My First Job (Short-Term Employment)

“Waaah~~! Emi, you're sooo cute~~!”

“............”

And now it's the next morning.

Right now, amidst the sunlight streaming through the window, Sara-chan has taken both my hands and is spinning me around and around.

The clothes I have on are my pitch-black Grim Wolf outfit, handmade by Master...... or not.

I'm wearing a white shirt.

Over that, a black dress.

And around my waist, I've tied a white apron.

And on my head, I've got a headband.

Yes, what I'm wearing right now is a maid outfit.

Yours truly has gone and become a maid apprentice of the Salar baronial house, I'll have you know!

<Come to think of it, this is the first time in your life you've dressed like a girl! You're very cute, Emi!>

Ehehe, you think so~?

Well, not to sound conceited, but I'm an absolute beauty, right?

So it's only natural that I look good in anything, right~?

“......Urp, I feel, sick~......”

Oops, Sara-chan spun around too much and collapsed, her head swimming.

Sara-chan really is a beautiful girl gone to waste. Yep, this kid's an idiot.

I gently rub her back.

“Th, thank you nano......!”

Now then, now then, why am I dressed like this?

To tell that story, I must wind back the clock by about an hour.

Okay, flashback, boom!

<What are you talking about, Emi?>

◇ ◇ ◇

“......Guard? Me?”

Thankfully, I was treated to breakfast, and just as I was starting to think it was about time to take my leave of the baronial house, I was summoned to the study by the baron.

There, the baron asked me to take on a job: “I'd like you to guard my wife and Sara-chan for one month.”

“Why, me?”

“You're strong enough to treat those thieves like nothing, aren't you? I'm hiring you for that strength.”

According to the baron, yesterday's thieves had apparently come at them “targeting the Salar baronial house's carriage.” Why, he has no idea.

Which means more crooks might come after the baronial house from here on, so he wants as much fighting strength on hand as he can get.

In about a month, Sara-chan will enroll in the Royal Kiralimake Academy, a boarding school for the children of this country's nobility.

Being “Royal,” the academy has airtight security, and once she's enrolled she'll be safe, so it's until then that he needs a guard.

......Okay, I get that Sara-chan will be safe then, but what about his wife?

“My wife alone, I can protect myself. We're together nearly all the time, after all. I may not look it, but I'm fairly strong, you know.”

Ah, yeah.

I kind of knew that from the moment we first met last night.

Compared to the maid and the others, this guy has a strangely large amount of magic power leaking out of him.

Apparently, the baron spent his days fighting monsters and thieves as an adventurer in the past.

“Well, one thing led to another, and I was fortunate enough to be granted a baronial title. These days I'm retired from adventuring and look after the pioneer villages around here as an official. I daresay my skills have dulled since my active days, but I can still hold my own against the average thief.”

Hmm......

Well, that's all well and good, but getting back to the topic.

“I've never done it. Guarding.”

“You needn't take it so seriously. I'm not asking you to stand guard around the clock...... er, I mean, all the time. The inside of this mansion, at least, is safe. It's covered by a barrier, you see.”

“Barrier?”

“That's right, we have a magic tool supplied by the kingdom...... er, now, there are all sorts of barriers, but the one we use is the kind that ‘doesn't let bad guys through’.”

When I hear him out, it turns out this mansion has a barrier that controls who comes and goes, so outsiders can't get in unless the baron gives them permission.

Hehh! Security gear in a world with magic sure is something.

<Come to think of it, when we arrived at this mansion yesterday, we were made to wait in front of the entrance for a bit. That was probably the registration process for Emi to enter the mansion.>

Huh? But if that's the case......

“Then I don't need it. Guarding.”

“Not so. My daughter goes outside the barrier quite often, for magic practice and such, and I can't always go with her. That's exactly where you come in.”

I see.

Still, a barrier, huh.

Come to think of it, when I first came into this mansion, I did sense something slightly “off.”

When I looked with 【Magic Perception】, I could see a thin magical film placed over the entrance, windows, and walls. That must be it.

“So, while I said ‘guard’ at first, if I hire you, your position will be that of a ‘maid apprentice’. If that's all right with you, how would you like to try working here at our baronial house for one month?”

Since I won't be guarding the whole time. The rest of the time, I'm supposed to help with the housework.

“Your wages will also be whatever's fitting for a ‘maid apprentice’.”

Hmm, I'm not sure how much that amount is (I've never used money in the first place), but if the compensation for risking my life as a guard is low, it's not a good deal, right?

“As for lodging, you may continue to use the room you stayed in last night.”

That's tempting. I can sleep in a room with a bed that shelters me from the wind and rain for a month......

“And, breakfast and dinner are included.”

Of course I'll do it!!!

◇ ◇ ◇

And so, lured by the food into a month in the baronial house's care, I promptly slipped into the maid outfit and went to pay my respects to Sara-chan, you see.

“All right! Then I'll give Emi, our new maid apprentice, a tour of the mansion! Follow me, Emi!”

Sara-chan, her nausea gone, hopped to her feet and grabbed my hand to dash out of her roo...... tried to, anyway, and got caught by the scruff of the neck by Madam, who was lying in wait.

“M, Mother! Let me go nano!”

“Absolutely not! There's only a month left before you start at the academy, and your history, your magic, your manners! You're nowhere near done preparing! You have no time to play!”

Sighing, Madam drags Sara-chan off along the floor.

Unlike the baron, who seems to have risen up from the common folk, Madam is apparently a genuine, born-and-bred noble (she said something like that when she introduced herself yesterday).

It seems she intends to thoroughly educate Sara-chan at home so that she isn't an embarrassment as a noble before sending her to the academy.

......Looking at Sara-chan's state, I can't help but think that might be difficult.

Hang in there, Madam.

Hang in there even harder, Sara-chan.

“Emi! In the mornings, I'd like you to help Maid. Sara goes outside for magic practice in the afternoons, so I'll call you then.”

With that, Madam disappeared into the study room down the hall, still dragging Sara-chan.

Ah, Maid-san is the maid I saved yesterday.

Terrifyingly, it seems Maid is her real name.

Maid-san had apparently come along with Madam as far as Sara-chan's room, and was standing in the hallway with a bucket and a rag.

All right! Now that I've decided to work, I can't afford to slack off on the job, right?

I do intend to serve the baronial house as a maid apprentice with all my heart and soul for one month, you know!

Maid-senpai! I look forward to working with you!

“............”

After bowing my head, I look up at Maid-senpai.

“Hih.”

......Wait, what's with the ‘Hih’? The ‘Hih’.

This is another world, so things like what noble ranks mean and what nobles actually do differ in places from real-world common knowledge.

Or rather, even in reality, roles change with the country and the era, so how much more so in another world, quoth the classics!