resulted in the oil separating out, which they then fried with. Any other ingredients they were short on, they could just buy from other locals.

The children mastered all of this in no time. Their days as hungry, grimy urchins lurking in back alleys were over. They probably only needed a few more days of support before they’d be ready to make a go of it on their own.

“It really is...a relief...” Nina said sleepily. With this weight off her mind, she was dozing off.

“A relief... Yeah, I guess it is. So long as nothing else happens, anyway.” Emily turned to Astrid. “Hey, Nina’s about to pass out over here.”

“Gotcha. I’ll head back now.” Astrid got up to take Nina back to the inn. “Good luck, Emily. Though hopefully you won’t need it.”

“That’d be nice,” Emily agreed. “C’mon, Tien. Time to go.”

“All right.”

Once Astrid and Nina had left, Emily and Tien got up too and left the tavern.

The nighttime streets were quiet. There was no one around, and all that could be heard was the distant whisper of the waves. Although there weren’t any streetlights, the moon shone down to illuminate their way as they approached the DOWNTOWN STREET banner and the children’s street stalls...and in front of them, a group of men.

“Huh? Is this it?”

“We’ve just gotta smash these up? A bunch o’ ramshackle stalls?”

“Get a move on. We gotta wrap this up before anyone sees.”

Emily groaned under her breath. “Of course there had to be something,” she muttered, then raised her voice to address the men. “Talk about great timing, huh? I didn’t think you’d be here till later, but it looks like we nearly missed you!”

The men whirled around, but when they saw two young girls coming toward them, their looks of alarm turned into grins.

“Well hello there, girlies! Didn’t your mummy and daddy tell you not to wander around after dark?”

“Reckon they run one o’ these stalls? Word is it’s a bunch o’ kids.”

“Aw, who cares who they are? Let’s gram ’em before they squeal— Oof!”

Before the third man could finish his sentence, a dark shape shot forward and delivered a kick to his gut that sent him flying five meters down the street.

“Wh-Wh-Wha...?”

The others couldn’t immediately process what had happened.

“The moon sees all of your misdeeds.”

“Couldn’t have put it better myself, Tien!” Emily said. “It’s always just when things are starting to go well that some obstacle crops up. Like, in this sort of situation, the standard twist is that things get violent. So predictable.”

“Y-You little—!”

“Spirits of earth.” Emily held out a hand, and the ground beneath the man who’d run at her surged up, sending him toppling forward.

“I’ve been drinking, so I might accidentally kill you if I use tacit casting,” she said. “But short casting should do the trick.”

“Sh-She’s a mage?!”

“The hell if I know! Run!”

“We’re obviously not going to let you go,” Emily said, but not before Tien launched into action. Two of the thugs turned away and tried to flee, but she tripped them both and sent them sprawling. The third came at her with a knife, slashing wildly. There was a CRUNCH of breaking bones as her kick made contact with his hand.

As he wailed in agony, windows opened around them as locals peered out curiously. When they saw Emily and Tien and realized what had happened, they came out to help tie up the thugs.

“Unbelievable... What kinda lowlife tries to destroy a stall where a bunch of kids are tryin’ their best?”

“Hey, these are the goons that hang around with the folk workin’ at that eyesore of a hotel.”

There was no doubt about it—these men had been hired by the Golden Sunrise Resort.

“Want us to hand ’em over to the town guard, Emily?” said one local.

“Would you? That’d be great.”

“Only thing is, the hotel folk will try to play dumb and brush it off.”

“Yeah, and on top of that, the guard... Well, they don’t like to rock the boat.”

By the sounds of it, the local government was even more in the pocket of the hotels than Emily had guessed.

“Well, it is what it is,” she said. “We can’t just leave our garbage in the street, so you’d better take them to the guard. Can I leave it to you? I think the guards are more likely to listen to you locals than us.”

“Aye, that’s no trouble. We’ll see they never set foot in our town again.”

The other locals nodded in agreement. The community seemed to have grown more tightly knit over the past few days—about ten locals volunteered to escort the thugs to the guard house.

Emily watched them go, then stretched her arms up and sighed.

“Talk about fizzling out...”

“What do you mean?” Tien asked. “The stalls are safe. This is good.”

“Well yeah, but I was all ready to unleash some magic at them when you stole all the glory!”

Tien just stared at her, baffled.

“Ah, forget it. Okay, we’ve taken care of the thugs—time to get back to drinking!”

“No.”

“Hey, you didn’t even think about it!”

“You smell bad when you are drunk.”

“That’s mean!” Emily exclaimed. She even squeezed out a few fake tears, but Tien was unmoved.

“You understand how this works, Emily. What we just did is nothing to them.”

“Yeah... I know.”

“So what is our next move?”

Emily glanced over at Tien and saw a gleam in the lupalune girl’s eyes—a gleam full of mischief. It said, We are not stopping here, are we? How are we going to catch them off guard next?

I’m not actually that brutal and ruthless a person, you know... Emily thought to herself. But a grin spread across her face as she said, “Don’t worry. I’ve got it all planned out.”

That night was a night for scheming.

The employees of the Golden Sunrise Resort had come from the capital and now lived on-site, working under contracts that granted them leave to go home and see their families only a few times a year. Their employer was the merchant who owned the hotel, and his word was law. In order to keep themselves safe, those same employees often got together to share rumors—in fact, they did it every day.

This day was no different. In the resort’s break room, two women sat like they always did, exchanging gossip.

“Did you hear? Apparently, the boss went ballistic at the executives again.”

“Oh? What was it this time? Did he want them to go spy on other hotels again? If that stuff gets exposed, it’s going to be so bad.”

“No, no. That’s not what’s got him worked up. He’s on the warpath about that ‘downtown street.’”

“Seriously...? But those aren’t even our customers—it’s nothing to do with us. If anything, it’s been a lifesaver being able to pop over there on my lunch break.”

“Same here!”

“I’d hate to see it go...”

“He’s probably just on edge because that tax inspector’s in town. And guess who’s coming after that? A count from the capital!”

“Ooh! Is he going to stay in the premier suite?”

“I’m sure he will, yes. I’m told he’s to be shown the very highest level of hospitality.”

“But he’s a noble, right? So if anything displeases him, us commoners will get fired, won’t we?”

“Forget our jobs, our lives might be on the line.”

“How terrifying!”

Just then, the two women noticed a third person approaching and rose to their feet.

“Oh, if it isn’t the inventor! Did your work go well today?”

“Yes, it’s all wrapped up. I just went to see the general manager to have them sign off on it.”

The newcomer held up a commission from the inventors’ society.

Resort towns like Côte Sud used magical devices just like everywhere else, so there was naturally demand for inventors. But skilled inventors rarely came to visit, and even fewer were willing to take on work. Therefore, there was a backlog of unfulfilled requests from the society.

The Golden Sunrise Resort usually called in inventors from the capital when problems arose. This time, however, the urgency of the situation had necessitated reaching out to the local inventors’ society as well, and this newcomer was who they had sent.

He wore a hat over his short blond hair and was slender of build, with delicate hands and intelligent eyes. He had the kind of handsome charm that was rare in these parts, causing quite the stir among the female hotel staff.

They were so starved for entertainment that even this sort of visitor, who’d be gone again tomorrow, was a hot topic for conversation.

The inventor said, “The damage to the hot spring water supply wasn’t complicated, so the repairs took no time at all. Seeing as I’m here, is there anything else you’d like me to look at?”

“O-Oh, no, you needn’t trouble yourself...”

“No, but do tell us where you’re staying tonight. If you’d like, I thought we could have dinner? To say thank you...”

The inventor laughed. “I’m afraid I’ll be leaving town this evening. I’ll go and take a look at a few more of the rooms. If the magical devices are all in order, then I’ll be on my way.”

“Oh no!”

“That’s no fun!”

The inventor smoothly sidestepped the women’s advances and was in and out of the hotel before the day was out. To the women, it was no more than another one-off encounter.

Hmm... I’m not sure how I feel about women flirting with me just because I’m dressed like a man. Should I be upset that they couldn’t tell I’m actually a woman?

The handsome inventor—who was, of course, Astrid—put the hotel behind her.

Resplendent carriages were common in Côte Sud, but even the locals who were inured to wealthy visitors did a double take at the sight of the latest procession.

A pure white carriage—ornamented with gold leaves and flying banners emblazoned with a noble family’s coat of arms—led a convoy of more than ten other carriages full of attendants and luggage. Standing guard over them was a company of knights clad in plate armor, which had to be unbearable in the sweltering sunshine of the beach resort. They were also so heavily armed that, despite the enormous fortune on board the carriages, no bandit would have dreamed of ambushing them.

The merchant who owned the Golden Sunrise Resort shivered as he stood out in front of the hotel, waiting for the procession to arrive. The staff were lined up on either side of the lobby, which had been thoroughly swept. There wasn’t a speck of dust in sight.

One of the knights announced, “His Lordship Count Oolonteil of the glorious Yupiter Empire!”

The merchant already had his head bowed as low as seemed physically possible, but at this, he managed to go even lower.

There was a CLICK as the carriage door opened, and from inside came the hoarse voice of an elderly man.

“You may rise.”

The merchant flinched. Then, with some trepidation, he looked up.

The man before him was as thin as a withered tree but stood ramrod straight, as though he had an iron rod in place of a spine. His white hair was slicked back, and he wore a pair of spectacles perched on his aquiline nose. Both his hands gripped a polished cane that radiated an ineffable glow, carved from a magical tree said to be many centuries old.

“Let’s go in. I have business to discuss.”

“O-O-Of course!”

They passed through the lobby, which was silent as the grave, then made their way to the merchant’s office. The decor was as lavish as ever, but the lights seemed somehow dimmer than usual. The count paid this no heed and promptly installed himself upon the couch.

