Chapter 22
"Hmm, I see."
"âŚW-What do you think? I feel like it went pretty well."
The first floor of the Rex Partyâs hideout.
Usually, Karin is in the kitchen humming to herself while she cooks, but today, a petite maid and a nun were standing side by side there. In truth, Karin had ordered her newly joined younger sister, Natal, to cook something, anything, in order to test her culinary skills.
Sheâs still an important little sister, after all, so I tagged along out of concern and followed Karin to the kitchen⌠only to find Natal stewing some kind of thick, milky-white mystery substance in a pot. A strange, pungent odor filled the kitchen, and I started coughing from it.
"Karin, what do we do about this?"
"âŚWell, let's try eatinâ it."
After a few seconds of staring down the mysterious liquid in silence, Karin made up her mind.
She resolutely brought a spoonful of the white liquidâproduced by Natalâto her lips.
"âŚItadakimasu. Slurp."
"P-Please go aheadâŚ"
This indescribable, mysterious white substance was supposed to be Natalâs attempt at âvegetable soup.â
âŚDespite being my own little sister, Iâve got to wonder how she could claim with such confidence that she âcan do housework.â Iâve never seen anything like this before.
Back home, she left all the chores to our parents, occasionally helping Mom cook at best. Of course cooking on her own now would end up like this.
"Hey, Natal-chan. What did you put in this?"
"S-Sheepâs milk. The sweetness of the milk balances out the bitterness of the Mira grass, so itâs actually kinda good."
"Ahh, I see. So thatâs whatâs givinâ it that white colorâsheepâs milk, huh."
Karin tasted the soup and then gave Natal a very serious look. After several seconds of silent deliberation, she finally chose her words carefully and spoke again.
"The stewinâs a total mess. The veggies are all soggy, the meatâs tough. You started by cookinâ the vegetables first, didnât ya?"
"âŚYes."
"And the way you chopped everything is all over the place. Big pieces, tiny pieces, all mixed togetherâmakes it hard to eat."
"UghâŚ"
"You donât normally cook, do ya? Someone probably taught you a recipe once, but all you did was memorize it, not learn how to actually cook. Right?"
"âŚExactly."
As expected, Natalâs cooking didnât meet Karinâs standards. The confidence sheâd shown earlier vanished, and she shrank back, avoiding eye contact.
"Hmm. Youâre gonna be a maid-in-training for a while, I reckon. Iâll help you with cookinâ."
"Got it."
"But yâknow, there is something worth praisinâ. The ingredients were a mess, sure, but the soup itself is actually real tasty. Whereâd you learn this from?"
"Wait, really? Itâs tasty?"
That white soup?
Curious, I borrowed Karinâs spoon and tried a small taste myself.
âŚHuh. Sheâs right. Itâs not as bad as I expected. Actually, itâs pretty sweet and creamyâsurprisingly good.
"Umm, that soupâs a specialty of my teacher."
"A teacher? You were learninâ swordplay or somethinâ?"
"Sort of, yeah. I thought if I became an adventurer, I could help my big brother. So Iâd been learninâ some skills from a retired adventurer who lives near the village."
"I see. A soup made with sheepâs milk and Mira grass, huh? Not bad at all."
âŚNatal, you were apprenticing under some sketchy-sounding retired adventurer? Your big brother had no idea. You werenât getting scammed or anything, right?
"Alright. Letâs have Rex try this soup, then. That idiotâs the one who decided to make you a maid, so heâs gonna eat a homemade dish by his new maid, like he wanted."
"Wait, but isnât that a failed dish?"
"The soupâs good, so itâs totally edible. Iâll make somethinâ proper for myself, though."
"Can I ask you to make mine too, Karin?"
"No problem."
And so, for lunch, only Rex was served the somewhat questionable vegetable soup. It was the clumsy homemade dish from the maid he so wished forâheâd better eat every last drop.
âŚHonestly, I was expecting to see a bitter grimace from Rex.
But the guy turned out to have no taste buds. âItâs great! You can cook!â he said, singing Natalâs praises as he polished off the whole thing.
Karin, who usually put care into her cooking, looked just a little annoyed.
After lunch.
Two girls walked side by side through a bustling, crowded city street. One wore a black robe like a mage, and the other was in a maid outfit with an absurdly short skirt.
"I see. So thatâs why only Lord Rex had the white soup."
"Thatâs the story."
In the end, Karin also agreed to hire the girl as a maid. She said that with some training, she might actually shape up.
Karin herself was primarily a healer. If she didnât have to handle housework, sheâd gain more free timeâenough to start selling antidotes and healing potions as a side business. That would be a financial win for the party as a whole.
With Karin and Rex both on board, Mei and Flatche had no choice but to give up their objections to hiring Natal. And so, Natal officially became a maid for the Rex Party.
"So, Natal-san, how do you feel about Lord Rex now?"
"Huh? What kind of question is that?"
"Well, up until just yesterday, you thought he was your brotherâs killer. I was wondering how thatâs changed."
Right now, Natal was being shown around town by Mei, the black mage who had some time to spare. The goal was to help her learn the layout of the area so she could eventually go shopping or run errands on her own.
"Well, since he didnât actually kill my brother, I donât hate him anymore. That would be misdirected."
"Right, that makes sense. So now youâre feeling pretty positive toward Lord Rex?"
"Er, well, about Rex⌠I am grateful that he forgave me for attacking him and even hired me, but⌠Heâs also the guy who kept messing with my brother. Itâs complicated."
"Haha, yeah, I can imagine it is."
