Ch. 14 - Clarice The Maid Served The Magic Swordsman
The Exiled Jack-of-all-trades Magic Swordsman Becomes The Princess InstructorThis chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
This chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
Translator: Ataru
Editor: Ray
Nevertheless, Philia, Clarice, and I safely returned to the Imperial Palace. After that incident, Theodora, her men who tried to kidnap the princess, and also the imperial guard who was a member of the Natural Alliance secret organization involved behind the scene, were caught.
Although the incident involved many people, it was handled in secret. This was done to conceal the fact that the princess was the devil’s daughter. More importantly, it was because Clarice wasn't harmed at all, as Theodora said. If Clarice had been killed immediately after she was kidnapped, then I wouldn’t have been able to help her no matter how hard I tried. But the fact was that I was able to release Clarice, who had been tied with ropes and left somewhere safe before the fight had begun.
Clarice should be dispirited because of the incident… but that wasn’t the case. On the contrary, Clarice was full of energy.
"So-lo-n-sa-ma! Do you want tea?” Clarice asked me cheerfully in her maid outfit.
We were inside Princess Philia’s private room in the Imperial Palace, and today was the day after the incident. After we explained our situation with the government officials, we tiredly excused ourselves to this room. And right now, the time was late at night. Philia, probably drained, was already sleeping in the innermost side of the room. There was no one in the room other than Clarice and I.
"No, it’s okay. I don't really want to drink tea right now."
"There is no need to be reluctant! You are my lifesaver, so if you ever need anything, I will help you!”
"Actually, Philia-sama has just brewed tea for me recently."
"Oh, is that so?" Clarice said with a regretful look. Then she murmured, “What should I do?” It seemed that Clarice really wanted to do something for me.
When I met Clarice before, she said that she admired Solon the magic swordsman. Well, I was using the name David at that time, but that wasn’t the case now. Because now, she knew that the one in front of her was Solon, the magic swordsman.
"First time we met, I thought you were an amazing person. But to think you are the real Solon, it’s like a dream to me.”
"I’m sorry for hiding my real name.”
"I don't mind that. I’m really happy to meet you,” Clarice said. She then looked down at my feet and made a surprised expression, her eyes sparkling.
"Oh, Solon-sama, aren’t your shoes dirty?"
"I don’t think so..."
"I will polish your shoes!"
Without waiting for my reply, Clarice leaned in front of me, holding the tools. It seemed that she was going to polish my shoes when I was still wearing them. It's a bit embarrassing to let a girl kneel in front of me while polishing my shoes. That was what I thought, but the tools Clarice had in her hand caught my attention.
"Um, Clarice-san, isn't that a pig-hair brush?"
"Pig-hair brush? Is that what it’s called? Anyway, isn't it a shoe-polishing tool?”
"If you want to polish a shoe, first thing to do is to remove the dust using a horse-hair brush. Look, it’s that one over there.”
Clarice hurriedly picked up another brush. Seeing that, I said, "Horse-hair brush has a finer tip, so you can remove dust without damaging the shoes. Next, use a cloth to remove stains, and then use the pig-hair brush with cream to polish the shoes. If you do it like that, you should be able to polish shoes well."
Then I said in a hurry, “It seems like I’m ordering you even though I’m on the receiving side. I can’t help feeling kind of bad.”
Clarice looked up at me with her cheeks dyed red. "Solon-sama, you sure know everything!"
"No, it’s not a big deal...."
But I thought it was something that Clarice, as a maid, should know. Well, it was a fact that people from aristocratic backgrounds like Cleon and Sophia need not know. As for me, however, I knew these trivial skills because I was a person with a commoner background.
Clarice began to clean my shoes with a horse-hair brush. "Solon-sama has the background of a servant, same as me, right?"
"Yes, I am the son of the duke’s butler. The duke was also the one who put me into the magic school."
The duke was a kind person who paid for my school’s tuition fees. He believed that I could do well when he knew I was interested in magic. Well, it was also thanks to my childhood friend, the duke’s daughter.
I had returned tenfold the money for my school fees. It’s been two years since the last time I saw my parents. Soon, I thought I would have to go see them.
Clarice said, "And right now, you have become the strongest magic swordsman in the empire."
"Well, the knight order kicked me out, though.”
"But because of that you became Philia-sama’s instructor and saved me."
She quickly covered her mouth with her hands when she realized what she had said.
"I-I am sorry, it's rather insensitive of me because I said it as if I was glad to hear that Solon-sama got kicked out.”
"I don't mind, but I thought you admired me as the ‘vice-captain of The Knights of Saint Sophia’. I’ve been kicked out of the knight order because of my lacking ability, so wouldn’t you be disappointed when you see me?”
Clarice shook her head and smiled brightly.
"When I saw how Solon-sama fought, I couldn’t really believe you were dismissed because of your lack of ability. Rather, I think because you are so strong, the people around you were jealous?”
"That's not true, because I am not strong enough."
"I also like how humble you are."
"Um, I didn’t mean to be humble…”
Unfortunately, I also thought it was true that my power didn't help The Knights order at all. And what Cleon and Arte said to me were right, because I was a “jack of all trades, master of none”. Setting aside the fact that I could fight alone, in the knight order, the ones who were useful were the ones with outstanding ability. And I didn’t have that.
But Clarice said this without any regards to my thoughts, "Anyway, Solon-sama was the one who saved me twice. Even if The Knights order said they didn’t need Solon-sama, it’s a fact that Philia-sama and I need Solon-sama!”
Clarice’s stare at me was full of admiration.
Well, in any case, I was Philia-sama’s instructor. Clarice, who was Philia’s private maid, was also my colleague. And she welcomed me that much. It was something to be happy about. Honestly, well, I was really happy about it.
I said to Clarice, who was still polishing my shoes, “Clarice-san, I am really thankful to you. Please take care of me from now on.”
"Yes, me too."
Notes
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