Chapter 24

It is club activity day once again, and once again, I find myself attracting too much attention. The other girls in the club stare at me while the boys glare. It is harder than it looks to ignore, but I don't think there is anything I can do about it. Honestly, I am more surprised people are looking at me instead of the heroine. Ellis walks around gracefully waiting tables with a smile ad is constantly catching my eye. I don't know what it is about her, but I struggle not to stare. It must be the power of an Otome game protagonist.

I am starting to enjoy working in this club. The work isn't too bad, the customers are nice, apart from a few who think it is okay to get a little touchy with us, and they let us enjoy a pleasant meal for lunch. I think I could have been happy being in a club like this in my old life. But I think my sister's reputation back then would have scared any potential customers away. At least in this world, things are different, and even with a bad reputation, no one is fleeing from me.

"Welcome to our humble restaurant master," It still surprises me whenever I hear someone great a customer. I think we had cafes back in my old world like this too. "Please follow me to your table."

"That is unnecessary. I will take that one,"

Damn it. I grind my teeth hearing the familiar voice. What is he doing here? In the game, he never came to this school outside of three separate occasions. I almost glare at him when I turn to face him. My grandfather always draws attention, and today is no different. Wearing a fine suit most people would only wear in the presence of royalty and followed by a knight in golden armour, it is impossible not to look his way.

"You there clean this table up, so it is acceptable to eat from,"

He's here for me. I sigh internally. I have a good idea of what he is planning to do. If what I think is correct, then he intends to make my life a nightmare in this club. I calmly approach him, putting on my best smile.

"Right away, master,"

The table isn't even dirty, to begin with. In fact, it is still sparkling from where I cleaned it only minutes ago. Still, there is no point in telling him that since I feel he will insult my cleaning skill and make me clean again regardless of what I say. I carefully wipe down the table and even use magic to get it extra clean. If he complains now, I will have no trouble dealing with him since I used the same techniques used to clean at the royal castle. I have Marshal's maid, or should I say love to thank for teaching me this technique. It really helped cut down the time it took to clean up the insults on my desk.

"Is everything to your satisfaction, master?"

The look on his face is priceless. I think this is the first time he has seen me clean anything. He touches the table as if checking I didn't use some kind of illusion magic. I struggle not to smirk as he finally admits the table is clean.

"Yes, it is acceptable," He sits down after having a knight put a white cloth on the table and lay a cushion on my grandfather's chair. "Fetch me a menu. I wish to see what you serve to hear."

"Right away, master,"

I swiftly grab one from the side of the room, asking another club member to cover my other tables. I am glad they were understanding and took over without complaint. They even wished me luck with dealing with my grandfather. When I return to him, I find him glaring at me. When will he learn that his glares never work on me?

"You sure took your time," He huffs, snatching the menu from me. "If you are going to be a servant, you should at least get it right."

"I will do my best to improve in the future, master," I bow my head. "If I may make a recommendation, the beef stew is our current best-selling made with flying cows from the eastern islands."

"I don't care about the stew. Tell me why this menu is so basic," He makes several people jump when he slams down the menu, but I remained unfazed. "This place serves nobles, yet its food is barely fit for commoners."

"Please forgive us, master, but we are only students still learning the art of culinary," I calmly reply, seeing the eyes of the cooking club peeping in on us. "Right now, we are just beginning, so look to the future and where our cook's potential will take them."

"I shudder to think what the future holds," My grandfather mutters, picking up the menu again.

I wish I could have told him he doesn't have to eat here, but I can't say something like that to a customer… even if they deserve it. Instead, I bit my tongue and politely smiled as I answered every question he had about our menu. He is definitely trying to annoy me. He keeps making me tell him every detail of every dish, even when that information isn't necessary. For example, he had me explain how we import our food to the school by airship. Finally, after what felt like a lifetime had passed, he ordered something.

"I will just take a cup of tea," He says, pushing the menu back into my arms. "Bring me milk and sugar too. I can't expect people who are still learning to make it right."

"I will bring you your drink right away, master,"

I bow my head and hurry to the kitchen to put in the order. I apologise to everyone before I start making his tea. It was tempting to spike his drink with a particular curse that would upset his stomach, but I held myself back. I shake my head, clear of the thought, while I wait for the kettle to boil.

"Are you okay?" It doesn't take long before the heroine finds me. She smiles softly as she starts making her own drink. "Want me to kick him out for you?"

"No, that is fine," I smile. It would make for quite the sight to see Ellis throwing out my grandfather, but that would just put her endanger. "I have been dealing with him for years."

"Well, let me know if you need any help,"

"I will be sure to do so,"

We both finish up making our drinks. Making tea is so much different in this world compared to my old one. Back in that, would I just use a tea bag but here, I have to pour boiling water over leaves. It smells a lot better than the tea I used to make. I find the clams of better health more believable as well.

I find my grandfather has been busy while I was away. Somehow little has appeared on the floor around his table. I swear he must have been carrying it around in his pocket, waiting for a chance to drop it. I can already see where this is going when I return to the table.

"Here is you, tea master," I tell him, putting down the try. "I have brought you the milk and sugar as you requested."

"You are too slow, and your cleaning skills are subpar," He tells me, pointing down to the little by his feet. "clean this up so I can try to enjoy these boiled leaves you claim to be tea."

