Miss Demon Maid

Chapter 10: Counterattack

Among the nobles in their final school year at the magic academy, there was a certain young lady of a viscount house.

Her father was an inveterate womanizer, and her mother was a songstress famed for her beauty across the town. She was born a commoner. But after the second prince Joel was born and she was acquainted with him at the academy, she was taken away from her mother and formally entered the viscount family in the hope that she would become the princes favored wife in the future.

The viscounts wife did not accept her. Her birth mother sold her for money.

But despite her home life, the young lady still stood strong, head held high even when her family treated her with such antipathy. She grew to become a kind girl.

Inside a room in the girls dorm of the magic academy, the glow of a lantern lit up a chessboard, the light unusually warm and hazy.

Clack.

Slender fingers moved a piece.

Her icy gaze was fixed on the board, but her clinical thoughts were of a game much, much more vast.

m-milady, t-the food is r-ready

From a corner of the room came the fearful voice of a maid younger in age, a girl who still hadnt outgrown her freckles.

M-Milady?

The young ladys cool gaze flicked away from the board for a moment, and she replied frostily.

Ill eat later. You can retire for the day.

Y-yes, milady.

The maid shivered. She hastily bowed and returned to her servants room, as though running away.

With her thoughts interrupted, the young lady faintly sighed, her slim back leaning back on the chair. She arranged several pieces on the board.

How many shall remain, I wonder

***

Lady Sharon, please wait.

sir Andy.

How fortunate that you havent left lady Sharon, I apologize for the trouble Karl has caused

N-No, theres nothing you have to apologize for if anything, I should be the one to

excuse me?

Its nothing. We are schoolmates, after all. I only did what was expected of me.

wonderful. As a fellow noble, I truly wish my brother could be half as honorable.

Ah its really nothing

I will make sure to have the Mercia family send our formal gratitude to your house on a later date. And also lady Sharon, if I may

Y-Yes!

no, please pay it no mind. I shall have to return to his Highness side now, so if you would excuse me

yes.

They both should grow a spine already.

Greetings, everyone. I am Fleurety, lady Sharons maid and her protector from the shadows.

Today, I am inside a store near the Third Dungeon.

Milady is standing stock-still in the middle of the road, so deep in her melancholy that she doesnt even notice shes being surrounded by snot-nosed urchins. I do wonder what she might be thinking, but I have something I need to do first.

Sir shopkeeper, how about this price?

Youre kidding, maid lass. This city isnt that starved for salt. We have dungeons and all.

This shopkeeper is already in his forties and the skin on his head has lost much protection from the sun, but hes still quite the formidable opponent.

There is a branch of the Explorers Guild near the dungeon and they do buy salt too, but I can generally get a better deal by selling directly to merchants. Its why Im here.

Even with this quality, sir? My salt has just been mined from the dungeon. Oxidation hasnt set in yet.

Come now girl, didnt I say theres not that much demand? Considering the quantity my shop usually handles, buy only that much salt is just going to lower my brand quality.

Emphasis on generally. If one doesnt have the necessary skills to negotiate with the merchant, one might even get haggled down below the fixed price that the guild would buy for.

My, my like the merchandise over there, you mean?

maid lass, just what are you implying?

The shopkeeper narrows his eyes and glares daggers at me. I simply respond with a beaming smile as I take glances at the pots of salt he has on his shelves.

Do you really need me to say it, sir? Ive heard that sometimes, the salt might be mixed with a certain something to create brand distinction and make them taste nicer

ten percent more. Thats the best I can do. If you dont like that, go to another shop.

Twenty percent. Ive seen how much they sell for around here, sir. Youll still be profiting more than enough when you resell my salt.

Now, now, pretty little maid dont you think youre getting in over your head juuuust a little bit?

My, would I have to sleep with a dagger under my pillow tonight?

Hah, you jest. Im doing honest business here, cut it out with the false accusations. My store even has dealings with a trading firm that supplies for the royal family. Imagine if their customer blacklist has one more maid on it

A trading firm, you say? The one providing food for the palace this month? Im sure the firm wouldnt be supplied those salt, right, sir?

The shopkeeper grimaces. My smile brightens.

Dont be so glum, sir. I can throw in a little something for you too.

what now?

I open my bag to let him see whats inside.

Looks dried what is this?

Perhaps you havent had many opportunities to see this, considering how far away from the sea we are and that the country also doesnt import salt. This is seaweed, sir.

Seaweed?

I look at his scalp.

Its something very good for you, sir shopkeeper.

My shopping trip ends without problems.

I sold the salt for seven golds and four silvers. Combined with the sales of monster materials, we have quite a bit of funds now. And not only that, the shopkeeper even threw in some spices. What a kind man.

I walk toward milady, still brooding, and give the gawking urchins some rock candies to shoo them away.

Lady Sharon, apologies for the wait. I call at her.

eh? Ah. Milady returns to reality. She turns toward me with an overcast smile. Welcome back, Letty.

I managed to get quite a good deal, milady, so Ive also bought some of your favorite baked sweets. We will have a feast tonight.

Thank you, Letty. No more monster meat, however.

Of course.

Milady is a bit fussy, isnt she? I give her a broad smile.

I understand how she feels.

I shall not make the mistake of revealing the ingredients origins again.

No, thats not what I meant!

