kscans

Chapter 160 - The New Shopkeeper

A week passed after the delivery was finished.

The treasure chests were well-received by the members of the Thieves' Guild, and Hayato heard that they were very useful for raising the Lockpicking skill.

Thanks to that, the number of players bringing treasure chests to the Thieves' Guild to have them opened had also increased considerably, and it was showing a great deal of liveliness.

There was also the question of whether it was a good thing for the Thieves' Guild to be so lively, but Sonia was thinking of changing the name to something like the Treasure Hunter Guild, or Tre-han Guild for short.

This was because there were also cases where players themselves would ask to be allowed to train to raise their skills, so they had made it possible to practice skill-raising within the guild.

Sonia was apparently working hard, saying, "From now on, we're switching to legitimate work."

Incidentally, the Thieves' Guild was located in a place called the slums of the Royal Capital, but recently, with the increase in players coming and going, it had become lively, and the dark and dangerous image had apparently been dispelled.

When Hayato heard this, an idea struck him. He decided to sell items that could raise thief-type skills, or rather, tre-han type skills, at his shop. Mainly treasure chests, but he thought that if he sold chests of different materials, there would be people who would buy several kinds.

The problem then was the shopkeeper.

Esha could tend the shop in the mornings, but in the afternoons she had the coffee shop in the real world.

Esha had said, "Tending shop in the morning, and being a waitress in the afternoon? Can I unleash a gluttony Stampede in the real world?" so he immediately withdrew that plan.

After that, as a result of consulting with Esha, they decided to hire another maid.

When he told the Maid Chief this, she almost handed him another letter of appreciation, but he refused. Hayato didn't want any more items he couldn't throw away.
He also subtly mentioned that he wanted her to stop calling him the Savior, but she wouldn't listen.

And so, today a new maid was coming.

Haya to and Esha were waiting for the person at the base, drinking coffee.

"Do you know what the new maid is like?"

"I do. We were in adjacent rooms when I was in the guild dorms."

"Ah, the one who heard Esha's muttering. What's her name?"

Haya to had been put on trial because Esha had said in her dorm room, "I've been made into a body that can't get married." At the time, he had been surrounded by maids and taken away, so he was surprised, not knowing what was happening, but now it was a fond memory.

"Rose Beltz. Unlike me, she's a super top-class maid. It's no exaggeration to say she's the ace of the Maid Guild, said to be the next Maid Chief. She's an angel-like maid who would talk to me casually even back when I had no work."

"Eh? They're sending someone like that?"

When he told the Maid Chief he wanted to hire a new maid, the price was set at 100,000 G per month, the same as for Esha.

He had casually asked if she was a maid of Esha's level, but the Maid Chief had strongly said, "That's impossible," so he hadn't expected them to send such a maid.

"She became unemployable for the opposite reason as me."

"Meaning?"

"In my case, I can't get hired because I don't have maid skills, but for Rose it's the opposite. She's so good at her job that she was getting offers from all over the place, but no matter where they sent her, it would cause friction, so to speak. There were even nobles who would hire her for 1,000,000 G a month, so there was a huge scramble for her, apparently."

"I have a lot I want to say, but they sent a girl like that here? The nobles are going to target me, aren't they?"

There were noble NPCs in the Royal Capital. There were probably some good nobles, but the image of nobles was that they would flaunt their power and do outrageous things. Hayato didn't want to be targeted by such people.

"It's alright. That's where I come in."

"Why?"

"They seem to have added the condition that if you want to hire Rose, you have to hire Esha too. Then the number of people who wanted to hire her disappeared like a receding tide. Why are you putting your hand on my shoulder and looking like you're about to cry? Is this sexual harassment?"

Esha was so pitiful that Hayato felt like crying. Even if it was a virtual reality, it was too sad.

"I'll hire you by yourself, Esha."

"That look of pure pity is a little irritating, but since this is a virtual reality, I don't mind. Well, that's why we were able to hire a talented maid for cheap. It's thanks to me. I request melon juice, ice cream, and a chocolate parfait. In the real world too."

"That might be difficult in the real world... By the way, does that Rose-san also need a chocolate parfait every day? You eat one every day, don't you, Esha?"

"I bragged about it at the Maid Guild before, so she might request one."

He wanted to grill her about what she was doing, but just then, he heard a knock on the shop-side entrance.

"I have come from the Maid Guild. Is Hayato-sama present?"

It must be the new maid, Rose. Hayato opened the door.

A woman wearing the same maid uniform as Esha was standing there with a smile.

