Is cleaning in a café difficult?
The answer is no.
Generally speaking, the cleaning duties for servers are twofold: wiping tables and mopping floors. There aren't any special skills involved—if you have enough stamina, it's pretty straightforward. That's what Shinji thought. Even though he hadn't ever worked as a server before, he'd done plenty of similar jobs in both his past and present lives.
As for stamina, how could someone like Altera, who possessed a naturally gifted body and was a top-tier combat Servant, be lacking? She could easily handle more than one shift—perhaps even three in a row.
So, Shinji felt confident leaving Altera to manage things—well, not exactly.
Just ten minutes later, Shinji had to completely retract his judgment.
"I was wrong, terribly wrong."
Confident? Not at all.
In just ten minutes, she tore three rags, snapped a mop in half, and spilled a basin of water and a bucket once each. In the final incident, she even slipped and fell, dunking her head into the bucket.
At that moment, Shinji had been preparing milk tea, so he didn't see what happened. When he heard a burst of laughter and turned around, he saw the clumsy maid sitting helplessly with a bucket on her head. He had no idea how Altera managed to pull off such an incredible series of mishaps.
Oh, my lady, what's happened to you?
During the battle, you can pull off all kinds of high-difficulty maneuvers, but cleaning is such a challenge. Could it be that the Huns never did any cleaning?
No, wait. It's not clear if the Huns cleaned or not, but Altera probably never did this kind of work.
She was discovered in ruin by the Hun noble ElderMundzuk, raised and trained as a weapon of war. Her combat abilities were outstanding, but as for personal chores—well, looking at how she slept on piles of gold and had no understanding of cooking, it's likely Mundzuk never taught her such things. After all, a living weapon doesn't need skills beyond combat.
In other words, up until now, Altera was a blank slate when it came to this kind of work. Everything she did in those first ten minutes was based on her assumptions or attempts to imitate the other maids, so of course there were all kinds of accidents.
Once Shinji realized this, he immediately put down what he was doing, grabbed a rag, and apologized to the manager, who was also working behind the counter.
"Uh, I'm sorry. I'll clean it up right away. Please don't blame her…"
The manager, who looked more like a bodyguard than a bartender with his tall, bulky build and black suit, silently took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose before sighing quietly.
"A natural maid, not a fake one pretending to be clumsy—perfect. Absolutely perfect."
Shinji's eye twitched. After a moment, he managed to respond, "Huh?"
Did I hear that right? Is the world crazy, or am I?
Sure, I admit that being naturally clumsy is a moe trait, and I do like that kind of character. But when it causes this much trouble and affects the café's business, aren't you, as the manager, even a little upset?
The manager seemed to have guessed Shinji's thoughts. He patted Shinji on the shoulder and spoke earnestly, "Young man, your love for maids isn't strong enough yet. Maids are heaven's gift to humanity, embodying beauty, justice, and love. We should cherish every type of maid, and my purpose in running this café is to help more people experience the wonder of maids. So, I won't stop her, much less blame her."
"…"
Okay, I've decided. This world is crazy.
Even a hardcore otaku might not be able to make such a declaration so calmly. The mooncell world is truly a bizarre place—every trait from Earth can appear here and be magnified. It aligns with Mooncell's theory of gathering information.
But still—
"Is it okay to just leave things like this? The water on the floor is a bit of a hazard."
"You're right. Go clean it up."
"Okay."
Shinji shrugged and got to work.
After one shift, he was exhausted. Truly exhausted.
The physical fatigue was one thing, but the mental exhaustion was worse.
It was even more tiring than working with Arcueid. Arcueid might be a bit scatterbrained and emotional, but when it came to actual work, she was reliable. She could sweep, wipe tables, and even cook. Altera, on the other hand, made over fifty mistakes in just one shift… Ah, this is going to be a long road.
By the end of the shift, Shinji collapsed onto the couch, too tired to even touch the drink in front of him.
Meanwhile, the rest of the staff were still in high spirits, clinking glasses like they were at a party.
Naturally, the center of attention was the new natural clumsy maid, Altera. From the manager down, everyone was extremely satisfied with her and was trying their best to convince her to stay on permanently.
Altera seemed a bit tempted by the idea, frequently glancing at Shinji with a hopeful look in her eyes.
Shinji couldn't handle that kind of expression and gave in without any resistance.
"I told you, as long as you like it."
"Thank you, Shinji. Maids are a good civilization," Altera said with a pure smile.
When she said something like that, it meant she had truly come to enjoy the job.
"Oh oh oh! We should make that Miss Altera slogan," the head maid cheered.
"A toast to the new member of our team!"
"Cheers~~~!"
"Cheers."
Shinji reluctantly raised his glass, and the café was filled with a festive atmosphere.
On the way back to the unnamed field, Altera asked somewhat uneasily, "Did I do something wrong?"
"Why do you say that?"
"Because you don't seem very energetic."
"I'm just tired. It's been a while since I worked like that."
"So, it's my fault after all."
Alterahung her head, and Shinji lightly knocked her on the head.
"Dummy. This was our decision together. Didn't we agree to face everything as a team?"
"Mhm."
"By the way, I haven't asked you yet—why did you suddenly decide to get a part-time job? We still have plenty of funds."
"Because that's the money you and that woman earned, and I don't want to use it," Alterapouted slightly.
It wasn't surprising. From the moment they first met, she and Arcueid had been at each other's throats. Even now, their relationship was still terrible, with no signs of improving.
"And… you had your eye on something before, right? I wanted to earn money myself to buy it for you."
"Huh?"
Shinji was a little taken aback by this reason.
"You've always been the one giving me things. You tell me stories, cook for me, and even create a maid uniform for me… I want to give you something too. You told me once that this is how humans express gratitude."
Her voice was soft and gentle, yet it carried a power that struck straight to Shinji's heart.
"Altera…"
In truth, what she gave didn't matter. The thought behind it was enough.
His efforts hadn't been in vain. If they continued like this, one day, she would leave that stone chamber behind—not as a Star Pioneer or an enemy of civilization, but as a kind and gentle human being.