"Demon of the Ministry of Accounting"—
—such was the nickname invented by maids that had worked with him before.
Usually, cleaning maids didn"t work for any person in particular, with the exception being the knights.
The one that made cleaning maids cry because of his extreme need of cleanliness was none other than said government officer—whom I thought was excellent.
That was the origin of said nickname.
"This is the first I"ve ever heard of that… besides, I only learned his name today."
"Well, isn"t that because Tina goes on a lot of night shifts? That"s why you miss such juicy gossip!"
Not only sympathizing with me, Riona also kindly gave me her dessert.
"How long do you have work together with Mr. Dunkel?"
"For two weeks, until the Star Festival."
"Wow… and alone, too. I never knew the Head Maid was such a demon."
In fact, the Head Maid had the least involvement in this, but I couldn"t tell them that. Thus, I could only laugh to gloss over the truth.
…I"m sorry, everyone.
"Tina, I"ll tell you a neat trick when dealing with him—"
"Think of him as a figurine, and focus on getting rid of dust—otherwise, if you meet his eyes, you"ll be turned into stone."
Sylvie also gently pushed her dessert to me.
—I wasn"t sure if that was advice or not.
"Are you sleepwalking?"
"No, I"m sure I"m awake…"
"Then your eyes may not have been opened properly. If you don"t broaden your horizon a little more, you"ll be no different than a blind person. Expand your vision—and see, that there"s still some dust left."
He pointed at a spot.
That was how I found a grain of rice on top of the floor that should be perfectly clean.
I wasn"t sure how he noticed. He was so focused on examining those doc.u.ments until just a while ago…
Exactly as the two men and the two cleaning maids had said, Mr. Dunkel was really roundabout when pointing things out.
"Tina."
Think of him as a figurine—
—while I"m the "Dust Hunter", I hunt for dust!!! I won"t let any get past me again!!!
"Oi, Tina!"
"Huh, yes?"
"Are you alright? There"s going to be a meeting with the Captain, so come with me."
It turned out Vice-Captain Dortmund had been calling me for a while. He was standing by the door, looking amazed. Outside was Captain Ranbic, who looked worried. While Mr. Dunkel snorted, scoffing at my absence of mind.
—he"s really annoying, after all!!
"Ms. Walter, I"m sorry for this sudden, late night meeting."
"Don"t worry. I know you"re just doing your job."
It had been three days since I started working with the Accounting Devil.
On the first day, I was baffled.
On the second day, my anger was almost unbearable.
On the third day, I was completely exhausted.
Still, other knights and maids that sympathized with me gave me the motivation to do my best—and also, sweets.
Above all, when Mr. Dunkel was being too mean, Captain Ranbic would always be there to politely tell him off.
However, I was still annoyed. The fact that I had to accompany him again after this only added more to it.
"This is already far enough, you should go back…"
"That"s no good, you know. We"ve come this far, already. The ghost hasn"t appeared anymore."
As usual, Captain Ranbic was apologetic. However, I was a little happy by this, because I got the chance to talk with him more—ugh, stay professional, Tina!
"Mr. Dunkel is excellent at his job, however, sometimes, his words are just…"
…ah, his eyebrows are creating that ハ shape again.
He has been showing me this expression a lot, lately…
Thus, I added.
"It would be a lie if I said I like him, however…"
I, whom was the cleaning maid, had born witness to his competency.
The stacks of doc.u.ments inside the Captain"s office had lessened significantly, and it was all thanks to Mr. Dunkel.
"One week and four days until the Star Festival. I"ll work hard!"
To be honest, recently, cleaning was a lot more fun because that was also my chance to deepen my relationship with the Knight Leader.
I was a cleaning maid.
This was my main duty.
I shall give my all.
The grudge I bore towards Mr. Dunkel, I would settle it someday.
It might not be possible, but, at the very least, I didn"t want him to scoff at me anymore. I was determined to make sure of that and clenched my fist.
…however, the determination that should had stayed in my heart spilled into reality.
I noticed that Captain Ranbic was gaping at me.
…how embarra.s.sing.
When I blushed and lowered my face, laughter erupted in front of me.
"You"re so pa.s.sionate. I"ll do all I can to support your cause." He said so and patted my head gently.
A cool and broad palm. It was coa.r.s.e due to always handling sword. The feeling of said hand, which was st.u.r.dier than mine, made my heart leap with joy.
"Huh?"
"Eh?"
Forgetting my red face, I lifted my face. Captain Ranbic, with his eye widened, looked serious this time.
"Ms. Walter…"
"Yes?"
"Do you have a fever? It feels hot when I touch you."
"Eh… no?"
"Perhaps, it"s different from a fever"—he muttered so, before saying "good night" and parting with me.
The next morning.
"Is it because I overworked…?"
I realized that I was the one who misunderstood—I was indeed feverish.
***T/N: O No. Captain EyeCandy will be a prime, soft target yet again!!
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