Friedenshain Festival (pt 1)

The next morning, Miho leaves the castle’s gate, her shoes clacking on the cobblestones. On the retractable bridge that spanned the moat stood two guards gossiping about Arnold’s sudden disappearance.

“I heard that he angrily stomped out of the gate last night, after losing a game of Strategem.”

“It can’t be, I was standin’ on the tower and saw nothin’ like that”, the other guard answered him with a big frown.

It seemed like not everyone would take Cedric's explanation as gospel.

I better get out of here.

Miho increased her pace while descending the hill holding Clarice in her hand, which started to ache from carrying the heavy broom. She looked at the broom, whose crystal was still glowing, and made her wish.

Clarice started glowing like the other day and soon transformed into a handy duster. On the top of the duster was a hook, which Miho put on her skirt. With her hands freed, she continued her way to the town, which was called Friendshain as Miho learned from the castle folk.

Feeling the weight of the leather purse filled with silver pieces, she asked a villager for houses on sale.

“Oh dear, a lass like you buying a house by herself…”

Miho looked at him with an angry frown.

A woman buying a house on her own must be quite unusual in this old-fashioned world.

“I can pay for it,” she responded, putting her hand on her filled purse.

“I suppose it’s not inconceivable… you might want to check out the estate agent.”

“Please go left to the town square and then take the street on the right”, the man said after seeing Miho’s questioning gaze.

“Your destination is a tall, four-story building with a pointy roof.”

Miho thanked him and followed his instructions.

X

“Good morning, how can I help you?”, the estate agent, a middle-aged woman with red curly hair asked Miho as she entered the door.

“I came here to buy a house,” Miho asked in a straightforward manner.

The woman looked at her with a big smile.

“You are at the right address! Are there any requirements you have for this new dwelling?”

Miho thought about it for a bit.

“It should be big enough for me to live in and have enough space for me to store my cleaning supplies.”

“Well darling, you seem to be in luck. An excellent house came on the market just today!”

“This might be the perfect opportunity for you, let me show you.”

The woman passed Miho and left through the door, waving Miho to follow her.

Miho chased the estate agent through various alleyways until they stood before a stately looking house.

This looks rather expensive, Miho thought, looking at the house which was way bigger than most other houses in this city.

The woman turned the key and showed Miho inside.

The hallway was lined with luxurious oak paneling, with a large split staircase sitting at the end of it. On both sides sat a big wooden door, the agent entered the left one.

“This parlor is an ideal space to entertain guests, pay attention to the marble-cladded fire pit.”

Miho inspected all the high-end finishes in awe as the woman continued her tour.

“This kitchen has an ivory sink and an adamantite furnace, on which you can cook a feast for the whole family.”

Touching the purse filled with silver in her pocket, Miho stopped.

“Excuse me, although this house looks suitable, I am afraid I won’t be able to pay for it.”, Miho said while taking out her leather purse.

“This is all the money I have, I was told this would be enough to buy a house.”

She opened the purse and let the estate agent take a look.

“I see,” she said with a disappointed look in her eyes.

“I am afraid this house won’t fit your budget… Let's go back to the office and see what other options we have.”

Miho followed the woman back to the tall building, where she took out some listings written on pieces of parchment.

“Too expensive… too expensive…”, she whispered, browsing through them.

The woman sighed, looking at the last piece of parchment.

“I am afraid this is the only house that fits your budget. It sits at a good location in this city and would be big enough for your business. The only thing is that it needs some repairs. The previous owners used it as a barn… you should see it for yourself.”

Miho and the estate agent started walking again and ended at a house sitting at the end of one of the main streets radiating from the central square. There sat a wooden abandoned-looking house. The windows were covered with cobwebs and when the woman turned the key, a foul smell entered Miho’s nostrils.

The agent pinched her nose as she entered the building.

“This house has lots of space and potential, after some deep cleaning that is…”, she said as she showed Miho the main room. The floor was covered by mud and animal feces, the walls were covered with sludge from the leaking roof.

“Cleaning is no problem for me. That roof needs to be fixed, however,” Miho said while looking up.

Miho stood still, holding her purse.

“With such a major problem, I can’t afford to spend all my money on this house.”

“You’d have to give me thirty percent off to allow for the repair.”

