Magic Lunch Delivery

As work in the kitchen finally drew to a close, Lilin and Annie made their way out. Annie wiped some sweat from her forehead and sighed, while Lilin power-walked towards the library. She needed somewhere quiet after today, and surely nobody would violate the silent space of a library. Annie struggled to keep up, her legs now properly tired. Even being so young wasn't enough to hold up under such strain. It was nice to know that things would heal and she'd be able to get stronger rather than having to look forward to new, permanent pains.

As they entered the library, Annie looked around. Seemed like a strange place to go to after such hard work. Were they doing more work? She wouldn't complain, but she could certainly go for a break now. They walked towards a table, and Lilin pulled out a chair and sat down. Annie looked at her cautiously, then slowly went to sit herself. Lilin didn't stop her, and she seemed to be taking a break herself. Annie slowly relaxed in her chair, enjoying the time she finally had off of her legs.

Lilin sighed softly as she was able to clear her head. Ten wasn't making any noise, and she looked just as tired as she felt. Truthfully, Lilin herself was absolutely exhausted and trying to hide it. The cooking was nightmarish today, but Ten had handled it well enough. But, so had Lilin! She smiled as she leaned back in her chair, letting herself relax as she waited for an indication that she could eat. 

Sure enough, a bell rang in the background. Lilin smiled as she stood up, grabbing Ten's arm and lifting her to her feet as well.
"Let's go get our food," she said.

"Ah, is it lunchtime?" Annie asked.

"Uh... Well, it's more like dinner. Unless you want to make something for yourself after our duties end, this is all you're getting after morning."

Annie nodded, and the two of them walked out of the library. It seemed a bit quaint compared to everything else, having a carpet and more wooden furnishing than extravagant stone and shimmering metals. It was probably for sound absorption, preventing echoes and all that. It seemed like a wonderful place to be most of the time. Was there a dedicated librarian? Annie soaked in all sorts of details as she followed Lilin towards wherever they were going for food.

Luckily, it wasn't far. There was a small wooden cabinet with what seemed to be a tied paper bag in the shape of a gift box in it. Lilin opened it and pulled out the box, then closed it and stepped back, as if to get out of Annie's way for her to open it. Annie crouched down and opened the doors, and what she saw was a bit of a surprise. Another box, in the exact same spot, with the exact same construction. Pulling it out, Annie saw that there wasn't space in the cabinet for more than one box.

"Ah, is this some sort of magic food delivery system?" Annie asked.

Lilin nodded, already working on untying the rope that kept the bag in its shape. As she fiddled with the knot, she began to walk back towards the library. Annie followed her, fascinated by the magic of the world. She wanted to learn more, but just didn't know how to go about that. As luck would have it, though, she saw Six talking to a young boy as they re-entered the library. A large pile of books was in front of them both. As they walked past, Six looked up and made eye contact with Annie.

"Oh, Hello... Six, was it?" Annie said, making sure her voice was quiet as she spoke.

Six nodded, smiling as she addressed the curious new servant. "Hello, Ten. Yes, I am known as Six," she said with a bow.

"So, uhm... If you don't mind me asking, what's up with the numbering system?" Annie asked, remaining quiet. She saw Lilin walking off to sit at a table as she finally undid the knot and produced a rather pleasant-looking meal.

"Well," Six began, "each servant of a type is assigned a number. You are the tenth hired maid, so you are Ten. I am Six. Lilin is a special exception, she would be known as Two, since she was the second maid, but she is called Lilin."

Annie raised an eyebrow. "Uh, why?"

"Because... There are many positions at the castle that have at least two members. Two could refer to many, many different people. As a matter of fact, this here is one such person."

Six patted the boy beside her on the shoulder. He looked up, his expression stoic. He wore a single spectacle over his left eye, a chain hanging down from it to his neck. He was dressed very formally, wearing a suit jacket with tails and dark dress pants. He looked like he was all dressed for a Sunday service, with his short black hair even combed back. He spoke, his voice as young as his appearance.

"I am Two, the second librarian. I am still new to my duties, but I am being trained quickly. Six says that I am learning quickly. I hope that I can help, should you need it."

Annie nodded, smiling. "Hello, Two! Wait, how do you distinguish something like Two the librarian and Two... Something else?"

Six pushed her glasses up as she spoke. "Well, that occurrence rarely comes up, as we typically do not have more than a few people filling in a single position at a time, and it is very rare for them to stop working here once they have started. Servants are the most prominent example of the numerical system faltering."

"I see. Well... Still, it would be nice to have something to call you other than just Two. What can I call you?" Annie asked the boy.

"Well, if you must, simply call me... Library man-"

"Do not call him that," Six immediately interjected. "If you need an alternative name that would feel more proper, perhaps you could call him Deuce."

Annie noticed a slight frown on the boy's face, despite his clear attempts to hide his disappointment. He really wanted to be Library Man, it seemed. She crouched down a bit to meet his eye level, smiling warmly.
"Well, then I will call you Deuce, the Library Man!"

Deuce's eyes widened, his expression breaking in shock as he heard those words. He kept his smile down as best he could, but it was quite hard to contain it.
"I-I will accept the nickname Deuce... You are Ten, correct?"

"Oh, Deuce, you can call me Annie if you'd like. Now, do you need help with any of these books? There's quite a few of them here."

Six watched as Ten spoke with Deuce. The name was quite nice, a very rare gesture to see for a demon. She kept quiet as they spoke, observing Ten's unconditional assistance. Deuce had a very difficult road ahead of him. The previous librarian had died only hours earlier when she attempted to defy the Demon King. Six had a distinct feeling that Ten may meet a similar fate if she continued on that path. She made a mental note to speak with her in the evening to caution her from taking such an action. She didn't want to see another aspiring "hero" die meaninglessly.