He had brought two knights with him as guards. The merchant, meanwhile, was all alone. He hoped that the servant who came in to serve tea might stay, but no sooner had they laid out the teacups than they all but fled the room.

Gazing down at the four of them was a painting depicting two goddesses: Isu, goddess of belief, and Luthys, goddess of truth. It had in fact come to him from the count—and with it, a threat. The eyes of belief and truth were a reminder that the count was watching his every move. It was not the most tasteful gift.

The merchant’s portly figure seemed to shrink in on itself as he faced the count, who lounged on the couch with both hands planted on his cane.

“I trust you know why I’ve come,” the count said.

“Y-Yes, you are most gracious, your most excellent lordship—”

The count turned to one side and said, “Go on.”

One of the knights drew his sword and held it to the merchant’s nose. He let out a small shriek.

“That’s a taste of what will happen the next time you waste my time with drivel. I have no shortage of replacements for you.”

“Very good, my lord!”

“Now, tell me what happened.”

“V-Very well...”

With that, the whole story poured out of the merchant, from the revival of the public bathhouse and the commoner neighborhood, to how his hired thugs had been driven off.

“And, erm, that’s the size of it...” the merchant finished, reaching for his teacup with trembling fingers and taking a sip.

The count appeared to be deep in thought.

“So those benighted peasants are getting ideas, eh...?” he said to himself. “The question is, who put those ideas in their heads... A few come to mind who might dare to oppose me...”

“Y-Your lordship...?” the merchant stammered.

“We passed the tax inspection without any snags, but that’s only to be expected. After all, this is an honest business you’re running here. I’m told it didn’t go so smoothly for some of the other hotels.”

“Ah, yes... I did hear that...”

As far as the merchants of the Yupiter Empire were concerned, a little cooking of one’s books was no more than sensible business practice. After all, not doing so meant having to pay eyewatering amounts of tax. To be a merchant meant welcoming all money coming in and begrudging every small copper that went out again, so if a tiny adjustment in the ledgers meant holding on to those coins, why wouldn’t someone do it? Besides, if they were caught, they could just feign ignorance: “Dear me, is something wrong, inspector? Perhaps an error in the calculations? Happens all the time, I’m sure.”

But the owner of the Golden Sunrise Resort had been forewarned by Count Oolonteil that this inspection would be particularly strict, so he had kept his accounts accurate and honest—honesty bordering on stupidity, if you asked his peers, but his tax inspection had come back clean on every point. It was of course a tactical play so that when the redevelopment kicked off, people would recommend him as an upstanding merchant.

“The trouble is this report from the inspector. He included a caveat requiring ‘follow-up observation of the commoner neighborhood for the period of one year.’ It’s reignited the debate about the redevelopment all over again.”

“O-Oh dear...”

“For all we know, it may be delayed longer. And then other nobles will start sticking their noses in.”

The merchant was dismayed.

With the redevelopment project as justification, he could boot the residents out of the commoner neighborhood—he’d offer them token compensation—build another giant hotel under the auspices of his merchant house, and his success would be assured.

But for that to happen, it was vital that Count Oolonteil be put in charge of the whole project. The fact was that for the merchant, building a new hotel would be a once-in-a-lifetime investment—but for the count, it was nothing. One more hotel would barely be noticed among his assets. The other nobles, therefore, didn’t so much as raise an eyebrow at the scheme. It was just one more hotel, after all.

But the count’s true ambitions lay beyond that. If the redevelopment succeeded, tax revenue would shoot up and generate momentum for further development in Côte Sud. Or rather, he was confident he could create that momentum.

All kinds of projects would spring up, from improvements to the road to the capital, to clearing the forest to establish new towns, to perhaps even constructing a port to draw in visitors from abroad. In all events, it would be an enormous undertaking—and Count Oolonteil would be there at the center of it.

The other nobles hadn’t cottoned on to his grand designs yet. If they noticed at all, they just thought it was awfully commendable of him to help his favored merchants to turn a profit.

“If I start picking holes in the accounting bureau’s report, the other nobles will smell a rat. They’ll see the juicy opportunity that this redevelopment represents. We must proceed discreetly.”

“I understand completely, my lord.”

“Oh? Then pray tell. What possessed you to hire a pack of thugs?!”

CRACK.

The count’s cane slammed down the table, shattering the merchant’s teacup and sending tea flying everywhere.

“F-Forgive me!” the merchant whimpered, sliding off the couch to prostrate himself.

The count’s breath came in wheezing gasps.

“My lord...” murmured one of the knights. “It is not good for your health to exert yourself so.”

“Yes, yes, I know,” the count said. “In the face of such incompetence, I just couldn’t help myself.” He settled back into the couch. “Give careful thought to your methods. If a problem can be solved with money, you pay it. When you covet the coins in your hand today, you miss out on a fortune tomorrow. Haven’t I told you that before?”

“Y-Yes, my lord!”

“Then see you take it to heart. There are plenty of ways to get rid of the rabble in the commoner neighborhood. It doesn’t matter if a few have to die—no one’s going to care. And don’t forget that the same goes for you.”

“Y-Y-Yes, my lord!”

The threat was clear—the count would kill him as soon as he ceased to be useful. All the merchant could do was press his forehead even harder into the floor.

The count looked down at him coldly, then stood up.

“We’ll be leav—” he began, then broke off. The blood drained from his face and beads of sweat appeared on his brow. “Wh-What in the world...”

The two knights looked confused. They followed his gaze, then their faces froze in shock. Finally, realizing something was amiss, the merchant looked up—and leaped back with a shriek.

Above them hung the painting of the two goddesses. Something was dripping from their eyes. Something red as blood. And scrawled across the canvas in the same red liquid:

Isu, goddess of belief, and Luthys, goddess of Truth, are watching you.

The count made a hasty departure and was long gone from Côte Sud before the day was out.

“BA HA HA HA HA! You dressed up as a man and no one noticed?” Emily exclaimed, falling about laughing.

“I wanted to disguise myself just in case,” Astrid muttered. “I thought people would be a little suspicious at least...”

“You’ve gotta show me next time.”

“Absolutely not. You’d never let me live it down.”

The two of them sat side by side in the steaming water of the public bath. Emily felt a pang of envy when Astrid stretched out her long, slender arms and legs. Astrid might not have a feminine bone in her body, but she had an incredible figure.

Just then, Nina slipped into the bath beside them.

“Ahh... It’s so warm. I feel tingly all over.”

She’d removed her glasses and taken her hair out of its braids, pinning it up on top of her head instead. Thanks to the long sleeves and full skirt she always wore, her skin was pale.

“That’ll be the minerals from the hot spring. Your skin will feel silky smooth when you get out.”

“Hot springs really are as amazing as I’d heard...”

“I just can’t get over how weird it is to see you out of your maid uniform!”

“Hey, Tien!” Astrid said. “Aren’t you getting in?”

“Chi cannot understand why anyone would soak in hot water.”

“It feels wonderful, Tien!” Nina said.

“Even you cannot convince Chi.”

“But it does—truly, it does.”

Tien looked decidedly unenthusiastic. But seeing the blissful look on Nina’s face, she cautiously dipped a hand into the water. Then, starting with her toes, she slowly lowered herself into the bath. Her tail stayed pointed straight up. Trembling a little, she kept going until she was submerged to her shoulders. A strange growling noise escaped her.

Emily sighed happily and stretched herself out. “Hot springs really are the best.”

This was their first time using the bath, and the old woman had kindly arranged for them to have it all to themselves. Dazzling sunlight danced on the water’s surface, and there was a cool breeze. The open-air bath offered a sense of release that was exactly what Emily had been dreaming of.

At long last, everything had been resolved.

The orphans now had the means and the knowledge to keep themselves fed, and the locals had rediscovered a sense of community. The change in them was, in a way, just a byproduct of the revival of the public bathhouse, but it was a relief to know that they’d look out for the orphans. Nina wouldn’t stay in Côte Sud forever, after all.

Then there’d been the problem of the resort hotel and the noble who backed it. Nina and the others couldn’t hope to challenge a person of such high rank. Emily and Astrid were sure that he had designs on the commoner neighborhood, but beyond chasing off thugs, there was nothing they could do.

Until Tien gave Emily a flash of inspiration, that is.

“The moon sees all of your misdeeds.”

As soon as Emily heard that, it was like her brain kicked into gear. That was it, she’d thought. They could use the gods.

Many of the higher-ranking nobles were deeply religious; they wouldn’t question any warning if a god delivered it. No commoner would have dared to do anything so outrageous as they did, but Emily had been reincarnated from another world, and Astrid, as an inventor, was scientifically minded. When Emily pitched the idea to Astrid, she immediately said, “Sounds good,” and that was that.

Afterward, they sneaked into the Golden Sunrise Resort to sabotage the magical pump that drew water for its baths. The device was outside, so it had been easy.

The inventors’ society then called Astrid in to fix it, allowing her to stroll into the hotel through the front door. She took a look around until she found a painting of the goddesses that suited their purposes, rigged it up with a mechanism that would spurt blood-like liquid, and they were all set.

That obviously important noble rolling up was a surprise, but still, his timing had been perfect. He hadn’t even been part of the plan. Was it mere luck? Or...

“Or maybe it really was divine intervention?” Emily said under her breath, then chuckled. “Maybe even the gods love Nina...”

“Emily? Did you say something?” Nina asked.

“Uh-uh, it’s noth— Nina?! You’re bright red!”

“Mm... I do...feel a little dizzy...”

“Wha?! Hey, Tien! Get Nina out of the bath!”