“So that means you are interested in buying this property?”, the estate agent asked with a sense of surprise in her voice.

Miho nodded.

“Thirty percent is too much though… what if I send you a contractor and make sure it gets fixed as soon as possible?”

I feel I can still do better, she looks desperate enough trying to get rid of this dilapidated shed.

“Contractor and ten percent off”, Miho proposed.

The real estate agent hesitated.

“I would have to discuss it with the seller.”

But Miho persisted.

“I am in a hurry, I’d like to make my purchase today.”

“Alright,” the woman finally said, her voice softening.

“How about this: I will contact the seller today about the ten-percent discount along with the cost of the contractor. If the seller agrees, we can finish the paperwork today.”

Miho remained silent, her eyes narrowing. She knew she had the upper hand and didn’t want to push it any further, afraid she was going to lose the deal.

“That sounds reasonable," she replied.

“But I need reassurance that the repairs will be done properly and promptly.”

The agent quickly nodded.

“Absolutely, I will make sure to send the best roofer in town. I am certain that the repairs will be done at the end of the week.”

A slight smile appeared on Miho’s face as she shook the estate agent's hand.

“We have a deal”

X

Turning the key of her freshly bought house, Miho assessed the mess and made a plan on what to do with it. Or rather, she thought of how she would use Clarice to clean it all.

The first priority was getting rid of the old collapsed furniture. Miho asked Clarice to transform into the sprayer she used earlier to dispose of Arnold’s corpse. One for one, the sprayers' magical dust covered the pieces of furniture. Soon enough, Miho’s new house’s rooms were completely emptied.

I guess there would be no way for a cleaning tool to get me some replacements.

After that, Miho brushed the walls using Clarice’s fine brush and brought back the shining white color the plaster used to have.

Her last task was scrubbing the animal feces-covered floor, using Clarice’s regular broom form.

As Miho started scrubbing, she uncovered an old but workable wooden floor under the living room. And in the kitchen, she discovered a white tile floor. Sparkly clean because of Clarice’s superior cleaning power.

Exhausted from the rigorous cleaning, Miho plopped down on the now sparkly clean floor. From there she admired the amazing result.

I was right, this house was a real bargain.

Miho looked out the window, or at least she tried to. They were still covered with cobwebs and so much smut that it was impossible to get a proper look of the street.

She looked at Clarice’s crystal and saw it was glowing again.

Just like I hoped. Every time I clean something major, it will give me another transformation.

“Clarice, can you transform into a squeegee?”

Lo and behold, the magical tool started glowing and turned into a brass squeegee.

Miho walked up to the windows and put the squeegee against it. With a singular stroke, the window went from transparently dirty to crystal clean. No water or detergent required.

In mere minutes, Miho cleaned all the windows leaving not a singular streak.

It feels so good playing life on easy mode, Miho thought after finishing the cleaning.

Just about when she was to leave to buy some furnishings, someone knocked on her door.

Without a care, Miho pulled the door wide open.

With a smack, a girl with long orange braids fell into her doorway.

She must have been leaning against it.

“Pardon me… I am so sorry!”

The girl exclaimed while she crawled up from the ground.

“My name is Hanna, and I am… looking for a new job as a maid.”, she said in a shy voice.

“I saw you just moved in… so you might need someone to clean.”

Miho glimpsed at the cute girl, looking into her lively blue eyes.

“I am sorry, but I have no need for a maid. In fact, I am a professional cleaner myself.”

The girl’s eyes started glowing.

“You are, truly? I have always wanted to meet one!"

In her excitement she stretched out her arms and jumped up, hitting the doorpost.

“Awwh!”

She exclaimed, rubbing her sore hand.

The girl made a big bow before Miho.

“Can you please take me in as an apprentice, so I can learn how to be a proper maid?”

Miho shook her head.

“I am afraid I can’t help you. I have no use for you… I need to find a job for myself soon”

She said while feeling her now almost empty wallet.

Her big puppy eyes stared at Miho, in a final attempt to sway her opinion.

“I am sorry but I can’t be of any help… Now can you please leave my doorway? I have business to conduct,” Miho said while waving to the girl to move.

“Ex… excuse me miss,” the girl said while quickly jumping away.

“If you ever make up your mind, you can find me next door at my parent's house”, Hanna said after which she scurried away.