"Right away, master,"

Instead of bending down, I straighten up. The room below us should be empty now, so it should be okay if I do this. I can see my grandfather smirking as if he thinks he has finally won. He was just to beginning to speak when I…

"I'm glad to see you realise a noble's place isn't with the hel… ARE YOU CRAZY! THAT COULD HAVE KILLED ME!"

"My apologies, master. I was simply making sure the floor was clean,"

I had opened up a hole in the floor right next to my grandfather and a hole in the floor beneath us, allowing the litter to fall from the floating island. My grandfather's face instantly paled, and his knight nearly attacked me, but I think I can call this move a great success. I doubt he would be asking me to pick up any more litter after this.

"I will be seeing to my other customers now, master," I tell him as he struggles to regain his composure. "If you need anything at all, please don't hesitate to call me."

I was about to return to work, but our club supervisor took me away. He was upset about how I handled the situation and mad that I put a hole through the school. I ended up being punished by being made to clean out the store room. It was still worth it since my grandfather made a quiet exit soon after I returned to waiting tables.

<0>

Do they call this a punishment? I am hardly breaking a sweat. I was told it would take an hour to do, but with the help of my magic, I will wrap this up in under ten minutes. All I had to do was use body strengthening magic to move boxes. That cleaning magic I used to clean my grandfather's table on the floors and shelves. Now all I have to do is get rid of the cobwebs in the corner of the room, and everything will be done and dusted.

"I have come to help you… are you already finished?"

"Nearly,"

Ellis is as cheerful and kindhearted as she was in the game. She looked ready to clean as well, wearing an apron and headscarf. She even had a bucket filled with cleaning tools. She looks just like some fanart a friend of mine drew up… only she isn't naked under the apron.

"I just need to get rid of the cobwebs, and everything will be done,"

"You cheated with magic, didn't you?"

"Well, I did use magic, but I don't think it counts as cheating,"

We work together to clean up the last places in the store room. Some of the cobwebs were in hard-to-reach places that should have been no problem for me, but just before I started to use flight magic, Ellis stopped me. But this time, I could see her point. I changed out of my butler's outfit before starting this punishment, so right now, I am wearing a skirt. If Zeno were to come in and see me flying, I have no doubt he would make sure to peak.

It was a little annoying cleaning without magic, but we managed to get every last cobweb from the corners of the room. It took a little more time than I would have liked, but… wait, is the door shut? Damn it, it is. I quickly move to the doo and find it sealed shut. The lock is broken, making it impossible to open from the inside. I had a small box propping it open, but it looks like it has been stored away.

"What's wrong?" Ellis asks, stepping toward me.

"Hey, Ellis, did you move the box that was by the door?"

"Yeah, I put it away on the shelf after I nearly tripped over it,"

"Okay," I sigh. "Well, the door is locked now, so please step closer o me so I can get us out of here." It shouldn't be a problem if I just teleported us out of here. But when I tried… "My magic isn't working."

"It isn't working?"

"Yeah,"

I nod, feeling scared for the first time in a long time. I have never lost my magic before. Not even when some bandits used a magic drain trap on me was my magic wholly gone. If there was something able to do this to me, it must be more powerful than Bozzair. I was beginning to get worried that soon I would start hearing people screaming, but I only heard silence.

"Hey, there is no need to feel scared," Ellis pulls me into a warm hug.

I was shaking without realising it. I may have even begun panicking, but Ellis brought me back. She pulls my head into her chest and holds me tightly in a warm, comforting embrace. She is so warm, so comforting and gentle that I instantly feel all my anxiety melt away. Ellis gentle stroke my head whispering comforting things to me.

"You don't need to be scared," Ellis tells me as we sit down on one of the boxes.

I think there was a scene like this in the game. Only Ellis was the one being comforted by one of the love interests. It would vary depending on who it was, but Marshall would hold her hand, acting uncharacteristically sweet compared to his other behaviour in the game. Noah would hug her while Zero had the first ecchi scene of the game after their makeout session got a little heated. But this is nice. I close my eyes and let Ellis's warmth calm my body and soul.

Huh, that's strange. I could have sworn I saw something floating by Ellis, but nothing was there when I tried to look. It must have just been my imagination. Ellis doesn't seem to notice anything, so it must have just been me.

<0>

Ellis's POV

That was scary. I thought she noticed it then for a second, but it seemed I had no reason to fear that as Lady Angelina quickly relaxed again. She shouldn't be able to see it anyway. I open up the menu as soon as I see her close her eyes. "Administrative Menu," Big, bold letters are displayed before my eyes with a list of options. I open up the page for Lady Angelina, ready to turn her magic back on once someone comes to let us out.

That ritual may have taken its toll, but the power I gained is worth it. I was able to save Lady Angelina thanks to the "Administrative Menu," after all. Aside from turning off her magic, I was able to turn off the system that would have forced her to walk the path of the villainess. I also did the same for the love interests, so they wouldn't hit on me, but that backfired as they all seemed to love Lady Angelina.

I look down at her and smile, stroking Lady Angelina's hair. It is a lot softer than I expected and smiles surprisingly good. Whoops, that was close Lady Angelina nearly caught me sniffing her hair. I should just relax and enjoy this moment. The teacher won't be back for an hour, and I don't want to ruin this alone time with Lady Angelina.