2.
Thud, thud, thud—!
My eyes snapped open at the sound of knocking.
“…What the hell.”
I drew back the curtains with a blank face and looked out the window, but it was nothing more than a dark alley.
The sun hadn’t even properly risen yet.
It was an hour where the word ‘dawn’ fit better than ‘morning’.
…A dream?
Thud, thud, thud—!
Ah, not a dream.
I sighed and sat up.
It wasn’t like I’d hit the jackpot just because I took my first customer yesterday; just who in the world was banging on someone’s door at this hour?
I found out the answer the moment I went downstairs and opened the door.
“Good morning, sir!”
Mari, smiling brightly.
And beside her was a woman I was seeing for the first time.
My eyes met hers; she was wearing a maid uniform almost identical to Mari’s.
In that instant, the corners of her mouth dropped sharply. How should I put it… a reaction similar to when Mari first saw me?
No, maybe it was closer to the looks pedestrians gave when a snake oil salesman shouted his pitch.
“This person is…?”
“It’s Rije!”
Mari introduced her with a wide smile.
“I told you yesterday, remember? That there’s a sensitive girl these days. She’s my friend!”
Ah.
That friend she’d mentioned yesterday.
I nodded and looked at Rije.
Rije flinched slightly under my gaze, then reluctantly opened her mouth.
“Hello. I’m Rije.”
Annoyance. Displeasure.
Half of it seemed like emotion directed at Mari, who was fussing beside her, but at least the displeasure was definitely aimed at me.
…What the hell did she tell her to make her react like that?
Mari poked Rije in the side.
“Why are you so stiff? I told you it’s fine.”
“Don’t tell me you got scammed by some weird con artist…”
“It’s not a scam!”
Mari bristled.
“Just one session and your shoulders don’t hurt, your head doesn’t hurt—!”
“Yeah, yeah. Shoulders don’t hurt, head doesn’t hurt, the world looks beautiful, and you feel glad to be alive. I heard that over a hundred times yesterday.”
“It wasn’t a hundred times!”
I could more or less guess the situation.
Mari remembered yesterday’s events as nothing more than counseling. The absurd effect of her body loosening up after just one session.
So she’d been excited and chattering all day even after going home.
To Rije, who was right beside her making a fed-up face.
But even so, a hundred times is a bit much.
Mari.
Are your parents parrots or something?
There was no reason to keep a customer standing outside, so I stepped aside.
“Come in for now.”
I ushered the two inside and pointed toward the sofa.
Rije’s face remained suspicious until the end, but she sat down anyway.
And as if it were only natural, Mari plopped down beside her.
No way. Not you.
I smiled as naturally as I could and spoke as if it had been a rule from the start.
“Counseling is conducted one-on-one.”
“Huh?”
Mari’s eyes went wide.
“Why?”
Why do you think?
I can’t exactly have you watch while I put your friend to sleep and massage her.
“This is a place for personal matters. If someone else is beside you, you might not be able to speak comfortably.”
Even I thought it sounded pretty plausible.
Perhaps thinking the same thing, Rije gave a small nod.
“That makes sense.”
“Miss Mari, would you wait outside for a moment?”
Mari pouted in disappointment.
“Hmm… I’d be fine staying, though.”
“You can’t.”
“Why are you so firm…”
“It’s the office policy.”
Mari stood up, looking quite disappointed.
“Okay! Then I’ll wait outside.”
“Yes, please wait a moment.”
Mari, heading toward the door, added one last thing.
“Rije, don’t be too nervous. It’s really good.”
“Just go already.”
Only then did Mari go outside.
Rije stared at the closed door for a moment and let out a small sigh.
“…She’s way too excited.”
“I can tell.”
“Ever since she got home yesterday, all she’s done is talk about you, sir.”
That’s both touching and a little terrifying.
I smiled and gestured.
“It’s fine. Please, speak comfortably.”
***
The counseling content was within the expected range.
Tired.
Too much work.
Not enough sleep.
Headache.
Stiff shoulders.
It seemed the lives of maids in noble households were all the same.
Just like with Mari, I nodded at appropriate intervals, throwing in “I see” and “That must have been hard.”
Then Rije’s voice, which had been stiff at first, began to loosen up bit by bit.