The four of them couldn’t fully escape chaos, even at a hot spring. In the end, they never had a proper day at the beach—though they wouldn’t realize that until they were in a carriage halfway back to the capital.

Around the same time, rumors were already flying among the wealthy visitors to Côte Sud.

Apparently, a certain important noble had received a message from the gods that had affected him so profoundly that he would not be returning to the resort for a while. But this noble was also known to be relentless, ambitious, the sort of man who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. Once his religious fervor cooled off, he would be back—though that would likely take a year at least.

What became of Côte Sud’s commoner neighborhood in the meantime would be up to the residents themselves to decide.

Chapter Four: A Challenge to a Maid Duel from a Top-Ranking Maid?!

Thanks to a particularly talkative merchant, rumors of the curious new foods on offer in the Yupiter resort town of Côte Sud spread out and eventually reached the ears of the nobility. Although, once they learned that it was all made from small fish and other things that no self-respecting aristocrat would eat, not one felt compelled to travel all the way to Côte Sud. On that point, at least, the portly merchant’s fears had been unfounded.

Some, however, saw the report from the accounting bureau stating that changes to the town’s commoner neighborhood necessitated a yearlong observation period, and became interested for very different reasons.

One of them was Marquess Donquis.

The house of Donquis was one of the most illustrious and distinguished noble families, but its marquess had no ambition whatsoever and always kept his distance from the political strife of the central empire. He had vast holdings that he hired other people to manage, so even if he ignored them, he never wanted for money nor had to get his own hands dirty. The only thing he had to fill his time was collecting intelligence—in other words, he had more leisure time than he knew what to do with.

“Well, well... It almost sounds as though someone’s pulled one over on Count Oolonteil.”

The marquess was at his large estate in the capital and had just finished reading the report brought to him by his elderly butler. He was a middle-aged man with an inclination to plumpness, large eyes, and a boyish face. To stave off boredom, he spent his days gathering and analyzing information and had long ago seen through the count’s schemes.

Of course, he hadn’t done anything about it. He had no interest in getting mixed up in the tedious ins and outs of Côte Sud development projects. Nor did he tell anyone. It was enough for him that he knew and could chuckle about it in private. He was well and truly a man of leisure.

“So which noble was behind it all? I’d love to know...”

“That’s just the thing, my lord...” the butler said. “None of my investigations turned up evidence of any noble involvement.”

“What’s that?” Marquess Donquis’s eyes lit up. “You mean there’s a noble out there wily enough to deceive even you? That’s news to me. Must be one of those newly elevated families.”

“I cannot say, my lord. The sole lead I have at this stage is the appearance of a maid who had no place being in the commoner neighborhood.”

“A what?” The marquess cocked his head questioningly—an odd gesture for a middle-aged man.

“The maid in question is rather interesting... You will recall, I’m sure, the stir that recently arose when the Dark Frost Mercenaries—the capital’s preeminent mercenary company—applied to disband.”

“Mm, I remember something of that nature. But I abhor everything to do with war, you know.”

“It would seem Her Imperial Majesty summoned their captain thereafter.”

“Oh? Because they’re such an established company, I suppose?”

“I am told that they played a part in Her Majesty’s accession to the throne.”

“But that was half a century ago. I hadn’t even been born yet.”

The empress of Yupiter had celebrated her fiftieth jubilee this year.

“I imagine Her Majesty still remembers those days well.”

“Once you spend all your time on old stories, you might as well just call it a day, don’t you think? Good grief.”

“My lord,” the butler said, “you are forgetting yourself.”

“Yes, yes, I know. I didn’t mean it. My apologies to Her Imperial Majesty,” the marquess said, not sounding at all contrite. “Now, what were you saying about those mercenaries?”

“When the empress asked the captain why he decided to disband his mercenary company, he was overheard saying that seeing the diligence of Maid & Co. was what made it clear to him.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’m afraid I don’t know. When I investigated the maids in the service of the mercenary company in question, I learned that the long-term employees are still working there—at the mansion that formerly housed the mercenary company, that is—just the same as they always had. However, a few days before the company disbanded, they hired a new maid who resigned again immediately afterward. I wanted to summon her here to find out more, but she had already left the capital. Apparently, she is traveling as an adventurer of all things.”

“The maid is also an adventurer?”

“It turns out that ‘Maid & Co.’ is the name of an adventuring party. Whether that is supposed to be some sort of joke, I can’t say. But this party took a job escorting a merchant caravan to Côte Sud.”

“So what? You think the maid who inspired the capital’s top mercenary company to disband is the same one who showed up in the area of Côte Sud due to be redeveloped? I suppose she hoodwinked Count Oolonteil too?”

“I am not certain of anything, but it cannot be denied that she is highly intriguing.”

“Hmm...” The marquess’s nonplussed look suddenly morphed into a grin. “She does sound interesting. I’d rather like to meet her.”

“I thought you would, my lord. I am currently working to ascertain her whereabouts.”

“How do you think she’ll compare to our maid?”

The butler chuckled. “You jest, my lord. At the end of the day, this is just an ordinary maid out of a job. It’s hardly fair to hold her up against an elite Lorsted maid like our Ciara.”

With a respectful bow, he left the room.

The adventuring party Maid & Co. arrived back in the capital city of Thundergard. Unlike when they’d left, they didn’t look for jobs as merchant protection escorts, and instead slipped quietly into town on a coach. Emily, Astrid, and Tien were all in agreement—they wanted to keep a low profile. A moment of carelessness and they’d end up with more rich people chasing after Nina.

When they told Nina this, she said, “As far as I’m concerned, you’re all far more impressive than I am.” She couldn’t understand why none of them agreed with her.

As dusk fell, they arrived back at the inn they’d stayed at last time, and managed to get a four-person room on the second floor. Freed from the stress of travel, Emily, Astrid, and Tien all collapsed into bed. Nina stayed up to unpack and organize their belongings.

As a Fifth Degree mage, Emily would have been welcomed with open arms by any nation or adventuring party. Astrid’s genius for invention was so obvious that even a layperson like Nina could see it. And Tien, a lupalune, had held her own against the strongest mercenaries around.

“Hmm...” she grumbled, putting her hands on her hips. “I’m just a maid. Surely there’s no question that they’re more impressive than me...”

Incidentally, all of their luggage was now clean and neatly arranged. You’d never have guessed that they’d just arrived back from a long journey.

Just then, there was a voice from the corridor.

“Miss Maid? Someone’s here to see you.”

“Just a minute!”

When Nina went down to the lobby, a girl who worked at the inn was waiting for her.

Nina was puzzled. Who could possibly be calling on her?

“He thought a lot of himself, I’ll tell you that,” the girl said when Nina asked. “I said he could come in and wait if he liked, and you know what he said? ‘I wouldn’t set foot in that filthy hovel.’ Talk about rude!”

She stormed away in a huff. Nina took this to mean that her visitor was waiting outside.

When she opened the door, she found a gleaming, high-class carriage parked in the street. A young man in a black jacket that marked him as a manservant from some estate came up to her.

“Are you the maid, then?” he demanded.

“I am a maid, yes...”

He looked her up and down. “It’s really you?”

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean...”

“There isn’t some other maid in there?”

“No, as far as I know I’m the only maid staying at this inn...”

“Well clearly there’s been some mistake. Drat that butler! He makes out like it’s so urgent, then he goes and gives me the wrong damn address!”

Nina had no idea what was going on, but she frowned slightly when he began cursing. No matter how unreasonable or infuriating things got, a servant never showed their emotions in public. What was more, the fine tailoring of the man’s suit and the grand carriage meant that he must work at a very eminent estate—perhaps even a noble family. He didn’t seem to realize that his behavior would reflect on his master’s reputation.

“If you are the maid that got a mercenary band to disband, I could get this over with.”

“G-Good heavens, no. I don’t have the power to do anything like that.”

“Of course you don’t! That’s obvious just from looking at you. What a waste of time.” The man spat on the ground, then climbed back into the carriage and left.

“Whatever was all that about?” Nina wondered. For a while, she stood there in the light of the sunset, puzzling it over. But in the end, she gave up.

Make a mercenary company disband? Her? The idea was preposterous. Yes, the old captain had talked about disbanding the Dark Frost Mercenaries, but that was his decision. It didn’t have anything to do with her. Of course, Nina would think that.

“Worrying won’t do any good,” she told herself, and went back inside.

The next morning, an even more resplendent carriage pulled up outside the inn.

This time, the inn girl came to the door of their room.

“Hey, Miss Maid! Another visitor for you!”

“Goodness... I wonder why. Do you think it’s about yesterday?”

“Haven’t a clue, but there’s a knight with ’em! I never saw anything so dashing!”

With that, she ran off downstairs again, probably to gawk at the knight.

Nina had just murmured, “I’m sure they’ve mistaken me for someone else,” when—

“NINAAAA!!!” Emily, who’d seen the carriage from the window, stormed over. “What have you done now?!”

“I haven’t done anything!”

Astrid came over too. “I heard that girl say ‘another,’ and you say ‘yesterday.’”

“Well, yes,” Nina admitted. “Yesterday, a manservant came by—I’m not sure who he worked for, but when it turned out I wasn’t who he was looking for, he left again.”

Emily, who’d just woken up and eaten the breakfast Nina had made for her, said, “You might have told us that!” She ran her fingers through her hair, which Nina had also just brushed for her.

“At any rate, I’d better go and see them.”

“Hold on! Not without me you’re not!”

Emily was rushing to get herself ready when they heard a loud voice from the street.

“Nina the maid! I know you’re in there! Come out at once!”

It sounded like one of the knights the girl had mentioned. While Nina was thinking this, Emily, Astrid, and Tien formed a huddle.

