Chapter 2: Apprentice maid Jeanne

• The next morning

　Hirune, who slept for a whole day, sat up and stretched a lot.

"Mmm ..."

(I've been sleeping too much and my body is fluttering in a bad way. That’s a nice problem to have.)

　I look down at my hands and try to close and open them.

　They were girlish thin hands. They were much fairer than my previous self’s.

　Blond hair, blue eyes, and a good figure.

　It may take some time to get used to it, but I have no complaints at all because my body was given to me by the goddess.

"Rather, it's more like she’s too beautiful to keep up with ... Hmm?" 

　A girl stood beside the bed.

　She was about eight or nine years old?

　Her black hair was tied into a ponytail and she was wearing a maid uniform. Her face is small, and her nose and mouth are also small, but they are arranged in a well-balanced manner, giving her a cute little animal-like appearance. It's a loveliness that would’ve been the center of an idol group in Japan.

　She took a step back, startled when Hirune turned to face her. 

"...!"

"Good morning. You’re a very cute maid. My name is Hirune."

“Oh ... ,um, ... I'm Jeanne ..."

"Jeanne .... Jeanne did Zekyutos-san ask you to come here?”

　Jeanne, dressed in her maid’s uniform, nodded her head.

　Her ponytail swayed with her.

　Hirune widens her blue eyes and stares at her.

(Cute girl ... looks kind too ... good job, Zekyutos-san)

　Hirune puts her hand on her chin and huffs.

　She nodded her head in assessment, giving a rating that said what a great find she was. 

　Jeanne, who was staring at her felt uncomfortable. She felt bad that she had taken liberties by staring at Hirune’s sleeping face earlier. Since entering the room, she had let her mind wander after seeing such a beautiful girl.

"... Um ... if you stare at me that much ..."

"Oh, I’m sorry. I’m still getting used to this body ... and this place."

(What can I say? I act as I feel and was just acting honestly.)

Despite being confused by the differences from her previous life, Hirune composed herself and straightened her posture.

　She smiled at Jeanne, whose care she was now in.

“It's nice to meet you, Jeanne”

"Ah ...... yes, it's nice to meet you too ......."

　Jeanne lowered her gaze shyly and stroked her hair repeatedly with her hand.

Jeanne was nervous about what kind of saint apprentice she would be in charge of, but she was relieved that her fears were unfounded. She’d heard that there are many proud saint apprentices. At least Hirune seemed to be kind. And she was beautiful, just like the female goddess from the stories.

"Did Zekyutos-san tell you that I have amnesia ...... and no memory?"

“Yes, he did.”

“Jeanne, I think I'm going to be asking you a lot of questions, so I might be a nuisance. I apologize in advance.”

“No, no! It's okay. Please ask me anything. I'm happy to help you. I'm ...... happy to help...”

"Fufufu..."

Hirune giggled when she saw Jeanne flustered.

　Jeanne's face turned red.　

Hirune felt a little bad, so she took her hand and pulled her to the side of the bed.

“I'm sorry for laughing. Why don't you sit over here and we can talk?"

“What? Um, .......”

“It’s okay, right?”

“...... Yes”.

The two of them sat side by side on the bed.

“I'd like to ask you a few questions about this world first.”

Unlike in her previous life, Hirune was excited about her future.

“I’ve had endless fantasies about what the world I’ve yet to see would be like.” 

She wondered what the magical scripture, Zekyutos chanted was all about, whether there would be good food, soft bedding, hot springs, adventurers from fantasy novels and so on.

　She smiled and was about to ask a question when her stomach rumbled.

“ Oh, I haven't eaten anything since yesterday.”

Also, more grumbling and growling come from Jeanne’s stomach.

　Jeanne's eyes fluttered

　Hirune rubbed her stomach and looked at Jeanne.

“Isn’t that funny? Makes you wonder, there’s someone living in the belly right?"

    Hearing Hirune say something so ridiculous, Jeanne tightened the edges of her mouth to hold back her laughter.

“Jeanne, can you push on my belly for a second?”

“Huh? Um, ......."

“Come on, push. push.”

“Okay, ......."

　Fearfully, Jeanne reached out and pushed Hirune’s flat stomach.

Her stomach rumbled with a loud grumbling sound.

"This will be a big deal if I don't eat  food, right......?"

"Fufu ...... Fufufu ...... yes."

Hirune and Jeanne looked at each other and giggled.

　　　　　　***

　After eating a simple breakfast in the cafeteria, the two returned to the room.

　The menu consisted of bread and vegetable soup.

(...... It wasn’t very good. This is a problem.)

　Hirune thought absentmindedly as she let Jeanne fix her hair.

"Hey Jeanne.”

"Yes, what can I do for you?

Jeanne, who had been nervously combing Hirune’s beautiful blonde hair, looked up a tempo later.

