The Maid's Disappearance

The disappearance of the maid ended rather anticlimactically. According to her own account, she had gone for a walk in the forest that evening, tripped, and injured her leg so badly that she could not move. Spending the entire night alone in the woods had convinced her that she was being punished by the gods, prompting her to confess. Her identity remained intact, and she openly admitted her crime of ruining the young lady's food in front of many witnesses. With no way to cover it up and her own unwavering resolve, the decision to dismiss her was finalized. Kanel departed for her hometown.

Her eerily cheerful smile on the day she reappeared had been unsettling, yet the sight of her calmly packing her belongings afterward eased suspicions. Quite a few servants were even moved by her humble demeanor. She embraced colleagues she had never gotten along with and bid them farewell, and she even sought out Andy and Cream to offer a public apology.

"I am truly sorry, my lady. Teacher. Please forgive my previous rudeness."

A complete one-hundred-and-eighty-degree change overnight could only be described as divine grace. Peace returned to the mansion.

In a dark corner of the room, Andy let out a heavy sigh, his expression grave. The breath he drew in was thick with dust.

"Cough, ack, achoo!"

"Heehee."

Cream, standing beside him, giggled playfully, so Andy waved the feather duster near her.

"Achoo-!"

She hopped up and sneezed at once, making Andy grin as well. Today's schedule for the young lady and her tutor was a thorough cleaning. They were overturning a room that smelled of mold. Opening the windows wide for ventilation and wrestling with cobwebs using the duster felt oddly refreshing.

He had been putting off the cleaning. The musty room had kept him awake at night, but there had been no choice. Whenever he tried to start, Cream would look up at him with those earnest eyes and say, "Eeng… can't we do it next time?" Her gaze tugged at his heartstrings. And if he steeled himself to proceed anyway, some sudden mishap would occur—like Cream face-planting into a mud puddle—delaying everything again.

Still, he could not ignore it any longer.

"My lady, please do not breathe in all this dust for no reason. Why not go play in the garden instead? I have experience working for a cleaning company, so you can trust me with this."

"No. Achoo-! Ugh, sniff… I want to help too, Teacherr."

"Then at least play with this by the window."

He had brought along some diluted cleaning solution and a hollow plant stem, anticipating this. "Hoo—dip the stem in the liquid like this, then blow through it to play."

"Hup!"

Cream's eyes widened into perfect circles as she snatched the bubble-making set and dashed—toto-to—to the window. Children her age could never resist bubbles.

'Success, for now.'

He had not managed to send her out of the room, but at least her attention was diverted. Taking the opportunity, Andy began cleaning every corner. He shook out the blankets and mattress, checked under the bed, and opened the wardrobe for ventilation. Spiders, dust, and piles of clothes that looked centuries old emerged, but nothing else. No tainted ingredients, no suspicious items.

"…"

Clutching the feather duster, Andy glanced toward Cream at the window. She held the plant stem with her small hands, puffing out her cheeks as she blew with all her might, her face turning red from the effort.

"Hoo…! Woo…! Hoo…!"

Only soapy water splattered onto the windowsill. Watching her foolish yet pure expression, Andy recalled recent events. Kanel's disappearance and dismissal. The wicked maid who had tormented Cream was gone, and the mansion had grown peaceful. The tutor who had witnessed the entire process cleaned the young lady's room with a light heart. That was all there was to the story.

"…"

The ingredients Cream had taken that day. Her stress level dropping sharply. The maid confessing with a smile the whole time. Andy resumed his search, checking under the desk and inside the drawers. Creak—

'…Huh?'

Inside a drawer he had opened without much thought—too obvious a hiding spot—lay something unexpected. Dust and spiders. And needles and scissors. Andy froze at the sight of the items. What reason could that innocent young lady have for possessing these gleaming tools? Where and how had she used them, kept so clean and sharp? He turned ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠around carefully and found Cream staring at him with round eyes.

"…"

"Ah, my lady."

"…Teacher."

She abandoned the bubble play and strode over with a piercing gaze, her expression unreadable. Standing beside him, she reached out and slid the drawer shut. Then she opened the one below it, took something out, and held it out to him.

"This is…"

A bundle of cloth. Crooked scraps that looked cut from blankets or curtains, stitched together with thread. It ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠vaguely resembled some kind of shape, though it was hard to describe. A chimera? A half-eaten apple? Cotton stuffing bulged messily inside.

"Uh… Ah, did you make a doll?"

