Special Training and Debt
Ten days had passed since I met Charlene. They had been an absolutely insane ten days. I’d endured what felt more like ten years. Whew. Goddamn it.
Under a nonstop barrage of Charlene’s scolding, I had relearned how to brew tea and bake cookies from scratch. It was the special training I’d received while keeping the teahouse closed. Do it again. Why does it taste like this? Didn’t I tell you timing is everything when brewing tea?
Why are these cookies so sweet? Master, how do you expect to run a business and make a living like this? How much water did I tell you to add to the flour dough?
Even in my dreams, I could hear Charlene’s voice. Aaaargh! Damn it. Since Charlene was overwhelmingly better at cooking than me, I couldn’t even talk back. Anyway, thanks to those ten days of brutal training, my skills had improved dramatically. Damn it. After getting nagged at while cutting my sleep for ten straight days, it was only natural that my skills would jump.
Come to think of it, the original owner of the body Charlene was currently using—Olivia—must have been a maid down to her very bones. Whether it was how to brew tea, cook, tips for washing dishes, or any household chore imaginable, Charlene seemed to have access to every last bit of that knowledge.
Anyway, after those ten days, the teahouse opened its doors once more. We’d also given the interior a nice, clean refresh. And then…
“So? What do you think?”
Charlene stood there in a perfectly fitted maid uniform. It was one I’d bought by emptying out every coin I’d saved. Hmm. Not bad. No, honestly, it was far beyond “not bad.” It suited her ridiculously well. Her glossy black hair paired with the wrinkle-free maid outfit and her snow-white skin. That said, even in a maid uniform, Charlene’s generous figure refused to be hidden. Well, her midsection had always been impressive.
As I nodded to myself, Charlene puffed out her cheeks and added grumpily, “What are you thinking about all by yourself? I asked you how my outfit looks. Well?”
Tch. She wanted a compliment from me? After all the verbal abuse I’d taken for the past ten days, I honestly didn’t feel like giving her an honest answer.
“It’s not bad, I guess.”
The moment I said that, Charlene puffed her cheeks out even more. “What? Not bad? You’re saying the maid uniform I picked out is only at that level?”
“Come on, let’s just get to work. You do know there’s no such thing as a maid who speaks that rudely to her employer, right?”
“Oh my. Do you want me to keep calling you Master? Or has your taste suddenly turned perverted?”
She really was a sly one. Was she even a grim reaper?
I asked casually, “Are you planning to live as an ordinary maid like this from now on?”
“I’m currently using a human body, so unless something special happens, yes, I’d like to.”
“What counts as something special?”
“If the Demon King suddenly invades, or if a war breaks out, I won’t just sit still.”
Charlene answered and stretched with a big yawn. “Right then. I’ll show you what Olivia’s skills can do.”
“Huh?”
When I tilted my head in confusion, Charlene put both hands on her hips and replied, “This place was just attracting flies anyway. If I go out and solicit customers myself, they’ll actually come in, won’t they?”
Oh? Charlene was surprisingly proactive. Fine. If she wanted to do it that badly… Heh heh. I’d work her until her feet blistered. This was payback for all the nagging I’d received over the past ten days.
“Excuse me, sir. Would you care to enjoy a warm cup of Lumina tea here?”
Standing in front of the shop, Charlene spoke in such a graceful, modest manner that passing travelers stopped in their tracks.
“Oh, what a beautiful young lady! All right, shall we have some tea before we go?”
“Yeah, let’s.”
The middle-aged travelers with matching mustaches immediately headed into my teahouse at Charlene’s invitation. Ugh. It was so busy. Customers never stopped cycling through the tables. Damn. I never knew Charlene’s customer-pulling skills would be this good.
Once Charlene started personally calling out to people on the street, they all wandered in as if hypnotized. We even had to drag out the spare tables and chairs we’d stored in the warehouse because we didn’t have enough. As expected, a woman’s face really was the ultimate weapon. With a beautiful maid soliciting customers, guests poured in one after another.
That said, men really were weak to temptation. Tsk tsk. Ah, no, well, having lots of customers was good for me…
Anyway, I was so busy I didn’t even have time to sit down. While brewing tea and baking cookies, I occasionally glanced over at Charlene as she worked. She was better at it than I’d expected. No, anyone would say she was doing an amazing job. She diligently carried out tea and biscuits, handled the register, and moved around without stopping.
“Master! Three Lumina teas for table four!”
