Chapter 2 - II -

 

For our next itinerary, the Head Maid took me behind the Saint’s Cathedral to a building that was familiar to me.

 

“Well, that is the Holy Chambers palace.” the Head Maid gently grabbed my head and turned it towards the direction she wanted me to look at; I was still in deep thoughts about our conversation about Lord Gaius.  “This is where Her Holiness lives and receives her dignitaries.  If you remember, here is where you got summoned, Kuro.”

 

Yes, I recalled.  However, I was in a panic back then that I hadn’t got the time to appreciate how big this palace was.  Compared to the Saint’s Cathedral, the Holy Chambers were smaller—if I reckon, about twice smaller than the former’s size.  The main palace building was five stories high, with four three-level ‘wings’ that extended into the four cardinal directions.

 

“This wide place in front of the Holy Chambers where we stand right now is the Courtyard.” the Head Maid pointed out, “Visitors often pass through here if they seek an audience with Her Holiness.  And this is where we met for the first time.”

 

So, for short, this is where I fell from the second floor, huh?

 

Then the Head Maid turned our attention to that castle-like structure to the left of the Courtyard, “That one’s we call the Palatial Armory.  It serves as the barracks for Her Holiness’ guards—the Paladin Corps.  Back in the old times, that place served as a bastion of defense against invading demon armies.”

 

“I see…” the paintings from the Cathedral flashed through my mind once again.  I guess this place has its share of demon invasions, eh?

 

“I’d like to introduce you to the head of the guards, but apparently, she’s away for an errand from Her Holiness herself.” she added, “Now if you’ll look over there…”

 

I followed her in the direction she suggested.  A four-story building stood there, with much simpler decorations than the rest I’ve seen before, besides the Palatial Armory.

 

“That’s our quarters.  We simply call it the ‘Servants’ Quarters’.”

 

“Oh, so that’s the place where you guys stay?”

 

“Yep.”

 

I better keep off from that area, then.

 

The Head Maid continued, “If you don’t know yet, Her Holiness’ household has different departments and responsibilities assigned to each servant, like the Kitchen Department, Laundry Department, Cleaning Department, or so on.  I, as the Head Maid, am the over-all in-charge of the daily upkeep of this place.”

 

So, she’s kind of big shot here, I reckon.

 

“Anyway, look this way, Kuro!” the Head Maid pulled me to the other side of the Courtyard where another massive six-level building was located.

 

“That is?”

 

“I presume you love reading, Kuro?” the Head Maid took a deep breath before asking; it’s as if she’s excited to bring me here, “Yep, you’re currently looking at the Saint’s Library.  Inside is a vast collection of various literary works:  from the simple cooking books to dangerous forbidden tomes of magic.  It is one of the three great repositories of all written books in the land of Chersea.”

 

“Oooh…”  Honestly, that information fascinated me.  I could feel my blood tingle at the mere mention of books; I’m a bookworm back on Earth.

 

“Well, you can access most of the books in there anytime.  For the more restricted sections, you’ll need the permission of Her Holiness herself.”

 

Got it.  I’ll keep that in mind.

 

The Head Maid continued on our tour around the entire Holy Palatial Gardens until we covered everything—from the multitudes of souvenir shops and guest houses to the equally opulent animal stables.  She even showed me the various gardens and fountains being maintained by Her Holiness’ zealous servants.

 

That tour is interesting, though it exhausted me before it even ended.

 

“…”

 

“So, there you have it, Kuro!” the Head Maid offered me something to drink as we rest at the palace kitchen, “I hope you enjoyed the tour as much as I do.”

 

Though tired, I smiled at her, “Yes, thanks for making time for me.”

 

“Ah, don’t worry about it!” she patted my head, then whispered, “If it’s you, I can always find the time.”

 

“Hm?”

 

“Nothing.” she quickly retorted, and continued, “You know, if you run into trouble, you can always tell it to me.  I’ll be glad to be of service!”

 

“Ah, thanks!”

 

The Head Maid’s a kind person.  I’m really glad I became friends with her first.

 

 

Anyway, as I’m being allowed to stay in one guesthouse for free, I decided to at least help with the maintenance.  I asked the Head Maid if she got something for me to do since I thought I could have something to contribute as a guy.

 

“Hmm…I guess you could help with sweeping the pathways in this area.” the Head Maid pointed on her map, “There are some of the fallen leaves that are being scattered by the wind.  The broom is over there.”

 

After giving me further instructions, I went to my area of responsibility and began cleaning.

 

There were no visitors as of this moment since it was the time for the Saint to rest.  The pathways were virtually empty, save for the occasional pair of patrolling guards, or a group of maids coming back and forth, minding their businesses.

 

“…”

 

Hmm…I thought I swept this place clean enough earlier.  However, why does it seem like I have done nothing at all?

 

“…”

 

Oh…looks like I already know the source of the problem.

 

I saw a maid coming over from the other end of the pathway and dumped a bunch of dried leaves on the spot where I just cleaned.  And then she went away.  I thought it was just one isolated incident, but another maid appeared and did the same.  

 

And another.  

 

And another…

 

And another—

 

“Oi.  What’s the big idea?” I’m a little pissed, but I took the diplomatic course.  I know it won’t do well for me to annoy someone in this place; not only because I’m a stranger to them, I’m also unable to fight their magic spells.

 

“Hiii!” the maid almost jumped in surprise, “I swear I didn’t want to do this!  Big sis ordered me to!”

