Chapter 36: 11

All-Works Maid – Volume 2 Chapter 11: The Silvery Snowscape and the Shifting Shadows

On the evening of the fourth day of the second week of classes, Melody welcomed Luciana’s return with a wide smile on her face.

“My lady! Look at this! A letter has arrived, from Selena!”

Melody rushed at Luciana, like a hardcore idol fan at a handshake event. Her overwhelming excitement caused Luciana to subconsciously take a step back.

“Wh-what are you so excited about? This isn’t the first time Selena has written a letter…”

“But my lady! It’s happening! It’s finally happening”

(I wonder, what even happened? This is the first time I’ve ever seen her this excited.)

Melody had begun hopping up and down with glee, and it took some effort before she finally calmed down enough to explain her excitement.

“Selena said they finally found a new maid to work at the mansion!”

“Really!? That’s great news, Melody!”

And with that, Luciana became swept along in the happy mood, joining Melody in excitedly jumping about the room, and with no one left to stop their antics, the two held hands and pranced about the room without restraint.

After some time…

“Thankfully this room is actually quite sturdy.”

“I-indeed… I hope we did not trouble the neighbors with the noise.”

Having calmed down, the two had turned red with embarassment. Well, it was the obvious outcome given how wild they had been.

“So what does the letter say exactly?”

“Ah, right. She said she would provide more details upon our return, but the short of it is they will be hiring a maid apprentice. The person they will be hiring seemed to have no experience, and Selena would be in charge of training them.”

“I see, so she won’t be able to help out immediately. That’s a little disappointing, but I’m still glad we finally found a servant willing to work for us.”

Although the details were still vague, it was clear House Luthorburg would be welcoming a new maid. Melody, who recently had been hoping for more coworkers, seemed especially happy about this new development.

“Fufufu, I’m already looking forward to the next school break.”

“Me too!”

Melody held the letter close and smiled in pure happiness.

“Oh I see, so everything is going well at work… Although this is my first time hearing the instructor is that Lectias Frodo guy.”

“Yes, I was surprised myself at first, but Sir Lect and the students have been treating me quite kindly, and they’re all easy to work with.

“Oh is that so? How nice of them…”

That evening, Melody had told Luciana all about her day’s activities during the after-dinner tea time, but Luciana could only feel conflicted from the verbal report. After all, she would never have guessed that allowing Melody to work would give her precious maid’s time to a certain detestable knight. It took considerable effort for Luciana to maintain her perfect smile veiling the swirling frustration and regrets beneath its surface.

“Anyway, I’m just glad everything is working out for you. In fact, I’m even a little jealous.”

Luciana exhaled with a low sigh.

“If you would forgive my boldness, my lady, has something happneed at the Academy?”

“It’s… nothing important, really. I’m just feeling a little disappointed that I can’t take one of the elective courses I’m interested in.”

“An elective course you cannot take? Which course is it?”

“Applied Magicks. One of the requirements is being able to use magic, and…”

Luciana’s expression drooped with resignation as she explained her dilemma.

While elective courses were still open for first-years to sit in on, Applied Magicks was a class about the practical usage and application of spells; in short, it was primarily a course for students able to use magic.

As it turned out, Luciana was more than just a little bit interested in magic, and it would not be inaccurate to say that, as a person without magical aptitude, seeing a certain maid casually use some outrageous spells was what initially piqued her curiosity.

It would be fine if she could continue observing, but the Academy did not allow for observers or audits once the grace period ended.

“Luna was also interested, and she would have taken the course, but she also…”

House Luthorburg boasted of rather poor magical aptitude in its bloodline. Luciana was no exception, but while her parents did take her to the church at five years old to be tested like the other children, the results had shown her magical power was almost nonexistent.

“But if it is only ‘almost nonexistent’, does that not mean my lady has magical power?”

“Well, wouldn’t it be rarer to find someone without any at all? In my case, it was more that I didn’t not have any magical power.”

Melody thought over Luciana’s words, and she suddenly remembered her own, similar, experience at that age…

“I can feel the presence of magical energy, but you seem to be missing “something” to properly invoke it.”

