"Being hired as a maid..."

That was a twist no one saw coming.

"Yes, I shall be addressed as 'Young Lady Chiayu.'"

Chiyu, please stop with the hard-to-grasp jokes.

"Yes, Young Lady Chiyu."

And why on earth is Houjin so eager?

"Um, Mr. Houjin? B-but why a maid outfit?"

Shion asked, her voice laced with confusion.

Judging by his expression, he wasn't lying about wanting to work as a maid.

Unfortunately, the fact that he was being completely sincere made the situation even more problematic.

I knew Houjin had worked at a maid cafe before, but that didn't exactly translate to becoming a maid here.

"Observing all of you makes it perfectly clear that you share strong bonds with one another. Some might worry about an outsider like me forcing my way in. But since you all took the trouble to help me, I thought working as a maid was the best way to repay your kindness...!"

Houjin declared with conviction.

He was fully aware of how difficult it is to join an established group.

So he decided to draw a clear line by putting himself in a subordinate position first, then see if they could move together from there.

Moreover, by framing it as a debt to be repaid, if we decided his debt was settled, we could release him—or, put bluntly, cut ties with him—at that point.

This wasn't just some casual comment about his part-time job history; it seemed like a coldly calculated proposal.

In a situation like this, rather than begging the other party for compassion, there is a commendable strength in pitching oneself as a labor asset.

"M-Moreover, to be perfectly frank, ever since I transferred here, I haven't had anyone to serve, so things have built up... I simply cannot stand not being of use to someone."

The devoted woman looked around at us with burning eyes.

— Ugh, well, it is a good thing that there are no hidden motives.

Just then, the gazes of the female members turned toward me.

They likely wanted to hear the opinion of their leader.

"Honestly, if you had suddenly asked us if we could become comrades, we would have been in a tough spot. That said, I feel hesitant about driving away someone we've already interacted with once. So, I think your proposal is just right as a compromise."

At my words, the female members wore expressions of relief.

They too, probably did not want to drive their classmate away if they could help it.

Especially this devoted woman, whose speech had already been confirmed to be nothing but the truth thanks to Shiin's ability.

Having seen classmates calmly lying during events, we are well aware of how valuable a presence like hers is.

"Then, then, does that mean you're hired? Nice to meet you, Lowa-chan!"

“Heh, you’re going to be my maid, but since you’re a classmate, please try not to be too formal with me.”

“Understood. Please don’t overwork yourself.

As for the title, I’d like you to call me ‘young mistress.’”

“As you wish. Lady Shaoze-sama, Shiin-sama, Fukaho-sama, and Chiyu-sama.”

Fengjin, hands folded gracefully at her waist, bowed in a stately curtsy.

Then she looked up at him, offering a gentle smile.

“It will be my pleasure to serve you—Master.”

Hearing such words from a beautiful girl made his heart skip a beat.

“Ah... yeah, nice to meet you.”

“Right! Let me introduce my fluffies, Roachy and the rest!”

“Fluffies?”

“Come here! Mashiro! Mikuron!”

Two creatures emerged from the Fenrir hut.

“Good grief...! W-What kind of things are these?”

"These are the companions I summoned. Fenrir Mashiro and the Dragon Mikron."

"By the way, it was Mashiro who found Youchin and brought you all this far."

"...! I see, so you were my saviors. Or rather, Fenri—no, your grace Fenril... thank you, Master Mashiro. It is a pleasure to meet you, Mikron-sama."

Youchin had been shocked at first, but she quickly composed herself and straightened her posture.

Since she had acquired the 'ability' herself, she likely already had the foundation to accept others'.

"Also, I have ten chickens with me."

Come to think of it, the chickens are still in their cages.

Leaving them there would be cruel, so Sen and I hurriedly moved them into the chicken coop.

Watching us do so, Youchin nodded in approval.

"These must be the 'eggs' added on the third day. I have discovered some myself, but I was terrified of whether or not it is safe to eat them raw..."

"Yeah, from now on, we can have them every day."

"Since our numbers have increased, we'll need more chickens too."

They are located on an desert island, so they should be easy to find if we look.

"Please leave the care of the livestock to me as well; I will take charge of it."

"Hmm. I'll do some of it too, but I'd appreciate your help."

"Understood."

"Now then, shall I show you around the inside of the house?"

Nodding at Shion's suggestion, I added on.

"Yes, that sounds good. But let's proceed as planned and split into two groups. We'll have an exploration team and a stay-behind team."

