Chapter 1
In my previous life, there was a saying: Luck accounts for seven-tenths of success, while skill accounts for the remaining three.
In other words, no matter how talented or hardworking you were, luck ultimately determined whether you succeeded or failed.
And now, in my current life…
As I watched the signboard of my failed shop being taken down, I finally understood just how painfully true that saying was.
A worker approached me and asked, “What should we do with the signboard? Are you taking it with you, boss?”
“…Just dispose of it however you see fit.”
“Are you sure? We really can take it? You can’t come back later and ask us to return it, you know.”
Even if I asked for it back, what would I do with it?
I didn’t have enough money to open a second shop.
“Excuse meee… I’m sorry to bother you when you’re busy, but…”
“Yes? What is it?”
“I saw a notice in the plaza saying that items from a closing shop were being given away for free. Where is it?”
With tears in my eyes, I pointed toward the inside of my shop.
“You can find them over there…”
“Oh! Thank you so much!”
The woman dashed inside and came back out with a chair, smiling happily.
That’s right… At least you can smile.
Because I’m not going to be able to smile for a long, long time…
What am I supposed to do now?
I’d started this business to make money, but all I had left was debt. A hundred million worth of it, at that.
A job… Somewhere I could get hired again…
This isn’t going to be easy.
My first job had been at a merchant company. And not just any company, either. It was one of the biggest and most prestigious merchant companies in the capital, easily ranking among the top five.
But as a modern person reincarnated into this world, there was no way I could tolerate sexual harassment from my superior.
I’d tried to find another job, but perhaps my former boss had spread some nasty rumors about me. No matter where I applied, I kept hitting a dead end.
So I scraped together every last bit of money I had and opened this magic potion shop.
I had been confident, too.
After all, the world I’d been reincarnated into was the setting of a novel I’d read in my previous life: Holding the Leash of Your Arrogance.
Although I hadn’t even appeared in the original story, I thought I could do well for myself using the information I knew about the novel.
But then, one day, someone broke into my shop…
Suddenly, strange rumors about my magic potions began to spread.
And then the ceiling of my shop collapsed out of nowhere. After I painstakingly repaired it, they announced road construction and put up barriers directly in front of my shop for several months…
Then, last month, a large shop opened directly across from mine, established by one of the major merchant companies.
The moment I saw it, I knew.
Then what the hell am I supposed to live on?!
And just as I was drowning in despair…
Quite literally, a single sheet of paper came fluttering through the wind and landed right between my feet and the ground.
It felt almost like a divine revelation, so I found myself staring intently at the paper.
What’s this?
Lumiere Dessert & Tea Salon
Now Hiring New Employees!
Join the Lumiere Dessert & Tea Salon, where sweet fragrances fill the air! We’re looking for new members to join our family!
Qualifications: Anyone in good physical health is welcome!
Job Responsibilities: Serving beverages and desserts.
Working Environment: A stable atmosphere with colleagues who feel like family.
Salary and Conditions: Satisfactory pay guaranteed for diligent employees! Risk compensation can be negotiated separately.
Anyone in good physical health was welcome.
And the risk compensation could be negotiated separately?
Could this possibly be…
The perfect job for me?!
The Next Day
The following day, I headed to the location written on the flyer.
It wasn’t as though I had any other options at the moment.
If it doesn’t work out, then so be it. It’s not like applying will cost me anything. I might as well give it a try.
I was practically ready to give up on everything, but that didn’t mean I’d gone without preparing at all.
I’d visited dessert shops around the area to conduct some market research, and I’d even dressed in the prettiest outfit I owned.
The shop’s exterior was pink, and it was covered in lace. Naturally, I’d assumed they were hiring café maids, so I’d even put together a simple customer-service manual.
But for some reason, when I arrived in front of the shop at the appointed time, I was directed somewhere other than the shop’s interior.
“Please wait here.”
Inside the shabby, gloomy building stood a group of people with intimidating appearances.
One of them was practically two meters tall. Another had a face covered in scars.
Someone else was wearing a sleeveless shirt despite the weather not being remotely warm, proudly showing off the muscles in his arms.
What is this?
Why does this feel like the opening scene of a Hunter exam?
As I looked around in confusion, the muscular man in the sleeveless shirt spoke to me.
“Hey, you. You’re a new face.”
“What the hell is that outfit? Do you think this test is some kind of joke?”
That was a remark I really didn’t want to hear from someone wearing a sleeveless shirt in January.
“Listen here. This is already my third year applying! Do you really think a greenhorn like you belongs here?”
Why would anyone spend three years reapplying to become a maid?
Are they trying to find the world’s greatest maid or something?
Just then, another person standing nearby stepped forward.
“You clearly don’t know what you’re talking about. People like that are usually the veterans.”
“What? Th-They are?”
“Don’t you think he’s confident enough to dress like that because he knows he can easily beat people like us, even in those clothes?”
“Hmm. That makes sense.”
And just like that, I had somehow become a formidable candidate for the title of the world’s greatest maid.
…Wait, are they actually hiring maids here?
“The guy they hired last year was exactly like that. Don’t you remember? That fellow…”
Those burly middle-aged men are going to serve desserts at a café?
No, stop. Don’t be prejudiced.
I needed to be understanding.
After all, when I was little, I’d once written “police car” as my dream job.
You shouldn’t judge someone’s dreams.
“Hmph. Don’t go whining about how weak you are once things get started.”
That’s exactly what I should be telling you.
I’d come here prepared to sing “Make it delicious!” in Japanese, then repeat it in Chinese for three whole verses if necessary.
It hadn’t been an easy decision for me.
Do you have any idea how timid I am?
And you’re wondering how someone as timid as me ever thought of running a business?
…Do you really have to bring up my painful past?
“Thank you all for making it here. We will now begin the test.”
At the words of a young man who looked like the café manager, tension filled the room.
“Before we officially begin, please put down any weapons you may be carrying.”
“What?!”
“If even a single weapon is discovered during the test, you will be disqualified.”
And then, to my astonishment, people began taking weapons they’d hidden inside their clothes and placing them on the floor.
Soon, several people who appeared to be staff members came around and collected all the weapons.
Weren’t a maid’s weapons supposed to be kindness and encouragement?
Why are people pulling out things like daggers?
Are they planning to use a customer-service line like, “Please behave in a civilized manner, dear customer”—physically?
“And now, please check the piece of paper you were given when you entered. You must look at it privately, without allowing anyone else to see it.”
I did as instructed.
The paper was about the size of my palm. There was nothing particularly remarkable about it, except for a small blue circle printed on it.
“Most of you will probably have a paper marked with blue ink. Those of you with blue papers should consider yourselves members of the same team.”
“If we’re on the same team, does that mean there are enemies among us?”
“That’s correct. Although they make up only a very small minority, there are also people with red ink marks.”
With that, the manager flashed a meaningful smile.
“From this moment on, your task is to identify those carrying red ink.”
A murmur swept through the room as the applicants began to stir uneasily.
“As I mentioned earlier, weapons are prohibited. Violence is also forbidden. Furthermore, you are not allowed to show your papers to one another.”
“Then how are we supposed to find them?”
“That is the challenge of this test.”
“Damn it. So we have to use our heads.”
This wasn’t what they’d expected. One by one, the applicants began grumbling.
I was just as bewildered as everyone else.
This is…
A Mafia game?!
Do maids need to possess this kind of skill these days, too?