"I have come from the Maid Guild. My name is Rose Beltz. It is a pleasure to be working with you from today."

The maid, Rose, curtsied, lightly pinching the sides of her skirt and bowing her head. Unlike Esha, she exuded a somehow solemn air.

Her blackish-purple hair was a medium-short cut that just about reached her shoulders. From her features, Hayato got the impression that she was the same age as Esha, or a little younger.

It would be rude to stare, so Hayato invited Rose inside.

"Yes, the pleasure is all mine. Please, come in."

"Yes, excuse me."

"Don't be shy, Rose. Make yourself at home."

"...Hayato-sama, is Esha always like this?"

"For the most part. Well, just as Esha said, please feel free to relax. Now then, let me explain your duties."

Rose had been taken aback, but she quickly recovered and began discussing the work with Hayato and Esha.

Basically, she would just be doing what Esha had been doing, so there was nothing particularly difficult about the explanation.

That should have been the case, but for some reason, Rose had a puzzled look on her face.

"I heard about the shopkeeping beforehand, so that is no problem, but is this all I have to do?"

"Eh? That was the plan, but is there something else?"

"Cleaning, cooking, sewing, that is, I can also perform maintenance on cloth and leather goods."

"Eh? You can do that?"

At Hayato's genuine surprise, Rose and Esha were surprised.

"Master, ordinary maids can do those things."

"You can't, can you, Esha?"

"I am not ordinary. In a good way, of course."

Haya to was convinced by Esha's somehow proud words. It was fine to ask a hired maid to do such things.

"In that case, could I ask you to clean the base? It's a little sad when the furniture gets dusty. I'll do the cooking and sewing myself. I might ask you to cook or sew sometimes, but for now, just shopkeeping and cleaning will be fine."

"As you wish. By the way, I heard that Hayato-sama has mastered production skills. I have said something presumptuous."

"No, please don't mind it. By the way, is there anything else you can do? My standard is Esha, so I don't really know what I can ask a maid to do."

"This Esha Crown can do anything except for maid duties, you know?"

"Then is there any point in hiring you as a maid, Esha? I did say I'd hire you by yourself just now, but..."

The exchange between Hayato and Esha was a common occurrence, but Rose, seeing it for the first time, looked down and her shoulders trembled. Then, unable to hold it in any longer, she burst out laughing.

After laughing for a while, Rose said, "Ah, that was a good laugh," with a smile and looked at Hayato and Esha. It was a somehow friendly smile.

"Hayato-sama, you are amazing for hiring Esha. You truly live up to your name as the Savior."

"Could you please never use that name here?"

"As you wish. By the way, there is something I would like to confirm."

"What is it?"

"Is it true that we get a chocolate parfait every day?"

Rose's eyes were serious. He felt a pressure that made him feel like he didn't know what would happen if he said no. Hayato had no choice but to answer this way.

"As long as it's just one a day."

Rose, just like Esha had before, raised both her fists in a victory pose.

(She has a similar vibe to Esha.)

After expressing her joy with her whole body, Rose turned to Hayato and smiled.

"Actually, when the request came from Hayato-sama, a scramble broke out among the maids."

"I'd rather not hear about it, but what kind of scramble?"

"Everyone volunteered, saying that if they could get a chocolate parfait every day, they wanted to go. By the way, since Esha was here, I was able to volunteer too."

(Chocolate parfaits are amazing.)

"Then you should thank me, Rose."

"Yeah, I am thankful. You can't find a better workplace than this. My apologies, Hayato-sama."

She must have apologized for speaking so casually, but Hayato didn't mind.

"Ah, it's fine. I'd like you to be polite to the customers, but it's not necessary with me."

"...Just as the rumors say. I would like to continue working here for as long as possible."

"The pleasure is all mine. Ah, by the way, we were in the middle of a conversation, but what can I ask you to do?"

"You may ask me for anything. My specialties are escort and assassination. I can do other things as well, so please tell me if anything comes to mind."

"Ah, I see. Hmm?"

Since Rose in front of him said it so normally, he let it pass, but a strange word reached Hayato's ears. He thought his hearing might be bugged and touched both his ears, but they seemed to be fine. And Esha wasn't surprised either. He decided to think that he had misheard.

"Sorry, I didn't quite catch that. What did you say your specialty was?"

"Escort and assassination. Like this, kyu."

Rose made a gesture like she was wringing a cloth, with a smile. It might indeed be a cleaning-related thing, but that was not cleaning.

His ears were not mistaken, but various other things were. Hayato vowed to himself that he would go to the Maid Guild.