Touhou - Impure Dreams about a Strange Land

The Maid and the Outsider

As soon as Meiling left the kitchen, the ambience became remarkably cold and uncomfortable. The maid then got closer to me.

I finally have a good look at her. She's a tad shorter than me, and her face is beautiful, even more so than Yukari's. Her skin is spotless and terse. Her short silver hair, coupled with the two braids on each side of her face, was the perfect frame for her features. Too bad, those icy blue eyes were piercing through me like daggers.

The way she moves and walks is otherworldly, exuding elegance and class, and her maid outfit was completely stainless even though she was making dinner before we interrupted her. She looks really young, like she's 20 or so years old, but the way she moves and behaves makes me think she might be a lot older.

She was staring at me, suspicious, scanning me from head to toe, searching for something.

I try to break the silence to ease the tension. "Nice to meet you, miss maid, I'm-"

"Shut up." She cuts me off, still intensely staring at me. I don't know what happened, but the silver haired woman suddenly vanished. It wasn't like those awful teleports Yukari used to move, but rather... She moved really fast, or I closed my eyes for a little too long while blinking.

Then I felt like a thousand hands were searching my body. It was so sudden and felt so overwhelming that it spooked the hell out of me, making me stumble on my feet. I had to choke a scream trying to leave my throat.

As quickly as she vanished, she reappeared in front of me, her face still filled with suspicion. "Hm, you're not carrying weapons or dangerous things with you. But I find it hard to believe that a human from that village suddenly felt the need to come here. Who are you? What's your end goal?"

If this is my interview, it feels more like an interrogation made by the police. I raise my hands, trying to show I don't have ulterior motives. "Well, I tried to make my presentation, and you stopped me midway. Are you going to let me finish now?"

Not a single reaction. She was looking at me with an indecipherable look on her face. She didn't demand an answer, she was just there, staring at me with those cold eyes.

"A-alright, I get it." I sigh and start all over. "My name is Nobuyuki, and I simply found that paper on a wall. I need a job and a place to stay, that's all, I swear!"

She keeps looking at me, judging my response. I notice that, as we talk, some stuff around the kitchen is in a different position now. Is this mansion haunted or something? I shouldn't be surprised at this point. If fairies exist, maybe a few ghosts do too.

After a few moments of silence, she speaks again. "I would normally tell you that we are not actually hiring and send you on your merry way, but it seems Meiling took a shine to you, and if I throw you outside in the middle of the night, she's going to pester me to no end. On top of that, all the maids already saw you. Mistress is going to find out, and I don't feel like being teased endlessly for throwing out the only human foolish enough to come here willingly." As she sighs, I can see dinner is done and some dishes were already served.

"H-how...?" I point to the plates already filled with food.

"None of your business. Anyway, maybe you'll come in handy. At the very least, mistress might get a kick out of you once she returns. She likes novelties... Maybe a little too much." She turns around, looking at the dishes. "Tonight, you'll be our guest. Enjoy dinner and relax. After that, we'll talk again. I have to check something and think about what needs to be addressed around the mansion."

Before I could thank her, I was standing in front of a table with a steaming plate full of curry and rice on top of it. Why did I move out all of a sudden? I have no idea, but the mouthwatering smell coming from that dish makes me realize I've been going around without food or water for a whole day.