brainstorming thread. This isekai story starts with a group of high school seniors on a bus for a camping trip, but the bus drives off a mountain and they all die due to a divine accident. The entire class is given the chance to transmigrate in another world, and everyone is given one wish (within limitations). MC-chan is extremely socially awkward, and she is not good with her classmates. Of all things, MC-chan asks to be a NPC that her classmates won't recognize because she doesn't want to hang out with them. MC's wish is granted and she's teleported to a different place than the hero summoning ceremony, whereas meanwhile her entire class becomes celebrated as heroes from another world (they need to slay the demon lord). MC also gets a disguised appearance. Briefly, it occurs to MC that maybe it was a stupid wish because the rest of her classmates are living in luxury in the royal palace, but the MC is happy that she doesn't need to be around all her classmates or save the world. Moreover, it seems like god prepared an empty farm and cottage on the edge of the forest for her and it has everything that she needs to survive for the time being. Also MC can use magic to make potions, which she seems to be automatically gifted at, and the locals refer to her as a witch. A few weeks later, her classmates show up at her cottage.......... ...They don't recognize her (because she's disguised), but they specifically ask for her help as a NPC. They mainly want to buy potions/equipment from her as if she's an NPC shop. Most of them are rather mean to her because they think she's nobody important (a NPC), but the classmate that MC kind-of-likes (ML-kun) treats her unexpectedly well. Over the next few weeks, ML-kun keeps visiting and showing up with gifts. MC-chan realizes over time that he thinks that she is a "capture target" in a game and that he is trying to raise affection points with her. At one point, MC-chan spots ML-kun using a status menu (and MC-chan realizes that in fact she really has become an NPC -- even the world's status menu says that she's an NPC!). ML-kun really is convinced that MC-chan is just a character in this game-like isekai world. Moreover, MC-chan can't bear to tell ML-kun that actually she is his classmate... since ML-kun previously rejected her once in the past... and for most of the story MC-chan plays dumb and pretends to be an NPC. MC-chan agrees to join ML-kun's party (all of the heros are supposed to form RPG-like parties to fight the demon lord). ...to be continued...
I imagine the MC would have some kind of system or special skill that notify her if she is OOC or even prevents her from breaking the 4th wall. another angle that can be explored is the different EXP and stats growth for NPC and Heroes, and the fact that the MC are kinda both to exploit that system
So the poor girl turned from a nobody in her classroom to a nobody in the isekai... gosh darn this sounds so bad in the sense that she is a living background that no one cares. Then you tasked the ML wanting to raise her affection (euphemism?) and use her as a tool like how normal people treat their gatcha characters? Damn the MC-chan can catch no break. By no means I am saying such an idea of writing is bad, but I do feel bad for MC chan.
Spoiler: Chapter 1 I don't really like my classmates. I didn't want to go on this camping trip in the mountains with everyone. When we all died together, I was very distressed to find out that my entire class was going to be reincarnated in an isekai world as a group. Apparently, our bus had driven off a mountain cliff due to a divine accident, and the Public Relations Committee of Heaven determined that all of us would be compensated for our premature demise. However, it seems like the Heavenly Courthouse is a bit understaffed, and we waited for almost a year before our case was seen by a judge. You must understand this was almost a nightmare for me. Originally, I just wanted to go home and lock myself in my bedroom once the field trip was over. Instead, I was stranded in the Courthouse of Heaven for an entire year and forced to socialize with my classmates. While Heaven isn't really a bad place (it's not dirty or anything), it's kind of like being stuck at an airport for a year. It's essentially a giant waiting room filled with departed souls that can only twiddle their thumbs until it's their turn to see a judge. The are no decorations or any form of entertainment, and everything is white. Since we're already dead, we also don't need to eat or sleep. There is literally nothing to do other than socialize. ...and I hate socializing. In less than a day, I desperately wanted to escape my classmates. For some stupid reason, it seems like my classmates collectively decided that dying together must automatically mean that we're all the bestest of friends. Since we're dead anyways, the secrets that we used to have on Earth don't matter anymore. A few of the popular kids pressed everyone for gossip, and it was kind of like a year-long teenage sleepover where people are constantly cornering you and poking you in a sleeping bag about who you have a crush on and whether X, Y, or Z is your type. They wanted to know what video games I liked to play and about the fanfiction that I wrote. It was a full year of intensive social interrogation, and obviously it was utterly humiliating and traumatizing like being hit by a truck. In Heaven, it's impossible to tell lies. This was a divine realm where only the truth can be spoken. They brazenly declared that we wouldn't keep secrets from each other since we're all friends now. Our entire class was going to reincarnate in an isekai world as a group, so we had to stick together. There are advantages to being a team, and we all know and understand each other so well now. There were rumors that the next world would be hostile with great forces of evil, and it's only logical to work together to overcome the challenges. Two dozen heroes is obviously superior to just one, and it would greatly increase our chances of saving the world from the Demon Lord! However, I desperately wanted to run away. When it was finally our turn to see the judge, we were informed that we would each get to make one request before our reincarnation. Obviously, there was only one thing in my mind. —Get me away from them! I asked God if I could become a NPC. I didn't want to be a hero. I didn't want to be anyone that my classmates could recognize, and I didn't want the responsibility of saving the world. All I wanted was escape. ∎
Sounds pretty interesting, but i kinda feel bad that she will join ML-kun's party. She got involved in the group after all
It would be nice if MC get together with a different ML. Unless the current ML would change his attitude towards the MC, I don't wish for them to be the end game. MC has been rejected by the ML in the 1st life and now she is being used as a tool by him and he doesn't seem to think that she's a real human being. She deserves a better treatmen than that. And I feel like whatever summoned her in that other world played a joke on her because she still have to interact and be part of the group of her previous classmates when what she asked for is to no longer have any connections with them.
