Chapter 42

〈 Episode 42 〉Jamie and Rosie

Fortunately, nothing much happened to Jamie and Rosie on their way to the border. Actually, there used to be Marauders who would attack people traveling between borders, but they were terrified by the recent surge of Tentacles and had fled far away. Thus, the two were able to arrive at the gateway to the Artua Kingdom.

Jamie and Rosie were waiting in front of the gate for immigration inspection. As a woman, the oblivious Jamie didn’t realize it, but the eyes of the people waiting ahead were focused on them. Soon, the soldiers in charge of entry and exit also noticed Jamie. The man, who was stunned by the two women’s striking appearances, only came to his senses when Jamie tilted her head.

“Uh… wh, what brings you here?”

“We came here because we couldn’t make a living in our village.”

“Are you here temporarily?”

“No, I think we’ll probably stay here.”

“Ah, I see. If you plan to trade, you need to pay an entry tax.”

“We’re just looking for jobs. Where should we go?”

“For simple labor, if you go west from the plaza, you’ll find a job center. Pass!”

Without even a baggage check, they were able to easily pass through the gate. Of course, the soldier’s absent-minded response played a part.

“The soldiers here are friendly.”

“Huh? Ah, haha… you’ll soon find out why that person is like that.”

“Really?”

Jamie felt countless gazes on her as she walked towards the plaza.

‘Why are people looking at me? Is it because my clothes are old?’

Unlike Rosie, Jamie, who didn’t yet know the extent of her own beauty, could only misinterpret the meaning behind their gazes.

Enduring the persistent stares, Jamie and Rosie arrived in front of the job center. The job center was bustling with people looking for work and employers, both inside and out.

“Wow… there seem to be as many people here as there are in our village. Rosie, what kind of job should we look for?”

“What can you do?”

Jamie paused for a moment to consider what she could do.

“I can probably do dishes, cleaning, and preparing ingredients… I wouldn’t say I can cook, though, right?”

“It’s okay when you do it at home, but it’s hard to count that as experience. It looks like we should look for jobs like housekeepers or maids.”

Rosie opened the office door and approached the counter. She gave a wry smile when she saw the woman sitting at the counter widen her eyes.

“Hello, this is our first time here. We’re looking for jobs, what should we do?”

“Ah? Ah! Wh, what can you do?”

“Me and the person here can do dishes, cleaning, and prepare ingredients. I can even cook.”

The woman’s eyes seemed to say, ‘You guys don’t really need to do that, do you?’ but Rosie stubbornly listed the things she could do. After listening to Rosie, the staff member took out some documents and looked through them before saying,

“You can probably do jobs like housekeepers or maids. How about it, would you like to do that?”

“Yes. Give us that.”

“But most of the time, they’re only looking for one person, so it might be difficult for you two to go together.”

At the staff member’s words, Jamie looked at Rosie.

“What should we do? Do we have to work separately?”

“Yeah. Let’s each work separately for now.”

They had sold things from their house before coming, but they didn’t have a lot of money. It was important to gather money to use here right away. After deciding on places to work the next day, Jamie and Rosie signed up with the staff member and left the job center.

“Rosie, let’s unpack our luggage first. But can we buy a house here?”

Rosie quietly shook her head.

“It’ll probably be difficult. Let’s stay in an inn together for now and buy a house later if we can.”

“Okay.”

The two asked people around for directions and found an inn. The inn on the outskirts was a two-story wooden building. Jamie opened the door and met the owner, who was cooking in the kitchen.

The inn owner was stirring a ladle in a pot with arms as thick as logs. He took off his gloves as he cooked and approached them, asking without much expression.

“It’s not alcohol from midday. Is it a meal or lodging?”

“Long-term lodging. We’re planning to stay for at least a month.”

“Is one bed enough?”

“Yes, one is enough.”

After confirming the lodging conditions, the inn owner told them the price.

“14 Copper coin a day. A month is 2 Silver coin and 40 Copper coin. Food is separate.”

“Rosie, how much of a discount is that?”

“180 out of 420 Copper coin. That seems okay. I’ll pay first.”

