Souen no Historia
Story 25 - Shorthanded
Author
十本スイ
Translator
Endo
Edited by
GhostlyEditor
―――――――――――――――――――― I don’t need this power!
That is my only wish. I won’t wish anything but that. That’s
why God ―――――――――― please grant this wish of mine.
To be alone ―――――――――――――――――――― I don’t want it anymore!
The bottom of the cold, dark sea. Different from the shining
surface that sparkled as it baths in sunlight, everything is shrouded in darkness.
No life can be felt here, but that is a mistake. There are
numerous creatures inhabiting the deep sea. Marine animals that could endure
the pressure of the deep sea.
Within them, the Blade Shark with its big jaws and sharp,
blade-like figure was the predator of all living things in the deep sea and
thus is crowned as the King. No matter how big a fish it ate, its appetite only
calmed for a few second for it had unparalleled appetite and ferocity.
And now a strange light was right before the Blade Shark in
this deep sea. There was only one thing it would do when it found its prey. It
straightened its body and swayed left and right to prepare its attack.
It rushed and opened its wide mouth towards the small mass
that was sunk at the bottom of the sea. It advanced at the speed that was
impossible underwater and the mass would enter its mouth in a moment… or so it
thought.
―――――――――――――――――――― BACHIBACHIh!
Despite being under the sea, an electrical discharge
phenomenon was generated from the mass. It was a faint light that looked like
very weak static electricity.
It moved straight and contacted the Blade Shark’s body.
However, the Blade Shark didn’t notice it as it was just like a mosquito bite
and it kept advancing, but at the moment its wide mouth was about to touch the
mass――――――――――
―――――――――――――――――――― PIKIiiih!
The Blade Shark, with its mouth wide open, suddenly hardened
like a stone. It was not a metaphor. It literally hardened. Even its sturdy
body was changed into rock and rolled into the bottom of the sea.
The small mass rustled and a face appeared out of it. It
seemed the body had been completely wrapped in seaweed.
“Uh~ I am sorry… but to be attacked all of a sudden is
something beyond me.”
The young face distorted in sadness. Her face was just like
that of a ten year old girl. Skin that was as if it was transparent with pure,
innocent eyes. The yellow-green hair was styled into short cut, but it was
swaying in the sea.
In addition, her clothes had shells attached to it and she
wore a transparent beautiful raiment on her head that moved and swayed like
waves.
“This is the third time today….”
If one looked carefully, in a location slightly away from
the girl lay fish that similarly had turned into stones.
Tears flowed as the girl gazed towards the surface of the
water.
She reminisced for a while, and a curiosity sprang inside
her.
“I wonder … can the land cure this…?”
She lost her friends and family because of her condition.
She recalled that she must not let anyone come close to her because she didn’t
want to experience it again.
Without approaching anyone … no one would be hurt if she was
always alone. No one would like the Blade Shark from before the girl believed.
Even so, she was still a child after all. The loneliness had
broken her heart. When she thought the sea was not the place where she belongs
to, she had a slight hope that there’d be a place for her on the land, an
inevitable wish.
As if manipulated by something, the girl swam towards the
surface. She desperately stretched out her hands as if trying to grasp
something and her body was launched towards the light.
Souji Alkasha was a reincarnated person. Originally, he was Japanese
and lived by the name Asakura Souji, but he noticed a female student about to
fall off a roof as he was walking up the stairs. As he tried to save her, they
both fell off. Next thing he knew, he had already been reborn as a baby in this
world, named Orb.
Inside this fantasy world where magic and races other than
human exist, Souji became the butler that he had always yearned to be and the
joyous fact that he was capable of using magic made it so that his life has
been smooth sailing since then on.
However he shrunk back as the duty of a butler was far more
than what he thought when he was in Japan.
“Haa, I will be able to deal with the things here after I
hand over this document to Ojou-sama. Furthermore,
this…”
With such a mood,
Souji frantically arranged the mountain of documents, but this was not originally
a duty for a butler. No, even if it was a butler’s, it was not something
to be done alone.
“U~n, as expected I can’t finish it alone.”
Naturally, Souji’s jobs wasn’t not only this one, there were
also taking care the personal needs of the current master, Yoyo Yatsugi
Crowtail, and her requests, and confirming the employees’ jobs and calculating
their wages. Furthermore, it would make one faint to think about if the
housework, work on kitchen garden, etc. were also included.
Though he somehow makes it through with the maids’ help,
there were some that always dragged on to the next day. Actually, recently the
obstacle became harder to overcome because several maids had resigned due to family
circumstances.
As was expected, Ninthe and even his mother, Kaina, who’s
usually lazing around, were also busy.
“Should I hire capable people or educate the current
employees… u~n.”
Souji basically wanted to focus on housework and serving
Yoyo. If possible he wanted to let the maids take care of the other
things, but that was truly inefficient as in fact some things might be misplaced,
and in addition Souji would be more certain if he did it himself.
If so, should he hire specialists that could do the jobs, or
should he educated the current employees? But time would be necessary for the
education and Souji didn’t have time to spare during such a busy period.
Besides, it was necessary to be patient for those to finish
with the education. Then, there was only
one answer.
“Hiring capable
people, is it? I should ask Ojou-sama for permission.”
Souji, crack crack,
moved his shoulders and went out of his room. His destination was Yoyo’s room.
When he met Yoyo, he explained the present situation and the
proposal that he just thought of.
“I see, you certainly will die due to overworking if this
keeps up.”
“Haha, please don’t laugh at that, Yoyo-ojousama.”
“Fufu, I know. Well then, let’s issue an official notice.
Offer suitable salary for the competent ones, and I don’t mind if they live
here because there are empty rooms.”
“Certainly.”
