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The Tale of the Wizrain Kingdom

Spirits, turn around and round

Translated by: S3

Treat me to a Ko-Fi to give me more motivation!!!

TL note: onomatopoeia, get used to it.

*****

「Lady Elnalfia... no, Lady Elna, hrmm, my apologies, it seems I have no choice but to call you Elna.」

The man bowing his head at a dejected angle, yet still maintaining a right angle—Commonwald, the old man with the long curling beard—immediately stood ramrod straight bishiri. Including Duke Halburn with his fluffy beard, the variety of beards she was encountering was a bit much. However, if the Duke was a huge lion, Commonwald was like a long, thin needle; his impeccably sharp dressing style pishiri gave a glimpse into his personality.

However, the current Commonwald wore a rather troubled expression. To dispel that anxiety, Elna tried speaking in an overly cheerful voice.

「Of course. I can't very well have the Head Chamberlain addressing me as 'Lady'.」

She puffed out her chest as she said it, accidentally hitting it with a don, but feeling that such a gesture was slightly wrong, she flusteredly waved her hands pappa and clasped them near her stomach.

「I-It's fine, really.」

「H-Hmm...」

An indescribable atmosphere of anxiety and worry flowed zarari.

—After all, right now, Elna is wearing a royal palace maid uniform. In other words, starting today, Elna will switch from being the one cared for to the one doing the caring.

Commonwald is one of the few people who know Elna's true identity. He is also an intellectual who saw through the necklace Cross now holds—which even Elna herself thought was just glass—as a dragon scale at a single glance.

Being looked down at intently by such a man made her want to straighten her spine pishiri. 「…………」 Tightening her lips and wondering what he would say, she waited, but Commonwald's deeply chiseled face, with a monocle fitted in his eye socket, softened.

「If you have any trouble, please call out to me at any time. I have received strict instructions regarding you from Lord Cross. I will certainly be of assistance to you.」

Having been told that this morning, Elna headed straight to work. The corridor, which cuts through the courtyard, was fitted with many arches; bright sunlight poured in sansan, making it quite cheerful. Originally, there were no restrictions on her walking freely around the castle, but the feeling now that she had obtained a status allowing her to move about boldly was different.

However, how should she put it. While recalling the reliable words of Commonwald who said, "If you have any trouble," Elna was currently in trouble. But perhaps the one truly confused was not Elna, but the girl in front of her.

A girl with greenish hair that curled kurin at the ends above her shoulders walked briskly tsukatsuka in front of Elna. The girl wore a white cap on her head, and the ends of a ribbon danced hirahira on the back of her skirt.

In other words, the name of the girl wearing the same outfit as the current Elna is Noma.

—I have been ordered to serve as Lady Elna's attendant. My name is Noma.

She was the maid girl who had been looking after Elna's needs for the past week and a bit. Elna was trudging tekuteku behind Noma. It happened while she was staring at her back and thinking hmm. 「Ah, hey, don't get in the way.」「...Yes?」 Oops, she panicked. In Elna's hand, the spirit she had grabbed earlier was bowing repeatedly pekopeko as if to say sorry.

「Ah, um, well...」

Spirits inevitably gathered around Elna. Especially now that she was facing the outside, nature was close, and fluffy howahowa spirits were spinning in front of her eyes, so she had involuntarily grabbed one mugyu with one hand and raised her voice to warn it. Noma was looking at Elna with suspicious eyes. This was bad.

「Dust got in my eye... and without thinking...」

When she made a painful excuse while clutching the spirit, she was met with even more bewildered eyes. Since earlier, Noma has had the same face the whole time. It's only natural. —After all, she was supposed to be the one ordered to look after Elna, but for some reason, they were now working as fellow maids.

By the way, what Noma was carrying with lowered hands was a bucket filled with plenty of water, looking incredibly heavy. Thinking it would be a burden on Noma's slender arms, Elna had offered to carry it, but was curtly refused. In other words, it might mean I can't trust someone like you.

(Mr. Commonwald, why...!)

Noma doesn't know that Elna possesses dragon memories. It really is too sudden a personnel change.

Thinking there must have been another place rather than such a confusing selection, she realized it might be the same wherever she went. Rumors circulate everywhere. But still, she couldn't help but think, that beard.

「...Elna, about the job I'm asking you to do. It was so sudden, I didn't know... what to ask you to do, and I was really troubled.」

(Does that mean, "Thanks for doing something unnecessary"?)

