Chapter 10: The lady says ‘wish’!

Mana stones, also called magic stones or mana crystals, are the most basic and essential items in this fantasy world.

Simply put, they’re like batteries, but with very good efficiency.

“Young lady, it seems I need to go to the village.”

“Village?”

“Yes, I have a lot of things to buy here and there.”

“I need to buy mana stones, food, and order clothes for the young lady.”

“…Mana, do you have money?”

“Of course.”

“Don’t worry.”

“The Count’s family provides generous support every month.”

“Then that’s good.”

Ah, the young lady is looking very upset right now.

“Then I’ll take a nap, so go ahead.”

“Can you take care of the house alone, young lady?”

“…Of course.”

“I’ve always taken care of the house alone.”

“It’s okay.”

The young lady’s cheeks puff out.

You don’t look okay at all, young lady.

I have a feeling that if I leave like this, I’ll see the young lady completely sulking.

“…Shall we have lunch first?”

“Go quickly.”

“It’ll take a long time.”

“Hmm.. But I want to have lunch with the young lady before I go, how about a slightly early lunch?”

“…Do as you please.”

…She’s definitely sulking.

The young lady knows that it’s inevitable. She’s just upset.

“Then how about a hamburger steak for lunch today?”

“…Okay.”

“Then, I’ll prepare it.”

“Shall we go together?”

“..Yes!”

She’s still young, so she’s simple.

Seeing how happy she is with just the word “hamburger steak”.

I wonder if I won’t be able to get away with delicious food later?

I go to the kitchen with the young lady and prepare the hamburger steak.

“I want, a lot!”

“Yes, yes, I’ll make it big for you.”

Isn’t hamburger steak one of the dreams of a child?

Unlike ordinary meat, it’s minced and made soft, yet it has a chewy texture, and the sauce on top is sweet and savory.

Anyone, regardless of gender or age, will like it, but especially children who are experiencing meat for the first time will fall in love with this soft texture, which is different from the usual tough meat.

“It’s always amazing to watch Mana cook.”

“Haha, I’m a top-class maid, you know?”

“Didn’t you say elite last time?”

“As long as something cool is in front of it, it doesn’t really matter!”

“Ah, I see.”

Finely chop and shape the meat, add a little seasoning, and carefully cook it.

Chiiiiiiiik…

The key to cooking meat is to cook it over low heat so that it doesn’t burn and is cooked through.

In the meantime, prepare a sweet sauce and side dishes.

“Mana seems to be very good at cooking.”

“Hehe, even if I look like this, it’s one of my specialties.”

“It smells delicious!”

“Okay, today’s lunch, hamburger steak, is ready!”

“Let’s eat!”

“Just a moment!”

“Huh?”

…I thought about it while the rice was cooking.

Su, surely it’s against etiquette.

“I’ll be outside for at least… six hours today.”

“Probably seven?”

“So I’ll be back around dinner time, right?”

“Ah, um…”

“So, so today, no, just for now, specially..!”

“Specially?”

“…Wo, would you like me to seat, seat the young lady on my, my lap…”

“..!”

The young lady’s eyes widen.

“Re, really?!”

“If the young lady is okay with it…”

“I’d love that!”

“Really?”
“Are you really going to do it?”

“…Yes, I’ll do it.”

“But really, just this once.”

“Hurry!”

I pick up the young lady and carefully sit down on the chair.

“Wow!”

“The table has gone down!”

“It has~. Now… cut it well.”

“Ah~”

“Aaaah… Nom nom nom… It’s delicious!”

“Is that so?”

“I’m glad.”

Seeing the young lady swinging her legs, it seems she really likes the current situation.

…Yes, I should do this at least.

If someone you’ve barely opened your heart to and have been living with for about two weeks disappears for several hours…

It will be hard for the young lady at a young age.

So.

“Now, say ah~ Shooong~”

“Kyahahahaha! Ahm!”

So this much is okay.

After finishing eating, I quickly get ready to go out.

I also hold the two bags I brought when I first came to this house in both hands…

“Mana, is that bag a strange bag?”

“Strange? Ah, yes, it is.”

“Even though it looks like this, it has eight kinds of magic on it.”

“When things go in here, they become small and light.”

“It’s called a magic item, an artifact.”

“I see… The gloves and hat you gave me too?”

“Yes, isn’t it amazing?”

“That magic has entered our daily lives so much.”

“Yes… It’s amazing…”

“Then, I’ll buy a lot of things that the young lady will find interesting.”

“Let’s draw pictures, write, and do puzzles together!”

“…Okay!”

The maid uniform is also neatly worn…

“Then I’ll be going, young lady.”

“…..”

Ah… She’s become sullen again in the meantime.

“…You have to come back… Okay?”

“…Are you worried that I won’t come back?”

“Ju, just a little…”

…Oh dear.

I haven’t given you enough trust yet.

“N-not much..!”

“Young lady,”

“Yes?”

“…Come here.”

I lift the young lady up and hug her tightly.

“I will never leave the young lady.”

“…Yes, I know…”

“But you’re still scared, right?”

“…”

…Because she has already been abandoned countless times.

It’s inevitable.

“Shall we make a promise?”

“…Promise.”

Now, familiarly, I hook my pinky finger and press it with my thumb to make a promise.

“If you’re brave and doing well when I come back, I’ll grant you a wish.”

“A wish?”

“Yes, I’ll do anything the young lady wants.”

“…Stay like you are now.”

