Rosemary

Elise jumped on my back, I could feel her breasts rubbing against my head. “You were right! Go you! Next time help me be picked, kay?”

“I didn’t pick Victoria,” I said. “I revealed she was going to be picked. Though I think I know why she was picked. Can I ask a question?”

Celeste came up. “Listening.”

“Has any girl ever become pregnant with his baby before?” I asked.

A few of the girls blushed and looked up almost in anticipation. Celeste keep a straight face. “Not a once.”

“I saw him use it, divination magic. He asked which girl was safe to have sex with, without a chance of pregnancy,” I said.

Elise squeezed me again. “Are you telling me, you can predict which of us will be the first to conceive his baby?”

I rubbed my hand against my hand. “Sure, but I would need-”

“Master’s permission,” Celeste said. “No spell components without Master’s expression permission.”

“Ah,” I said. “Out of curiosity,” I continued. “If Marianne is a chef, Celeste the headmaid and Sofia the seamstress. Do you all have roles? What is yours Elise?”

“Carpenter. Essentially I fix the things. All the things!” she said.

“I’m Vivi. I am a merchant. So I manage the deals for buying supplies and selling things.”

“Freya, I manage the stable,” another girl said.

“Iris and I handle the garden, we do grow some spell components there too,” she said.

“Victoria isn’t here but she is the librarian, and I guess generally a scholar,” Celeste said. “But, enough talk for now. Time to clean!” She clapped her hands twice to get our attention.

We had some carts but even then we had served twelve people dinner, so there was plenty to carry. Not to mention whipping down any spills and folding the dinner cloth. I was used to seeing this kind of attention to detail at the royal castle but it was usually a team of attendants doing it. As an adventurer, I have never cleaned anything but my own personal pot before. Or my potion tools I suppose.

The girls were so coordinated. It was kind of depressing realizing how I was the only one really not keeping pace with them. Iris seemed to be the next slowest. I made a note to ponder asking her that at some point. I was also curious what kind of spell components they grew in the garden. Actually some to think about it. I knew painfully little about the castle beyond what I had seen. I wasn’t even sure how large this area was.

As a divination specialist, information was normally my bread and butter. I guess my mind must still be scrambled if I just now am noticing that.

Once we were finished cleaning. Celeste took a few girls away to take baths. Apparently Victoria would need one too once she was done with… I’d rather not think about that.

That left me with just the three girls whose names I just learned. “So, Iris,” I said as I sat down with a cup of tea. “Can I ask about your story?”

“Sure! I don’t mind,” she said. “I used to be a ranger for the forest guild. I was scouting this area about six months ago. I slipped through the magical barrier to see if anything was dangerous back here. I met the Master and sent a letter to quit the guild the next day.”

Another girl charmed. She doesn’t seem to realize it. “So wait does that mean you are the newest girl besides me?”

Natalia spoke up. “Depends if you count the prisoner,” she said.

“Prisoner?” I asked.

Natalia nodded. “About two months ago a soldier type broke in. We captured her but she has been… difficult, so we have kept her locked up.”

Interesting. So she didn’t fall for the charm? This charm got me in moments, someone would need an insane resistance to hold out for two months. Actually if they held out that long, they would probably never give in outside of a resistance weakening spell.

Freya sat next to me. “I wanna ask questions too! Did you enjoy your first dinner?”

I nodded. “It was interesting.”

“Dinner is a whole thing but it is the only meal we get all together for. Marianne will make food to order all day until she starts dinner prep. So keep that in mind,” Freya said.

“On that note. What was the whole Celeste and Marianne thing being called out in the beginning?” I asked.

“Master says that he should reward the two best girls by serving them dinner. But in return they have to serve everyone else,” Vivi said.

“And once everyone is served they are both allowed to try and serve Master,” Natalia said. “It is a big honor.”

It did sound nice but only slightly. I think I am getting a grip on my status. Outside of talk of…. Well Master. And outside of his presence, it becomes a lot easier to think. The idea of serving him dinner does a certain appeal but right now I find it reasonable easy to manage. As long as I stop thinking… about how amazing-

“So moving on. What happens for the end of the night?” I asked trying to distract myself.

Freya leaned against me. “Once the lady of the night returns from the bath we go to bed.”

“Lady of the night?” I asked.

“Victoria would be the lady of tonight,” Vivi said.

“So we all go to bed at the same time?” I asked.

All the girls nodded.

I yawned. “Oops, sorry.”

Freya poked my nose. “Is okay, it is always hard on new girls to adjust. You were an adventurer, so you slept whenever you wanted, right?”

I nodded. Come to think of it. I haven’t slept indoors in months. Not even at an inn. I had been so busy lately. I wondered if I was still an adventurer. I guess Master had my guild card. Well… I had a lot to think about. The most curious thing is this prisoner, but I doubt a new girl gets those kind of privileges. Oh well. No use worrying.