Maid Alchemist

With the stone door closed, silence returned to the Lord's Office. Landen placed both hands on the desk again and propped his chin on them.

This time, however, it wasn't to pressure anyone. He was simply thinking.

Time passed second by second. After who knew how long, Landen emerged from his thoughts, stood up, and silently walked toward a corner of the room.

During the entire incident, there had been several people in this room. Lilith had dragged away the Minotaur Butler's corpse, so how many were left? Naturally, Landen wasn't the only one.

Landen reached out, grabbed her by the back of the collar, and lifted Aila from the corner, where she had curled herself into a ball, as if he were picking up an object.

"I'm saying, isn't your reaction a little too exaggerated? You're a Mage Apprentice, after all—and one who's about to advance into a full-fledged mage. That battle was enough to scare you this badly? You've been curled up here for almost half an hour without even daring to raise your head? Don't tell me you were actually scared unconscious just now?" Landen said irritably.

"N-no..." A weak voice came from inside the hood, but she didn't explain what she was denying.

"And besides, I just cleared your name, didn't I? I even paid with the life of one of my most capable subordinates. Shouldn't you be thanking me?" Landen clearly had no intention of waiting for her explanation.

"I... I..." Aila was still stammering—or rather, she was stammering even more badly.

"All right, we can set that question aside for now. Let's investigate another one."

As he spoke, Landen suddenly flicked his free hand. A gentle breeze swept past, lifting the hood at just the right angle.

"Eh? Ah!" Aila froze, then cried out in alarm. Landen's face suddenly moved to within a few centimeters of hers, staring straight at her. She could even feel his breath lightly brushing her face, and in fright, she instantly shut her eyes again.

"If I remember correctly, on the day we met Lilith, she said something to someone. In that sentence, she called that person... little girl?" A mischievous smile tugged at the corner of Landen's mouth.

To be honest, this was the first time Landen had seen Aila's true appearance. Previously, he—or rather, she—had always hidden herself beneath a hooded robe. Landen had never expected something like this to happen, so he had never had any interest in investigating what kind of face lay beneath the hood.

She had short flaxen hair that only reached her ears. Her lips were somewhat thin and were tightly pressed together now, betraying the tension deep in her heart. A dense layer of black stubble surrounded her lips. Her nose was high and straight, and her eyes were tightly shut beneath a pair of thick, distinctly masculine brows.

That was, of course, a man's face.

"N-no... No, that..." Aila kept her eyes tightly shut, completely unaware that Landen was examining her. She wanted to say something, but she was so nervous that Landen didn't even need to interrupt her; she simply couldn't get the words out herself.

"Don't move." Landen's voice rang out. The faintly commanding tone made her body instantly tense even more. The next moment, she felt a hand touch her face.

That sounded somewhat exaggerated. In reality, Landen had merely extended one finger. It first landed on her mouth and mischievously tapped her thin lips, then slowly traced around their outer edge. After that, the finger moved to her eyes and gently wiped each one.

And just like that, the man Aila had pretended to be vanished. Her beard disappeared, her thick eyebrows transformed into delicate willow-leaf brows, and her entire face instantly became clean and refined.

Looking at the change, Landen had to admit that she was indeed a woman—and a rather beautiful one at that.

"Your makeup is way too perfunctory. Do you have no professional spirit?" Landen looked at the smear of unknown black paint that had come off at the slightest touch and shook his head speechlessly. Then he turned around, still carrying Aila.

Thud.

Aila felt something shake beneath her bottom. At the same time, Landen's voice sounded. "Open your eyes."

Landen's voice seemed to possess some kind of magic. Although Aila was still terrified, she reflexively opened her eyes upon hearing it. She then discovered that Landen had already stepped two paces away—and that she was sitting on the desk.

"Still unwilling to admit it? It's fine. To be honest, I don't quite believe it either." Landen looked at her. "So... take off your clothes."

"Eh? Ah!!!" Aila froze, then abruptly wrapped both arms over her chest and recoiled as far as she could, letting out a scream that absolutely proved her true identity.

"Hey, hey, hey, keep it down!" Landen frowned and dug at his ear. He had just been shaken by the clash of the Minotaur Butler's horns and blade, and now he was being assaulted like this again. He began to wonder whether something might happen to his ears.

"Why are you making that face like you're about to be xooed? I'm only asking you to take off your robe. What are you thinking?" Landen said helplessly.

"Eh? Take... take off my robe?" Aila froze, and her scream stopped.

"What else did you think I meant? Stop wasting time and hurry up." Landen sounded somewhat impatient.

"Oh... oh." Aila responded stupidly, then obediently took off the robe that had nearly become a second layer of skin for her.

Landen looked her up and down. After a long while, he finally said, "You've got a figure that could bring peace to the entire world!"

"What?" Aila froze. She naturally didn't understand the joke, but by instinct, like all female mammals, she immediately understood the meaning of his previous words when she saw where Landen was looking.

Aila instinctively felt that she ought to do something, but Landen was slightly faster. He shook his head and muttered to himself, "No, that's not right. Even if she were completely flat, this is a little too flat, isn't it?"

As he spoke, their lord extended his finger once again.

Poke, poke.

Aila forgot what she had wanted to do and say. She simply lowered her head stupidly, watching the finger that had moved twice against her chest, then raised her head just as stupidly and met Landen's gaze.

The next moment, another scream rang out. Aila hugged her chest and shrank directly into the corner of the desk.

This time, Landen ignored the scream entirely. He looked at his finger, then nodded with extreme satisfaction. "I knew it. With the eye-training I've cultivated over so many years, how could I have misjudged it? So it was chest wrapping. Then this must be the data, right? Mm, mm."

His gaze returned to Aila. Unable to hide his smugness, Landen said, "Aila."

"Avina..." The voice was weak, but firm.

"Eh? What?" This time, Landen was the one left dumbfounded.

"My name is Avina."

"The Moon Goddess's messenger? What a nice name. It sounds much better than that Aila." Landen chuckled, his voice filled with boundless temptation. "Avina, have you ever heard of the Steel... er, the Maid Alchemist profession?"

She shook her head, her face filled with confusion.

"You don't know? That's fine. I do. And I've decided to turn you into a Maid Alchemist!"

"Yes..."

"All right, go cook."

"Eh?"

"The Minotaur Butler used to do all of this. Now he gave his life for you. Shouldn't you take over?"

"Eh? Eh eh eh? For me?"

"What? I said it was for you, so it was for you. Do you have an objection?"

"N-no..."

"Then what are you waiting for? Get going!"

"Yes, Lord!"