Our Unlikely Hero is a Maid! Chapter 3

Many bards of the day have sung at length about the splendor of Castle Reveria, but actually being in its grand halls was another thing entirely. The entire marble floor shone with a pristine white color, with luxurious red carpeting provided to avoid blinding the commoners. Magnificent white pillars kept the castle standing tall, and banners bearing the Reverian symbol decorated the halls. For Emalee, this was her first time being in such a wonderful building, and the sheer majesty was overwhelming for her.

“Wow... it’s beautiful!” she said with starstruck awe.

Jasmine didn’t have the time nor the energy to admire the castle along with Emalee, so she had a more reserved reaction.

“Yeah, yeah, that’s what everyone says,” she said rather dismissively. “Now let’s hurry up and see the king before-”

“Good day, Jasmine.”

If Jasmine’s plan was to bring Emalee to the king before anyone asked any questions, then it was swiftly spoiled by the tall, red-haired beauty that met them at the castle entrance. Unlike Jasmine, who was content to treat every situation casually, Gail Newhart strode with a diligence and resolve that was befitting of her position as a Reverian Knight, and she had made it her mission in life to treat every situation with the respect it deserves. Emalee couldn’t help but gasp upon seeing Gail; even among the rest of the knights, she looked like she was in a league all her own.

Jasmine, by contrast, flinched upon seeing Gail, but managed a small, yet polite wave.

“Oh, uh... hey, Gail,” she said with a nervous smile.

“I heard about your encounter with a thief in town,” Gail said, her stone-cold gaze barely changing as she spoke. “I’m impressed with the speed at which you managed to subdue him.”

“Oh, that? Psh, it was nothin’,” Jasmine replied, her mood changing considerably once she received praise. “I’d love to stay and chat, but-”

“Hold for a moment.”

Gail’s command immediately stopped Jasmine before she could move. In her time as a knight, Gail had seen many things, but Jasmine bringing a maid into the castle was certainly a new one.

“Who is she?” Gail asked, pointing to Emalee.

“Oh! M-my name is Emalee Winchester!” Emalee stammered out, offering a hand to Gail. “Nice to meetcha!”

Gail took Emalee’s hand and gave it a nice, firm shake.

“Gail Newhart,” she replied. “I assume you have business with us today?”

“Sure do!” Emalee responded with a confident grin. “I’m here to help save the world!”

This sent a shockwave of surprise coursing through the two knights. Gail’s eyes went wide, while Jasmine was unable to hide the flabbergasted look on her face. Emalee simply smiled at the two, unaware of the gravity of her statement.

Gail looked back at Jasmine.

“Is this a joke?” she asked with a concerned look.

“What?! No!! She didn’t tell me any of that!!” Jasmine blurted out, pointing at Emalee. “Are you trying to embarrass me?!”

“I’m not! It’s the truth!” Emalee insisted. “I have his summons and everything!”

“I don’t believe that for a second!” Jasmine barked back. “You must have made a forgery! There’s no way that-”

“Settle down, Jasmine,” Gail said quite forcefully.

Jasmine did as she was told, but not before she scoffed and turned away from Emalee.

Gail found the situation hard to believe, but there must have been a reason for all of this. She turned back to Emalee.

“The only one who can verify the validity of the summons would be the king himself,” she concluded. “I’m sure this has to be some kind of misunderstanding...”

“Don’t worry,” Emalee said with a smile. “Once I explain things to the king, I’m sure he’ll understand!”

---

It would be a little presumptuous to think that King Giorgio Philip Randolph IV would have accounted for any setbacks to his plans. He had sent a messenger to Simpleglade a few days ago with the goal of having their famous hero, Allaster the Mighty, assist them with a task that could decide the fate of the world, yet now he was being told by that same messenger that somebody else had answered the call to action instead. When he inquired about who exactly had come all this way to accept the mission, the messenger chose to be vague, stating that he would know them when he saw them. This sort of response would have prompted King Randolph to chastise the messenger and demand that he take his job more seriously, but he decided it wasn’t worth the effort, and simply assumed the messenger had found someone just as good to take on the job.

