kscans

Chapter 30 - The Maid Guild

In the morning, Hayato logged in and woke up in the bed of his room at the base.

After watering the vegetables and fruits growing in the base’s garden, he unlocked the shop entrance on the first floor. This was Hayato’s morning routine.

After this, Esha would usually come and tend the shop, but that day was different.

Outside the shop were several maids who were not Esha. And while Hayato was surprised, they surrounded him.

"Huh? What?"

"Hayato-sama. We must ask you to accompany us to the Maid Guild. For the record, you have no right to refuse or remain silent. You also cannot hire a lawyer. Your testimony may be used as unfavorable evidence."

"That’s different from what I know. Is this a trial or something?"

"We cannot say more. Please come with us."

(I don’t want to think it, but is this turning into something like the maid harem incident? No, but I haven’t done anything to Esha, and I can’t think of any reason why I’d be taken away. And it’s not about a letter of appreciation, is it? I think Esha mentioned before that the Maid Guild wanted to give me a letter of appreciation, but this doesn’t feel like that atmosphere at all.)

Hayato considered various things, but he decided that running away here wouldn’t improve the situation. In the first place, he wasn’t athletic enough to run away, and he couldn’t even fight. He resigned himself to the fact that he had no choice but to go quietly.

"Um, I don’t mind going with you, but can I make a call first?"

"Then, you have one minute."

(I want to pretend to make a call and just logout right here. But if I force logout in a situation like this, I might end up in jail the next time I login. I should definitely not do that.)

When logging out of the game, the basic method is to sleep in a bed, but it is also possible to force a logout. However, in that case, the avatar remains in the game for a few minutes. During that time, you cannot react to anything that is done to you, so it is said that you should not use forced logout unless you have a very good reason.

Furthermore, Hayato had confirmed on the internet before the Clan War started that if you forced a logout while a quest was in progress, depending on the situation, you might start from jail.

Originally, you were put in jail by being caught by an NPC guard, but it was a feature that you could also be put there by forcing a logout in an inconvenient situation for the player.

Incidentally, it is possible to get out of jail by paying bail, but unlike real bail, there are penalties such as it taking over a month for the bail to be returned, restrictions on your range of movement, and not being able to participate in the Clan War.

(In this day and age, it’s unlikely for the connection to be cut, but I heard it used to happen a lot in the past. It’s a low probability, but I’d hate for that to happen while a quest is in progress… Whoops, this isn’t the time to be thinking about that. First, I need to make a call.)

Hayato quickly contacted Relic.

He told him that he was being taken to the Maid Guild, that he wanted him to tend the shop at the base, and to contact Ash and the others just in case. Relic asked if he was okay, but Hayato didn’t know either, so he could only answer with a "probably."

If it came to it, his clan members might come to help him. Leaving that hope behind, Hayato went with the maids.

The place Hayato was taken to was the basement of the Maid Guild headquarters in the Royal Capital.

From Hayato’s knowledge, it was built like a courtroom. And Hayato was quite panicked that he was being made to stand in the defendant’s seat.

(Is this really a trial? It’s probably related to Esha, but I have no memory of anything. She should have gone home in a good mood yesterday.)

Yesterday, after Hayato told her about his dream, Esha had been in a very good mood.

She had even said with a smile as she was leaving, "Let’s win the Clan War and make our dreams come true!" But now, Hayato was in a situation where he had been taken by maids and was about to be put on trial.

For Hayato, it was a situation that made no sense at all.

After a while, several maids came to this place.

A maid in her early thirties wearing glasses moved to the position where a judge would sit and looked at Hayato.

"You are Hayato-sama, correct?"

"Yes. That is correct, but what is all this about?"

"There were a few things we wanted to ask, so we have troubled you to come here. Now then, Hayato-sama. Do you have any idea why you have been called here?"

"No, not in the slightest. I do think it might be related to Esha, but I have no memory of anything at all."

"I see. As you suspect, it is about Esha. Then let me explain the situation."

The maid with glasses seemed to be the Maid Chief, and she introduced herself as the head of this Maid Guild. After that, she began to talk about Esha.

