The Hero of the Holy Sword Joins as a Maid

Early morning, in the lord’s study.

I had meant to review the day’s work before Rina brought breakfast. I never got the chance.

“……Um, Miss Eve.”

“Y-yes. B-Baron Offen.”

“What exactly are you doing right now?”

“I-I’m standing by your side, Baron Offen…….”

Because Eve was standing right beside me.

“I see. Standing by my side. In a maid uniform, no less.”

In a maid uniform, no less.

“D-does it…… s-still look good on me today?”

“Yes. It suits you wonderfully today as well.”

“Ehehe…….”

At the compliment that the maid outfit looked good on her, Eve shyly touched the back of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her head and smiled.

Her smiling face was undeniably cute and pleasant to look at, but I still had to ask the question.

“M-Miss Eve. Didn’t I clearly tell you yesterday that you need to rest?”

“Y-you did. You said that.”

“Then why…….”

Last night I had given Eve, who had come to the study, a long speech about exactly why she needed to rest.

At first she had been completely crushed, convinced she was useless, but my sincere words had gradually lifted her spirits. In the end she had even answered my plea for her to rest with a soft “Neheeh.”

I had barely managed to persuade the girl who insisted that as a hero she must never rest—going so far as to declare, “From now on, I will save the world.”

“Why are you standing next to me dressed as a maid……?”

In a single night she had reset completely.

Rina had lent her several of the casual clothes she had worn as a child, so Eve had other outfits. Yet here she was, deliberately wearing the maid uniform, standing at my side with both hands politely folded over her stomach like a proper maid. It was thoroughly bewildering.

When I asked, Eve’s cheeks colored faintly and she answered in a tiny voice.

“W-well, um. Because you said the maid outfit s-suits me so well, Baron Offen……. You just said it again a moment ago…….”

“If it’s you, Miss Eve, any clothes would suit you beautifully. You’d look lovely even in just a T-shirt and shorts.”

“Auh…… e-ehehe…… Thank you. B-but still. I like this maid outfit. When I wear it, I f-feel like I’ve become someone u-useful to you, Baron Offen…….”

“…….”

Did she seriously forget every single thing I told her yesterday?

For a moment my mind went blank at her words. Everything I had said last night, every ounce of sincerity I had poured into her, had gone in one ear and straight out the other.

But the blankness lasted only a moment. Following the golden rule of the child-rearing experts—that educating a child requires repeating the same words a hundred, a thousand times—I steeled myself and spoke to Eve once more.

“Miss Eve, simply by existing you are already a person who helps the entire world. You don’t have to force yourself like this…….”

Yet the carefully prepared lecture on “why you must rest” never got any further.

“I-I’m not. Wearing this outfit to help the whole world……!”

Eve squeezed her eyes shut and cut me off.

“Pardon?”

“I-I’m wearing it because I want to help you, Baron Offen. If I become a maid, I c-can assist you…….”

She spoke in a trembling voice. It was an admirable sentiment, yet I could neither rejoice nor praise her for it.

“Miss Eve, you don’t have to force yourself to be useful to someone else.”

Her admirable words were simply a continuation of last night.

“Miss Eve, rest. I told you several times yesterday that you are someone who needs to rest.”

I looked at her and repeated what I had said the night before. Yesterday Eve had been terribly unstable, yet she had still been able to understand when spoken to. I trusted that the same would hold true now and told her once more to rest.

“I-I don’t want to.”

All that came back was refusal.

Had a rebellious phase arrived overnight? I was certain I had explained everything clearly enough for her to understand. Why the sudden “I don’t want to”? Had I made some mistake yesterday that left her sulking?

Eve sulking was a serious matter. Simply by existing she was the hope of the world. Keeping her alive and well made the world a better place. On top of that she was the core of the Hero’s party. With Eve present, the hard-to-recruit party members would gather easily. Word that a hero was here would also draw powerful champions to our territory.

A broken-overpowered character who improved the world and made talent recruitment easier just by being kept around—that was Eve. And that broken-overpowered character was sulking because of me.

This was not something I could take lightly.

What did I do wrong? Was it calling her the biggest idiot under heaven? Yeah, that was wrong. She had been on the verge of tears, so I was definitely at fault. Good—I know what I did wrong, so apologize fast. Apologies, like missiles, are best delivered at maximum speed.

Having quickly identified my crime, I opened my mouth to apologize to Eve.

“M-Miss Eve. About yesterday…….”

“This—this is a hobby.”

My apology was cut short by the words she blurted out, ears flushed scarlet.

“Pardon?”

“I-I’m someone who does maid work as a hobby. And not just any maid. I-I’m Baron Offen’s personal maid.”

Looking thoroughly embarrassed, cheeks and ears dyed bright red, she fixed her golden eyes on me.

“F-for me, being your maid, Baron Offen, is my h-hobby ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and my rest. So I’m n-not going against what you said yesterday either.”

And then she delivered the most unheard-of claim of my life: that doing maid work was both a hobby and a form of rest.

How can being a maid be a hobby? It’s work. Housework is exhausting.

“Could you say those same words to Rina?”

“C-Chief Maid is probably s-similar to me.”