Souji made recruitment leaflets and distributed them into
the town that same day. The details for recruitment were that they were looking
for people good in accounting or gardening.
The recruitment of accountants was especially urgent, at the
very least two people were needed.
There was also the case where several maids had left so it
would be hitting two birds with one stone if they also have the ability to do
maid work, but he didn’t really expect it.
Besides, Kaina had worked reliably due to the situation, so
Souji thought it was fine as it is.
Having finished distributing the leaflets, the results were
known the next day. And a considerable number of people came to the mansion for
interviews.
The interviewers were Yoyo, Souji, and somehow Kaina got
included. At the time she asked whether she was trying to slack off again,
Kaina exclaimed an odd motivation as she said, “It is unbelievable if I am not
participating in such an amusing event!”
Because he also wanted to judge their ability as maids, he decided
to allow Kaina who was the head maid to take a seat. The drawing room was used,
and the interview would be done one by one.
“Well then, please enter.”
The one who entered the room was a tanned man in his late 30’s.
With his head wrapped in a bandana, along with a running shirt and short pants,
his appearance was quite rough for someone coming for an interview.
Though the clothes weren’t specified, the excessively casual
man made them smile bitterly.
“Th-Then, please introduce yourself.”
With Souji urging him, the man smiled with his white teeth
shown and,
“I am Demick Lannerway! You can understand my specialty just
by looking, right?”
Though Souji could see what he suggested,
“No, I don’t understand, so what is it?”
“How rude. Can you still not understand after seeing these
bursting muscles?”
He boasted while his log-like arm that wore muscular armor
twitched.
“... do you want to be a gardener?”
“No, the accountant.”
“The heck is that! Ah,
s-sorry….”
He unintentionally forgot himself and became the straight
man. After all, gardeners needed physical strength as they worked even in a hot
day. Furthermore, gardening was not only that, it was written in the leaflets
that the work including the farming, so physical labor was a necessity.
That was why Souji judged that those muscles would help as a
gardener.
“Buhahaha! That’s a good one; you play the straight man well!
Don’t worry, I wish to be the gardener!”
“... excuse me, but do you understand that this is an
interview?”
“Hah? Isn’t that an of course? I came here for that after
all.”
Then don’t make fun of
the interviewer! Although he wanted to shout that out loud, he only let out
a cough.
“Then you want to be the gardener and of course you have
experience for it, right?”
“Aa, even like this, I have appeared in Gardening Fiesta.”
“Hee, did you mean the tournament to decide the number one
gardener that’s held once a year in the central continent?”
Central continent a.k.a. Ougon was the location of the
palace where the Emperor lived, and a lot of tournaments were held there every
year. One of them was the Gardening Fiesta.
Famous gardeners from all over the world gathered and
competed with their abilities. And the winner was given a chance to be employed
as the palace gardener.
“That event certainly only has around 100 participant. Isn’t
that mean you have quite the ability to be chosen as one of the 100?”
“Buhaha! No need for the praise! It makes me embarrassed!
Ah, but, regrettably I didn’t win the tournament, you know?”
“I can tell. After all, the winner can work in the palace,
so there’s no way the winner would purposely come to the East continent just to
serve in a humble noble’s mansion.”
“Ara, Souji, sorry that it’s just a humble mansion.”
Though she wasn’t angry, Souji straightened his back due to his
verbal slipup.
“Please pardon me, Yoyo-ojousama.”
“Fufu, it is okay. Anyway, why do you want to work here?”
“Ah? That is of course because I liked the garden when I
took a glance at it, you know?”
“That so, then you are hired.”
“Wa-, Ojou-sama!?”
He could not help but to be surprised. Though he also
thought of hiring him, he was aghast because Yoyo decided that just after a few
minutes of conversation.
Frankly, the only reason he could think of for hiring him
was that he appeared in the Gardening Fiesta. However, he still didn’t know
whether that was the truth.
Simply put, there’s also the possibility she was just
jumping the gun by hiring him. He certainly looked capable, but Souji still thought
it was too much to promptly decide to hire him.
Not only Souji, Demick had similar thoughts and became slack
jawed.
“Is something the matter, Souji?”
“W-Well, if I am allowed to speak. Even if he is said to be
hired, he is still the first interviewee. Isn’t there’s the possibility that
there are other more capable people?”
“Ara, if so then it won’t be a problem to hire them too.”
“Uh… though that is correct, but…”
“... do you want to hear why I made a prompt decision?”
“C-Certainly.”
The others also wanted to hear it. Yoyo, with her beautiful
smile, started to speak.
“It is because he said he likes the garden.”
“... come again?”
“I questioned him. About the reason he chose this mansion.
And he said he liked the garden after he glanced at it. That’s why I decided to
hire him. Understand now?”
Silence covered the
room. Apparently, rather than his capability, her passing criterion was if he
liked the garden.
Though he wanted to say a lot of things in response, Yoyo
was the master of this mansion, so he gave up as he thought it was futile to
object to her decision.
“I understand. Then Demick-san, please ask the maids about
the details of your work.”
“Eh, ah, that’s, is it really okay to hire me? Of course I
am happy. But as expected, I never thought it can be decided easily like this.”
“The answer is yes, so work hard. After all you will
immediately be dismissed if you work half-heartedly.”
After receiving Yoyo’s words, Demick scratched his uniform
short haired head and grinned.
“Okay then, little miss! I will take care of the garden so that
it will be the best no matter who sees it.”
“Fufu, I will expect that. Ah, also because you are going to
work for me, bear in mind to use honorifics when you speak even if it is a
clumsy one, especially when you are in public.”
“‘nstood! Ah, no, I understand, Master!”
He gave a thumbs-up in acknowledgement, and then was lead out
of the room by a maid.
