Temporary Maid (Former Hero) (1)
Offen asked Eve to become a maid while Rina was unconscious.
A maid.
A maid?
A mai······d?
Eve knew perfectly well what a maid was. As the Hero, she had traveled through countless noble houses, royal courts, and even imperial palaces, encountering maids at every turn. If someone had asked her to explain the role, she could have answered in far greater detail than Offen himself.
What is this? Did I hear him right? Does “maid” mean something completely different here in Termin Territory?
That was precisely why Offen’s request for her to serve as a temporary maid made no sense at all.
Because Eve was the Hero.
Even now, if Offen told her to draw the Holy Sword and wipe out every hostile force in sight, she would have no choice but to obey. He was the man who had restored her younger brother’s legs—her lifelong benefactor.
“A-a maid? Y-you mean a maid······?”
Eve asked again, needing to be certain she had heard correctly.
Offen blinked, then kindly explained what a temporary maid was expected to do.
“Ah, Eve, have you not yet seen Rina at work? Simply put, you would clean, do the laundry, and cook. Of course, Rina’s duties are more specialized, but for now it would be enough if you handled those basics. I’m only asking you to fill in temporarily, after all.”
The explanation matched the ordinary maid work Eve already knew.
But she was the Hero—the master of the Holy Sword. Her spirit might have been broken enough for her to abandon the title, yet her power had not diminished in the slightest.
He could command the strongest human in the world… and the task he gave her was household chores?
Th-that’s it! It’s a metaphor! Baron Offen doesn’t want to say outright “go eliminate my enemies,” so he’s using “maid” as a code word to assign me a mission!
Eve clapped her hands together in her mind, certain she had finally grasped the hidden meaning.
Her brother Gid was always scolding her, saying, “Big Sis, you’re so one-dimensional it’s a real problem.” But now that she had seen through Offen’s true intent, Eve felt she had finally left that simplicity behind.
A combat maid—one who wore a mask, concealed her identity, and eliminated targets at her master’s command.
That was the kind of maid Offen wanted her to become. It had to be.
“Um······ s-so, Baron Offen, you want me to cl-clean up your enemies, d-do the laundry on them, and c-cook them however I please? Y-you’re telling me to become that kind of c-combat maid······?”
Just in case she had misread him, Eve checked once more. Double-checking was always essential.
And Offen’s answer was:
“······Uh, no. I’m sorry, but I have absolutely no intention of asking you to do anything like that. Just ordinary housework will be fine.”
He denied it with a thoroughly bewildered expression.
“E-ehh?”
Offen really had asked her to be a temporary maid.
“Eve, will you grant my request?”
“Huh? Ah, th-that, y-yes······.”
Deflated, Eve nodded.
And so Hero Eve was reassigned as the temporary maid of House Termin.
The next morning.
“Ah, um, I-I’ve finished changing······.”
Eve stepped out of Rina’s dressing room wearing a maid uniform. Temporary or not, a maid wore a maid’s clothes—that much was obvious. The frilly headband settled perfectly atop her tousled golden hair, suiting her remarkably well.
Ugh, I’ve never worn anything this floaty and delicate before. The apron is so pure white I’m terrified I’ll stain it the second I make a mistake. Did the head maid really work in something this delicate without a single wrinkle······?
As a child Eve had herded livestock in her rural hometown. After the Holy Sword chose her she had lived solely as the Hero. And after the crushing defeat in the Abyss of Despair she had shut herself away as a shut-in. Cleanliness had never been part of her life, so the maid uniform felt utterly alien.
Still, at least it fits perfectly. She said it was the apprentice uniform she wore when she was fourteen······.
Eve’s frame was a full head shorter than the average adult woman’s, which meant the apprentice maid uniform Rina had worn at fourteen fit her body exactly.
“Big Sis! Looks great on you!”
“It truly suits you wonderfully, Eve.”
“R-really······?”
At Gid’s and Offen’s praise, Eve shyly touched the back of her hair. It was a kind of compliment she had never received before.
During her days as the Hero she had worn armor everywhere she went. The Hero was a symbol of hope, and a symbol of hope had to remain steadfast at all times. No one had ordered her to do so—she had simply wanted it that way. Great power like the Holy Sword came with equally great responsibility. As a result, no one had ever told her that her clothes looked good on her.