“Then I’ll ask her when she arrives shortly. Whether maid work can be a hobby.”

“G-go ahead……!”

Right after our brief battle of wills, the study door clicked open and Rina entered carrying a tray of breakfast.

“Young Master, Hero. Thank you for waiting. This morning’s menu is fried eggs, toast, and bacon.”

“Thanks, Rina.”

“Th-thank you, Chief Maid.”

Eve and I both accepted the plates and utensils and offered our thanks.

“Fufu, not at all. It’s only natural.”

Rina smiled softly at our gratitude—not the formal smile meant to please a superior, but one that came from the heart.

“Rina, there’s something I want to ask. Can maid work become a hobby?”

Just as I had told Eve, I put the question to the finest maid I knew. When Eve had first claimed it was a hobby I had thought the idea absurd. Looking at Rina now, though, my certainty wavered strangely. Still, I believed I was right, so I asked. Rina answered with surprising ease.

“Of course it can.”

“Ehk.”

“S-see, Chief Maid……!”

My face twisted; Eve clenched her fists in delight.

“Why? Maid work is ridiculously hard.”

I still remembered the moment Rina first put on a maid uniform. Apprentice-maid Rina had been nothing like the woman she was now. Back then she broke or shattered everything she touched and tripped a dozen times a day. I could still clearly recall comforting her after the previous head maid had scolded her.

“You even cried to me that being a maid was too hard.”

“Ugh, th-that was when I was little. It’s completely different now.”

Mentioning her childhood made Rina’s cheeks flush with embarrassment. Seeing that rare human side of the perfect head maid made the corner of my mouth twitch upward.

“The Hero is right here—how can you say something like that, Young Master? Everyone has an inexperienced period.”

“Rina, is it not hard now?”

I pressed the grumbling Rina ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with another question.

“Ehh, it is hard. I’m managing the entire Termin mansion by myself—how could it not be hard?”

Rina let out a small sigh and slightly lowered her shoulders, as if asking why I would pose such an obvious question. Hearing the clear weight of long effort in her voice only made it harder to understand.

“Then how can something that hard become a hobby?”

“Because the joy is greater than the hardship.”

“The joy is greater?”

“Yes. I only realized it recently myself—how happy and fulfilling maid work can be.”

Rina looked at me with her bright brown eyes. The earlier weariness was nowhere to be found in her gaze.

“Young Master, working as the maid of someone as remarkable as you is an extremely happy thing.”

She spoke while looking at me with eyes full of vitality and life.

“When you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠enjoy the meal I worked hard to prepare, when you quietly admire the hallway I cleaned so carefully, when you praise me for running an errand well—every hardship turns into a sense of accomplishment.”

“…….”

“You have no idea how much strength it gives me to know I’m being of help to you, Young Master. Fufu.”

Rina smiled shyly, cheeks tinged pink. That smile made my chest stir for a moment. The words that reached deep into my heart were her true feelings.

“……Mm, I see.”

Hearing that working for me gave her strength, joy, and fulfillment left me a little embarrassed. But clamping my mouth shut out of embarrassment would have been childish.

“Thanks, Rina. I’ll be counting on you from now on too.”

“Ehehe, yes, Young Master.”

After thanking Rina I turned to Eve. She was staring at Rina with sparkling eyes, her golden irises filled with pure respect.

A maid respected by a hero—our Rina really was amazing.

“Miss Eve.”

“Y-yes, Baron Offen.”

“After Rina has gone so far as to say all that, I can’t really argue anymore.”

“Th-that means…….”

Eve looked at me with a face full of expectation. I smiled gently and spoke.

“You may be a maid.”

“Th-thank you! I-I’ll really do my best! I’ll work hard and be of help to you, Baron Offen!”

The moment Eve beamed and thanked me, the notification that she had joined the territory appeared before my eyes.

Immediately afterward a welcome notification appeared along with the status window.

The territory rank had risen. When a territory’s rank went up, the things one could do increased dramatically, so I couldn’t stop the corners of my mouth from lifting.

But those lifted corners quickly returned to their original place.

“……Ah?”

“A-as an apprentice maid, I-I’ll really work hard from now on……!”

Eve had become an apprentice maid…….

Scratch-scratch-scratch-scratch.

The sound of a quill racing across dry paper filled the dark room. Complex, abstruse magical formulas that no mage in the world except the one moving the quill could possibly understand densely covered the pages.

A new magical formula she had created after locking herself in her laboratory the moment she returned—without washing, sleeping, or eating. This great formula that would elevate her magical ability one step higher. She intended to prove its success through an incantation.

“Cough…… kuh…….”

Yet what escaped her lips was not an incantation, but only formless metallic sounds that failed to become language.

“…….”

She closed her mouth and touched her throat. Beneath her fingertips she felt not the torn-out vocal cords, but the magitech device that had been installed in their place. The hard mechanical sensation, utterly unlike soft skin, was terrifyingly clear.

She closed her eyes, covered her exhausted lids with the back of her hand, and ground her teeth.

Fuck…….

Her name was Rin.

The mage of the Hero’s party whose vocal cords had been ripped out, leaving her unable to chant magic.