Ch.5858. I Return Home, But What’s Happened to My House?

“What kind of mess is this…?”

This is really giving me a headache.

You said everything was fine, Blanc…

This is absolutely not what I’d call “fine.”

How could it have gotten worse since I first came here?

There’s laundry strewn everywhere…

And the kitchen looks like someone tried to cook and failed. Or maybe they made instant noodles at night.

Cup noodle trash and beverage remains scattered everywhere.

“No, what is… this is…”

“What? Isn’t it reasonably tidy?”

Blanc’s absurd response makes me feel betrayed by Ellie.

“No, haa. Ellie, you saw all this and didn’t say anything to me?”

“Huh…? This is actually pretty clean…? It’s cleaner than where I used to live. Besides, with more people managing this place, it’s much cleaner…”

Wait, she lived somewhere worse than this…?

No, she must have had money, and someone must have taught her how to keep things tidy… Ah.

Sigh, really. Ellie’s personality is causing problems again…

“Haah… Blanc. You know I have a lot to say right now, don’t you? Where is the unemployed one?”

“Yuri unnie…? At this hour, she’s probably still sleeping…?”

“I’ll need to have a profound conversation with her when she wakes up. Hah. To think that my influence in preventing her from eating late-night snacks for health reasons would lead to this.”

“Preventing late-night snacks? How?”

“Well, the time she usually sneaks to the kitchen happens to be when I finish my work and go to wash up. After getting caught, she tried changing her schedule, but she always ran into me.”

“Why? Yuri unnie is a night person anyway. Shouldn’t she be allowed to have some snacks?”

“Not when those ‘snacks’ are chicken, ramen, frozen intestines, and chicken skewers. Healthy snacks would be different. If she’d asked me to make something, I would have, but before she could even ask, her cheeks would turn red and she’d dash back upstairs. Honestly. I’m the one who’s more concerned.”

“Worrying about such things. She’d be even more surprised to hear about your old lifestyle. Well. Today, let’s just go in and rest. You can start work next week. Plus, we need to get Ellie’s belongings, right?”

“What do you mean ‘next week’? You’re saying that while showing me this mess? Hmm, I’m sure you know me well enough. I won’t ask what you’re scheming, but cleaning up this mess comes first.”

“Shouldn’t you rest a bit first? Ellie too…”

“Ellie needs to help me. We’ll just unpack quickly and start organizing right away. Well, as for luggage… I only have this tail.”

The tail that was removed after they discovered my collapse was due to magical depletion.

They said it was difficult to remove it while I was unconscious.

How they removed it, I later noticed the detachment point was slightly damaged.

I could easily repair this much myself. It shouldn’t be a problem to reattach, except for a slight creaking.

So, I brought it home in its original box.

Having this tail would help clean up this mess, but well.

When leaving the hospital, I wanted to attach it while changing clothes, but Blanc had already forbidden it.

She said they couldn’t let me use magic when they weren’t even sure of my condition.

When I was examined, my magic levels were sufficient, even better than before, so I tried to argue with Arin beside me, but the person who banned it had already left for the Association President’s office, leaving my protests echoing in emptiness.

“So, you’re really saying I can’t use this tail?”

“It consumes too much magic.”

“But shouldn’t it be fine now? We know the cause of the magic deficiency.”

“It’s forbidden until we know exactly what constitutes an ‘evil deed.’ Haah, Eden is really… Setting such a subjective condition as ‘evil deed’ shows how malicious they are.”

“We are malicious, yes. Thank you for the compliment.”

“That wasn’t a compliment.”

“I believe I’ve told you before that calling an evil organization ‘malicious’ is always a compliment. Well, I’m sure you remember. Anyway, I’ll go upstairs with Ellie to prepare and come back down. Let’s go, Ellie.”

“Uh, yes? Me? I have to work starting today…?”

“From what you’ve said, it seems you need more thorough training than I thought. I assumed you’d know what to do, but if that’s not the case…”

“Ah, I know! How to do it… I was just being lazy… hehe…”

“If you think I’ll let you off with just a smile, you’re mistaken. Come with me.”

“Ah, Vine! Vine!!”

Ignoring Ellie’s desperate cry, I need to unpack first.

