Third Person Perspective
"Arsha is not here! Where is Arsha?!" (Theresa)
Theresa cried desperately. Viscount Reiner and Adelaide had rushed to the courtyard after receiving the report from the servants, but they had no idea what was going on and just stood there unable to do anything.
A servant from their household stood in front of the thieves to protect them and had her arm cut off. Even though it wasn't her job, she had been being selfish and taken them to a dangerous place without telling her father...and ended up seriously injuring her. The servant in question was nowhere to be seen. Theresa was half-crazed.
Could it be that she was left out of the "crossing" planned by the Archpriestess-sama? So, is she still left alone in that dangerous place? With that serious injury?
It's understandable why Theresa was so desperate to think that way. Then, everyone looked around and inside the wagon, but they couldn't find her.
"I'll go look for her there!" (Theresa)
Saying this, Theresa tried to run off, but everyone frantically grabbed her and stopped her.
"Let me go! I have to go and save Arsha!" (Theresa)
As Theresa tried to shake off everyone's hands, Viscount Reiner, who finally seemed to have grasped the situation to some extent, spoke to her.
"Men are faster than you! We'll have one of your servants who knows the location act as a guide, and four of us will go! Then we'll have a carriage follow immediately!" (Reiner)
If something were to happen to the daughter of a marquis who he had taken under his wing in his mansion, it would not go unpunished. Viscount Reiner thought so and became desperate. Seeing his desperate expression, Theresa mistook it for concern for Arsha and finally calmed down a little. It seemed she was thinking, "Since the Viscount is dealing with this so desperately, I shouldn’t be a useless nuisance and hold them back since I’m powerless and can’t do anything."
And then, when the servants whom the Viscount had hastily gathered were about to depart with the guide...
"The injured child have been taken to the medical center. All the bandits have also been apprehended! For now, everyone please have some tea and get some rest. Let's go home after we've taken a breather and calmed down." (Mitsuha)
...Mitsuha appeared via teleportation and told everyone this.
Those who witnessed the Mitsuha's transfer... "crossing" were surprised, but right now there was something that had to take priority. So no one made a fuss.
"Arsha! How is Arsha's condition?!" (Theresa)
Hearing Theresa's anguished cry, Mitsuha finally realized that the girl was Theresa's... a servant of the Marquis of Vibolt household.
"This child managed to buy time to protect everyone, and only her left arm was injured. Her life is not in danger." (Mitsuha)
"Um, that left arm!" (Theresa)
"Unfortunately……" (Mitsuha)
Mitsuha didn't forget to make a good case for turning that girl into a hero. Theresa looked shocked as Mitsuha closed her eyes and quietly shook her head from side to side in response to her question. Drops of water slowly began to seep out from both of her eyes...
"Th-that's not possible... ...Ahh.... Ahh.... Aaaaaaaaaahhh!!" (Theresa)
Theresa cried out loud and tears flowed freely.
Just for a commoner servant. And even though she hadn't actually died, the daughter of a marquis was crying like this. There was no greater honor for a servant. Perhaps thinking along those lines, the servants of the Marquis of Vibolt, Count Culvady, and Viscount Reiner households were a little envious of Arsha.
And perhaps because of this, none of the servants felt particularly sorry for the girl who had lost her left arm, and far from shedding tears, they didn't even look distressed. That girl would be able to feel proud whenever she looked at her left arm for the rest of her life, along with great joy and satisfaction, knowing that she had protected the daughter of her master, her friend the daughter of a count, and the servants of both households...
...Yes. It was exactly the same feeling that Colette had about the wounds she suffered. The wounds she received while defending her master's family. That was a servant's true wish. The honor of being a servant.
If a daughter of a lower-ranking noble was working as a servant for a higher-ranking noble family in order to learn etiquette or gain connections, she probably wasn't prepared to go that far. However, what happens when a commoner was employed as a servant in a noble household, especially a high-ranking noble household? And if the master and his family took good care of their servants. ...On rare occasions, there were times when the servants with immense loyalty being cherished. Like this Marquis Vibolt's family...
Her employer was not a poor lower-ranking nobleman, but a marquis. Therefore, even if it meant protecting the family's reputation, there was no way they would treat a servant, who had risked her life and lost an arm as a result to protect their daughter, with disrespect. Far from being fired, she would likely be placed in a position where she could work without any problems even with one arm and would be employed for the rest of her life. ...Or, she could retire with a generous bonus and live a leisurely life...
To the Marquis, the amount of money that would allow a commoner to live a modest life for the rest of their life was not a big deal. It was a small amount compared to what they had managed to avoid losing. Furthermore, how the girl was rewarded now would have an impact on the morale and loyalty of the servants thereafter... and also on whether or not anyone would follow in the footsteps of this girl and risk their life for the master's family.
At the very least, there's no way that girl would lose her job and end up homeless. The servants of the Marquis Vibolt's household were absolutely certain that this would happen.
...However, that was how lower-ranking servants who were blessed with good masters viewed the position of their colleagues. Such thoughts were unthinkable to her employer, especially to the kind-hearted young lady whose foolish actions had left the girl with a permanent disability.
There are no words I can say to Theresa right now. All I can do is let her cry as much as she wants, and I have a lot of things to do right now.
Thinking this, although it might have seemed cold, Mitsuha decided to leave the crying Theresa to the soup kitchen staff and the Viscount Reiner's family, and quietly transferred away from the scene.
Author's Note
An original one-shot story by Mori Kiyuki-sensei, who illustrated the spin-off comic of my work, "Noukin," "Didn't I say to make my daily life average?" (4 volumes in total), has been released.
"Another World Shared Office" (published in Comic Earth Star)
https://comic-earthstar.com/episode/2550912964619124615
Please read it! (^^)/
Ah, the first page you open is an announcement for another work, but the work in question starts on the next page... (^^;
And on AT-X, the anime series "I'll Survive on Potions!" will be broadcast intensively.
The period is from September 27th to October 8th.
For details, please visit https://www.at-x.com/program/detail/17495. (^^)/
Furthermore, due to changes to the terms and conditions of "Let's Become a Novelist", it is no longer a problem to post links to pages that contain purchase-related buttons.
Of course, you can read all of Moritaka-sensei's one-shot works for free until the end.
The first page you open contains advertisements for other works, so just to be sure there is no misunderstanding... (^^;