Chapter 184

Speaking of my maid, she and Nelia were taking care of some robbers. The maid job had only been open for three people, so Esther, Colette, and I had taken it. “Oh, Ms. Gandesblood. Good job,” said a nice old Warblade, the owner of this house and our employer. “Sorry it’s such a big place.” “It’s okay…sir. I pride myself on my perseverance.” “Ha-ha-ha. That’s good to hear. The truth is, we’re lacking in hands at our home. Would you like to be an official hire?” “Huh? I…I’ll have to think about it…” “Oh, I won’t force you. I know the world’s been a mess lately. Aruka’s army seems to be entering neutral territories. All my employees ran back to their homes in fear…” The old man said the war between Mulnite and Aruka was growing more intense by the day. The horrors of war reached even uninvolved towns, taxes ballooned to fund the conflict, and there were refugees all over the country… The Netherworld was even more dangerous than we’d thought. “Your safety isn’t guaranteed here. You run the moment you feel you’re in danger, Ms. Gandesblood. Don’t worry about the windows,” said the old man before leaving. I’m already in danger…of dying in five days. I trembled with fear while resuming the window cleaning. “Aaahhh, I’m pooped!” A yell came from the garden. “What the heck?! This is a million billion times more exhausting than I thought it would be!” Colette Lumiere threw away the garden shears and sat down on the ground. She’d been given the task of maintaining the garden. But the hedge she was working on looked just like Nelia did after waking up (she had terrible bedhead). Uhhh, I feel like he’ll ask us to pay him instead to compensate for the damages. “You must endure it, Ms. Colette. We need to cooperate to get the money, so… What in the world?! You turned the hedge into a bird’s nest?!” Esther shouted to the heavens as she arrived with materials in hand. “Awww.” Colette looked away. “It was a little slip of the hand. And I’m new to this…” “Then you should’ve told us! Ahhh… We have to do something… I’ll take care of this, so you go help the commander.” “Okaaay…,” she grumbled before walking up to me. “You’re clumsier than I pegged you for.” “Shut up, runt. Not like you’re doing any good at your job.” “I’m no runt, and I’m doing great, thank you very much! Our employer just dropped by to tell me I was doing a good job, even!” “I’m sure he was just being courteous. Ugh… Why didn’t I get to go with Vill…?” Colette picked up the cloth on the ground and threw it in the bucket, then slammed the wet thing on the window. “Hey! You gotta wring it first. And I already cleaned that spot.” “Huh? Really? Cleaning’s pretty hard, huh?” I sighed. “Are you from a rich family? Like, you had maids do everything for you?” “I guess you could say that. I was born a commoner, but after some twists and turns, the Lumiere family adopted me.” “Hmm? So they’re a noble family?” “Not noble… But they’re from a special lineage of shrine maidens of the Mulnite Empire. They’ve been supporting the country with their fortune-telling and divination. The line is at least six hundred years old, but I don’t know the details.” …There are no shrine maidens in my Mulnite Empire. I felt like this bit had to be important and required further investigation, but Colette changed topics before I could ask more questions. “Runt, do you like Vill?” “Wha…?” I furrowed my brow before answering. “I guess you could say that…” “How long have you been with her?” “Ummm, the first time she barged into to my room was…April of last year? I actually knew her earlier from school, but, well… Why do you ask?” “Hmmm.” Colette wrung the cloth as she shot me a fishy glance. I was far too dense to figure out what she could be thinking. “You see,” she spoke softly, “I had a childhood friend.” “Really?” “Yeah. And her name was Villhaze.” My heart skipped a beat. The name “Villhaze” wasn’t that rare. It meant “heavenly jewel” in old Mulnite tongue, so it was pretty popular for girls. “H-huh. What was your Vill like?” “She was kind. And very introverted. She needed me to show her the way. She was my best friend… But we were separated after the war reached my village.” “Huh…?” “I don’t know what army it was, but they attacked my village, destroyed our homes, and made everyone go their separate ways. There was a thunderstorm that day, and a lot of people went missing, Vill included… I’ve been looking for her ever since…” Colette pursed her lips as though in repentance. I couldn’t concentrate on cleaning the windows now. Not after being hit with that anvil of a subject. “…When did that happen?” “About six years ago.” Colette sighed and looked up at the blue sky. “I haven’t found a single clue in all this time. It feels like the only explanation is that she was spirited away… So I was speechless when I met her in the forest.” “That Vill isn’t your Vill.” “I know. Her personality is entirely different, as is her hair color, and her boobs are too big… And most importantly, she doesn’t remember me.” “…” “But you can understand how I would feel, right? You could explain the changes as her growing up, and…what if she lost her memory?” I had never heard of such a possibility. “No way… For starters, she has a family in my world.” “Of course. It couldn’t be that easy.” Colette started whistling while wiping the window. I felt a pang in my chest. Could there be a