“Eve, the more I look at you the more beautiful you become. That pure black-and-white maid uniform paired with your golden hair creates a perfect harmony. I always thought Rina wore a maid uniform better than anyone in the world, but seeing you now, you don’t lose to her in the slightest. You’re simply lovely.”
“Ah, th-th-th-thank you······.”
“Hmm, I don’t think Big Sis is quite that praiseworthy. Anyway, I’d better get to work myself. Hang in there, Sis!”
Having finished surveying Termin Territory the previous night and mapping out the tasks ahead, Gid headed off to work. Under normal circumstances Eve would have wished him a safe day, but right now she could not manage even that.
Th-this kind of praise······ I’ve never heard it before······.
Today, for the first time in her life, a man—any person at all—had told her that her clothes looked truly wonderful on her. Every compliment she had ever received had been about her strength as the Hero, her character, or her achievements. Yet Offen was looking at her not as the Hero, but as a woman, and praising her for it.
“······?”
At his words a strange fluttering rose in Eve’s chest. A sensation she had never felt before. Her heart pounded, the corners of her mouth twitched upward of their own accord, and her fingers and toes fidgeted without her noticing. It was completely unfamiliar… yet somehow not unpleasant.
“Ehehe······.”
No—it felt good enough to make her smile.
Only then did Eve understand how Gid had become friends with Offen in half a day. Offen’s praise sank so easily into the deepest part of the heart that the thought of raising one’s guard never even occurred. It felt natural, inevitable. He really was a mysterious man.
But is it really okay to feel this happy just because he said a maid uniform from when the head maid was fourteen looks good on me?
The doubt flickered through her mind even as she basked in the praise, then vanished just as quickly.
“Well then, Eve. Now that you’re properly dressed, allow me to show you the layout of Termin Manor. Please follow me.”
“Ah, y-yes!”
And so Offen began a private tour of the manor just for her.
“First, cleaning is done from top to bottom as a rule. Dust the upper surfaces, sweep the floor, then mop—in that order. When you mop, be especially careful not to leave the cloth too wet; excess moisture can leave water stains and make the floor slippery.”
“Ah, y-yes. I-I’m actually pretty c-confident about cleaning.”
“Is that so? Since you put it that way, I’ll look forward to it.”
“Ah, um, p-please don’t look forward to it too much. I won’t be as good as the h-head maid······.”
“Ahaha, understood. Then I’ll look forward to it just a little.”
“Y-yes.”
“This is the kitchen. Right now Termin Manor has only myself, Rina, you, and Gid, so prepare meals for exactly four. The previous head maid left a cookbook here, and the ingredients are in the storeroom next door—feel free to use them. Wash the dishes right after each meal. Ah, and you’ll need to make porridge for Rina. She’s exhausted, so she won’t be able to manage anything heavier.”
“······Yes.”
“Hm? Is something giving you trouble? Your reaction is quite different from when I explained the cleaning.”
“Ah, n-no! I-I can do it. There’s a c-cookbook, and i-ingredients, and I’m w-wearing the maid uniform, so······.”
“······Uh, well. All right. I’ll look forward to your cooking······.”
“Please don’t look forward to it. I’m begging you.”
“······Understood.”
“This is the laundry room. With only four people, a day’s worth of washing won’t be much.”
“Ah, I-I’m really confident about laundry······! B-before I became the Hero I worked as a shepherd, so I had to do laundry a l-lot.”
“That’s a relief. Then I won’t bother explaining the laundry. The detergent is right beside the washbasin.”
“Y-you even use detergent. N-noble houses really are different······.”
“Rina made it. Quite the impressive girl, isn’t she?”
“Th-that’s right. She’s truly amazing. She even h-healed our Gid······.”
“Haha, thank you for the compliment. Rina would be overjoyed to hear it. Shall we move on?”
“This is the lord’s study. It’s where I spend most of my time, and likely where you’ll spend a good deal of yours as well.”
“Ah, i-is that so?”
“Yes. That way I can call you whenever I need you.”
“I-I see······.”
“Still, there won’t be much for you to do here. Once you’ve finished cleaning, cooking, laundry, and the rest of your daily tasks, just come in and relax—read a book or whatever you like.”
“Y-yes. Understood.”
“Well then, that concludes the tour of the manor and the explanation of your duties. Eve, I’m counting on you until Rina recovers her strength.”
“Y-yes. I’ll do my b-best······!”
And so began the first maid duties of Eve’s life—after a lifetime spent as the Hero.