“Be careful, Tien. There’s eight fully armed knights out there.”

“Chi will be fine. You take care that you do not mess up your spell.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“You two both seem keen for a fight, but may I suggest escaping out the back door...?” Astrid said.

“No, I wanna hear what they’ve got to say. If we become fugitives, it’ll be a nightmare trying to get out of the country. I’ll make the call—you guys know the plan. When I give the signal, you move.”

“Understood.”

“Guess we don’t have a choice, huh?”

As they whispered about the impending danger, the three of them were all thinking the same thing: It’s finally happened. Someone’s got their eye on Nina.

This was why they had multiple escape plans ready to go.

The only one who was still a bit lost was Nina.

“Right, let’s go,” Emily told her.

“Oh! All right.”

The four of them stepped out the front door together and were immediately surrounded by knights on horseback.

“You must be the maid called Nina,” one said. “Get in the carriage. Marquess Donquis is waiting.”

He definitely wasn’t asking. Emily stepped in front of Nina.

“Who do you think you are?” she demanded. “The law doesn’t let your boss kidnap commoners just because he’s some fancy no—”

She broke off as the knights all drew their swords.

“Open your mouth again and be cut down as punishment for standing in a noble’s path.”

“What the hell?! You can’t just order me around like that!”

“You were warned.” The knights all raised their swords. Then—

“Hurry it up, would you? What are you nattering about?”

The door of the carriage swung open and a slightly plump, middle-aged man poked his head out. All the knights jumped, then lowered their swords sheepishly.

“Y-Your pardon, my lord... This commoner refused to listen to reason...”

“Look, I told you I wanted you to bring me Nina, didn’t I? Did I say anything about waving your swords around?”

“Um. No, my lord...”

“All of you, back off.”

“Yes, my lord!”

The knights, who were all looking pale, wheeled their horses around and went to wait on the other side of the carriage.

“Now, where were we...” the man said. “You’re a mage, aren’t you? Look, I respect your spirit, but against a knight who’s already drawn his sword, you’re helpless. Pick your battles, okay?”

Emily said nothing as she and Tien stood shoulder to shoulder to shield Nina. Emily was proficient in tacit casting, so she would have been totally fine, but she wasn’t about to just tell him that.

The plump man in front of her was the cause of this predicament. Nothing was turning out how they’d expected.

“Would you be the marquess, then...?” Nina asked.

“That’s right. I’m the Marquess Donquis.”

Emily groaned internally. A noble’s servant she could have handled—sending them away would have given them enough time to leave Thundergard. But now that the noble had come himself, they’d have to keep him happy, or they’d immediately find themselves under arrest as soon as they tried to get away. He could invent any number of charges against them. That was how much privilege the noble class had.

“Well, the maid called Nina that you wanted is me...” Nina said. “A very good day to you, my lord.”

“Eh?”

Donquis’s eyes shot to Nina as she stepped smoothly forward and bowed. He stared. Then he stared even harder. He was completely still, as though he’d frozen in time.

When he didn’t answer her, Nina went on. “I’m terribly sorry to say this after you did me the honor of coming here yourself, but I believe you’ve mistaken me for someone else. I’m nothing more than a maid without a position.”

“It’s you,” Donquis said.

He leaped down from the carriage with an agility that left everyone around him—and himself for that matter—baffled as to how a man of his stature could move so nimbly.

Clasping Nina’s hand in his, he said again, “It’s YOU!”

“What? As I said, I’m sure there’s been some—”

“No, no! Not that!” Donquis was practically shouting now. “The first moment I saw you, I knew! I want you to be my third wife!”

“Wha...?”

There was a moment of total silence.

“WHAAAAAAAAT?!”

It wasn’t clear who the cry of shock had come from, but Emily, Astrid and Tien all seemed likely candidates.

The imperial capital of Thundergard was known by many names—the city where the sun never set, the thousand-year city, the glorious capital... It was a city with a long history, so naturally, the closer one got to the center, the less land there was available.

Nina and the others, therefore, couldn’t believe their eyes.

The estate they arrived at was enormous. The grounds, which were so vast that it was hard to believe that just outside lay the tightly packed houses of the capital, were thickly wooded. There was even a large pond. The Dark Frost Mercenaries’ estate had been large as well, but this was on a whole different scale—and right in the middle of the city. That towering building in the distance could only be the residence of Marquess Donquis.

The four of them had been so stunned by his proposal to Nina that before they could muster any counterarguments, they’d found themselves herded into the carriage and escorted here.

“Come, Nina. From today, this shall be your home.”

As the apparently besotted marquess approached, they finally came back to their senses. Astrid reached out from behind Nina and scooped her up in her arms while Emily planted herself between them.

“Wh-Where do you get off on shocking people like that?!” she said. “And what even is this place?!”

“It’s...my house?”

“Yeah, no duh! The point is, we’re not giving you Nina, you lolicon creep!”

“Loli...what? I haven’t any idea what you mean. All I want is Nina.”

“Chi will not let you have her,” Tien said, stepping forward to stand beside Emily.

“Why not? You do know I’m a marquess, right? A noble? Marrying into a noble family is the best thing that could happen to a commoner girl like her.”

“Nina is traveling with us, my lord,” Astrid said. “We’re not even staying in the city very long.”

“You can go off traveling again once she’s a noble. It’ll be safer, and you can get into places ordinary commoners can’t.”

Donquis had a comeback for everything Emily and the others threw at him. He was well aware of the privileges afforded to him by his class, and believed himself far superior to any commoner.

“If you please, my lord...” Nina said hesitantly. “I’m truly sorry, but it’s just as Emily and the others said. I’m not at all fit to become the wife of a noble.”

“What makes you think that? I’ll arrange the whole thing. All you need to bring is yourself.”

“Well, seeing as you asked, my lord, the reason is simply this: I’m a maid.”

This didn’t follow at all, but to Emily, Astrid, and Tien, it made perfect sense.

“Um. Okay...?” Donquis looked confused. He considered things for a moment. “In that case, I wish to hire you to work for my household. That’s what maids do, isn’t it? Not travel.”

“Erm, yes, I suppose...”

“Right! That settles it, then! You shall join my household as a ma—”

“Master! What is all this?!”

A crowd of around thirty people emerged from the mansion and hurried toward them. They were all maids, yet their clothes were made from exceptionally fine fabrics, without a trace of dirt or a frayed hem in sight.

Leading the pack was a girl with long blonde hair tied in a single braid, and pulled back to reveal her large forehead.

Her fierce, golden eyes were fixed on Marquess Donquis.

The butler went over to her and leaned close to her ear. “The master of the house wishes to add that maid to our household.”

The blonde girl’s eyes went wide. “Master... There are some things that even you ought not to involve yourself in. I, Ciara Lorsted, am your housekeeper, and the hiring of maids is my domain! It was in your contract with the Lorsted maids!”

Nina was dumbstruck.

This young girl was the housekeeper? And not only that, she’d said Lorsted maids!

“Th-The famed Lorsted maids...? The very best in all of maid-dom? I never imagined I might meet one of them here!”

Maid-dom? Did Nina really just say ‘maid-dom’? Emily wanted to tease her about it, but Nina’s expression was so deathly serious that she caught herself.

Donquis looked very pleased with himself. “Ah, you know of them? That’ll make this easy. You are exactly right! In my household, I employ a maid of the Lorsted family. The name of Lorsted is bestowed only upon those who have studied directly under and received the approval of the maid that all nobles dream of one day employing...Winoa Lorsted! They call themselves the Lorsted maids! What do you say now, Nina? Will you come and work for me?”

It was nice of him to give a full explanation, even though the Lorsted maid in question had just told him off.

“I’m afraid I must decline,” Nina said.

“Eh?! Why?!”

“My mistress gave me firm instructions to never associate with the maids of the Lorsted family.”

“Why would she say that? The Lorsted maids are the best in the world, aren’t they?”

“EEEEYAAAAHHHH!!!”

All of a sudden, Ciara Lorsted let out a deafening shriek.

Heads turned. The girl coughed, steadying herself.

“My apologies for that most un-maid-like interjection,” she said, “but master, there is something I need to tell you. See the way she carries herself, how she wears her uniform. Even after a single meeting, I would never forget a maid of such ability, and yet I have no memory of her. At the same time, however, I had the strangest sense of having seen her somewhere before. This maid’s mistress is Vasiliace!”

Everyone, Ciara’s fellow maids included, looked blank.

Except for Nina, that is.

“You know my mistress, then?” she said.

Yes, Vasiliace was the name of the maid who’d trained her.

Ciara turned back to the marquess. “My lord Donquis,” she said imploringly. “If she is indeed one of Vasiliace’s girls, that is all the more reason not to allow her to join your household!”

“Excuse me? I don’t have to listen to this from a maid.” The marquess scowled, but Ciara didn’t back down.

“If you recall, our initial contract stipulated that all matters of employment were to be entrusted to me. If you cannot satisfy all the terms, it will impede me in the flawless execution of my duties.”

“My lord...” the butler said. “On this point, I believe Ciara is correct. The hiring of maids has always been the province of the lady of the house and the housekeeper...”

“Oh, shut up! Just shut up! Fine, I’ll make her my third wife instead! Then I can let her do as much maid-ing as she likes!”

“That is a specious argument that flouts our contract,” Ciara said.

“My lord, employing a Lorsted maid is essential to maintaining your standing. I trust you will use your best judgment.”

“Gah...!”

This exchange between the marquess, the butler, and Ciara struck Nina as rather odd. The way it usually worked was that the master of the house was at the top, and the maids and manservants obeyed his orders. They might offer suggestions when the master’s decision was obviously wrong, but the way that the butler had all but ordered the marquess to consider a maid’s opinion was unthinkable. Yet the butler and Ciara asserted themselves as though it were perfectly natural.

