The Reincarnated Transcendent Wants to Fill the Hole in Their Chest - Episode 11: Maid Outfit

Episode 11: Maid Outfit

――A corner of the mountain a few kilometers away from the city of Silménia.

A cave existed in a spot hidden by trees. It was invisible from both the ground and the sky.

Before the miasma contamination began, only an old lumberjack occasionally used this small cave.

Deep in the mountains where hardly anyone knew about it, a place where people rarely came. Like a hideout.

In such a place――

“――GRU……”

――Right now, a single Dragon was there.

A Dragon with distinctive green scales. A lower-grade Wind Dragon. One of the strongest species, reigning at the top of all monsters, and ruler of the skies.

……The one that escaped from Adept Konoe.

One of the two Dragons that attacked the city of Silménia, the other half of the pair, was here.

“…………”

The Dragon lay in a small open area in front of the cave.

Though it was a monster that normally flew freely across the skies, it barely moved and didn’t roar. It just lay there.

Lying still, constantly watching the same spot.

So as not to be noticed, but also not to miss anything.

Suppressing its presence, curling its body, and peering through the gaps in the trees.

……The Dragon erased its presence so Konoe wouldn’t sense it. And it simply watched the city.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

――Three days into the sleepless seven-day period.

In other words, the tenth day since arriving in Silménia.

On that morning, Konoe stood by the window in the room he was given. He was looking up at the sky.

What spread out before him was a pale purple sky.

Not the usual blue. A sky mixed with miasma.

Seeing that sky, Konoe thought――

(Is the color… fading?)

So he thought. It was a deeper purple ten days ago.

That meant the miasma concentration in the air had decreased.

It showed that no new miasma was leaking from the dungeon.

――Which in turn meant that the high-ranking noble overseeing this area was doing a good job.

In this world, dungeons begin to overflow by producing a miasma core.

Once a dungeon overflows, it produces miasma and monsters, contaminating the surface.

The overflow doesn’t end until the miasma core is destroyed.

That’s why people desperately search for the core and try to destroy it as quickly as possible.

However, the real issue lies in the dungeon’s vastness.

The interior is wide and three-dimensionally structured. Finding a single miasma core in it is extremely difficult.

In other words, it takes time. It won’t be found in a day or two.

If they wait, by the time the core is destroyed, the damage will already be widespread.

Therefore, to reduce the damage from the plague and monsters, they must first seal the dungeon entrance as soon as it opens.

Typically, this sealing is done using a special magic barrier known as a “sealing barrier.”

And the one responsible for arranging it is the high-ranking noble governing the region.

――So, Konoe figured the noble here must be doing things properly.

(The current miasma level… is probably about half?)

Miasma leaked from the dungeon, if left without additions, would gradually dilute into the air.

After ten days, its concentration had become much thinner than at the beginning.

As for how toxic it was now, while still harmful the onset of the plague could mostly be suppressed with preventive medicine.

……Yes, *mostly*.

*Mostly* could be suppressed. Which meant――

“――Adept-sama.”

“……”

“This morning, there were thirteen new plague cases. Please, we request your healing.”

“……Ah.”

That meant the possibility wasn’t zero.

So Konoe, once or twice a day, would be called upon by knights to heal those infected by the plague.

There was no such thing as immunity to the plague.

As long as one was exposed to miasma, it could strike again and again.

That’s just how it worked.

――Therefore, Konoe’s current main tasks were: staying in the city to treat recurring plague cases and eliminating high-level monsters the knights couldn’t handle.

◆

Well, it’s just like a cleanup round now, Konoe thought.

The hardest part was over. All that was left was to continue treating the plague and subduing monsters until the 30-day contract ended.

The miasma level dropped day by day. And the number of patients was decreasing.

Since the dungeon was sealed, the monster population wouldn’t suddenly spike either.

Surely, the search for the miasma core inside the dungeon was progressing.

A specialist Adept whom Konoe knew from the academy had likely been dispatched.

By the contract’s end, there was a good chance the core would be found.

The only lingering concern was the whereabouts of the remaining Wind Dragon,

But if the city’s restoration progressed, they could deal with that too…

The people of this world were not weak enough to be helplessly trampled by monsters.

And if the Dragon attacked before then, Konoe could just defeat it.

That was all there was to it.

In short, Konoe’s work in this city was basically finished.

“……”

……And so, Konoe’s mind started drifting away from work.

And where did it drift? To something very close by.

“――Konoe-sama, I’ve brought you some tea.”

“……Ah.”

Konoe glanced to the side.

There stood Ternelica.

An elven girl. The daughter of the city’s lord. Konoe’s employer.

For some reason, she was wearing a frilly outfit and serving him tea.

……Yes, for some reason, she was wearing a maid outfit.

A long, classic-style one.

“……”

From what he had heard, maid outfits themselves were apparently spread by Earthlings.

It had been decades since Earthlings were summoned for their technology.

Their culture and technology had seeped into this world in various forms: cooking, fashion, traditions, and more.

Maid outfits were among them.

Praised for their design and uniformity, and now spreading globally thanks to advancements in mass production.

Also, machine-woven fine fabrics had become more expensive than handmade ones,

But nobles only wore clothes made from magical fibers,

So such fabrics ended up being used for the clothes of noble servants.

Konoe had overheard such things at the academy.

His personal impression:

Maid outfits had too many frills and didn’t seem suited for mass production,

But probably someone, somewhere, had poured their passion into it.

That’s likely how it ended up like this――

“……”

――Anyway, Ternelica was wearing a maid outfit.

The reason wasn’t clear.

When he asked once, she had replied:

‘Because I will be taking care of you, Konoe-sama!’

Even if she was taking care of him, did she really have to wear a maid outfit?

Was it necessary for *her*, the daughter of a noble, to take care of Konoe?

Weren’t there other servants?

In the first place, Konoe could take care of himself.

He didn’t need an attendant――

……Despite these many questions,

Ternelica remained by his side in a maid outfit like it was the most natural thing in the world. And Konoe had been thoroughly steamrolled.

Unless a situation required logical decisions like in combat,

And as long as there was no clear malice or actual harm,

Konoe was, by nature, weak to pressure.

“……”

“……Konoe-sama? Is something wrong?”

“……No.”

While lost in thought, Ternelica tilted her head and asked.

Smiling brightly, she looked straight at Konoe. And he instinctively looked away.

“If you have any requests, please tell me, okay?”

“……Yeah.”

“I’ll do anything for you, Konoe-sama!”

“……”

“I really mean *anything*!” 

Konoe, in his heart, thought:

(Hey now, that’s not something to say so casually.)

A young girl shouldn’t say that to a man.

Especially a noble’s daughter. She should act with more caution, he thought.

Particularly when Konoe, in terms of appearance and physical body, looked to be in his early twenties—thanks to life magic.

What if he misunderstood her words?

Of course, Konoe wouldn’t do anything like that, but――

“………………”

――He wouldn’t, but still. It was troubling.

An elven girl. A beautiful girl unlike anything seen on Earth.

A bright smile. A maid outfit.

None of that had ever existed in Konoe’s life before.

Precisely because he never had it, he didn’t understand it.

And because he didn’t understand it, he was confused.

It made him want to run.

But she was supposedly his attendant. So she was always nearby.

Actually, even having someone constantly by his side was a first for Konoe――

“………………………………”

……So, for the past few days,

Konoe had secretly been dealing with a whole lot of silent distress.