Come Back Sweet Home

『Lilith has reached Level 11!』

The morning after Ethan and I had worked together to wipe out a band of bandits who came at us while I stood night watch during our camp-out.

Thankfully, the sudden midnight assault seemed to have been a one-time affair — I never again woke from my sleep to find myself cutting down thieves and cleaning up the bodies.

...Even for me, killing people wasn't something I could just shrug off, so my sleep had been a little restless. But the fatigue weighed on me even more than that, and in the end I'd managed to get a decent stretch of shut-eye anyway.

If it had been monsters, I wouldn't have cared much either way, but this was honestly the first time ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I'd ever killed a living human being. Those guys had been nothing more than monsters wearing human skins, sure — but a person was still a person.

Fortunately, the news wasn't all grim. There was good news too: the tiny sliver of experience I'd had left had been filled up by the battle with the bandits, and I'd leveled up.

I'd been too exhausted to check last night, but when I opened my status window in the morning, there it was — Level 11 — along with a smattering of modest growth across my other stats, easy enough to confirm at a glance.

The experience I'd earned from my assessment duel with Luke alone had already amounted to roughly a thousand, so I'd been sitting just a hair's breadth away from my next level-up.

And the fight against the bandit crew last night had been more than enough to push me over the edge.

Thanks to those bastards, I was now saying goodbye forever to that cursed single-digit Luck stat. Not that the number was anything to brag about even now.

And then, for reasons I couldn't quite fathom, my title had changed from "Brave Exclusive Maid" to the rather baffling "Exclusive Maid of Ethan Richard Blackwood."

...Well, that one's probably just a temporary thing.

The fact remained that I was currently Ethan's exclusive maid, so it didn't particularly bother me. Once I graduated from the Academy and struck out on my own, that whole "exclusive maid" business would change to something else anyway.

Meanwhile, as for the current state of Ethan — who had fought the bandits alongside me last night and even handled the corpse disposal all by himself...

"Young Master, aren't you tired? I don't think you've slept a wink since you relieved me of my shift."

"...I'm fine. I slept well before my watch, so I'm not that worn out."

"I seeeee... If you say so..."

There he sat by the campfire, dark circles faintly blooming under his eyes for the first time in ages, his gaze heavy with exhaustion.

No wonder he was tired. For Ethan too, last night hadn't exactly been the kind of incident one could simply brush off with an easy conscience.

It had likely been his first real kill as well, and judging by the look of him, he'd apparently stayed up through Isabel's watch shift as well, keeping watch instead of sleeping. Having gone through something like that, he probably hadn't felt comfortable leaving the night watch to Isabel alone, even if it was the morning slot.

Rationally speaking, it had been the right call. If our shifts had been reversed, I probably would have come to the same conclusion.

If only for Ethan's sake, we needed to get back to the mansion as quickly as possible.

"Let's just fill our stomachs with something simple and set out, Young Master Ethan. A proper meal and proper rest are best taken at Blackwood Manor."

"...Yes, let's do that."

A simple sandwich — a slice of salt-cured ham tucked between toasted bread — and a cup of warm milk. It was a modest meal, but it carried its own care and warmth, and by the time we'd finished it, some of my strength had returned.

The final leg of the journey home, which honestly felt far longer than usual, I finished off behind the reins of the carriage myself.

...Camping out on the roadside, huh. Really not easy.

"Well done, Young Master Ethan. And you as well, Miss Lilith, Miss Isabel."

The moment we returned to the manor, Dietmeier came out to greet Ethan, and thanks to him we were able to begin unpacking without the slightest difficulty.

The luggage had been a bit much for Isabel and me to haul alone in the first place, but the head butler had labor on standby well in advance, and thanks to that, all Isabel and I had to do was hand the crates off from the carriage to the servants one by one — cutting our workload by more than half.

Most of the household staff looked much the same as when we'd left, which gave me a genuine sense of coming home after a long time, but spotting a few faces that seemed to be new hires made me feel, in its own way, just how much those four months had really passed.

While Isabel and I continued the unpacking alongside the other servants, Dietmeier exchanged greetings with Ethan.

"I trust you've been well, Young Master Ethan."

"I have. Nothing amiss at the manor?"