So imagine his surprise, then, when he was greeted with the sight of a lady in a maid’s outfit standing before his throne. The first time she announced her presence and her reason for being here, King Randolph could only sit there in confusion, as though whatever was happening right now was an elaborate fever dream.

He leaned over to the only person standing next to his throne.

“Chancellor, we did send out a message for a hero, did we not?” he asked with concern.

Chancellor Felton Shively glanced at the maid before them alongside an owl in fancy clothing that was perched on his shoulder. Then, he let out an annoyed sigh.

“Yes, we did, sire. Seems as though Simpleglade decided to respond with a practical joke,” he grumbled.

Emalee Winchester looked at the men on the throne in confusion. In her mind, she had expected to have been told about the king’s troubles by this point, but so far her time in Castle Reveria had consisted of standing around while people debated over what to do with her. It didn’t help that Jasmine Peregrine, who was presently leaning against one of the throne room’s pillars, was glaring daggers at her, while Gail Newhart’s mere presence was intimidation incarnate. Either this was the coldest reception a hero-to-be had ever gotten, or the people of Castle Reveria had something against maids in particular.

Eventually, King Randolph addressed Emalee.

“Er... what did you say your name was again?” he asked.

“Like I said, I’m Emalee Winchester!” Emalee said proudly. “I’ve come to lend a hand and save the world, your majesty!”

“Yes, yes, I got that part,” King Randolph replied rather dismissively. “But, I believe the summons were for a... Mister Allaster the Mighty?”

“Oh! My apologies, but Allaster isn’t available right now,” Emalee explained. “He’s been away for a couple weeks now, and we don’t know where he is.”

“...I see,” said King Randolph, before he looked over at Jasmine. “A thousand pardons, Jasmine, but are you certain that what she says is true?”

Jasmine turned her face towards the king.

“Don’t look at me!” she replied. “She’s the one waving around the summons you sent out!”

“What? That’s absurd!” Chancellor Felton balked. “It has to be a forgery of some sort!”

“It’s real, I’m telling you!” Emalee protested. “Look and see for yourselves!”

Emalee pulled out the bundled message from her purse and handed it to Chancellor Felton, who promptly snatched it away. He and King Randolph would proceed to pour over its contents, whereupon the situation would finally become clear to them.

“Hm... this is indeed my handwriting,” King Randolph admitted, who recognized everything from the lettering down to his signature on the bottom.

Chancellor Felton would notice an oddity in the bottom left corner of the parchment.

“How did this letter get so wet?” he asked.

Jasmine, immediately regretting what she had done in the last chapter, did her best not to make eye contact, hiding her guilt behind an unassuming smile.

“O-oh, I... have no earthly idea,” she fibbed.

It was an altogether unconvincing lie, one that Gail took notice of; as she gazed suspiciously at Jasmine, she could feel a chill go down her spine.

“Regardless, I’m afraid there’s been a mistake, Miss Winchester,” Chancellor Felton said. “We cannot allow an ordinary house-cleaning servant such as yourself to accept this task.”

“Oh, but I’m not ordinary, sir,” Emalee replied with a cocky grin. “I can clean out an entire house in two hours or less, and I can tend a crop faster than any newfangled machine! Why, back in Simpleglade, I did my job so well that folks would call me the Super Maid!”

“The... ‘Super Maid?’” asked King Randolph, as he felt his grip on reality grow weaker by the minute.

Emalee hated having to lean on her motto at a time like this, but she figured it would help at least a little bit.

“That’s right! ‘Every mess can be scrubbed away-’”

“Yes, thank you, I don’t think a sales pitch is necessary,” King Randolph spoke hastily.

Chancellor Felton stared blankly at Emalee for a few seconds, still trying to decide whether or not this was all some sick joke.

“...Do you know any magic?” he eventually asked.

Emalee’s mouth flattened.

“Pardon?” she asked.

“Magic,” Felton repeated. “You are aware of the phenomenon of Innate Magic, yes?”

“O-oh, yeah, I know that!” Emalee stated. “That’s when people started being born with magic and stuff, right?”

