The employee who had approached my side of the desk was startled, practically jumping out of his skin the moment he noticed the object on my lap.
The prank was a success.
Yes. Currently on my lap, Kanade, a brown-skinned silver-haired loli busty twin-tailed maid, was curled up like a cat, taking an afternoon nap.
The twin-tail enthusiast employee seemed far more surprised than I had anticipated.
“Th-this girl…!?”
“This child is currently the only maid serving the Lohengrin Margrave family. Though she’s sleeping on my lap now, she’s an excellent maid. She’s especially skilled at cleaning.”
“…Indeed, cleaning must be her forte…”
“That’s right. For such a large castle, it’s truly impressive that she finishes cleaning by midmorning.”
For some reason, the employee had beads of sweat on his forehead. Moreover, his whole body was trembling.
His demeanor was as if a legendary assassin had suddenly appeared before him.
But of course, the one on my lap was not a legendary assassin.
Just a brown-skinned silver-haired loli busty twin-tailed maid.
Which meant the employee simply loved twin-tails that much.
“What do you think? Aside from the silver hair twin-tails, isn’t her curled up cat-like pose absolutely adorable?”
“Y-yes, to the point where it feels like my heart might stop…!”
“Ahaha, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, don’t you think?”
“Not an exaggeration at all…To so casually tame such a man-eating tiger, nay, a femme fatale…I am utterly in awe of you…!”
Though his words sounded like a joke, the employee’s tone and expression were utterly serious.
It seemed that thanks to the twin-tailed maid, I had somehow gained a mysterious high evaluation.
I was a bit surprised.
After staring wide-eyed for a while longer, the employee finally regained his composure, clearing his throat.
“W-well, leaving that maid aside for now…how are you finding life here?”
“As you can see, I’m buried in paperwork every day.”
When I explained the staff shortage situation to the employee, he nodded in understanding without surprise.
“That must be quite difficult for you.”
“Indeed. I don’t have any connections here, and even if I asked Yuzuriha for her connections, it would still be challenging since this is a frontier region. But searching locally isn’t an option either, as it seems the former Margrave’s bad habits have spread in these lands. If I brought those in, it would be unbearable.”
“Absolutely.”
“Do you know of any good candidates?”
I asked with loose expectations
if the merchant’s network could introduce someone suitable.
“There is. In fact, that’s part of why I visited today.”
“Oh!?”
“Ayano, come here.”
When the employee called out, a young person who I had thought was his apprentice, wearing a deep hood, stepped forward.
“Show your face and introduce yourself.”
“…Margrave. I am Ayano.”
Ayano’s face, revealed after removing the hood, was androgynous. A closer look revealed well-defined features, but lacking in charm.
The quintessential plain look, in other words.
Just like me.
“Ayano owes me a considerable debt. As repayment—how about working in the Lohengrin Margraviate?”
“Is that okay?”
“Of course. Despite appearances, Ayano is extremely knowledgeable and experienced in administration and governance—a true professional. I’m sure she’ll be of great help.”
So Ayano used to be a government official somewhere, or perhaps a noble whose family fell on hard times…?
There was an air of misfortune surrounding Ayano’s past.
But for me, this was a truly welcome development.
“Of course, it won’t be for free. …How does this amount sound?”
The sum quoted was quite high, but still within an acceptable range.
And if Ayano had the skills the merchant claimed, it would actually be a bargain.
Hmm—
“Yuzuriha, Yuzuriha.”
“What is it?”
“What do you think, Yuzuriha? Yuzuriha?”
I turned to Yuzuriha, who had remained silent so far during the greetings between the merchant and me.
As someone without prior acquaintance, Yuzuriha had continued her paperwork while listening in on our conversation.
Being a duke’s daughter, she would know far better than me the appropriate conditions and compensation for hiring a senior official.
So I asked for Yuzuriha’s opinion after hearing the proposal.
Yuzuriha nodded firmly.
“I think it’s a good deal.”
“You agree, Yuzuriha?”
“Yes. After all, this merchant frequents the noble quarters in the capital. If she tried to foist shoddy goods on you, it would be tantamount to picking a fight with all the accessory shops those nobles patronize. She has no reason to do that, so this deal should be trustworthy on that count.”
“…I see.”
“Moreover, the merchant is demanding quite a steep fee. Which means Ayano must be exceptionally capable, or else she wouldn’t have the audacity to ask you for such an amount.”
“But I don’t think that’s the case…?”
