The past few days have been boring. Merida hasn't sent me out to find any Sacred Power holders, which sucks. Fortunately, I did that whole thing with Mari. That was fun. Merida says we can't go anywhere until the Phobos girl we nabbed gets to our house, so in the meantime, we've been stuck at home, doing things.

I've been doing things on a schedule I've set up for the new maids and me. I am the Headmaid, after all. The shadow clones picked up the work relatively quickly, but then again, they're clones of me. The demons had a harder time due to the different shapes and sizes they came in. The humanoid ones didn't have much trouble doing the tasks but were too prideful to do some of the more... dirty jobs. The more monstrous ones had difficulty cleaning and cooking but were willing to follow orders. For some reason, Mammon is part of the maid team. Something about it being a punishment. She's doing well as Vice Headmaid, though.

Due to me being too busy training the new maids, I haven't had time to hang out with the others besides Mel. I'm constantly checking on Mel. She spends her days reading. Reading and eating sandwiches. She has admitted to liking mundane activities. A shame I'm with her, then. I do catch what the others are doing in their free time whenever I need to clean their rooms. Mimi sleeps, Merry summons demons, Speedy is never in the house, May tends to the garden apparently (I've never seen her, it's just what Merida says), and Merida… I have no idea. 

Anyways, that's how it's been for the past few days, but today is the day this mundanity ends! Our reward for kidnapping the duke's wife is arriving today! What was her name again? "It was Mila." Thanks, Merry. We're all waiting at the gate for her carriage to arrive. Well, not all of us. The maids are not with us. That'd be overkill. It's just the main group minus May. She's still tending to the garden. 

Slowly but surely, a carriage came down the road in front of our stolen mansion. It was a flimsy, cheap carriage for a noble's daughter, especially a duke's daughter. There were no gaudy decorations, unnecessary windows or large waving flags with symbols on them. Just the cheap merchant carriage you'd find anywhere else. The carriage didn't stop in front of our house, and instead, a girl in a white one-piece dress and wide brim hat jumped out from the back, the carriage moving on as if nothing had happened.

"As cheap as ever, Mila. So what's the reasoning?"

"The typical noble carriage is expensive to hire, maintain, or fix should it break down during the trip. Add on to that the need to hire guards, and the cost is too much."

"Still a good thinker. Good. Time for a little test."

"Anything for you, Merry."

"Tell me about the individuals standing here before you. I'd like to see if you are still in touch with your information collecting."

"A simple task, especially with individuals as prolific as you lot. First," she pointed at Merry, "Merry Deimos, heir to the Deimos name and the infamous Summoner. Last seen under the employ of the Demon Empress until her sudden disappearance alongside Wulfric the Hero. The number of people who know your current state can be counted on two hands. You were my first teacher, and I hope to continue learning from you."

"Secondly," she pointed at Merida, "arguably the most known figure in your group, Merida Sicht. The Seer, the Schemer, the Scoundrel, the Stain. You have many nicknames accumulated over your long life of appearing and disappearing. There are more stories about you in each country than there are stories of historical heroes. You have been called every curse word ever muttered under the sun and then more. I hope to learn many things from you."

"Thirdly," she pointed at Mel, "Melanie Arcus, former companion of Wulfric the Hero. You graduated from the Adventurer Academy at the top of your year. A new adventurer who had the eye of every active adventurer party, you were quickly picked up by the Hero Party, who were in deadly need of a ranged member. To the surprise of many, Wulfric was unable to bed you. Although, I do know something much more surprising than that. You've had my eye for a while, and let me say, your ability to change identities is incredible. I hope to learn it." Mel went wide-eyed, everyone but Merida and me looking at her with questioning looks. This Mila… she's interesting.

"Fourthly," she pointed at Mimi, "Millie Migans, also known as Mimi the Invisible. Well known in the criminal world for being able to leave no trace whatsoever. You never properly committed to thievery despite all your fame and ability, only ever stealing when necessary. A waste, according to the higher-ups in the criminal world. Even more of a shame when you ended up as an ally of the Insane Hero, officially becoming something more than a thief. I believe you would have ended up an assassin for the Dark Guild had you not. I wish to learn that stealth of yours."