The simplistic explanation was enough to make Jasmine’s eyes roll into the back of her skull.

“Correct,” said Felton with a nod. “Hundreds of years ago, humans only knew how to cast magic by reading magical books and learning the spells within. But all of a sudden, there appeared some people who were capable of their own brand of magic, without the need for studying Written Magic. This kind of magic came to be known as Innate Magic, and over time, the amount of people who knew how to use Innate Magic has swelled, to the point where it’s far more commonplace than it was in the old days. Are you, by any chance, one of those people who can use Innate Magic?”

“Nope! I don’t know any Innate Magic,” Emalee flatly stated.

“Then why even make him explain it?!?” Jasmine popped off.

“...I see. Then are you able to fight?” asked Felton.

Emalee tilted her head.

“Come again?” she asked.

“Are you capable of defending yourself? Can you even manage to save people in a time of crisis? And, most importantly, can you hope to defeat those who would sow discord in the world? If you cannot manage these things, then there is no sense in sending you on this perilous journey, and we must ask that you return to your village post-haste,” Chancellor Felton said coldly.

Emalee felt as though the world was shattering beneath her feet.

“But... you need someone to help, a-and I’m offering everything I’ve got! Isn’t that enough?” she pleaded.

“We don’t need someone who can clean. We need someone who can fight,” said Jasmine, who looked at Emalee with a condescending smile. “Take me, for example. I’ve memorized the entire Knight’s Handbook by heart, and I’ve had the right amount of experience not just with saving people, but with beating down villains, too! Not to mention I’ve got all this magical power up my sleeves! That makes me a much better fit for a hero’s job, wouldn’t you say?”

Emalee blinked at Jasmine.

“What’s with the sales pitch?” she asked.

“Hey, I’m not the one with a lame motto,” Jasmine countered with an annoyed glance.

“Refrain, Jasmine,” Gail reprimanded, which Jasmine responded to by crossing her arms and glancing away.

King Randolph quickly regained control of the situation.

“Regardless, I am afraid your talents are not suited for this particular task, Miss Winchester,” he said plainly. “It’s nothing against you, but it wouldn’t be right of me to send someone who hasn’t had proper adventuring experience before.”

Even as King Randolph made his case, Emalee’s spirit was gradually fading. All the promise and expectations that she got out of the summons were going up in smoke, and she was being disregarded on the grounds that she wasn’t suited for the job. At this rate, she would be back at home, doing the same thing she always did as though nothing ever happened.

...It was at this juncture that Emalee, overwhelmed with desperation, made her final plea. She quickly got onto her knees, slammed her hands onto the floor, and bowed her head low to the king. Not a single person in the throne room knew what she was doing.

“Er, sorry? What are you doing?” asked King Randolph with concern.

“It’s true that I’m not what you were expecting,” Emalee spoke. “I’m not a mighty warrior or a famous hero; there might not even be anything for me to do about this. But I don’t want to do nothing, either! I don’t want my life to have no merit to it! I want to use my time to help as many people as I can!”

“I understand your concerns, but-”

“I beg of you, King Randolph!! Let me prove my worth to you! Send me out on this journey of yours so that I can save the world and everything in it! Please!!”

The severity of her begging shocked just about everyone in the room. Despite their repeated attempts to subdue Emalee’s resolve, now she was baring her soul to them, and her resolve blazed more than ever. A deafening silence fell over the throne room, as King Randolph was unable to come up with a proper response.

Chancellor Felton, on the other hand, had seen enough. He didn’t appreciate Emalee’s refusal to budge from their decision, and recognized that she wasn’t going to stop any time soon. Which is why he had to think of a way to resolve these circumstances and fast.

“...You said you were a ‘Super Maid,’ did you not?” he asked.

Emalee lifted her head.

“Yes, sir!” she responded.

“And you intend to go through with this assignment despite your lack of combat experience?” Felton prodded further.

“Of course! I’ll do anything to help!” Emalee said in haste.

“‘Anything,’ you say?”

Now Felton’s curiosity was firmly piqued.

