It was the morning of the big day, the operation was due to start in 16 hours, and Fayette was feeling grumpy.
There were many reasons for her grumpiness, the first of which was perhaps rather typical: the weather. Something had changed in the wind overnight, and the smoke from the factories had been blown downwards, enveloping the district in a thick smog.
Normally she may have overlooked it, but after last night’s events, Fayette could not help noticing that the wind from the sea was blowing the smog distinctly northwards, away from the richer southern district, and right into the poorer [Worker] districts.
Was that an accident, or perhaps also by design? After waking up and seeing the smog, Fayette had felt like it was an omen for the day—though she didn’t know if it was good or bad.
The second, and more active source of annoyance, was that their operation was to be a stealthy one. She could handle a bit of sneaking about, but a whole mission of it? It really wasn’t her style. Her preferred method was more“Run in and hit things in the face with a broom.”
How was a [Maid] supposed to be properly stealthy?
Well, not however she was currently trying to be.
“This is hopeless! The way you move about—It brings in too much attention! Keep your head down low!”
Fayette winced back from the [Doctor’s] harsh words and slowly rose up to her full posture. She brushed some dirt off from her uniform, and tried to explain herself.
“Look, I can’t just go crawling and creeping all over—my uniform would get much too dirty! Shoes were invented for a reason, you know?”
Olivia looked at the stubborn [Maid] blankly for a moment, then took out her pocket flask, drank deeply from it, and said some inventive curses Fayette made sure to memorise for later. She had already learned many phrases from this training session.
Yes: Training session. It was an idea Mireille had put forward on hearing that Fayette was close to leveling up. It was a simple plan: Perhaps if she focused herself on sneaking about for a bit and tried to get some experience while at it, she would get some type of stealth skill on her level up.
Olivia had seconded the motion, and offered to act as teacher—The woman apparently had some experience sneaking about. Fayette wasn’t sure where exactly a [Doctor] would get such experience, but she did seem to know her stuff. As far as Fayette could judge, her advice was solid.
Fayette just had a hard time putting it into practice, and Olivia was losing her patience.
“How do you expect to sneak around if you have to stay on your feet the whole time? Some things require getting down and dirty!”
Fayette felt her temper flare up just a bit, and gestured around the dilapidated warehouse they were practicing in.
“This place is absolutely covered in filth! A [Maid] is someone who clears such things away, not someone who rolls around in it!”
She pointed at the [Doctor]. “Besides, aren’t you a [Doctor]? [Doctors] should also stay like, clean and stuff? Right? You shouldn’t be getting dirty either!”
Olivia quirked a brow and lowered her voice. “Don’t call me a [Doctor] when we are out in public, especially in a loud voice like that. Now, do you think it’s easy to procure fresh corpses from a graveyard? People keep a watch on those. A real [Doctor] has to get down and dirty.”
Fayette clamped down, silenced by the words. Yes, she was learning. Not much about being sneaky, but very much about this strange [Doctor].
First of all, the woman seemed to have many talents unbefitting of a [Doctor]. She had brought Fayette into this dilapidated warehouse in the slums without any hesitation, as if such places were natural to her.
Second, she seemed to be very testy about things said out in public. At times, the word “[Doctor]” seemed almost like a curse to her, one she avoided with all her might. However, when she spoke the word herself, there was a strange pride to it. A contrast.
The [Doctor] ran her eyes over Fayette, and did not seem to approve. She shook her head and took another swig from her pocket flask.
“I honestly don’t know what to do about you. First of all, all that white on your uniform brings too much attention. How do you expect to blend into the shadows if you are plastered with white all over?”
Fayette sighed and leaned down on her broom. It’s true, I’m not being a very good student here. A stealth mission, and I’m failing at the very first step. Is there anything I can do to remedy this?
She looked at her teacher, but the [Doctor] seemed to be lost deep in her mind, trying to think of some way to figure things out. Fayette felt like just standing around would be wasting time, so she took out her broom and started sweeping the place. Maybe if I clean this place up a bit, I’ll be able to focus better and figure out some way.
