Chapter 21: 21

All-Works Maid – Volume 1 Chapter 21: The Lullaby of the Furious Maid and the Frightened Demon King

“I’ve brought it over, other me.”

Melody had been sitting in the servant’s dining room and holding a certain sleeping puppy when a clone had come in with basket in hand; the clone promptly placed the basket on the table, and Melody carefully deposited the puppy into the basket.

“Fufufu, it’s sleeping so peacefully, you would never have guessed this was the same animal from earlier.”

“It just did not want to stop barking… It would be nice if the master would allow us to keep it.”

The clone smiled in happy expectation before it faded back into Melody.

Melody, who reconnected with her split conscious, looked toward the full moon in the cloudless sky, her mind full of different thoughts.

“My lady, the master, and madam are rather late…”

It was currently two o’clock in the morning; Luciana and the Luthorburg couple should have returned already, but there has been no sign of them.

On this particular night, the capital seemed to be quieter than usual. It was as though everyone else in the capital had fallen asleep.

…But in truth, that was not just a guess, and Melody actually did not know that the entirety of the capital has fallen asleep; to be precise, it was in fact Melody who had put everything to sleep. That aside, Melody suddenly let out a cute yawn.

“I’m getting a little sleepy myself… Is it because… I’m not usually… up this… late..?”

And before she realized it, Melody quietly dozed off atop the table. The only sounds she made were the peaceful exhales of sleep.

Although Melody thought her sleepiness was because she stayed up past her usual bedtime, the true reason was different: it was from her overuse of magic. After using up a great amount of magical power, the body and mind required rest to restore itself.

Of course, Melody, who was self-taught and ignored her one frame of reference, was inexperienced with the overuse of magical power and was unaware of the result.
But with that, the last person to stay awake in the capital finally set off into the world of dreams as well.

And what Melody dreamed was of what had happened not too long ago: her encounter with the puppy currently sleeping in the basket.

Going back a little earlier in time…

Melody and Lect had parted ways shortly after leaving the Spring Ball together, and Melody had then returned to the Luthorburg mansion, where she immediately began preparations to welcome the family home.

She gave the bedrooms a once-over before returning to the kitchen to prepare snacks and refreshments; while there was food available at the ball, there may not have been ample time or opportunity to eat, and so Melody prepared herself to handle any requests the family may have.

Before long, the clock struck midnight, the time when the ball should be coming a close.

As Melody was thinking, the sound of breaking glass came from the second floor, from Luciana’s room. Melody raced upstairs to check, only to find the room in a state of absolute chaos.

Luciana’s belongings lay scattered around the room, and there was no trace left of the careful tidying from the morning. Melody covered her mouth in shock, shaking from the discovery, until she spotted the puppy arrogantly lazing upon the bed as though it owned the room. It took a mere instant for Melody to understand the situation.

The culprit was… this dog!

“…Are you the one who made a mess of the room? The young lady will be returning home soon, and you did this?”

As Melody grew angry, a bit of her magical power (some would actually say it was quite a lot) began to leak through. The puppy began to tremble with terrified stillness, as though it could sense the magic coming from her.

“Making such a big mess… How dare you!”

Melody had become so angry she looked as though she was ready to burst into tears. But who could blame her? The Ball should be ending, Luciana would be coming home soon, and her bedroom was in such a mess! Let alone needing to clean the room, at this rate, Melody would have failed to prepare a proper place for her precious lady to retire to rest! This would be downright shameful and a complete failure of her duties as a maid!

Never before had she felt this level of anger, not even in her previous life!

And facing that wrath was an unfortunate puppy, or rather the unfortunate Demon King, who was currently trembling in sheer terror.

(Aiieee!! I wouldst sooner face the Protection of Holy Silver than this! I must flee at once, or mine life is forfeit!)

The Demon King sprung into action! Tamping down its rising fear and staying true to its survival instincts, the Demon King leapt toward the balcony to escape the wrathful Melody, but…

“You won’t get away! Reach out, O transient arm, Extended LimbsAllungarelarmare!”

“Awoooh!? (What manner of sorcery..?!)”

The Demon King’s body suddenly stopped in midair, looking as though something was holding it up: it was the same power the Demon King had used earlier to wreak havoc in the room. An invisible telekinetic hand made of force-type magic had captured the Demon King.

“After messing up the room, you’re trying to run away? Bad dog!”

(AIIIEEE!! IT’S OVER!!)

The Demon King could only shiver in helpless terror; with its power still sealed, the Demon King stood no chance in a direct confrontation against a fully-awakened saint. From the very moment it entered Luciana’s room, the Demon King was but a carp on the cutting board.

But while the Demon King lost itself in fear, Melody calmed herself down; she stopped the overflow of magical power, and suppressed the erupting volcano that was her anger. She took a deep breath as though resigning herself to the task awaiting her.