“As we’ve discussed, you’re in no position to accept King Randolph’s assignment,” he said, “but you don’t seem to be taking ‘no’ for an answer, either. Which is why it will do you well to prove your resolve to us.”

“Prove my resolve?” Emalee asked as she picked herself up off the floor. “How do I do that?”

“Oh, it’s simple, really,” Felton explained. “You are to clean the near-entirety of the castle. Scrub every floor, wash every window, tidy up every room and bathroom, polish our equipment, declutter the roof, and ensure the area surrounding the castle is spotless. You are to accomplish all of this in exactly 24 hours - no more, no less.”

The more Chancellor Felton explained the test, the more Emalee’s resolve gave way to horror, until finally her jaw fell. Her experiences with cleaning had been limited to simple homes and farmland, and now she was being expected to deep clean an entire castle?! That alone felt like an impossible chore.

Felton took notice of Emalee’s trepidation, and smiled.

“What, did you think this assignment to be an easy one?” he asked almost snidely. “Saving the world will require every ounce of strength that you have. If you can’t accomplish the task that I have provided, then I’m afraid there isn’t much you can do about the world.”

Once Emalee realized this, things became clear to her. This was meant to prove to the Reverian royalty that she had the chops to save the world. In a way, it felt as though they were giving her the chance she so badly needed, so there was no way she could say no to this.

“Don’t worry, sir,” Emalee said with determination. “In the next 24 hours, I’ll have this entire castle spotless! Just watch!”

Chancellor Felton nodded.

“Very good,” he said. “You’ll find all the supplies you need in the supply closet, down the hall to your left. Gail, see to it that she finds her way around the castle efficiently.”

“Understood,” Gail said.

In truth, Gail was altogether unsure how to deal with this sudden turn of events, but she figured it was better not to ask questions.

“Leave it to me, sir!” Emalee declared with a salute. “...Er, when did you want me to get started?”

“Why, right now of course,” responded Felton.

“RIGHT NOW?!” Emalee blurted out in a panic.

With her sense of urgency suddenly skyrocketing, she hauled herself over to the nearest door in a rush.

“I-I better get a move on then! Talk to you later! Bye!!”

“Wait! Settle down for a moment!” Gail called after Emalee as she followed closely behind.

And with that, Emalee and Gail departed through the door into the hallway of the castle. Felton watched them leave with a smile, not out of appreciation for Emalee’s drive, but for how things were going so swimmingly before his eyes.

“Have you lost your marbles?!” Jasmine, who had managed to remain silent while her disbelief and anger stewed within her, finally let it all out once Emalee left the room. “Why are you even entertaining the idea of letting her be the one to save the world?! Didn’t you just say she needed to have any sort of combat experience to do this?!”

“Now now, Jasmine,” Felton said in his best attempt at damage control. “She is clearly showing the resolve necessary. All we need to do now is to see whether or not she can maintain it for the entirety of this assignment.”

“But that... this is absurd!” Jasmine protested. “I’m the one who’s been training for just such an occasion! I should be the one saving the world! Not that... that stupid maid!!”

“Learn to control your emotions and reckless behavior first, then we’ll talk,” Felton said more firmly.

Jasmine glared at Felton with an expression that mixed fury with hurt, before she turned right around and stomped after Emalee. Felton could only sigh at Jasmine’s impatience.

“Chancellor Felton...” said King Randolph, who finally managed to speak after Felton put forth his proposal. “I’m not sure I understand your reasoning for this. This task that you’ve given to Miss Winchester - it, it practically feels impossible.”

“It is impossible, your majesty. That’s the whole point,” Felton clarified.

“...It is?” asked King Randolph.

“Think about it. No matter how incredible a single person’s talents are, there is simply no way they can hope to clean an entire castle within a day without resorting to magic, and Miss Winchester has already admitted that she has no magical talent. She isn’t meant to actually finish cleaning the castle, but rather to accept the fact that she cannot do what is impossible for her.”

“...Sounds a little harsh if you ask me,” King Randolph admitted as he scratched his cheek.

“As harsh it may be, this will give her a good dose of reality,” Felton decided. “We’ll just have to bide our time and see how long it takes for her to throw in the towel...”