“Look, I just don’t see what the big deal is about Nina being a maid!” the marquess whined. “Who’s Vasi-what’s-her-face anyway?”

“Vasiliace is infamous in maid-dom for being a psychopathic drunk. Not to mention her hostility toward the Lorsteds.”

“Uh...” Emily looked at Nina. “That’s who you learned to be a maid from?”

Nina laughed sheepishly. “More or less...”

Apparently, it was a pretty accurate portrait.

“What do I care if she’s hostile?!” the marquess said. “That wasn’t in our contract!”

Ciara sighed as though she were trying to reason with a toddler having a tantrum.

“Then this is what I propose,” she said. “While I cannot begin to fathom your fascination with this so-called Nina who herself admits to being a disciple of Vasiliace, perhaps a demonstration of how her capabilities pale in comparison to those of a Lorsted maid will convince you to give up this ridiculous notion of employing her.”

“A demonstration?”

“Yes, my lord. I propose a maid duel.”

“Uh...?”

The marquess stared at her, speechless. He wasn’t surprised so much as baffled by the concept of a “maid duel.” In fact, everyone there knew exactly how he felt.

“You shall duel me.”

Ciara looked hatefully at Nina, who looked just as confused as the others. She didn’t seem taken by the idea.

“What are you looking like that for?” Ciara demanded. “Ahh, I see how it is. You’re scared of losing, aren’t you?”

“Hey, um... I don’t know what this maid duel thing is, but we just want to get out of here. I know I’m not keen to work at this estate,” Emily said. “Can we just say you won, and you let us leave?”

“Be silent, you washed-up excuse for a mage.”

“H-Hey! I’m the real deal, I’ll have you know!”

“What any of you want is no longer relevant. As a Lorsted maid, I’m obligated to show Vasiliace’s disciple the difference in our abilities, aren’t I?”

“What are you asking me for?!”

“And more to the point, do you think a failed, commoner mage can deny the wishes of His Lordship, the Marquess Donquis?”

Emily gritted her teeth. Ciara got her there—it was all but impossible for a commoner to refuse a noble. What they really should have done was escape earlier, when Donquis, the housekeeper, and the butler had been at loggerheads. But she’d been so confused that she’d stuck around to hear the whole argument play out.

“Just a minute,” Astrid chimed in. “You said you want a duel. If Nina wins, we get to leave, right?”

“And who are you supposed to be? Some hack inventor?”

“You’re talking to an inventor from the Freja Kingdom,” Astrid said, flashing her inventor papers. Ciara promptly clasped her hands over her skirts and performed a flawless bow.

“What a pleasure to make the acquaintance of an inventor of such ability. In the highly implausible case that Nina wins our duel, you are welcome to leave.”

“Now see here—!” Donquis began, but Ciara cut him off.

“Hush now, master. Surely you don’t think that I might lose? I am a Lorsted maid.” The look she shot him was so ferocious that the marquess flinched back with a whimper. There was something seriously odd about this master-servant dynamic.

“If I win—I mean, obviously I will win—but in that case, Nina will become my master’s third wife or whatever it is he wants. But if she wants to be a maid here, she must first master the way of the Lorsted maids.”

“Hmm,” Astrid considered. “That seems fair enough. Nina accepts your challenge.”

“What?! Astrid!” Emily hissed.

“You are unbelievable,” Tien said hotly.

Astrid pulled the two of them close and whispered, “Whatever this maid duel turns out to be, do you seriously think Nina could lose?”

“Well, no...”

“Chi cannot imagine it...”

“Then our best bet is to get it over with quickly. The chance to make it like this noble’s interest in Nina never happened outweighs the risks.”

Emily groaned. “I mean, you’re not wrong...”

Tien growled a little.

Both were clearly unhappy about the plan, and rightly so. First they were dragged to this mansion and now Nina had been challenged to a duel, and none of them had gotten any say in the matter. To Astrid, however, the offer to let them walk away if Nina won the duel was too good to pass up. That was how selfish, tiresome and just plain annoying the privileged nobles could get.

“Erm, I’m sorry...” Nina said. “This is all my fault.”

“You shouldn’t blame yourself for any of this,” Astrid told her. “And sorry about the duel. Will you accept the challenge? We’ll be cheering you on.”

“A-All right. I’ll do my best.”

Astrid turned to look over her shoulder at Ciara. “Before we seal the deal, I’d like to add one more condition for when Nina wins.”

“Why? There’s no point when I’m going to win, is there?”

“Ahh, so that’s how it is,” Astrid said knowingly. “The rules of this ‘maid duel’ are somehow rigged to make sure that Nina can’t win, right?”

“H-How could you even suggest such a thing?! On my honor as a Lorsted maid, I swear that I will not cheat against Vasiliace’s disciple. Our duel shall be open and above board.”

“I’ll take your word for it. My condition is nothing big. If you’ll accept it, I won’t ask for anything more.”

“Let’s hear it, then,” Ciara muttered.

Astrid turned to Donquis, then went down on one knee in a formal Frejan gesture of respect.

“My lord marquess,” she said, “I would beg a favor of you.”

“H-Huh...?”

Donquis was thrown for a moment. The high-class formality was one he knew well, but he hadn’t expected it from a woman he’d assumed was a commoner.

“I am compelled to ask that you keep everything you know about Nina under lock and key. If I may be frank...I am totally at a loss as to how you managed to ascertain her whereabouts. A few concerning incidents occur to me, but I thought we’d been relatively discreet.”

“Oh, that... I mean, I don’t have a problem with that. The other noble houses’ intelligence capabilities have nothing on mine, so if I don’t say anything they’ll be none the wiser.”

Beside the marquess, the butler puffed out his chest.

“You’re probably right that it’s better to keep it hidden,” Donquis went on. “What with the bounty Duke Werther has out for her, when I marry her—”

“A bounty?!” Emily, Astrid, and Tien all said at once. Three pairs of eyes turned to Nina.

“I-I don’t know what he’s talking about!” she said defensively. “I don’t even know who Duke Werther is!”

“I don’t buy it.”

“It does seem suspect.”

“Chi thinks so too.”

Unfortunately for Nina, none of them believed her.

“Oh, who cares about that?” Ciara said. “Nina, come along. We shall have our maid duel at the mansion. You too, master.”

“R-Right...” The marquess hesitated. “Um, you are going to win, right?”

“Master,” Ciara snapped, glaring at him again.

“Mrm...”

Marquess Donquis still didn’t seem convinced, but he set off back to the mansion at Ciara’s heels. The butler and the gaggle of maids followed in their wake.

“We’d better go too, I guess,” Emily said.

“Yeah. Let’s just hope this ‘duel’ wraps up quickly.”

“Come on, Nina,” Tien said. “Nina?”

“Y-Yes, coming!”

Nina had just noticed the frostiness in the other maids’ eyes. She’d have understood had it been her they turned it at—her sudden arrival at the mansion spelled nothing but trouble. But they weren’t looking at her.

Their eyes were on Ciara.

“This duel shall test you on the most basic of basic maid work, the absolute lowest rung of the ladder—the scullery!”

Given the size of the mansion, it followed that the kitchen and scullery were just as vast. There were great buckets brimming with water, and holes in the floor around the sinks that presumably connected to a drainage system. Of those, there were two identical setups.

Ciara quickly began to rattle off an explanation.

“Here we have twenty-five platters, forty plates, six sets of cutlery, and a full array of cooking utensils. All are made from different materials, and...”

Different materials required specific detergents and washing methods. Ciara’s “open and above board” duel meant ensuring Nina had accurate information before they began.

Large as the scullery was, between Ciara, Nina, and their audience—Emily, Astrid, Tien, Marquess Donquis (he’d never set foot in the scullery in his life until now and kept muttering things like “This place stinks”), and all the maids—there wasn’t room to swing a cat.

The butler, incidentally, had been pushed out of the throng of spectators. He was now explaining the situation to the manservants who’d come down to see what the commotion was about. The young man who’d first come to find Nina was among them. He seemed to have come just to gawk.

“So there you have it,” Ciara said. “Any questions?”

“No, thank you,” Nina replied.

“Really? You remembered all that after only hearing it once?”

“Of course. Any maid could do the same.”

There was an outbreak of whispering among the maids. Clearly they had other ideas about what “any maid” could do.

“You there,” Ciara said, pointing at another maid old enough to be her mother. “Give the signal to begin.”

“M-Me, ma’am?”

Nina and Ciara took their places in front of their sinks. The piles of dishes at each were unmistakably identical, as were the various detergents.

But for some reason, Nina’s gaze was fixed on the hole in the sink that led to the drain.

“A-All right then, with your leave, ma’am,” the older maid said. “I’ll start you off. If both of you would take your places...”

Emily noticed the other maids looking at Nina with pitying expressions.

Huh. They think Nina’s gonna lose, do they?

Marquess Donquis fidgeted restlessly. While he had total faith that Ciara would win, he was afraid that Nina might cry when she lost.

Emily, Astrid, and Tien, meanwhile, weren’t worried in the slightest. This was Nina, after all. She couldn’t lose.

“Let the dishwashing duel commence!” cried the older maid.

Nina and Ciara both sprang into action.

The spectacle that followed was like nothing any of the onlookers could have imagined.

Silence hung heavy over the room. Everyone was lost for words.

“It’s...a draw,” the older maid managed to stammer.

The various dishes sat polished and gleaming on the table. There wasn’t a single drop of water in sight.

“Wh-What was that...?”

“That’s what a Lorsted maid can do? I never saw anything like it.”

“Forget that, how’d that other maid keep up with her?!”

