The Clumsy Maid's Tears
The clumsy maid's face went pale in an instant. “I’m sorry, Young Master! I was wrong! Please forgive me…!!”
Clearly, I was the one at fault.
“I’m sorry…! I’m truly sorry!”
Yet here she was, the victim begging for forgiveness. It felt utterly disorienting, as if common sense itself had been twisted upside down.
“I’m sorry, Young Master…!”
At the same time, it hit me anew just what kind of person I’d possessed.
“You okay? I’m the one who’s sorry.”
Yes, this was how Arnold appeared in everyone’s eyes.
“N-no!! How could I, of all people, block your path…!”
A man despised, feared, and misunderstood by all simply for being born under a wicked family.
“No, I wasn’t watching where I was going. It’s my fault.”
Still, how was I supposed to calm this maid down as she sniffled and pleaded?
“No…!”
“I said it’s fine. What’s your name, anyway?”
I tried to approach slowly, without startling her.
“H-hiiik…!!”
But the moment I asked her name…
“I was wrong! Even if it costs this lowly life of mine, I’ll atone for offending you, so please, at least spare my mother who works here…!!”
What on earth was she imagining? She suddenly bowed her head, dragging her mother into it.
“No… I mean…”
“I’m sorry!!”
She slammed her forehead against the floor with enough force to drill through it. Her teary eyes had turned into a waterfall of sobs before I knew it.
“……”
Anyone watching would think I’d threatened to wipe out her entire family line…
Haa.
What to do? I wanted to resolve this with words, but conversation wasn’t even possible.
“I’m sorry, Mother. I’m such a useless daughter…”
She was too worked up, but more than that, this was the perception of Arnold—there was no helping it.
“Lift your head.”
She was young, after all. Maybe I should try coaxing her gently?
“U-uh… Yes?”
At my words, the maid slowly raised her face.
“……”
I bent one knee, matching her eye level.
“Hey.”
“Eek…!”
But when I reached out, she squeezed her eyes shut, wrinkles forming around them as if bracing for pain.
Smoothly—
“Eh…?”
I hadn’t reached out to strike her.
“It’s really okay. If anything, I hurt you. No need to apologize.”
I gently stroked the young maid’s hair, speaking in the calmest voice I could muster to soothe her.
“Young Master…?”
“Yeah. No need to worry. Nothing bad will happen.”
“You, your mother—everyone will be fine.”
I petted her head as if sweeping away all her fears, offering a faint smile.
“Th-thank you!!”
She replied loudly, just like before, bowing her head again.
“Truly… thank you so much, Young Master!”
The difference was that the gloomy atmosphere had completely washed away.
“Stop crying now.”
“S-sniff… But this is… tears of joy, perhaps…?”
“Come here.”
I tugged the sleeve of my robe and wiped the tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Y-Young Master…! Your precious clothes will get ruined…”
Of course, her fidgeting made it a bit tricky midway through.
“Don’t worry about it. No need to feel burdened.”
I wiped away every last tear, then patted her shoulder encouragingly.
“Th-thank you, Young Master…”
“No big deal. Oh, right—I didn’t catch your name earlier.”
I helped her to her feet and asked once more.
“I’m Eily…!”
“Eily Kesher, working as a maid in the mansion alongside my mother, Arina Kesher!”
Unlike her initial cowering, she now spoke brightly and confidently.
“Hmm… Got it?”
Eily, huh. I repeated her name in my head to commit it to memory.
“So, what were you doing in front of my door?”
“Well, lunch time was approaching, but it seemed like you were still asleep, so I came to check on you.”
It looked like Eily would be my first real human connection in this world after the transfer.
“I see. Truth is, I was handling some personal business in my room, so I stayed in longer. I got up early, though.”
“I see! I was worried something might be wrong with your health—glad to hear it!”
I hoped my actions just now had shifted her view of me a little.
“Yeah, thanks.”
“Yes! Then I’ll get back to my chores!”
“Good luck.”
Hoping my first impression came off as friendly.
Thus began my full life as Arnold in the game world.
A week passed since then.
“Hmm~”
Over the past week, I’d been careful with my words and actions, doing my best to adapt to this world.
“As expected of a noble house—even the private library is huge.”
First things first, I’d investigated the language here.
Just like prioritizing language barriers when traveling abroad.
“Cooking, foraging, hunting… Lots of categories.”
Having come to an entirely different world, I’d focused on the otherworldly tongue right away.
“Farming…? Might as well read it if I get the chance.”
