After finishing the final chores—washing utensils and wiping down tables—Carole and the others changed back into their casual clothes and exited the restaurant, carrying a bag of cookies from Calary. Carole waved toward Tizmilly, Theo, and Calary, who were heading home, while clutching the bag of cookies.

​"It’s very cold outside..." Timmy muttered, rubbing his hands together.

​Winter had come. The already cold weather grew harsher day by day. Even wrapped in thick clothes, they still couldn’t completely chase the chill away. Sirry tightened the knitted hat on her head as she looked up at the falling frozen crystals.

​"It’s beautiful, b-but too cold," she mumbled with a smile.

​Meanwhile, Gerena had already started reading her book. She completely ignored the biting air. She was too absorbed in the world of words to care about the weather. Carole turned around to look at them and smiled.

​"Alright, let’s go!" she cheered, announcing their departure.

​Timmy and Sirry answered with their own shouts, though Sirry’s was a little too quiet for normal people to hear. Their destination was the small house Carole’s friends had rented together. Needless to say, the objective was to inform them about the recruitment. Carole couldn’t help but feel a surge of self-satisfaction, imagining how lucky she was to know so many interesting maid candidates. With them, her daily workload would certainly be reduced.

​The house was located a bit far from the main road, but not as deserted as the Ghost District or the outer edges of the Dungeon City. The building sat in the city’s intermediate layer. People who came to the Dungeon City with at least a little money could live here without an urgent need to find work immediately.

​"By the way, Yona and the girls haven’t found good jobs yet, right?" Carole asked Sirry while following her.

​Sirry nodded. "Wendy and Trevina already found jobs, but the others were not s-so lucky..." she answered, rubbing her hands near her chest nervously.

​"They’ll be happy to hear what we’re going to tell them, then!" Carole said with a giggle.

​"H-hmm!" Sirry nodded, smiling.

​Just before it became completely dark, they arrived in front of a small, one-story building with a decent-looking yard. While the house itself looked rather weathered, it was actually better than Carole’s. The landlord must have been very good at taking care of the property.

​As Carole stepped into the yard, she noticed a girl shoveling snow. It was Trevina’s twin sister, Davina.

​"Oh, Davina, hello!" Carole greeted her immediately, making the girl flinch.

​"H-Hello..." Davina greeted her back, averting her gaze.

​Carole didn’t mind; she knew Davina’s personality well. She was a stark contrast to her overconfident sister and had very low self-esteem. She was similar to Sirry but more "troublesome"—Sirry would endure the struggle of socializing with sheer determination, whereas Davina lacked that spark.

​"Is everyone inside?" Carole asked, and Davina responded with a nod.

​"Then I’ll go greet the others! Don’t stay outside too long or you’ll catch a cold~"

​Carole led Sirry and Gerena into the building. Timmy, however, stayed beside Davina and helped her with another shovel. Carole grinned when she turned back and saw Davina’s face turning red.

​Sirry reached for the knob, but the door was suddenly pulled open from the inside.

​"Ahhh, why do they always reject me—Ugh!?" someone screeched as she ran out and crashed directly into Sirry.

​They would have fallen heavily to the ground if Carole hadn’t quickly caught them.

​"Oh-oh, wh-what happened!?" Carole exclaimed, using all her strength to keep them upright.

​The girl who had crashed into Sirry was Yona, the most serious one of the group. Yona quickly moved away, rubbing her reddened forehead. Her face was messy with tears and—to Carole’s shock—snivel. The crash had also caused Sirry to lose consciousness.

​Five minutes later.

​They placed Sirry on her bed before facing Yona, who had finally calmed down. Carole sat across from her while the other girls watched from the side.

​"So... can you explain what happened, Yona?" Carole asked hesitantly.

​Yona opened her lips to answer, but tears began to flow again. Instead of speaking, she sniffled and bawled, leaving Carole completely bewildered.

​"Ehh..."

​Wendy came from the kitchen with cups of tea and the cookies Carole had brought. She put the tray on the table and sat beside Yona, pulling her into her chest to comfort her. "There, there. Don’t worry, everything will be okay~"

​Carole sipped her tea while watching Wendy. Once Yona finally calmed down, she fell fast asleep. It was Trevina, sitting with legs crossed beside Carole, who explained the situation.

​"Twenty. That’s the total number of job applications Yona has sent out so far, excluding your place, Carole. A tragic story, tsk, tsk," Trevina said, shaking her head.

​"I wonder what they saw wrong with Yona~?" a voice came from the sofa. It was Marie, the most "normal" girl in the group—not ugly, but not a beauty either; just a typical countryside girl.

​Then, without anyone noticing, a girl appeared behind the sofa where Wendy and Yona were sitting. She looked much like Gerena, with an expressionless face. She was Gerena’s niece, Rasa.

​"Maybe she was just too serious for them," Rasa said, poking Yona’s cheek curiously.

​Wendy looked up, tilting her head. "Where did you come from, Rasa?"

​Rasa gave a peace sign. "I have always been here," she replied proudly. Everyone shook their heads.

​"That’s right," Carole remembered her mission. "Speaking of jobs, Tiz & Roosts is currently hiring again. Anyone who wants to work there can come to the restaurant tomorrow with me and Timmy."

​"Really? Then I’ll give it another try!" Marie stated. To her, becoming a maid was far better than staying unemployed. While Rasa was only staring at the ceiling .

Timmy and Davina entered the house at that time. She heard what Carole said and immediately became nervous as the others looked at her.

​"W-will I be able to become a maid?" she rubbed her hands uneasily.

​Trevina stood up to cheer her up, placing a palm on her own chest. "Of course! You’re my twin sister, you can do anything!"

​Carole didn’t want the recruitment to fail, so she decided to tell a little white lie. "Don’t worry! Working there is easier than you think. You only need to be yourself. Even Gerena can do it!"

​Davina looked at Gerena, who was still immersed in her book. Then she looked at Timmy, who was smiling at her. With a blush, she finally nodded.

​’YESSSSS!!’ Carole cheered inwardly.

​Early the next morning, Carole, Timmy, Davina, Marie, Yona, and Rasa headed toward the restaurant. Unfortunately, Carole and Timmy had been chosen by Theo to be the interviewers, so they couldn’t enjoy the day off like Gerena and Sirry.

​However, once they reached the place, they halted. A crowd had gathered in front of the restaurant. At the center were Theo, Tizmilly, and Calary, facing a girl in a luxurious light purple dress who had arrived in a carriage with two female bodyguards. Surrounding them were about nine Dungeon Divers.

​’What happened here!?’ Carole was shocked.