The maids were all aflutter.

Nina and Ciara had been a blur. So quickly had they scrubbed their way through the stacks of dishes, yet somehow, neither of them splashed so much as a drop, and the water in the buckets had hardly decreased at all. When they finished, the two of them said at exactly the same time, “Finished!” They weren’t even out of breath.

“Astonishing, Nina!” Donquis exclaimed. “The more I see, the more I love you!”

“Ugh...”

While Ciara gritted her teeth, the marquess was practically jumping for joy. He seemed to have forgotten that if Nina won, she’d be leaving.

“What the heck?” Emily said under her breath. “There’s another maid on Nina’s level?”

“You happened to have a lot of experience in scullery work, I suppose,” Ciara said, sounding a little shaken. “Let’s move on to the next round.”

She strode away from her sink, but Nina paused to glance once more at the drain.

“Nina, I think we’re moving,” Emily said.

“O-Oh, yes! I’m coming!” she said, hurrying over.

“That girl’s really something, huh?”

“Yes,” Nina agreed. “She lives up to the reputation of the Lorsted maids.”

“Nina,” Emily said, peering at her, “are you enjoying this?”

“Wh-Why do you ask...?”

“You know, like the stories where the hero’s happy to find a real rival! It’s a classic!”

“Is she my rival...?”

“Sure she is. I saw the way she sped through those dishes without making the tiniest bit of mess.”

Nina cocked her head. “But any maid could do that...”

Emily opened her mouth to reply.

Then she closed it again.

The next dueling ground Ciara selected was the laundry.

“Let the laundry duel begin!”

This time, they raced to wash towering piles of sheets. It ended—once again—in a draw.

“Ugh... To the next round!” Ciara declared.

The crowd made its way through the mansion.

“Let the room tidying duel begin!”

Once again, the result was a draw.

“N-Next round!”

The crowd got moving again.

“Let the entrance hall floor polishing duel begin!”

Another draw.

Ciara ground her teeth in vexation. “This is getting us nowhere! The next duel shall test your ability to utilize not one, but multiple skills.”

The two maids and their audience stood gathered in the entrance hall. Thanks to the earlier duel, the floor gleamed beneath their feet.

“This will be a shopping duel. Bring me the household shopping list for today.”

“R-Right away, ma’am.”

“Hurry up!”

“My apologies, ma’am...”

The young manservant who’d come to the inn handed over a long paper list. His displeasure at being bossed around by Ciara, who was visibly younger than him, was evident.

Ciara then rounded on the butler. “Why is this man still employed here? I told you he ought to be dismissed.”

“What?!” the young man burst out, alarmed.

“I’m afraid it’s not as simple as that,” the butler replied. “He is a distant relation of Baron Hitbalt.”

“Did I not make it clear that he is unfit to work here?”

“Just as the selection of maids is your domain, Housekeeper, the selection of manservants is mine.”

“Hmph.” Ciara clearly wasn’t happy at all with his answer, but she didn’t press the point.

Nina felt a strange sense of solidarity with the other maid. She herself had noted how the arrogant young man didn’t seem to realize how his behavior reflected on his master’s reputation.

“What?” Ciara snapped, turning to glare at her.

Nina waved her hands. “N-Nothing!”

In the meantime, a broad-chested manservant strode up. “Off you go,” he told the young man, dismissing him.

The young man looked on the verge of making a retort, but settled for stalking off in disgust.

That’s the sort of behavior I mean, Nina wanted to tell him.

“In the next round, we will go out and purchase the items on this list,” Ciara said.

The list was extremely long, and all of it was to be purchased in town. Usually, such items would be delivered directly to the estate by a merchant purveyor, so the quantities given were considerable. Ciara instructed the other maids to add notes so that Nina would know which shops to visit, and even gave her directions.

Finally, there was Marquess Donquis’s seal. This would allow her to make all her purchases without impediment, without any cash changing hands—it was essentially a line of credit.

“Mm-hmm, mm-hmm... Hm?” As Nina went down the list, one item made her stop short. She stared at the slip of paper, then whispered something in the ear of the broad-chested manservant. He nodded, then said something back to her.

“What are you up to? Are you ready or not?” Ciara demanded.

“Oh, yes! Whenever you like.”

The two maids stood before the front door, each clutching an identical list.

The same old maid from all the previous duels cleared her throat, then said, “Let the shopping duel begin!”

At the signal, they both set off. They didn’t run; rather, they walked at a speed that didn’t seem physically possible. In the blink of an eye, they covered the not-insignificant distance to the gate and disappeared out into the streets of the capital.

“Uh... They weren’t running, right?” Emily said.

“No, Nina was definitely walking,” Astrid replied.

“Chi did not hear a single footstep.”

There was a dazed look in the eyes of the remaining three members of Maid & Co.

All they could do now was wait for Nina and Ciara to return.

Given that Ciara worked here in Thundergard, it did seem like she had an advantage over a newly arrived traveler like Nina. But when you put it like that, she’d also had an advantage in all the other rounds where Nina had had to perform maid duties in a totally new environment. All the same, Ciara had taken pains to explain everything to Nina in great detail, so there was no doubting that she was competing fairly. Emily and the others couldn’t raise any objections.

The other maids began setting out tables and chairs in front of the mansion, and it became apparent that Marquess Donquis wished to have tea. Chairs were even brought for Emily and the others, though whether out of consideration or because of their inferior status, they were seated at a remove from the marquess.

Not that Emily, Astrid, and Tien minded. They took their seats and their tea and began munching on the cakes and cookies laid out for them.

“That Lorsted maid or whatever she said is really something,” Emily said. “Maids come in all sorts, huh?”

“But you can also look at it this way,” Astrid said. “Nina must be as good or even better than a Lorsted maid. People would be honored just to hire her. The empress and her nobles would all love to have a maid like her.”

“Nina is in danger,” Tien said.

“Yeah, we’d better get out of the capital sooner rather than later.”

“But if we want what’s best for Nina, maybe it’d be better to look for work for her here...”

“H-Hey! Astrid!”

“Aren’t you curious to see what sort of master Nina would agree to work for?”

“Um, well...” Emily trailed off. Part of her did want to know, and she felt like for a maid, a noble’s estate was probably the best place to work. A maid like Nina would have to find somewhere to settle down and work sooner or later. It wouldn’t be hard to find her a position here in the capital of one of the greatest nations on the continent.

As Emily pondered, Tien said, “But the noble Nina worked for before sounds totally incompetent. Not just any noble will do.”

“That’s a good point, Tien.”

Emily leaped to her feet in excited agreement. “Right, exactly! And that’s why we’ve got to be on the lookout, right?! This place is definitely out! That lolicon marquess? Ick!”

Her voice was so loud that the knights fixed her with menacing stares. They probably didn’t know what “lolicon” meant, but they could guess that it was an insult.

Emily sat back down.

“Mm-mmm, these cookies are great!” she said, smiling unconvincingly.

They sat there waiting for another hour.

The tea had gone cold by now—Emily and the others had drunk so much that they could feel it sloshing around inside them. Marquess Donquis had actually stretched out on his cushioned bench and fallen asleep.

Tien’s ears pricked up first.

“Someone is coming,” she said.

A murmur spread through the waiting crowd as everyone turned to look at the gate. Beyond the guard standing on watch, a mass of packages suddenly materialized. The quantity was absurd. Obviously. The maids had gone out alone to purchase supplies that merchants usually brought to the estate in bulk.

The servants’ entrance swung open, and in walked one—yes, just one—maid.

“I-Is that...?!” Emily gasped.

Striding toward them, her long, blonde braid swinging behind her, was Ciara Lorsted.

No way, Emily thought. Does that mean Nina lost?

Ciara’s expression was intensely serious, and she looked a little harried as she approached the entrance.

“Where is she?! Where’s Vasiliace’s disciple?!”

“M-Ma’am?” stammered the older maid who’d given the starting signal. “You’re the first one back.”

For a moment, Ciara went still as a statue.

She let out a long, long sigh. “I did it, then. I won...” Her voice grew louder and louder. “I won! Me! Mwa ha ha ha ha! What was that girl thinking... She scared me for a moment there!”

This outburst, so decidedly inappropriate for a maid, just went to show how nervous Ciara had been.

“H-Hold on, I want an explanation!” Emily snapped. “What happened out there?!”

“We were neck and neck, but along the way, she suddenly disappeared down a side street. I was terrified that perhaps she knew of some shortcut I didn’t, but I suppose she just went the wrong way. She gave me quite a turn!”

“Nina went the wrong way? Not a chance!” Emily retorted. “There’s been some mistake!”

“As to that, I’m sure I couldn’t say. But it doesn’t change the fact that I won. You may check my purchases against the list.”

With a “Yes, ma’am,” the other maids went over to collect the packages and confirm their contents. The quantity really did beggar belief. How she’d carried them all by herself was anyone’s guess.

Ciara was out of breath, and sweat glistened on her brow. Add to that the disheveled state of her uniform and it was clear she had had a tough time of it.

“These match the list perfectly,” a maid declared.

“I win!” Ciara cried, a smile of childlike joy spreading across her face.

Just then, Tien said, “Nina is back.”

Everyone turned to look at the gate.

Nina came through the servants’ entrance with an enormous load on her back, just like Ciara’s.

“Oh, my...” someone gasped.

But while Nina had just as many packages, she looked totally different. It was the way she walked. Despite what had to be a backbreaking load, she trotted up to them as though it weighed nothing at all. Beside the sweaty and rumpled Ciara, Nina looked just as she had when she’d left.

“H-Holy moly...” Even Emily, with all her experience with Nina, couldn’t hide her amazement.

