With the Great Harvest Festival tomorrow, today has been incredibly busy since the morning.

The check of the ceremonial equipment was already completed the other day, but grooming checks need to be done right up until the main event.

After all, if you leave men alone, their beards will grow shaggy. If it were women, makeup would be involved instead of beard care. Unwanted hair removal and makeup are both matters a maid should assist with.

Yes, for the knights of this country, beards are treated as unwanted hair. There are no knights with dandy mustaches. That's the culture of this country.

Growing a beard is proof that one is in a profession that doesn't involve physical labor. In this barracks, the only ones with beards are the chefs. Cooking uses a lot of arm strength, but it's not treated as physical labor. Well, it's not as if everyone who doesn't do physical labor grows a beard, though.

The current time is night. Dinner is over, and the light of the artificial sun has faded.

In place of sunlight, magical lights illuminate the inside of the Royal Guard barracks. This is a world without electrical innovation, but in its place, highly developed magic exists. The world's central organization carefully manages magical technology to prevent the level of civilization from advancing too much. However, extending the time people can be active in a day seems to be acceptable.

And so, around this time in the castle town, an eve-of-festival celebration is likely being held under the magical streetlights.

The Great Harvest Festival schedule, including today's eve celebration, is five days. The Royal Guard will be dispatched to the city to guard the royal family for the four days starting tomorrow. Among those, only today's eve celebration does not involve the royal family or the royal castle's bureaucrats in its operation. It's a festival for the citizens alone.

Some of the maids have taken the day off and gone out into the town, but I have no such leisure.

On a normal day, my work as a maid always ends before dinner. It's that kind of cushy work schedule. However, during this Great Harvest Festival period, that's not the case.

And right now, I'm going around the rooms of the knights who have finished their baths and are taking a break, checking to see if their beards have grown, and if their nails are well-groomed. I think that no one looks at the length of a knight's nails, but properly grooming the master's appearance is the job of a maid.

"Excuse me."

"Come in."

After exchanging the standard phrases, I enter the knight's room. It's a two-person room, same as in the maid's dormitory. A full knight and an apprentice knight live together as a pair. The squires do not sleep in this Royal Guard barracks.

Many of the knights have homes in the castle town, which is the royal capital, and they are not always in this barracks. But during this period of the Great Harvest Festival, with a full deployment scheduled for tomorrow, all Royal Knights are staying overnight within the royal castle.

"Could I ask you to tie my hair? In a way that will last until tomorrow night."

As soon as I entered, the full knight of this room gave me that order. It seemed he had been reading a book; he was sitting in a chair with a closed book on his lap.

The apprentice knight was also in the room, holding out his hand and sending a magical breeze to the full knight's hair. Since they had just finished bathing, he must have been tasked with the role of a hairdryer. He is a skilled apprentice knight to be able to use magic.

"What style?"

"The Holmes style."

When I asked about the style, the full knight gave that reply. The Holmes style, huh? He's sensitive to trends.

This full knight has long hair that reaches his shoulder blades. While not a large percentage, men with long hair do exist in this country.

I stood behind the seated full knight and began to tie his hair as requested.

The Holmes style is a hairstyle rumored to be cool among the stylish men who grow their hair long. It's the hairstyle of the protagonist depicted in the illustrations of a mystery novel called 'Detective Holmes'.

I was the one who taught the merchant company about the business material of mystery novels, a creative genre that doesn't exist in this world.

But my, to think that the protagonist's hairstyle born from that would influence even the Royal Guard is quite a surprising story. I had no hand in the character design, so it's not a hairstyle I created.

I apply oil, gather the hair, pull it tight so it doesn't come undone naturally, and tie it up.

"Ouch, being pulled with your brute strength Princess, feels like I'm going to go bald."

Then the full knight let out such a complaint.

"Your hair won't fall out from just this."

I retorted.

A mistress with a maid has this done to her every day.

Well, normally when I tie a woman's hair, I don't pull this hard. It's all the fault of the request to make it last until tomorrow night.

"But you know, I feel a real sense of danger entrusting myself to you, Princess. Like you might just crush me."

What a terrible thing to say.

Sure, if I wanted to, I could crush a human skull like a ripe fruit, but I wouldn't do it!

Wanting to complain, I threw some words with a slightly thorny tone at the full knight.

"In that case, you could just have the apprentice knight do it for you."

"Eh, me!?"

At my words, the apprentice knight, who had stopped sending the breeze and was standing still in the corner of the room, panicked with a startle.

"I only know how to gather hair and tie it up..."

The apprentice knight said, his shoulders slumping dejectedly.

To that, the full knight said.

"Haha, don't worry, I won't ask that of you. Just take good care of my weapons and armor."

What a smooth talker. But you were just having the apprentice knight dry your hair with magic, weren't you?

However, since I'm the only maid in this barracks, I'd like the squires and apprentice knights to do what they can. Not because I want to take it easy, but because of physical limitations.

"What do you usually do with your hair?"