Some time passed like that, with Fayette sweeping away through the warehouse and the [Doctor] lost in her thoughts. The sound of her broom sweeping back and forth became steady and rhythmic, echoing through the dim room like a steady drum.
Eventually, the [Doctor’s] head jerked back up, and she looked towards Fayette. Her face turned thoughtful. “For a moment, there I almost forgot you were here. That sweeping, it lulls into you.”
Fayette nodded, and kept at it. “It is pretty relaxing in a way. After I get into it, other thoughts fade away and I can just focus on my broom. I barely even realize what’s happening around me.”
Olivia nodded slowly, then looked at the [Maid] again, this time with measuring eyes. “I think... this might be an answer.”
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She turned around, and started walking towards the exit. “Follow me, we need to test this out somewhere with more people.”
“Test what out?”
“How a [Maid] goes unnoticed.”
A quick walk later, the pair were standing in the busy market district. Guild halls, large shops, and provincial offices lined the street. Olivia strode through rapidly, peeking through windows and then moving to the next building. Fayette followed along, confused about what was going on.
“What exactly are you looking for?”
“A place with many people, but few servants. The larger that gap, the better.”
Fayette didn’t quite get what the idea was, but still followed along. Eventually, the [Doctor] stopped in front of a guild hall, a guild for spice merchants. She gestured Fayette next to her and pointed at the door.
“Alright, this place seems like a good target for testing. I want you to go inside, and just start cleaning.”
Fayette nodded slowly. “Just clean, alright. I can do that. What for?”
“Just do it and try to walk through that door there—” Olivia pointed at a door through the window, “—and try to circle around, coming out that door there.” She pointed at another door, on the opposite side of the room.
Fayette felt a bit leery of just walking into a place and acting as if she belonged there, but she was not one to ever back down from any cleaning work. She nodded, gripped her broom, then walked through the door.
A bell rang by the door to announce her coming, and a few clerks looked her way. Fayette moved into the room, took one look at the state of things, and started cleaning.
The place really did need it, bits of dirt had been tracked inside on dirty shoes, leaving the wooden floor a right mess. Fayette’s broom made quick work of that issue.
Nobody took issue with her presence. The few workers who had noticed her coming had looked away as soon as she started cleaning. Nobody stopped her, so Fayette kept at it.
She swept all the loose dirt into a neat pile, then whisked it off outside through the door. She then slowly, naturally, walked through the door that Olivia had indicated. It led to a meeting room, with a meeting in progress.
Fayette almost winced when eyes turned to her, but they turned away as fast as they had come. Again, nobody opposed her entry, so she walked inside and started sweeping this room too. Fayette was starting to understand.
Is this... really working? I guess most people really don’t take notice of a servant doing their duty, they just fade into the background of a scene, unnoticed. It was similar at the hunter’s guild now that I think about it. That [Maid] cleaning there, nobody took a second look at her.
A proper [Maid] is someone who does what’s needed to be done, without anyone realizing she’s done it after all.
Now more confident, Fayette increased her pace. She no longer hesitated, and truly let herself fall into her cleaning work. She barely noticed finishing the meeting room, and naturally moved to the next one, a hallway lined with marble statues. She took out her feather duster for those and made sure they were as good as new. With them done, she took care of the floor, and then moved along. The next door led back to the main room, and Fayette ended up sweeping the place again as more dirt had already gotten tracked in.
She finished, walked outside, and gave the waiting [Doctor] a confident smile.
“That’s how a [Maid] sneaks.”
[Well done being a discreet Maid, that’s the sign of a pro!]
[Level up: You have reached Maid level 13! Congratulations!]
[Progress towards next level: 0%]
[1 Skill point gained!]
[You have gained a new skill: Unseen attendant!]
Fayette’s smile grew wider. Oh, how convenient.
It was time to begin the operation.