Castle cleanup (pt 2)

Miho watched the castle’s big hall fill with various rich and influential-looking people. Having just arrived from another world, she didn’t know any of their names. But looking at their extravagant outfits and demeanor, there was no doubt.

A lot of potential clients. I’d better remember their names.

The castle’s dining hall was the most expansive space in the entire castle. Its high vaulted ceiling had grand silver chandeliers hanging from it. A purplish light shone out of them, eliminating the rows of tables standing underneath them.

Do these chandeliers use some kind of magic?

The walls were lined with maliciously crafted tapestries depicting legendary battles against the strangest magical creatures. In one corner of the room sat a little stage, on which some minstrels played a variety of flutes and snare instruments.

After all the seats were filled, Lord Cedric stood up from his purple-lined chair to address all his guests.

“Greetings my esteemed guests,” he said with a deep voice.

“I welcome you to this grand gathering within the grand halls of our beloved castle. Today we will celebrate our unity and enduring strength”

“I’d like to toast our friendship, which is more important than ever in these challenging times filled with toil and hardship.”

Cedric looked at Arnold, sitting on a chair close to him.

“I am particularly pleased to welcome Lord Arnold, whose presence here signifies our shared commitment to the peace and prosperity of our lands.”

“May this evening be a testament to our power and perseverance.”

“To friendship, to unity, and to the bright future that lies ahead of us!”

“Cheers!”

Cedric raised his glass, and the guest soon followed, echoing his chant.

The music started playing again, the nobles started drinking and rowdily chatting with each other.

As the cooks brought in the first rounds of entrees, Miho was occupied with refilling the guest's glasses and cleaning the inevitable spills.

These so-called nobles are in dire need of some cleanliness training.

After the plates of entrees had emptied, the musicians stopped playing. Miho looked at the stage and saw a beautifully dressed lady standing in the middle. Her curly blonde hair flowed along her back. Two crimson-red ribbons were braided inside it. Her skirt was a lot shorter than the noble ladies, but nothing indecent.

Once she opened her mouth, the guests went silent, after which they started cheering her on.

Her warm voice resonated through the packed banquet hall, warming Miho’s heart. She sang a couple of heartfelt songs about heroes who put their lives in danger to save their homes from various evils. Her hands moved eloquently, accentuating the lyrics.

The end of her performance was met with a loud applause from the nobles. To top her performance, she threw a hand of glitter at the audience. The pieces of glitter fluttering through the air reflected the magical chandelier light, resulting in the dining hall eliminating a rainbow of various colors.

How stunning

An even louder applause followed. Although not everyone could appreciate this magic finally. One young noble lady got up from her chair and started yelling.

“This is unacceptable! You gave your word there would be no glittering nonsense!”

After which she stormed off, out the door, passing by Miho.

The guests immediately started gossiping about the lady’s angry lashing out.

“Isn’t that the Magnolia princess?”

“I am surprised she even showed up here, I heard she rarely leaves her castle these days.”

Nobody followed the girl outside…

Well, I’d better check in with her. She could be a future client after all…

Miho left the dining hall through the big wooden doors.

She felt the chilly outside wind blow against her cheeks.

There she sat, all alone on a bench. The stunning, dark-haired princess was angrily staring at the ground, her arms crossed.

Miho walked up to her, making a small bow before her.

“Is there anything I can help you with, my lady?”

She shook her head.

“I wish to be left in peace.”

Miho straightened her back and looked the lady straight into her eyes.

“I understand your wish, my lady, but please allow me to rectify this situation. I promise to remove any remaining pieces of glitter from the hall immediately.”

The princess looked a bit to the side.

“How would you, it is already done. Cedric’s promise to me was broken, the glitter already spilled”

Her body shivered as she spoke the word glitter.

I wonder what caused her aversion to it.

“I am sorry, my lady, I know this evening hasn’t gone as you wished. I cannot reverse what happened, but I will try my utmost to have any glitter particles removed. As an independent cleaning professional, your comfort and satisfaction are my highest priority”

The princess hesitated, then nodded slowly.

“I will hold your word… miss…”

She looked at the cleaner standing in front of her.

“My name is Miho, Uehara, Miho.”

“Make sure the mess is dealt with quickly.”

Miho grabbed Clarice, her new magical cleaning utility, and reentered the hall.

From her job cleaning high-end hotels, she knew how frustrating it could be to get rid of the tiniest specs of glitter. Even though it was against the hotel’s guidelines, now and then the guest would pull open one of those nasty glitter cannons and litter the room with glitters.

It would have been Miho’s task to meticulously vacuum the carpets, beds, walls, and sometimes even the ceiling. But sadly vacuums weren’t invented in this world yet.

“Let’s show you what Clarice can do.”

The crystal lit up as Miho started brushing against the glittery floor.

This works surprisingly well.

Any glitter or particle of dust Clarice touched seemed to disappear in thin air.

In no time, Miho walked her broom through the little paths between the tables, leaving the floor sparkly clean.

“Thank you, Clarice, you are truly magical,” she whispered to her tool, as she waved the princess to reenter.

X

Miho helped refill the guest’s cups as the cooks rolled in the main dish. Sitting on a wooden cart was a well garnished pig-like creature. Out of the top of its three heads stook a large horn. Around it lay various other meat-based dishes and vegetables.