I also think it’s sad the ML is someone like that and I find it really hard to imagine the MC would still retain any affection for him once she learns that - it will be another brain dead MC falling for a scum ML situation unless he changes. And for someone who so wanted to get away from her classmates, it just feels like you’ve defeated the purpose of her wish if she just joins their group again - especially since they’ve just harassed her and treat her horribly. I know it’s your story and you have your own ideas but perhaps consider this: - they approach like you said and she decides to go with them because she thinks she has a chance with ML or just wants to help him or alternatively, now that she’s an NPC, she is bound by the whole RPG rules and is forced to follow them - on their trip she realises that it was all a scam and he doesn’t really like her - maybe they decide to sacrifice her in a battle because she’s just an NPC so what does it matter, right? - after surviving or whatever, she’s had enough and now wants vengeance for all that she’s put though - she approaches them using different identities and basically messes with them ie. pointing to harder quests, giving poor information, etc. - maybe Demon King notices her efforts and they somehow team up together (Demon King new ML?) Again, these are just suggestions, do with them what you want, at the end of your day it’s your story and you seem to have a good groundwork - just the development seems to be going in an unfavourable direction in my opinion
Spoiler: Chapter 2 Without warning, we were teleported into our next life. I didn't get a moment to catch my breath or turn around to face my classmates. Apparently, the heavenly official was eager to move onto the next case, and he didn't even hesitate a single second before stamping the divine paperwork. Thinking about it, we spent a year waiting in line to get an audience with God, but the final meeting was extremely brief and underwhelming. God said: "Un." And then there was a flash of light. Honestly, I had been hoping to receive an explanation or at least a tutorial for my situation, but instructions weren't included in the package. Evidently, the Heavenly Courthouse prioritized efficiency over anything else, and they couldn't even spare a minor spirit to ease our transition into a new isekai world, which was seriously a bit scuffed on their part. Couldn't they at least take a little bit of responsibility for frivolously reincarnating human souls? Instead, I simply blinked once. Ah. Hold a moment. I was currently standing with a basket of dirty laundry in my arms. Suddenly, a deluge of memories flooded into my brain, and I reflexively reached up to clutch my head. It seriously hurt a lot, almost like someone unlocked a dam in my brain. My mind was a rapidly expanding water balloon, and it felt like I was going to explode. Foreign thoughts and emotions had abruptly invaded my psyche, and I was suddenly afraid that an alien spirit was trying to take over my body. I dropped the basket of laundry in alarm and clothes spilled over the floor. A moments later, I suddenly realized that it wasn't my own brain being invaded. Rather, it was the exact opposite, and I had suddenly taken over someone else's body without warning. My consciousness had abruptly inserted itself into an innocent bystander's mind, and now I had two sets of memories inside of my head. 'I' was Hanamarie (Hana) Stilaria, a simple yet talented 20-year-old maid who was employed in the royal palace. I had traveled to the capital city from my hometown two provinces away because my father was an ex-soldier who lost his legs in the frontier wars, and my mother and six younger siblings had no income. On the first Tuesday of every month, I would mail 75% of my earnings back home along with a loving letter to my younger sister. Otherwise, I was on the marriage market trying to find a wealthy merchant bachelor who would be able to solve all my family financial problems. Meanwhile, the other 'me' was Zhang Guiyu, a 17-year-old useless high school student who recently died when her class bus drove off a cliff during the school camping trip near Mount Emei. Obviously, I have nothing good to say about myself, and it's already plainly obvious which one of us is totally dead weight in the pair. I became keenly aware of the fact that there were two of 'me' now. Both of us inhabited the same body, and both of us were now the same person. Our thoughts were fused together, and it was impossible to distinguish which were mine and which were hers. Our personalities had essentially blended together, and the new me was simply just 'me'. Surprisingly, I wasn't all that bothered by this, and my pounding headache slowly resolved in about ten minutes. My current condition felt totally fine, and I didn't feel ill or sick. I reached down to pick up the basket of laundry that I dropped on the floor, and I was ready to continue on with my day. I had quite a list of tasks to complete, and I needed to deliver this basket of laundry to the palace washroom before wiping the kitchen floor. I could easily infer that this event had occurred because of my request to God. I had asked to become a NPC. I had no idea what happened to the rest of my classmates from Earth, but they weren't anywhere to be seen. The only reasonable conclusion was that my wish was successful, and now 'Guiyu' had become 'Hana' — simple maid who worked in the royal palace. Of course, I was also a high school student who isekai'd from Earth, but I seemed rather eager to discard that element of my former self. My past life on Earth isn't at all important. Call me shameless, perhaps. However, I genuinely think that disappearing like this is so convenient. I don't want to deal with my classmates from another world. ∎ Spoiler: Chapter 3 I had barely walked down a single corridor before I noticed that something was amiss. The palace was abuzz with commotion and excitement, and the servants were whispering amongst each other like chittering squirrels. Of course, the maids and butlers were normally much more prim and proper in the presence of the nobility, but the façade was instantly dropped whenever our managers stepped out of earshot. "Hana!! Did you hear the news?" An excited maid bounded up to me like an enthusiastic puppy. "The Grand Archbishop finally got the Hero Summoning ritual to work! They've arrived!! In fact, there's a whole dozen of them!!" "Ah, is that so...?" My eyes were slightly blank and disinterested. If I searched through Hanamarie's memories, it was well-known gossip that the Grand Archbishop had been attempting the Hero Summoning ritual for decades. However, all of the prior attempts had been failures, and the Kingdom of Galuterica had gradually slipped into an economic depression over the years. Many of humanity's great cities fell to monsters, and most trade routes had closed since it was no longer safe to travel outside without a personal army. Once every thousand years, it was written in the history books that it was possible to summon a hero from another world. This 'hero' is fabled to possess the ability to slay the Demon Lord, who is otherwise rumored to be immortal. There are eight recorded instances of heroes being summoned in the past, and in each case the 'hero' saved the world and made everything sparkly, dazzling, and happily ever after. With a 100% success rate, it's somewhat understandable why everyone is so excited about the arrival of the hero of this generation. Heroes are idolized almost like gods, and they are basically worshipped by the citizens of humanity. That said... ...These 'heroes' are just my high school classmates. You must understand that I didn't feel a single droplet of enthusiasm. For example, my classmate Sha Guadi, who sits in front of me in homeroom, picks his nose with his pencil. He thinks that nobody notices since we sit near the back of the room, but I can see it as clear as day... Likewise, Ma Qingyue plays games on her phone all day during class, and during exams she'll raise her hand to go to the toilet multiple times to look up the answers on her smartphone. I'm not the type of person to snitch on others, but I think you can probably tell that I don't have the best opinion of my acquaintances. Honestly, we're just ordinary high school students who are spoiled by the incredible luxury of modern kitchen appliances. I don't think any of us could slaughter a chicken, let alone slay a demon lord. It's a bit ridiculous to even think of my classmates as 'heroes', and somehow I'm extremely skeptical of this new over-glorified isekai status. Surely, it can't be good for their inflated egos. In fact, it makes my stomach hurt simply to think about it. "I hope I'm not assigned to cleaning their rooms..." I sighed with an ugly grimace. Lucia, the excited maid who approached me, looked almost shocked. "Why not?!" She exclaimed. "This is a once is a lifetime opportunity! Once the heroes defeat the Demon Lord, they'll be granted titles and land. They're future dukes and royalty with their future essentially laid out for them, and if you marry one, it's a free ticket straight into the ranks of nobility!" Indeed, based on Hanamarie's memories, this was absolutely true. In the Kingdom of Galuterica, normally it was impossible for a peasant to marry an aristocrat. However, otherworldly heroes were an exception to the rule, and there were many popular Cinderella-like fairy tales about a hero in shining armor rescuing a baker's daughter, who subsequently got married and became royalty. These legends were based on true historical events, so it's understandable that many young girls would fantasize about these possibilities. However, as for me... ...Absolutely no. No way in hell! Even the thought of affectionately snuggling up with Sha Guadi makes me want to vomit. This is insane! Who would want to marry their own high school classmate?! My mind was racing, and I was quickly plotting an excuse to steer clear from my classmates as much as possible. ∎ Spoiler: Chapter 4 Of course, knowing my luck, the majordomo called an emergency assembly among the palace staff, and we were promptly informed that all non-essential staff were to immediately prioritize preparing accommodations for the dozen-or-so otherworldly heroes who suddenly appeared overnight. The atmosphere was extremely serious, as it was implicitly understood that this event as important as receiving the emperor of a foreign nation as our honored guest. Heroes were like living gods, and as such they should be treated like one. However, the major point of complication was that twelve heroes were summoned during this year's ritual. This was unprecedented, and in previous years, the summoning ritual only produced one hero. Currently, the kingdom's ministers were unsure whether all twelve otherworlders were heroes, or if it there was only one true hero amongst a bunch of frauds. To be safe, the higher ups emphasized that the guests should be treated equally, and for the time being we were