This story is told from the perspective of the Demon Maid.
My name was Yasmin, and I was a maid at the Demon King's Castle.
However, by order of the Prime Minister, I was hauled off to the front lines of the war against the humans. From that day on, I toiled away in a frozen castle, worked to the bone by my superior, a harpy. It was a cold, miserable existence. All I wanted was to return to the Demon King's Castle as soon as possible.
It was Alraune who eventually saved me from that wretched place. She went and defeated the Frost Golem—a feat I expected from a maid I had personally acknowledged. She was quite capable, after all.
Since the Ice Castle was no more, my work there was finished. Finally, I thought, I could return home! But my relief was short-lived. Harpy Parca-sama completely forgot I existed and flew back to the Demon King's Castle on her own. Leaving a subordinate behind like that was simply cruel. Even Alraune had vanished back into the woods with her companions.
So, what was I supposed to do? Walking back to the Demon King's Castle was out of the question. I didn't know how many days it would take, and I didn't even know which direction to go. Tell me, please—where on earth was I?
With no way home, I began to wander aimlessly through the forest. This was human territory. If a member of the Demon Race like me were spotted, I would surely be attacked. Taking every precaution, I hid my horns under a hat and draped a cloak over my wings. After curling my tail inside my skirt, I figured I could pass for human. Oh, the humiliation! To think that I, a demon, had to play pretend among these people.
I wandered for days until my feet were in tatters. I was starving and parched, but eventually, I reached a town. However, this settlement perched on the heights was a human town. I had no other choice; I was going to starve to death if I stayed in the woods. Trembling with fear, I stepped inside.
As I explored the streets, I came across a destroyed tower. It seemed the Demon King's Army had attacked this place the previous year. Judging by the atmosphere, the residents harbored nothing but hatred for the Demon Race. If my true identity were exposed, I would become a target for their revenge. They would do something terrible to me and then kill me miserably.
I needed to find food and get out of there fast. But a human town wasn't that simple. I didn't have any money! Without coins, I couldn't buy a thing, which meant I couldn't eat. I was at my limit, my stomach aching with hunger. Yet, I refused to beg lowly humans for scraps.
That left me with only one option: I would have to steal. I didn't feel good about it, but a girl has to do what she has to do to survive. I managed to swipe some food from a shop, but my luck ran out immediately. A man with blue hair and matching armor caught me red-handed. To make matters worse, he was an adventurer.
I panicked. I was a non-combatant maid; I couldn't fight my way out. If I resisted, he’d kill me. I had to maintain my cover at all costs.
"I-I'm not a suspicious human!" I stammered.
"Yes, I can see that," the man replied. "A young lady like you must have a reason for resorting to theft. I'll let it slide this time, but don't ever do it again."
"Don't do it again? That's impossible. I don't have any money."
"You can earn money if you work. Now, where do you live? I'll walk you home."
"I don't have a home in this town!" I snapped.
The man in the blue armor looked genuinely saddened. "Is that so? I'm sorry... I shouldn't have asked."
"It's fine, as long as you understand. But since I have no home and no money, isn't there something you can do for me?" I had hoped he would offer to buy me the food from the stall, but instead, he took my hand with a flourish.
"Leave it to me," he said. "I know just the place."
He led me to a large building and began speaking to an important-looking man. "Could you let this girl work here?"
Wh-wh-what was this human thinking? Me, a demon, working in a human town? You have to be joking! There was no way I would ever do such a thing.
"Based on your outfit, were you a maid somewhere?" the man in charge asked.
"Yes, that's right," I replied haughtily. I was a noble maid of the Demon King's Castle, after all.
"It seems she was a maid, but she's lost her home and her livelihood," the blue-armored man explained. "Could you look after her?"
The older man sighed. "Kicked out by her master, eh? Well, we don't turn anyone away, and if Holger-san is the one asking, I suppose I can't say no. Welcome to the Adventurer Guild, little maid!"
And that was how, against all odds, I ended up as an Adventurer Guild Receptionist. It was a live-in position that came with two meals a day. How humiliating! Why did a demon like me have to live just like a human?
"Yasmin-chan, more ale over here!" "Another round for us!"
"Coming!" I shouted back. Wait, why was I pouring drinks for these people? I was supposed to be a receptionist! It was bad enough that the Adventurer Guild Tavern was in the same building, but I never agreed to help out there!
"I tell you, Yasmin-chan is a real firecracker," the bearded Guild Master said, nodding with satisfaction as he watched me work. "I hope she stays here forever."
Stay here forever? Don't be ridiculous. After a few days at the guild, I realized something terrifying. This was a gathering place for humans who hunted monsters and the Demon Race! These adventurers put bounties on our heads and traded our body parts for gold. It was their profession, and not a single one of them hesitated to kill my kind.
It was horrifying. I was technically the demon here, but these humans were the real monsters.
That said, aside from the whole 'hunting my kind' thing, the people weren't as bad as I'd been led to believe. As a child, I was told humans were born solely to kill us and drank monster blood. That was clearly a lie. They lived to kill the Demon Race, sure, but all they drank was alcohol. In that regard, they weren't much different from us.
I learned something else while working the tavern. The regulars would often strike up conversations with me.
"The town has really changed lately," one drunk adventurer remarked.
