Connor did, in fact, know about the fish. The fish were known as ‘Fast Fish’. And just like the name suggested, they were fast. A pain to kill, apparently.


    “This will take days.” he complained.


    “I don’t suppose making them run away will work?”


    “No, they come back. Have to kill them. But tracking them down not easy.”


    So that was why people weren’t taking it. The fish weren’t dangerous, they were annoying.


    “Hmm, good practice. And good money.” Connor commented.


    “What?”


    “The fish. Attacking them good for training reaction time. Have to act fast to kill them.”


    That made sense. Reacting fast enough had been a big issue for me when I was fighting the rabbit.


    “I come?” he asked, looking at me hopefully.


    I narrowed my eyes at him. “Why?”


    “The money good.” he admitted. “Two fish a silver. That better than most. And many can join. That is much money.”


    That…did make sense. And it would make my job easier. I didn’t really care that much about money. The party yesterday had cost less than a silver. Alice had taken it from me when I left. Even with all the beer and food that had been eaten, it had cost a less than a hundredth of what was on offer here. I was pretty sure I would be fine even with a smaller reward.


    “Ok sure, we can do that.” I agreed.


    Connor nodded. “Meet at noon?”


    “That soon? And how do you tell that it’s noon?”


    “The money good.” he shrugged. “And there clock.”


    I looked to where he was pointing and there was a clock. I had not noticed that in the darkness. Perhaps I should take a walk during the day now. Even if there was only enough light here as a normal evening, it was still much more than what was there during the nights.


    “Ok sure, we can do that.”


    Connor stood up and left, and I started to go through the house again. The kitchen looked much more dusty in the day. The house needed some cleaning. I should get to that.


    The house was made of stone. Or metal. Even the stairs and furniture was stone. The clock and some other small items were metal. I did not see any wood around. That made sense. After all, we were underwater. Having wooden things might have been stranger.


    Heading up, I was even more surprised by the size of the ballroom. I could see now that the stage on the right occupied much of the room. There was enough space for multiple bands to play there. Well, just physical space. I doubted multiple bands could actually play there, the sound would overlap or something.


    Just walking across the ballroom took me a couple of minutes. And as a Rank 3 my walking speed was like ten kilometers an hour. I didn’t actually know how to measure it, but it seemed accurate.


    There was another thing I noticed. The door to the house was in the middle of its structure. The kitchen and living room were to the right. The bedroom was also to the right, but on the higher floors.


    I had not encountered the left yet. I walked against the left wall of the ballroom, trying to see if there were any doors. Well except the one that led to the bathroom.


    I found what I was looking for towards the very end, just barely standing out against the rest of it. The color was the same white. If I hadn’t been looking closely, I would have missed it.


    There wasn’t even a handle. I slid my hand against the door, wondering how to open it. Then the door opened inward. There was apparently no need for a handle.


    The door led to another corridor. I admit, I had to wonder about this design. Did the builder want to confuse the enemies too? Cause right now they were confusing me. There were doors to the right.


    I walked into the first one, finding myself staring at a bedroom. And the sleeping figure of Elena inside it. As I walked in, she woke up.


    “What is it?” she asked sleepily.


    “I didn’t mean to wake you, I was just touring the house.” I told her.


    “Oh.” she said, looking rather upset. “That’s a problem. Why was it built like this? The Viscount’s palace was easier to navigate.”


    Oh right, she probably came in at night. And then had to find an empty bedroom. That would have been difficult.


    “Well, I will leave you to your sleep.” I said, walking out. I probably should not have entered the room. A man entering the room of a sleeping woman was not acceptable in…pretty much any era. In my defense, I had not known she was sleeping there.


    “I’ll come with you.” she said, standing up. “I was awake anyway.”


    I opened my mouth and then closed it, nodding instead. How did I even respond to that? Now that I thought about it, wasn’t it strange that she was living in the same house? Not that it wasn’t big enough, but it was still strange to be sharing it with a girl.


    “This wasn’t the maid’s room.” she commented, looking around the bedroom.


    “I didn’t see any maid rooms.” I replied, but I did notice her nervousness. And the way she had brought up that topic.


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    Elena was wondering if she still had to be my maid.


    “I took a job today.” I told her. “There’s some fish that need killing—Rank 1s. Connor says they are very annoying to kill.”


    “Hmm.” Elena nodded along.


    “Do you want to come?”


    That surprised her. I didn’t think she had expected me to actually ask her to come. But that seemed like a good way to tell her that I didn’t expect her to be my maid anymore. And without the awkwardness that came with the conversation.


    “You are a Rank 1 yourself.” I pointed out. “With your mana awakened. I am sure you can deal with them. There are plenty of weaker people going. This should be good training, and you’ll be able to get some mana too.”


    Elena looked at me, the surprise looking stuck on her face.


    “Yes. I will come.” she replied.


    I nodded, walking into another bedroom. A very dusty bedroom.


    “This house needs a cleaning.” I commented.