(…was what I was told back then, but I’m able to use magic now. If it were like that…)

“My lady, it may be too early to give up just yet. If you would not mind, how about training with me? It might be possible that you become able to use magic if–“

“Really?!”

Luciana leaned forward, her eyes wide and sparkling with a gleaming hope; it was as though they reversed their previous positions, with Melody stepping back in the face of Luciana’s enthusiasm.

“W-well, I cannot say anything for certain, but even in my case, I was not able to use magic until recently.”

“Is that true?! I was expecting for you to have been using magic from since you were a child!”

“Yes, it really was only recently. But if we find the right method, it may even be possible for my lady to learn magic as well.”

“Please help me, Melody! I want to be able to use magic, too!”

Luciana took hold of Melody’s hands in hers, giving the maid a pleading gaze.

“…Of course. It may be difficult, but let’s do our best!”

In truth, her promise was perhaps premature; after all, Melody herself did not understand how she had become able to use magic. But in the end, what she wanted most was to fulfill her lady’s wish.

“So we’re in the bedroom like you said, but…”

Luciana blushed and began to fidget, but Melody only tilted her head in confusion.

“Is something wrong, my lady?”

“I mean, since we’re in the bedroom… that means we have to do ‘that’ before I can use magic, right..?”

“What do you mean by ‘that’?”

“I read about it in a book once. It said the best way to begin the flow of magic was for a man and a woman to get naked and hold each other intim– ouch!”

“Just what kind of book were you reading from to learn this?! Not only is it completely wrong, but it also has nothing to do with why we are here!”

“Oh… Really?”

“Why do you sound so disappointed?! Now, please have a seat on the bed. I cannot risk you injuring yourself, my lady, if you were to suddenly collapse.”

“Wait, what are we going to do on the bed, Melody? And why are you drawing the curtains? If you’re making the room dark, does that mean…”

“Based on my past experience, my lady, it will be important to have the curtains closed. Now, do you know the Lamplight(Luce) spell?”

“It’s a spell that produces a small light, right? It’s supposed to be one of the most basic spells, but I can’t use it at all.”

“It is also the first spell I was able to use.”

“Oh I see.”

“And the first time I used it, the light had been so bright, like the sun had appeared in my room.”

“…Huh?”

“It shone so brightly I thought I would go blind. I was so surprised because I never thought such a basic spell could be so dangerous. And if that happened again, since we shall be using that spell right now at night time, it would bother the neighbors. That is why the curtains must be closed.”

“…Even if I became able to use magic, I don’t think it would be possible for something like that to happen.”

It was just another of Melody’s “failure” stories. By now, Luciana was well aware she needed to eventually correct Melody’s misconceptions about her own magic.

But that would be for another time. For now, Melody gave the curtains another check before going to the bed.

She took a seat and turned to face Luciana before taking the girl’s hands in her own. Melody closed her eyes.

For most people, it was actually quite hard to detect the presence of magical power unless it physically manifested. The only way to precisely measure the amount inside another person would be with spells specialized in doing so.

And that was the basis for Court Magician Sven’s detection barrier over the Great Forest of Vanargand as well as Annemarie’s Detailed Observation(Analyze Vision) spell.

But on the other hand, those same spells were unable to detect any magic from Melody, despite the truth being the opposite.

Melody was, after all, the one with enough magical power to purify the Demon King with a simple wave of her hand. To put it simply, comparing the magical power of an ordinary human against Melody was like comparing an ant to an elephant; the elephant is so many magnitudes greater that it becomes immeasurable to the ant.

Conversely, it was also difficult for Melody to detect magical power in others for the exact opposite reason, and it was because neither side could detect each other that the other parties had not considered the maid a threat.

“…It is as you said, my lady: there is not much magical power, but it is there. I believe if my lady were to properly train and learn, it would be possible to produce a small light or create a bit of water.”

“Really? That’s good to know… But how did you learn all that from holding my hand?”

Luciana felt relief knowing she was not completely incapable of magic, but what confused her was what Melody had done.

“In short, I used the principles behind how sonars work.”

“What’s a soh-nar?”

Sonars were a device found on ships and submarines; they emitted soundwaves to detect objects in the water, such as fish, based on how the soundwave was reflected from the object in question.