instructed to service all of them like royalty. In principle, this reasoning was perfectly sound, but in practice, there was a major logistical problem... The royal palace simply didn't have enough luxury guest rooms suitable for twelve kings. In fact, there were only three guest rooms that were reserved for foreign dignitaries, and one of them was currently occupied by the Prince of Xandu. At the next tier, there was eight guest rooms suitable for diplomats and influential generals, and then at the lowest tier there were forty "cheap" guest rooms appropriate for merchants and minor aristocrats. Housing the heroes in the "cheap" rooms was obviously unthinkable, as the kingdom's Prime Minister was sure that this would be perceived a political insult. Of course, I knew that my classmates wouldn't have been offended regardless of where they were placed, but it wasn't my place to speak up as a random peasant maid with no credibility or status. Instead, I watched blankly as my managers and superiors panicked over this logistical crisis. According to the inventory report, there wasn't enough wine, steak, candied nuts, or silk-woven pillow cases. Similarly, there also weren't enough handmaidens and skilled courtiers. While there were plenty of maids in the palace, most of us were low-born and not qualified to serve the nobility directly. It would be a terrible idea to assign an untrained and uncouth dishwasher to wait upon a hero, so it was necessary to summon specialized courtesans from the red light district in case they were requested by the guests. Also, there were many other issues like— Wait a minute. None of this was my problem. It wasn't my problem! I was just a simple peasant maid whose only job was to follow orders. There was no reason for me to get stressed over this. My manager shouted in a few random directions with instructions, and I innocently ran off to keep myself busy. Ultimately, it was decided that the Prime Minister would temporarily move out of his own room, and all of the best rooms in the palace would be requisitioned for the heroes. Four of the Otherworlders would receive more luxurious suites than the rest, but someone must have decided that this room shuffling option was preferable. In the meantime, the Prime Minister's room and the Prince of Xandu's guest room needed to be cleaned and vacated. I spent the majority of my shift packing trinkets the Prime Minister's office and dusting the furniture. I wasn't in any hurry to finish, as I would inevitably only receive more work as soon as I finished my current task. That said, I couldn't work too slow, or else I would get scolded. Thankfully, I was an experienced and well-respected maid, and I had an approximate sense of my pace and productivity relative to my co-workers. In high school, I always believed in doing the minimal amount of work to stay above average, and it's interesting to see how this same philosophy stays relevant no matter where I go. It gave me plenty of time to think. I really needed to think about this situation very carefully. There was one critical discrepancy that sat at the forefront of my mind. The majordomo had explicitly said that twelve heroes had arrived during the summoning ritual. However, there was a total of 23 students in my class. Which raised the million dollar question— Where had everyone else gone? ∎ Spoiler: Chapter 5 Thinking about this retrospectively, I knew absolutely nothing about my classmates' divine wishes. I had asked to become an NPC, which evidently separated me from the rest of my class. Instead of being teleported during the Hero Summoning Ritual, I woke up in the body of Hanamarie Stilaria, an ordinary maid who worked in the royal palace. Perhaps some of my rogue classmates asked for something similar, and their requests disqualified them from joining the main group. However, I was genuinely surprised to hear that so much of my class was missing. Were there really so many of us who wanted to leave the main group? This wasn't what I expected, and I wasn't even sure if I could name ten other students that were obvious antisocial loners. I mean, aside from myself... —Maybe there was Lu Aduo, Yan Tianri...? No... It was a waste of energy to speculate. It would be easier to figure out who was missing once I confirmed which classmates were in the Summoning Ritual group. That said, did it really even matter? Was it even my business to pry into this mystery? I sighed deeply as I made my way back from the Prime Minister's room. I had asked to become a NPC because I wanted nothing to do with my classmates. Like many teenagers, I had read my fair share of isekai novels, and I was fairly annoyed when I first discovered that I would be transmigrated into a shared world together with all of my high school classmates. Obviously, I would have preferred a solo isekai experience, and I wanted something low-key and easygoing instead of an epic fantasy with demon lords and evil monsters threatening to destroy humanity. To put it plainly, I just wanted to enjoy my new life peacefully. Since this was the case, shouldn't I just pretend that Zhang Guiyu never existed? It's not like I have anything positive to say about my former life. Perhaps I would be happier if I act like I don't recognize my classmates? I could even roleplay. My name is Hanamarie Stilaria, and I'm a totally ordinary maid! I'm just a maid! I can roleplay like a regular maid with no special features, and I only need to keep my head down and avoid drawing attention to myself. Once I immerse myself entirely in Hana's psyche, I'd be able to imagine myself as Hana and pretend that I'm just an ordinary 20-year-old peasant woman who's always lived in this world. Then, I'll never need to worry about my classmates again. I clapped my cheeks lightly to focus. Focus! What would Hana do in this situation?? What would Hana say and think?? + + + I was so preoccupied with my absentminded thoughts that I almost walked past the Majordomo in the hallway. "Miss Hanamarie, hold on a for a moment," my boss suddenly caught my arm. Instantly, my eyes snapped back to attention. "Ah...! Yes...?" I responded to the Majordomo in confusion. "Can I help you?" "You've been an excellent employee over the years. I've been told you're a role model for the younger maids, and your proactive leadership is strongly appreciated by those of us in the management." "Thank you, sir?" "Congratulations, Hanamarie." "...?" "You're promoted as of today. Starting now, you are officially a lady-in-waiting." "...Huh?" "We're understaffed and I need you in the Emerald Room, so please take responsibility for the guest there," the Majordomo said. I blinked, but then my stomach lurched when the realization hit me. Wait! Wait! Wait! The Emerald Room was currently being prepared as a bedroom for one of the otherwordly heroes. Getting assigned as a personal servant for one of my classmates is literally the worst possible outcome! "W-Wait! Sir! Hold on, this must be a mistake! I'm not qualified! I'm only a peasant! I can't be a lady-in-waiting!" I desperately attempted to rack my brain for excuses. Ordinarily, a lady-in-waiting would receive years of education before they were trusted to serve the most esteemed guests. Oftentimes, the position was filled by someone with noble blood, as this elevated the prestige of the liege they served. A lady-in-waiting was expected to be intelligent, conversational, and good-natured in addition to taking care of their liege's personal needs. However, the Majordomo seemed unconvinced by my protests. If anything, my reluctance to take the position seemed to raise his opinion of me even further, as he interpreted my hesitancy as a form of genuine honesty and trustworthiness. Most other servants would pounce on this opportunity irregardless if they were truly qualified. The Majordomo smiled warmly at me, and he offered his encouragement. "I believe in you, Hanamarie. Have faith in yourself. You're the best that we have left." "I haven't been properly trained," I protested weakly. "I never received an aristocrat's education." "You are fully literate and quite knowledgeable for your position," the Majordomo countered. "That is better than most of our housemaids, who can neither read nor write." "But..." "You will learn quickly on the job. I am confident that you will. Now stop doubting yourself and get to work." "......" ∎ Spoiler: Chapter 6 For a short while, I briefly considered quitting my job on the spot. However, after wrestling with myself internally, I couldn't bring myself to do it. Quitting my job in the royal palace was simply too rash, and Hanamarie's common sense reeled at such a childish impulse. In particular, my father was disabled and my whole family depended on my income. Every month, I mailed a huge chunk of my earnings back home, and I couldn't suddenly abandon Hana's family to starve. Thinking about it seriously, Hana really is an amazing person... She was only sixteen years old when she traveled hundreds of miles to the royal capital to look for work. She didn't have any relatives or acquaintances in the city, yet somehow she managed to make a living without relying on anyone. Obviously, finding a job in the royal palace is extremely competitive, and most work applications are rejected during the screening process. Furthermore, it pays extremely well to be employed by the royal family. If I quit my job, it was extremely unlikely that I could find peasant work that could match my current salary. Basically, the mature side of me told me to 'stop whining' and shut up. Even if I disliked my classmates, I was basically being paid the equivalent of $40/hour to change some bedsheets and wash dirty laundry. Was it worth the cost to my trampled dignity and pride? ...I'm sorry, father, for dishonoring the Zhang family name. I'm a cash sellout. + + + Of course, my reluctant acceptance of the situation didn't mean that I was anything close to enthusiastic about becoming the personal servant of one of my high school classmates. The other attendants and I regrouped for a quick staff meeting, and I could tell that all of them were extremely excited about their assignment despite their unsuccessful attempts to appear nonchalant and calm. It was unbecoming of a personal butler to demonstrate excess emotion, and we were supposed to be stoic, dispassionate, and poised at all times. That said, my deadpan expression wasn't an act. A few of the newly promoted ladies-in-waiting were clearly less experienced than the veterans, which wasn't particularly surprising since half of us weren't even trained for this role. You could see the nervous trepidation on their faces, but they tried their best to appear elegant and refined, although the final product was rather awkward and robotic. "I think you're better off acting the way you normally do," I gave my honest opinion to my friend Lisa. The recently promoted maid laughed nervously. "How are you so calm, Hana?" She stammered fitfully. Uhh... I tried to make up a sensible excuse. "The heroes are Otherworlders, so