This should be about right.
“Miss Rije.”
“Yes?”
“Could you close your eyes for a moment?”
“You must be planning something.”
“It’s a process to relieve tension.”
Rije still looked doubtful, but she closed her eyes as I told her.
I carefully placed my fingertips on the back of her hand.
Her breathing slowed.
Her shoulders gradually spread apart.
Her head tilted slightly.
After a few deep breaths, Rije quickly fell asleep.
[Specialty: Hypnosis has been activated.]
Good.
Success again this time.
With familiar movements, I worked through her shoulders, the back of her neck, and the knotted parts of her back one by one.
“Mmn…”
Even while asleep, Rije’s body was tense at first, but after a few more presses, she quickly relaxed with a shallow moan.
Fifteen minutes later.
“Miss Rije.”
“…Mmm.”
“The session is over.”
Rije slowly opened her eyes.
Her hazy pupils regained focus, and soon she cautiously touched her own shoulder.
“It… doesn’t hurt. My shoulder, and my head.”
She froze with a blank face for a moment, then muttered with a serious expression.
“I thought Mari was just making a fuss, but it was real. Just as you said, sir, relaxing and letting go of the tension…”
She said things I’d never told her as if she had truly heard them, then took a coin from her pocket and placed it on the table.
“The first session is free, though.”
“I can’t not pay after this.”
Rije spoke firmly.
“…And because it’s free, it seems even more suspicious, so from now on, charge money from the start.”
After she finished speaking, she walked toward the door, then stopped briefly.
“I should tell my sister to come too.”
Then she turned to me slightly and bowed her head.
“…I think coming here today was a good idea.”
***
Around noon the next day.
Jingle—
The bell rang clearly as the door opened.
I looked up instinctively and blinked once at the silhouette filling the doorway.
A tall figure who looked a whole head taller than Mari or Rije.
Her perfectly tailored maid uniform was without a single wrinkle, and her steps as she entered held no hesitation.
“I am Helen.”
She bowed her head lightly.
“I work as the head maid at Count Levantia’s household.”
It was a plain introduction.
However, when she uttered that last title, her shoulders straightened ever so slightly.
As if she were proud of the position she held.
Count Levantia’s household. Head maid.
She seemed to think this alone was explanation enough, but…
‘I have no idea who that is.’
Well, it didn’t matter. What I had to do wouldn’t change no matter who the other person was.
“Please, sit.”
Even as Helen sat before me, she didn’t let her posture falter.
Her back was straight, her gaze stable, her hands neatly atop her knees.
At a glance, you could tell she was a thorough, strict person.
“My sister kept insisting.”
Helen spoke calmly while I observed her.
“She’s not one to exaggerate usually… but she was making such an unusual fuss this time that I came to check for myself.”
“Is your sister’s name Rije, by any chance?”
“Yes. That’s correct.”
Helen nodded and began to talk without me prompting her.
If the young maids made mistakes, the responsibility ultimately fell on her.
The count’s daughter had a packed schedule, and during periods with many social events, preparations had to be managed until dawn.
“I believe I have a knack for enduring, but it has been quite hard lately.”
Helen said that, furrowing her brow.
“I am always tired. But I cannot show it. If I falter, the children below me will falter too.”
A situation of being swamped with work like Mari or Rije, but with greater burdens commensurate with her higher position. She didn’t say more than that, but I could guess to some extent.
“I understand completely.”
I nodded.
“Would you close your eyes for a moment?”
Helen looked at me for a moment.
It was a gaze closer to appraisal than suspicion.
Soon, she quietly closed her eyes.
“Yes. I shall listen.”
As my fingertips touched her, her breathing slowed.
The tension in her stiff nape released, and her taut shoulders lowered bit by bit.
[Specialty: Hypnosis has been activated.]
It worked on her too, as expected.
With familiar movements, I pressed her shoulders and focused on loosening her neck and upper back.
Even while asleep, Helen’s body didn’t easily relax at first, perhaps due to the lingering habit of maintaining her posture.
‘Responsibility can become a frightening habit.’
After pressing down firmly a few more times, the tension in her upper body finally melted away.
“Hah…”
In that instant, her chest, far more ample than Mari’s, swayed heavily.