possibility that Vill was Colette’s childhood friend? No… It couldn’t be. Vill had her grampa on the other side. “…So you’re all clingy with her because she reminds you of your childhood friend?” “That too, but I also simply like her.” “What do you like about her?” “She saved me from those thugs! And she’s so considerate… I’ve never met someone so kind. And that serene expression! She’s so cool!” “Nah… Sorry to break it to you, but she’s a sicko.” “What? The only sicko here is you. Vill’s dressed up like that to conform to your depraved tastes, isn’t she?” “WHAT?!” “So I’ll take her away from you before your sicko-ness rubs off on her! It’d be better for her to be my friend rather than your maid!” “No! My family employs her!” “Whatever. Only she gets to decide.” “Aw.” I ate my words. Spica had taken away my maid before… But it felt different this time. Spica had done it to push me to the limit, but Colette actually, personally wanted Vill for herself. And I felt like…she had the will and power to make it a reality. My idea was still unfounded, though. Ultimately, I just couldn’t shake my mysterious vexations while I wiped the windows. …Just do me a favor and let me do this, okay? You’re only making them dirtier. Work was done for the day. Darkness and quiet enveloped the city as the sun set. There were no mana lamps in this world without magic. Instead, the moon and stars shone terribly bright. Maybe it was an effect of having two suns. Anyway, we had no money to go have fun outside at night. I was fine focusing on resting up, so… “Ahhh… I can feel the life circulating through my body…” I let out a big sigh while sinking shoulder-deep into the hot water. Nelia had suggested we go take a bath. The inn’s bath was free. That’d come as godly news from the heavens after my excruciating workday, and there was no time to be self-conscious about getting naked in front of everyone else. “An after-work bath is the best… I feel like a cicada shedding its old skin…” “Lady Komari, allow me to further relax you by massaging your breasts.” “Not even a shred of creativity to your plots?!” I ran away from the sicko maid and her skeevy hands. I was surrounded by predators. My only safe space was by Esther’s side. “Um…Commander? Do you need anything…?” “You’re the most decent person in this place, so I’d rather be with you.” “Wh-what an honor! I’d be delighted to accompany you!” She stiffened. Hmm. Did I make her nervous? Maybe I should give her a relaxing massage. “Now, then,” Nelia said, interrupting my thoughts. “I guess we made a decent income today. We should be able to gather enough funds for our trip in three months.” “Three months?! I don’t wanna wipe windows for three months!” “You couldn’t even if you wanted to, Lady Komari. Dead in five days, remember?” “Agh…” Right. I had a time limit. Would I really get to meet Mom? “This is a waste of time. Working as mercenaries won’t get us back to our world. Let’s leave town by dawn,” Nelia said. “Leave? Without any money?” “I borrowed some from the guild. I showed them my swords and they salivated, so I put them in as a deposit.” “Wait, what?! Aren’t those swords like treasure to you…?” The pink girl chuckled. “You’re so sweet. But the thing is, I don’t need to hand them over if I pay back the loan in time. There’s nothing to worry about.” “I guess… But I’m so frustrated I can’t do anything…” “Just be my maid. My little-sister maid.” “No thank you.” When did I become your sister to begin with? Anyway, it looked like our financial problems were dealt with. I felt like we were only delaying the issue, but there was no use thinking about it right now. I had to meet the Hero of Twilight ASAP. …What’ll happen once we get to Mulnite? I’d be happy to see Mom. And (hopefully) go back home. But there were still two sources of worry in my mind. First: my forecasted demise. Second: Colette’s plot to take Vill away from me. Clearly the former had to be solved at any cost, but I was fuzzy on the second one. It was only a hunch, but I felt like we couldn’t just leave Colette behind. “Lady Komari? Is something the matter?” Vill was staring at me. I panicked and looked away. “Nothing! I was just on high alert against your degeneracy.” “So you miss me. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you don’t feel lonely by sleeping in your bed tonight.” “Let me go! Esther, please! Block!” “Fweh?! Commander?! U-um…” “Esther? Do you intend on getting in the way of my and Lady Komari’s relationship?” “Not in the slightest! But I believe there is an issue as far as public order and morals are concerned… I don’t think it’s proper to do this in the public bath…” “So you dare defy your superiors. I shall give you due punishment. Dance. Naked.” “My deepest apologies! Yes, ma’am!” “Esther, noooo!! Don’t dance!!” Esther stood up to follow the orders, and I hastily tried to stop her, but Vill blocked me with a hug. Nelia simply laughed out loud. Do you get that we’re in a pickle in another world here?! Yet despite my indignation, the unchanging aplomb of my friends also put me at ease. Then someone stood up with a loud splash. Colette puffed her cheeks as she glared at us. “I’m leaving!” Vill’s eyes widened. I had no idea what was going on as Colette trudged across the water and left the bath. “Oops.” Nelia chuckled. “She got jealous of Komari getting all of Villhaze’s attention.”