our traditions and rules of etiquette are unknown and irrelevant to them. Basically, it doesn't matter if you slip up on the traditional greeting or adulation blessing. Their culture is entirely different from ours." "But that only makes me more nervous!" Lisa exclaimed. "What if I accidentally offend them? I don't want to say the wrong thing! We could break their taboos without even knowing it!" On the contrary, the Kingdom of Galuterica's culture was much more conservative than modern society on Earth, so it was actually more likely that my classmates would offend the local inhabitants with their vulgar behavior. However, I had no way of explaining this to Lisa, so I ultimately fell silent. I didn't realize that Guiyu and Hana's combined memories would be so useful. I was completely silent while we walked towards the Hall of Heroes as a group. We could hear a noisy clamor from the Hero Summoning Chamber, and the entire hallway was crowded with various ministers, politicians, and advisors who were struggling to get a handle on this chaotic situation. Politely, we pushed our way to the front of the crowd, which was when I suddenly realized that I had neglected something important this entire time. In the center of the room, twelve of my ridiculous classmates were attempting to play pictionary with the Grand Archbishop of Galuterica. They were struggling to mine out actions while twisting their hands in sign language. "Onkol zo toxt wholo zaxat ug wisk te slaxansraxato," the Grand Archbishop said. "不好意思, 我不明白?" My classmate Kang Jiesu answered quizzically. "Zaxat nud molupp unbeltunaxato." ... I instantly facepalmed at something so painfully obvious. I had forgotten about it since Hanamarie's knowledge had effortlessly fused together with Zhang Guiyu's memories. Evidently, I became bilingual as a side effect of becoming a NPC. However, my other classmates didn't speak the local language. ∎ Spoiler: Chapter 7 Watching the Grand Archbishop attempt to communicate with my classmates was filled with cringe, particularly when they thought that they successfully communicated something, but in actuality the translation was totally wrong. For example, my classmates frequently relied on hand gestures like thumbs up and crossing their arms in the shape of an X, but these signs were completely misinterpreted by the Archbishop. Specifically, a thumbs up meant 'more' in Galuterican culture, and an X was typically used to mark 'yes' on paperwork. In essence, my classmates would cross their arms and shake their head back and forth, but the Archbishop would interpret their refusal as an affirmative response. As you might imagine, this was the root cause for dozens of various misunderstandings, which had only continued to magnify the longer they attempted to negotiate with each other. Apparently, they had been going at this for over an hour, but not much progress had been made. It was becoming visibly apparent that the newly arrived heroes were getting tired, which was why the Prime Minister had quietly called for the attendants to bring the guests to their rooms. The ladies-in-waiting and I had all lined up at the front of the hall, but no one knew how to explain to the Otherworlders that we would take them to their rooms. Of course... if I simply translated for everyone, we wouldn't have this issue at all... but revealing my fluency in both Mandarin and Galuterican was unquestionably a bad idea. It would raise too many questions, and I would be promptly interrogated about my suspicious ability. Furthermore, my classmates might catch on that I was actually Zhang Guiyu in disguise. Anyhow, negotiations had already fallen to a stalemate. When I scanned through the group of my classmates, I slightly taken aback to realize that several of my classmates looked different from their original appearance. For instance, Sha Guadi (the nose-picker who sits in front of me) was now 190cm tall with a chiseled warrior's torso, a handsome face, and silver hair. He looked like an RPG character from World of Warcraft, although it was still rather obvious that he was fundamentally the same person. Some of my other classmates had cat ears or angel wings, but Sha Guadi stood out like a sore thumb compared to everyone else. Obviously, the change in appearance was related to the wishes that each of my classmates made. While I didn't know the specifics, I could guess that Sha Guadi asked to become some kind of super-strong warrior. Sha was unquestionably the most eye-catching member in my class, and the Grand Archbishop seemed to think that he was the de facto leader. The Archbishop addressed most of his statements to Sha Guadi, who in turn seemed quite content to act out the role of a knight in shining armor. Sha Guadi's roleplay was actually quite horrendous to look at, which was exacerbated by the language barrier that existed between both sides. Incidentally, our real class president, Kang Jiesu, was largely ignored by the Grand Archbishop. Kang was uncharacteristically quiet, and he stayed in the background while Sha Guadi and other some others uselessly attempted to break the nonsensical language barrier. He seemed to be troubled by something, and the expression on face was filled with worry. Kang would periodically crane his head and look around the room, as if he was searching for someone. It later occurred to me that Kang was probably bothered by the fact that half of the class was missing. Kang Jiesu was a model class president and straight A student, and he always spent a lot of effort trying to include everyone in class social events. As a matter of fact, I hated him a lot, because he would force the loners to interact with everyone else. In high school, I never ate lunch alone because Kang would drag me along to eat with his friends. One time, I didn't show up at school for a week, and Kang freakishly showed up at my house every single day to give my mother the school handouts that I missed. In my school, Kang Jiesu was well liked by pretty much everyone, but in truth, I always hated guys like him the most. I don't trust anyone who smiles so brightly at everyone. At some point, it has to be fake. Kang is a rotten social riajuu with a weaponized smile. Making eye contact with him is dangerous. As a matter of fact— Oh shit. I averted my eyes in a panic. For a brief moment, Kang Jiesu looked this way, and our gaze almost met. ∎ Spoiler: Chapter 8 Getting the Otherworlders to follow us to their bedrooms was unexpectedly simple. Most of this was thanks to Sha Guadi, whose impulsive and testosterone-driven behavior was actually useful (for once). The Head Matron simply beckoned a few of us to approach him, and in summary, my teenage male classmate was absurdly weak to pretty women. All of the maids who had been promoted into ladies-in-waiting were all young and attractive. This was likely an intentional and strategic choice on behalf of the Kingdom. My friend, Lisa, for instance, could easily pass for a royal princess, and she was extraordinarily pretty. Sha Guadi immediately fell to his knees as soon as Lisa touched his arm and smiled softly at him. Incidentally, Sha Guadi thought that Lisa was a Holy Princess, and from that point on he started babbling about how he'll do everything in his power to save her beautiful kingdom. Of course, his exaggerated flattery and veneration was completely lost in translation, and Lisa had no idea what Sha Guadi was saying. She simply continued to smile obliviously (I mean, what else do you do in this situation??) while she slowly guided him to the door. As for the rest of my classmates, all of them hesitantly followed along. Nobody wanted to be left behind, especially when nobody knew the area or could speak the language. Many of them probably thought that Sha Guadi was a fool, but currently there wasn't enough information to suggest an alternative course of action. Perhaps it was instinctive human nature, but my classmates huddled together like a defensive bundle of sheep. This was foreign territory for them. In fact, when we arrived at the first set of guest rooms, it was extremely difficult to convince my classmates to split up. All of them shuffled into the first bedroom as a group, as if they all expected they would be sharing a single room. However, there was only a single king-sized bed in the Sapphire Suite, and the majordomo refused to allow all twelve of them to cram into a single bedroom. It took a lot of coaxing, but eventually we were able to convince each of them to take their own bedroom once they figured out the gist of our basic intentions. The only issue was that many of the nicest guest rooms were scattered in different wings of the royal palace, and it was necessary for all of us to split up in pairs. I'm not sure exactly what I was thinking, but I spent the entire room-sorting processing trying to shrink into the background. This turned out to be extremely silly and short-sighted, because there were exactly twelve attendants to match twelve guests. Even if I tried to stay invisible, I would still inevitably be paired one of my classmates at the end of the day. By the time I realized that all of my fellow ladies-in-waiting were sneakily trying to pair themselves with their favorite hero(ine) of fancy, the scramble for partners was already well under way. The maids flew onto my classmates like figurative sharks in a feeding frenzy, although they tried to make it seem like it was pure coincidence. Obviously, my colleagues all wanted to pick a good liege. Our task was to attend to all the personal needs and necessities of our master, and this was a rare opportunity for us select our future employer. Distraught, I realized that this was just like middle school prom all over again. ...I'm such an idiot. Why didn't I realize this sooner? There was a light tap on my shoulder, and when I turned around, my face instantly paled. It was Kang Jiesu, the class president. "I guess it's the two of us left? (看来就留着我们两?)" He remarked informally. Shit. That fucking riajuu bastard. Out of everyone, why did it have to be him?! It took all of my self-control to keep a straight face, and I struggled to keep my eyebrows from twitching. I reminded myself that I had to act like I didn't understand Mandarin, which was already going to be a nightmarish challenge. Of course, there were many other reasons that made this pairing difficult, but I felt like this outcome was an especially nasty joke. Was this God's twisted sense of humor? Seriously?? How did my fate end up like this?? The class president smiled ominously at me. "Although it's sudden, my name is Kang Jiesu. It's a pleasure to meet you. Let's work together from now on." ∎ Thank you for all the suggestions everyone! I ended up adjusting some of the things I was considering, and I got rid of any mention of any ML that the MC previously liked. I haven't really settled down on a specific ML at the moment, but there's certainly a lot of room to figure out who the true ML will be. Maybe I'll bounce between a few candidates -- who knows!
