A whole week had passed since Jennie Queens had entered the battleground called maid training.

To the surprise of pretty much everybody in the palace...

She was still alive.

To the surprise of Martha Morius...

She was doing great.

To the surprise of Jennie herself...

She was starting to understand why the maids were so frightening.

The level of skill involved was unbelievable.

There were techniques for folding sheets.

Techniques for carrying tea.

Techniques for opening doors.

There were even apparently techniques for standing.

Jennie had once mastered hundreds of sword forms.

But somehow Martha knew more ways to carry a tray than Jennie knew ways to kill a man.

It was quite worrying.

---

The sun had barely risen when Jennie reached the Maid Training Hall.

Martha was already there.

Naturally.

Jennie supposed that Martha probably didn’t sleep.

She just went into some sort of hibernation until the morning.

Just like an ancient weapon.

"Good morning, Lady Martha."

"Jennie."

The Head Maid adjusted her glasses.

"The task of today."

Jennie instantly sensed danger.

Weeks of practice had taught her that those words always meant bad news.

---

Martha opened a pair of gigantic double-doors.

Jennie peered into the hall.

Then immediately wished that she hadn’t.

A mountain.

An actual mountain.

Well, that’s what it seemed to Jennie at first.

A mountain consisting of dishes.

Plates.

Bowls.

Cups.

Forks.

Spoons.

Trays.

Tens of thousands of them.

The pile filled the whole kitchen hall.

Jennie stared.

Then stared again.

Surely this couldn’t be real.

Surely no civilization ever needed this many dishes.

Did the kingdom have a banquet for giants?

---

Martha calmly folded her hands.

"The Knights’ Dining Hall."

Jennie slowly turned towards her.

"... All of them?"

"Yes."

"Now?"

"Yes."

"On my own?"

"Of course."

Jennie looked back at the mountain.

For the first time in her life...

A dragon seemed easier.

---

The kitchen workers nearby gave her sympathetic looks.

One cook even made the sign of the Goddess.

Not for Jennie.

For the dishes.

---

Jennie sighed.

Then rolled up her sleeves.

Since she was going to suffer anyway...

She might as well suffer efficiently.

Because...

Martha didn’t say anything about how she should wash them.

Just that she should.

---

Far above the ceiling of the kitchen hall...

Invisible mana started to move.

Tiny streams of mana started flowing from Jennie into the air.

Silently.

Hidden.

Untraceable.

Or at least she hoped.

The former Sword King carefully formed mana.

Not into a spell.

Into something much subtler.

A request.

A whisper.

---

A tiny breeze appeared.

Then another.

Then yet another.

The wind danced through the kitchen hall.

Playful.

Delicate.

Almost alive.

Because it was.

Little Wind Spirits emerged out of the mana.

Invisible for the normal eye.

Small elemental creatures born of nature itself.

They usually ignored humans.

This time...

They were bored.

And Jennie was entertaining.

---

"Help me."

The little spirits instantly agreed.

Mainly because it sounded funny.

---

Suddenly—

Dishes began to float.

Water started swirling through the air.

Soap started cleaning the dishes.

Forks started spinning like silver fishes.

Cups started polishing themselves.

Bowls started cleaning themselves.

Kitchens workers froze.

Jennie maintained a perfectly calm expression.

As if nothing was happening.

---

A minute passed.

Then two minutes.

Then three minutes.

The mountain of dishes disappeared.

Every dish shone.

Every cup sparkled.

Every tray reflected the light like a mirror.

The whole kitchen hall became silent.

---

A cook dropped a potato.

Nobody noticed.

Everybody was staring at the dishes.

---

Jennie smiled with pride.

"Done."

The kitchen workers looked at her.

Then at the dishes.

Then back at her.

An elderly cook whispered.

"By the Goddess..."

Another one nodded.

"I think she’s possessed."

---

At that precise moment...

Martha entered the hall.

The Head Maid stopped.

Looked around.

Looked at the dishes.

Looked at Jennie.

The whole room held its breath.

---

Martha approached.

Inspecting everything.

One dish.

Two dishes.

Three dishes.

A hundred dishes.

Not a single flaw.

Not a single spot.

Not a single imperfection.

---

Silence.

Then—

"Excellent."

The kitchen workers almost fainted.

Jennie breathed with relief.

Victory.

Victory.

---

Unfortunately...

That was when the Princess Lilia appeared.

---

The doors burst open.

"LADY JENNIE!"

The princess rushed into the kitchen hall.

Her golden hair wildly bounced behind her.

Several servants instantly jumped aside in order not to get trampled by her.

Jennie was unsurprised.

The princess had developed a habit of appearing wherever there was peace.

---

Lilia stopped by her side.

Eyes glowing.

"You’re cleaning!"

"I was."

"Do you need help?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because you’ll somehow burn down the kitchen."

"I only did that once."

Jennie stared at her.

"Once is enough."

---

Lilia puffed her cheeks.

Then looked at the dishes.

Then at Jennie.

Then at Martha.

A horrible idea appeared in her mind.

Everybody could see that.

---

"I will become a maid as well!"

The kitchen hall collectively gasped.

One servant almost fainted.

Another was ready to quit.

---

Martha slowly turned.

And that gesture alone lowered the room temperature.

"Your Highness."

The smile on her face was perfect.

Elegant.

Polite.

Refined.

Terrifying.

---

"Yes?" Lilia asked.

Martha came closer.

Still smiling.

"If you really want to become a maid..."

The princess nodded eagerly.

Martha’s smile grew wider.

"I will personally train you myself."

---

Silence.

Absolute silence.

The kitchen workers looked horrified.

Jennie looked horrified.

Even the Wind Spirits looked horrified.

---

Lilia froze.

Her survival instinct kicked in.

Maybe for the first time in her life.

---

Martha continued smiling.

"I think sixteen hours of training per day should be enough."

Lilia took a step backwards.

"Sixteen?"

"At least."

Second step backwards.

"We will start with folding linens."

Third step.

"Then inventory."

Fourth.

"Then etiquette."

Fifth.

"Then cleaning."

---

Lilia ran away.

Instantly.

Without any dignity.

Without any hesitation.

Without looking back.

The princess vanished from the kitchen hall.

Several servants cheered.

---

Martha calmly adjusted her glasses.

"A rather lively girl."

Jennie understood why kings were afraid of this woman.

---

Far from the Royal Capital...

Hundreds of kilometers from the prosperous center of the kingdom...

A mining colony was located in the mountains.

Miners were digging deep into the mountains.

Looking for mana crystals.

Iron.

Silver.

Everything valuable.

It was an ordinary day.

Until somebody’s pickaxe hit something unusual.

CLANG.

Not stone.

Not metal.

Something else.

---

The miners exchanged glances.

Then started digging.

Slowly.

Gently.

Removing decades of dirt.

Centuries of stones.

Layer by layer.

---

Eventually...

Somethings appeared.

A sword.

Ancient.

Black.

Dusty.

But untouched by time.

The blade was perfectly intact.

No rust.

No cracks.

---

And on the guard of the blade...

A symbol.

A dragon.

A magnificent dragon carved onto the black steel.

Its fiery eyes seemed to be alive.

Watching.

Waiting.

Sleeping.

---

The very moment the sword saw the sunlight—

A burst of mana came out from under the mountains.

Ancient.

Horrible.

Powerful.

---

Far away in the royal capital...

Jennie suddenly stopped moving.

A strange sensation ran through her soul.

For just a second.

Something ancient and powerful.

Something familiar.

Something dangerous.

---

And under the mountains...

The dragon-marked sword began to shine.