Interview

“Hello! You are actually the very first of the first batch to be interviewed. I hope you aren’t too nervous. Please, do take a seat”

“Ah-! Yes!”

Inside an office made specifically for the purpose of conducting interviews, Yaling was sitting in an elevated chair behind a desk with Lisha standing a distance away for security reasons. You could never be too careful–Even though this wing of the residence was made to welcome outsiders specifically, and was only linked to the rest via a single door situated inside this very office…

Even then, Yaling wanted to exert the maximum amount of caution.

“I will ask you some questions. Answer truthfully, and depending on how this meeting goes, you will move on to the second stage of recruitment, and meet with my Master–Lord Edrick Lucien Anoteros. Do you understand?”

“Y-Yes, yes I do!”

Yaling smiled.

“There is really no need to be so anxious”

The Rococoli cleared her throat.

“Alright. I see that you are a woman–Are you perhaps a Duookois?”

“No, I am not”

Yaling wrote down the answer. At the moment, she was wearing a pair of glasses that were slightly too big for her, giving her a most adorable appearance.

“Mmh… Were you born male, but through a resource, item, or anything else, turned into a female?”

“No. I was… I was born as I am”

“I see… You read the recruitment notice carefully, right?”

“Yes”

“Good. Then, which of the listed maid castes do you believe you would be able to excel in the best? You can give me multiple answers if you deem it fitting”

The young woman swallowed her saliva.

“I was thinking either Housemaid, since I have been doing the chores at my parents’s home for a long time now, or… Bearing Maid. I… I was always told that I had wide hips, so…”

“I see. Do you have any background in cultivation or any way of power?”

“I do not”

“Does your family have any particular connections?”

“No. My parents are just regular commoners. I am unaware of any extended family beyond them”

“Are you truly willing to submit both mind and body to Master Anoteros?”

“O-Of course…”

“Do understand that here, in this particular residence, we take even the lowest of roles very seriously. Whether you are the highest-ranking maid, or a mere servant... Absolute loyalty is expected–And in turn, even a little servant receives full accommodations in the form of lodging all year round, nourishing food, access to free time every week, lengthy sleeping schedules, and even the opportunity to practise cultivation–Perhaps even other ways of power in the future…”

“...Even a servant has the living conditions of a little bourgeois here. To many, this is decadent luxury that is offered… However, as I stated: Absolute loyalty. Absolute obedience. Unwavering trust… To work here, you will need to submit everything to Master Edrick Lucien Anoteros. And I am not being hyperbolic. This residence’s patriarch offers benefits you won’t see elsewhere, but it means that once you are accepted by him, you are a part of the residence forever”

The young woman was as pale as a sheet now, but she nodded weakly nonetheless.

Yaling smiled slightly.

“Tell me, why did you apply for this job?”

“I… My parents have been trying to marry me off for money for a long time. Several years before I was even of marriageable age, in fact… But they were struggling to find someone, and they were constantly getting distracted by fighting and being frustrated because they couldn’t make any more children to sell off like they wanted to do with me…”

“S-So… I held on until recently. But… But they found a man willing to marry me… He’s bloated like a pig, and I have heard that he often buys young women to marry. They are never seen again once he brings them back home… So… So I thought that I should try my luck somewhere, and I ran into the offer to become a maid here…”

“Mmh… Are you not afraid? You should be aware of what is said about the Elt clan. From your perspective, wouldn’t you be running away from a dangerous man, into the arms of another?”

“Well…”

“Speak freely”

“...It’s going to sound silly, but I heard that Mister Anoteros was very handsome and already had many wives and maids–So… I figured that he might be too busy to… Do things with me... And that even if he wasn’t, that at least it would be better than having to endure a sweaty, ugly wretch of a man…”

Yaling chuckled at that.

“You are honest. That is a good quality to show in this interview, you know? Would you mind prickling your finger tip on this needle? I am going to evaluate your level of fertility”

The device was a common one within the great clans. The women, in particular, were obsessed with tracking their fertility, especially as they got older and more powerful. It was likely to go down unless they were able to practise appropriate techniques.

Yaling–Having been put in charge of the recruitment process for new maids–Had decided to make use of it to see if any candidate showed particular promise to become a Bearing Maid, which was a sub-category of Nursery Maids who were specialised in carrying children rather than taking care of them.

In essence, all maids were Bearing Maids to an extent, but those specific to that caste would be because they had a certain ‘talent’ in carrying progeny for Anoteros.

Currently, the only Bearing Maid was Muxing, who was also the head of the Nursery Maids.

The reaction the device showed to the young woman’s blood showed that she was just average in terms of fertility. This would be boosted by a large margin if she were given a crest, though.

“Alright, you gave me a good impression. You can pick one of the temporary rooms in this wing to wait in. No need to go back to the home of your parents. Master Anoteros is currently outside the clan grounds, but he should come back soon. You will probably meet him in just a few days. Be ready. I have a good feeling that you’ll be able to pass and become a Housemaid”

“T-Thank you!”

“No need to thank me. Just as a heads-up... At first, you will be considered a ‘servant’ and will follow a formation with a senior maid. It will be either me or the Headmaid, Jingyi. As long as you do good and show devotion to our Master, you will quickly be promoted to a proper maid”

“I understand!”

“Very well. You can go to one of the temporary bedrooms and make yourself comfortable. Tell the next person to come in when you go out, alright?”

The potential new maid nodded abundantly in gratitude and soon left the office, looking much happier than when she came in.

“Miss Yaling. You did not ask her for her name. Is that normal?”

Lisha wondered aloud, leaning against the wall.

“Perfectly normal. Master Anoteros said that their names did not matter, they just needed to be capable of doing the job, and know how to respond when called over… They might as well be nameless”

“...Are names only for certain maids, then?”

“Oh, Lisha… You want to know if you are special to Master Anoteros? I guess you could say that all of us with names are in some aspect…”

Lisha blushed at the thought.

The door soon opened again, and another woman stepped into the room. This one seemed a bit older, with a mature charm to her.

“Hello! Please, do take a seat”