Chapter 14 The Maid Comes Up With Another Idea

 Maid-San also comes up with

 Nina, who was contracted to do the cleaning work in the afternoon, finished cleaning the inside of the house and started to work on the outside, but ran out of time--.

 It was simple enough to say, but it took Astrid two cups of tea to understand, accept, and believe it.

"Um...I just want to make sure."



"You said this request was for 3,000 gold, right? I didn't write 30 million gold by mistake, did I?"

"Yes, it was 3,000 gold."

"...And why did you do it so well? You even made me such a delicious cup of tea."

 Lift up the empty cup to show it.

 When Astrid used it, it was a dull yellow, but now it's a bright white, as if to assert, "This is the real color! This is the real color!" as if it were asserting itself.

"Thank you for the tea, my lady. But, of course, a maid should."

"...Seems like there's a big difference between the 'maid' I know and the 'maid' you know, huh?"

"Well, Astrid-sama, I don't know anything about magical inventions, so I've only been able to do a little cleaning in the back room. If it's all right with you, I'd like to proceed tomorrow with your direct instructions..."

"Yes, fine. I don't feel comfortable getting any cleaner."

"Not so fast, sir. Really, I've only cleaned the workroom a little bit..."

"Only a little? Really, a little?"



 For some reason, Astrid feels relieved when she is told that there is some leftover cleaning.

"You only cleaned up a little, didn't you?"

"Yes . I'm sorry."

"I'm not mad at you. I'm just a little, you know?"

"Yes, yes, yes, but..."

"...Hmm . If you say so much, I'll check it out."

 She got up from her chair and walked into the back room where she was working,

"Look! It's so shiny! I knew it was shiny!"

 The floor was polished to a shine, and the work table was as good as new.

No, it's this device...

 It is true that the laboratory equipment has been cleaned up, but the catalysts are still intact.

 However, there are only a few things left to clean, and the rest is as clean as a new house.

"How did you do that? How can you do this?"

"Of course, if you're a maid."

"Definitely not!"

 Astrid, who is usually a calm and collected inventor, expressed her surprise honestly, partly because of the alcohol in her system.

"Actually, this is the first time I've been shown where inventor-san works, and I was wondering how he uses his equipment..."

"Hmm? Are you interested in this stuff?"

 Astrid held a carving knife in her hand, but it was inlaid with a magical stone, and its cutting edge glowed blue.

 Indeed, unless you work in the magic field or are an inventor, you will never see or use it.

"You're my maid, but I don't know you, and I'm very sorry..."

 It seems that Nina stayed until this hour because she was worried about her work, even though she could have left tomorrow if she wanted to sign the end of her work.

"...I see you have a human side to you."

"Yes, I do. I'm still an inexperienced maid."

 Astrid didn't say anything, even though it looked like a "maid ghost".

 It would be more believable if I went to sleep like this and woke up in the morning to find that my house was back to being a dump.

"As much as I'd love to show you my work..."

"Oh, yes, of course. It's a very secretive job. I'm sorry, I spoke out of turn."

"Oh, no. No, it's not."

"?"

 Nina thought that he had refused to show her his work because it was a secret, but apparently not.

"...Actually, my work, or rather, my research, is a bit different from other inventors."

"If you say so, sir..."

"Do you know that all the inventions in use today, especially the big ones like the magic train and the magic streetlights in the city, all use magic power?"

"Yes."

"That magic is extracted from some kind of magical stone here... do you know that too?"

 Nina nodded nodded nodded nodded.

 Almost all magical inventions in this world are powered by "magic stones", which are used like batteries and are disposable.

"But there are many more ways to invoke magic. For example, summoning. This uses a catalyst to summon life forms from other worlds. For example, mystic magic. This uses human magic to heal injuries."

"There's also spirit magic, isn't there? As I recall, you can use magic with the help of spirits..."

"That's the thing. That's exactly what I'm studying, spirit magic."

 It seems that spirits exist in this world, but they cannot be seen or felt by ordinary people.

 It is said that only the elves, the inhabitants of the forest, can communicate with the spirits.

 When it comes to magic, witchcraft, and sorcery, the knowledge of the elves is unsurpassed.

"I think that magic using magic stones will run out of magic stones no matter how hard you try. But spirits are different, aren't they? I've been researching the possibility of using spirits for magic..."

"That's wonderful research!"

 Nina squeals when she realizes that the research was done with the future in mind.

 But Astrid smiled sadly as she put down the carving knife.

"...but I don't think so."

"What, what, why?"

"I guess that means I don't have any talent. I'm such an inventor that I can only afford 3,000 gold to clean my house... I guess I'll have to give up this house too."

 Astrid crouched down on the spot.

"I wish I could have done something useful like you did... I may end my life as an inventor without having done anything. If my parents give up this house, where my grandparents lived, there will be nothing left for me."

"Astrid-sama..."

 Nina also bent down beside her and put her hand on Astrid's back.

"It's not like there's nothing left..."

"Why? My research has failed. The theory is perfect. Every condition I've ever found for spirit magic to work has been met. But the magic isn't working it's been a year since I hit a dead end. I can't think of anything better than this, I'm not suited to be an inventor. If I'm not an inventor, there's nothing left for me..."

 She's in tears.

 Maybe it was the drunkenness, maybe it was the meeting today, maybe it was the fact that she felt like telling this little maid - Astrid was unexpectedly letting out the deepest part of her heart.

"There really isn't anything left. I've only spent one day, no, half a day, in this house, but I can tell you that Astrid-sama is a very kind person."

"...I'm "nice"?"

"Yes. There have been many small repairs to keep the house in good shape, and all the furniture seems to have been used with care. All of the furniture seemed to have been used with care, and even though many of them were old enough to be called antiques, all of them were still in working order."

 There was a little bit of trash, but it was a mess," Nina said, smiling.

"As I cleaned, I wondered what kind of personality Astrid-sama had. I thought she would be kind, but clumsy, and that she would be so focused on her work that she would neglect this and that. .... I think I was right in thinking that."

"......"

 Astrid wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her dress. Astrid wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her dress, her make-up smeared on the sleeve.

"Many people have called me 'eccentric' and 'weird', but kun was the first person to call me 'kind'... no, there were others. My father, my mother, my grandfather and grandmother."

 As she stood up, Astrid's eyes were still wet with tears, but she seemed to have calmed down enough.

"...I've been thinking. I should get out of this house, you know. Otherwise I'll never be on my own. Maid-san, you've made my decision for me. I'm leaving this house."

My name is Nina.

 Nina placed her hands in front of her and took a firm bow.

"Astrid-sama, I know you've made up your mind, but if you're going to give up this home, I would appreciate it if you could wait a little longer."

"? What do you mean?"

"I believe that even though memories remain in our hearts, they still reside in things. And once you've given something away, you can't get it back."



"Spirit magic... if Astrid-sama thinks it's a perfect theory, why don't you try it again, here and now, if you can?"

"That's fine, but... why?"

 Smiling, Nina smiled.

"I've got a few ideas."


light_mode