Chapter 11: “I did not see the Housekeeper”
Noticing Kousuke’s approach, Serena stopped cleaning.
「Ah, so you finally came. Meryl-san, I’ll give her the run-down so you can continue with your work」(Serena)
「Are you sure?」(Meryl)
「Of course! Just myself explaining and demonstrating will be sufficient」(Serena)
「I see. Then I thank you」(Meryl)
「No problem! Now then, let’s immediately begin with the explanation」(Serena)
「Please provide me with guidance」(Kousuke/Yui)
「Mhmm, mhmm, it seems the day that I finally received a junior has come!」(Serena)
Serena was nodding as her true feelings exploded out.
「My guidance will be very strict, I hope you can keep up!」(Serena)
「I was born to become a maid, nothing can stop me!」(Kousuke/Yui)
Kousuke proudly announced as he flicked his hair and stuck out his chest. Since it seemed like Serena was strutting proudly, Kousuke played along.
「Oh wow, wow! I like your att.i.tude. I think we’ll get along just fine」(Serena)
「Stop horsing around and get to work!」(Meryl)
「Ack!」(Serena)
Meryl smacks Serena’s head lightly with her duster.
「I’m sorry」(Serena)
「It’s fine as long as you understand. Yui-san, its fine to cut loose around us, but please try to keep it within reasonable limits. The only person who will not reproach you for misbehaving in this household is Ojousama」(Meryl)
「Is that so?」(Kousuke/Yui)
「Yes, Rafael-sama and the rest of the family expect the servants to act as servants should. It’s a normal expectation the n.o.bles have from us. If they see you causing a ruckus.. A scolding is expected but your wages may be cut too」(Meryl)
「I’ll be careful then」(Kousuke/Yui)
With a serious expression Kousuke nodded. Meryl nodded back as she began to clean once more.
「Well.. I guess I went too far there. Alright then! Let’s start again from the start!」(Serena)
「Yes」(Kousuke/Yui)
「Our work.. I mean your work priorities today will be focused over here. Since you’re here to a.s.sist Gretzel-san it’s expected. You’ll be handling her housework responsibilities except for cooking. The meals are prepared by a chef in the main building so we don’t have to worry about it. We have a kitchen here as well if you’re ever interested in preparing something. Gretzel-san makes us small treats sometime. On occasion, the main building will be short-staffed and will request our a.s.sistance, but that hardly happens and Meryl and I will go so you don’t to worry too much about it」(Serena)
「So you’re saying I won’t have to go to the main building in the future?」(Kousuke/Yui)
Hearing Kousuke’s question, Serena shakes her head.
「You’ll be required to go to the main building for non-work related reasons. The servant’s dining area and bath are over there. The servant’s living quarter is there as well, but since you’re here to a.s.sist Gretzel-san you will most likely be staying in this building with her」(Serena)
「Is that so? But I already have a room rented at an inn」(Kousuke/Yui)
「Really? Do you plan on commuting from there? Why don’t you ask Gretzel-san about it then?」(Serena)
「Right, I should ask her」(Kousuke/Yui)
Being explained briefly the contents of the work, Serena also provided some behavioral guidelines in front of the n.o.bles. Kousuke’s work began afterwards. Since he had to wait for Gretzel to come back, Serena was providing him some pointers on where and how to clean.
The way she taught him clearly showed her expertise on the matter, but in Kousuke’s case, his performance paled in comparison. It couldn’t be helped since he’s never done this before. Back on Earth, he’s done some simple cleaning before, but here he was surrounded by expensive looking objects and couldn’t help but feel nervous. Seeing how overly timid Kousuke was, Serena and Meryl guided him without rushing. They’ve experienced the same thing when they first started and understood exactly what he was going through. Rushing would only bring about mistakes.
Despite Kousuke’s inexperience, he didn’t make any mistake and the three were able to finish cleaning faster than usual.
「With this, the interior cleaning is complete. We’ll take a short break before we sweep the leaves outside. After that is lunch and laundry!」(Serena)
「Roger that!」(Kousuke/Yui)
They stored away the cleaning tools and headed to the break room where they began to idly chat. To say that they chatted, for Kousuke’s case he had no idea what to say if it proceeded to “Girl-talks” since he was a man. Luckily, the conversation focused primarily on each other’s hobbies and the likes, but he was nervous about their future chats.
With Kousuke being given another worry to consider, their break ended. The three grabbed a rake and broom as they headed out of the mansion.
The cleanup of the yard was relatively simple and ended quickly. It felt like there was more they could do like removing the weeds, but Meryl and Serena didn’t seem to bother. Feeling curious, Kousuke inquired about it and was told by Meryl that it’s the responsibility of the gardeners.
「There’s only a little growing so it wouldn’t take us too much time to do it ourselves right? Why make the gardeners come all the way over here just for that?」(Kousuke/Yui)
「I understand how you feel, but that’s the gardener’s work territory. They have their own plans on how to maintain the courtyard. There’s a possibility they planned for the weeds to grow for the purpose of creating a specific scenery a few months later. If we removed the weeds now it’s likely that we will be ruining their months’ worth of planning. It would be regretful if that were to happen correct? So, to prevent any mix ups, we will only do the simple clean up unless we were asked to do otherwise」(Meryl)
「I understand now. Sorry for being presumptuous」(Kousuke/Yui)
「Don’t worry about it. I was told the same thing from a senior when I first started」(Meryl)
Meryl answered Kousuke in a nostalgic tone.
It seemed that it was a commonly asked question, even Serena and Gretzel asked when they first began.
The three brushed off the dust and dirt on them before heading to the main building for lunch. There was an hour before lunch would be served so the two took this opportunity to give Kousuke a tour of the main building.
He was guided to where the storehouse, bathhouse, restroom and servant’s living quarters were. The timing was perfect when he was shown the restroom though. He went into one of the stalls to recast the disguise magic. It was just about to expire.
Their final destination was the dining area. The three took a seat since lunch was almost ready.
He thought back and realized the specific bathhouse he was shown was women only. Kousuke started to break out in cold sweat, but steeled himself since he had to maintain appearance if he wanted to stay. The restroom is still safe since there were stalls, but the bathhouse would have too many people so in his mind it was “out”.
Seeing Kousuke’s worried expression, Serena spoke up.
「You seem to be worried over something, is everything alright?」(Serena)
「Ye..yes」(Kousuke/Yui)
『If my disguise gets seen through I’ll be treated as a pervert!』Kousuke felt, but he couldn’t exactly say this aloud. He shook his head, trying to convey nothing is wrong.
「Really? If you have any problems please feel free to tell us」(Serena)
「Okay」(Kousuke/Yui)
He couldn’t discuss what he was fretting over right now, but in the future he decided if anything else cropped up he definitely would. 【TL: Pretty sure something will “crop up” in your situation Kou-chan