“Can’t a saint apprentice work part-time... somewhere? Like once a week or something?”

“Huh?　Um, ...... probably not. I heard that saints are not allowed to exchange money.”

“That means we can't buy and eat.”

“Buying and eating?”

“Yes.”

　Hirune's expression is serious.

“I want to eat a lot of good food and sleep on a soft futon. That's what I want most right now.”

"......, is that so?

“It seems I have no choice but to give up for a while."

　Jeanne went back to work when Hirune fell silent.

　Once the hair was done, the next step was to cleanse the body with lukewarm water.

Jeanne does all of this, so all Hirune has to do is stand there.

(It's such a pleasure, paradise even, to have someone do it for you. I have to thank the Goddess, Zekyutos, and Jeanne. ......)

　Hirune prayed in her heart.

　While she was being wiped, she asked Jeanne to tell her about this and that in the world.

Jeanne’s nerves were beginning to relax, and her earlier faltering was gone. She must be a very talented girl.

　First of all, this world is called Ever Sophia.

　The place where I am now is the royal capital of the Kingdom of Cambus, the West Church of Mephistopheles, where the saint apprentices gather. Hirune guesses that the reason the building is so old is because they are using the repair costs to pay for labor.

I heard that the apprentice maids were trained here and then disbursed to different places.

“Some maids go on to serve the saint, while others are hired by nobles and royalty. There are also many maids like me who have no relatives.”

"I see. What kind of maid do you want to be, Jeanne?”

“I don't know yet.......”

“I hope you find what you want to do.”

 Hirune smiled, and Jeanne nodded her head.

　After a while, Jeanne finished her work.

　She put the wet cloth back in the tub and quickly wiped Hirune's body with a dry cloth.

　When it was done, she changed into the clothes of a saint's apprentice. It was as simple as the meal, a navy blue dress with a streak of gold embroidery.

“Thank you very much. It was so easy, so effortless.”

"'ha, hai(Yes)”

　Hirune bowed, and Jeanne rushed to do the same.

“What do you think?　Does it look good on me?”

After a quick spin, Jeanne nodded vigorously.

“Yes. It suits you very well. It's lovely.”

“I'm glad to hear that.”

　When she is not talking, Hirune looks like a world-weary apprentice saint.

(I'd like to get a fluffy futon as soon as possible. Also, do we have time for a nap?)

　Thank goodness it’s a world where the voice of the heart doesn’t leak out.

“So, what am I supposed to do now?”

"Yes!"

　Jeanne straightened her back.

"The first thing we do is pray for an hour in the church. After that, we will have our sacred tools cleansed and receive scriptures from the priest. Next, we’ll memorize forty lines of chanting of holy magic on a page, and do zazen(seated meditation) to increase our magic power. After that, we will give alms to the people in front of the church. After lunch, we will tour the city while chanting the scriptures ... Today is the Madera district in the east. When we return to the church...”

"Wait. Please wait a moment."

"What’s the matter?"

　Jeanne stood with a puzzled look on her face.

　Hirune felt a chill run down her spine.

(Wait a minute ... isn't that a really hard schedule ?!)

"Could it be that ...  saint apprentices are very busy ...?"

"Yes! Everyone Is working very hard for world peace!"

　Jeanne turned to respectfully gaze at Hirune.

　Hirune held her head.

"Um, are you okay? Are you feeling ill?"

"No, I’m fine. Um ... I have an additional question."

"what is it?"

"Will my schedule be the same after becoming a saint?"

"I think it will be different because of the holy magic healing, but ... it's basically the same."

(Not good  This is bad. I can’t have a 9:00-5:00 nap)

　Hirune was shocked. World peace of course is important, but she wondered if there was a way she could relax and the world could still have peace.

　Then Jeanne crossed her hands and looked up to the ceiling.

"When a saint achieves great things she becomes a" Great Saint. ""

"Oh, what’s a great saint?"

　Hirune reacted to the unheard words. 

"Yes. The Great Saint has her own church and is responsible for purifying the area. She is respected and revered by people."

"My own church ... like my own home, right?"

"Um ... I think so. You live there ..."

(If you're a great saint, you can schedule as you like. At least it's better than a saint apprentice ... if it’s your own house, you can be flexible with things. Big sofas, hammocks, chairs that don’t ruin people’s backs, etc. ...... I can relax ...)

　Hirune thought to herself.

"Then I shall aim for the Great Saint."

"Hirune-sama ... I think that's a wonderful goal! It's wonderful! Hirune-sama will go down in history as a great saint!"

Jeanne saw the divinity of the determined Hirune, and her eyes shone.

(First, become a saint. Next, let's find out a lot about the Great Saints ... to relax ...!)

"I will do my best too"

"Yes, let's do our best"

Although in completely different directions, the girls pondered the future.

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