"Yes. You shouldn't open it so carelessly… I was going to make one for you too, Teacherr."

"I'm sorry. I was cleaning and… By the way, what kind of doll is it?"

"A doggy!"

So it was not a chimera or half-eaten apple after all. Thankfully, she possessed normal sensibilities. Cream proudly displayed the white-cloth puppy doll before hugging it tightly to her chest. Andy pictured the lonely girl cutting fabric and sewing alone in this desolate mansion, with no one to teach her and no friends.

"…My lady. May I ask you something?"

"Yes? What is it?"

"That day… the day the missing maid returned, why did you smile?"

"Oh… Ah! That time?"

Cream thought for a moment, then beamed brightly, her smile utterly pure and unclouded.

"The maid auntie admitted her own mistake. There were so many people watching, she must have been scared, but she apologized anyway. I smiled because I was grateful."

"…And the ingredients?"

"Those? Oh my, Teacher! Did you think I ate them? I felt sorry just throwing them away, so I buried them properly. Poor meat…"

"…"

"But Teacherr, were you watching me then? Ehehe…"

Seeming embarrassed, she hugged the doll tighter and let out a shy laugh. Her flushed cheeks pressed against the doll looked like pink marshmallows. Andy quietly gathered the laundry. Cream's clothes were now provided cleanly, but before his arrival, they had not even been collected properly. Mountains of unwashed clothes had piled up in the wardrobe. As he carried them out, a bitter taste lingered in his mouth, so he pressed his lips together.

"Teacher."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Cream called out to him as he quietly went about his task.

"Are you leaving?"

"…"

She was asking if he was going to drop off the laundry.

"If you want to go, you may."

Of course she would say that.

"I won't stop you."

"…I'll be back shortly."

After his greeting, Andy stepped out of the room. Only once he left the space where that peculiar conversation had taken place could he finally breathe properly. As he walked, he thought.

'…So she's letting me live, for now.'

They both knew the other had noticed, yet she was still letting him go. A child with two faces. He could not tell which was real. The lonely girl who smiled brightly at her tutor, or the merciless one toward those who had tormented her—which was the true Cream Hollybell?

Andy was no fool either. He had already pieced together who was behind the recent events. Unlike the mansion's ignorant residents, he had read the original novel. The later exploits of the girl who stuffed her family into orc barrels and tossed them into the sea, imprisoned and tortured nobles, and burned down the territory. And now, a girl with Morality 2, Faith 2, and Karma 999.

He had simply wanted to look away from all those facts and see only the bright, smiling Cream.

'…Means.'

He tried to think. What method had she used? She had altered the maid's personality almost completely overnight—what could a twelve-year-old possibly have done? He had cleaned the room to find that method, but it had been in vain. In the latter half of the original story, Cream gradually awakened the witch's power and gained various abilities through blood, but with the Curse Manifestation Rate currently at 0%, she should not possess such power yet. What on earth was going on?

"…"

Andy, carrying the laundry, came to an abrupt halt.

'…Can I really raise this child well?'

He had no special abilities, nor outstanding wealth or authority. The doubt that had been nagging at him grew certain, and a sense of helplessness welled up. He had not been particularly capable in his previous life either. Just an ordinary college student anyone could find. Seeing this girl with her unexpected side made him feel strange.

Was he scared? No, not scared. It was simply regret that if someone more competent had come instead, they could have guided her properly.

"Just… thank you for always staying with me…"

Those were the words the girl had spoken that day. Had that been an act too, or genuine? Either way, hearing them had filled Andy with genuine pity. It was a tragedy that such a child would become a witch—he had dismissed it cynically, but his heart had ached all the same. Andy could not bear to see a child abused by her family.

"Hmm… The new dance teacher's class is too hard? Still, you must endure it. It's all to make you a fine young lady. You are a member of the Hollybell family too, after all, aren't you, little sister?"

"If you had any conscience, you'd try harder. Complaining over a sprained ankle? I trained much harder than you. Father was kind enough to take you in, yet you cause such a scene…"

"Get that disgusting face out of my sight."

He had wished that a girl who received no reward no matter how hard she tried could find some salvation. After all, he knew all too well the humiliation of being excluded by one's own family.

—Why are your eyes open so wide?

—Heehee, Daddy! Let's go!

Yes, he knew it all too terribly well. That was why he had opened the email. He had not wanted the story he stumbled upon by chance to end that way. Yes, the email. Andy himself had opened it with his own hands. He remembered the words he had spoken upon first arriving in this world.