“Give unto me accompaniment, Clone SelfAlterrego.”

“Here I am! What will we be doing today… doesn’t seem to be something I need to ask, does it?”

The clone Melody surveyed the room with amazement.

“For now, please take care of the room cleaning. The young lady and the famiily shall be returning shortly, so please finish quickly.”

“Roger that! There isn’t much time, so we’ll have to use a bit of magic to get it done sooner!”

The clone immediately began cleaning as Melody left the room with the puppy in hand.

“And as for you… don’t think even for a moment that you’ll be let off the hook for what you did!”

“Aw-awoooh! (Wh-what foul fate awaits me now?!)”

With one hand wrapping around the scruff of the Demon King’s neck, Melody brought the puppy to… the bathroom.

“Yip, yip! (Cease! Mine magic! It is.. It is..!)”

“Hey! Stop squirming around so much! See, doesn’t this feel good? You’re much cleaner and prettier now!”

Melody expected Hughes to scold her later for taking in the puppy, but for now, it would not hurt to get the puppy cleaned up. Given how the bed looked, the puppy was already extremely dirty, so washing it up would surely only help matters.

But for the Demon King, the greatest trial it would ever face was about to begin.

As though in response to Melody’s desire to “wash” and “clean” the puppy, so too did the Saint’s power activate to “wash” and “clean” away the Demon King’s dark magicks, and bit by bit, the Demon King could feel its own mind grow dimmer and dimmer.

By the time the nightmareish washing had finished, next to no magic was left of the Demon King.

Languid and exhausted, it could no longer even resist the towel Melody was using to dry it.

“Phew, all done! Your fur looks so pretty now that you’re all cleaned up.”

The puppy’s ashen fur was actually silver in color, but…

“The color is nice, but your fur… doesn’t look so good. Hmm..? Were you always this thin?”

The puppy’s weight seemed to have mysteriously changed after the bath, and on closer examination, not only was its ribcage visible, it was clear the puppy was wasting away. Melody could only wonder in puzzlement if the puppy had always been this frail.

Well… in the first place, it was the Demon King’s magic that rejueinated the puppy, and now, because of a certain someone, all of that magic is gone.

WIthout the Demon King’s support, the puppy was on the verge of death, close to its last breath. Its stomach growled in desperation; it would soon starve to death.

Seeing the puppy’s health deteriorate before her very eyes, Melody began to panic.

“Huh?! Wh-wh-what’s going on?! Are you okay? Are you hungry? Do you need food? I-I’ll go get something right away!”

Melody rushed back to the servant’s dining room and gently set the puppy on the table.

Her patient was an extremely malnourished puppy. Given its starving state, it probably would not be able to handle solid foods. Melody quickly withdrew a bottle of goat milk from her magical storage and poured a bit out onto a plate.

Goat milk was more similar to the milk dogs drank than cow milk, so it should be easier for the puppy to digest.

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Melody placed the dish of milk in front of the puppy, and it struggled over to desperately lap at the liquid; its will to stay alive was indomitable.

Its condition appeared worrisome, but it still had the strength to eat; Melody began to prepare more food.

Melody once again reached into her magical storage and retrieved a single sauage. Seeing as the puppy likely did not have the strength to properly chew or digest it, she finely minced the sausage before mixing it with more goat milk to finish the simple but tasty puppy food.

Seeing the new plate of food, the puppy immediately stumbled over and began eating as though in a trance. It may have just been the sound of chewing, but it seemed to Melody as though the puppy would occasionally cry out “Yummy, yummy!” and she giggled at the thought.

(It probably broke in because it was so hungry… But then, why didn’t it just obediently come to the kitchen to look for food..? Or, how did it even get to the second floor in the first place?)

While Melody wondered to herself with a tilt of her head, the puppy and the Demon King were enjoying their sausage meal to the fullest.

(Yummy, yummy, so tasty, so good!)

(This… this feeling… Is this ‘deliciousness’? Never before hath I… What… could this..)

The Demon King, an amalgamation of negative emotions, lacked a physical body so had never needed to eat in the truest sense. Never before has it ever experienced positive emotions, like joy, fun, or happiness, or love.

The stream of raw, positive emotions coming directly from its host body bewildered the Demon King, but strangely enough, these feelings were… not unpleasant.

And in that singular lapse, the Demon King had missed something else: the silver seal keeping it in check had, as though sharing in the bewilderment, wavered with momentary instability..

“All better now?”

“Urp.”

Its belly now full, the puppy let out a small burp; it appeared to be quite satisfied. Shortly after, the clone Melody handling the clean-up of Luciana’s room appeared.

“The cleaning is all done! How is it on your end… Oh my, it’s belly is looking quite full now!”

“I think it might have just been hungry.”

“That must be why it broke in… But then, why didn’t it just obediently come to the kitchen to look for food..? Or, how did it even get to the second floor in the first place?”

