episode_0010

Just as he was about to throw out the topic, Asher quickly stopped him.

“Wait a minute!”

“Why are you like that?”

I glanced at Ashe on my back.

Asher had a proud expression on his face, despite the clear traces of tears and snot left behind.

It is a face that touches the resentment buried deep in the heart and stimulates people’s irritation.

“The butler doesn’t need to say anything. Because I figured it out.”

“I see. By the way, about the trigger that aroused the hunting dog’s hostility…”

“So you don’t have to say anything!”

Asher screaming. The high-pitched voice characteristic of a girl hits my ears straight in the face, causing tinnitus.

I was so surprised that I almost dropped Asher.

It might not have been bad.

“Ahem ahem… Butler. I mean, I’ve realized it.”

“What are you talking about?”

“There are very few useless parts in this mansion. For example, there must be a reason why the hunting dog looks so ugly.”

I nodded silently. It was in the realm of hypotheses lacking clear evidence, but I intuitively agreed.

“And I just got confirmation from the chase. That guy’s sense of smell is right.”

“I agree with you.”

“But strangely enough, this time I wasn’t attacked as soon as I encountered him?”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Last time I got bitten without even being able to react, but this time I felt like I was stuck for 30 seconds. ”

It was quite a remarkable discovery. It was enough to make Asher look at me with annoyance.

“In short, the first time we met, there was a reason for him to pounce on me as soon as he saw me…but this time, it was less so. And the reason is…”

“Smell. That is, body odor.”

“Probably, that’s the right answer. So what’s different from then? The clothes are different. Now it’s a servant’s clothes, but back then it was a dress.”

“… It was Maid A’s dress, right? ”

“That’s right.”

Nevertheless, it was attacked.

What this means is that even if you take off your dress, Maid A’s scent will remain.

“The smell of Maid A’s room itself… Or maybe it’s the scent of bath salts or soap.”

“I think the same thing, but then living in a different room is the answer, right? Easy, easy.”

If only the answer were that simple.

Asher underestimated the mansion’s malice.

“That’s impossible.”

“What? Impossible?”

Unlike me, the hunting dog was capable of entering a room on its own. The fact that the dog jumped out of the room instead of the hallway when he surprised Ashe proves this.

…how it is opened is unknown.

On the other hand, the room that even the hunting dogs could not open was Maid A’s room.

Since the mansion was a room directly owned by Ashe, it was impossible to enter without her permission. It could be considered a kind of safety zone.

Asher laughed as if he was worried after hearing my explanation.

“That’s okay! I have a butler’s shield that’s stronger than anyone else’s?”

“The Butler’s Shield isn’t omnipotent. More importantly, its name is truly terrible.”

“Why? You blocked it well just now.”

“It’s not about contact, it’s about blocking physical harm. If it’s just about pushing it away, I’m at a loss for a method.”

For example, even now that I’m carrying her, I’m not completely safe. If I’m good at keeping distance and trying to pick up only Asher, there’s no way to stop me.

The hunting dogs don’t seem to have figured it out yet… but if a monster with human intelligence appears, it’s hard to be sure.

“See… This shortcut just doesn’t work.”

“It would be faster to find the stolen item than to think of a trick.”

Asher opened his mouth as if it was no big deal to my remark.

“Huh? Oh, that’s it. I think I get it.”

“Huh?”

“Well… It’s just a guess, you know.”

She had one hand around my neck and was rummaging through her leather pouch with the other.

A moment later, the object in her hand was a shabby photograph of a hunting dog and maid B.

“Look here, butler. Got it?”

“… No way.”

“Aren’t the clues too trivial to just dismiss as “no way”?”

The hunting dog in the photo and the ugly beast in the present.

They were two very different beings.

In particular, the differences that I had forgotten about were so different in appearance that I only now noticed them.

“… No way.”

The negativity flowed naturally from my mouth. However, my jaw was so tight that I couldn’t even shake my head.

Something that existed in the past but no longer exists.

Instead of a collar, it was a cheerfully decorated blue scarf.

◇

Inside Maid A’s room.

Asher was mulling over the strange reaction the butler had shown.

‘There was no word from the beginning.’

The starting point was when he kindly brought a crappy photo right in front of my eyes.

The atmosphere was strangely heavy, so even the arrogant Asher found it difficult to speak carelessly.