The exploration team will look for fruit and... rubber trees.

If we have time to spare, we can search for useful items and 'itemize' them en masse.

Also, capturing the chickens mentioned earlier.

"Oh, right. I won't be much help during an exploration, so I'll join the stay-behind team."

"I will remain as well. There are things I need to teach the maid."

I do hope she doesn't try to brainwash her or plant any extra unnecessary ideas in her head.

"Me and Mashiro are decided on staying, but what will Minorin do?"

"Could I please join the exploration team as well?"

Before Rōa, she didn't dare mention it out loud, but Shenhō's magic would be incredibly useful for tasks like felling trees.

This made it three against three in terms of numbers.

Micron, the black dragon who had been listening to our conversation, began rolling on the ground with a look of displeasure.

He probably knew that since Mashi, with his superior sense of smell, would be chosen for the exploration team, it meant he would be left behind as a guard.

"In the afternoon, please let me ride Micron."

When I said this, Micron floated up into the air on the breeze.

"I see. It seems you are also beloved by dragons, Master."

Rōa spoke in a tone of surprise.

"The creatures Shuko summons are all good kids. Besides that, Rōa—"

"Please call me Loah."

"Oh... really? Then, Loah. Before I show you around the house, you should take a bath."

Her uniform was dirty, and while she might have showered a bit until now, she'd surely want to wash her body too.

"Please forgive my unsightly appearance."

"Nah, you'd probably want to wash up too? That's all it is."

Now that he thought about it, what was he going to wear?

Oh, right.

"By the way, what kind of maid outfit were you wearing at your part-time job?"

"You're interested in maids!?"

Roa's eyes lit up with delight.

"Well, I mean, there are plenty of different types of maid outfits, right? Like cosplay ones, or the flashy ones from anime characters, or the more realistic kinds..."

"Indeed. The one I was wearing was a long-dress style with quite modest coverage."

"Mm-hm."

He tried to visualize it in his mind.

All the fabric currently available was linen and wool, but that would be enough to craft the right shape.

He dyed the fabric with ink to create a black long dress.

Next up was the white apron.

Then there was... that headpiece called a white brim.

He generated a wooden base for the headpiece and snugly draped the fabric over it. He didn't forget to add the lace decorations either.

"There."

I arranged the maid outfit on a nearby surface and held it out for Roa.

"T-That is...!"

"Feel free to take it if you'd like. Of course, if it's no good, I can prepare other clothes."

"M-May I really have this?"

"Yes."

Roa accepted the maid uniform with a timid, hesitant air.

"D-Did you make this with your 'Crafting' ability too?"

"That's right. If we can gather a bit more material, I think I could probably craft something decent for socks and shoes as well, but let's leave that for later."

I said it lightly, only to find Roa breaking down in tears, droplets falling one after another.

"W-What's wrong...? Did you not like it?"

"N-No... I just... I never thought I'd be wearing a maid uniform again..."

After five days of living alone on an desert island, it was only natural that her longing for Earth and the despair of never returning would intensify.

To her, the maid uniform was a vessel for memories of her happy part-time job life back on Earth.

Roa clutched the gifted maid outfit tightly to her chest.

「I shall treasure it.

And donning this attire, I will serve you with all my heart and soul...!」 「Ah, yes.

I look forward to working with you.」 Well then.

I moved slightly to position the bathwater through the stone wall into the tub.

As I was about to mount Mashiro and move us along.

I realized sharp, judging gazes were being shot at me by the girls.

It hit me a beat later: I had gifted Loa, the newest recruit, her unique outfit, while the others hadn't received any yet.

「Ah—uh. Of course! Chiyu, Shouko, Shiin, Fuka—if there's any clothing you want, feel free to ask. All we have right now is hemp cloth and wool, but I'll do my best to meet your requests.」

Confirming that the intense pressure from the four of them had instantly dissipated, I patted my chest in relief.

Then again, if I'm going to mention that, I once gave Shouko a sort of swimsuit... but whatever, it's fine.

「Well then, why don't you try the bath first, Loa-chan? Our bath is amazing. Thanks to Sousuke, we even have shampoo and soap.」

「I see, master lives up to his reputation, doesn't he?」

"Finally, I've graduated from 'in love' to 'my girlfriend.'"

At Chiyu's words, I offered a wry smile.

It was a fairly unique situation, but with the addition of Loa, who aspired to be a maid, things certainly did start feeling more like an isekai story.