The clone Melody tilted her head in confusion. Sure enough, the clone shared the thoughts of the original.

“Well, I’m glad we were able to clean up everything in time. All that’s left is to decide on what to do about this puppy.”

Their eyes turned toward the puppy. Having eaten its fill, the puppy was beginning to fall asleep.

“…You know, now that the room is clean, there isn’t a reason for the master to scold us, is there?”

Melody gave a bitter smile as she heard the words of her clone.

“That’s true, there isn’t a reason for us to be scolded. Or rather, I don’t think there is anything we should be scolded for…”

In fact, the master would be even less angry if he saw this puppy and its full belly relaxing in contentment. Melody herself could not deny that its will to live had moved her to action, but… most importantly, the puppy was just plain cute and unfairly so.

Well, forgiving the puppy was not an issue. The real problem was what to do in regards to the puppy from now on…

It had been so thin when Melody found it, and if they were to abandon the puppy, it would doubtlessly expire before long. As Melody groaned with thought, her clone suddenly spoke up.

“It just came to mind, but imagine this: the young lady happily playing with this puppy and us watching over this pleasant scene beside her. What do you think?”

“That’s..!”

Many possibilities came to mind: Luciana and the puppy chasing each other through the gardens, Luciana throwing a stick for the puppy to fetch, Luciana picking up the puppy and giggling as it tickled her with licks to the face…

Various precious scenes played out in Melody’s mind; the lively Luciana was sure to go through each of these experiences.

And in each of those scenes, beside her was a happy maid chiding her with a gentle “The two of you again?” but wearing a wry smile… That could be Melody there!

“My lady and John (tentative name) are acting far too improperly! Now come along, I have already prepared the water for washing your hands! It is almost tea time, after all!”

“Thanks Melody! Let’s get to the terrace, John (tentative name)! How about a race to see who gets there first?”

“Woof!”

“Again?! How many times must I warn the two of you about such improper behavior!”

Losing herself in such a fantasy, Melody’s face loosened into an ecstatic expression.

“How wonderful…”

“I knew you would think so! After all, I thought the same as well!”

It was the obvious conclusion to such a rhetorical question, and no person around to refute it.

And with that, the maid junkie who could not resist her desires enacted her plan to turn this stray puppy into the family’s pet dog.

“I’ll start by finding something to use as its bed then!”

“Please do so. While you’re busy with that, I’ll take care of the puppy.”

Melody held the puppy as the clone left the servant’s dining room. The puppy, sleepy from a full stomach, slowly closed its eyes as it relaxed in the warmth of Melody’s hands.

Melody began to sing a gentle lullaby to gently ease the puppy to sleep.

(I never thought my first time as a nanny would be in taking care of a puppy… Oh well, I’ll just think of this as practice and do my best!)

The sound of Melody’s angelic voice gently filled the dining room.

Considering the late hour, Melody made sure to sing at a volume that would not leak from the room, but her voice was still at a comfortable and audible level.

Wishing pleasant dreams to the puppy, Melody was singing a lullaby her mother Celesti had taught her.

As though reacting to the lullaby, the puppy’s eyelids began to clse, and its whole body relaxed as it drift off to sleep… when suddenly, its eyes opened wide as though trying to resist.

(Hm?)

The puppy seemed to be tensing up as though bracing against something. Melody found the sudden change in behavior confusing, but she continued her lullaby anyway.

Once again the puppy’s eyes began to fall, relaxing once more…

Pop! Its eyes sprung wide open again.

(I wonder what’s going on? It keeps waking itself just as it’s about to fall asleep… Maybe it’s too afraid to sleep? Maybe it’s like this because of how hungry it usually is, or because of where it came from?)

Perhaps the puppy was once attacked while sleeping? It was possible such an event traumatized it, and now it would unconsciously refuse to let down its guard to sleep. Such considerations ran through Melody’s mind.

(But it can’t just stay awake forever, and right now it’s probably still weak from hunger… It needs to sleep and rest… Looks like I have no choice but to use a bit of magic…)

Silence fell over the dining room as Melody stopped singing, and she instead whispered a spell within her heart.

(Bless my song with tranquility, Beautiful DreamFinebelsogno.)

The sound of a pure, innocent voice filled the silent room.

But because her target was the Demon King, a being holding immense magical power, Melody unconsciously pushed her magic to the limit in order to put the Demon King to sleep.

Melody’s magical voice of sleep reverberated across the capital, gently guiding the unsuspecting citizens to a deep slumber.

And they all experience the same thing: a wonderful dream, a delightful fantasy that will fill them with energy for the coming tomorrow.

(Ahh… So this… this is power of the Saint… The true…)

Melody closed her eyes, so focused she was in singing the lullaby, and so she did not catch the transient moment when the puppy shone with a silver light.

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