Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Maid Pindenai
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The enrollment ceremony had ended, and a week had passed at Robern Academy.
In that short time, countless rumors were swirling around the academy, most of them far from pleasant.
In particular, the story of the grotesquely twisted man appearing on the third-floor right staircase had become the hottest topic lately.
Even though the professors had explicitly warned against it and blocked access, curiosity-driven students kept going up there and getting hurt.
Not only that, but there were tales of a woman wandering around soaking wet, a grandmother handing out candy, a monster with its skin peeled off all over its body, and a man crawling only on his arms without legs.
Stories of numerous evil spirits were circulating, and there were more than enough witnesses who had actually seen them.
The second floor of the girls' dormitory had been completely restricted, and the rumor was that it was because students had fallen into comas after encountering evil spirits during the break.
As trust in Robern Academy plummeted among the students, more and more were talking about dropping out or requesting leaves of absence every day.
Amid all this, yet another unfavorable rumor broke out at the academy.
"No way, really?"
"Yeah. I saw it myself. It was a maid."
It was that a revealingly dressed maid had appeared at the academy.
"Hm?"
Erika Bright, already nursing a headache and frustration, wondered what nonsense this was now.
Thinking it was just baseless gossip or another bizarre evil spirit sighting, Erika ignored it.
But then.
"Kyaa, you must have a nice gig."
The moment she laid eyes on the white-haired, red-eyed maid who rudely flung open the door to her lab, even Erika couldn't help but gape.
The short skirt seemed like it would reveal her underwear with the slightest lift, and the plunging neckline left her chest practically bare—not suitable for work attire in the slightest.
Students who had trailed after Pindenai clustered outside the lab door, peeking in, but Erika waved her hand, and the door slammed shut with a bang.
"Who are you?"
Unhiding her displeasure at the sudden intruder, Erika asked. The assistant professors with her also shot to their feet, faces etched with disbelief.
"My master. You know, Deus. He sent me."
The room froze at the name she casually dropped.
The name Deus was practically taboo in Erika's presence.
Erika's irritation vanished, replaced by bewilderment as she glanced at the assistants.
"D-Disperse the students outside."
"Got it!"
"Right away!"
Realizing they shouldn't be here, the assistants quickly opened the door and stepped out.
There were still students swarming to catch a glimpse of Pindenai, so they naturally began shooing them away.
Thud.
The door closed.
The nonchalant, unresponsive Pindenai continued.
"Well, he didn't specifically say to come to you. He just told me to get help from any professor."
"Help? Did De… that man accept reinstatement as a professor?"
"That's what I heard. He told me to come ahead and get things ready."
"……"
Erika's heart was a tangled mess. In the end, they hadn't found even a clue about the evil spirit trying to kill Deus.
Spilled water was spilled.
Erika steadied her breath and asked Pindenai calmly.
"So, what exactly do you need from me?"
"Eh, before that. Where's the spot with the most troublesome evil spirit right now?"
"……An evil spirit?"
"Yeah, I need to check something out."
Erika hesitated but explained about the third-floor right corridor.
"There's a place with a man whose whole body is twisted. Students keep flocking there and getting hurt."
"Twisted man? Perfect! Let's go right now."
Pindenai spun on her heel and flung the door open again. Thanks to the assistants, the students had already scattered.
Erika grabbed her coat from the rack and followed.
"I'll be right back. Keep working."
"Understood."
Erika's head already throbbed at the thought of the assistants gossiping once she left.
After all, the former fiancée's maid had shown up dressed like that.
It irked her a bit.
"Excuse me, why are you wearing something like that?"
When Erika probed lightly, Pindenai replied as if it were nothing.
"It's Master's taste, apparently?"
"……Pardon?"
It was one of the most shocking pieces of information Erika had encountered this year.
No, perhaps in her entire life—top five, easily. Her mind blanked for a moment.
"Th-that man likes that sort of thing? No, is this the Deus I know?"
"Yeah. Deus Verdi, second son of the Verdi family, younger brother of the Count of Northwedden. Quite the playboy, from what I hear in Northwedden. Even sexually harassed his sister."
"Wh-what nonsense! Do you have any idea how gentlemanly and dashing he is?! Are you really his maid? This isn't a lie, is it?"
"You'll find out eventually. I'm just passing on the facts. Though honestly, he doesn't seem the type to me either. But apparently half a year ago?"
