Cleaning Up

"This way."

I followed Anatia-sama's lead through the castle.

We were in the area with the royal family's private chambers, so there were no soldiers in sight.

Right now, the royals were all women, even counting Anatia-sama, a duke's daughter and blood relative. Men couldn't easily set foot in here.

The fact that Master was casually invited to these rooms was anything but normal.

It wasn't a romantic rendezvous but a work visit, so I wasn't concerned as his slave. But the way Anatia-sama looked at Master sometimes was suspicious.

It was a lingering gaze. The kind with a woman's interest behind it.

Something to keep an eye on.

Otherwise, the only people around were maids bustling about.

They were likely the recently hired ones.

They looked busy, so I simply nodded in greeting as we passed.

"They're doing their very best. Once they get used to the work, I think they'll be every bit as good as experienced maids. I had my doubts at first, but it's worked out thanks to Yohane-san's suggestion."

"I see."

That came out a bit curt.

As the leader, ignoring Anatia-sama's words wasn't an option, so I knew I should say something, but I couldn't come up with a clever response on the spot.

When it came to combat, I could think of endless options. But this kind of thing was truly my weak point.

Anatia-sama didn't seem to mind. And when something was really off, Elza-san or Alexia-san would let me know, so it was fine… probably.

We moved into an area I'd never seen before.

This was apparently Anatia-sama's domain. I'd been to her personal chambers, but I'd never entered any of the other rooms.

"This is the music room. Though it seems like it hasn't seen much use."

"I see…"

The door swung open with the turn of a key, revealing a spacious room. The structure was different from the others. The walls were noticeably thick, too. It seemed to be soundproofed, built so you could play instruments inside without issue.

However, it was coated in dust.

The windows were filthy, and the air was thick with it.

"Cough."

Orleans-chan covered her mouth and coughed.

This was not what anyone would call a clean space.

Finn-chan already had the look of someone who'd given up. She was visibly deflated.

She hadn't been enthusiastic to begin with, so that was understandable.

On top of that, she was quite particular about cleanliness.

Her room was always spotless, everything neatly organized.

She might actually be the most put-together of all of us.

"Looks like we'll need to clean first. We were short on hands, so it kept getting pushed back."

"We're starting from that…? Off to a rough start already."

"Sorry about that. But the instruments are fine! Go ahead into the storage room."

There was a room in the back.

It was smaller, meant for storing instruments.

Cases were lined up in rows, along with various other items.

True to Anatia-sama's word, the instruments had been maintained. Not a speck of dust on any of them.

"I want to decide who plays what, but to do that we'd need to try things out, which means moving instruments into the music room…"

"So cleaning comes first."

"I'm the one who asked for this, so I'll help. More hands means we'll finish faster, right? My maids are all out at the moment, so it really will just be me, though."

Anatia-sama looked at us apologetically.

There was grace even in her charming gestures.

Enough to make even me, another woman, feel a little flustered.

… Was it because of her upbringing? Maybe having a proper education made even your mannerisms different.

"We couldn't possibly make you do that, Anatia-sama."

I stopped her for the time being.

She was Master's client, after all. This was the right call.

"Why not? She said she wants to. Besides, it was that young lady's selfi—"

I caught on to what Finn-chan was about to say and quickly clamped my hand over her mouth.

She really did have a sharp tongue. It was better than when we first met, at least.

"Let go, Azu. Geez. I was just stating facts."

"Even so."

"Ahaha. You've all helped me so much. When we're not in an official setting, feel free to be more casual with me."

"That might be fine for Master, but it would be presumptuous of me. Anyway, if cleaning needs doing, let's get it done quickly. If you'd like to help, Anatia-sama, could you fetch water and rags for us?"

"Okay! Leave it to me. The cleaning supplies are over there."

Since there was no helping it, I gave her a task that wouldn't get her dirty, and she accepted it happily.

She really was approachable for a noblewoman.

We split up to tackle the music room.

I cleaned my own room regularly, but I'd never dealt with a space this large.

"Let's start from the top. Alexia-chan, think your wind magic could clean the ceiling?"

"Elza… magic isn't that convenient. Controlling the intensity is tricky. Don't you have some miracle for cleaning?"

"Afraid not."

"Figured. Okay, everyone out of the room."

Alexia-san pointed her right hand at the ceiling.

She activated her spell carefully, with deliberate precision.

Wind swept through the room, moving across the entire ceiling.

The accumulated dust billowed up, filling the room with a gray haze. Definitely not good for the lungs.

I spread a handkerchief over my mouth like a mask.

Orleans-chan, similarly equipped with a handkerchief mask, charged into the room with gusto.

She had a tendency to see this kind of work as her chance to shine.

I wasn't about to lose to her.

Orleans-chan and I swept the dust into piles with brooms.

Elza-san and Finn-chan cleaned the windows, while Alexia-san gathered the airborne dust with wind and tossed it outside.

Finn-chan was nimble enough to go outside and clean the windows from the exterior.

I considered myself agile too, but I couldn't do something like that without a safety line.

"Amazing, it's getting cleaner by the minute. You're all incredible…"

Anatia-sama had returned.

She gripped the handle of a bucket filled with water and rags with both hands.

We attacked the floor with the wet rags, and the grimy buildup came off satisfyingly.

The rags turned black almost immediately, though. This was going to take a while.