24 Professional Butler

After scavenging some medical supplies from the manor with the guards, Cen Jiu returned to her room.

She tried to open the door as softly as possible, but the person on the bed still sensed the slight movement and sat up.

"A-Jiu!" Upon seeing it was Cen Jiu, Bella rolled out of bed and ran to her barefoot.

She immediately noticed the smell of ointment on Cen Jiu and, filled with concern, helped the adventurer sit on the bed.

Lighting the oil lamp, she spotted the wounds on Cen Jiu’s hands and felt a pang of heartache. "You’re hurt. It must be so painful..."

For a player, such wounds would heal completely after a night’s sleep. Not to mention the recovery bonus already applied from the medical supplies; if she had returned any later, Bella wouldn't have even seen the marks.

"It’s alright, it’ll be healed soon. We’ve already dealt with that thing!" Cen Jiu said, sharing the good news. "Though there were some complications, I managed to take it down without any major harm!"

"Is that so..." Bella couldn't help but smile bitterly at her excitement. "That’s still too dangerous. Are all of you adventurers like this?"

Cen Jiu, having claimed the identity of an adventurer, played the role to the end. She nodded and said, "That’s right. As an adventurer, one must keep walking forward alone, even when faced with danger."

"If you ever have any trouble, feel free to ask me. I’ll do what I can—though, of course, a reward for travel expenses would be even better!"

"...Trouble?" Bella pursed her lips into a smile. "Then, could you do me the favor of going to sleep now? Sleep through until dawn."

"Alright, Bella." Seeing that Bella had initiated the end of the conversation, Cen Jiu didn't pester her for more information.

As long as she came to the manor, she would see Bella eventually; there was no need to rush.

"Goodnight, then."

She lay down on her bed and fell asleep instantly.

"..." Bella watched as Cen Jiu, who had wished her a smiling goodnight, fell into a deep slumber in the blink of an eye, and she fell into deep contemplation.

The adventurer lay on her side, fully dressed with her pack still on, a smile on her face as she drifted into dreamland. She looked completely at ease, relaxing the moment her head touched the pillow, in less than three seconds.

"A-Jiu, A-Jiu..." The way she fell into a deep sleep so quickly made Bella’s subsequent movements more cautious. Bella whispered the adventurer’s nickname, "Should I help you change into my pajamas..."

The comedic scene Bella had imagined—"A-Jiu instantly opening her eyes and cheering in response"—did not happen. Cen Jiu was truly asleep, out cold.

Heaven knows what the adventurer had been through to reach such a state of exhaustion.

"Goodnight, A-Jiu," Bella said softly as she tucked the blanket around her.

...

Cen Jiu set her alarm to wake up at seven sharp the next morning. When she rose, she was the only one left in the room.

A note was left on the counter, written in neat, elegant script: *I have gone to work. If you want something to eat, just go to the kitchen!*

Cen Jiu tucked the note away. It was fortunate that her language skills had improved, or she wouldn't have been able to understand the content.

She got out of bed and straightened the bedding. In some aspects, the game wasn't quite realistic; for instance, the blood and dust on her body would naturally vanish over time. In other words, the stain effects on the player's equipment refreshed. As long as the durability didn't drop below a certain point, equipment would return to a pristine, new-like state, and the player wouldn't leave any stains on the bed after sleeping.

It was another energetic day. Cen Jiu pulled up her quest list to organize her tasks.

[The Night Watchman of the Ortega House (Optional): You have temporarily resolved the trouble at the Ortega House. Go to Butler Bandelas to collect your well-deserved reward.]

This side quest was nearing its end, but the other side quest—helping the water droplet find its item—had no clear prompts. The only clue was that the object was in this house; it had that classic "exploration easter egg" vibe.

Hearing her stomach rumble and seeing that her satiety meter needed refilling, Cen Jiu decided to grab a meal first. The food from the kitchen here provided better bonuses than what she could cook with her current skill level.

The manor was a decent place for a temporary stay. The environment was beautiful and felt more livable than the solemn church, but the place was not officially designated as a safe zone by the system. She didn't know where a hidden trap might be buried; the eerie water droplet that had almost physically ended the player's game last night was a living example.

The path was clear, and Cen Jiu filled her stomach with a freshly prepared, hearty breakfast in the kitchen. Unfortunately, Bella was not there. She grabbed a passing servant at random, who replied with trepidation, "Bella...? The new girl, Bella? She should be working in the garden."

Hearing this, Cen Jiu looked out the window. Since the map’s field of vision only provided real-time movement indoors, she had to confirm the situation outside with her own eyes.

Cen Jiu quickly locked onto a short-haired maid using a pair of giant garden shears near the bushes—it was Bella. Her figure was much slimmer than the robust maids, and her flaxen-grey hair was quite recognizable.