"I promise. Until the day my lady becomes a wonderful and splendid young lady, I will stay by your side without fail."

"No matter what happens, I am my lady's teacher."

The first time he faced Cream, the resolve to guide her properly had welled up, and he had put it into words. Recalling that, Andy lifted his head. Had those words been lies? Absolutely not. Thinking them over made him feel as if his mind had cleared. Were special abilities, wealth, or power truly so important in caring for a child? Of course they would help. But if one lacked them, one simply had to try harder with what one had. That was how he had lived his life so far.

He cast aside all complicated thoughts. As long as he stayed by her side no matter what, that would suffice.

'I must prove to my lady that I am not someone who only speaks empty words.'

He was not the scheming type. He simply did what he could with stubborn persistence; he had no particular talent for clever maneuvering. Since coming to this world, he had stood before the maid as a teacher, but that too had been more about anger driving his body forward than any calculated plan. Rather than overthinking, he would ask directly, and if words failed, he would use his body. As that kind of man, he was truly confident in "doing things stubbornly." He had lived that way in his previous world as well. Working part-time jobs alone while preparing for his equivalency exam, moving out on his own as soon as he came of age, and succeeding in university entrance—all without any support from his parents. One side had never intended to give it, and the other had offered, but Andy had refused. It was the same now. He would simply continue doing what he had always done, and do it well. Just as he had worked himself to the bone and studied until his nose bled upon returning home. He would not even consider giving up; he would simply persist firmly in what he could do. When it came to battles of willpower, he was confident. He did not need mind games with the young lady or brilliant schemes to reform her. He only needed to remember his original reason for coming here.

'To become your ally.'

Because he did not want her to cry alone. That was why he had clicked the email. Andy himself had downloaded this world with his own hands. The story he had begun was now here. But the story must not stop. It had to keep flowing until it reached its ending. This was not the time to falter.

He did not know what the girl—different from the original—had seen while growing up, or how she had become this way. It did not matter. That child was Cream Hollybell. Whether pure or wicked, she remained someone who deserved unconditional care. She was the driving force that had made Andy write a parody novel every day, a story no one paid for and no one acknowledged. The girl who had asked "Are you leaving?" with a playful yet faintly lonely tone, asking if he was going out, was undoubtedly Cream Hollybell no matter what anyone said.

What such a child needed was just two things.

'Infinite affirmation and infinite affection!'

When Cream, raised on those things, grew into an adult who understood love, found good friends and a good husband, and left, everything would be perfect. Her life would reach a happy ending. Andy was the Guide meant for that purpose.

"…Cream."

Suddenly speaking her name aloud seemed to fill him with strength. It felt as if he were calling a deeply cherished name. A wistful longing trembled in the sound.

"Cream."

The more he called, the more a warm energy seemed to flow inside him. As if the heartbeat that began in his chest spread throughout his body, strength overflowed in every limb. Andy gripped the laundry tightly. Since he could not use any magical abilities, he simply thought his willpower was surging from within his body. He wore an unconsciously confident expression—

—Flash!

"Ack."

His expression instantly turned dumbfounded. The hand holding the laundry had grown warm, and light was seeping out from inside the bundle. Shaaa—! The light soon enveloped the entire load of laundry. Thinking he must have imagined it, he closed his eyes and opened them again. Then he saw the food stains and mold on the clothes disappearing in real time. Before long, the light subsided, leaving only clean, pristine laundry in his arms.

"…"

Well. This world was not without miracles like magic or divine power. With the Witch of Blood existing, such mysteries were bound to occur. It was simply that he had not expected to possess such power himself, and discovering it while merely carrying laundry left him dazed.

Pop—!

Startled, a window in the exact same font as the status screen suddenly appeared before his eyes. It seemed everything here enjoyed surprising people.

The message seemed important. His heart raced from using the new ability, but Andy quickly scanned the message before anyone passed by, then ducked into a random room to read it again carefully.

'Trait… Guide?'

The trait likely referred to the ability he had just used, and the Guide was probably Andy himself. And the first line of the notice.

'Welcome to the restarted world, Guide!'

On his first day in this world, Andy had once speculated whether the original novel was being treated as the first playthrough. Could that actually be correct?

"Hah."

At any rate, such an important notice should have been given from the very first day. Giving it only after one discovered the trait on their own was hardly fair. Typical of an author with only half a conscience.

There were even previous notifications. Andy pressed "Yes" with a mix of exasperation and curiosity.