"Nothing worth mentioning. Though the paperwork requiring your father's signature has piled up rather considerably in his absence."

"Set aside anything I can sign on his behalf. I'll at least give it a look before Father returns."

"Understood, Young Master."

Even in small things — his manner of speech, for instance — I could see him slowly taking after Harold, and to this Ethan, Dietmeier posed one more question about the journey.

"Was the return trip uneventful?"

"Uneventful... yes, I suppose so."

In truth, no. Something very much happened.

A band of bandits storming our camp while the carriage rested for a day in the middle of the trip — that absolutely qualified as "something happening" by any reasonable definition of Dietmeier's.

Even if we'd dispatched them without a scratch and erased every trace, the fact remained that we had faced a genuine threat to our persons, however brief.

But Ethan seemed inclined to keep quiet about that part and made no mention of it, and I likewise steered our account strictly around the bandits, telling Dietmeier only about the night we'd spent camping.

"My ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠inexperience behind the reins left the Young Master with an uncomfortable night's sleep, I'm afraid."

"That's quite all right, Lilith."

"As the Young Master says, it's nothing at all, Miss Lilith. That was your first proper drive of the carriage, was it not? Simply hauling it all the way from the Isle of Knowledge to this estate is admirable in itself."

"That's entirely thanks to your instruction, Head Butler."

"You must be tired from the drive yourself, Miss Lilith, so I'd recommend resting early today. It's an auspicious day in many respects, so you're welcome to make use of the great bath with Miss Isabel later on. Though naturally, that would come after the Young Master has had his chance to unwind."

"...Thank you, Head Butler."

...Is this really Dietmeier? Was this guy always this considerate?

Right up until I entered the Academy, he'd struck me as the quietly infuriating sort whose mere face made my blood pressure spike — and now, first thing after a months-long absence, here he was with a warm greeting and words that acknowledged all my hardships. It put me strangely at ease.

Then again, having met every conceivable flavor of insufferable human being at the Academy, my brain may have quietly recalibrated Dietmeier up into "actually a pretty decent guy" territory.

That's how much had happened. Tiring things, yes — but plenty gained in return.

"When Master Harold was in the thick of his campaigning, he once spent weeks encamped in the cold of Silverwood. A night or two of camping should be well within the Young Master's capacity to endure by now."

"Hm, I suppose so."

"And unless one were to happen upon a band of bandits, there's scarcely anything that could count as an incident. Hahaha."

"...Y-yes, quite."

"R-right... that's true..."

He'd meant it as a joke, of course — but having actually run into a band of bandits, Ethan and I found ourselves peculiarly unable to respond either way.

And through all of it, Isabel — who didn't even know the bandits had attacked us — simply laughed along, and what finally broke the awkward atmosphere was the sudden appearance of a pink-haired, willowy maid.

"Miss Lilith! Isabel!"

"Catarina!"

The two of them fell ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠into each other's arms the instant they laid eyes on each other, and I have to say — two pretty, adorable girls hugging each other tight was a lovely sight, gender notwithstanding.

...Though I found myself oddly embarrassed to squeeze in between them, and slowed my steps just a touch.

"It's been a while, Catarina."

"Was the Academy fun, Miss Lilith?"

"Yes, it was fun. A lot happened, too. And you, Catarina — you're looking much better these days."

"Yes. I decided I couldn't keep leaning on you and Isabel forever, Miss Lilith."

Compared to that tearful farewell of just a few months ago, Catarina had changed in ways you could see at a glance. I almost couldn't believe she was the same girl who used to tremble and cower if I so much as raised my voice in the kitchen prep room at dawn.

Honestly, I'd worried about her in a number of ways when we left, so seeing her grow more than expected put my mind at ease.

"Shall we all gather in Catarina's room in a little while and have a nice chat? I bought sweets and tea as gifts, after all."

"I'm all for it, Miss Lilith!"

"I told you, you can just call me Lilith."

...So even after her personality changed, the "Miss" honorific remains firmly in effect.

Well, whatever — she certainly looked better than the timid girl she used to be. What exactly had changed her heart, I still couldn't quite say.

A great many things had shifted at Blackwood Manor, but the moment I walked through its doors, one thing at least rang absolutely certain.

That for me, right now, there was no place ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in the world as comfortable as this one.