"Fifthly," she pointed at Speedy, "Mare Lauf, the current Bandit King of the Garwet Kingdom. A feared figure among bandit camps, even by other Bandit Kings. Capable of bringing down entire countries on her own, the one thing that puzzled everyone was just how easily you were brought down. Everyone thinks you're dead, executed via banishment to another world, but rumours have speculated about your survival. Clearly, it isn't true. I am quite familiar with bandits, but I am always willing to learn more."

"Lastly," she pointed at me, "you. I have to apologise, Merry. I could not find anything about her. Anything I did find sounded preposterous, superficial, and most importantly, impossible."

"That has piqued my curiosity, Mila. Thinking about it, I don't know much about Maddy, so please, share what you can, regardless of how idiotic it sounds."

"I shall, but don't be surprised if you come to the same conclusion as me. First thing, apparently, she is a Hamblin native. The city is so far removed from the rest of the world that it finds itself on the Edge. I would believe this if it weren't for the fact that we're in the Garwet Kingdom, which is about as far as possible." I could feel the gaze of everyone here except Merida. Is me coming from Hamblin really that weird?

"She does come from Hamblin. In fact, she even has proof. Somewhere on her person is the slave mark used specifically by the Verdeux family, who originate from Hamblin." Merida added.

"If the Seer says so, then I shall believe it. Next would be the fact she was previously employed by Duchess Darrow, a hermit known for never leaving her castle and not having any servants. I once had a conversation with Duchess Darrow when I was on a journey fueled by my curiosity, and so I highly doubt she has the capabilities to hire a servant, let alone one from as far away as Hamblin."

"I can answer that one. Believe it or not, Mila, she just popped into the castle out of nowhere one day."

"Is that true?"

"Indeed. What else do you have to share?"

"She has survived the Chaos Storm, she has seduced a former member of the Hero party,"

"She what?!"

"She can destroy bandit camps on her lonesome, and most absurd, she's the top graduate of the Maid School of her year."

"Oh yeah, Maid School. I remember my year. I only ended up the top graduate because some random demon came in and killed all my classmates. Well, half my classmates. The others were actually colluding with the demon and became its servants."

"Wait… you were part of Demon Lord's year?" Mila suddenly dashed in front of me, her hands on my cheeks and her wonder-filled eyes staring straight into me… or maybe deeper.

"Uh… yeah? I guess. That's what I remember all those other maids murmuring about whenever I walked by."

"Fascinating, fascinating! I love to learn. Learn techniques, learn cultures, learn about as much as I can. But there is one thing I love to learn more about than anything else," She pulled my head towards her, so close our foreheads were touching, "I love to learn about people."

Mel ran towards us and quickly pulled us apart. "Woah there. Slow down, kid."

"There is no time to slow down! There is much to learn. I plan to learn everything there is to learn about you, maid. From your mannerisms to abilities, from your schedule to relationships, from your infancy to present, and everything in-between." She took out a notebook and pen. "But first, your name."

"Madeleine. You can call me Headmaid, however."

"Madeleine… interesting. Following the M trend of the rest makes sense. Most likely a scheme of the Seer. That matters no more, however. Let us go inside… I wish to sit together with you." She dragged me by the hand, taking me inside. Huh… no one has ever shown this much interest in me. I like it.

Character profile: Mila Phobos

Sacred power: Faster Learning

Books read: 872

Description: The prodigal daughter of the Phobos house. The child of Albus and Cherry Phobos, she quickly picked up anything and everything she was exposed to. By the time she was merely 5, she had moved on to books that only specialists in those fields would bother reading. By the time she was 8, she had learnt the way of nobles and weaselled her way to all corners of Bellum, building connections. By the time she was 15, she was a seasoned traveller, having learnt about many cultures, languages and most importantly, people. People in many high places. She uses these connections to gain information, hoarding it all until its true value is finally realised. Although Faster Learning had a part in her rise to power, it merely sped up the process. Without it, she'd have just achieved this years later than she did here. A true prodigy, even compared to those who have held Faster Learning before her.

Chapter namesake: The EDM band The Prodigy