POV: Paul
Seeing the twenty women dressed as maids, Paul turned to Gunther and said with a serious tone,
"So... Gunther, why did they come here?"
Gunther averted his gaze and scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Yeah... like, yeah..." he muttered.
But when he saw Paul's stern expression, Gunther sighed and finally said,
"Prince... please don't be mad at me... These were orders from the Queen."
Paul sighed, patting his forehead.
"Mom... she always makes things more complicated."
He exhaled heavily, then looked back at Gunther.
"So why did she send them to me?" he asked seriously.
Gunther replied in a slightly sad tone,
" These are the women who did not receive any Gifts, during the previous blessing ceremony "
At that, the twenty maids behind him lowered their heads in silence, their expressions filled with quiet sorrow.
Hearing this, Paul responded calmly,
"Alright. I'll accept them."
Then, turning his gaze to the maids, he said to Gunther,
"Introduce them."
He gave a slight nod, signaling for the introductions to begin.
Hearing Paul say that, Gunther nodded quickly and replied,
"Yes, yes, yes... starting from the right."
He gestured behind him and began pointing one by one.
"This is Frieda, Helena, Ingrid, Elsa, Theda, Eleanor, June, Sofie..."
While scratching the back of his head again, Gunther added,
"They were adventurers before... before they got taken hostage by the goblins."
As he glanced at the women he named, they responded in unison by giving a respectful knight's salute toward Paul.
Paul raised an eyebrow and asked, confused,
"Why didn't they just return to being adventurers?"
Gunther scratched his cheek awkwardly with a finger and answered,
"Well, you know, Prince… without Gifts, it's hard for anyone to join a party. Besides, their old party broke up after the goblin incident... so..."
Paul nodded slowly, his expression thoughtful.
"Yeah... I understand. Alright—next?"
He looked toward the rest of the maids waiting to be introduced.
Hearing that, Gunther looked at the remaining maids and said,
"This part's a bit complicated..." while scratching his cheek with a finger.
Paul, now slightly confused, tilted his head but stayed silent, letting Gunther continue.
Gunther took a breath and gestured toward the rest,
"These are Ottilie, Hilda, Ursula, Anneliese, Adelwyn, Liselotte, Edeline, Alice, Clara, Gisela, Charlotte, Katherine..."
As he scratched the back of his head again, Gunther continued,
"They're... well, they were all trapped slaves..."
His tone was unsure, almost reluctant.
Paul furrowed his brow and asked,
"So?" with a puzzled look.
Gunther shrugged slightly and said,
"None of them have Gifts either, but they all have last names... and after we investigated, it turns out they came from abroad. So..."
He trailed off, his expression matching his confusion.
Paul nodded slowly and replied,
"Ah... I see."
Then, after a moment of thought, he asked,
"But wouldn't it make more sense for them to be placed in the palace?"
His voice carried a note of genuine confusion.
Hearing that, Gunther muttered under his breath,
"Oh... Prince really said that."
Paul saw Gunther's lips move but couldn't catch the words.
"What?" he asked, confused.
Hearing Paul say that, Gunther replied in a hesitant tone,
"No... they can't stay in the palace. And, Prince, you received a message from Her Majesty. She said, 'The palace situation is not safe. Please help, my son ...' That's what she told me."
Paul let out a long sigh and rubbed his forehead with one hand.
"Ugh... Mom, you're giving me a headache."
Then, turning his gaze to the maids, he spoke firmly,
"Have any of you been trained as a maid or know the work?"
The former slaves nodded in response, while the former adventurers shook their heads.
Noticing that, Paul pointed at the three maids in the center.
"You, you, and you—Adelwyn, Liselotte, Alice, right?" he said in a relaxed tone.
The three nodded.
Paul continued,
"You three will be the leaders. Teach the others what they need to know. Understood?"
The three nodded again, more confidently this time.
Paul gave a final instruction,
"Good. Then go clean all the dirty rooms and corridors."
He gestured with his hand, signaling them to get moving.
Immediately, the maids who knew the protocols bowed and said,
"Understood, Prince."
The others, less certain but following their lead, echoed,
"O-Okay, Prince..." while mimicking the bowing gesture.
Paul nodded in approval, and the group followed Adelwyn, Liselotte, and Alice toward the back of the building.
Paul gave them a final nod, and they followed the three leaders toward the rear of the building.
Once the maids had left, Paul turned to Gunther and asked with a puzzled look,
"What about the rest of the bandits caught yesterday?"
Gunther scratched his head and replied casually,
"I was worried they'd try to escape the city, so I left them at Countess Isolde's castle."
Hearing that, Paul slapped his forehead and said in a confused tone,
"Did you tell the guards to start training the bandits, like I instructed?"
Gunther rubbed his chin thoughtfully and replied,
"I think so… but since they're bandits, we're doing it somewhere out of sight."
Paul nodded and said firmly,
"Alright then. Go and call them."
Gunther straightened up and gave a knight's salute.
"YES, SIR!!"
After Paul gave a nod of approval, Gunther turned and headed off toward the city.
Once everyone had left, Paul returned to his work — inscribing magic runes onto several components still scattered on the table. At the same time, he monitored and gave directions to Renya, who was still deep in her infiltration mission.
After a few hours spent drawing rune magic and installing components while giving instructions to Renya, Paul looked up as the front door opened.
"Welcome back," he said, glancing at Renya as she stepped inside.
Noticing the device Paul had just finished assembling, Renya tilted her head slightly and asked,
"Prince, what is that tool?"
Her gaze was fixed on the strange, tower-like object—about as tall as an adult, resembling a mechanical toy.
Paul smiled at her and replied simply,
"You'll find out soon enough."