The guests seemed extremely enthusiastic about this meal, a sentiment Miho didn’t share.

I wouldn’t dare eat a creature with three heads.

“You are pampering us today Cedric, what did we do to deserve this?” Arnold said while laughing.

“I won’t be able to walk tomorrow”

After which he started devouring large quantities of food.

Miho carefully watched from a distance as the high-class guests empty out the cart until only a heap of bones remained. With Clarice at the ready, she was prepared to clear out any spilling that may occur.

As the evening progressed, the visitors got rowdier, the large quantities of alcohol being a big contributor. The musicians started playing louder and people started singing along to the for Miho unfamiliar melodies. These lords and ladies looked more and more like regular peasants.

“Miss Miho, can I ask you for a favor?” Lord Cedric asked when Miho passed by.

“Surely my lord, what can I help you with?”

“Please fetch me the Stratagem board and pieces in my office.”

Stratagem?

Cedric must have seen Miho’s questioning face.

“You have never played Stratagem? You truely come from another world,” he said while laughing.

“You need to look for a board checkered with black and white squares. The pieces sit in a little leather pouch that lay beside it”

Miho headed to the office where Cedric interviewed her earlier that day. She found the board and pieces lying on top of a set of drawers. She took a quick pee inside the leather bag, taking out one of the pieces.

So this Stratagem game is like chess huh…

She rushed herself back to the main dining hall and handed the board to Cedric.

“Lord Arnold, are you ready for a rematch?”

“After all those dwinks?”

Arnold said while burping. Unlike Cedric, his manners seemed totally eroded by the alcohol.

“I can give you some time to sober up if you need to.”

“Swober up? Me?”

Arnold laughed so loud he started burping.

“You should prepware for a major defeat. I have been pwactising every day!”

Cedric set up the pieces and shook Arnolds hand.

“Let’s have a good match.”

“There is no way your bweating me now!”

From a distance, Miho watched the two men move the pieces in a predictable pattern.

Cedric, playing white moved his knight to the middle of the field.

Meanwhile, Arnold did his best to prevent the piece from penetrating his defenses.

“Gwot you!”

He said after a big chuck of wine.

Arnold tackled the knight using his bishop.

A faint smile appeared on Cedrics face.

“My friend, you have just exposed a big vulnerability”

He moved his queen forward.

“Check mate!”

A shocked expression formed on Arnold’s face.

“It cwan’t be…”

“You must be chweating!”

He angrily smacked his fist on the table, the shock of which was enough to topple the Stratagem pieces.

With his arm, we wiped the remaining pieces of the board and put his elbow upon it.

He wants to arm wrestle?

“Lwet’s settle this the old schwool way. You mwight have a bwigger brain but you’ll never win in a bwattle of pure force!”

Cedric laughed and accepted the challenge.

“Let’s give this a try.”

The men firmly grasped each other’s hands and started applying pressure.

Arnold started groaning, drops of sweat appearing on his face, Cedric meanwhile didn’t even blink an eye.

A group of party goers had formed around the two men, eagerly awaiting the result of this scuffle.

“Cedric! Cedric!”

Some of them cheered as the expression on Arnold’s face intensified.

Despite most of the visitors cheering for Cedric, Arnold seemed to get the upper hand. Slowly but surely, he pushed Cedric’s arm closer and closer to the table.

“I win… I win” Arnold mumbled, grasping for breath.

The match wasn’t over yet, in fact Cedric’s face didn’t look worried at all.

He curled up on the corners of his mouth and then slapped Arnold’s fist against the table, winning the game of arm wrestling in one fell sweep.

He was bluffing all this time… this Cedric guy sure is an interesting figure

Arnold jumped up from the bench and looked around at the bystanders.

“You swaw him cheating, rwight? He must be!”

They all shook their heads, after which Arnold bowled his fist in the air.

“I can’t accept this… I… I need a rematch!”

Cedric shook his head.

“Enough for today, it is time for desert”

He turned around and looked at Miho standing in the crowd.

“Miss Miho, can you fetch the cooks?”

“I sure can, my lord.”

As Miho left she could still hear Arnold complaining about this loss.

There is no way he would have won.

Miho helped the cooks carry the large bowls of pudding inside the hall, seeing the guests eagerly awaiting this special treat.

After the guests had greedily devoured this final course, Miho started helping Beatrice with carrying all the dishes back to the kitchen.

While the guests were still busy partying, the cleanup had already begun.

When Miho reentered the hall, the tables had been moved to the side and the guests were dancing in the center. Arnold and Cedric were nowhere to be seen.

About half an hour later, Cedric reappeared and waved Miho to come to him.

His face looked quite a bit different than it did before. Exhausted but also… relieved?

“Thank you for your service Miss Miho, you did great today.”

Miho glimpsed.

“No thanks, I am just doing my job.”

Even though it wasn’t her business, she couldn’t help but intertwine herself in his affairs.

“Sir, I admired your clever move during the encounter with Lord Arnold. You waited until he lost his temper, thinking he was going to win.”

Cedric laughed.

“I appreciate your attentiveness.”

He paused.

“Speaking about Arnold, he could use your assistance. His room is a real mess right now.”

An ominous grin appeared on his face.

“You said you would clean truly anything, wouldn’t you? Better to bring your best supplies”