“Don’t underestimate merchants. In their business dealing with nobles, credibility is paramount. If word got out that she deceived you, that merchant would be utterly ruined.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Absolutely not. If you were some failing noble or someone unpopular, it might be a different story—but crossing the current Margrave of Lohengrin would be far worse than going up against the royal family or the Duke of Sakuragi. The moment someone turns you into an enemy, they’ll be facing not only you but also the royal family, the Sakuragi dukedom, and even the top military officials who admire you deeply.”
“Huh…?”
“Naturally, any noble with half a brain would follow your lead. And as a result of my thorough purges, there are no more foolish nobles left in this country. So, if a merchant is labeled as your enemy, they’ll be banned from doing business with nobles forever. No matter how you might feel about it.”
You’re joking, right?
When I looked at her doubtfully, the accessory shop employee simply nodded in agreement.
“Of course, I am prepared for such eventualities. The greater the risk, the greater the potential return—which is why I’m entrusting you with Ayano.”
“…Thank you.”
Regardless of whether Yuzuriha and the merchant were right or wrong,
given the current staff shortage, I had no choice
I decided to hire Ayano-san.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
*
This is a bit of a digression, but
there was one trivial reason why I was personally glad to have hired Ayano san.
It was because Ayano san had what you might call a plain or ordinary face.
To be blunt, our household already had an overabundance of stunning beauties – starting with my sister Suzuha, our guest Yuzuriha, and even the maid Kanade. They all had impressively gorgeous figures too.
As the only plainly average-looking one, I couldn’t help but feel a bit self-conscious.
But Ayano san, while having well-proportioned features if you looked closely, didn’t have any striking or attention-grabbing facial features that stood out – her look was solidly in the realm of the ordinary.
Isn’t that just excellent?
“Ayano san, Ayano san.”
“…What is it?”
“I’m really glad you came to work for us!”
“…Why are you saying that while looking at my face…?”
“Well, since you’re a fellow plain-looking person like me, I just felt a kind of relatability.”
“…For reasons I can’t fully explain, I’m extremely irritated right now. Would you permit me to punch you hard enough to knock you down?”
“No way!?”
Seems she doesn’t want her looks commented on. My attempt to bond failed, even though we’re in the same boat.
Still, as two plainly average-looking people, I hope we can deepen our friendship going forward.
3
About half a month had passed since Ayano san arrived.
True to the professional merchant’s recommendation, Ayano san’s work was amazingly efficient.
The stacks of paperwork that had buried my desk steadily dwindled away. Her judgments were accurate, she caught all the little details, and her follow-ups hit the key points – Yuzuriha and I paled in comparison.
Among civil officials, Ayano san was undoubtedly top-class.
“…So this is what they call a cheat ability…!”
I muttered that in awe, only for Ayano san to suddenly glare sharply at me.
“Hah. What was that from the world-class representative of the Strongest Cheat Squad?”
“You’re grilling me over something I didn’t even mean!?”
“Yeah, yeah, delusions and all that. Just look over the documents I put in the completed box and sign off on them, would you?”
By the way, Yuzuriha, who used to be buried under paperwork with me before Ayano san came, hasn’t been in the office much lately.
Since Ayano san’s performance meant Yuzuriha’s presence didn’t make a difference one way or the other, she’s been out on field work with Suzuha.
As Yuzuriha put it, everyone has roles suited to their strengths.
“I’ll take charge of keeping the influential locals firmly in line for you! And while I’m at it, I’ll recruit some new border territory troops and personally whip them into shape.”
“You don’t need to keep anyone ‘in line’, you know!?”
“Don’t be naive. First impressions are crucial for establishing a lord’s authority. If you don’t make your power felt from the start, they’ll just ignore your commands later. Besides, Suzuha was taking care of things while we were buried in papers, right Suzuha?”
“Yes. In particular, I’ve been personally drilling the new recruits every day with the goal of forging an elite force to eventually rival the Amazoness. …Of course, I’m not just venting frustration from my brother for never having time to spar with me by mercilessly pummeling the poor recruits.”
“W-Well, in moderation, please…”
Those border territory troops that Suzuha and Yuzuriha whipped into shape did go on to gain renown as a world-class elite force rivaling the Amazoness. But that’s a story for much later.
And the last one, the maid Kanade, is taking care of the castle all by herself as the only maid.
As for meals, I make them due to the strong requests of Suzuha and Yuzuriha, but for her to clean this vast castle all alone shows she is far too capable.
I can’t help but admire that a noble’s maid is truly different.
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