Chapter 34: A misunderstanding?

“Ah! Young Lady, I seem to have forgotten the Maid Uniform in the Store Manager’s shop!”

Su Mendgdie and Penelope were walking along when she suddenly felt as if something was missing from her hands.

Looking down, she discovered that the bag Xia Shuashuai had given her was gone.

“Hoho~, I didn’t expect Su Mendgdie to have moments of forgetfulness… Since it’s not too late, let’s go back together.”

Penelope reached out her hand to Su Mendgdie with a smile, as if afraid the girl might lose herself as well.

Though she felt a bit embarrassed, Su Mendgdie hesitated for a moment before taking that warm palm.

“Mm-hmm!”

“Shuang Shuang, how do you know about White Fox?”

After hearing Xia Shuashuai mention White Fox’s name, the Store Manager sat down once again.

But compared to before, her eyes held a bit more worry.

“You wouldn’t tell me the truth before, Store Manager. You said you retired because of your age, but I see people who could be my mother still working as a Magical Girl. So, I secretly checked your records. I found out you were sent here by the Higher-ups to train Magical Girls because you refused to stop investigating White Fox’s disappearance.”

It wasn’t just the Store Manager who was worried; Xia Shuashuai’s eyes were also filled with concern.

She didn’t know why the Store Manager was investigating the disappearance, nor why the Higher-ups would reassign her for investigating a legend among Magical Girls.

Because in official announcements, White Fox disappeared after battling members of the Evil Organization, and it was highly likely she had been captured by them…

“Shuang Shuang… since you only looked at the files because of me, I won’t hold it against you. However, you must never get involved with the matter of White Fox! Also, my resolve will not change. Alright~, it’s late. If you don’t head back, the people at home will worry.”

Xia Shuashuai wanted to say more, but seeing the Store Manager’s firm attitude, she swallowed her words.

The Store Manager turned on the lights.

Just as she and Xia Shuashuai came down the stairs, they saw someone pressed against the glass of the front door, staring at them with suspicious eyes.

“Su Mendgdie, Su Mendgdie!?”

Since she hadn’t expected the two to return, Xia Shuashuai was clearly caught off guard.

More importantly, they must have seen her coming down from the second floor with the Store Manager.

What if the Young Lady and the others misunderstood?

“Don’t panic. The… Young Lady knows we were discussing private matters. It’s not strange for us to talk upstairs.”

The Store Manager remained relatively calm.

She told Xia Shuashuai to compose herself while she went to open the door.

But as soon as the door opened, Su Mendgdie asked in a questioning tone.

“Store Manager, were you and Shuang Shuang really talking about serious business?”

It wasn’t that Su Mendgdie didn’t trust them, but the Store Manager’s actions were far too suspicious.

If they were talking about private matters, going upstairs was one thing, but why lock the front door and turn off all the lights on the first floor?

Coupled with the flash of panic Xia Shuashuai had just shown, it made their behavior seem even more dubious.

“Of course. By the way, Su Mendgdie, why did you two suddenly come back?”

The Store Manager answered candidly.

This was a den for a Magical Girl, after all; telling a few lies was as natural as breathing.

“Oh! I forgot to take my Maid Uniform. Let me see…”

Although Su Mendgdie still had doubts, she felt that the task at hand was more important.

“As I thought, it’s here!”

On the seat where she had been sitting earlier, the pale green bag containing the Maid Uniform lay quietly on the bluish-white sofa.

“Then you two keep chatting. Su Mendgdie and I will head back first?”

Having obtained what she came for, Su Mendgdie glanced up at Xia Shuashuai.

She looked much steadier now than before, but there was still a hint of guilt.

“Shuang Shuang has finished what she wanted to say. Since you happened to return, why don’t you head back together? Shuang Shuang’s way is the same as yours, right?”

“Mm-hmm, Shuang Shuang, let’s go!”

“Okay~”

***

After dropping off Xia Shuashuai, who lived closer, it was already past eight in the evening by the time they arrived home.

The Head Maid, who had been waiting at the entrance, stepped forward and asked aggressively.

“Young Lady, you’ve been returning quite late recently. Su Mendgdie as well… May I ask where you have been these past few days?”

“The place where Su Mendgdie used to work part-time. We might be going there every day recently. Is there a problem?”

To soothe the Head Maid’s mood and prevent her from reporting to the Chief Steward again, Su Mendgdie told her about their recent plans.

However, the Head Maid was not satisfied with just a location.

She crossed her arms and continued to press.

“To do what?”

“Why are you asking so much? Su Mendgdie and I aren’t doing anything bad. If we were, wouldn’t someone have come to complain by now?”

“I am not worried that the Young Lady would proactively provoke strangers…”

Who in this house didn’t know the Young Lady was socially anxious?

“I am simply worried about your safety. If you do not wish to tell me, that is fine, but please let me be responsible for your daily transportation.”

Su Mendgdie was truly afraid of her.

Seeing the Head Maid’s “not-giving-up-until-the-goal-is-reached” expression, she exchanged a glance with Penelope behind her.

After receiving the Young Lady’s consent, Su Mendgdie polished their story.

“Su Mendgdie hasn’t been in a good state lately, so she thought about going back to her old shop to find her rhythm. I was afraid she would cause trouble for them, so I went along to keep an eye on her.”

“If that is the case, why didn’t you just come to me?”

The Head Maid nodded and turned her gaze to Penelope behind Su Mendgdie.

She had the nerve to ask?

If she hadn’t been the informant, Penelope wouldn’t be exhausted like a dog every day.

Naturally, Penelope gave her no friendly look and had no desire to waste words with her.

Seeing the Young Lady’s dark expression, looking as if a volcano might erupt at any moment, Su Mendgdie quickly explained on her behalf.

“Doesn’t the Head Maid have many things to handle every day? Besides, I’ve been watching her these past two days, and nothing has gone wrong. Don’t worry about it so much. It’s late; you should go back and rest early too.”

Saying this, she took Penelope’s hand and walked toward the Young Lady’s room.

Watching the place where the two disappeared, the Head Maid’s eyes were filled with guilt toward ‘Su Mendgdie’.

She had seen through the lie Su Mendgdie had woven, and she saw how hard ‘Su Mendgdie’ was working to stay in this house, as well as the slight changes in the ‘Young Lady’…

If it were the old Young Lady, she wouldn’t have explained her itinerary, let alone told her to go back and rest early.

And she, simply because of that one punishment, had worried the ‘Young Lady’ would become increasingly harsh toward ‘Su Mendgdie’.

She had thought of using such a method to forcibly separate the two and then send ‘Su Mendgdie’ to the safer Chief Steward through proper channels…

“I didn’t consider Su Mendgdie’s feelings at all… Doing this, how am I any different from the willful Young Lady of the past?”

The Head Maid murmured to herself a couple of times before slowly walking toward her own room…