Winter
Winter
"I brought a small gift, for what it's worth. I heard it's something nobles use in winter when the air gets dry. Apparently you just set it next to the stove."
Was it some kind of single-use humidifier? It wasn't as if we had a housewarming culture, but seeing the sincerity of someone who'd even bought a gift, I decided to let this slide. Taking the present Zikmel handed me, I made sure to say it clearly.
"Next time, even in a situation like this, make sure you give me a heads-up first. You know as well as I do that I've got more enemies than friends. It's not that I dismiss your ability to analyze information, but I keep getting on the wrong side of nobles too, so I can't be sure how things will play out."
"I will definitely do so."
Like one of the few cases who'd successfully been reformed, Zikmel answered crisply and put me at ease. After seeing the guy off with a smile, I walked over to Yen Tie, who'd been standing there staring blankly at Laika with an expressionless face. She naturally shifted her gaze to me.
"I thought you'd taken care of everything and gone on your way. Was I wrong?"
"Yes. I've yet to fully pay the price of my life."
I'd naturally assumed she'd come for some other business, but the answer that came back was completely unexpected. Was that just how her order was? It was such a ludicrous answer that I reflexively shot back a question.
"Of course, from my standpoint it's ambiguous to say you've done work worth 50 trade gold coins, but wasn’t that the amount originally quoted to Envelde?"
"Just because you picked up a jewel fallen by the roadside doesn't mean that jewel's value decreases."
"...Hmm. Come inside for now."
Seeing her reaction, she didn't seem like she'd back down after a short chat, so I decided to go inside the house to talk. Regretting in my heart that I hadn't finished the snowman, Asilie followed us in and began preparing drinks while we settled at the table. I gathered my thoughts as I looked at Yen Tie, who was still maintaining her silence.
Honestly, no matter how much I gathered my thoughts, this girl was already someone far beyond my understanding, so there was really nothing to ask. Is this what it feels like to see an employee show up out of the blue the day after their contract has ended and announce they'll work unpaid?
In the end, after agonizing for a long time, I only started talking around the time I took a sip of the tea Asilie had put out, as if just asking how she'd been.
"Where have you been all this time?"
"I returned to the order. I had to report that I'd renewed my contract. I intended to tell you before I left, Ega, but you were not only moving busily, you also seemed to have little interest in me, so I judged no particular issue would arise and took my leave."
Maybe it's because she'd been an infiltrator, but her perceptiveness was off the charts. If I'd been running some territory-development story here, she'd have been an elite I'd hire with both hands raised... but the truly awkward thing was, I had absolutely no use for her.
Reverse-tracking the bastards who might be watching me? If something like that existed, it might leave a bit of a bad taste, but considering the weight of everything I'd done so far, I could understand that much. Because when some line-crossing bastards popped up while I was teetering on a tightrope like that, even if I cut them off at the ankles, there was no problem for me. And that very point was the biggest reason backing my internal 'Yen Tie uselessness theory.'
If something pissed me off, I just smashed straight into it. Keeping an infiltration-specialist girl by my side was pointless.
"I value highly the fact that you carry out promises and contracts with such sincerity, but now that the Margrave of Levien situation is settled, there's nothing to ask of you. How about just considering the contract expired and going your own way?"
She was clearly a person, and it sat terribly with me to use a contract as an excuse to hand her off to others like a gift. On the other hand, telling her to pay her life's price in coin would be so low that a thousand and one Eldmias would unanimously scream that it was pure scumbag behavior. Awkward or not, you just didn't do that to someone trying to repay a debt of gratitude.
So I wanted to gently talk her out of it, but Yen Tie didn't seem to know how to back down at all.
"Even for the sake of proving my abilities and establishing the order's prestige, I would ask you to reconsider."
"No, it's not that you're incompetent... You can see it yourself, can't you? I'm not someone who needs anybody watched."
The girl wasn't stupid, so my hope that she'd now realize what the problem was seemed to get through, because Yen Tie answered with a look of 'Ah.' Right, when you pour all your passion and sincerity into your work, you can sometimes lose sight of your surround—
"Don't worry. We learn many skills and mimic many professions for infiltration. I'm also confident in the duties of a maid, so please leave it to me."
...Like hell. The direction of her appeal had just gotten more concrete, but nothing had changed.
"What use would this small house have for a servant..."