***

Well then, after I did a psychological check-up on miss Hina with a little pharmaceutical aid, my conclusion is that there is nothing wrong with her mind.

How strange. A sensible person would never have said something like that.

And I dont think I misdiagnosed her either. Her whole body was twitching, her eyes were vacant and without focus, and she was drooling with her mouth set in a dopey smile by the end, so surely that was enough medication.

Oh yes, dont worry, I only used a weak spider poison. Its all-organic. Hina wont be having any long-lasting after-effects. After all, poison can be medicine in the right dosage.

Not like Ive ever studied pharmacy, however.

So, Hina said that this world is an otome game, but she just couldnt recall the identity of the one to have whispered something so ridiculous.

Honestly, I half expect I can shake her head and hear the one single brain cell she has rattling in there.

All the same, I wouldnt dismiss it out of hand just because it sounds absurd. An exemplary maid is one who can prepare for anything and everything.

Its impossible for a world to be an otome game, but it is possible for a carefully-managed Sandbox world to look like a game. While Im not sure how large this one is since Sandboxes can vary in scale, considering that there are certain people here who cant die, the possibility of an Administrator is very high indeed.

truly, so much trouble.

I think I shall continue to keep myself hidden until the investigation is finished.

***

Letty, are you done with your preparation?

Yes, milady.

Currently, I am helping milady with her morning bath.

It is a task that requires my utmost concentration. Today is the day my Lady Sharons Beautification Project, which has started several days ago, enters its final phase.

I carefully, meticulously wash and rub hair treatment into her locks of silver. I caress and exfoliate miladys skin with a washcloth made from the best spider silk. And now that milady is dozing off, I begin to massage every single corner of her body with a specially-made aromatic oil that I got directly from the Maid Chief.

Yet even with all that I must do, I cannot take too long. A lowly maids duty must not take up her mistress precious morning time, and if she has to use all her magic to bend spacetime to accomplish her tasks, so be it.

Milady, it is done.

wah?

Milady awakens to see that her hair has already been styled, her uniform already on her. She seems surprised.

When?!

Milady has slept quite well.

As she takes nibbles and sips of the breakfast Ive made cafe au lait, fresh orange juice, and a bagel sandwich she looks at me with blushing cheeks, her glare still showing dissatisfaction with my answer.

Even until now, milady continues to be rather embarrassed whenever I help her change her underwear. I suppose that might be what had displeased her.

It is simply a maids duty, milady.

I know youve chosen to serve me, but Letty, youre, umm

Milady turns away and continues her words in a near-whisper.

youre also my friend so you know

Milady

Too precious.

Thank you for the feast.

What feast?! What are you talking about?!

Feasts for the eyes, milady, feasts for the eyes. Including but not limited to the times you get dressed, for example.

Well then, to explain what milady meant when she spoke of my preparation, it is the arrangements for me to join her in class.

And the reason why is because the Kingdom has decided that, as a part of the Partner-selection process, all the middle-school students summoned from Earth would be transferring into miladys class of noble students in order to help them acclimatize to this new world.

Letty what about your uniform? I thought they gave you one?

Indeed, the country has provided me school uniforms. Milady is asking only because I am still in my maid attire.

A maid needs only one uniform, milady.

is that fine?

It is, it is.

And honestly, the maid uniform I made with my own threads is of better quality, at any rate. Of course, Ive also secretly replaced miladys uniform with the material. She is now stab-proof as long as its a knife doing the stabbing.

Umm do I look strange?

As today is the first day I accompany her to class, milady is being quite nervous. She acts just like a mother doing a school visit with her child for the first time, though in all honesty, I would say shes the kid, not me.

I wouldnt tell her that, though. Silence is golden.

No, milady. If anything, you look more radiant than ever today.

G-geez, stop that, you say that all the time. Come on, lets go.

Yes, milady.

Shes perfect, of course. Ive taken days to make sure of that.

Clack. Clack.

The marquis daughter, lady Sharon, strides through the school hallway with echoing footsteps. Commoners and low nobles hurriedly make way for her.

Milady has perfected all that there is to know in being a noble, and she often give pointers to her juniors quite harshly. It is the reason why she has gained a bit of an intimidating reputation.

But today, something has changed.

The moment the students of low nobility who have fearfully given way to her take a look at her and truly see her, all their faces immediately flush pink, both the boys and the girls.

Letty, are you sure I dont look strange?

Upon noticing their unusual gazes, milady turns to me and asks, her worry apparent. I smile sweetly.

I am, milady.

We come to the classroom. I silently open the door and as she crosses the threshold, all those who catch sight of her immediately quieten. A moment later, the room erupts into chaos.

Sharon, is that you?

The first to approach her and speak is the prince Joel, after he recovered from his daze.

Yes, umm yes, his Highness Joel. I am Sharon.

Milady, despite her confusion, still replies with her usual grace.

Good, good. Everything is proceeding as planned.

As milady has been neglected from her childhood by the trash that calls themselves her family, her hair and her skin have not had the care they deserved.

That isnt to say that milady wasnt beautiful; she still was. I simply helped her beauty to regain its true glory by managing her meals, improving her nutrition, and caring for her hair and skin when she used to have to do it by herself without really knowing how. Milady is a new woman now.

And how. Just look at the reactions of this whole room.

Lets begin, milady. The stage is set for our counterattack.