What drew everyone’s attention was the parcel Nina held in her arms. There definitely hadn’t been a parcel like it among what Ciara had brought back.

Ciara’s eyes widened as she looked at Nina. She understood, of course. The difference in Nina’s demeanor made it clear who was the superior maid.

But she swallowed her frustration and declared, “I got back first. That means you lose.”

Nina didn’t reply. She just handed her purchases to another maid, then went straight over to the broad-chested manservant she’d spoken to before leaving and exchanged a few words with him.

The blood drained from his face, and he hurried over to the butler who heard him out, then went back to talk to Nina again.

“Wh-What is this?! What’s going on?!” Ciara snapped, her irritation getting the better of her. The other maids began to whisper among themselves.

Nina raised a hand and called, “Astrid! I’m so sorry to trouble you, but we need your help. It’s an emergency.”

Emily, Astrid, and Tien exchanged glances. Something was up. Something that could spell trouble.

“Mrmph?”

Just then, the master of the house finally woke up.

Nina was right—it was an emergency. Or at least, it could have turned into one at any moment.

Just as Ciara had said, Nina had turned off down a side street. But she wasn’t looking for a shortcut to the next shop. In fact, the destination she had in mind had nothing to do with anything on the shopping list.

She’d headed for the office that managed the city’s sewage system, where she inquired into the state of the sewage pipes that ran beneath the marquess’s estate.

“One of the items on the list was rat poison,” Nina explained, “but the amount struck me as unusual. Of course, it was possible you wanted to stock up just in case, but...”

This was what Nina had asked the broad-chested manservant about. From him, she learned that far from stocking up, the estate went through the quantity of rat poison on the list in just a few days. Around three weeks earlier, the rat population had suddenly exploded.

“The first sign I noticed of something being wrong was the smell that came up from the drain in the sink,” Nina said.

The sink—the site of her and Ciara’s first duel. There, she’d caught a powerful whiff of rat, and began to suspect that there might be an infestation down in the sewer.

Emily, incidentally, looked totally baffled by the idea of sniffing out rats, but Tien nodded knowingly.

“I thought there might be a problem with the sewer itself, so just in case, I went to the city office to ask about the layout of the pipes. It turns out that the city’s main sewage line runs along the edge of this estate. There are supposed to be mechanisms to prevent rats coming up from the main sewer lines, as well as magic devices that repel them, but it’s possible that they’re broken. I was hoping,” she said, turning to Astrid, “that you could use this device to investigate the problem for me.”

The large bundle in her arms turned out to be a magic device for conducting ground surveys.

They all headed to the back grounds and there, in the farthest corner, they found a number of unusual depressions. The butler made a noise of amazement.

“My goodness... I overlooked all of this. I’d heard about the increase in rats, but I assumed it was just the summer heat and would settle down again.”

He admitted that, because the back grounds were only tended to once every fifty days or so, he hadn’t picked up on the changes.

“So Nina,” Astrid said, “not only did you suspect there was something wrong with the sewer, you even went and found a magical device to investigate? It’s heavy too...”

“That’s right. Although it meant taking a liberty, I thought that rat poison alone wouldn’t solve the root of the problem.”

“It was no liberty at all,” the butler said. “Indeed, it was profoundly astute. I’m sure we would be glad to have you join the house—”

He broke off and turned around with a start. Behind him stood his master, Marquess Donquis.

“Well? How does this work, then?” the marquess demanded. “Did Nina win or lose the duel? Either is fine with me so long as it means she stays here.”

If the last round had simply been about who could do the shopping fastest, then Ciara had won. But if this was truly a maid duel, then the victory could only go to Nina, who had gone straight to the root of the problem.

And no one knew that better than the other duelist herself—Ciara.

She stood rooted to the spot, trembling and visibly shocked.

“I didn’t... I never heard anything about an infestation of rats!” she said shrilly. “Why did no one inform me?! I am the housekeeper!”

The other maids all looked away sheepishly.

“It should be obvious,” came a voice. “When you treat people the way you do, no one wants to report anything.”

It was Tien.

“I-I beg your pardon?!”

“Chi and Nina and the others do not bother with formalities like ‘reports.’ We say what we think. We want to tell each other what happened in our days. But if Chi had to report to someone like you, Chi would rather say nothing at all.”

“How dare you speak to me like that? I am a Lorsted maid! I stand at the very pinnacle of maid-dom!”

“When it comes to the task in front of you, there’s no question that you’re both quick and precise,” Astrid said. “To tell you the truth, I was shocked to see you keep pace with Nina. But when it comes to the substance of the matter... That’s where you fall short.” She turned to Nina. “Tell me, what’s the essence of a maid’s job? What should a maid always be thinking about?”

“Well,” Nina said, “I’d say that a maid must always do her utmost to ensure the comfort of the master of the house and everyone else she encounters.”

“Does that include her fellow maids?”

“Yes, without question! After all, if there were no other maids, it wouldn’t be possible to complete all one’s duties flawlessly.”

This stopped Ciara in her tracks.

She was an excellent maid. Her skills were nothing short of remarkable. But for all that, she was alone.

Emily was reminded of the story The Emperor’s New Clothes. As housekeeper, Ciara bossed the other maids around, but they weren’t truly loyal to her, so in their “reports,” they simply told her what they thought she wanted to hear. Ciara was left almost totally in the dark.

“Ciara lost, my lord,” the butler said.

“So what happens to Nina?” Donquis demanded.

“I’m afraid that she is now free to leave.”

A vein in the marquess’s forehead began to throb.

“Do you think I’ll stand for that?”

The butler hesitated. “No.”

“Then what are you going to do about it?! What were those confident proclamations you made about the great Lorsted maids?! That was the only reason I let you go through with this farce!”

“I must apologize. I set too much store by the Lorsted name.”

Ciara’s eyes widened in shock. “Y-Y-You...!” she spluttered. “You dare disparage the Lorsted maids?! The pinnacle of maid-dom?!”

“I merely stated facts. After all, you lost.”

Ciara gaped at him. “B-But... I am a Lorsted maid...”

She sank to her knees.

But Marquess Donquis was no longer paying her any attention.

“Butler! I am not going to let Nina slip through my fingers!”

“V-Very good, my lord.” The butler raised a hand, and a wall of knights and mercenaries took form in front of Nina and her friends, blocking their escape.

At this point, Emily resigned herself to the facts. This was just how nobles did things.

“It doesn’t look like he’s going to honor his promise, Astrid,” she said. “I assume you’ve got a backup plan, right?”

She and Tien checked behind them. There were the unnatural depressions in the ground, and beyond those, the towering walls that surrounded the estate.

“I absolutely, definitely...do not! I never considered that he’d break his word so easily.” Astrid laughed apologetically.

“Astrid?!”

“I’m sorry,” Nina said. “This is all my fault.”

“No, it is not,” Tien told her. “This is because, in the end, nobles are all scum.”

“Hey!” Donquis shouted, pointing at Tien. “I heard that!”

“Chi is not ashamed. You are lolicon scum!”

Donquis, turning scarlet with fury, made a noise like a kettle boiling.

“Um, Tien...” Emily said. “Do you know what that means?”

“No, but you said it, so Chi knows it must be very insulting.”

I’m gonna get you back for that, Emily thought. But now wasn’t the time.

“Anyway...” Astrid said. “Care to kick things off, Emily?” The look she gave Emily said everything it needed to.

Emily sighed. “I didn’t want to make a scene, but here we are.”

“I guess we’re officially fugitives now.”

“What?!” Nina, picking up on the alarming direction of Astrid and Emily’s conversation, couldn’t help but speak up. “N-No! You mustn’t! I’ll agree to work for the marquess—that’ll resolve everything, won’t it?!”

“If that’s what you really want, I won’t stop you,” Emily said. “But we’re not done with our journey yet, are we? Aren’t there more places you want to see?”

“I...” Nina was lost for words.

“You haven’t seen a single one of the seven great views of the world yet,” Astrid added. “Or visited any of the six ancient capitals!”

“B-But...”

“Are you not going to help find Chi’s mother and father?”

“Gaaah...”

Tien’s words felt like a bit of a low blow, but they did the trick of shaking Nina’s resolve.

“I do...want to keep traveling with all of you...” she admitted.

“Heck yeah! There’s the answer I wanted to hear!”

“Thank you for telling the truth, Nina. I’m proud of you.”

Tien nodded in approval.

With that, Astrid put a protective arm around Nina. Tien placed herself between them and the knights, while Emily turned to face the walls.

There was no one there—in other words, she could cast magic and no one would get hurt.

“Hey, is she a mage?” said a knight.

“Don’t let her finish an incantation!”

They charged forward with a roar, but they were still a way off, and Emily knew tacit casting. She had plenty of time.

But just as she was about to cast her spell, a booming voice rang out.

“My lord marquess! So this is where you were hiding!”

Despite her distance from the speaker, Emily felt like she’d had an electric shock. The voice was so loud that it rooted everyone to the spot.

Striding heavily toward them was a giant of a man. He had to be at least two meters tall—even the broad-chested manservant from earlier looked like a child next to him. His close-cropped hair was a deep green, and his face was well tanned, bearing a number of scars.

He was clad in a knight’s raiment embroidered in glittering gold thread, and at his waist was a blade that looked far too slender and delicate for a man of his bulk, although it was actually longer and broader than any of the swords the other knights and soldiers carried. An array of medals hung at his chest.

“C-Count Grinch?!” Donquis spluttered. “What are you doing here? This is my house!”

“Yes, your men tried to stop me, but I didn’t want to wait so I made them let me in!” The count roared with laughter.

Now that he mentioned it, there were three soldiers clinging to his waist that he must have dragged with him from the gate. He didn’t seem to notice them.

