For three years starting from the age of fifteen, the children of nobility residing within the Kingdom of Theolas would come to the capital city to receive a compulsory education at the Royal Academy of Partesia.
Luciana Luthorburg was, of course, no exception to this rule, and her enrollment and education would begin this year. Luciana had intended to come to Partesia with her parents, but the sudden appearance of issues within the Luthorburg territory caused Luciana to come alone. And then, after arriving…
…she had seen the state of her family’s derelict mansion.
At the time, the sole caretaker of the estate was a single elderly maid, a servant who had loyally served the Luthorburgs through the years.
But that old maid soon stopped working at the mansion. Everything had begun falling apart after Luciana, unaware of the mansion’s condition, thoughtlessly invited her two closest friends over for a tea party on the day of her arrival.
The old maid then injured her back in a desperate rush to make the estate presentable, and she retired soon afterward. To make matters worse, despite the maid’s self-sacrificing efforts, the mansion remained as dilapidated as it had been.
“That’s the story up to now. Did you want to know about anything else?”
“Not at the moment, I understand everything that has happened so far. Thank you, my lady, for explaining the situation.”
The two had remained in the servant’s dining room, not for a private tea party but for Luciana to explain the current state of affairs. After Luciana finished her explanation, Melody immediately jumped into action.
“Then I shall immediately get to work… after preparing my uniform!”
“…Your uniform? You’re making it now? Um… how long will that take?”
That there was no standard uniform for Luthorburg maids came as a huge shock to Melody, but there was a simple solution: she could make one herself. Thus, she stood from her seat and moved over to a more open area of the dining room.
“Give unto me regalia, Resewing.”
Melody’s green dress suddenly unraveled, and the loosened threads started flying about; Melody began twirling as the strands of light rewrapped all around her body. The sight bedazzled Luciana, who sat watching in rapt attention.
In actuality, the threads were not moving on their own; it was just Melody deftly manipulating the threads. To Luciana, it was lovely performance regardless.
Luciana continued staring, the mystical sight keeping her transfixed. After what seemed to be a long moment, she finally spoke up.
“…This is amazing. Your private parts are hidden perfectly, too…
And why, exactly, was Luciana keeping track of that? Since the entirety of the dress has unraveled into threads, Melody was now obviously naked. And yet, Melody’s nude form remained well-protected; Luciana, checking from various angles, could not see past the obstructing threads. The material wrapping around Melody moved in tandem with her dancing and completely shielded her secret garden from view.
Finally, the threads came together, forming the shape of clothing. Melody appeared to burst with light as a black dress, followed by a white apron, clothed her body. A white cap forming atop her head completed the ensemble.
The lights, the magical effects… it was just like a magical girl’s transformation sequence. The transformation even hid the risque bits that should’ve been visible.
Melody’s new outfit was reminiscent of maid uniforms from 19th century Victorian England: an ankle-length black dress, a white apron over the dress, and the iconic maid cap. The complete outfit exudes a neat and elegant atmosphere.
Having finished the transformation… no, the costume change, Melody gave Luciana a beautiful curtsy.
“I apologize for having kept you waiting. What do you think of my outfit, my lady? Do you like it?”
“Uh, y-yeah. I think it’s cute.”
“I thank you for the compliment. As I suspected, its these kinds of clothes that best suit a maid. Emphasizing that absolute territory between skirt and stocking is such a sinful concept.”
“Absolute territory? I’m not sure what you mean, but to think magic is also able to do something like this.”
“I’ve made quite a good uniform this time, and the protection enchantment should make it stronger than armor.”
Luciana let out an small giggle, thinking Melody was making joke… it would be nice if it really were just a joke.
The Luthorburg bloodline had very little magical aptitude, and, having put little stock in supplementing their poor talent, their breadth of magical knowledge was also quite limited. After coupling this with their poor financial status, it was no surprise that Luciana has neither exposure nor education with regard to magic.
So Luciana was completely unaware of the complexity behind Melody’s spell. She did not question how magic could unravel a dress. She did not consider how the color could change from green to black. She did not even find it suspicious that the Melody’s new uniform used more fabric than her previous outfit should have produced. In short, Luciana Luthorburg knew nothing.