I needlessly averted my eyes and focused again on loosening her shoulder muscles.
After massaging her like that for about 15 minutes,
“Miss Helen.”
“……”
“The session is over.”
Helen slowly opened her eyes.
The moment she opened them, she corrected her posture.
“It is exactly as you said, sir. There was definitely a problem with my mindset.”
“…What do you mean?”
The same result as always.
She couldn’t remember what had happened after she fell asleep and was inserting counseling content as the reason for feeling refreshed.
“As you said, simply enduring is not always the answer. Sometimes delegating to others is less burdensome.”
She spoke calmly but looked quite surprised.
And with good reason—she was diligently rotating her shoulders while trying not to show how light they felt.
I spoke with a smile.
“I’m glad it helped.”
Helen looked at me for a moment, then placed the consultation fee on the table.
One silver coin.
A significantly larger amount than the copper coins Mari or Rije had handed over.
Helen, standing by the door, let out a hollow laugh.
“Really, that Rije.”
“Hmm?”
“She should have recommended you more strongly if it was this good.”
Helen smiled softly.
“I shall return soon, sir.”
Jingle.
The door closed.
Left alone in the counseling office, I looked down at the money that had just come in and muttered softly.
“Is this really going to work?”
***
Things moved quickly after that.
A few more days passed, and now it had gotten to the point where people might show up even before I opened the door in the morning.
“I was introduced by Mari.”
“Mari recommended me too…”
“Mari told me to come if my shoulders hurt—”
They say word travels a thousand li even without legs.
But since Mari has legs, her effectiveness is truly undeniable.
More customers was a good thing.
But my counseling structure actually relied heavily on my specialty, hypnosis.
[Limit: 3 times per day / 15 minutes per session.]
The 15 minutes wasn’t the problem. As long as I could produce an effect within those 15 minutes, everything was fine.
The real problem was the limitation of three times per day.
A situation where once I took exactly three customers, there was nothing after that.
Of course, I could just do counseling.
But then I couldn’t give the customers the unbelievable refreshment they expected from ‘just counseling.’
In the end, I had no choice but to send them away to come back the next day, but because of this, strange rumors began to spread.
They say he doesn’t just take anyone.
They say you have to be lucky.
They say it’s a truly mystical place that chooses its customers.
No, it’s just because of the session limit.
Anyway, once such rumors began circulating, the maids flocked even faster, and the result was the current situation.
“I got here first, didn’t I?”
“No, the line started from here!”
“I’m a maid from the Duke’s household!”
“So what!”
Since morning, the area in front of the counseling office had turned into a marketplace.
I pressed my palm to my forehead from inside the door.
“…What am I going to do about this.”
Should I implement a reservation system?
Or a numbered ticket system?
But would the concept of numbered tickets even work in this world?
After worrying, I went outside for now.
“Excuse me. Let’s get the line sorted out first—”
That was when.
The sound of carriage wheels stopping at the alley entrance rang out.
Clunk.
Followed by the sound of a door opening.
The chattering maids fell silent one by one.
I turned my head reflexively.
A luxurious carriage was stopped at the alley entrance.
Soon, the carriage door opened, and a woman revealed herself.
Holding her long skirt with her fingertips, one slow step at a time.
Seeing her descend from the carriage with graceful movements, the maids naturally made way.
Instinctively, without anyone telling them to step aside.
“Excuse me.”
A clear voice that was neither too high nor too cold.
Polite, yet at the same time, a familiar downward gaze.
Without realizing it, I straightened my posture.
She looked up at the sign once,
[Isaac’s Psychological Counseling Office]
then lowered her gaze to me.
“This is Isaac’s Psychological Counseling Office, is it not?”
“It is.”
Hearing my answer, she gave a small nod.
“I see.”
She swept her eyes once over the long line of maids stretching to the side.
But there was no hint of confusion or awkwardness.
An attitude as if, even in such a crowded place, there was only one person she would speak to in the end.
Her gaze returned to me.
“You appear to be quite busy.”
“A bit… yes.”
“I see.”
A brief silence.
Without ever losing her smile.
Yet with a face that showed not the slightest trace of concern over whether she should stand in line, she spoke.
“Should I make a reservation, even now?”