As I said it, I realized I might actually need one. Asilie was planning to take on more adventurer work to get her edge back for the future, and once things settled down I would be practically living at the academy until I produced satisfactory results. I could still manage the house in the meantime, but if I could cut down the hassle there was no reason to make life harder for myself.
"Here is the contract."
Noticing my deliberation, Yen Tie moved her hand as if it were the most natural thing in the world, pulled a single sheet of paper from her bosom, and placed it on the table as she continued.
"Upon signing, I, Yen Tie, as an agent of the order and a Servant of the Dream, shall regard Eldmia Ega as my employer, and this shall remain valid until I complete work equivalent to 50 trade gold coins or receive another revelation. Furthermore, once employed, I shall make no demands of the employer beyond matters related to my work, and I will actively assist in matters concerning the employer's safety. Lastly, all personal information I see or hear during the contract shall be protected in the name of the god. This is classified under the order's highest contract grade and will never be disclosed outside the order. Not bad terms, are they?"
I could tell just from listening. This was the contract Envelde had wanted.
"Isn't it pretty unreasonable to stake your life in return for your life being saved?"
"Well, you needn't worry about that. These terms were drafted based on a revelation I received when I visited the order this time."
I had no idea what I wasn't supposed to worry about or what kind of revelation had come down to cause this, but not only her words, even the contents written in the contract were all terms endlessly favorable to the employer. The terms were so good that I even wondered what reason there was to sign a contract to this extent.
It was forced gifting, plain and simple. Not even a cat choosing its owner would be this one-sided and coercive. Was this connected to that 'revelation' she had just mentioned?
While I was seriously agonizing, Asilie, who'd sat down beside me, scanned the contents of the contract and slowly gave her opinion.
"I think it's not bad. It means we won't have to worry even if we have to leave the house empty later, right? And Eldi wouldn't have anything to be concerned about either."
"That's true, but..."
The sticking point was employing someone who held a position tantamount to the symbol of an order, just for simple household management and upkeep.
"Are you really okay with this? You'll mostly end up sweeping the yard or cleaning the stable, you know."
Life was finite. No matter how devout she was to her religion, surely she hadn't learned all those infiltration skills just to be devout in this form.
I wanted to say it wasn't my business, but since she wasn't someone who'd left a bad impression on me, one of the inner boomer tendencies hiding inside me reared its head, making me throw out a question: wouldn't she regret it later, having squandered her life?
But Yen Tie was no pushover, as expected.
"It's not bad. I won't be dying, will I?"
In the end, I came to employ a Servant of the Dream as a housekeeper, and before the ink on the contract was even dry, the unintended addition to our household, Yen Tie, began proving her competence.
Not only did she instantly clear out the small first-floor room I'd been using for storage and turn it into her own room, she also used the household-inventory notes I'd written to check our supplies and stock. Then she went out briefly to buy what else was needed, and when she came back, every trace of the traveler she'd looked like before was gone; she looked like an ordinary resident of the capital.
"While I visited the order, you got entangled in a variety of affairs, I see."
Even bringing with her information I had no idea where she'd picked up in that incredibly short time. Her skill at accurately singling out the ones closest to the truth among the countless wild rumors honestly left me no choice but to be genuinely impressed.
I was watching Asilie, who couldn't take her eyes off Yen Tie skillfully organizing the bought items as if she'd always lived in this house together with us, because it was funny. After finishing with the items, Yen Tie laid out ingredients as if about to prepare lunch and spoke.
"Of everything I found, the information most likely to help concerns the Adventurer's Guild. Apparently the guild seems to want to speak with you, Sir Ega."
"The guild?"
"It was mainly about the guild master wanting to speak personally regarding the Dantel incident. Though it's nothing more than rumors circulating outside, so I couldn't know if that was truly all. They seemed to be looking for a suitable excuse, but since Ega stopped adventurer work after that incident and is currently employed at the academy, they seemed to be watching for your reaction. I think just by taking the first step and making a show of goodwill, you could gain the upper hand."
Correction. It had been far too early to be impressed. Now I was genuinely impressed.
"It hasn't even been an hour since you went out. Where did you go to find all that out?"
At that, Yen Tie gave a faint smile for the first time today and answered confidently.
"I told you. I'm confident."
I had no idea when information-gathering good enough to rival a broker had become a requirement for a competent maid, but she had every reason to be confident.