Chapter 3
I blinked as I looked at the girl. She was around my age with pretty brown hair…….
"Hmph! Ailet, you're dead when the Head Maid comes!"
"……."
Judging by her vicious way of speaking, they didn't seem to be friends.
Soon, a stout woman presumed to be the Head Maid stomped her way in.
"Ailet! What are you slacking off for here! Go help in the kitchen right now!"
"Huh? The kitchen? Me?"
"Well, is there any other freeloading parasite here besides you?!"
Even so, the kitchen was a bit much. For someone like me who had survived on frozen meals and delivery food even while living alone, cooking was…….
No, there was an even bigger problem than that.
This body was that of a child around ten years old. Was child labor exploitation like this even acceptable in this worldview?
Then two more people appeared.
"Head Maid! Ailet is too young. Kitchen work is still too much for a child."
"Dad is right. I'll work in her stead instead. Okay?"
A father and a young son pleaded on my behalf.
Among them, I noticed the boy had the same pink hair as me.
"Prinz! You're supposed to be in your young master's lessons right now, what are you doing here?! Go back to your place right now!"
"H-Head Maid!"
"Alchemist sir, how long are you going to coddle your daughter? Ten years old is grown enough. She needs to earn her keep!"
"How could you put our daughter in a place as hectic and exhausting as the kitchen……. What if she gets hurt for nothing……."
"Hah, the maids are under my jurisdiction. If you keep this up, I'll report to the Madam!"
As expected, that scholarly-looking handsome man in his thirties and the flower-pink-haired boy seemed to be the family of my possessed body.
'Family…….'
It felt somehow awkward and strange for some reason.
The flower-pink-haired boy didn't back down even after being scolded.
"But Nelly, who's eleven, doesn't do any work either."
The brown-haired girl flinched beside him. Now I knew her name.
"Our daughter is different! Nelly will be trained as a lady's maid serving tea, not doing such rough work. What if she hurts her hands!"
The Head Maid bristled as she added this, which told me they were related.
While I was focused on gathering information.
Empowered by her mother's backing, Nelly spoke softly so only I could hear.
"You're not crying today. Why? Did remembering the slap I gave you last time dry up your tears?"
So she had even gotten physical. The clear hostility was actually helpful.
The Head Maid laid down the gauntlet.
"Before sending her to the laundry room, let her be taken to the kitchen quietly!"
Boasting an extensive reading history of romance fantasies, I knew very well that the laundry room was the most grueling workplace.
It was a place where one had to wrestle with heavy, soaked piles of laundry in a sweltering basement while handling lye, wasn't it?
It was a place where even among maids, only the strong ones went. There was no way a child could endure it.
The Alchemist and the flower-pink-haired boy grew anxious. I didn't want to see them looking like that.
"Yes! I'll help, kitchen work!"
"Ah!"
"It's okay. I'll work hard!"
Even to my own ears, my voice was clear, bright, and so cute.
"Yes, very good decision."
The Head Maid and her daughter smirked. Their faces, full of spite, brimmed with eagerness to work me to the bone and torment me.
I smiled broadly too, just like them.
The Cash Shop didn't just sell combat packages, after all.
[
A product that helps possessors make a living. Allows you to select and awaken one non-combat specialty skill suited to the work's worldview, such as cooking, farming, woodworking, alchemy, etc.
Price: 2,000,000 Cash]
[
[
'I can feel it.'
This fulfilling sensation as if power filled both my hands!
Alright, let's do this.
Chapter 3. The Little Maid's Social Life
Swish swish swish! Chop chop chop chop! Tap tap tap tap!
"I washed the mini carrots and broccoli cleanly!"
"……."
"I also trimmed all the king oyster mushrooms!"
"……."
"I peeled the garlic and onions too! That's it for the vegetables! I set aside the ingredients in bad condition separately. Hehe."
"……."
"Is this about the right size for the beef? Is it too big? But meat tastes best when you chew it in big pieces."
"……."
"The fresh cream is perfectly finished too! Ooh, my arms hurt……. Can I rest for just a bit?"
"G-Go ahead!"
"Thank you! ……Okay, I'm done resting!"
"Already?!"
"Yes! I'll clean up now!"
Not only did she excellently handle every task given to her, but the cleanup was also perfect. The little girl's hands were unbelievably deft.
"Hehe, experience points……. Experience points……. Hehehe……."
For some unknown reason, she was even enjoying the grueling labor.
The Head Maid, who had been watching Ailet with her arms crossed from behind, panicked as she realized her plan had gone awry.
The Head Maid's jaw, pursing her lips, shriveled like a walnut.
'This isn't why I brought her here!'
