Made a new $25 Patreon tier... just for art, lol!

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Chapter Twenty - Working Hard

“A favour?” Cricket asked.

Rosario nodded. “Indeed. It’s nothing urgent, however.”

The [Jester]’s grin could have rivalled the sun for its brilliance, and her wings (which Rosario did want to ask about) fluttered behind her. “Well, what is it? Oh maidly one?”

“It’s nothing that complicated. I just need to... check some of my skills. Practice them, if you will. Some magic as well. I was thinking that doing that outside of the city may be best.”

“You think?” Cricket asked. “That anti-spider spell of yours... well, in the city, it would be a disaster.”

“Exactly,” Rosario replied. “Do you have any free time?”

“No?”

“No, no, not right now,” Rosario replied quickly. “I’m still working at the moment.”

“Oh, good, because so am I!” Cricket said. She spun around... seemingly because she could.

“You are?” Rosario asked.

Cricket nodded, then gestured grandly to the training yard. “In an hour or so there’s a third tier [Adventuring Master] coming along. He’s giving out some training. I hope to pick the [Adventurer] job as an option from that.”

“Is it a particularly good job?” she asked.

“[Adventurer]? It’s pretty decent. Once I have [Jester] at level fifty, I might spend some time leveling it. Heck, I might juggle between the two jobs. Not too many of the things I do in my day-to-day give me [Jester] experience. Alas, even the greatest clown can only be so funny.” Cricket placed the back of a hand across her forehead and feigned fainting. “[Adventurer] comes with good skills every five levels. [Campmaking] is nice, [Pathfinder] is great too. And its capstone skill is fantastic. [Adventurer’s Instinct]!”

“What does that do?” Rosario asked.

Cricket grinned. “It’s like [Hunter’s Instinct] but worse. But also, combined with [Fighter’s Instinct] but worse, and [Merchant’s Instinct] but worse. It’s a hodge-podge of instinct skills all squished together. Weaker versions, but... thou must know that I doth adore a good hodge-podge!”

“Well, good luck, then,” Rosario said.

Cricket’s hands shot out and Rosario allowed her to grab her hand. “But wait! I’ll be free this afternoon?”

“I have to work...”

“All day?” Cricket asked. Her antenna drooped.

Rosario sighed. “We can make time, I suppose.”

“Fantastic! One silver, please.”

“Pardon?”

Cricket gestured at the guild, specifically at the counters near the front. “Make it a quest. I need it.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s very little, and if it goes as I expect, we’ll make more than that back from animal pelts and monster bodies anyway. Besides, I need more guild credit.” At Rosario’s confused look, she hastened to explain. “The guild takes notes of who did what and how much they earn. It goes towards giving you better ranks, and they’re less testy about lessons and training if you’re doing your part and not being a leech. Obviously, that’s a different sort of bug than what I am!”

Rosario shook her head. One silver... fine. “That does mean that you’ll be officially working for me, if that’s the case. I expect you at... what was the name of that tavern? The Northern Goose, two hours before sundown.”

“Late!” Cricket said.

“I can cast a simple [Light] spell,” Rosario said. 

“I’ll bring a torch, just in case. Are you returning to work now?” Cricket asked.

“I ought to, yes. I was sent out to grab a few essentials, so that’s what I’ll do. The house I’m working at needs a serious scrubbing to get to a level where I’ll be satisfied with it.”

They continued to talk for a few more minutes, but eventually Rosario could feel that familiar mounting stress that came whenever she wasn’t doing something, so she bid her adieu and headed back out into the city. 

She moved on to a few small grocery stores, then after asking around for directions--while playing the role of a slightly lost maid--she discovered a small shop that sold cleaning supplies and she purchased a good number of things. Many of those she carried in a basket, even if she could have fit them in her inventory. It just fit the image to see a maid with a wicker basket filled with cleaning things. 

Besides, she did notice that plenty of people carried items out of their inventories. Probably, their Strength stat was too low to fit everything they wanted into that pocket space. 

After loading up on a few essentials for the kitchen, including some freshly baked bread that teased her with its smell, she took the ferry back to the North City and returned to Lord Abernath’s place. 

The man harrumpfed as he saw her entering and made a snide remark about her taking her time, but she ignored that in favour of saying that she’d walk the dogs next.

Killer and Bubbles laid down flat when she entered the greenhouse, which made it easy to leash them. Then they went for a walk. The dogs quickly grew excited, but a few tugs and some stern warnings kept them in line.

They were surprisingly smart dogs, and understood their assignment and her limits relatively quickly. 

Once that was done, it was back to work. She had a deadline with Cricket that evening, and already almost half the day had been burned away. So as soon as she returned she pulled out some of the supplies she purchased and got to it with gusto. 

The upper floors had been dusted, but the lower ones remained, and she had to tend to the greenhouse as well. The dogs had made a right mess of it, chewing on furniture and peeing in the corners. 

She moved quickly, and soon was back up to the topmost floor with a mop and bucket, finally tending to the mopping, even if she knew that she would have to do it all again soon. The walls, after all, hadn’t been scrubbed down yet. Several of them had some faintly-visible stains. 

Would it be within a maid’s remit to repaint a wall that was too dirty? She wasn’t sure. It didn’t quite fit her mental image of the job, but it was part of keeping a house in order. 

But how far did it go? Putting together furniture and assembling it felt like maidly work, but making the furniture from scratch felt like a step too far. 

What about other household tasks? Making tea was obviously maid work. Making dinner? That felt like it was more of a [Chef]’s duty, though she could see the argument for it being within her job as well.

Unlike the game, where experience was trackable, noticeable, and could be calculated for maximum efficiency, here she had to guess. 

The uncertainty nagged at her, but she couldn’t say that she didn’t understand. 

She prepared afternoon tea when the time came and finally got to taste some of that bread, which had lost some of its fresh warmth but it was still very good. Lord Abernath didn’t comment as she served him his tea and biscuits, which was too bad, she was trying to discover if she had done it better.

She was on her way down with a tray of dirty dishes when she received two messages. The first was familiar. 

“Your Master Summons You.”

Again? It wasn’t quite as loud or desperate as the last. Perhaps her master had calmed down a little? 

She truly had to find more time to spy on the castle. So far she had only just seen it from the outside. If her master was in there, then she’d have to find a way to sneak in. She wasn’t confident in her skills in that regard. It was one thing to have some levels in [Rogue] it was another entirely to know how to sneak around through a secure facility.

Though... the rebellion might be of some help, there. They were creating enough of a fuss that the guards may be distracted.

The second system message came a few minutes later, as she was washing up the dishes. 

[Scullery Maid] has leveled up!

[Scullery Maid] level 4

Charisma +1

Rosario blinked, then found herself smiling pleasantly. Another level? Two in as many days was an acceptable pace, she supposed.

It helped that the stats points all went into Charisma, her dump stat. In-game it was definitely one of the less immediately useful stats, but in a more real world, the ability to be charming and enjoyable to be around could not be underestimated.

When the time came close for her meeting with Cricket, she made sure that everything was neat and organized, then she simply left. She didn’t owe Lord Abernath and in-depth explanation of where she was going and why. 

She was only just leaving when someone ran up towards her. With her greater perception and speed, she could tell that they were moving right in her direction, and she had time to scan them up and down for threats but... it was a child. A child with rounded animal ears and messy hair, dressed as more of an urchin than anything else, and they had a piece of paper in one hand.

Rosario stepped aside, dodging them neatly. 

The kid blinked, then gave her a gap-toothed grin. “For ya,” they said before flicking the paper at her and running off.

She caught the paper out of the air, then looked down at it. For her?

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