“Anyway, Melody, you have such an elegant curtsy. Could you teach me how you do it? My social debut will be at an upcoming ball, but I don’t think my etiquette is good enough yet…”
Melody’s eyes began sparkling with excitement.
“In other words, you need a proper governess, that is, a formal etiquiette tutor? Please leave everything to me.”
“Melody, your smile suddenly became a little frightening… P-please be gentle with me.”
“Fufufu, this job keeps getting better and better. It was worth coming here to work!”
“Uh, sure. I’ll be expecting great things, Melody”
“Certainly, my lady; I will not disappoint you.”
With that, Luciana returned to her room to study while Melody prepares to start work.
She returned to the main hall to inspect the general state of the mansion.
“For the time being, I should first secure the barest of living essentials; my current priority should be mansion maintenance.”
The entire estate wasn’t just unclean; seeing the extensive dilapidation and state of disrepair, Melody could sense the difficulty involved with the clean-up.. if she were to do it alone, that is.
“Well, I don’t have to do this on my own. Give unto me accompaniment, Clone Self“.
Numerous balls of light sprung from Melody’s right hand, settling at various spots around the entrance hall. The balls expanded, becoming human in shape; as their lights dissipated, each ball revealed itself to be a clone of Melody. In total, the fifty magicked clones of Melody made for a truly absurd picture.
“Then, does everyone know their assigned tasks?”
“Of course. Leave it to us!”
Because each clone inherited a perfect copy of Melody’s memories, they required no further instruction or direction. What a convenient, user-friendly spell it was!
Each clone created their work tools using magic and immediately set off to work on cleaning and repairing the mansion, and some dexterous clones even began DIY work. The estate renovations progressed at a breathtaking pace with fifty supremely competent maids hard at work.
“Well then, I shall be out grocery shopping for dinner preparation!”
” ” “Understood! We’ll leave it to you!” ” “
Unfortunately, it was after Melody arrived at the market with basket in hand that she encountered a new issue; true to their negative moniker, “House Luthorbroke” did not have any financial leeway to speak of, let alone a budget for food expenditures.
But Melody, ever the quick-witted and resourceful girl, simply revised her method of procurement — if she could not buy her own groceries, Melody simply needed to cut the middleman and gather them herself.
“Give unto me obscurement, Dematerialization. Grant me wings of flight, Heavenly Wings.”
Melody completely disappeared from sight and took to the skies with the power of her magic, covertly entering the nearby forest.from above. Though there was no one to witness it, Melody’s burst of activity was quite the absurd display of power.
After landing near the forest’s center, Melody sensed signs of life all over the dense foliage around her. A cursory glance at her surroundings also revealed an abundance of natural food; from wild grasses and mushrooms to nuts and herbs, a plentiful harvest awaited Melody.
“I’m glad this was easy to find. Next I’ll need meat. Maybe there are animals nearby…”
“KUEEEEEEEE!”
Upon hearing a high-pitched screech, Melody looked skyward; the lone silhouette of a bird was circling overheard
“What good timing. Now then, I must quickly.. huh? Kyaa!”
The bird had launched a surprise attack, striking at Melody with lightning magic after it had distracted her with its call.
In other words, a bolt of electricity had struck Melody directly; this type of sudden ambush was the natural behavior of the bird monster known as the “Thunderbird.”
“Ah, that was shocking. What just happened?”
From her liveliness, Melody appeared completely unharmed; earlier, Melody had mentioned strengthening her clothing with a protection enchantment, and that enchantment just completely mitigated a lightning strike.
“It’s my turn then. Hit my target with an aimed shot, Homing Magic Bullet!”
“GUPAAAAAAA!?”
Melody, jolted into irritation, stuck her hand toward the bird and fired off a ball of condensed magical power. Because Melody had added her own original guidance magic to it, the ball immediately honed in on and downed the Thunderbird without issue.
“I did it! –Wait, ahh!”