Yesterday, Esha had returned in a good mood and immediately went back to her room.

This Maid Guild had rooms for the maids to live in, and Esha lived there, but a few minutes after she entered that room, a small scream was heard. The maids living in the rooms on either side of her rushed to the front of Esha’s room and knocked on the door, but Esha did not come out.

Then, they faintly heard a voice saying, "My body has been ruined for marriage." After that, Esha is still holed up in her room and has not come out.

That was the story.

The Maid Chief gave Hayato a stern look. It was a glare so powerful that it could make a weak-willed person cringe.

"If you have an excuse, we will hear it."

"There’s a limit to false accusations."

Of course, Hayato had no memory of anything. In fact, he was wondering why he was even being suspected.

"In the first place, why do you think I am involved in Esha’s statement? I think it’s possible that it’s not me."

"Esha has no male friends, let alone female friends. If anyone is related, it is only you, Hayato-sama."

"Please don’t say such cruel things about her. She has friends from her previous clan."

"Hayato-sama, please be honest. We maids of the Maid Guild are very grateful to you. That Esha has been working properly for two months already. We even call you a savior at the Maid Guild."

"Please, really, stop."

"It does not matter if there was a mistake between you and Esha. You are both adults. In fact, we are hoping that you will take responsibility and take Esha in… You understand what I mean, do you not?"

"I understand what you mean, but are you not trying to get rid of a nuisance?"

What the Maid Chief meant. It was about marriage.

This game has a marriage system. If two people declare it at a temple or church, they become a married couple, but that is only between players. Hayato had never heard of a player and an NPC getting married.

If such a thing were possible, this game would turn into a gal game or an otome game, and it would be popular in its own right. The avatars in this game are as realistic as in reality, and the high-performance AI behaves in a way that you could believe there was a person inside.

"Esha is a maid belonging to the Maid Guild, and she is our comrade. Even if we have you take her in, we must properly confirm the circumstances. Also, off the record, we will turn a blind eye to whatever happened."

"Could you please not proceed with the assumption that I am the culprit?"

Hayato had no idea what was going on. In the first place, he couldn’t even guess why Esha had said such a thing. He couldn’t stand being made a culprit for something he didn’t even know if he was involved in.

At this rate, he would be made the culprit and have to take Esha in. With this sense of crisis, Hayato needed to somehow prove his innocence.

It wasn’t that Hayato disliked Esha. He felt that he was being teased, but he was more grateful than that. He believed that he had been able to win the Clan Wars so far because Esha’s strength had helped him.

But taking her in or getting married was out of the question. No matter how you looked at it, it seemed like it would be unnecessarily tiring. Besides, this was an online game. Hayato believed that it was not good to get too involved with NPCs.

"Um, I really don’t understand the situation. First, could you please properly confirm the meaning of Esha’s statement with her? In the first place, it’s not even clear if I’m involved, right?"

"Unfortunately, Esha is holed up in her room and will not come out. She says nothing even when we call out to her. Perhaps you did something to her that she cannot speak of…"

"Objection. Please stop trying to manipulate my image. In that case, I will give you Esha’s favorite food. Let’s use that as bait to lure her out of her room."

"There is a possibility that we can lure Esha out with that. But do you already have the food with you?"

"Yes, well. Esha is always telling me she wants to eat it, so I make it almost every day."

"…Every day?"

"I have been preparing it every day since I hired her. Um, this is it. The highest-quality chocolate parfait. I think she will come out of her room for this, so please."

Another maid received the chocolate parfait that Hayato took out. The maid looked as if she wanted to eat the parfait, but she bowed her head once before taking it away.

"Hayato-sama, I would like to confirm again, was Esha eating that chocolate parfait every day?"

"Huh? Yes, well. I thought she would work properly if I did. For what it’s worth, she has been tending the shop properly. She doesn’t do any cleaning or maid work at all, though."

Basically, there is no such thing as dust, but if you don’t clean, the color of the base and furniture will become dull. This is reflected every week, and if you don’t clean for four weeks, it will become dilapidated. It is common for players who own a base to hire a maid to clean it.

