Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Escape Arc (1)
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Another year had passed, and I turned twenty-five.
It was now an age where secondary sexual characteristics might finally begin to emerge.
My heart grew urgent, but I still hadn't devised any means of escape.
There was some new news, too.
After the incident three years ago where a female servant named Rag lost her life, cleaning the women's restrooms and showers had been my responsibility for a long time.
But a month ago, a new servant arrived, relieving me of those duties.
The new servant was a woman of the Short Stature race who had inherited the name Rag.
Around 140cm tall, her orange hair tied back in a ponytail was a color I'd never seen before, leaving quite a strong impression.
Above all, what surprised me was her aura.
She brimmed with a bright and spirited energy unlike anything the other servants here possessed.
In the mornings, she was the first to appear and the first to greet everyone.
She learned tasks on her own without being told, putting in the effort to improve, and even her footsteps echoed with vitality whether she was sweeping the corridors or fetching laundry.
The stifling atmosphere that permeated this place even seemed to brighten because of her.
And it was at 8 p.m., after the workday ended, that she came to find me.
'Should I start with mana training today?'
Training to quickly switch between handling mana for magic and for physical reinforcement.
I was gradually growing accustomed to it and seeing results.
At that moment, the laundry room door creaked open cautiously, and she entered.
"Um, Maggot sir. May I come in for a moment?"
She used polite speech in line with the rules here, but her tone carried vibrancy rather than stiffness.
"Please come in."
She didn't need permission, but she bowed politely before stepping inside.
In her hands was a basket filled with laundry.
"I'm sorry for the late hour. I had a lot of assigned laundry today, but I haven't washed my own clothes yet, so I came to do it now."
"No need to apologize. Please use it freely."
Since she arrived, the laundry room duties had mostly become hers.
Part of it was because I was assigned more to other tasks, but mainly because her hands moved incredibly fast.
"Ah, I heard from Dregs sir that you can use laundry magic. Could you take a look at this stain and see if you can remove it?"
She approached me holding a servant uniform stained with a dark brown spot.
I knew she had a lively personality, but she was the first to speak to me like this.
"Servants don't need to use 'sir' with each other. Let me take a look."
I examined the uniform she held out. It looked like a coffee stain.
"Prompt to Magic Cast—Dirt Clear."
⟨ Dirt Clear ⟩
Blue mana flowed from my fingertips into the uniform, and the coffee stain vanished without a trace.
"Wow! That's incredible! It's spotless in an instant!"
She clapped in genuine admiration, and I found myself smiling faintly at her reaction.
Someone like her was a first—not just since arriving here, but since being born in this world.
Bright, energetic, overflowing with positive energy.
Grandmother had been bright, but not to this degree.
"It has a bathing effect too, so feel free to ask anytime if you need it."
"Got it. I'll ask you occasionally."
She smiled brightly as she spoke. There was no pretense or shadow in that smile.
Suddenly, I grew curious.
Having experienced the atmosphere here and how the servants were treated, how could she maintain that attitude?
I'd always received Dregs' consideration because I was Mere's test subject.
So I hadn't directly served guests or Magic Trading Post members, sparing me their violence or humiliations. Of course, I had my own dealings with Mere...
But Rag—she must have faced all of that.
"By any chance, is life here tough?"
At my question, she widened her eyes for a moment before smiling again.
"Of course it's tough. But I haven't given up hope."
Hope, huh.
Her words and the way she'd carried herself reminded me of countless stories from my previous life.
Stories of protagonists who pressed forward with unbreakable will and positive mindsets despite any adversity.
But reality doesn't unfold like that. Even I had clung to vague hope for five years now, still trapped in Mere's plans.
Me, who'd endured by deceiving myself that everything was fine no matter what happened.
Unlike a 'fake' like me, could a 'real' one like her forge a different outcome?
"...I sincerely cheer for you."
Her eyes seemed to sparkle at my words.
She glanced around—though it was just the two of us, for some reason—then drew closer and lowered her voice.
"Do you hold onto hope too, Maggot?"
Hope... yes. A tiny one on the verge of flickering out.
"...Like a candle flame swaying in the wind, I have a precarious hope."
"Wouldn't you like to make that flame grow bigger?"
"...?"
What was she thinking?
I had a great impression of her, but she was still someone I knew little about.
"...I don't quite understand. Is there a reason you're telling me this?"
"Because excluding you, no one else seems to hold any hope."
Hm. There should be at least one more, but he probably wouldn't even start a conversation like this.
Creak—
Speak of the devil.
"Looks like there's a prior guest."
As Kiru appeared, she stepped back slightly from me and greeted him with a smile.
"Hello, Rat Pup sir."
"...No need for 'sir.' What business do you have with Maggot at this hour?"
His voice was icy.
Why wasn't he using polite speech when he wasn't even talking to me?
"I heard Maggot could use laundry magic, so I asked him. His skills are truly impressive."
There were no lies, and her face remained innocently bright.
But wariness lingered on Kiru's face.
"I know you're hiding your mana. There must be a reason you're approaching Maggot."
Huh? Hiding her mana?
As I stared silently, a flicker of surprise crossed her face before vanishing.
"Denying it won't help. I saw you get startled looking at Maggot the other day. You must have seen how he uses his mana."
She hesitated, then finally answered.
"...Yes. I was surprised to see Maggot casting magic while reinforcing his body."
'Ah... I was careful, but I didn't expect someone who'd awakened mana. And hiding it too—I never even considered that.'
Undaunted by Kiru's sharp gaze, she placed her hands on her hips and stood tall.
"I wasn't hiding my mana with bad intentions. Let me show you."
In that instant, an overwhelming surge of mana rose from her body.
'Indigo mana...!'
It was the mana of a special-grade mage like Mere.
And it vanished without a trace just as swiftly—the same mana concealment technique Kiru had taught me.
"I am Nellin, special-grade Purple Mage."
Kiru and I stood there dumbfounded.
"Special-grade... Purple Mage?"
"...How is someone like you here?"
She gave a slightly sorrowful smile.
This is what Nellin told us.
She hailed from the workshop alleys of the city-state Akrom, renowned for its magic tools.
To craft a new special-grade magic tool, she needed rare materials—some not openly traded—so she had no choice but to visit Vera's Shadow Merchant Guild.
"I heard the Shadow Merchant Guild is the most capable dealer in the underworld. I confirmed via communication that they handled the materials, hired escorts, and took a carriage for over a month to get there."
The deal went smoothly, but the trouble came afterward.
She stored the traded materials in her pouch, and that pouch became the source of her woes.
"My 'Transforming Pouch' is normally small but expands to two meters when infused with mana—a special-grade magic tool with only a few existing outside Akrom. They must have gotten greedy upon seeing it."
On the way back from the guild, they were ambushed.
The attackers were masked figures of unknown identity, and all four mid- and high-level warrior escorts died on the spot.
She was unarmed and hiding her mana, so they apparently deemed her non-threatening. They seized the pouch but spared her life, dragging her here instead.
"When the blindfold came off, an unfamiliar woman stood before me. She said I'd been sold here as a servant and that any mischief would leave me maimed or dead."
That's how she learned the woman's name was Mere and that this was the Shadow Merchant Guild's third-floor Magic Trading Post.
In other words, her attackers were guild affiliates who stole the pouch and casually dumped her wherever they needed a servant.
Her expression remained composed after recounting her tale.
Rather than anger or resentment, she radiated a resilient determination, eyes fixed on the path ahead.