A large mass crashed down before her with a loud ZUDON — it was the Thunderbird. Its unfurled wingspan extended over five meters in length, at odds with how small its silhouette was, but in retrospect, Melody had not considered the how high the bird was flying.
“Ahh, I got surprised again. The birds of this world sure are big. But what’s really impressive is magic, having taken down a bird like this.”
Melody’s understanding of magic distorted further at an even faster rate due to her still lacking a frame of reference. How can she not know her own abnormality when she remembered her mother only using light magic once a day?
After gutting and dressing the bird, Melody stored it away in her basket. From an outside perspective, it was an absurd sight; this small basket, seemingly only large enough for three baguette loaves, fit the entire Thunderbird carcass without issue.
But if one were to peek into the basket, they would find a pitch-black opening that led to an infinite space where the flow of time has stopped.
This was a dimensional storage space Melody created by combining time magic with space magic. Although the only entrance to the space currently existed in the basket, it was possible for Melody to deploy a new entrance on demand.
Having the basket be a portal to an infinite storage dimension was a stylistic decision that fit the maid archetype. Melody, if nothing else, put much thought and consideration into maintaining the proper aesthetic.
“That should be enough for groceries, so its time to return home. It look a little longer than I expected, so I’ll need to hurry. Connecting to the servant’s dining room should be fine. Open, O gates of service, Side Entrance.”
A plain, nondescript door appeared before Melody. Upon opening the door, the servant’s dining room at the Luthorburg estate back at the capital appeared through the threshold. It functioned just like an Anywhere Do– no, never mind, don’t worry about it.
“Now that I have this shortcut to the forest, it will be much easier to gather ingredients tomorrow.”
Melody thus made her triumphant return to the mansion.
A little over two hours have passed since Luciana sequestered herself for study. Just as Luciana reached the limits of her concentration, Melody entered the room.
“My lady, I have brought you tea.”
“Thanks Melody. I know you’re busy, but don’t worry about needing to do as much as you possibly can, okay?”
Luciana, completely unaware of Melody’s clone magic, expressed her concern.
“I shall not overexert myself my lady. Now, please relax with some tea.”
“Thanks. I was just starting to feel thirsty too.”
After Luciana finished the drink, Melody tidied up the tea set before leaving the room.
“All right, lets study for a little while longer… but first I need to use the bathroom…”
After leaving her room, Luciana noticed Melody cleaning the hallway. That was strange; Melody should have been in the kitchen cleaning up the tea set. How was she already working on her next task?
“Is there something you need of me, my lady?”
“No, nothing, I was just going to the bathroom.”
“The cleaning over there should be complete, so feel free to use it.”
“Oh, I see. Thanks.”
Luciana continued making her way over to the bathroom. As she walks, she can’t help but sigh in admiration after seeing the state of the hallway.
(Melody works so quickly and rigorously. This hall has become so clean in no time)
The floors, the walls, and even the ceiling are perfectly clean and spotless. In fact, it looks as though the damage on the walls has disappeared along with the cracks on the windows… no, wait, the windows were actually fixed?
“Huh? Melody?”
Melody was somehow in front of the bathroom. Wasn’t she back there cleaning the hallway?
“The bathroom cleaning is complete. Please feel free to use it.”
“I-is that so? Thanks for letting me know.”
What in the world was going on? Luciana pondered the mystery as she busied herself picking flowers. After she was finished, Luciana had an anxious realization.
(…then who’s going to make dinner?)
There was no way Melody, busy as she was cleaning the mansion, had the opportunity to prepare a dinner. In fact, it was far more likely that she had forgotten in the midst of her cleaning duties. Thus, Luciana, to help out where she could, headed into the kitchen to help, and there…
“Soup Clone, please pass that salt here.”
“Hey Main Course Clone, there’s still leftover meat, right? I want it for the soup, so let me have some.”
“Dishwasher Clone, have you finished washing the tableware?”
“I’m finished and ready to go at any time.”
…Luciana sees three Melodys working in perfect sync.
“Kyaaa!”
” ” “What’s wrong, my lady?!” ” “
Their voices overlapped in resonant harmony, further frightening Luciana… what a symphonic Melody.
“Kyaaaaa?!”