Ugh… At this rate, it looked like I’d need to hire another maid. There wasn’t even time to wash the dishes. That said… Master, huh? Heh heh. Not a bad title at all.
Whenever new customers came in, Charlene made sure to call me “Master” without fail. Was she protecting my dignity in front of the guests? Anyway, customers kept flooding in without end, so we eventually had to pause operations for a short break.
“Aigo, I’m exhausted.”
I collapsed into a chair from pure fatigue. Charlene, who had been counting money at the counter, muttered in a chiding tone, “Oh my. Master, how are you going to survive with such pathetic stamina? How do you expect to make a living?”
“It’s because I’ve never worked this hard before. How much did we make?”
When I asked, Charlene put the coins back into the safe and answered, “There are four hundred and two gold coins.”
F-four hundred gold? Holy… The amount that used to take me a full week of nonstop work, earned in just half a day…
“We’re seriously short on hands. Shouldn’t we hire another maid?”
The moment I spoke in a complaining voice, Charlene slammed the safe shut and replied, “No. We don’t need another maid.”
“Huh?”
“I’m enough by myself. Honestly, this size of teahouse is perfect as it is, right?”
What? Why was her reaction so strongly against it? Hmm… Still, we’d at least need someone to wash dishes. As I made a troubled face, Charlene, sitting across from me, answered with an innocent expression.
“We can just reduce the number of tables and take fewer customers. Why would you try to hire another maid when we already have so much money?”
“N-no, at this rate it feels like we’ll be short on labor… and I have quite a bit of debt.”
“Debt?”
“Yeah. I borrowed some money back when business was bad.”
To think I’d end up confessing something like this. Sigh. Charlene stared at me with a clearly displeased expression. What? What was she unhappy about this time?
Right then—
BANG!!
The door suddenly burst open with a violent crash.
“What the hell? If you finally opened the shop after so long, shouldn’t you be paying your interest first, you bastard!”
Ugh. That voice… The moment I heard it, I reflexively dove under the table in a panic.
“What are you doing? Master, why are you hiding?”
Charlene looked genuinely confused. Well, of course she wouldn’t know anything about this.
“Like I said earlier, I have quite a bit of debt. These are the debt collectors—”
While I was answering, the men strode over, grabbed me by the collar, and yanked me out from under the table. What a pathetic life I led.
“Hey! You know the interest has already piled up to a thousand gold by now, right? When the hell are you going to pay up, huh?”
Ugh. I never should have borrowed money from these guys. For now, I had to calm them down somehow and send them away.
“H-Hans, just listen to me. Business has finally picked up recently and money is starting to come in. If you just give me one week—”
“One week? Are you screwing with me, you little shit?”
As expected, the loan shark Hans had brought an entire crew of thugs with him. Damn it. Looked like I was going to get beaten today.
Right then—
“Excuse me. What exactly do you think you’re doing in someone else’s shop?”
Charlene, who had been sitting in her chair, spoke sharply while looking at the wall.
“Huh? What? We’re here to collect a debt, obviously. Who the hell is this bitch?”
The loan shark Hans stared at Charlene’s face for a moment, then let out a sleazy laugh and continued, “She’s pretty good-looking. Hey, you. You the maid working here? How about you pay off the debt with your body?”
“......”
“If you service me properly in bed, I’ll cut Kailon’s debt in half. How about it?”
Only then did Charlene’s eyes widen as she glared at Hans. Her pupils had turned blood-red. What the—? Her eyes weren’t usually that red. Was she angry?
Hans must have sensed something dangerous in her gaze because he took a small step back.
“I’ll give you one chance. Take your thugs and get out of here immediately. And stop defiling this sacred shop.”
Even in this situation, Charlene was still using polite speech… What was with her? Did she only speak informally to me?
“W-what?”
“This fucking bitch!”
Hans and his thugs instantly surrounded Charlene. Damn it. If Charlene got dragged into this…
“Hey! No more playing around! Teach this arrogant woman a lesson!”
The moment Hans gave the order, one of the thugs behind him answered with a dirty laugh, “Can we rough her up a bit and have some fun with her, Boss Hans?”
“Do whatever you want.”
These bastards… Realizing I couldn’t let this happen, I quickly stepped in front of Charlene.
“Get the hell out! I’ll pay the debt even if I have to sell the shop! What the hell do you think you’re trying to do?!”
Then Charlene whispered into my ear from behind, “Master, please step aside for a moment. This is something a maid should handle.”
Huh? What?