But contrary to my initial worries, language wasn’t a big issue.
And the reason?
Was the language here the same as what I knew? No.
“Hmm…”
The script here was… something that didn’t exist on Earth, at least not in my knowledge.
“Monster compendium? This looks intriguing too.”
So how could I read and understand it?
“……”
Honestly, I wasn’t sure myself.
The letters looked foreign, words I’d never learned—but somehow, I could read and speak them like a local.
If I had to explain… it was like they automatically popped into my head?
As if a translator had been installed in my brain.
“So… this is the Wiggliad Continent.”
Next, I looked into the world’s lore.
“Pretty much matches what I know.”
This wasn’t too hard either—I’d seen the worldbuilding plenty of times.
Scientific tech lagged far behind my old world, but in its place existed magic, a supernatural force.
Fantasy races like elves and dwarves were real too.
“……”
Ironically, grasping the mansion’s layout without seeming clueless proved harder than the vast world outside.
“Hmm, so… Lightning…?”
Crackle—
“Whoa…!”
And speaking of magic.
“Almost set the books on fire.”
Arnold Stenman—
“Next up…”
He had exceptional magical talent.
Well, that explained how he bossed around the late game.
“Fire.”
Whoosh—!!
“Wait—?! Ugh…!”
I didn’t know the exact standards here yet, but.
Word was, even the talented barely showed mana response at 15, and that was just detection—not control.
“Phew…”
But Arnold here… investigations showed he’d just passed his 14th birthday.
And he could already handle multiple elements.
I hadn’t tested on living things, but…
Suffice to say, it was potent enough to meaningfully harm a person.
“Haa, maybe call it quits for the afternoon?”
Deep in the mansion library, poring over magic tomes—it was already 4 p.m., and fatigue was setting in.
“Hope I don’t get lost on the way back to my room this time… This place is too big…”
I closed the book and slotted it neatly back.
Creak—
Opening the library door and stepping into the hall—
“Oh?! Hello, Young Master!”
I ran into Eily, purely by chance.
“Eily, you okay…?”
But…
“Y-yes…? Of c-course! It’s a bit heavy, but I can handle this much…!”
Meeting her was fine, but her condition looked precarious.
“Ugh… Whew~”
She was carrying a vase nearly as big as herself, taking shaky steps somewhere.
Hoo.
Her footing was so precarious, I was getting tense just watching.
“Let me help.”
At the very least, I wanted to lend a hand.
“Huh? No! A maid’s work, from the Young Master…?! Whoaaa?!!”
But as I approached, she missed her step—and toppled with dramatic flair.
“Ow ow… Huh?! Oh no, this…!! It was an important vase…!!”
Eily gaped in shock, at a loss.
“Haha…”
This was something I’d learned gathering info lately.
“Ow.”
Eily Kesher.
She really was a maid working here with her mother.
Due to tough family finances, the mother-daughter duo labored to make ends meet.
Word among the other housekeepers wasn’t great.
Arina aside, Eily’s rep was especially poor.
Young as she was, what could she do well?
Still, frequent mistakes, passive work habits, and emotional sensitivity leading to lots of tears.
In the week I’d watched, her blunders included…
‘I’ll clean the floor spotless!’
Scrub scrub—Kyaa?!
Slipping on the water bucket mid-mop.
Crash—
‘Eek…! Sorry!!’
Breaking dishes during kitchen duty and getting chewed out by the head chef…
Thud—!!
‘Uh… Huh…?’
Knocking over the drying rack, undoing all the laundry.
“Not hurt?”
“N-no… But the vase…”
Frankly, she fumbled most tasks.
“It’s fine. I’ll say I broke it by accident.”
“What?! You can’t! Why would you…!”
Yet I always covered for Eily.
“You don’t wanna get scolded by the head maid again, right? Better if I take the blame.”
“Eek… B-but…”
Part of it was shedding the villain image, sure.
But more than that, simple human compassion.
How tough must it be at her age?
“I-I’m truly sorry. At the very least, I’ll pay for the vase…!”
“No need. I’ll take your sentiment.”
Whenever Eily messed up, I’d stroke her head and comfort her.
“Don’t beat yourself up.”
“Eek, but Young Master…”
I believed she could become a fine talent someday.
“You there! Caught you red-handed!”
But one day.
“Eek! I didn’t mean to! It’s just…!”
The innocent, kind girl I thought she was.
“Young Master Arnold! Hear me out—this brat dared to!”
Was branded a thief.