Oh, those classmates seems pretty unreliable indeed. Hopes they do their job probably and don't drag _ the finally free_ MC along
Spoiler: Chapter 9 Unsurprisingly, this was awkward. Unbearably awkward. As I led Kang Jiesu to the Emerald Suite, I was completely silent. As for Kang, he periodically tried to strike conversation, but a combination of the language barrier and my frigid personality posed an insurmountable challenge for the social butterfly. Moreover, I was extremely self-conscious about my own behavior, and I didn't want to let anything slip about my true identity. Kang and I had known each other since kindergarten, and it went without saying that we knew far too much about each other. Honestly, I knew most of my classmates since elementary school, but Kang was... a step above the others. But it was precisely for that reason that I couldn't trust him. Sun Tzu once said that 'if you know your enemy and you know yourself, you need not fear 100 battles'. Contrarily, Kang Jiesu knew almost every single little thing about me in excruciating detail, and that left me critically vulnerable from all directions. Furthermore, he was manipulative and sly, and I couldn't trust a single word that came out of his mouth. Kang was a liar and traitor. He was probably my only friend, but I hated him. He is the worst kind of asshole. Years ago, I swore that I would never forgive him. + + + My eyes were blank like a dead fish as I gave my ex-childhood friend and classmate a silent tour of the Emerald Suite. The Emerald Suite was one of the eight 'mid-tier' guest rooms in the royal palace. Although we referred to it as a "bedroom", it was actually as large as an entire penthouse, and it had its own office, living room, master bathroom, and secondary guest room. Obviously, it was extremely luxurious, and I knew for a fact that Kang Jiesu had never seen anything as lavish and extravagant as this, since both of our families grew up in cramped six-story concrete apartment buildings in the rundown suburbs of Chongqing. There were also mana-powered lamps and a variety of other magical appliances that were commonplace in this world. I could easily guess that these curious trinkets of magical technology would almost certainly catch Kang's attention, although they weren't remarkable at all from Hanamarie's perspective. Frankly, it was too easy to overlook all the things that Hana's brain considered insignificant. Still, I was grateful for the fact that Kang would likely have plenty of things to distract himself with. I really didn't want to interact with him any more than the bare minimum. Consequently, I cut the bedroom tour short at the earliest opportunity. The time was already past midnight, so it was extremely late by local standards. However, my managers were unsure if the Otherworlders had eaten at all, so we had been instructed to cater a meal just in case they were hungry. I spent some time customizing a tray of hot food that had been delivered from the kitchen, and I took care to select a few entrées that would appear slightly more familiar to someone from Earth. For instance, Galuterica had it's own version of chicken (although it tasted more like lamb), and the bread here was unleavened and flat (sort of like a 饼). I decorated the plate with ominous-looking fungus and green cheese. Galuterican milk, by the way, tastes absolutely foul (by Earth standards) since it's an acquired taste. I poured one glass for the sole reason that it looks identical to cow's milk. I knew that Kang would taste it, and I simply wanted to mess with him. Finally, I chose the most revolting tea that I was fairly sure Kang would hate the most. It was an extremely expensive tea, so I was sure there was no way I'd get in trouble for intentionally serving the "good stuff". As you can probably imagine, there are plenty of opportunities for a maid to sabotage her liege. I actually found these impish machinations to be very satisfying and cathartic, and I was already looking forward to serving Kang's breakfast in tomorrow morning. Dozens of ideas suddenly popped into my head now that it finally occurred to me how much power I wielded, and for the time being I could feign total ignorance due to the oh-so-unfortunate and tragic 'language barrier'. ∎ Spoiler: Chapter 10 Shockingly, I watched in utter disbelief as Kang Jiesu sat down at the dining table. He calmly swallowed every single bite of the alien meal that I presented. He didn't even flinch while he spooned up the green cheese and spread it evenly across the deflated flatbread. There was no indication that he thought that the taste was revolting, and he took several sips of the sour milk without the slightest reaction on his face. Instead, he chewed slowly as if he was a food connoisseur trying to savor every exquisite flavor of Michelin star cuisine, and he would periodically pause and remark to himself that this had a 'fascinating texture'. "Thank you for the meal," he said politely after wiping his plate clean. "It was very colorful." I tried very hard not to stare. While I vaguely understood that this was Kang's method of being polite, this was far too extreme. He seriously didn't have to finish everything, and it would had been fine to leave the disagreeable foods untouched. Even if I was just an ordinary maid, I would have easily gotten the message that some foods were good and others were bad. In fact, it was entirely expected for an esteemed guest to have dietary preferences. As a matter of fact, Kang Jiesu finished absolutely everything on his plate... ...So wasn't the only sensible interpretation that he was still hungry? I promptly went back to the kitchenette and prepared a second plate of food. The dishes were exactly the same as the first time, and I quickly returned with an identical meal. Smiling innocently, I placed the porcelain plate in front of him. "Please enjoy, my lord." (I said in Galuterican) Kang Jiesu, however, stared blankly at me. "Oh no, no. I'm very full! Thank you very much! I can't eat anymore." He refused (in Mandarin) while shaking his head. However, I feigned total ignorance. I tilted my head quizzically. What could my master possibly be saying~? "Could it be that these foods displease you?" (I inquired in Galuterican) Picking up the plate that I just set down in front of my classmate, I returned to the kitchenette and prepared an alternative meal. This time, I chose different dishes and entrées, and I made sure to include a very ugly-looking dessert and pumpkin soup. Privately, I was getting a total kick out of this, and it was weirdly satisfying to be intentionally counterproductive. Honestly, I felt like I could do this all day long. I was fairly confident in my NPC acting skills, and I was determined to be as useless as possible. Whatever it was that Kang Jiesu wanted, I would make sure to get him the exact opposite. + + + Some time after this pointless back-and-forth exchange, I was collecting the dirty dishes to deliver them back to the kitchen. At this point, it was already the early morning hours of the night, and both of us were starting to grow tired. I was almost ready to bid goodnight to Kang, but my classmate stopped me at the door while I was carrying a tray of silverware in my arms. "Would it be a problem if I took a midnight stroll?" He asked cheerfully (in Mandarin). I paused momentarily. "—Or are my friends and I under house arrest?" There was suddenly an ominous shadow on Kang Jiesu's face, and I felt a deep chill across my neck. Kang was still smiling cheerfully, but more than anyone, I knew how deceptive and fake my childhood friend could be. Oftentimes, Kang would say one thing, but in reality his true feelings were the exact opposite. He was a natural politician. An expert liar. Kang was a dangerous person to have as an enemy. Moreover, I also knew that this was a rhetorical question. Kang must have known that I couldn't understand him. As such, I went along with my script and played dumb. I knew absolutely nothing about what he was talking about, and furthermore I certainly couldn't understand his Otherworldly moon rune language. I'm just an irrelevant NPC, so why did the protagonist's plans matter to me? However, as I bowed and left my classmate's room, I simply left the front door open. A sliver of light came in through the crack in the entrance. If Kang wanted to wander around the royal palace at night, he was certainly free to do so. Why would I bother to stop him? ∎ Spoiler: Chapter 11 One of the convenient perks of transmigrating into Hanamarie Stilaria's body was that she was an early riser. As a maid, I had a long list of responsibilities and tasks to address before sunrise, and it was no joke to say that Hana ordinarily woke up at 5AM every day. When I lived on Earth, this type of sleep schedule would have been utterly brutal, largely due to the fact that Zhang Guiyu was a night owl. However, a few hours after