"Alright, let's go, Sōsuke. Miorin."

Mikoshi, me, and Fukahō climbed onto Mashiro's back in that order.

"Have a safe trip!"

After seeing us off, Roa headed toward the baths.

"Ah, I'm heading out."

Lots had happened, but it was exploration time again today.

Thank you for helping this rise to #9 in the yearly rankings……!!!!!!

While gaining a maid as an ally, Sōsuke ventures into the exploration...!

Will he get his hands on the coveted item?! An update is planned for tomorrow too!

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「Hiring me as a maid...」 That's a strange turn of events. 「Mm. Please call me Miss.」

So, Senyuu, don't tell confusing jokes. 「Yes, Miss Senyuu.」

And why is Bonjin so enthusiastic?

「Um, Bonjin? Why are you a maid?」 Shi-on asked, looking confused.

Judging from her expression, she probably wasn't lying when she said she wanted to work as a maid.

But it seems that the fact that she wasn't lying is also causing her trouble.

I knew that Bonjin had worked at a maid café, but that doesn't necessarily mean she wants to be a maid here.

「Seeing how you all are, I can tell that you're close. Some of you might be worried about a stranger like me joining you. But you all helped me, and I want to repay that kindness by working as a maid...!」 Bonjin explained.

She was aware that it would be difficult to join an already formed group.

So she thought that by clearly defining her role as a servant, she could start working with them.

Moreover, since it was under the guise of repaying a debt, if we felt that we had repaid her, we could release her from her obligation at that point.

It didn't seem like it was just about her work experience, but rather a well-thought-out proposal.

In this situation, rather than asking for mercy, the strength to sell oneself as a laborer is something I can honestly appreciate.

“T-to be honest, ever since the transfer, I’ve been trying to serve but there’s no one to serve… I’m at my wit’s end and want to be of use to someone.”

Fujin looks around at us with a heated gaze.

――Well, she’s honest, which is a good thing.

At that moment, the women’s gaze turned to me.

They want to hear my opinion as the leader.

“Honestly, we were worried about whether we could suddenly take on another member. But that doesn’t mean we can just kick someone out who we’ve already met once. So Fujin’s suggestion seems like a good compromise to me.”

The women look relieved at my words.

They didn’t want to kick out their classmates either, if possible.

Especially Fujin, who has been confirmed to only speak the truth through Shion’s ability.

Having seen classmates lie calmly during events, I understand how valuable someone like Fujin is.

“Then, then, does that mean we’re hiring? Nice to meet you, Roa-chan!”

「Heh, you're a maid, but you're classmates too, so just act normally, okay?」

「Sure. I don't want you to overdo it.」 「I prefer to be called mistress.」

「Understood. Miss Shou, Miss Shi-on, Miss Shinpo, Miss Chiyu.」

Houjin brought her hands together in front of her waist and bowed gracefully.

Then she smiled at me.

「I'll be taking care of you from now on--Master.」

Hearing such words from a beautiful girl made my heart skip a beat. 「Ah, yeah, nice to meet you.」

「Alright! So Roa-chan, I'll introduce my fluffies too!」

「Fluffies, you say?」

「Come on! Mashiro! Mikuron!」

Two of them came out of the Fenrir hut.

「Wow...! This...」

「They're my comrades I summoned. Fenrir's Mashiro and the dragon Mikuron.」

「By the way, Mashiro is the one who found you and brought you here.」

「...! I see, you were my savior, I mean, my savior Fenrir. Thank you, Mashiro-sama. Please take care of me, Mikuron-sama.」

Houjin was initially surprised, but quickly composed herself.

Since she had her own "ability," she was probably prepared to accept others'.

「Oh, and I have ten chickens too.」

Speaking of which, the chickens were still in their cages.

It would be cruel to leave them there, so I and Senyuu quickly moved them to the chicken coop. Houjin nodded upon seeing this.

「Ah, the 'chicken eggs' added on the third day, I see. I found them too, but I was too scared to eat them raw...」

「Yeah, you'll be able to eat them every day from now on.」

「With more people, we'll need more chickens.」

Since they're on an desert island, they'll be easy to find.

「If you would allow it, I will take care of the livestock as well.」

「Hmm. I'll do it too, but could you help me?」 「Of course.」

「Next, shall we take a tour of the house?」

Nodding to Shion's suggestion, I added something.

「Yeah. But let's split into two groups as planned. The exploration group and the home guard group.」

The exploration group will look for fruit and... rubber trees.