I wondered and asked that question.

"On training days, I just gather it and tie it up. For work where I'll be seen by people, I go to a hairdresser in the castle town beforehand."

A hairdresser, huh. Come to think of it, there are shops like that from the Edo period. Basically, a barber shop where you can get your hair tied.

In my case, during my previous job, I had to tie my own hair because it held magical power, and now Kaya fusses with my hair every morning, so it's a shop I have no connection with. I wonder why Kaya wants to take care of me so much.

"Well, today Oruto-san told everyone to take a bath and wash every last strand of hair, so I couldn't go get it tied."

The full knight said, shrugging his shoulders.

If the citizens thought the Royal Guard smelled, it would be a huge blow to the country's image.

The Royal Guard is seen by people together with the royal family, so as someone said before, they are like the face of the nation.

And so, as we chatted, I finished tying his hair. It will probably last until tomorrow night.

"How is it, do I look like a detective?"

The full knight stood up from his chair and said with a posed face.

"Is it okay not to look like a strong knight?"

I withheld my answer and returned with that question. Detective Holmes isn't a martial artist like a certain Holmes, and he doesn't use Baritsu.

"Let the other guys handle that part. My role is to be a flower that accompanies His Majesty."

But you're one of the tallest and most well-built members of the Royal Guard, aren't you?

◆◇◆◇◆

"It's over, work is over..."

Late at night, exhausted, I was finally able to return to the maid's dormitory.

Sorry, that's a lie. I don't get exhausted from maid's work. My previous job involved things like moving through the forest all night to hunt magical beasts and giant beasts. Well, it was just more work than usual. Today, the knights also had their own schedules, and I couldn't use the maid's station.

However, I thought it would just be checking the knights' grooming, but some knights even asked for makeup, not just hairstyling, which took up unexpected time.

A man wearing makeup. This is also a recent trend.

I was the one who told the merchant company about the concept of men's cosmetics, which didn't exist in this country, so it's my own fault that it took so much time. I didn't think it would become a trend. Not all the ideas from my past life that I passed on to the merchant company have been successful, so why did something like this catch on?

Well, I had never worn makeup before becoming a maid, so even though I was the originator, I'm not familiar with how to apply makeup on men.

It was a relief that the makeup tools weren't that different from women's. But makeup makes you look cool, not beautiful.

"I'm home."

I opened the door to my room and went inside. It's a two-person room, but I don't bother knocking each time. My roommate Kaya said it's a pain to ask for permission every time you enter your own room. She's moderately meticulous and moderately slovenly. Before, when I slacked off from work, she was actually happy about it.

"Welcome home, Onee-sama!"

Oh. The one who greeted me was not Kaya, but a familiar face, my friend's daughter, Kukuru. She comes from a noble house, the daughter of a marquis, fitting for a maid serving in the royal castle.

I've known her since she was born, and for some reason, she's very fond of me, calling me Onee-sama.

But I wonder what she's doing here so late at night.

"Hello, Kukuru. Were you talking with Kaya?"

"I was waiting for you to come back, Kirin-onee-sama!"

She's so energetic. She's still young, so I'd think she'd be getting sleepy at night.

Since she was waiting for me, I decided to ask if she needed anything. Maybe she just wanted to talk before going to bed.

"I see. Did you need something? You're welcome even if you don't."

"I came to make sure you hadn't forgotten our promise for tomorrow, Kirin-onee-sama!"

"Haha, is that so? It's okay, I haven't forgotten."

It seems Kukuru had come to confirm the promise we had made earlier to "look around the Great Harvest Festival together."

Yes, tomorrow, for the Great Harvest Festival, I can go outside the castle.

My work tomorrow is only in the morning and at night, and during the day when all the Royal Knights are deployed to the city, I have nothing to do, so I was given an unusual half-day off.

A maid is originally someone who accompanies her master on outings and takes care of their personal needs. But in my case, since I have too many people to take care of, that role is waived. Taking care of the full knights working outside is the duty of the apprentice knights. So I have a break only during the day.

And Kukuru had successfully obtained a day off tomorrow during the Great Harvest Festival. And since our schedules matched, we had decided to go out into the castle town together.

By the way, Kaya's day off didn't match, so the three of us can't go out together. Kaya was standing next to Kukuru, smiling and watching our conversation with amusement.

"I get to see Father tomorrow, so I'm so, so excited."

Kukuru's father, Marquis Goard, after managing the harvest festival in his own domain, had apparently come to the royal capital for the Great Harvest Festival and was staying at his mansion.

Maids are allowed by the rules to leave the royal castle and temporarily return to their homes in the royal capital. If you apply to the head maid, it's relatively easy to get permission. So, if Kukuru wanted to see her father, she didn't have to wait until tomorrow. But it seems Kukuru chose to see her father on her day off.

"But Kukuru, it's getting late. If you don't go to bed soon, you'll oversleep tomorrow."