"No, that can't be……"
Erika clutched her head, dizziness joining her headache. Pindenai glanced at her and grinned mischievously.
"But I heard you broke off the engagement. Even kicked him out yourself. You can call him dashing now?"
"……K-keep it a secret, please."
To him, she was nothing but a betrayer.
A trash who got fed up with her reckless fiancé and betrayed him for another man.
She didn't want to whine to Deus that she was a victim too.
After all, she had hurt him.
"Fine, then I'll share a secret too."
"……What is it."
She doubted anything could top what she'd just heard.
But Pindenai's words were a bombshell.
"One of our maids licked Master's ass—and he licked hers back. Heh, wild, right?"
"Th-this is a lie! You're just making stuff up! I absolutely refuse to believe it!"
The Deus she knew was always noble, composed, and cool-headed.
For such a man to roll in bed with a scantily clad maid doing that?
Erika's face flushed crimson; she wanted to dunk her head in ice water.
She herself was known at the academy as cool and meticulous, but this flood of info had her flailing in shock.
"Whatever, don't believe it then."
Pindenai snickered, savoring Erika's reaction.
They had arrived at the third-floor corridor. They pushed aside the academy's barricade and stepped inside.
"Oho."
The air shifted in that instant. Sticky, damp, ominous.
[Kii, kiik! Kigiik!]
A man with a twisted body, voicing sounds like something broken, began shambling toward them with eerie steps.
"What do you plan to do?"
Erika, tension snapping her back to her usual demeanor, asked. Pindenai pulled a foot-long rod from her maid outfit's front pocket.
Clank!
It extended into an axe, which she slung over her shoulder.
"Exorcise it. I picked up the basics peeking over his shoulder."
"Exor……cise?"
Pindenai grinned.
"Master said all evil spirits hide their grudges and regrets deep inside."
[Kigik! Kigiik!]
"But deep down, they want someone to understand. Especially the ones with exaggeratedly twisted or broken bodies—they crave attention."
Whether she'd truly learned from Deus or not, Pindenai extended a gentle hand to the evil spirit.
"How about it? Tell me what you want to say. I'll listen to it all."
Having watched Deus do this with Emily from afar, Pindenai figured she could manage.
[Kigiik! Kiik! Kigigik!]
"Yeah, I see."
[Kigigigik!]
"Hm."
[Kigik! Kigak!]
"You bastard! I said speak!"
Wham!
The twisted evil spirit took the axe full-on and flew into the wall. Sprawled on the floor, it writhed like a bug in agony.
"Even when I'm being nice and telling you to talk."
Pindenai snorted, axe over her shoulder.
Erika, watching from behind, gaped in bewilderment.
"W-wait, weren't you understanding it?"
"Huh? You think I can understand that? What conversation am I supposed to have with something making saw-sharpening noises? Things like that need a beating."
More importantly.
"How can you even hit it? We've tried everything, and attacks never land."
At that, Pindenai pointed to her axe with brimming confidence.
"Master did something to my axe. Don't know the details. He told me not to tell anyone."
A faint, sharp black aura clung to the axe.
Erika, a mage, recognized it instantly as a form of black magic but clamped her mouth shut.
'He did that.'
Her faint hope that Deus might not be a necromancer burst like a bubble.
Oblivious or not to Erika's turmoil, Pindenai stretched and eyed the opposite end of the corridor.
Thud!
"And while doing this, he said to only use it in the absolute last resort. Don't mess with evil spirits lightly."
"……Hold on. You came straight to me."
Thud!
Thud!
"Yeah, I'm the cute maid who doesn't listen to Master."
Thud!
Thud!
Erika recognized the sound—she'd heard it before.
Footsteps.
Echoing from the floor below, mingling with students' screams, reaching the third floor.
"Tell me why we shouldn't mess with them."
Even though she suspected the reason, Erika asked anyway. Pindenai shrugged and assumed a fighting stance.
"He said a ridiculously terrifying swordsman who guards the evil spirits would come."
Thud!
A one-armed swordsman leaped into the corridor from the central third-floor staircase.
[Kraaaaa!]
Roaring ferociously, he charged straight at Pindenai.
"O."
Pindenai raised her axe high, flashing a cool grin as she took her stance.
"It's you?"