I hit the sack in the servant's quarters (somewhere around 2-3 AM), I was pleasantly surprised to find myself waking up naturally before the crack of dawn. I didn't even need an alarm clock. Of course, I was rather tired, but at least I didn't oversleep. Hana was extremely disciplined and diligent. I would almost describe her as hyperfunctional, which was almost the polar opposite of the other 'me', who was lethargic, overly anxious, and excessively melancholic to a fault. Honestly, I was just amazed that my brain didn't somehow implode from a catastrophic fusion of our diametric personalities, and I probably spent the first hour of the morning in awe at the fact that I had actually climbed out of bed voluntarily. I even made my bed and spent a fair amount of time applying what little cosmetics I owned. It was actually kind of jarring to see how different the two of us were. However, if the current 'me' is a combination of both Guiyu's and Hana's best qualities, I honestly have to admit that God must have been extremely generous. He easily could have stacked our flaws instead of our strengths, in which case I probably would have shriveled up into black hole already. I never imagined that becoming an NPC would have such unexpected side effects, but ultimately I could see that I was incredibly fortunate. I was lucky to be given another chance at life. For once, I wanted to live my current reality to its fullest. + + + Quietly, I let myself into Kang Jiesu's room sometime around the crack of dawn. As the lady-in-waiting for the Emerald Suite, my job was to take care of all the housekeeping and personal affairs for my lord. Many of the chores could be left for the middle of the day, but there was a full routine of various affairs that were designated for the morning. For instance, it was my responsibility to pick out a new set of clothes for Kang and collect yesterday's dirty laundry. I also had to warm the bath, change the toilet water, and tidy up the floor. In the Kingdom of Galuterica, the nobility generally expected to wake up to a neat room. This meant that a small yet significant fraction of the cleaning needed to be done in the early hours of the morning while the nobility were still asleep. Only trusted retainers were allowed in the their master's bed chamber in the middle of night, which specifically meant that these sensitive chores were the responsibility of personal attendants, handmaidens, and ladies-in-waiting like myself. Ordinary household staff and regular maids were only allowed to enter an aristocrat's bedroom in the middle of the day. Incidentally, it was considered a blunder for an attendant to accidentally wake up their sleeping master, which often put handmaidens like myself in a difficult situation. It was actually a problematic and troubling catch-22. The only solution was to clean as quietly as possible and tiptoe around the bedroom, but you were in trouble if you made too much noise and woke up the sleeping dragon. You were especially unlucky if your master was a light sleeper. That said, most personal attendants eventually develop a knack for silencing their footsteps. Furthermore, aristocrats in the Kingdom of Galuterica are generally accustomed to hearing background noises in the early morning, so most nobles don't wake up when servants enter their room. The closest Earth analogy that I can give is that long-time city dwellers won't wake up to the noise of honking cars or ambulance sirens outside of the bedroom window, even though objectively speaking the sounds are quite loud. Given enough time, any person will adapt to their environment. Kang Jiesu, however, obviously wasn't accustomed to this local custom. He jolted awake as soon as I opened the door. I had no idea how many hours of sleep he had gotten. Similarly, I had no way of knowing if he had actually 'gone for a midnight stroll' after I went to bed, but I had already decided that his personal adventures were none of my business. I was happy to turn a blind eye as long as I didn't see it. That said, I could easily guess that my classmate could probably benefit from more sleep. I bowed respectfully when Kang Jiesue shot a questionable look at me. "Please continue to rest, my lord." (I said calmly in Galuterican) If this had been Hanamarie, I would have been terrified at Kang's initial reaction. Disturbing your master's sleep was quite a severe offense, and it was sufficient grounds to warrant punishment. However, I knew Kang well enough to know that he wouldn't react negatively, and he also wasn't the type of person to raise a commotion over a small complaint. I simply carried on with my job. I pretended not to notice while my classmate stared at me as I collected his laundry and folded his clothes. His gaze was actually very intense, but he did not say anything and he sat motionlessly under the bedsheets. It was quite intimidating, but I held my back straight and pretended to be unaffected. In this situation, I relied extensively on my stoic NPC persona. If I imagined myself like an emotionless pre-programmed robot, I could ignore the fact that he was glaring lasers at my back. Why was he so agitated, you might wonder? Well, the answer to that was actually very straightforward. I had taken away his pants. Obviously, yesterday's clothes belonged with the dirty laundry. For now, Kang Jiesu will just have to sit obediently until I fetch a fresh change of clothes. ∎ Spoiler: Chapter 12 While I did briefly entertain the notion of sabotaging Kang Jiesu's outfit, it was ultimately a silly idea. Everyone knew that it was the attendant's responsibility to dress their liege, so poor fashion choices and wardrobe malfunctions were unquestionably the handmaiden's fault. Curiously, the inverse wasn't true — nobles took all the credit and praise if their outfit looked good — which was an unfortunate example of a double standard in feudal society. The cards were generally always stacked unfairly against commoners, but this was a fact of life that everyone (including Hanamarie) was accustomed to. Kang Jiesu's clothing reflected on myself, so it was in my best interest to do well. That being said, this task was easier said than done, because the Otherworlders had only just arrived last night. We never had an opportunity for them to visit the tailor, and likewise we hadn't measured their bodies (yet) because our managers didn't want us to seem overly intrusive. In short, we could only eyeball and guesstimate their approximate sizes and proportions, which wasn't easy to do accurately. Basically, we could only pick something out of the clothing rack and pray like hell that it fit well. Compared to my coworkers, I think I had a huge advantage though. For reasons that I won't elaborate on, I already knew all of Kang Jiesu's sizes. Back on Earth, our families were extremely close, and Kang was sort of a standardized yardstick that my parents measured me against when we were growing up. In elementary school, I was taller than him, but then puberty happened and he overshot me like a weed. To this day, I know my own height in 'Kang units' (i.e. 20cm shorter than Kang), mostly because my family never stopped remarking on our height difference. Ultimately, picking the right size wasn't difficult at all. I did, however, spent a lot more time thinking about the particular style and color. In the end, I went with my conventional high school approach and aimed to perform 'only slightly better than average'. For selfish reasons, I didn't want Kang to stand out too much, and it was more convenient for me if the Kingdom continued to overlook him. Although he was our legitimate class president, the Grand Archbishop had never realized this, and I was perfectly fine with the misunderstanding that Sha Guadi was the 'leader' of the heroes. I intentionally picked something that was less flashy and more subdued. Of course, it was still very luxurious and noble, but it was relatively modest by aristocratic standards. It would be easy for him to blend into a crowd of dozen Otherworlders and simply be forgotten about. The fashion choice, likewise, was neither good nor bad. I wouldn't be praised for my performance nor rebuked, which was precisely what I desired. + + + Having said all of this, I still didn't take out of all of Kang's new clothes immediately. Mentally, I already chose his outfit in my head, but I still hadn't yet gathered his clothes from the wardrobe. It was still six o'clock in the morning, which was a too early for him to get up. If I laid out his clothes, Kang Jiesu would almost certainly dress himself immediately, and then he would get in the way of my chores. To put it plainly, I wanted to keep him in bed, in which case I was perfectly aware of the fact that I was holding his clothes hostage and stranding him under the sheets in his underwear. This was a tough lesson, but my classmate would have to get used to the fact that he had