Chapter 38
Early dawn, before even the sun had risen.
By the time I vaguely sensed someone’s presence in my half-asleep haze, it was already too late.
“Huhng?!”
I felt strangely, unnaturally light compared to usual.
When it felt like my arms and legs were drifting up above the bed, I blinked my sleepy eyes open.
...Somehow, I was pinned down firmly by a mysterious shadow.
“W-What is thisss...”
The moment I instinctively tried to draw up mana, sparks crackled at my wrist and my strength drained away.
Wait, this is...
“...a mana suppression bracelet?”
When I barely managed to lift my eyelids, I could see the figures surrounding me under the faint dawn starlight.
The design of their black-and-white clothing was painfully familiar.
It was none other than a maid uniform.
“It’s time to wake up, Lady Lunaris.”
Standing at the center of it all was Odette, the head maid and Rinea Hall’s worst devil.
“That’s cheating... Do you even know what time it is riiight now...? This is clearly a violation of my right to sleep, a violation of my privacy, and anyway, a bunch of other violations too...!”
“Lady Lunaris, it’s already past five.”
Still foggy-brained, I mumbled back, and Ms. Odette let out a wicked little smile.
“...What? Five? That’s basically the middle of the night.”
“Whatever are you talking about? A maid’s day naturally begins before dawn. Now, hurry and get ready.”
“Get ready for what... I was definitely supposed to be suspended for two weeks starting today...”
“You seem to still be half asleep. That suspension was replaced with volunteer work, was it not?”
No way...
There was no way my suspension had gone to America(?)...
My vacation can’t possibly be volunteer work...!
I looked around in a daze, my expression blank.
What came back at me were the maids’ intimidating stares.
Getting back under the blanket here again... probably impossible.
This is a violation of the WWE agreement between me and the maids.
In the end, I let out a long sigh and accepted my defeat after such a long time.
I firmly resolved to be at least somewhat prepared for the super-fast rush next time.
“Haah... So what do I start with?”
My resigned question brought a satisfied smile to Ms. Odette’s lips.
“Shall we change clothes first?”
*
In the end, I’d been corrupted into maid work.
The maid uniform I was forced to wear was terribly uncomfortable.
The shoulder line, which didn’t fit me at all, awkwardly floated off my frame, and the dangling frills were unbearably cumbersome.
Above all else, the skirt hem left my knees completely exposed.
Isn’t this... way too short compared to what the other maids are wearing?
I honestly can’t understand how anyone can work in something like this.
As I trudged weakly along the hallway, a noisy scream rang out from somewhere.
When I turned around, the maids were going wild—covering their mouths with their hands and poking each other in the side.
“Kyaa!”
“You’re so cute!”
“You really look like a doll, Lady Lunaris!”
...Ah, I’m kind of itching to use telekinesis magic.
Their overexcited reaction somehow felt like they were rubbing it in, which irritated me a little.
And so began my day as a maid.
My first assignment was to clean the basement of Rinea Hall, which had been wrecked by the battle between me and the magical golem.
In my hands, for some reason, was a broom.
“What am I supposed to use this for...?”
I stared blankly at the piles of rubble and shattered furniture at my feet.
You expect me to sweep that? With this broom? Come on, be serious.
“If you let me take this off, I think I could clean it up a lot more easily.”
I gave the bracelet-bound arm a slight shake, and Ms. Odette shot me a suspicious look.
“Just in case, let me ask: you won’t be running off, will you, miss?”
“Nah, I already slept enough for today.”
Honestly, if someone carried me back to bed right now, I could probably fall asleep again within three seconds.
But getting past Ms. Odette, who was watching me with both eyes wide open, and walking to my room on my own two feet... that’s a little...
I ran a quick simulation in my head, and yeah, this would be a real pain.
With a bright click, the suppressed mana began circulating through my whole body.
“Huaaah... Krrrgh... I feel a little more alive now.”
I let out a languid sigh and casually rolled my wrist.
Soon, the piles of rubble and broken furniture scattered all around rose gently into the air.
At the same time, a cloud of dust began to swirl softly.
“Waaah... all that heavy stuff at once...!”
“That’s exactly what you’d expect from a high-grade mage.”
The younger-looking maids stared in dazed admiration, while the older maids with faint lines on their faces nodded with satisfaction.
Their gazes on me were so fierce it was like they were looking at an elite maid candidate.
“How about it? Why not take this chance to properly learn maid work? Lady Lunaris, you have what it takes to be a maid at Rinea Hall.”
Ms. Odette was apparently planning to turn me into an ultra-elite maid.
“Once my volunteer period is over, I’m never doing this again.”
“I don’t think your volunteer service is going to end with just this one time, miss.”
“Eek— no way.”
Just then, I heard a familiar voice from the stairs above.
“Record the crack status of this pillar in detail.”
I turned my head without thinking, and my eyes met someone I never expected to see.
“This area looks like it needs repairs before the others... huh? Wait a second.”
Light-purple hair and glittering golden eyes.