I said, as if chiding a child, but Kukuru is fourteen. She's not at an age where she'd fall asleep right after dinner, and in terms of physical age, I'm the younger one.

"But when I think about the Great Harvest Festival tomorrow, my eyes are wide open..."

Kukuru replied.

I see, so she's in that elementary school student state of being too excited for the field trip the next day to sleep. She must be incredibly excited for a festival with me, her friend, and her father whom she hasn't seen in a while.

"In that case, Kukuru, shall the three of us talk for a while? When you get sleepy, you can sleep in my bed."

"Wow! A sleepover!"

"They're having a festival in the castle town. It won't be a problem if we get a little excited too."

I glanced at Kaya, and she smiled and nodded. In other words, a sleepover is okay.

"Then what shall we talk about first! I know, let's start with the story of Kaya's festival date promise with her fiancé!"

As Kukuru suddenly threw in some love talk, Kaya's smile faltered slightly. She probably didn't expect the conversation to turn to her.

But I wonder when we'll get to sleep tonight. I have work to see off the Royal Guard tomorrow morning, so I can't oversleep.

◆◇◆◇◆

"Take care."

Early the next morning. Having successfully woken up, I began my work for the day. And the time passed in a flurry until I saw off the knights, clad in their ceremonial gear, from the Royal Guard barracks.

Today, the sky is clear without a single cloud. Well, this is a continent where clouds don't exist.

Water vapor rising from the ground tries to form clouds in the upper atmosphere according to the laws of physics. But the magic circle deployed in the sky above this continent to operate the artificial sun and artificial moon absorbs those clouds. In other words, the weather is fine without a single cloud all year round.

Looking up at the sky, a vast three-dimensional magic circle spreads across it. A skyscape that is nothing like Earth's. Whether it rains or not is completely managed by this magic circle, which is controlled by the world's central organization, 'the Trunk'.

And the royal family of this country can ask the central organization to be flexible with the schedule and request that it not rain in this region on this day. Therefore, it's impossible for the festival to be canceled due to rain. A good thing.

Rain during a festival really brings down the mood...

"Good morning."

A voice called out to me as I was looking up at the sky in front of the barracks. It was the usual chambermaid in charge of laundry. Even on the day of the Great Harvest Festival, laundry still piles up, so she came to collect it.

"Good morning. I'm going to gather it now, so please wait a moment."

"Yes, I'll be waiting."

Leaving the girl, I returned inside the barracks and called the squires together. Today's sweet is, in theme with the 'harvest', the autumn delicacy, Keri nuts pickled in ant honey.

It's a classic sweet often sold at festival stalls this season, and it's a kind gesture from the head chef to let the working squires also enjoy the festival mood.

"Okay, please collect the laundry from in front of the rooms. Today's sweet is related to the harvest festival."

"Okay!"

At my command, the squires ran off in unison. They had completely started to listen to what I said.

The pacification with sweets must have been effective. But, separate from that, it seemed that just as a pet dog ranks its owner's family, they had come to recognize me as a higher existence than an apprentice knight.

My own status is not that of a noble, nor is it anything greater than the title of a royal castle maid. Well, social status and the ranking in a place are not equal, so I guess that's how it is.

To the full knights, I'm in the position of a cool big sister figure who created the Royal Guard together with the current king, and the squires seemed to have sensitively picked up on the attitude those full knights show me.

Hmm, is there any problem? Probably not. It's a good thing if it makes my work go smoothly.

After that, I handed over the laundry to the chambermaid Eki and served the ant honey pickles to the squires in the barracks' dining hall, and my work was finished.

I returned to the maid's dormitory and went back to my room to change into clothes for going out to the festival.

"Welcome home, Onee-sama!"

Huh, déjà vu.

"I'm back. What's wrong, Kukuru?"

"I was waiting so we could go out right away!"

Perhaps excited before the festival, Kukuru rushed to hug me. Hey, hey, I can't change like this.

Squeeze. “Oh, you smell sweet like ant honey, Onee-sama..."

Kukuru sniffed the air above my head.

Stop that, hugging me and sniffing me.

"Ah, I just ate some Keri nuts pickled in ant honey."

I haven't brushed my teeth, so the rich, sweet scent must have lingered.

"Eh?"

With that sound, the arms hugging me tightened.

"That's mean, Kirin-onee-sama!"

What? Was eating the ant honey pickles a guilty act?

Was it wrong to fill my stomach before the festival? But I only ate one.

"You went to the food stalls without me!"

Ah. Ahh. I see.

Since the ant honey pickles are a specialty of the festival stalls, she mistakenly thought I had gone down to the castle town and eaten them on my own.

"That's not it, I ate with the squires."

"And with other people, too!"

"At the Royal Guard barracks."

"Eh?"

This time, the "eh" came with a question mark.

"? Eh, eh, there are food stalls at the barracks? How?"

To the confused Kukuru, I started to explain the situation in order, laughing. By the way, I wonder when I'll be able to change my clothes.

And so, my and Kukuru's festival day finally begins.