servants shuffling around his bedroom from morning until night. This was the ancient custom of this world. Privacy? Hah. Perhaps it was a bit shameless to say, but Kang didn't really have that anymore. Maids and servants were everywhere, and we were here even when the nobility rolled around with their concubines and snuck a few extra-marital affairs. Aristocrats generally got used to the fact that their maids were invisible, and likewise the most important rule for a personal servant was absolute lifelong silence. This was strictly enforced, and in fact a lord was legally permitted to seek the death penalty for a servant who spilled their secrets. In this way, the Kingdom of Galuterica was perhaps more barbaric than medieval Earth, but the stereotype of a gossiping maid was heavily frowned upon here. While the aristocracy lacked privacy from their own servants, it was largely because loyal servants were regarded as the fundamental protectors of confidentiality. A personal attendant was essentially an extension of their liege, in which case the concept of privacy didn't exist, since people don't grow embarrassed at their own naked reflection in the mirror. Mentally, I was handling this situation surprisingly well. Perhaps it was thanks to Hanamarie's unflinching personality and professionalism. Yes. I wasn't avoiding the subject. In fact, I did know that I was expected to help Kang Jiesu bath and get dressed. Seeing him nude was essentially part of the job description, but I wasn't really that alarmed by the thought of it. In total honesty, it wasn't something that I had never seen before. Kang and I had a long history as childhood friends, and I wasn't exaggerating when I said that we knew too much about each other. It was just very weird, especially with the way that our relationship in this life had arisen purely from coincidence. We had never officially dated. We weren't a couple, and in fact he lost my trust a long time ago. I don't have feelings for him anymore, and I'm certainly not interested in him as a significant other. This proximity was just awkward. Was I ever going to be able to get away from him? It was beginning to feel like I was never going to escape from my past. ∎ Spoiler: Chapter 13 Kang Jiesu cleared his throat hesitantly. "...Gū-dè mò-rè-níng?" He struggled to enunciate the syllables, and his pronunciation was beyond awful. Every single element of the phrase was completely butchered and mangled through a kitchen blender, and it almost unrecognizable. His Galuterican was broken and heavily accented... but at the end of the day... I still understood what he was trying to say. I paused in place. His message had transmitted successfully. A passing grade. It was actually shockingly impressive that he managed to mimic the phonemes of Galuterican to this extent over one night. Our languages were untranslated, which meant that all of his inferences about the vocabulary had come entirely from scratch. While it was true that Kang Jiesu frequently got top marks in our school, he certainly wasn't a professional linguist. It hadn't even been twenty-four hours since we arrived in this isekai world. Was my childhood friend always this gifted with languages? Somehow, I was skeptical. I made hesitant eye contact with Kang. "...Good morning," I repeated slowly back to him. "Gūd mòre-ning." Kang copied my pronunciation. "Good morning," I said firmly and clearly. Kang Jiesu smiled at me. It was a dangerous smile; the kind that belonged on the face of a poisonous snake. I reminded myself to take special caution, because Kang Jiesu was a manipulative and untrustworthy riajuu. Even if he swayed your feelings with his sunny personality and warm aura, he was searching for a crack in your heart to plant a seed. Later, when it sprouted, it would grow into self-destructing a parasitic plant. The only way to protect yourself was to kill the seed before you're brainwashed for good. A faint frown appeared on Kang's face. He switched back to speaking in Mandarin. "Look, I really appreciate your help and everything... but I don't need a maid. I understand that you're doing this as a form of hospitality, and I appreciate the gesture, but I don't need it. You don't have to clean my room in the morning or do my laundry. Please. Allow me to refuse your assistance. I can do all of it myself." Of course, I only blinked and feigned confusion at his ambiguous hand gestures and sign language. How sweet of him, but it's useless if he says it in Mandarin. Good luck figuring out how to communicate that in Galuterican. As far as I was considered, all of it was empty and meaningless words. It didn't mean anything until my managers understood it. I was just a mindless NPC underling, and my scripted response wasn't going to change until Kang somehow made it through to my boss. I wasn't exactly working for him by choice. If he had a problem, he would have to bring it up with management. + + + I turned away to resume my morning chores, and I made my way into the bathroom to check the sink. Universal plumbing technology and pipelines were not developed in the Kingdom of Galuterica. Instead, most households relied on magical appliances and a system of condensers, tanks, and reservoirs to draw moisture from the air. However, this meant that toilets needed to be recharged with mana crystals, and the waste needed to be periodically emptied to prevent an overfill. Fortunately, changing the waste water wasn't my job, and a lower-ranking scullery maid would be assigned to it later in the day. However, it was my responsibility to turn on the water-heating spell matrix and replenish depleted mana. If the water level in the reservoir was too low, I would have to call for maid to physically transport a few buckets of water upstairs, which sometimes occurred if it had been a particularly dry night. I fumbled around with the plumbing and installed fresh mana crystals in the power chamber. As I was doing this, I heard faint footsteps coming from Kang's bedroom. ... I packed away the spent mana crystals, stood up, and then opened the bathroom door. Sure enough, it was exactly what I had feared. Kang Jiesu had unabashedly gotten out of bed. Of course, he was still wearing his underwear, so it wasn't like something vulgar was dangling around. However, by Chinese standards, this was still grossly inappropriate. I really didn't think he had the guts to flash himself so boldly, but apparently he was eager to prove me wrong. Kang Jiesu was unexpectedly fearless. In Galuterican culture, this was totally normal, so I had to force myself to keep a straight face. Fuck. Was it seriously that difficult for him to cooperate? I just wanted him to sit quietly in bed and stay out of my way. In fact, I had purposefully taken away his clothes with the specific intent to keep him underneath the sheets. He was supposed to be awkward, flustered, and embarrassed about it. "Excuse me, but could you show me where the wardrobe is?" He said calmly after making eye contact with me. His expression was totally normal and relaxed. "I believe you took my pants." ∎ Spoiler: Chapter 14 There was no way to feign ignorance. My master was literally standing in front of me in his underwear. This forced my hand. Although it was huge pain, I had to drop everything that I was doing and immediately switch to addressing his needs. We went into the wardrobe and I began to pull out the clothing that I chose for him. However, before I could finish collecting all the various elements of the outfit that I mentally envisioned, Kang quickly pulled something else off the rack and pointed at it. It was a simple yet sturdy pair of knight's trousers, which was made for rough training and exercise. ...I didn't even know why something like that was in the closet. Field clothing like this wasn't appropriate for the royal court. Although my classmates were Otherworlders, they held the unofficial status of noble dignitaries. It would cause a small social crisis if the guests showed up in cheap clothing, and I would absolutely be the one blamed for it. No matter what happened, I couldn't allow him to wear this. Exasperated, I tried to tell him 'no' by attempting to take it away from him. That one is no good! However, Kang Jiesu was firm, and he refused to let go. My classmate shook his head. He pulled another set of clothes off the rack, and then shortly thereafter he grabbed another shirt. Fairly quickly, he had a whole pile of clothes in his arms, almost as if he was shopping in a department store. There was no way he could wear everything that he picked out today, which was when I realized that he was actually saving additional clothes for the future. Kang picked out 5-6 different sets, and he set his chosen outfits aside on a chair. ...Kang Jiesu was already thinking a whole week ahead. Or perhaps this was Kang's way of showing me the type of clothes that he liked? I sighed. My childhood