 

“‘Big sis’?  From what department are you?” I asked.  Since they organized the maids into different departments, my hunches were telling me that this ‘Big sis’ was the leader of this maid’s department.

 

“Like I’ll tell you!”

 

Oh yeah, you’re doing something nasty.  Of course, you will reveal nothing about your stupid plans.

 

“I’m sorry, but please don’t talk to me!”  After dumping her load of trash, she hurried away and disappeared.  I couldn’t even get angry because everything was so sudden.  

 

However, at least I know that someone is working behind the scenes to expel me here.

 

“Well, it’s not like I want to stay here forever as well…”

 

Honestly, it’s not that easy to adjust to a new world…much more when almost everyone around hates you.

 

“Hey Kuro, how’s the cleaning going?”

 

“!!!”

 

“I’m sorry.  Did I startle you?”  It’s the Head Maid.

 

“Haha…” I took a deep breath, “Please don’t just appear behind me like that, Head Maid!”

 

“Sorry, I just passed by.  Anyway, anything wrong?  You seem to take long at cleaning.”

 

“Ah, it’s going well,” I replied.  I considered telling her about that maid earlier, but eventually relented.  I never wanted trouble with the people I’d be working with for some time by ratting out on them.  And I’m an adult, anyway; fighting kids for trivial matters was foolish.

 

“I see.” the Head Maid nodded, “Well if you’re done, you may take your break.”

 

“Alright.  Thanks!”

 

And I was alone again.  Looking at the large piles of fallen leaves that those maids dumped made me feel a bit disheartened.  

 

However…

 

“I guess I should continue doing this instead of whining.” with that, I just went ahead with my chore.

 

 

In between breaks—and there were many since we’re thousands working here—I would go to the Saint’s Library and read books from time to time.  Because I’m new, I needed to learn about this world I’m currently in, and this library was a better place to start.

 

Considering that this was a foreign land, I’m surprised that I could actually read and converse normally with the people here.  I mean, normally when one arrived in another country, they’d spend time to know the local language there.  

 

“…”

 

Maybe my summoning had something to do with the non-existent language barrier?  I guess it’s something to be thankful for…

 

“!!!”

 

Something hit me on the head.  Though not that painful, it’s still annoying.  I turned around to see a thin book on the floor.  I knew someone threw it at me and quickly hid themselves to make me look stupid.  

 

Ha!  Typical bullying.  Of course, I’m already a grown-up adult, having lived for 25 years already.  Such a childish display will not affect me.

 

“!!!”

 

Another book hit me from behind my head.  Picking up the poor thing, I didn’t even flinch.  

 

Ha!  Try harder.

 

“!!!” And another.  Harder.

 

And another…

 

“For fuck’s sake, what the hell do you want?” I finally reached the boiling point, so I couldn’t help but shout.  After all, it’s getting painful being repeatedly whacked with several flying books on my head and my back.

 

“Err…I want a peaceful space for my reading pleasure, I guess?”  My eyes almost popped out from their sockets when I saw the Saint behind me.

 

“Uh…sorry.” I quickly apologized to her but explained my actions.

 

“Well, yeah.”  Her Holiness understood my predicament, “I was waiting for you to react violently; getting hit by those books is painful after all.”

 

If you already know that something’s happening, then why did you just watch, you stupid Saint!

 

“Ahem.  By the way, I can read minds.”

 

Sorry.

 

“It’s alright.  By the way, I’m impressed that you can take a beating and be patient with it.”

 

“Well, almost.  I got angry at the end though.”

 

“Anyone would.  But it took you some time before you exploded, so I’m impressed.”

 

The sincerity of Her Holiness’ words made me happy, to be honest.  So happy that I didn’t know what to say other than, “Thanks, I guess.  Seems like I gained that patience from my old world’s job.”

 

“Which is?”

 

“I teach.”  It’s as far as I remember about myself.  Any more than that was a blank spot in my mind.

 

The Saint’s eyes became round, but there’s a cheerful expression on her face, “You’re a scholar then?”

 

“Nope.  I’m more like a person who specializes in teaching.” I made some familiar gestures that I did back when I was in class, “Almost identical to a scholar, yet I’m not one.  If I remember, my work is a ‘teacher’.”

 

“I see…” Her Holiness nodded, “So that’s why the Library attracted you, huh?  Intelligence is indeed a good thing.  Well, since you’re something like a scholar, would you want permission to bring out the books here?  Just don’t forget to return them when you’re done.”

 

“Ah!  Thank you, Your Holiness!”  That offer was helpful to me; aside from I could finish them faster when I’m taking a break, bringing books to my room gives me a safe place to indulge in reading.

 

“Anyway,” the Saint laughed softly, “looks like those kinds of books got attached to you, huh?”

 

My heart froze when I saw the title of the books that were thrown at me: ‘A Treatise on Bed Pleasures’, ‘How to Make Your Partner Happy in Bed’, ‘Magic Spells on Increasing Sexual Potency’, and other dubious titles about ‘that’.

 

“Don’t worry.” Her Holiness smirked, “It’s pretty normal; you’re a boy after all.”

 

Someone’s bent on making me look like a rabid pervert.

 

“You aren’t?” she read my mind again.

 

“I’m not!”  I snapped at her.  Well, to be more precise, I am.  But I put my urges in their proper place.  

 

By the way, what I’m reading back then was ‘The Basic Principles of Magic’.