Chapter 464 – Early Leave (2)

Compared to when I was working at a regular company, I left work early enough to be said to be quite fast.

If it was me before, I could have stayed at the company until a little later and left work, but today I finished the work in front of my eyes and finished my part-time job in the treatment room.

I don’t know if it’s another day, but today I had my own reason for wanting to get off work a little faster.

‘I wonder if Eunbyeol will be at home alone.’

Geum Na-ri, the third daughter of the Geumhyang Group, currently living in seclusion in our house.

Using her pseudonym Eunbyeol and now acting as my maid, she will be waiting for me alone in my house.

As it was the first day of living with Eunbyul, there was a legitimate reason to leave work a little early today.

She was hiding in my house, avoiding the tracking of the Geumhyang group, and yesterday, too, she came to my room in the middle of the night because of that anxiety.

If possible, it would be better to reassure her by showing her face as soon as she gets off work.

Things that can’t come home due to schedules, including tomorrow, will happen often in the future, so at least the day you can go home, you’ll have to show your face as soon as possible.

“Wouldn’t it be better to go in after a rough look at the market when you get off work?”

As it was difficult to go out at will, I needed to take care of things like going outside.

It is said that it is possible to do grocery shopping with delivery these days, but I was not sure that Eunbyeol, who had not yet adapted to living in a commoner’s house, would be able to use such a thing.

After all, there was a good chance that rumors would spread that her delivery driver had caught her in her maid uniform.

Normally, if I had nothing to eat at home, I would go home from work without going grocery shopping, but for the time being, I will have to go shopping before going home like this.

In the first place, the number of mouths to eat increased from one to two.

I stopped by the mart on my way home from work with such thoughts and sent a message to the newly saved contact in KakaoTalk.

“Eunbyeol, I’m going to stop by the mart on my way home from work, do you need anything?”

For reference, the method of contact with Eunbyeol was decided to use the ‘untraceable smartphone’ prepared separately by Sihee.

The means of contact that Eunbyeol had previously used were of course unavailable, and instead, the Dokyung group had several additional means of contact in case of emergencies.

Thanks to this, it became possible to communicate with Eunbyeol through direct messages, which until now had only been possible indirectly through Sihee.

In the chat room with the maid, as soon as the message I sent was marked as read, her reply came back.

“We are going to make it using ingredients we have at home until dinner tonight. Do you have a menu you would like to have for breakfast or dinner tomorrow?」

“Well. I think anything will be fine as long as Eunbyeol does it for you.”

“All right. Then, unless there is a special request, I will make the master’s menu. All you need is a plate of eggs, and a paprika…”

After skimming through the shopping list Eunbyul sent me, I finished shopping at the mart with a reply saying I knew.

Remembering her face waiting at home, I hurried back home.

“… Something seems to have come back after a long time.”

When she returned from outside, it was the first time in years that she came back to a house with lights on.

Of course, for almost 10 years, I’ve been living in Eun-young and Hye-eun’s house as if it were my own, but in reality, it felt different from my own.

It was an inevitable phenomenon to feel longing for this familiar yet awkward landscape.

As I entered the house, smelling the smell of dinner, a maid in a black dress appeared from the kitchen across the hallway.

As soon as she confirmed that I had returned, she walked out to meet me on the porch.

“Are you home from work, master?”

“Ah yes.”

“Would you like to start with dinner? Or would you like to take a bath first?”

… I never thought the day would come when I would hear these lines from an active maid in my life.

Although the scenery of having such a full-fledged maid in this ordinary house was different in many ways, I didn’t feel awkward or uncomfortable because of it.

And maybe in a few days, this look will become quite natural. Humans are creatures of adaptation.

“Is your meal already ready?”

“Yes. I have prepared it in advance so that the owner can dine at any time.”

“Then let’s start with dinner. It’s troublesome to cool it down and then reheat it.”

“All right. If so, I’ll have it ready in five minutes.”

With those words, Eunbyeol accepts the shopping bag that was in my hand and goes into the kitchen.

The back of the maid’s apron, with the knots rustling around, was strangely cute.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Eunbyul said she would prepare it, and soon after, a proper dinner was set on the table at our house.

Compared to breakfast, the dinner table feels like a little more attention has been paid to it.

Before eating, I thanked Eunbyul for preparing today’s meal.

“I’ll eat well, Eunbyeol.”

“Yes, Master.”

Listening to Eunbyeol’s answer, I started eating right away without hesitating the table that was set.

I think it’s almost the first time I’ve had a proper meal right after work.

During my school days, I often ate at Eun-yeong’s sister’s house, but strictly speaking, at that time, it was before I started living as a hunter.

Above all, it was the first time I had ever eaten a meal prepared by someone else in my house, except for the meal prepared by my deceased parents.

… No, come to think of it, it might not be the first time.