“Well, I’m currently occupied, so if you don’t mind, I’ll ask you to leave,” Donquis said. “I don’t care if you’re the knight commander, you hear?”

“Loud and clear, Marquess! I’ll go as soon as I’ve settled my business.”

“What business?”

“I’ll just take that maid and be on my way.”

Count Grinch, the knight commander—in other words, the most important knight in the empire—pointed straight at Nina.

“M-Me?” Nina gaped. The last thing she’d expected was for her name to come up.

“That’s right, Donquis here isn’t the only one with his eye on you!” The count roared with laughter again.

“I won’t stand for this, Grinch! I don’t know who’s giving you your orders, but I got her first!”

“Ah, Marquess,” the count said, shaking his head. “I’m afraid you’re not going to get your way on this one.”

“Forget it! I don’t take orders from the knight commander! I am head of the eminent house of Donquis—a marquess of the Yupiter Empire!”

“Alas,” the count said, “it is that empire that now summons Nina.”

“Eh? D-Don’t tell me...”

All through their conversation thus far, the marquess had seemed sure of getting his way. He wasn’t remotely cowed by the knight commander. But now, he began to sweat.

Count Grinch casually drew a seal from his pocket that bore a crest of a sun and moon connected by a sword from which concentric circles radiated out. There was no mistaking it—that was the crest of the Yupiter Empire. And there was only one family who could use that seal.

The count then, in the tones of an official proclamation, made his orders known to all.

“Her Imperial Majesty, our empire’s sun and moon, commands that the maid Nina be brought before her!”

Epilogue: The Empress and Maid & Co.

They were out of the frying pan and into the fire.

After the members of Maid & Co. were bundled into the back of a carriage flying the imperial flag, all they could do was share a deep sigh.

“I’m so terribly sorry... This is all my fault,” Nina said.

“No, you’re not to blame for this,” Emily told her. “I mean, I’ve got no idea why the empress is interested in you.”

“That’s true! Perhaps this time it really is a case of mistaken identity,” Nina said hopefully.

There was a long silence from the other three.

“Wh-Why aren’t you saying anything?” she demanded. But the answer was written clearly on their faces—they thought it was a lot more likely that she’d done something while they weren’t looking.

“Setting that aside...”

“What? Hold on!”

“What do you think the empress wants with Nina?”

“Hmm...” Astrid said. “The mostly likely option is something to do with the Dark Frost Mercenaries.”

“Ohh, that makes sense. You think she doesn’t want such an important mercenary company to disband?”

“But there’s nothing I can do about that!” Nina protested.

“Hmm, true...”

“It could also be about Tien. Maybe she heard about a lupalune but didn’t know her name, so she summoned Nina on the chance that Tien would be with her.”

“Then wouldn’t that knight commander guy have asked about Tien?”

“True... He didn’t look on his guard either.”

There was just too much they didn’t know.

“On the bright side, at least we didn’t have to smash through the marquess’s wall or break the sewer line!” Emily said.

“That’s tru— Wait, what?! Is that what you were going to do?!”

“Hm? Didn’t I mention it? I mean, those were basically our only options to escape.”

“I was not keen for the sewer,” Astrid said lightly. “But I guess we had no choice. It wouldn’t have been easy to flee down the main street.”

In that moment, it finally hit Nina just how far Emily, Astrid, and Tien were willing to go for her sake. Back at the estate, Emily and Astrid hadn’t needed to say a word. Their minds were already made up.

“I’m so sorry,” she said.

“What’re you talking about?” Emily said. “Any party would do the same!”

“Yeah, it’s the marquess and all that lot who are really to blame here. I really didn’t think they’d be so quick to go back on their word. It’s made me see nobles in a different light.”

“It is nothing compared to everything you have done for Chi.”

“Emily, Astrid, Tien...” Nina’s heart swelled. In all the years she’d spent as a maid, had anyone been so willing to stand at her side? She’d seen how isolated Ciara was in Marquess Donquis’s household, but what about herself? Back at Count Mirkwood’s estate, she’d hardly interacted with the other maids. It had taken being framed for a crime she didn’t commit and meeting the irreplaceable friends she had now for her to realize that.

“Whatever Her Majesty the Empress has to say to me, so long as the four of us are together, I’m sure we’ll be all right!” she said. Emily, Astrid, and Tien all smiled back at her.

The carriage trundled over the moat and into the grounds of the imperial palace.

“Your Majesty, Commander Grinch has the maid Nina in his custody.”

An elderly man addressed a woman standing at a window. Beyond the glass, the whole of Thundergard was spread out beneath her. In all the vastness of the city, no structure stood taller than this one, for this was its pinnacle—its crowning jewel.

“That was quick. Count Grinch doesn’t dawdle.”

The empress of the Yupiter Empire turned around with a smile. At sixty-one years old, she wore her long white hair pinned up loosely and was draped in a flowing gown. She was the picture of elegance—except that “elegance” scarcely did her justice. She radiated an innate grace and refinement paired with an air of absolute authority that showed she was not to be trifled with.

Together with the elderly man who’d brought the message, the empress strode from the room and set off down the palace halls. A retinue of attendants and palace guards followed in her wake. They strode through grand halls, with their tall ceilings and walls adorned with numerous paintings, lined with beautiful vases full of flowers in full bloom that filled the air with their fragrance.

“Do you not think it very fortunate that this Nina chanced to visit Thundergard again, Foreign Secretary?”

The elderly man—a politician and noble who held responsibility for the empire’s foreign affairs—nodded.

“It is surely heaven’s will,” he agreed.

“My goodness. To think I’d hear you saying such things!”

“How can I not? In this fiftieth year of your reign, the Five Sages—whose names none in the continent are ignorant of—are set to gather here in the imperial palace for the Council of the Sages. The very council that, this year, shall be presided over by Lord Tuyledo Fal Vilhelmscott, whom rumor has it is infatuated with the very maid, who just so happens to be in Thundergard. I cannot help but see the hand of providence in this, Your Majesty.”

“The eyes of the world shall be on this council. Our preparations may be complete, but that will not guarantee its success—and it must be a success. I suggest that we enlist the assistance of Nina the maid.”

“I wonder what sort of maid managed to steal Lord Tuyledo’s heart? My money’s on a young lady in the bloom of youth with a banging body—”

“Oh, Foreign Secretary,” the empress sighed. “Lord Tuyledo must be at least three hundred years old. In other words...she must be a withered old crone like me!”

“Not a chance! It doesn’t matter how old men get—they always go for young women.”

The empress’s expression abruptly hardened.

“Do you have that on record?” she said, turning to one of the attendants.

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

The foreign secretary went pale. “Y-Your Majesty, you shouldn’t jest so!”

The empress chuckled evilly. “You need a reminder every now and then not to let your mouth run away with you.”

“I swear, you nearly gave me a heart attack...” He turned to glower at the attendants. “My wife had better not hear about this!”

They answered with courteous bows.

The foreign secretary’s wife was the same age as the empress. Back in the day, they’d been known in high society as the empire’s twin roses.

“To think that we may win Lord Tuyledo’s approbation with just a single maid,” the empress mused. Even now, she was still laboring under a misapprehension—she had far underestimated what that single maid was worth.

The Five Sages each held enough influence to change the courses of whole nations. Their gathering in one place was by itself a monumental occasion. What was more, the vast stores of knowledge that they would bring to the discussions at the council would offer insight into the future of the continent.

The council would span politics, economics, war, and peace, but also new technological and magical innovations. The benefits to the empire of being first in line for this information were incalculable. Dignitaries from various nations were flocking to the city in the hopes of picking up whatever scraps they could.

And key to the success of the whole affair was one tiny maid. Though neither Nina, nor the empress who’d only picked her because of Tuyledo’s supposed affection for her, knew that yet.

Afterword

This isn’t much of a spoiler, but partway through this volume, there’s a scene where Nina wonders if she’d be able to accept it if a time came when the job of a maid became obsolete. She comes to the conclusion that she simply doesn’t know. But this struck me as a theme with enough depth that if I dug into it I could write whole volumes—plural—about it.

The truth is, my day job (for those who don’t know, I only write part-time) is related to illustration, 3D graphics, and design. Lately, the topic everyone’s talking about is how AI can create art. I’ve taken part in seminars at work and thought to myself about how to go forward in this new era.

AI has its own strengths and weaknesses, and in the end I reached the conclusion that at the moment, AI stealing human jobs isn’t a real problem. That being said, I was really shocked when I saw the illustrations and 3D models that the AI produced. I felt that maybe even our jobs would become obsolete.

Really talented people like Kinta, who does the illustrations for this series, probably don’t have anything to worry about (people like that probably have their own thoughts on what AI produces), but as someone without talent, after shock, the next thing I felt was threatened. I pray that society will develop so that people and technology can exist together in harmony.

In the story, Nina quickly forgets about her anxiety, but it could still resurface somewhere else down the line...

Looking back at humanity’s history, people have imagined that one day, the advance of technology will mean humans no longer have to work and we can all spend our time at leisure. When I was kid, I, too, thought that by the time I grew up machines would do all the work for us.

But here we are. Our world is more advanced than anything I imagined as a child. For one thing, I never thought smartphones would get so good. What’s more, my company has gone fully remote so I don’t even have to go into the office. And yet I’m still toiling away every day at my job with barely enough time to slurp down a pack down of cup noodles between meetings. Instant noodles and retort pouch foods have really stepped up their game lately, don’t you think? But I’m getting off topic.

In the end, even if technology can do all human jobs, I wonder if we won’t just go looking for work somewhere else then go on complaining about how busy we are. Is it because we don’t know how to relax? Or does it make us uneasy when we don’t have a job to do...?