Meanwhile, Mei was discreetly checking Natalâs affection level toward Rex. A certain someone had suddenly popped up and nearly stolen Rex awayâMei, as a girl in love, had to be cautious.
"More importantly, whenâs our next mission? Rex is after the Demon Lordâs army, right?"
"He said weâll move as soon as we get some intel."
"If thereâs still time, Iâd like Rex to teach me the sword. I want to become a swordswoman too. Everyone starts as a beginner, and itâs not too late for me either."
As far as Natal was concerned, she didnât have any romantic feelings toward Rex. What she wanted was strength.
Until now, she had lived in comfort, relying on her brother to protect her without putting in much effort herself. But that brother was no longer here.
So until the day she sees him again, she decided to push herselfâto become strong enough to meet him with pride, and maybe, just maybe, stand beside him.
"Hmm⌠in that case, you might be better off training under Flatche instead of Rex. Lord Rex is self-taught, but Flatche is known to be a textbook swordswoman."
May had no real reason to oppose Natal becoming a swordswoman. If anything, she just didnât want her alone with Rexâthatâs all.
Which is why she casually tried to guide her toward Flatche as a mentor.
"Oh, that weak-looking, easy-to-read swordswoman?"
"Yeah, she does look weak and easy to read⌠but sheâs actually really skilled. I was surprised myself."
"Really now."
And so, Natal still didnât realize that the brother she longed for was right under her nose.
"...Sigh. Honestly, this wasnât a job worth me coming out for."
Just as the two of them were about to head home and stopped by the merchant street for some shoppingâ
They caught sight of a sharp-eyed young man, clearly irritated, grumbling with a few subordinates in tow.
"Itâs only because youâre too strong, Lord Mello."
"I know that. Even so, I figured riling up a few adventurers in the area would have been more than enough."
"The enemyâs scale was unknown⌠Also, the guild-designated adventurer here, Rex, is apparently away on expedition right now."
"Rex! So this is that guyâs home turf? Then they shouldâve just waited for him to get back!"
The man was visibly agitated, surrounded by a group dressed in matching uniforms. The nearby merchants, seemingly not wanting to incur their wrath, avoided trying to sell anything to them.
Thatâs when Mei noticedâthe emblem embroidered on their outfits belonged to the Imperial Army.
"...Natal, letâs take a little detour. The soldiers are in a foul mood."
"Ugh, such a bad vibe."
People with power are usually a pain. Itâs rare to find someone like Clarise or Penny who doesnât let it go to their heads and still has a decent personality.
Mei knew that all too well.
"Hey!! You two over there!"
Which is exactly why Mei grimaced when the young man called out to them just as they were trying to slip away unnoticed.
"Youâre whores, right? Iâll payâcome spend the night with me."
Saying that, the young man threw gold coins at their feet. The two women let out a quiet sigh, realizing this was going to be trouble.
"Try someone else. We donât sell ourselves."
"Gross. Go away."
Why the hell did they have to pick us?
While silently cursing the oppressive military men, Mei responded politely, trying not to provoke them. She wanted no part of this mess.
"Huh? Youâre not whores? Weâve got a bit of a crowd, but Iâll pay for all of us."
"I said, weâre not. Weâre adventurers."
"Same difference, isnât it? As long as weâve got money, youâll do anything. And Iâm in a foul mood right nowâif you turn me down over some petty reason, who knows what Iâll do."
The soldiers advanced with smug entitlement, pushing their demands.
Their leader, the sharp-eyed man with an obviously nasty personality, rested his hand on his sword hilt and continued speaking in a sneering tone.
"Strip here. Iâll give you 10,000G. Come to the inn with us, and after one night, Iâll give you ten times that."
"I said no."
"An uppity little adventurer, arenât you. You probably donât even know if youâll eat tomorrow. Be grateful Iâm offering this."
This was exactly what people meant when they said thereâs no point talking to some folks. The soldier never considered theyâd refuseâhe probably thought their first ânoâ was just part of some tired bargaining game.
In short, he was completely looking down on adventurers.
But then again, that was the common view. Adventurers would do just about anything for money. And many female adventurers did in fact sleep with men for gold. Plenty even worked as part-time prostitutes.
Adventuring, in truth, was the lowest of the lowâwork taken up by people who couldnât find anything else. Cases like Rex, who chose the path for freedomâs sake, were few and far between.
"Unfortunately for you, our party isnât hurting for money. Our leader is very competent."
If she dropped Rexâs name here, it might only draw unnecessary hostility. So Mei deliberately kept it vague while firmly turning them down.
"Oh? Funny. That maid next to you is dressed pretty provocatively for someone not selling herself."
"I didnât choose this outfit, okay?!"
"Thatâs... our leaderâs thing. Said it was his dream to be greeted by a maid..."
"You should really reconsider what kind of party you join."
That was, admittedly, a fair point.
"Anyway! Weâre not doing that with you!"
"...Sigh. Look, I donât say this kind of thing often, but... donât embarrass me any further."
"Not our problem."
"Iâm one of the highest-ranking officers in the Imperial Army. Itâs basically forbidden for adventurers to refuse my requests."
With a small sigh, the young man suddenly drew his sword and pressed the tip to Meiâs neck.
"Iâm Melloâfirst among the Three Great Generals of Pedia. The highest authority in the military."
Still scowling, he revealed his identity. Sword tip glinting, he gave Meiâs neck a small cut as if to make a point.
"Now do you understand the difference in status? No more games. Strip down and come with me."
That was the order he gave them.
Comments (5)
Please login or sign up to post a comment.