‘Taegyeong-ah, Tae-gyeong-ah! I’ll make it myself for dinner tonight!’

‘… Can’t I just make it, Hye-eun?’

‘Are you okay! This time, I’ve definitely learned from my mother, so there’s absolutely no way I’ll fail!’

… It wasn’t a very good memory, so it was a memory that was buried in one side of her head.

No matter how similar mother and daughter are, they probably don’t resemble each other in terms of cooking skills.

Anyway, Eunbyeol’s table was a pretty great menu by itself, even if you didn’t compare it to someone else.

Not only did the number of side dishes increase compared to breakfast, but the soup and other parts were also thoughtful in many ways.

It was quite helpful to comfort my tired body after work.

“Thank you, Eunbyeol. Like breakfast, for preparing me such a delicious meal.”

“As a maid, I just do what I have to do.”

“Actually, since I said I would protect Eunbyeol at will, I don’t have to do maid work. However, I am grateful for making such an elaborate meal.”

“As much as I owe it, it is a natural thing to do.”

Just like when I was standing next to Si-hee, Eun-byeol answered as she stood next to me while I was eating, keeping as expressionless as possible.

While talking to her while making eye contact with her. She conveyed a strange thought that came to her mind to the maid.

“Come to think of it, Eunbyeol.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Eunbyeol, did you eat first before I came?”

“No. I plan to do it separately after the master finishes eating.”

“We just eat together. If you eat it alone later, you will be lonely.”

“No. Not being sick is the employee’s principle…”

What is the principle of servants, so they can’t even eat together?

Come to think of it, Eunbyeol was always in a position to prepare meals for me and Sihee during the last camping trip and the last island trip, but I didn’t see her eating separately.

Looking back at those memories, she didn’t seem to be lying when she said that it was a rule not to be humble with her master.

Personally, though, I had quite a desire to sit down and eat together at the same table with Eunbyul.

She repeated her offer to the maid, who hadn’t eaten yet, about sitting down with her.

“Don’t do that, just eat together. I prefer to eat with someone rather than alone.”

“… No, as a servant, I cannot.”

“Is it so?”

“That’s right.”

“Then, if there are times when the employee’s principles and the master’s orders collide during work, then what is more important?”

“…”

Eunbyeol noticed what my intention was with the question, and her answer was slightly delayed.

The next words that came out of her mouth fortunately were the same answer as expected.

“… In that case, they are taught to follow the master’s orders first.”

“Is it so?”

“Yes.”

“Then I will give you an order, Eunbyeol. Prepare a bowl and spoon right now and sit across from me. Eunbyeol will order you to have dinner with me from now on.”

“… All right.”

Eunbyeol listens to my words, puts enough rice in the rice cooker, and moves to the seat opposite with a spoon.

I continued the dinner that had stopped while making eye contact with her from time to time.

In a relatively quiet atmosphere, I felt more comfortable and more at ease.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“I ate well, Eunbyeol.”

“I ate well too.”

After a simple dinner with Eunbyeol.

Eunbyeol, who went back to maid mode as if she had never done that before, came next to me with her hands together.

“I will be washing the dishes, master, please enjoy a leisurely bath.”

Well, if the next meal was a bath, of course it would be like this.

I also felt like I wanted to wash off the sweat from the dungeon today, so there was no particular reason to refuse.

… However, I thought it was a bit unfortunate to go in the bath alone, even though we had a meal together.

I asked Eunbyul, who was cleaning the table after the meal, with a hint of luck.

“Do you want to go in with Eunbyeol?”

“… Because I have to wash the dishes and tidy up…”

“You can do it a little later. You can soak it in the dishwashing basin and then come out and do it.”

“…”

“Doesn’t taking a bath together really violate the servant principle? Seeing that you can’t refuse right away.”

I didn’t know if there really was such a principle, but I just stabbed it, but Eunbyeol nodded and answered as if it was the correct answer.

“… Yes. There is no rule that a maid cannot enter the bathroom with her master. However, the act of procrastinating what to do and taking a break is against the principle of the employee…”

“But when the principles of servants and the master’s orders conflict, the master’s orders must take precedence. Yes?”

“… That’s right.”

Well, I didn’t have much free time last night, so I had a feeling that it was a bit disappointing.

So, it wasn’t such a bad option to relieve Eunbyeol’s sexual desire one more time following today.

Of course, as long as she is living in our house, she will have many other opportunities even if it’s not today.

That didn’t really give me a reason why she shouldn’t mix her body with me today.

I did it this time, and if there is another opportunity, I will do it again.

“It’s an order, Eunbyeol. Go into the bathroom with me, wash up and come out. Even if it takes a little time, take it easy.”

“… All right.”

Eun-byeol nodded her head as if she couldn’t help it and moved to the bathroom with me.

Her blushing expression seemed to convey a subtle sense of anticipation.