If we have extra time, we'll search for useful items and itemize them.

Or we could catch the chickens that were just mentioned.

「Ah, right. Since I'm not much help with exploration, I'll stay behind.」

「I'll stay as well. I have things to teach the maids.」

I hope they don't get any ideas to teach them something unnecessary.

「Me and Mashiro are decided, but what about Minori?」

「Can I join the exploration team as well?」

Although she didn't say it out loud, it seemed that Shinfu's magic would be very useful for cutting down trees. Now we had three people on each side.

The black dragon, Mikuron, who had been listening to our conversation, started rolling on the ground, looking dissatisfied.

She had probably realized that she would be left behind to guard the group staying behind, since she had a great sense of smell and would be useful for exploration.

「Can I ride on Mikuron this afternoon?」

When I said that, Mikuron floated up into the air.

「Wow. Your Lordship is even beloved by dragons.」

Houjin sounded surprised.

「The creatures that my summons call are all good kids. Anyway, Houjin―」

「Please call me Roa.」

「Oh, right. Roa, before I show you around the house, you should take a bath.」

Her uniform was dirty, and even if she had taken a dip in water before, she probably wanted to wash her body.

「...I apologize for my appearance.」

「No, Roa probably wants to get cleaned up too, right? That's all.」

By the way, how should I change clothes? Oh, right.

「By the way, what kind of maid outfit did Roa wear at her part-time job?」

「You're interested in maids!?」

Roa looks delighted as her eyes sparkle.

「Well, I mean, there are all kinds of maid outfits, right? Like for cosplay, or ones that are flashy like anime characters wear, or more serious?」

「That's right. The one I wore was a long dress type with less exposure.」 "Hmm hmm." I imagine it in my head.

I only have linen and wool fabric at the moment, but I should be able to make something out of it.

I dye the fabric black and make a long dress. Next, a white apron.

And then... something called a white brim, a head decoration.

I make the headband out of wood and cover it with fabric. Don't forget to add lace decorations. 「Good.」

I placed the maid outfit in my hand and offered it to Roa. "T-That's…"

"If you want to use it, feel free. Of course, if you don't want it, I can get you other clothes."

"D-Do you mind if I take it?" "Sure."

Roa cautiously accepted the maid outfit.

"I-Is this also made with your 'Crafting Ability'?"

"Yeah. If I can gather more materials, I think I could make socks and shoes that look like the real thing, but we'll see."

I said it lightly, but Roa started to shed tears.

"W-What's wrong…? Did you not like it?"

"N-No… I didn't think I'd get to wear a maid outfit again…"

Indeed, after five days alone on a desert island, it was understandable that she would feel a mix of nostalgia for Earth and despair at not being able to return.

For her, the maid outfit was a reminder of the fun part-time job she had on Earth.

Roa hugged the maid outfit tightly to her chest.

「I will treasure it. And I will wear this costume and serve you with all my heart...!」 「Y-Yeah. Please take care of it.」 Well.

I moved a little and placed the bathwater over the stone wall.

Just as I was about to get on Mashiro and move out.

I noticed that I was receiving a piercing gaze from the women.

I realized that I had only given the new recruit, Loa, a unique costume.

「Ah, yeah. Of course, if Chiyou, Shouko, Shion, and Shinpo want any clothes, feel free to ask. I only have linen and wool right now, but I'll try my best to fulfill your requests.」

I heaved a sigh of relief when the pressure from the four of them disappeared.

To be honest, I had also given Shouko a swimsuit-like outfit before... but never mind.

「Well, let's start with the bath, Loa-chan. Our bath is amazing. Thanks to Kousuke, we have shampoo and soap.」

「Well, as expected of the master.」

「It's finally changed from 'sasousu' to 'sasogushu'. 」 I smiled wryly at Chiyou's words.

The situation is quite unusual, but with Loa joining as a maid, the otherworldliness of the story has definitely increased.

「Okay, let's go, Sōsuke, Minorin.」

Shōko, me, and Shinpo climb onto Mashiro's back in that order. 「Have a safe trip.」

Roah seems to be heading to the bath after seeing us off. 「Yeah, I'm going.」 Despite everything, today's an exploration day.

Thank you for the annual ranking rise to 9th place...!!!!!

Sōsuke heads off to explore while recruiting a maid...

Will he finally get his long-awaited item!? The next update is scheduled for tomorrow!

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