The Price of a Maid

After breakfast, Ren Dao-zhen went out for a stroll, while Aliciel began her usual shift at the shop.

Time slipped by quietly.

It was another busy day, and they were still short-staffed.

The applicants so far simply hadn’t met Aliciel’s standards.

‘If it comes to it,’ she thought, ‘I could always visit the s*ave market. Slaves would at least be easier to train.’

Before she knew it, closing time had arrived.

“Well now, Head Maid, I’m all ready to go! When are we leaving!”

Ren Dao-zhen pushed the door open right on time, as if he had been waiting just outside, watching the clock and counting down the seconds.

“You look like a little child, Master, eagerly waiting to get their birthday cake.”

“Are you saying I’m childish?”

“Not at all. Aliciel has no intention of mocking you, Master.”

Aliciel smiled, and after tidying up the shop, she left with Ren Dao-zhen.

Having scouted the location beforehand, Aliciel led Ren Dao-zhen toward the Adventurers’ Guild.

However, it seemed Ren Dao-zhen had already been there, as he walked even faster than she did.

“Have you been here before, Sir?”

“I have. I had nothing better to do today, so I took a look around. I haven’t been inside the guild itself, though. Hey, wait a minute! Why are you calling me ‘Sir’ now?”

“Because we’re off the clock. Our master-servant relationship is temporarily suspended, so it’s only natural that I address you as ‘Sir.'”

“…You’re surprisingly principled about some things.”

Ren Dao-zhen couldn’t help but grumble.

“Well, if you’re off duty, why are you still in your maid uniform?”

“A personal preference. Is that not allowed?”

“It is… of course it is… In that case, if I were to hire you as my personal maid, would you call me ‘Master’ twenty-four hours a day?”

“Yes, of course. If we were to sign a master-servant contract, Aliciel would naturally address you as Master. If you were to forbid me from calling others ‘Master’ at the coffee shop, Aliciel would obey that command as well. Mmm—!”

“What is it?”

“Ah, Aliciel just realized. So that’s what was missing.”

Last night, she had felt that something was lacking, and only now did she understand what it was.

She lacked a master in the truest sense of the word—not simply a change in title for a customer at the cafe, but someone she could truly serve, attending to their every need and resolving their troubles.

To have only realized this now… what a failure.

“So, Sir, would you consider hiring me as your personal maid?”

“Really?”

Ren Dao-zhen asked, his voice filled with excitement.

It was no joke; for a transmigrator in another world, having a few maids to serve him was standard procedure.

And for the maid in question to be such an elegant, beautiful, top-tier specimen? It would be a lie to say he wasn’t thrilled!

However, Aliciel’s next words were like a bucket of cold water dumped straight over his head.

“Of course. For a monthly salary of just one million!”

“O-One million? That’s so expensive!”

“Ahem. After all, we would be signing an equal-service contract. It establishes an employer-employee relationship, which naturally requires a salary. Aliciel believes she is worth this price. So… what are your intentions, Sir?”

“I…”

Ren Dao-zhen broke into a cold sweat.

He had only a million in total, all of which he’d earned by plagiarizing works from his former world—and it was Aliciel who had paid him in the first place.

“Could I pay with maid outfit designs instead?”

“Hmm… I could consider it.”

Though there seemed to be a glimmer of hope, Ren Dao-zhen knew he couldn’t make a career out of designing maid uniforms.

At the end of the day, he was just a plagiarist.

He could only recall about a hundred distinctive and beautiful maid outfits, which he would run through soon enough, and he admitted to himself that he lacked any real design talent.

Becoming an artist was out of the question.

If he wanted to hire an expensive maid like Aliciel, he would have to find another way.

Something like… becoming an adventurer!

Once the cheat ability or special system hidden within him awakened, making money would be a piece of cake.

Hiring Aliciel would be no trouble at all.

Ren Dao-zhen’s desire to become an adventurer grew ever stronger.

A beautiful future of wealth and glory, with beautiful girls on each arm, was beckoning to him!

****

“Sir, your test results are in. Your potential value is C-rank, and your other stats aren’t very high either. To be frank, we do not recommend you become an adventurer.”

Ideals were beautiful, but reality was cruel.

When a confident Ren Dao-zhen arrived at the Adventurers’ Guild to have his aptitude tested, the results were utterly staggering.

It wasn’t that they were terrible, not to the point of being completely useless.

To describe them in two words… utterly ordinary.

His aptitude and stats were painfully average.

His potential, strength, speed, and luck were all unremarkable, and his mana capacity was zero.

Stats like these were a dime a dozen at the guild; he showed none of the exceptional traits a transmigrator should possess.

An ordinary person like him, even if he became an adventurer, would likely struggle between C and B rank for his entire life.

Forget S-rank; even reaching A-rank was questionable.

“Aaargh! Why?! I’m a transmigrator, for crying out loud! Aren’t I supposed to get a cheat ability or a special system? System? System, where are you? Please, I’m begging you, just make a sound!”

The stark contrast between his grand ideals and this harsh reality was too much for Ren Dao-zhen to accept, and he couldn’t help but let out a wail of despair.

‘No… it’s too early to give up. Maybe my cheat ability just has a delayed delivery.’

However, the man’s mental fortitude was quite impressive.

He didn’t wallow in misery for long and quickly pulled himself together, still seeming rather unconvinced.

“Poor aptitude isn’t the end of the world. In this world, there are plenty of ways to improve it. Even an ordinary person can become strong.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

Aliciel said comfortingly.

She herself was the most typical example. Just a few days ago, she had been a weak young man who couldn’t even truss a chicken. After drinking the potion her sister had prepared, she had leaped to the status of an S-rank adventurer. Although she could only use her full power at night, that power was very real.

“For instance… there are nature potions brewed by the elves, which can enhance one’s perception of natural elements and allow for greater progress in magic. Or the blessings of holy light bestowed by the angels, which can grant even a commoner the qualifications to become a paladin. There are also ways like becoming a vampire’s thrall. As long as you have the right connections, there’s always a method that will suit you.”

“But I don’t have any connections. Do you?”

“Of course. As it happens, there’s an auction being held soon, and among the items up for bid is the very nature potion I just mentioned!”

“Oh, here it comes! The indispensable auction-house arc, a staple of both Eastern and Western fantasy novels!”