Didn’t Ellie say she’d seen her room already?

Then she should at least know which room belongs to whom.

“Ellie, come to my room after you finish unpacking. Got it?”

“V-Vine! Uh, Blanc…? Is this really okay?”

“What are you doing? Hurry up and come upstairs. Vine is your senior, she has a lot to teach you.”

“Ah, that… Is that really okay?”

“Why not? It doesn’t matter, does it?”

“Uugh…”

I was too busy going upstairs to pay attention to the conversation behind me.

Though I did hear Ellie’s footsteps hurrying up the stairs afterward.

That room over there seems to be the one Ellie will use.

I thought my room was already quite secluded, but there are still more rooms.

The magical girls’ dormitory facilities are truly impressive.

Like a penthouse where the wealthy would live.

Even the second floor is spacious.

I shouldn’t get used to this.

Come to think of it, it’s funny that these girls manage such a large dormitory by themselves.

Yes, having a dedicated housekeeper like me makes things easier. Normal people with social lives would struggle to maintain such a large house.

I look down at the entire house from above, trying to figure out where to start cleaning.

Well, should I train Ellie while organizing the messy house?

Combining practical experience with education has always been remarkably effective.

I don’t need to bring up old times; when I trained combatants, giving them real experience was the most direct approach.

Well, housework shouldn’t be any different. Besides, Ellie already knows and has experience with this, so she should be able to handle it normally.

Yes, after a long time, I entered my room and unpacked.

I hung up my tattered uniform after roughly organizing it.

My prosthetic… I’ll hide it in the deepest part of the built-in closet. I can repair it later if I can’t sleep.

If my tail, which is like a prosthetic hand, has even a slight creak, it would definitely irritate me.

But I wonder if I can use ordinary repair tools.

I remember “borrowing” tools from the doctor’s laboratory for repairs back then.

I distinctly remember there were unusually shaped screws.

Ah, this is giving me a headache.

But that’s not important right now. The current situation is more pressing.

I neatly organized my outdoor clothes and changed into indoor clothes that were already in the house.

Well, Blanc did say wearing something comfortable would be good for working.

After unpacking and airing out the room that hadn’t been used for a long time, I waited for Ellie.

It didn’t take Ellie very long to return.

Ellie opened the door and entered wearing comfortable… comfortable…

A black dress with a white apron.

It doesn’t look comfortable at all.

Isn’t that a maid outfit?

“Ellie? What’s with that outfit?”

“S-since I’m working as a housekeeper… I thought this would be appropriate…”

“Who told you that?”

“Blanc…”

“Haah. Really… Did I ever say I work in that kind of outfit?”

“Um, yes. And since I don’t have my clothes here yet… All I have are the clothes I hurriedly packed from my previous home…”

“Haah. Really… Why are you fidgeting with that embarrassed expression? Here, pick something comfortable to wear from here. Get rid of that unnecessarily uncomfortable maid outfit.”

“Uugh…”

With a strange groan, Ellie just stared at me, and I realized my mistake in asking her to choose clothes.

Ah, I should just toss her something.

“Here, change into this. Why are you making that face?”

“I don’t… have clothes…”

“Why, isn’t what’s in your immigration bag enough?”

“No, it’s… indoor clothes…”

“Can’t I just lend you some?”

“Ugh… embarrassing…”

“What’s embarrassing? We’re not strangers. You have a similar build to me, so they should fit. You might be a bit taller, so the pants might not fit… but that shouldn’t be an issue. Not pants, but a dress…”

“Uugh… no.”

I really don’t understand what she found so embarrassing.

Ellie just nodded and changed into the clothes I gave her.

Right. Time to clean up.

First, the common areas take priority over personal spaces.

I’ll gather the laundry and start the washing machine, then do the dishes.

After that, I can clean the personal spaces.

Ah, I should do the dishes last. There’s bound to be a mountain of dishes and cups in the unemployed one’s room.

That unemployed one… using the same coffee cup for over a month…

Leaving the room, I grabbed the second-floor railing and looked down again.

Yes, I need to tackle this. It’s my job.

“Ellie, follow me. You know how to do this, right? I believe you can handle it if I just show you the locations and methods.”

To Ellie, standing behind me in a white blouse.

I believe in you.