‘Did I speak too harshly? Well, maybe the butler’s shield wasn’t quite right…’

If not, was he being too childish?

He was a weak butler who deserved the protection of the mansion, so he might have lost all his stamina carrying me for no reason.

Even now, I’m out patrolling…

“Huh, what the…?”

Only then does Asher come to a realization.

“Am I the worst?”

It’s only natural that the atmosphere is heavy.

In fact, it was the butler who should have been the one to be tyrannical, while Ashe was the one who should have been careful.

But still, he kept asking me to do something…

Even if you complain, you’ll run out of excuses.

“Uhh, uhhh… Should I rub your shoulders later…”

Emperor Sun-Hwang – When Abamama received a massage in person, he would smile brightly and fall asleep.

With this level of skill, even the butler will definitely be satisfied.

Sometimes a reward isn’t a bad thing.

◇

‘I… what am I?’

I’m lost in thought in a dark hallway.

The aftertaste of the photos and inferences that Asher pushed in lingered for a long time.

‘I thought it was just a dream.’

The dream I had this morning comes back to me in my memory.

I had a dream where a woman with light brown hair gave a gift to a large, gray-colored dog.

And the gift the woman gave him was something bluish in color. The scene where she personally tied it like a leash was vivid.

‘If that was a dream projecting Maid B and the hunting dog…’

A contradiction arises.

I had a dream about two people I had never seen or experienced before.

At some point in the past, wasn’t I a being that possessed this mansion, in the body of a butler?

There must be something wrong with this perception…

Life in another world is clearly engraved in my memory. The modern world, where science has achieved the development of civilization, is vividly depicted even when I close my eyes.

[Butler. You… have a clue?]

Suddenly, Asher’s words come back to me in a flash.

Maybe her guess is correct.

Like a shabby hunting dog, should I also consider the case where ‘something’ happens to me?

‘It doesn’t seem to be organized.’

This mansion has a reason to be extremely protective of me.

The origins of the mansion and the history of how the name Arkaden disappeared.

The story of why, after all these years, only Asher has been knocking on the door of the mansion.

The speculation that all of this might be causally connected overwhelms reason.

As I continued my vague reflections, Ashe poked her head through the crack in the door and called me.

“Butler! Come here, quick!”

“Do you have something to tell me?”

“What.”

Asher, who seemed breathless. Soon she screamed.

“What do you think of me! Do I only call people when I order them around?”

“…”

As I expressed my feelings in silence, Asher blurted out an excuse that wasn’t really an excuse in a slightly timid voice.

“Huh, huh. That’s what the butler is using it for…”

“Yes, so please speak comfortably.”

“Come into the room, quickly.”

It was Ashe who allowed me to enter. I entered Maid A’s room with a puzzled mind.

Next, she patted the bed and suggested a seat.

“Butler, sit here and listen.”

“Okay.”

I sat down on the bed obediently.

To be honest, I felt embarrassed because I was doing something that didn’t suit me. And my embarrassing feelings were maximized when Asher put his hand on my shoulder.

“Ugh?”

Asher’s hand moves, squeezing. If I guess correctly, this is what the world calls a massage.

That’s ridiculous.

Asher’s altruistic actions were terribly awkward.

“I am afraid that I have no idea what you are asking me to do, which is making me act in such an inappropriate manner, but I will comply if possible, so please give me your order.”

“There’s no such thing! I know it’s the master’s behavior of giving a reward to a servant while talking!”

“To put it bluntly, it is a clear punishment.”

What masseuse in the world presses as if he’s going to break bones instead of muscles?

It seemed like the absolute defense gimmick would be activated if the intensity increased.

“I… didn’t even know it was an honor…!”

Fortunately, the abuse that was read as massage soon came to an end.

Asher seems hurt by the direct criticism.

Without even trying to hide her puffy cheeks like a puffer fish, she got to the point.

“Ha, okay. I’ll finish what I was going to say.”

“I will listen.”

“That’s right. The strategy I’m going to teach you now is one that focuses on the butler.”

What creative strategy did you come up with that made you put your hand on your waist?

I opened my ears wide just out of curiosity.

“Butler, butler. Butler, butler.”

“… Yes.”

Ashe with a suspicious smile.

In a scene where anxiety is building, she asks:

“Hey, do you want to try on a dress?”