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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Two Quests, One Maid
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I thought I explained everything.

I blinked and spoke nonchalantly. Axel, who had been striding forward with me tucked under his arm, stopped dead in his tracks.

“You never said anything like that.”

Axel set me down on the floor and knelt on one knee.

In an instant, we were at eye level.

His hardened face demanded an explanation.

“Tell me straight.”

“H-huh…?”

“What do you mean, a time limit? Weren’t you just reincarnated?”

“Well… I was reincarnated, but… it’s conditional, I guess…?”

I explained the ‘Reincarnation Subscription’ to Axel in detail.

Even after hearing that I could earn coins through quests and use them to extend my life or buy items, Axel didn't look relieved.

“So, if you collect these coins, your life will definitely be extended?”

He seemed to be checking if I was hiding anything else.

*It wasn't that I intentionally left it out.*

I’d been so preoccupied with suddenly regaining my past life's memories and dealing with all this quest and coin business.

“It will, for sure.”

At my short, clear answer, Axel's tense expression softened slightly.

“An' I thought of a way to earn lots of coins.”

I quickly pulled the ‘Quest List’ from my clothes and held it out to Axel.

“Look at this!”

I proudly opened it to the page with the quest related to Hanna, but Axel's reaction was lukewarm.

“...What am I supposed to be looking at? There’s nothing written here.”

“Huh?”

Could it be that because it was a free item, its contents disappeared after a day?

Like, *‘Ta-da! That was just a free trial!’*

It was a plausible guess.

But when I hurriedly checked the book, contrary to my worries, the open page was full of text.

I looked back and forth between Axel's frowning face and the text-filled ‘Quest List’.

It didn't seem like Axel was lying, nor did it seem like there was something wrong with my eyes.

*Then…*

The conclusion was simple.

*Can only I see what’s written in this book?*

Oh my gosh.

To think I can see something Axel can't!

“This is the best…”

At my mutter, Axel's face crumpled.

“You really can’t see this? Not a thing? Nothing at all?”

Excited, I shoved the ‘Quest List’ in his face, and Axel irritably pushed it aside.

“If you’re trying to play another prank…”

“It’s not a prank. There are quests written here.”

I recited the quest details and rewards filling the ‘Quest List’ to Axel.

At that, the suspicion filling Axel’s eyes faded a little.

“Well, it doesn’t seem like a lie. You’re not the creative type, so you wouldn’t be able to make up such nonsense while staring at a blank page.”

“Riiight… Thanks so muuuuch for believing me…”

I had a lot to say, but I couldn't waste time arguing.

There was something I wanted to test out on Hanna.

* * *

The punishment room was eerie.

No one would know that such a place existed in the basement of the bright and beautiful Elpinade estate.

But that's how it always is.

For something to shine, a shadow much larger than its sparkle must be cast.

“...Young Master?”

A brown-haired maid, who had been huddled in a corner of the cell, sensed someone’s presence and scurried to the bars.

It was Hanna.

“Young Master!”

Seeing Axel standing before the bars, Hanna’s eyes turned desperate, and she wrung her hands.

“I made a mistake! To dare embezzle the budget… It was, uh, my father! That’s right! My father was very sick and I needed money for his medicine!”

Despite the frail maid’s pathetic begging, Axel just stared at her, expressionless.

His icy gaze looked as if it could freeze Hanna solid.

“Medicine for your father… If that’s true, how pitiful.”

*What is he saying with a face that shows no pity at all?*

I stared at Axel, dumbfounded, but Hanna nodded her head repeatedly, like someone who had just found a lifeline.

“Yes, yes! That’s right! My situation is very pitiful! Please, have mercy!”

Watching Hanna prostrate herself, Axel let out a short laugh.

“Hanna. Your father passed away last year.”

“!”

“Did he come back to life from the grave? If so, he must have been very sick, having lain in a coffin for a whole year.”

“Th-that is…”

“You look down on Elpinade to the very end. To think you’d make such a pathetic excuse just to get out of this situation.”

Axel clicked his tongue, “Tsk,” and lowered himself to meet Hanna’s eyes.

“Did you think I would throw a maid who embezzled funds into the punishment room without doing a background check?”

As the interrogation continued, Hanna’s face turned deathly pale.

Frantically looking around for a way out, Hanna spotted me and her eyes widened.

“Ah, Young Lady! I was wrong! You’re the Saintess! A Saintess is merciful, so you’ll forgive me, won’t you? If you just let me live, I will become the faithful Saintess’s servant!”

She reached her arm through the bars to grab me, but Axel stepped on it, stopping her.

But Hanna didn't give up and continued to plead.

“Saintess! Please! I’ve served you with all my heart until now, haven’t I?”

Hanna's desperate face overlapped with the memory of her sullen face in Lesia's mind.

⟨*You’re cold? You’re the Saintess, you have God’s protection. Shouldn’t you be warm even in simple clothes? Or are you not a real Saintess, so you don’t have any divine protection?*⟩

⟨*You’re eating dinner, too? You ate a lot for lunch, you can skip dinner. Why do you insist on eating every single meal? There are so many people in the world who can’t even eat one.*⟩

⟨*They say bathing in cold water is good for your health. I prepared it all for you, Saintess. Are you shivering on purpose? No one’s going to care if you act like a baby, Saintess.*⟩

*Honestly…*

Every single word was a real gem.

Lesia heard such things but never dared to talk back.

Her position was that precarious.

Hanna was a cunning maid who knew Lesia’s situation well and conveniently used it for her own benefit.

*And yet she claims she served me with all her heart.*

It was absurd.

Axel glanced at me, as if asking if I was just going to watch this woman keep rambling.

Instead of answering, I opened the ‘Quest List’ and stood before Hanna.

On the left page was the quest from the God of Judgment to punish Hanna.

On the right page was the quest from the Goddess of Peace to forgive Hanna.

There was something I’d realized when I first checked the ‘Quest List’.

All the quests were tailored to my situation.

Didn't that mean the gods who gave me the quests were constantly watching me?

*Besides, there was a hotline item for sale in the Heaven Market.*

My pockets were too empty to buy it, but I had confirmed that it was possible to communicate with the gods.

Since I don't have the hotline, two-way communication is obviously impossible.

But the gods must be able to hear me when I speak one-sidedly.

So…

*God of Judgment, Goddess of Peace! Please listen carefully to what I’m about to say.*

Wouldn't everything I'm muttering reach their ears?

*The quest target is the same, but you two have given me quests with completely different objectives. If I complete one of your quests, I’ll have no choice but to give up on the other, right?*

I dramatically put a hand to my head!

*Revenge and forgiveness both have their merits… but the quest rewards are identical, so I just don’t know which one of you to choose…*

I let out a sigh!

After casting my bait, I peeked at the ‘Quest List’ and, just as I expected, its contents had changed.