"Oh? What happened?" I asked.
"The Crimson Flower Princess saved us from the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King's Army. And that's not all—she's the reason we have food. If not for her, we wouldn't be sitting here enjoying a drink and a snack."
Apparently, every vegetable in the guild came from Alraune. Even though the Great Cold Wave had ravaged the land for two years, we had fresh produce every day because of her.
"The adventurers from other towns don't get it," another added. "The Crimson Flower Princess is a monster, but she's on our side. Even the Lord is obsessed with her, just like Holger and Franz."
The Crimson Flower Princess was definitely Alraune. I had even spotted her in town recently, seemingly using humans to rebuild a tower. She was distributing Nectar and winning over their hearts. As expected of a maid favored by Glühschwanz-sama. I felt a swell of professional pride. I really needed to follow her example.
"Hey, Yasmin-chan. Something's sticking out from under your skirt."
"Hieee!?" I shrieked. My tail! I had been exposed!
In the heart of the Adventurer Guild, the headquarters for monster hunters, I had been outed as a demon. I was dead. My life was over. It had been so short...
"That tail looks just like a demon's," a man said. "Is that for the upcoming festival? Are you already testing out a costume?"
...Eh? A festival costume?
"A demon costume in the Adventurer Guild? Now that's funny!" the Guild Master barked, joining in.
"G-Guild Master!?"
"Yasmin, when did you find the time to put that together?"
I stared at him blankly. I hadn't "put it together"; I was born with it.
"It'll be great entertainment for the festival. I'm looking forward to it!"
"Y-Yessir..." I squeaked.
Somehow, I hadn't been caught. But I knew this couldn't last. Eventually, they would realize I was actually a member of the Demon Race, and then I’d be killed without a fight. I wasn't a warrior; I was a maid. Being alone in a den of humans was far too dangerous. The only person I could rely on was Alraune. I had to find a way to talk to her.
The day after I made that decision, the man in the blue armor who had brought me here—Holger—walked up to the counter.
"Yasmin-chan, any new requests? Something high-paying, if possible."
"I think the Guild Master said an A-Class Difficulty Request arrived in a parcel from the neighboring town," I replied, opening a package that hadn't been processed yet. "Let's see... 'Subjugation of the Crimson Flower Princess Alraune, a Unique Monster. Dead or alive. High reward for completion...'"
Wait, this was about Alraune! To be a maid of the Demon King's Castle and yet be so feared by the humans that they put a price on your head... how magnificent. I was so proud of her. She really was the ultimate fighting maid. I couldn't wait to show her this Wanted Poster; she’d be thrilled.
"Holger, it's a disaster!"
A man came sprinting into the guild. Holger turned to him. "Franz? What's the matter?"
"The Alraune girl was attacked by adventurers!"
What!? Apparently, some adventurers from another town had ambushed Alraune while she was working on the tower. They had conspired with a radical faction of the townspeople to set the forest on fire.
I immediately followed Holger to the Tower Construction Site, but Alraune was gone. According to the Carpenter, she had vanished after repelling the attackers. Since she had been hit by a Flame Arrow, she was likely weakened and hiding.
"So, these are the idiots who caused all this trouble," Holger said, looking down at the bound adventurers. He splashed one with Water Magic to wake him up. "Why did you do it?"
The man confessed quickly. "We were hired by someone in this town. They said the place was being controlled by a monster. The pay was too good to pass up."
"Who hired you?"
"I heard it was the Knight Commander."
Holger stared off into the distance, his expression grim. "That man..."
Just then, a woman’s voice screamed, "The Crimson Flower Princess's forest is burning!"
The massive forest bordering the town was indeed ablaze. Extinguishing a fire of that scale was nearly impossible; once it truly took hold, there was nothing humans could do.
"The whole town is going to go up in smoke," someone whispered.
I didn't like the sound of that. I was just starting to get used to life here, and I didn't want the town to burn down. Plus, Alraune would be devastated. Holger and a woman in a monastic habit were already rushing toward the woods. I suppose I should do something too, for the sake of my fellow maid.
Then, I saw something strange. Something was flying above the smoke.
A figure with large white wings was hovering in the sky. It was a girl with long white hair—the Human Child who was always with Alraune. She spread her arms toward the heavens, and to my shock, dark clouds began to swirl around her.
A single drop hit the ground.
"It's raining."
The girl had summoned the rain. Within seconds, it became a torrential downpour, drenching the forest. The flames were snuffed out instantly. As the clouds broke, a pillar of light shone through, and we watched in silence as the White-haired Girl descended gracefully back into the forest.
The woman in the monastic habit fell to her knees. "An Angel...!"
An Angel—the messenger of the Goddess from human myths. Was that girl really an Angel? She had wings, she could fly, and she had even defeated my old boss, Harpy Parca. It certainly explained a lot. But why was an Angel hanging around with Alraune?
I’d have to ask her about that when we met. And more importantly, I had to ask her for directions to the Demon King's Castle. I couldn't go back until I knew the way.
Honestly, when am I ever going to get home?
And that was the story of the Demon Maid, who seems to have settled into town life quite well.
As a reminder, the blue-haired adventurer, Holger, is the one known as Drink Bar-san.
Next time: The Rain-making Little Witch and My Recruitment.