“Pfft, that’s a given.”

“I’ll do something else besides that.”

“…I don’t have any…”

“…Then think about it carefully.”

“When I come back, I want to hear what the young lady wants.”

“…Okay.”

“Then I’m really going now.”

“…”

“I’ll be back, young lady.”
I carefully open the front door and leave the mansion.

As soon as I close the door, I can feel a strong gaze from the window on the second floor.

She must be very anxious.

I need to hurry.

I take a deep breath and start running down the path.

First of all, I need to get to the nearest village.

It’s a small village, but I’m sure I can buy some basic necessities there.

And most importantly, I need to buy mana stones.

Without mana stones, many of the convenient tools in this world won’t work.

The refrigerator, the lights, the washing machine, even the hot water… all of them need mana stones to operate.

I run as fast as I can, trying to minimize the time I’m away from the young lady.

I know she’s worried, and I don’t want to make her wait any longer than necessary.

“You have to come back quickly! Okay?”

“Yes! I’ll be back before the sun completely sets!”

I put the young lady down and set off with quick strides.

The distance between the village and here is about 20km.

There are no flat roads, only mountain paths, a harsh environment, but who am I?

I’m an elite maid..!

I’ll make it to the village within two hours..!

“Huff… Huff… I did it…”

3 PM.

I arrived at the diocese and went to see the priest at the temple.

“Greetings, Father.”

“Welcome, Sister.”

“It’s nice to see you like this.”

“I came to purchase various items.”

“…Are you alright?”

“You look very hot.”

…Because running 10km per hour while maintaining the posture of a maid is like a miracle.

Maybe the goddess will praise me if she sees me today.

Or is it the author here?

“I’m fine.”

“First of all, I’d like to get some mana stones.”

“Ah, please wait a moment.”

“I’ll get you the same list that the previous maid used to buy from us.”

“Thank you.”

“Then, shall we go this way.”

The priest takes me to the warehouse and puts various items in a box.

“Are you interested in products produced in the village, Sister?”

“Uh… What kind of things do you have?”

“In terms of food, there are fish, mushrooms, eggs, chicken, wheat, pork, and various fruits and vegetables.”

“Those are all good things.”

“I would like to use all locally produced food if possible.”

“Good… Then like this.. like this…”

The priest brought items for about 10 minutes.

“Here it is.”

“You brought your maid-exclusive bag, right?”

“Yes, here it is.”

“It’s 3 gold in total.”

“…3 gold.”

Even after buying so much, I still have 7 gold left.

Certainly, because it’s the countryside, the prices seem to be a little cheaper.

“Originally, it would be around 4 gold, but the food in this area is a little cheaper.”

“Of course, mana stones are at best obtained from nearby adventurers or imported from outside, so they are a little more expensive than in the Count’s territory.”

“Hmm… It can’t be helped.”

“It’s already a house with a perfect system that runs on mana stones, so it’s ambiguous to use candles or other firewood now.”

“I see.”

“Here, I would appreciate it if you could check the items for a month.”

3 million won worth of supplies…

“How long will this much mana stone last?”

“According to your predecessor, it will last a month.”

“Of course, it depends on how much you use.”

“…Then I would like to purchase more mana stones.”

“About twice this amount.”

“That much?”

“It seems that there are many places to use mana.”

“And it’s better to have plenty.”

“Ah, and for daily necessities like shampoo and soap, I think I’ll need ones that are a grade higher.”
“The young lady is eight years old now.”

“Ah, the items used in the city.”

“I’ll ask them to bring them when I go on the next regular trade trip.”

“Yes, and… do you have any crayons or toys to play with children?”

“Of course.”

“And clothes that the young lady can wear…”

“Yes, and is there anything else?”

“A little more spices… simple weapons…”

“…Anything else?”

“Health-related artifacts…”

Shopping took longer than expected.

It can’t be helped… I only bought things that the young lady needed.

I used up all of this month’s support money, 10 gold.

Shopping for 10 million won is great…

I still remember the smile of the priest who felt true happiness at the end.

Anyway…

“Haa… Haa… 1 hour 5… 6 minutes.”

5:27 PM, I ran back in time for the young lady’s dinner.

Phew… Now I need to go in, organize my luggage, and prepare dinner.

I open the door and enter,

“Mana!!”

“Young lady?! Ker-hack..!”

Fi, first day’s headbutt..!

“I missed you!”

“…I missed you too.”

..But I can endure it this time.

Because I have a lot of heavy luggage in both hands…

..What if I accidentally drop it and the young lady gets hurt.

“Hehe… Mana, you kept your promise?”

“Of course.”

“It’s a promise I made with the young lady, how could I not keep it?”

“Mana Mana~”

Sigh, I didn’t faint this time.

“Do you know what I did while Mana was gone?”

“Oh, what did you do?”

“I slept, and I dreamed!”

“A dream about playing with Mana!”

“And I read a picture book!”

“By myself!”

“I read the words clearly!”

“Wow~ Really?!”

“Young lady, you’re so amazing!”

“And and..!”

Why does she have so much to say?

The young lady sticks close to my side and starts chattering.

…We were only apart for about 6 hours, but she kept so much to say.

“I have a wish, Mana! I thought about it!”

“Yes, what is it, young lady?”

“From now on, I want to kiss Mana every day!”

“Yes?”

At the young lady’s words, I stopped organizing the bags and my body stiffened.

“I’m going to kiss Mana!”

The young lady’s eyes sparkle, shining purely.