Rosie paid the inn owner and received a key from him before going up to the second floor.

“This is the third room.”

The inn room was sparse with only a dresser, wardrobe, bed, and table, but it wasn’t dirty.

“I was a little worried, but it seems okay to stay here. Thank goodness, Rosie.”

“I was more worried about you than myself. I’m a little uneasy, though.”

Jamie was puzzled when she was suddenly mentioned.

“Huh? Why?”

‘Why would I be worried…’

Rosie had been increasingly worried about Jamie since she became a woman, but she didn’t show it. She didn’t say anything more about Jamie and calculated the living expenses.

“I saw earlier that working for a day gives you 35 Copper coin, but considering the money spent on lodging and food, it doesn’t seem like much will be left. Jamie, should we go check out a house too?”

“Should we? Yeah, let’s go see.”

After unpacking their luggage in the room, they left the inn again to check out a house in the city.

Jamie came out of the real estate agent’s shop in disappointment.

“It’s too expensive! How can we get three Gold coin!”

“Even the cheapest house required two Gold coin…”

Rosie was also fed up with the terrible city prices. Shaking her head, Rosie nudged Jamie’s back.

“Let’s go eat.”

Jamie and Rosie finished their meal at a nearby restaurant and returned to their inn room.

“Rosie, how much money do we have in total?”

“16 Silver coin. We don’t have to worry about eating right away, but it’s not enough to buy a house.”

“We have to work hard. But if we both work, we can keep living here, right?”

“Yeah. We’ll be able to buy a house in a few years.”

Jamie and Rosie, who had left their home behind and came to the city, went to their respective jobs from the next day.

“Ah, augh…”

Crack!

Jamie grabbed her aching back and came out of the house where she had been working as a helper. Today, she finished working for a month and received her final wages. Jamie and Rosie each received 35 Copper coin a day for working.

Together, it was a considerable amount of 70 Copper coin, but considering the daily lodging and food expenses, and other expenses, they only earned 10 Silver coin in a month.

‘I don’t regret coming here with Rosie, but I still want a house.’

In a way, they had earned 20% of their entire fortune of 16 Silver coin, but the city prices were just as high. Even when trying to buy a single piece of clothing, the prices ranged from 30 Copper coin to as much as one Silver coin, and Jamie had even trudged back from the clothing store after trying to buy Rosie clothes.

‘Hmm… is there any way to earn more money…’

However, even if she wanted to earn more money, it was impossible for Jamie, who had no skills or training, to suddenly receive a high wage. After coming to the city, the worry of not having enough to eat had disappeared, but Jamie wanted to do more for Rosie than just make a living. Jamie returned to the inn and found Rosie already asleep.

“She must have been very tired… I wonder if she had dinner.”

Even though Jamie had entered the room, she was sleeping quietly without moving. Thoughts that hadn’t occurred to Jamie when she was busy or when Rosie was awake gradually surfaced in her mind.

‘What kind of relationship do we have…’

The fact that Jamie and Rosie were a married couple was now something that no one here knew. People who didn’t know about them would consider them friends or sisters at best. Jamie, unable to sort out her confused feelings while living as a woman with her wife, carefully covered Rosie with the blanket that had slipped down and lay down next to her to sleep.

Jamie, whose work had ended yesterday, went to the job center again to find a new job. Rosie’s helper job had been extended, so she continued to work in the same place, so Jamie came alone.

“Hmm, what is what…”

Jamie lingered in front of the advertisements posted in front of the job center, but even though she could read to some extent, she shook her head because it was difficult to understand. She went back inside the job center. The staff member who was sitting at the counter today greeted her especially warmly.

“It’s been a while! You’re Jamie, right?”

“Ah, you remember me. I came to find a new job. Are there any other jobs?”

“You got good reviews from the place you worked last time. Have you ever thought about working as a maid?”

“A maid?”

Jamie was puzzled by the sudden suggestion.

“The Guillar County is short-handed and looking for new people. Would you like to meet them?”

“How much can I earn if I work there?”

“At least two Silver coin?”