「So, here. Even though there's little foot traffic, it's close to the outside and gets dirty quickly, which is a problem. Here, look, the bucket. Are you okay?」

(Is she worried whether a little girl like this can even do a single cleaning task?)

「I'm okay,」 she replied, but the negativity was intense. After all, Elna is completely used to cold treatment from maids. At the Calzeed house, which was her home in name only, she was the lowest of the low wherever she went thanks to Laura cheerfully bullying her every day, so seeing a bucket made her brace herself with the unpleasant thought that water might be poured over her head.

Even if that were done, it wouldn't hurt or itch mentally, but since Elnalfia, the Fire Dragon, doesn't have good compatibility with water, she would prefer they stop if possible. Even a Fire Dragon cannot win against a cold. Sadly.

「Then I'll go bring other tools.」

「Eh, um, then I will too.」

「It's fine. Stay there and wait! Don't move from there, not even an inch pikuri!」

(I see. She's not coming back.)

Already a professional at being oppressed, Elna blankly watched Noma's retreating back. A single cloth was draped over the bucket Noma had placed down. 「Hmm...」 Thinking about what to do, she decided, 「I guess I should just clean.」 Since the task had already been presented, there was no problem.

Indeed, since the corridor practically adjoined the garden, it easily gathered dust and dirt, but it seemed to be cleaned regularly, so it didn't look like it would require much effort.

Shadows of numerous arches stretched across the corridor. In the gaps, glittering sunlight shone. The pillars hit by the light had soft, blurred outlines and looked warm. The scent of a gentle breeze tickled Elna's nose. Peeking into the garden, vibrant green trees colored the grounds, and occasionally bird chirps could be heard. At her feet, spirits were dancing happily.

—It was as if space had been cut out just for this place.

『Iz cheerful, gonsu.』

She could only nod at the words of the Hamster Spirit, who had seemingly been hiding and popped out pyokon from the gap of the cap Elna was wearing. Honestly, she wanted to step her bare feet into the garden just like this, roll over koron, and fall asleep.

「...That might be a good idea.」

Just as she was inadvertently about to be seduced by herself, she shook her head hurriedly iyaiya, thinking, 「For now, maybe I'll wipe various things.」 As Elna tried to reach for the bucket, a single spirit came rolling over korori, korokoro. The spirit, formed by tightly packed transparent wind, seemed to have something to say to Elna. Pyuipyu, kyuikyu, pukyu pukyu pu. Elna and the hamster's necks tilted more and more to one side. I see, I see.

「No, I don't really need help or anything.」 Since I'm being given a job, 「Wait, you're not listening, are you.」 Let's go! The spirits flew out. Yay yay, gurun gurun.

As if signaling the start of work, the Wind Spirit first created several small whirlwinds hyuru, hyururu. Coming into them were Earth Spirits that looked like bumpy pebbles pokopoko. Moving their bodies gorongoron, they firmly and thoroughly rolled up the dust from hidden places, growing larger and larger from thumb-size. Pacchari pachapacha! Now the water in the bucket started to rampage. As if to say, "Excuse us for joining in occasionally," the Water Spirits, having become droplets, flew out shupat.

「O-Ooh...」

When she thought the Water Spirits wet the corridor, the Leaf Spirits gently wiped it up, and furthermore, the Wind and Fire Spirits blew air fuu fuu to dry it, the entire area became sparkling clean pikapika in an instant.

「W-W-W-Waaaah!!?」

Besides them, with flowers and trees and such, the supposedly wide and long corridor was buried in spirits in the blink of an eye. Waiwai kyakya, even a small rainbow had formed; my goodness, before she knew it, it was chaos. To resolve this congestion, the Hamster Spirit was waving its short little arms chobichobi, shouting instructions like an orchestra conductor. 『Hamu-u! Hamuhamu, hamu-u!』 No, isn't that a little too much "hamu" feeling? she wanted to express her slight confusion.

「Wait a minute, I'm the only one who hasn't done anything yet...!」

The corridor was transforming before her eyes. Elna hurriedly reached for the cloth draped on the rim of the bucket and plunged her hand into the bucket bashan. 「Ooh, cold!」 She wasn't very good with water, but she wasn't soaking her whole body, so this much was fine. 「Uwa, uwa, uwa, uwaaa!!!」

Then, wringing the cloth with force, she dashed out and wiped the pillars and floor. With every "Uwa," she took action, moving around shupishupi. Because if she didn't, the spirits looked like they would take all the work.

「L-Like I'm gonna looooose!!!」

Anyway, she had no choice but to dash out.