    “Yes.”


    I sighed. I kind of missed having actual maids. Even if it got annoying to have to wake up at the same time every day so they could clean. Even on weekends.


    “Hire someone.” Elena said.


    I looked at her in surprise.


    “The house is too big to care of. I saw Connor’s and Alice’s. They have much smaller houses and still have servants. This house will need even more.”


    “That…is true.” I admitted. I knew just how much work went into keeping a house clean and presentable. Mother wouldn’t have let me forget even if I wanted to.


    “I don’t know where to find them though.” I said, “But I suppose Miss Emily should know.”


    I hoped she did. Finding maids was a problem in itself. Mother, well, she had a lot of issues with maids. That was what we talked about during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That or they would talk about my marks.


    Or they would fight with each other. I had quickly learned not to bring up any topic they had in common during a meal. That just ended with a fight. The two of them could not have agreed on what type of glass to use.


    But that was in the past. I wasn’t on Earth anymore.


    “I will talk to Miss Emily.” I said, looking at the clock. There was one of them in every room. A feature I could appreciate. A clock was the kind of thing that wasn’t appreciated till it was missing.


    Not knowing what time it was could make planning very problematic.


    “I suppose we should leave now.” I admitted. “Connor said he would come at noon. There are still two hours left, but we also have to get lunch.”


    Elena nodded. Then stopped. “I don’t know how to cook.”


    “I don’t either.” I admitted. That was going to be a problem, wasn’t it?


    “Miss Emily said there weren’t any restaurants around here, but maybe there are some in the awakened quarter?”


    Elena nodded. “Asking her is a good idea. That woman knows things.”


    There was something about her tone that made me think that she wasn’t talking about food. But I could understand what she meant even if I didn’t know what she was talking about. Miss Emily did know things. So many things that she really shouldn’t know. I did wonder what was up with her. And if I should go ask her about it.


    Then I thought of how many things I depended on her for. That put things in perspective. Asking her difficult questions would have to wait.


    The journey to Miss Emily’s did not take long. Elena knew a better, shorter way there. I still did not understand the streets in this place. I really needed a map. Another thing to ask Miss Emily for.


    The place was just as busy as I had expected. I had been here multiple times over the last couple of days, and there hadn’t been a single time when more than a couple beds were empty. And beds were only for the really serious patients.


    There were plenty more that seemed to have smaller things. Like that guy that was sneezing every other minute. I stayed away from him. A cold was scary. I did not like having my nose blocked like that. And being that annoyed would probably make me explode something.


    Miss Emily’s assistant… Eir I think, headed towards us.


    “Can I help you?” he asked.


    Elena and I looked at each other. There were so many people waiting for help. And we were here to ask where we could get our food. And servants.


    Elena had a thicker skin than me because she asked anyway. “Well we were wondering if we could hire someone to clean the house. And ask where we could get some food. I hear there are restaurants in the awakened quarter?”


    I had to admit, for a former maid, Elena spoke very well. If she wore a dress and flapped a fan in front of her face, I could call her a lady.


    Eir nodded and then looked around the room. “Rowan!” he called out.


    The two of us look at him, surprise on our faces. How had that guy managed to come here?


    The man that came out was, of course, not the protagonist. This was another person, presumably also named Rowan. I was going to call him Rowan of the Lake. Cause he was from the lake. And it would be too confusing otherwise.


    “This guy’s been looking for a job.” Eir said. “Should be able to clean well. I hear you’re going on a trip today? I shall see if he can get it cleaned by the time you return.”


    “The house is big.” I informed him. “I’m fine if he can’t. Just have him-”


    “The trip will be several days long. The mines are far.” Eir interrupted, his tone hurried. “There are restaurants in the awakened quarter. Miss Emily wouldn’t want you to go near the City Lord’s mansion. A place near the Adventurer’s Guild might be better.”


    I didn’t want to go to that place twice in one day, but I suppose I could live with it. What caught my attention was the fact that the trip was going to be several days long. I had not thought about the food needed.


    I suppose we could cook fish. Hadn’t Connor mentioned that Alice had fire magic? That should work.


    “I have to go. Have a nice day.” Eir said, making his way to the coughing client. Elena and I just looked at each other. Then we left.


    “A few days?” she asked.


    “I didn’t know.” I admitted.


    “Well, we will have to get some food.” she stated, but she sounded excited. Like she was going on an adventure.


    I suppose it was an adventure. And she hadn’t had many chances to go on one as a maid.


    “Yes, though we could eat fish.”


    Elena waved her hand. “No, we need to have something, in case there aren’t fish around. Or they’re poisonous.”


    That did seem like a good idea.


    “Connor will know.” I said.


    “The drunk guy?” she frowned.


    “Well, he’s usually very dependable.”


    “If you say so.” Elena said, sounding doubtful. I did think he was dependable. And that he could do this.


    “I guess we should make our way to Connor’s first then.”


    “Yes.” she agreed. “Going to Connor’s sounds like a good idea.”