The Maid Chief closed her eyes. She then rubbed the area between her eyebrows with her right index finger. She seemed to be thinking about something, but Hayato had no idea what she was thinking.

After a while, the maid who had taken the parfait earlier returned.

"Maid Chief. We have captured Esha, but for some reason, she is struggling even after seeing the parfait and not eating it. What are your orders?"

"Bring her here."

The maid bowed her head at the Maid Chief’s words. A few minutes later, Esha came, held on both sides by maids. For some reason, Esha was sweating and looked tired.

Esha noticed Hayato.

"Is that not Master. I thought it might be from the moment I saw the highest-quality chocolate parfait, but what are you doing here?"

"Ah, yeah. You’re surprisingly normal. I’m in a very difficult situation, though. Mainly because of you, Esha."

"Esha, I would like to ask you about yesterday."

"Maid Chief? About yesterday?"

For some reason, Esha tilted her head. Hayato also wanted to tilt his head. It seemed that Esha and the maids had different temperatures regarding this matter.

"You returned in a good mood yesterday and then screamed in your room, did you not? There is also a report that a voice saying that your body had been ruined for marriage was heard. And something happened that made you hole up in your room until morning. Is that correct?"

"The soundproofing is not up to par. That is correct, but please rest assured. It is a private matter, so it is not a big deal."

"Esha, we are on your side. Even if the culprit is here, we will definitely protect you, so spit it out."

"Objection. Please stop treating me like the culprit."

Esha glanced at Hayato.

"No, it is a little difficult with Master here. I am a maiden shy of flowers."

"As I said earlier, we are on your side. No matter what was done to you, we will not tell anyone, so rest assured. In fact, we will make him take responsibility no matter what."

"I have nothing but objections."

Esha looked at Hayato again and sighed a little.

(I wish she’d stop acting like I’m the problem. I’m not, right? I didn’t do anything.)

"Then, I will put it simply. I have gained about two kilograms in these two months. It is because the chocolate parfaits that Master makes are so delicious. Please understand that it is not my fault. This is the law of nature."

Silence dominated the place.

It was a situation where whoever moved first would lose, but the Maid Chief opened her mouth.

"Why did you not come out of your room?"

"I was exercising to lose weight. Dieting is out of the question. By the way, it was noisy outside my room from yesterday to today. I thought they found out that I ate the pudding in the shared refrigerator, so I ignored it."

"…This is the first I am hearing of it, but that pudding was mine."

(It’s more strange that you only gained about two kilograms with that amount. And besides, do NPCs gain weight? And she ate the Maid Chief’s pudding on top of all that eating… I just want to say, pick one thing to comment on.)

As Hayato thought this, he decided it was about time to go home. He thought that he was clearly not at fault. Besides, he was scheduled to make a coffin for Mist from now on.

Before he could say that, the Maid Chief opened her mouth.

"Hayato-sama, I would like to hear your opinion, but what should we do to settle this matter peacefully?"

"Even if you pass the buck to me like that. I think it’s too late to the point where nothing can be done. I would also like to ask, but where can I sue and win?"

"Please wait. Then let’s do this. We will lend Esha to you indefinitely. Please work her as hard as you like. Yes, you may have her live-in and work from morning to night."

"No, thank you. And could you please not push her on me?"

"I will just say, do not fight over me."

Even under the murderous gaze of the Maid Chief, Esha did not seem to care. Hayato wished he had that kind of mental fortitude, but then he remembered she was an AI and stopped thinking about it. And Hayato’s heart was filled with the desire to go home.

"Can I go home now? I have to make a coffin from now on."

"Does that mean you are going to put Esha in a coffin? I am thinking that I could help you personally. Of course, not the making part, but the putting in part. In fact, please let me."

"That’s completely wrong. It’s just a request I have. For now, could you please release both me and Esha? I want to go home now. Desperately."

Hayato’s wish was rejected. He was told that he could not go home until he had offered some form of apology.

(I don’t care about an apology anymore, just let me go home.)

Hayato thought this from the bottom of his heart.