“Silver coin!”

Jamie’s eyes widened at the salary, which was several times higher than the place she had worked before. The staff member smiled and continued,

“Of course, they don’t just pick anyone. You have to go through an interview and only people with good conduct can work there. But if you get in, it’s incomparable to working anywhere else.”

Jamie shouted without hesitation.

“I’ll do it, a maid!”

“You’ve made a good decision. The place looking for help is the Guillar County. I’ll give you the location and a letter of introduction, so go find them.”

Jamie was able to receive a letter of introduction from the staff member. The location of the county, as told by the staff member, was towards the city center. As she walked towards the county, there were fewer people, but the buildings were larger and more magnificent.

“Ugh…”

Jamie, who had shrunk back a little at the sight of the street as if it were intimidating passersby, arrived in front of the county. Hesitating at the Guillar County’s mansion, which was more magnificent than the other buildings nearby, she approached the guards guarding the county’s gate. They were puzzled when a stunning beauty in shabby clothes approached them.

“This is the Guillar County. What business do you have?”

“Ah, well… I heard you were hiring a maid, so I came. Is it still possible?”

“Hmm… I don’t remember hearing anything about that… Please wait a moment? I’ll call the head maid.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Jamie, who had answered the guard, became a little uneasy when they didn’t seem to know.

‘Was it wrongly conveyed… Yes, they said it was the Guillar County…’

The guard who had gone into the mansion returned about ten minutes later with a middle-aged woman with neat clothes and graying hair. The woman glanced at Jamie before asking.

“Did you come from Pierre’s job center?”

“Uh, yes? Ah, that’s right. I heard from the job center that you were hiring a maid, so I came.”

“Come in.”

As the head maid walked towards the mansion, Jamie, who had been watching the guards, hurriedly followed her when they nodded. Entering the mansion with the head maid, she shrank back even more at the elegant and luxurious decorations. They entered a small room in the mansion. The head maid offered Jamie a chair at the table.

“Here, sit down.”

“Yes…”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Katrin, the head maid of the Guillar County. You said you came to apply for a maid job, but what do you want from coming here?”

“Uh…”

Jamie, flustered by the immediate start of the interview, stammered. Unable to say that she had come because they paid more, she thought for a moment before continuing.

“Well, I only worked for a week at the place I was working as a housekeeper last time. It’s not that I couldn’t do the work, but rather than not being able to work in one place continuously and moving from place to place, I wanted to work steadily in the same place, so I came here.”

“You want a stable job, right? Hmm… good. Do you currently have any debts or have you committed any crimes?”

“Ah, no. I don’t… I haven’t even been here for a few days yet.”

“Where did you come from?”

“From a village outside the border. It was difficult to make a living in the village this time, so I came here.”

The more she answered the head maid’s questions, the more her poor situation was revealed, and Jamie’s voice gradually shrank as if her job was getting further away.

“Good. You’re hired.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll have to check later, but you don’t seem to be lying. I’ll hire you first and then think about how to use you. Do you agree to work here?”

Jamie, who had been flustered, soon brightened up.

“Yes! Of course! I’ll work hard!”

“First of all, it would be good to wash up a bit. In the meantime, I’ll take your measurements and have a spare set of clothes fitted for you to wear. If you’re going to keep working here, let’s drop the formalities from now on.”

“Yes! Head Maid.”

Katrin, who was satisfied with Jamie’s answer, immediately took Jamie to take her measurements and had her wash up in the maids’ quarters. Every time she passed the maids working here, Jamie bowed her head and greeted them. The maids, who were carrying materials or cleaning, smiled and greeted Jamie, knowing that a colleague had arrived.

Jamie, who had been reluctant to spend money on washing up, was groomed from head to toe. When Jamie, whose brown hair seemed to shine, came out of the dormitory in the servants’ uniform, even Katrin, who had been calm throughout, widened her eyes.

“It’s beyond my imagination.”

“Yes?”

“No, it’s nothing. Let’s go, I’ll tell you what you’ll be doing from now on.”

“Yes, Head Maid!”