The kitchen maids, who had only been watching Ailet while glancing at the Head Maid until now, finally couldn't hold back and gathered around.
"My goodness. You're really good at this."
"You have a good eye for ingredient quality."
"There was a talent like this in our mansion?"
"As expected, Alchemist Leonard's daughter is different."
"So cute……."
"Thank you for the compliments!"
When she replied politely and smiled brightly, even more kitchen maids flocked over.
Someone even popped a washed, hulled strawberry into Ailet's mouth.
"It's delicious, Sister!"
"Mm-hm!"
Starting with that, various fruit pieces meant for pancake decoration were offered in front of Ailet's mouth.
At the kitchen's affectionate atmosphere, like older sisters doting on their youngest sibling, the Head Maid's eyes grew even fiercer.
Ailet stretched her neck out like a deer and took a sniff.
"It smells delicious from the cream stew."
"Would you like to taste it?"
The person who casually asked her intention was the Head Chef, Feisha.
The kitchen maids were all horrified. It was extremely rare for Feisha, who took great pride in her profession, to let someone else taste the food.
"Yes!"
Ailet, who had no way of knowing the circumstances, answered brightly.
The Head Maid butted in in a panic.
"Chef Feisha, what are you saying! How could you let a mere brat carelessly touch the food……!"
"Head Maid, why have you been idling away here instead of working since earlier? Stop making noise and get out of my territory."
"Ugh……."
When the kitchen's number one authority laid down the law, the Head Maid had no choice but to back down.
Meanwhile, Ailet scooped up some stew with a ladle and tasted it.
'Sommelier-tier Tasting activate!'
The power of Cash infused Ailet's tongue.
"Ooh, I think it lacks some savory richness. How about adding just a touch of crushed pepper?"
"……Really?"
The jaded eyes of Feisha, who had been indifferent to worldly matters, shone for the first time in a while.
Ailet had just passed her test.
'This child has talent!'
The moment she judged this, Feisha didn't deliberate for long.
"Ailet Rodelain."
"Yes, Head Chef! Do you have more orders for me?"
"Would you like to learn cooking?"
"Cooking? Uh, um, should I?"
Ailet, who was more sincere about experience points than cooking itself, answered blankly.
Meanwhile, the kitchen maids were startled. It was a huge deal that the strict Head Chef was taking on a disciple.
And that wasn't even the end of it.
"Starting tomorrow, come to the kitchen at six in the morning…… no, seven o'clock. Since you're young."
"Yes!"
She was even given the convenience of arriving an entire hour later.
The Head Maid's forearms trembled with rage. It was utterly infuriating that she had ended up paving a flower path for Ailet, the exact opposite of her intention.
She kicked a pot to vent her anger.
"Argh!"
Having struck her big toe instead, the Head Maid hopped on one foot as she exited the kitchen.
✠
"Pant, pant……."
After absorption in sucking up cooking experience points in a trance, I came to my senses and found the body of a child abused by labor screaming in agony.
My arms, which had been turning the butter churn, shook like leaves.
"Ailet, take it easy."
"That's right, dear. You'll get calluses on your arms. Shall I do the rest?"
"No! I'm okay, sisters!"
I put strength in my arms before the kind kitchen maids could snatch the churn away.
It was almost done anyway. I couldn't let my precious experience points be stolen.
'I'm about to level up!'
The reward right before my eyes squeezed every last ounce of strength from my body.
Of course, feeling like I'd regressed to my survival part-time job days brought some regret.
If I had known this would happen, there would have been no need to suffer and take the civil service exam in my past life.
'If only I had possessed a character in a proper rofan childcare novel.'
By now I would have become an adorable baby of the imperial family with absolute power or a hidden powerful ducal house, enjoying the sweetness of the world.
'Ahahaha!'
I was suffering of my own making, but somehow I felt like throwing a pity party.
Just then, someone came running into the kitchen looking for me.
"Ah! Are you okay? Nothing happened?"
"Prinz?"
The word 'brother' didn't roll off my tongue naturally, so I just called his name. Fortunately, he didn't seem to mind.
"Uh-huh. Young Master Romdio's history lesson just ended. I'll take over. You rest."
"I-I'm okay, though."
My heart wavered slightly.
Even if I lost a little experience points now, it seemed like I'd still level up…….
"Okay, my foot! I'll help. What should I do? Do I just spin it randomly?"
"No, you can't just spin it randomly. And if you've come to the kitchen, first you have to wash your hands squeaky clean……."
I couldn't finish my sentence. My eyes locked onto the bright red thin lines covering the small boy's hands and fingers.
They were switch marks.
A privilege for the possessor