The only student in the disciplinary committee whose presence rivaled that of most full professors.
A figure portrayed as strikingly impressive even in the original work—the object of Kyle’s admiration.
It was the student council president, senior Seraphina Clarencia.
“Could you be... Lunaris Evermoon?”
Seraphina asked the other student council members for permission, then walked over to me.
Her bright yellow gaze swept over me, the maids, and the debris floating in the air, before returning to me.
“That outfit...”
After carefully inspecting the shabby maid uniform, she let out an “Ah—” of realization.
“Right, come to think of it, you were given volunteer service as punishment by the disciplinary committee.”
“Yes, well... that’s right.”
“I may be overstepping to say this, but it suits you very well.”
“Ahaha...”
“Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not trying to tease you. It’s just... yes. I wanted to say you were cute. That’s all.”
I didn’t have anything to say, so I just nodded blankly.
The president gave a soft chuckle and continued with a faint smile.
“Your behavior at the disciplinary committee was quite impressive. I nearly cried seeing you protect your senior, you know.”
Tears? What a joke. She looked like the kind of person who wouldn’t shed even a drop if you stabbed her with a knife.
“I wasn’t really trying to protect her.”
“Oh? Anyway, the way you stood up for your senior really touched me. I was quite moved, really.”
The president’s gaze returned to the heap of debris floating in midair.
“Your kindness aside, your magical skill too... you’re truly an incredibly desirable talent. So, how about it? Want to join the student council next semester?”
“I’ll pass. It looks annoying as hell.”
“That’s mean~ I thought you’d at least pretend to consider it.”
“If I leave any room for that, it’ll just be a pain for both of us, won’t it?”
“Ahaha, fair enough.”
The president spun around and gave a lazy wave.
There wasn’t the slightest hint of regret in her turned-back figure.
As if she had known from the start that I’d refuse.
“See you again next time. Somehow, I feel like I’ll be seeing you a lot from now on.”
Leaving those meaningful words behind, the president returned to where the student council members were.
I blinked blankly, then let out a weary sigh.
There were way too many people hurling curses at me today—even if they weren’t really curses.
*
After the large chunks of debris piled up in the basement had been broken into smaller pieces and cleared away, I was immediately dragged to the kitchen.
This time, I was told I’d be helping with lunch preparations.
My excuse that I was going to attend a morning lecture didn’t work.
Unluckily, it was Thursday—the day I had a one-on-one lesson with the head of the magic department—and, on top of that, I’d already said I was taking this week off.
And the maids knew my schedule better than I did, so no excuse was going to get through.
The kitchen I was half-dragged into was a literal battlefield.
The sounds of chopping knives, boiling pots, and bustling footsteps all mixed together into utter chaos.
The task assigned to me was none other than peeling potatoes.
At first glance, it doesn’t seem like much.
“...Wow, how many are there?”
But that line disappears once you’re staring at sack after sack of potatoes piled up like a mountain in front of you.
You want me to peel all of these by hand, one by one?
“Being a maid is no easy job.”
I quietly checked the surroundings.
Let’s see. The head cook over there is taste-testing the sauce and shouting, “This isn’t it!” while the other maids are all busy with their own tasks... good.
I casually gestured, lifting the potatoes and the peeler with telekinesis magic.
Come to think of it, I’m actually pretty good with blades. I’d been coaching Lia in swordsmanship almost every day, after all.
Peeling a few potatoes? That’s nothing.
Before long, the potato peels I’d stripped off had piled up like a mountain at my feet.
...The problem was the pieces beside them—no, the actual potatoes.
The potatoes that had originally been the size of fists had somehow all shrunk to the size of a thumbnail.
That’s strange... I definitely only peeled the skins...
“Lady Lunaris.”
At the chilly voice from behind me, I let out an involuntary hiccup.
Turning around, I found the maid in charge of kitchen work standing there with her hands on her hips.
She was looking back and forth between the thick potato peels and the potato pieces(?) with a disbelieving expression.
“Did you perhaps use a kitchen knife when peeling those potatoes?”
“...Of course not. I used the peeler properly.”
I just used magic instead of my hands.
“Then why on earth did the potatoes end up like this?”
“W-well... I was aiming for efficiency, and there were a few trial-and-error mishaps...”
“You said trial and error?”
The maid’s lips trembled.
She picked up one of the potato pieces that had fallen at my feet.
“This isn’t a failed attempt at peeling the skin. You’ve just destroyed them.”
I noticed the maids beside her trying hard not to laugh as they whispered that I was cute.
I averted my gaze for no reason and tried to act natural.
Cooking really just isn’t for me.
Suddenly, Lia, who had been left behind in the forest village and always made meals for me, came to mind.
It really is strange. How was she so good at cooking, anyway?
Guess cooking needs talent too.
“There are some pre-boiled potatoes over there, so could you mash those for me?”
“Okay, got it.”
Still, even if I don’t have a talent for cooking, I do have a talent for breaking things.
But it didn’t take long to realize that even mashing potatoes falls within the category of cooking.