CH 151

“I don’t really intend to make her cry, though…”

“It’s her pride as a maid, no? She doesn’t wanna take up her mistress’s time,” Sword explained to me while soothing me by stroking my head when I complained to him.

“It’s exactly because I’m her mistress, wouldn’t you say? When else would I take care of her if not during a time like this? …And I just remembered, but we aren’t supposed to have an employment relationship. Rather, you should be her master since you called her here.”

“I’d really love to meet the servant who doesn’t consider you their mistress under the current circumstances. Maybe Brave Amato. No wait, that guy’s started callin’ you Lady, too. I guess that means none.”

I haven’t hired her! The mansion is Sword’s property and I’m a freeloader here! Sure I’ve done things like expanding the grounds, cultivating fields, and building a ranch, but I got Sword’s permission for all of it!

After puffing out my cheeks in discontent, I asked Sword, “…Don’t you dislike it if I act like the mistress of the house?”

“I’d rather use you as scapegoat than bein’ called master, to be frank.”

So he hates the term, huh?

“Your a former noble, so your probably used to bein’ called lady or mistress, but I hail from a small village as someone who’s worked up his way from a low standin.’ I don’t even feel great ’bout being pampered as S-Rank adventurer, but bein’ treated like a master is impossible for me.”

…Considering that, you were totally fine being called 【Thunderclap Whitefang】, weren’t you?

Just as I thought that, he ground my cheeks with his fists.

“Hmm? I sure hope your not thinkin’ that I’m cool with being called by my alias, are you? …Even I hated it at first! I couldn’t even turn ’round when someone called me by that name! But, since everyone used it, I had no choice but to make my peace with it! Even the king calls me like that, you know? Tell me, what should I do ’bout it!?”

“Bmphbphbmmph.”

I couldn’t talk since my cheeks were being squished together.

“You know, I really hope you also get a name so embarrassin’ that you won’t be even able to react to it! It’ll let you understand my feelings through the same pain, okay? Got it?”

Sword has become super sadistic…

＊

The sick maid apparently continued to gradually get better. However, it was just that she 『continued to get better』, not that she fully recovered. That’s why I didn’t allow her to go back to work, despite her claiming that she was perfectly fine. And once I forbade it, she cried.

During the umpteenth time of me nursing her, she said, “…Lady Indra, I want to take care of you once I recover.”

“Hmm? What are you talking about?”

“I will tailor a beautiful dress, and then I would like to help you with your bathing, Your Ladyship. I want to scrub you thoroughly all over and then put the new dress on you. After fixing your hair a bit, I also want to arrange it. I want to apply a small amount of make-up, too. I would love to also add wonderful accessories and ornaments to you.”

………

What’s with all those desires? Moreover, they’re all directed at me and not herself.

“Okay, okay, I got it. Once you’re healthy, you can do as you like. That’s why, rest up properly now. I don’t want you to ever collapse again and I want you to recover completely as quickly as possible, not to mention that I don’t want you to die. Do you understand?”

“Y-Yes!”

She finally stopped crying, huh?

＊

The maid made a full comeback. And as she had apparently recovered completely for real, she worked at full throttle. But, girl, isn’t that the reason for you to have collapsed in the first place!?

I tried to stop her, but she only answered with an entranced expression, “Lady Indra, do you remember your promise?”

“Of course. …I understand, so don’t work yourself to the ground. Call a tailor. The fabric…oh, right! I had some fabric in stock as well! Tell the tailor to use that.”

I took out silk, err no, bug fabric.

“It’s a souvenir for you guys. Feel free to use it as you please. It has a fairly decent touch on the skin. Thus I think it’d be a good idea to wear it to cover your skin or use it as decoration while capitalizing on its gloss and thinness.”

The maids all gathered and started to chat excitedly. Yep, women love their clothes, don’t they?

――Still, I must resolve the labor shortage urgently. Even though I’m telling the maids that they don’t need to do so much, they probably won’t listen to me anyway. It’s probably got something to do with their pride as maids.

Hence, I have no choice but to increase the staff.

＊

…And just as I came to that conclusion, we had some visitors.