It was a little later that and and the two humans of the manor were dining at a table together. Jade was nearby and enjoying a carrot. Karita was slowly eating and pausing to rub a sore spot or other. It would seem that sitting in a single position for a long time can make someone quite sore. It was also likely that some of it came from the stick Oaguz had been joyfully wielding. As for Grace, she was slowly chewing her dinner, another odd but tasty concoction the maids came up with, is she glare at a certain fake wolpertinger. The reason for this was most definitely her growing annoying at the feelings of humor she was feeling from her rabbit like companion.
Jade had gone off for some unknown reason earlier to who knows where. When she had come back, the little white creature found a scene of two humans getting "run through the ringer", as she had called it. by goblins. She has been snickering in Grace's mind since then.
~Will you stop that! It's not that funny!~ Grace tried to think hard. She hoped to convey just how agitated she was becoming with the antics today.
~I'm sorry, I just thought I'd never see the day humans, especially an Imperial princess and a self centered mage, would ever allow themselves to be submitted to such treatment~ Jade's thoughts returned. They were just dripping with humor at her and Karita's misfortune.
~Now was I expecting to find out that training in a violent way could get around certain restrictions!~ The princess mentally grumbled,~ how could such a loophole exist!~
~Well, technically it's not a loophole,~ Jade's mirth grew at this,~ It was done on purpose. Any action that is for the ultimate benefit in the health of their master can be independently done. This clause is because there have been a number of combat slaves in the past who were made to train noble in the art of combat... That and other certain actions that would be better left unsaid for the time being."
Grace let off a few angry thoughts at this.~ Of course it was like that!~ She sighed as she took another bite to eat. She winced as a bruise on her arm flared up in pain. Grizt could be quite the brutal teacher when it comes to the art of combat. She was starting to consider whether it would have been better to have the goblins become guards rather than maids, but that would be considered unacceptable among the noble and would damage her image to the further. On top of that, two of them were clearly no good at fighting. Weye and Stranbrai each had their own strengths as far as she understood it, but those strengths best lined up with made work. Weye could be very polite and would be perfect for handling guests and giving greetings. Stranbrai seemed to be quick at learning things and was slowly getting better at cleaning and other more detailed tasks than some of the others. She was a bit slow about it still, but she was currently the only one who had figured out proper carpet care earlier today, though she hadn't revealed this until after the "learning experience", and starting to help the others when she could. She would often complain about the lack of alcohol to work with. It was an odd thing to know that she was too smart for her own good and had to be dumb down to think straight. Though if they were to ask Grace, she was more of the mind that the goblin needed self confidence to stop second guessing herself.
Shritoo and Weye were the best among them at cooking, but they were not too skilled in the job. Oaguz was at least good at assisting and new some basics to help out on a general level. These three seemed to be the core of the kitchen and even other cleaning tasks.
As for Gizt, their leader was a different matter entirely. She had a tendency to mess about. It was clear that Grizt was a free spirited leader for them. She had a certain lack of decorum and discipline and only seemed to focus on things that could be advantageous to them. This meant she could be a planner and center for the group. However, she didn't cook. She was not respectful beyond the bare minimum forced upon her. Her only saving grace was in two areas as far as her current job was concerned. She could pick up the simpler more physical duties up fast, and she was the only one among them that seemed to be able to handle dusting in high spots. She was quite athletic and acrobatic.
It was odd to think, but she was almost certain that they'd have many of the duties under control by the end of the month. The only really issue was the matter of food. She looked down at the crude dish in front of her. It wasn't a bad dish, mind, but it was also not a high quality either. This of course meant that she would not be able to properly host guests for quite some time.
"Karita, I need to make an order. Do you know where I can find the write messenger or contacts?" Grace broke the uneasy quiet of the dinner. The maids themselves were having a fun meal outside by a fire. None of the furniture was the right size for them.
"Well, that might be a problem. You'll have to got to the nearest town for that. This area is a bit too remote for most people to even bother. One of the earliest things you should look into, once we can get the estate producing a profit, might be to get a messenger. Right now we'll have to use the the carriage your mother granted you. What are you looking to do?" Karita answered as she arched a curious brow in Grace's direction.
"Well, I am going to have to do something about the uniforms-" Grace began.
"Don't even bother Princess. We're on a budget as it is. We need to focus on getting this place running again!" Karita cut off immediately.
"Well, then what about a cookbook? I'll need to be able to host others properly for any deal making that is likely to be needed," Grace tried to argue.
"Yeah, I'd like something closer to regular food myself, but there's a couple problems with that. You are not in a position for you to invite people here. Even when you start getting things fixed, we'll have time before you'll ever need to host. Also, more importantly, you'll need time and money for those goblins to learn and experiment to find their own proper quality cooking. Good chefs tend to keep secrets and the recipes in books are more of a basic primer on what is needed. Once you learn those, you experiment and add touches until you have something good and unique," Karita shot her down once more.
However, Grace found her curiosity piqued by the response this time," My, you seem to know a lot about such matters."
"Well of course, my mother is a chef. I picked up a few things when I was being raised by her. Though she was a bit disappointed I chose another line of work. Not that she wasn't proud of me all the same," the mage finished as she took a sip of the tea setting next to her," Well, I'm impressed. They're actually making a decent tea!"
"Well, I'm sure they'll have most of their duties handled soon," Grace pointed out.
"I'll believe that when I see it!" Karita rebuffed the Princess's claim.
"You really need to be a bit more patient with them," Grace scolded.
"I'm sorry, but you do realize what they are right?" Karita's eyes narrowed as she took another bite of her meal.
"I have asked you to stop that!" Grace glared as she yelled at her magical aid.
"Oh, I'm not talking about them being goblins this time. I'm talking about THEM. Unlike you, I know quite a bit about things beyond the palace walls and thanks to that, I know that those girls were not respectable members of their society to begin with! They are a gang! A group of anarchists and criminals!" Karita declared angrily.
"That... I can not believe that you-,"
"Look Princess, I understand you concern on the matter. I am clearly biased, but after knowing the for a bit, I am seeing their types. Obviously violet is their leader. Green blue strikes me as her second. Green brown is the con artist type. The red is extra muscle. The only one I can't place yet is the brown. There's something off about her part in their group," Karita continued to share her opinion.
"Maybe because they aren't?" Grace tried to argue only to receive a glare.
"Trust me when I say this, but at least two if not three of them can fight and I doubt any military would train soldiers to fight like that," Karita stated as she ignored her princess's suggestion.
"Wow, you got an eye for things and a brain to think things through," called out a certain violet skinned goblin," Though in their defense, they were all made outcasts for one reason or another, I only brought them together."
The princess was stunned by the casual admittance," but I thought you were just performers or-"
"Nope, we're outcasts that said screw it we'll make and live by our own rules!" Grizt declared proudly.
"I see, you said the others were made outcasts. What about you?" Karita questioned while clearly being unimpressed with Grizt's declaration.
"Oh, well the others were made that way for one reason or another. As for me, just look at me. I was born an outcast," Grizt made a gesture as she pointed to herself with a thumb smiling.
"I see," noted the mage calmly as she drank from her cup once more.
As for Grace, she looked upon Grizt with sympathy," I'm so-"
"Nope, nu-uh. None of that crap! Ya get what deserve or you take and if anyone gets in your way, screw 'em up 'cause they deserve it!" Grizt declared.
"And how does your current situation factor in?" Karita questioned with actual interest.