"May I... go back to work now?" the servant asked, taking half a step away, not daring to let out a breath.

"Go ahead, go ahead. Sorry for holding you up." Cen Jiu offered a polite smile, though the other party didn't appreciate it, scurrying away from her as if she were a ghost.

...What is going on with the NPC characters in this manor?! Could there be other important side quests waiting to be triggered?

The system timely popped up a new quest trigger:

[Professional Butler (Optional): You have keenly sensed the oppressive atmosphere in the manor. What is really going on here?]

This manor was truly a treasure trove; quests popped up one after another. Cen Jiu didn't know if this quest would be as heavy-hitting as the water droplet, but the double-entendre of the quest title had already spoiled the key point!

Thanks to the system’s built-in memo, Cen Jiu didn't forget that she had a patch of land waiting to be watered. She ran off with sparks and lightning to finish her crop care, then hurried right back.

In this era of sailboats and horse-drawn carriages, trying to farm before settling down felt like the wrong choice. Not being able to build an automatic sprinkler system to free her hands was truly a bit of a torture.

Until that problem was solved, she didn't plan on planting another field.

*

"Snap!"

Bella trimmed away the excess branches and looked at the person approaching.

"Hey—!" The adventurer picked up the freshly fallen branches at her feet and performed a fluid sword-flourish.

The maid smiled and clapped for her brilliant impromptu performance.

"Thank you for your patronage, my lady." The performance over, the adventurer bowed solemnly to the maid.

[Your Performance level has increased to Level 2!]

Sure enough, having an audience increased her experience gains; the calculation of the experience bar wasn't that simple after all.

"A-Jiu, is there something you need?" Her short break over, Bella continued trimming the branches while chatting with Cen Jiu.

Seeing that Bella was busy, Cen Jiu didn't beat around the bush and asked the most confusing question of the moment: "Bella, do you think Bandelas has a problem with me? I feel like everyone else in the manor is acting strange around me too. Does he always treat others like this?"

From the performance of the servants, Cen Jiu naturally thought of their leader, the old bearded geezer, Bandelas.

She hadn't forgotten the snide, passive-aggressive attitude Bandelas had shown at their first meeting. Surely, as the butler, he must be aware of the situation with his subordinates, right? Cutting in from his direction would definitely yield clues, but he was tight-lipped. Cen Jiu had no choice but to take a detour and ask Bella, who had the highest favorability rating in the manor.

"Snap—"

"...Why would you think that?" Bella trimmed another branch, looked up to check her surroundings, and seeing no one else nearby, said in a bitter tone, "It’s not good to talk about this behind his back."

"Please, Bella, every time I think about how they might be talking about me or badmouthing me behind my back, I feel devastated!" Cen Jiu pretended to be on the verge of tears. "I just wanted to ask for directions, but they dodged me like they had seen a ghost. If this continues, the people in town won't want to go near me either... and I wanted to settle down here for a while!"

Bella stopped her work and patted Cen Jiu’s back. "It’s alright, it’s just a misunderstanding. You’ve already helped us solve a huge problem; they’ll realize it sooner or later."

Once the blood droplets stopped causing chaos, they had one less troublesome task to clean up, and the nights were much safer.

"...Are you sure it’s okay? Bella—" Cen Jiu looked at her expectantly.

Cen Jiu had already used this skill on Minella once, and for Bella, who shared a similar core to Minella, Cen Jiu believed it would be effective.

"I haven't been here long either. Perhaps it’s just that Mr. Bandelas is too strict, making everyone nervous..." Bella put away her garden shears, as the hedge had been finished. "Why not ask Head Maid Maria? She has worked here for many years, but she doesn't seem to have a harmonious relationship with Mr. Bandelas..."

[Professional Butler (Optional): You have learned extra information from a friend. Talk to Maria to investigate the situation.]

"Ms. Maria should be inspecting the work in the main house right now. You can try looking near the hall," Bella offered a helpful tip.

"Thank you, Bella, I’ll go find her right now." Cen Jiu ran off, holding the tree branch in her hand.

As a guest with a notorious reputation, no one dared to stop her from bringing a tree branch into the house.

But Bella was certain that if Bandelas saw it, he would definitely be furious.

The maid quietly swept up the fallen branches. Hearing the sound of a carriage stopping, she looked up and saw Bandelas, the center of their earlier conversation, stepping out of the carriage accompanied by a man dressed like a miner, and entering the manor.

It seemed they were there to repair the decorations damaged last night.

A group of guards followed behind the butler, bustling about as they carried some stone materials and placed them in an empty space nearby.

The miner and the butler entered the house together, presumably to go upstairs and check that corner of the room.

Seeing that Bandelas was out of sight, the guards immediately gathered together to chatter, and someone whistled at the maids nearby from a distance.

It was noisy and annoying.

Bella thought to herself, *I wish A-Jiu were still here.*