落とし穴４８堀：メイド妻の別のお仕事 (Part1)
### Pitfall 48: The Maid Wife’s Other Job
**Side: Kirue**
"Thank you for the meal."
With those words, Riel-sama stood up from the table, carrying her finished dishes.
In the Weed household, it is our custom that once a meal is finished, one takes their own dishes to the kitchen and places them in the sink.
Well, originally, Yuki-sama or whoever was on meal duty would wash them all together, but I couldn't allow that—it would undermine the very purpose of a maid's existence. I managed to negotiate for the task to be transferred to Sasari and me.
Washing dishes for twenty people at once might seem daunting, but compared to my days serving in the royal palace, it’s nothing.
Besides, Yuki-sama developed a magic for washing dishes just to see if it would work, and after he taught it to me, the whole process is finished in a matter of minutes.
I had already finished my meal and was currently nursing Sakura-sama and Shael, whom Seraria-sama had entrusted to my care.
Children are precious, no matter how many times I see them.
Watching them suckle with all their might just to live—the sight of those little ones always brings a smile to my face.
While I was doing that, Riel-sama returned after dropping off her dishes.
"Well, I’m heading over there first."
"Understood. I’ll catch up with you shortly."
"Tori, take your time eating."
"…I think I’ll go after I play with the children for a bit."
"Kaya, hurry up and get going."
Tori-sama isn't fond of hot miso soup, so when there’s something liquid on the menu, she waits for it to cool down, which makes her a bit slow to finish. As Riel-sama said, I think it’s fine for Tori-sama to take her time. She performs her duties perfectly well, and there’s no pressing deadline.
Meanwhile, Kaya-sama was relaxing, holding Sumire-sama, who was now full.
"Au? Au!!"
Sumire-sama was fascinated, her eyes tracking the way Kaya-sama was swishing her tail in front of her.
Kaya-sama also handles her work diligently, so this was just their usual routine.
"Alright, Mama Riel is heading out now."
"Uu?"
"Come now, Schans. Let’s wave goodbye."
Schans-sama looked puzzled as her head was patted, but Ratz-sama took her small hand and helped her perform the goodbye gesture for Riel-sama. It was adorable.
The reason we don't say our goodbyes at the front entrance is because they travel to the New Continent via Doppelganger. Instead of leaving through the door, they lie down in their rooms and shift their consciousness into their avatars.
Therefore, saying "I'm off" from this banquet hall has become our custom.
Of course, if we have work within Weed, we say our goodbyes at the front entrance.
"Oh, Riel. Taiki-kun and Popuri and the others are there too, so I don't think there will be any major issues, but contact me if anything happens."
"Yeah, I know."
As the Master said this to Riel-sama, he was nimbly changing Eria-sama's diaper.
...Honestly, it’s not the sort of thing a Master who is an emissary of the gods should be doing, but he is more efficient at wiping bottoms and changing diapers than even we are, so I can't really say anything.
There was a time when the wives, myself included, cornered him with questions, wondering where he had acquired such skills.
A flicker of anxiety had crossed our minds: *Could he have a wife and children left behind in his homeland?*
But his answer was...
*"Hm? That's simple. I had relatives and acquaintances with babies, and sometimes I was tasked with looking after them. Man, the kids got strangely attached to me. Usually, the parents would do it, but the babies wouldn't move from my lap, and they'd cry if I tried to move them, so I had no choice but to learn how to change diapers. That’s how it ended up like this."*
As expected of the Master. His charm has clearly been unstoppable since long ago.
Under normal circumstances, one might doubt such an explanation, but knowing the Master, I couldn't imagine him telling such a lie. Besides, the children accept his diaper changes without a fuss.
No matter how you look at it, he is a dependable Master to us.
"There you go, Eria. Your bottom is clean and fresh now, isn't it?"
"Au!!"
"I see, that's good. Now, I need to throw this diaper away and wash my hands. Eris is still eating, so Milly, can you take Eria?"
"Yes, of course. Mama Milly will hold you, Eria-chan."
With a light lift, Eria-sama was scooped up and reached out toward Milly-sama’s ample chest.
"Au, au!!"
She began to pat Milly-sama’s chest *pachi-pachi*.
This was her signal that she wanted milk.
Responding to the call, Milly-sama exposed her breast, and Eria-sama latched on.
"Drink up and grow big, okay?"
Now, Milly-sama hasn't given birth to a child, so her breasts shouldn't produce milk, but in fact, they do.
This was the primary reason she was excluded from the initial New Continent exploration team as a child-minder.
Of course, the fact that she spent her time in town and gained experience taking care of the children was another reason she was left behind.
As for why she produces milk despite not being pregnant...
When the milk first appeared, Milly-sama jumped for joy.
That was only natural; she thought she had been blessed with the Master's child.
But in reality, she was just producing milk; she wasn't pregnant.
It is a rare phenomenon, but one does hear of people who produce milk without being pregnant. It seems Milly-sama is one of them.
She was disappointed at first, but since it doesn't mean she is incapable of bearing children, she now seems happy that it has expanded the range of her "play," and she feels it’s a win-win since she can nurse the children like this.
"It’s honestly a huge help that Milly produces milk," said Eris-sama, who was still eating.
Agreeing with her, Seraria-sama, who was also eating, opened her mouth.
"That's true. It might have been a shame that Milly wasn't pregnant, but it really is a huge help that she produces milk."
"Indeed. Thanks to that, we don't have to let the children go hungry."
Deryu-sama said this while holding Yuyu-sama.
As the two of them said, having milk available is something to be very grateful for.
It just goes to show how difficult taking care of children can be.
"I’m just glad the milk I produce doesn't go to waste. Oh, but I’m definitely going to bear Yuki-san’s child, okay?"
"““That goes without saying.””"
Indeed, it does.
There is no problem with leaving behind many of the Master's descendants.
However, if the children born were to be treated poorly, we would have to hesitate, but the Master and the wives would never allow such a thing.