” ” “Is something wrong, my lady?!” ” “
—Pirorin! A broom Melody appeared! A duster Melody appeared! A dustcloth Melody appeared!
A Melody appeared, then a Melody appeared, then a Melody appeared, then a Melody appeared… a group of Melodys appeared, and they numbered fifty in total.
“KYAAAA — ah..”
The sight of many Melodys overwhelmed the sensibilities of the Luciana, and she finally fainted from the sheer terror.
” ” “Kyaaa! My lady!” ” “
All fifty Melodys simultaneously cried out in panic seeing Luciana faint.
It was during this one moment that the Luthorburg estate became a haunted house in the truest sense.
Luciana regained consciousness before long, but she started screaming (in joy) after seeing the full extent of the house renovations. Then, after tasting the dinner Melody prepared, Luciana began screaming (in delight) again. In total, Luciana screamed on three occasions today; if not for what had caused the first scream, this would have been a perfect day…
“Phew, thank you for the meal. The food was very delicious.”
“Thank you for your gracious words.”
Melody returned a smile to Luciana, who was beaming with satisfaction.
“The main course, the herb-roasted chicken, was especially delicious. Its been so long since the last time I’ve had any kind of meat. I’m surprised we could afford it.”
“That was the meat of a bird I hunted, from a forest near the capital. “
Melody’s unexpected explanation greatly shocked Luciana.
“Melody, you went hunting!? By yourself!? Did you, um, use magic like before?”
“Yes, that is correct. As my lady said, I could not afford the staples we needed, so I went hunting in the forest nearby. The herbs and dressings you tasted also came from there. That forest was truly rich and bountiful.”
“Wow, I didn’t know there was such a forest. The only one I know of is the Demonized Zone nearby called “The Great Forest of Vanargand”, so I’m glad you were able to find such a good forest.”
“Does such a place exist?”
“It does, and it’s a very dangerous place, too, so you shouldn’t be going there.”
“I shall pay attention not to make that mistake. But is it all right if I return to the forest I went to earlier? It was not particularly dangerous.”
“Still, I want you to be careful even if that forest isn’t part of the Demonized Zone, okay?”
“Understood.”
“Melody, thanks for everything you did today. That you came to us for work makes me so happy.”
“Your words are wasted on me, my lady. Now, if you will excuse me, I shall prepare the tea.”
Melody bowed deeply and turned to leave, heading for the kitchen. Melody’s first day as a maid was a complete success.
On the evening of that same day, the king’s office at the royal castle was in an uproar.
“An intruder entered the Great Forest of Vanargand?! Did I hear that right, Sven?!”
“That is correct, Your Majesty. My detection barrier caught the presence of an intruder entering the forest.”
Garnard von Theolas, the king of Theolas, was unable to hide his shock after hearing the report of the man who visited his office, Sven Shakelord the Royal Court Magician.
In this world, there were “monsters” that inhabited certain locations all across the continent. These areas, known as “Demonized Zones”, were not a danger by themselves; rather, it was the monsters that lived in those zones threatened human life.
Because only magical attacks affect monsters, ordinary people were powerless to defend themselves; it became common sense to stay away from Demonized Zones so as to avoid provoking monster attacks.
And to the east of the royal capital was the world’s largest Demonized Zone, the “Great Forest of Vanargand.” It was supposed to be a restricted area, and nobody should have gotten anywhere near it… but an intruder had suddenly appeared.
“Is our intruder still in the forest?”
Sven nodded in affirmation to the grave-faced king.
“Most likely so. My detection barrier memorizes the magic signature of any who pass through, but it hasn’t detected anyone passing through a second time. What in the world could they possibly be doing…”
“I see. For now, increase the number of guards. We will search the forest for anything strange. Sven, continue monitoring your barrier for any sign of our intruder. Do not overlook anything.”
“Understood.”
“Just what in the world is this intruder of ours…”
The king could never have guessed the intruder was merely a maid foraging for food. Furthermore, the court magician’s barrier would be unable to detect Melody since she could now travel to and from the forest using her “shortcut”.
Headcanon TL 
Leave a comment