friend was impossible to control. He was headstrong and too opinionated. Ultimately, I gave up. I couldn't stop Kang from picking clothes that he liked. At best, I could only give suggestions and attempt to sway him with reasonable alternatives. I tried to hand him clothes that I thought were suitable for a Galuterican noble, and I felt my soul die a little on the inside while we bickered (in different languages) about what type of underwear was appropriate for the royal court. In the end, I could only pass it all to him halfheartedly. The final result was a compromise. My motivation was fully depleted and it hit rock bottom. In theory, I was supposed to help my master get dressed every morning. This was a handmaiden's traditional role. However, knowing Kang Jiesu, he would probably resist like a wild stallion if I tried to take off his clothes. The entire process would be like pulling teeth, and furthermore it would be painfully inefficient. For someone unfamiliar with the process, it would be like two people attempting to play Mario Kart on the same controller. If you weren't used to sharing the acceleration button and control stick, it was probably 100x worse than driving the same race course in single player. Of course, the situation was a little different for aristocratic women, because elaborate dresses and ballgowns generally required at least one assistant to put on. However, male clothing was far more straightforward. Technically, men didn't need servants to get dressed, and the handmaiden's role was essentially redundant. But by historical tradition, helping your master change was a customary obligation. It was a required task. ... ...Surely, nobody would say anything if I innocently 'forgot' to do it today. There wasn't anyone in this room aside from Kang and myself. Nobody was watching us. If I let my childhood friend dress himself, I was quite sure there wouldn't be any complaints. It would save both of us a headache, and I wouldn't need to fight to forcibly strip him of his underwear. I was seriously reluctant, and I essentially didn't want to stare at Kang's turtle head (TL note: 龟头) any more than strictly necessary. In my personal opinion, starting an argument over getting dressed in 'co-op mode' was a total waste of energy. I sheepishly averted my eyes when I decided to skip over a traditional element of the morning routine. My classmate wouldn't notice that something was missing, right? Kang Jiesu stared at me quizzically. He was holding a change of clothes in his arms. "Is something wrong?" He asked (in Mandarin). However, I (calmly) fled from the scene. I wasn't a bad maid, I swear! I (calmly) ran to the bathroom and returned to my maintenance work on the magical sink. Kang Jiesu had thrown me off my morning routine, and I wasn't emotionally prepared to remove his clothes on such short notice. Perhaps I would be able to do it another day, but I needed to mentally prepare myself and meditate for several hours in advance. Today, I chickened out of it, but it wasn't my fault! Kang Jiesu ruined the planned schedule. It was his fault! It knocked me off balance. ∎ Spoiler: Chapter 15 It was like I had a baby duckling. Kang Jiesu followed me like a shadow, and it quickly got on my nerves. My classmate seemed fascinated in virtually everything that I did, and he hovered in front of my face constantly. When I changed the mana crystal in a bathroom lamp, my childhood friend transformed into an excited kid who had come to watch a wizard perform a magic show on Christmas. However, there really wasn't anything exciting to see. ...It was literally exactly the same as a light bulb. ...You take out the old battery. ...You put in the new battery. Kang wanted to touch the spent mana crystals and toy around with them, which put me into a slight panic. They're explosive! Mana crystals were essentially highly compact jewels of energy, so you had to be delicate with them. In terms of energy density, they could be very efficient, and a small amount of mass could hold a lot of power. While it certainly wasn't on the scale of an atomic bomb, high grade mana crystals were used to power airships, cannons, and large-scale magical spells. The mana crystals used in household appliances were low quality, so they typically didn't contain very much energy. If one of them accidentally combusted, it would probably cause as much damage as an exploding microwave. It probably wasn't lethal, but it could be seriously frightening, and there were plenty of horror stories of children getting seriously injured after using crystals as toys. I quickly snatched the crystals away from my classmate and gave him a quick glare. No touch! Bad! Couldn't he stay out of trouble for just one minute?? + + + I couldn't stop Kang Jiesu from following me. I tried to get him to stay in the bedroom when I walked out to drop off the spent mana crystals in the stock room, but he insisted on coming along. My arms were preoccupied (I was carrying quite a lot — his laundry included), so there was very little I could do to stop him. Moreover, he attempted to help me carry the load, but I snapped at him to keep him away. If people spotted a guest doing chores, obviously, I would end up in severe trouble. Throughout the morning, I eventually figured out that the only effective way to communicate 'no' was to snap angrily at Kang. I had to raise my voice like an angry asian tiger mother reprimanding her child. This was a troubling discovery, in large part because this type of behavior was extremely impolite by Galuterican standards. I couldn't do it very often, because it would probably be construed as insubordination by anyone who saw it. It was a double-edged sword, and for some inexplicable reason, Kang Jiesu seemed to grow increasingly comfortable and relaxed the more that I blew my lid at him. ...I think that sadistic bastard probably liked to annoy me. He probably found it amusing to bully the maid. He was constantly pushing boundaries, testing limits, and experimenting. Or perhaps he viewed it as a sense of trust. A tiger mother's anger can be construed as a type of love. You wouldn't get angry at someone you're totally indifferent about, and likewise only true friends would flip out over your stupid behavior. Kang Jiesu could probably sense that I had his own best interests in mind, and as such he immediately listened to me if I actually got angry at him. The only problem was that he wouldn't listen to me at all if I didn't make a dramatic scene. This type of black-and-white situation was obviously a nightmare. Kang Jiesu was the absolute worst. Periodically, he would apologetically clap his hands together with an sweet look on his innocent eyes: "Gomenasai!" He would say (in Japanese). "Mistake! Accident! Sorry!" (in English) Obviously, I didn't know why he was saying it in random languages. I think Kang Jiesu assumed that I wouldn't understand him regardless of which language he used, so he resorted to the Dao of Oblivious-American-Weaboo-Tourist. However, because of my particular isekai circumstances... the cringe was painfully apparent. I could tell that Kang was being sarcastic from a hundred miles away. In truth, my childhood friend wasn't sorry at all. He was very intentionally pretending to be an oblivious idiot who 'accidentally' grabbed a few mana crystals when he thought I wasn't looking. They're just toys after all, and there's no way he was sneakily attempting to collect them in his pockets. He totally wasn't being suspicious at all... Nope. I didn't see anything. What are you even talking about? I'm just an ordinary NPC. ∎
Nice writing so far. I’m assuming that president Kang was supposed to be your first ML? It just seems that way? Wow, with how much disgust she has towards him, he must have done something really awful, probably blabbed a major secret if hers or gaslit her. Keep going Hana you can make it through!
He is the first ML for sure! This is a spoiler, but... Spoiler: spoiler! The backstory I had in mind was that Kang catfished her (lol). There was someone that MC really liked online in middle school, and she shared a lot of stuff about herself with this online friend (her "best friend"). Kang found out about her true identity very early on, but he said absolutely nothing about it for years. Early in high school, MC discovered that Kang was the true identity of her online friend, but she was basically mortified about it because Kang had lied to her for all this time.
Spoiler: Thoughts on spoiler Yikes, that's horrible! What scummy behaviour!! No wonder she's so wary of any form of goodwill he shows But to be honest, even without the backstory, I'd consider him to be a very annoying person at the minimum, I mean, sure sometimes you just do have to push for someone to be able to do normal friend things, but a lot of people just want to be left alone and not talk to anybody when they're not willing. Oof -10/10 for me