“So I sent a bit of my magic power into my lady’s body to check for the presence of magical energy. Then, based on how fast and how much of my power traveled through my lady’s body, I was able to calculate the amount of energy present.”

“I-I’m not sure I understand, but I’ll take your word for it.”

“Hmm, I suppose it should not be a problem if my lady does not understand every part of the process.”

“So then now what? You said I did have some magical power, so what should I do now?”

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Setting aside the principles behind the sonar, Luciana moved onto the next important topic.

Melody paused for a moment, deep in thought, before taking hold of Luciana’s hand once again and explaining.

“In order for my lady to use magic, it is most important to be consciously aware of the magical power. Can you feel the magical power within you, my lady?”

Luciana shook her head. Even during Melody’s examination just now, Luciana had felt nothing from her body.

“Then we shall go back to the examination method. This time I will slowly transfer over more and more of my magical power. Eventually, my lady should feel the reaction between our magical power and then become able to perceive your own.”

“Is that safe? Transferring over more of your magical power, I mean.”

“Of course it is dangerous for someone to do this alone, but it should be safer since I am in control and circulating magical power between us to ease the burden. However, you will still feel some fatigue from the constant flow of magic through you, my lady.”

“I see. Well, I suppose this is just a risk I’ll have to take if I want to be able to use magic.”

Melody took her hands once more, and Luciana closed her eyes.

“So why do I have to close my eyes, again?”

“It is easier to put more focus on finding magical power if the other senses are not in use. Now, my lady, I shall begin transferring and circulating my magical power within you, so please focus on it.”

“Got it…”

Melody began sending her magical power into Luciana; although there was no physical indicator of the process, the silver light of Melody’s magic began to fill Luciana’s body. However…

“My lady, can you feel anything new?”

“…No, nothing at all.”

“Understood. Then, I shall add a little more.”

Melody sent over more of her magic, but…

“How is it now, my lady? Have there been any changes?”

“…Still nothing.”

Luciana shook her head; she apparently still felt nothing.

And so Melody poured in yet more magical power. Luciana seemed to be more insensitive to magic than Melody had predicted, and it seemed more likely that Luciana was simply unable to use magic even if she had an ample supply of magical power.

After all, she was unable to sense magical power even with the amount Melody had already sent over, which was more than the maid had originally planned for. By now, any normal person would have started over, but in this case, Melody, with her perfect control and enormous reservoir of power, continued the experiment.

(…I should be focusing harder on this.)

Melody closed her own eyes and concentrated on the circulation of magical power. By now, the flow of power rivaled that of ten magicians, but…

“How about now, my lady?”

“Nothing.”

“And what about now, my lady?”

“Still nothing.”

“How about…”

“Nothing at all.”

With each denial, Melody added more magical power to the flow. The ceaseless flow swelled to a point where it began affecting their surroundings and physically manifesting.

Ephemeral silver streams of magical power lanced through the air of the bedroom, leaving shining trails in their wake. The curtains from earlier did their job of blocking the light, and there was no sign of the experiment leaking to the outside world.

Except…

From the shadows of the slums district emerged a certain purple-haired man. With his scraggly hair and tattered clothes, he blended in quite well with his surroundings.

This man, with a small stature unbefitting his eighteen years of age, was none other than Buque Kischel.

He was the fourth love interest of The Silver Saint and the assailant that attacked the Spring Ball while under the influence of the Demon King sealed within the sword Buque wielded.

But that Demon King had escaped the confines of the sword, and Melody unknowingly purified it; Buque should have been free of the negative influence, but…

Buque held a broken sword in his hands, the same one that once sealed the Demon King, as his cloudy grey eyes looked outward: toward the Royal Academy.

“Silver… magic… Saint’s… power…”

He tightened his grip as he muttered in a trembling voice, his words dripping with resentment. A dark mist began to flow out from the broken blade, as though feeding on his grudge-filled words.

“Unforgiveable… The Saint… the Silver Saint… I won’t forgive… Demon King…”

Buque disappeared as though melting into the shadows.

Back in the bedroom, the lack of progress was beginning to leave Luciana feeling impatient.

(Melody has asked me so many times, but I still haven’t felt anything at all…)

The disappointment crept over her, and Luciana felt as though her dreams of using magic truly were a pipe dream.

To exacerbate the matter, Melody had even stopped asking questions. Luciana slowly opened her eyes, wanting to check with Melody, but the sight that greeted her left the girl speechless.

“…Huh? Wh-what’s going on…”

She saw before her a shimmering, silver world. This was not snow; its glimmer was not quite as gentle, and yet that silver colored the horizon and crossed the landscape as a carpet of glittering flowers.

“Uh, what happened to my bedroom? What is this place… I was just with Melody, and… Ah!”

A sudden wind gusted by; it was not a strong gust, but it was enough to send Luciana’s hair aflutter. The silver flowers before her swayed together and took to the air, helpless against the passing breeze.

Luciana could only stare in wonderment at the ephemeral sight; the flowers floating into the sky were like snowflakes falling upwards from the land to the heavens.

And when the wind finally calmed, and the flowers had settled, Luciana continued staring up at the sky.

A silver light suddenly shone in the sky.

“What is that…”

There, up above, was a silver flower, floating down from the heavens like a lone snowflake. It drew a gentle descent as it float down towards Luciana.

Without thinking, Luciana reached out to cup the flower in her hands.

“How pretty…”

There was a mysterious feeling to the faint silver glow coming off the flower; it was like an aura of kindness that seemed capable of melting away any pain or sorrow.

(This light… the kindness… I know this feeling. It’s…)

“My lady!”

Luciana suddenly found herself opening her eyes; she blinked rapidly as though to clear her vision and looked around in a panic. Beside her was Melody, a worried expression on her face. Luciana was once again in her bedroom at the student dormitory.

“Huh? I’m…”

(…back in my bedroom? But then, just now, I was… Wait, huh? Was I actually here this whole time?)

That other place seemed so real, and yet Luciana had been in her bedroom this entire time. She clearly remembered training her magic with Melody, so… had it all just been a dream of some sort?

“Is everything all right, my lady? Are you still with me?”

“Ah, yeah, I’m fine… Did something happen to me?”

Melody sighed with relief when Luciana responded normally; it seemed even she had no idea what had happened.

“I had stopped the flow of magic so my lady could take a break, but there was no response when I called out. It was not until I shook you, my lady, that there was a response. Do you not remember this?”

Luciana carefully shook her head.

“Perhaps I poured in too much of my magical power. Are you feeling truly well, my lady? Is there nothing that feels out of the ordinary?”

“I seem to be fine. I’m not in pain or anything like that.”

Melody let out another sigh of relief.

“I may have rushed through things too quickly, so we shall be stopping the training here for today. I shall prepare the bath, so please relax for the rest of the evening.”

Melody quickly left to prepare the bath, but Luciana continued sitting and absentmindedly staring off. She felt fatigue beginning to set in, despite having done nothing to physically exert herself.

“Oh, I should take off my accessories before going into the bath.”

Luciana carefully unclasped her necklace; it was simply a ring hanging from a single chain, but it was also an accessory Melody had gifted to her. But as Luciana was about to put it away in her jewelry box, she noticed something strange.

“Did this ring always have such a motif?”

Within the indigo stone was a very small silver crystal; it sparkled like a star in the night sky from within the stone. Having just noticed it, Luciana doubted the crystal had always been there, but, while she was curious about it, Luciana ultimately decided it was not an issue she needed to concern herself with.

(And for some reason, whenever I look at that sparkle…)

…There was a warm gentleness to that light, and Luciana found herself smiling as she looked over her ring.

“My lady, the bath is ready!”

“Oh, thanks, I’ll be right there!”

Luciana quickly put away the necklace before heading for the bathroom.

The following day, when they repeated the experiment, it came as a surprise when Luciana was finally able to sense her magical power.

Although Luciana was still not yet able to cast any spells, she was still overjoyed from her success while Melody could only feel relief seeing this result.

Soon enough the weekend arrived once more, and the pair returned to the Luthorburg estate, where friends and family eagerly awaited their arrival.

…And unbeknownst to the two, a certain new maid would be there to welcome their return with a slack-jawed, absent-minded stare.

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