A week passed, and Dayesh had somewhat recovered from his sadness. He decided to hire someone to take care of Lzith whenever he was away from home. He approached Rana and asked if he could post a notice on their quest board.
"Of course. Do you want me to make a copy for you?"
"Yes, thank you," he replied.
"Wait a second. Why do you need a caretaker for your child? Where is Jauna?"
"Ah… it's a long story, Rana."
"You're really secretive." She sighed playfully. "Shall we have a drink? My treat."
"No. Even if you get me drunk, I won't just tell my story. You'll find out eventually. For now, it's better that I find someone to take care of my child before I return to work."
"So Jauna isn't with you?"
"I can't answer that."
"You're unbelievable. It's like we're not even close," Rana said, pretending to sulk. "Fine, I'll make the notice. Just tell me what kind of person you're looking for."
Dayesh dictated the qualities he wanted in a nanny. Someone who loved children, patient, tidy, and responsible.
"Is this good? When someone applies, you can discuss the rest like salary. That part is important."
"Thank you very much."
Three days later...
"I saw the notice over there. You're looking for a child caretaker. May I apply?"
Rana frowned at a term she did not understand. "What did you just say?"
"Apply."
"Apply? What's that?"
"Apply. I mean, I want to be interviewed for the job."
"Wait, I don't understand you."
Sapphire realized her wording was unfamiliar.
"I'm sorry, I can't explain it well. I saw that someone needs a child caretaker. I want to speak with the person who posted it. I need a job."
"Ah, I see. Alright, I'll inform Dayesh about it."
"Thank you very much."
Sapphire let out a sigh of relief. She thought that finally, she might have found a decent job.
Sapphire was a woman who had somehow ended up in this era. The last thing she remembered was an earthquake in the city where she worked as an office staff member. She had been in the basement retrieving documents from a transaction she was handling.
"Why do I feel dizzy? I already ate earlier."
Only then did she realize it was an earthquake. Boxes of documents began falling from the shelves.
A cabinet fell on her, knocking her to the ground, and a flower vase struck her head. She did not die at that moment, only lost consciousness.
When she woke up, she was shocked. The place was unfamiliar.
She opened her eyes and looked around. Realizing she was not where she belonged, she quickly sat up.
"What the hell, where am I?" she thought.
She checked her body. There were no injuries.
"You're awake. It's already noon. Get up, everyone else is busy with chores. You still have to plant in the field," a voice shouted.
"What the hell, where am I?" she thought again, panic rising. "I don't belong here."
"Hey, what are you doing?" a young man asked.
Sapphire began hitting her head against the wall, which was made of light material and did not hurt her. The young man ran toward her and stopped her.
"Have you gone crazy? Why are you hurting yourself?"
Crying, she looked at him. "I don't remember who I am," she wailed.
He hugged her, confused by her behavior. Sapphire continued crying, thinking of the job she had left behind in her world.
The young man brought her water. "Drink this. Calm down."
After drinking, she settled down. She did not even know whose body she now occupied.
"Once you calm down, come with me. We still have work to do."
It seemed he did not believe her. Her outburst meant nothing to him.
"Crying is not an excuse to avoid work," he said.
She composed herself and looked for a mirror but found none. It seemed she had been transported to a time where technology did not exist, where even simple items like mirrors were rare.
They walked barefoot under the scorching sun. Her feet burned, but she could not complain. The young man was also barefoot.
"Nura. You're slow."
Sapphire looked behind her, searching for the Nura he was calling.
"Hey, Nura. Don't tell me you forgot your name. You are Nura. Stop pretending."
Sapphire cursed internally. She had only seen this kind of situation in anime and manhwa before.
"Gosh, my feet hurt," she muttered, unable to hold it in.
"You're complaining? And what was that word you said? Gash? What is that?"
"Ah, nothing," she replied, lost in thought about how she ended up in this situation.
"Oh, Dayesh, you're here. Someone wants to work for you."
Sapphire's mouth fell open when she saw Dayesh. She was instantly captivated.
"Hmmm… handsome, looks like he smells good, tall, broad shoulders, wavy hair, sharp nose, well-sculpted face," she thought rapidly. She stood up and bowed.
"My future boss is so hot," she whispered.
"Did you say something?" Dayesh asked.
"Nothing," she replied quickly, unable to look at him directly.
"Go ahead and talk," Rana said, leading them to a small room. "I'll leave you two."
A brief silence filled the room before Dayesh spoke.
He asked her name, age, where she came from, how she found the guild, and if she had experience taking care of children. Sapphire answered everything properly.
"The salary is two hundred gold per month."
Sapphire quickly calculated in her mind. That was equivalent to around eight-hundred and fifty grand.
"That's already big. It's more than what I used to earn," she muttered.
"Did you say something?"
"Nothing, I just talk to myself sometimes."
"Are we clear on everything?"
"Yes, master," she replied with a subtle excitement.
"Master? What kind of term is that?"
"It means employer. You gave me the opportunity to serve you."
"I see. Do you have any belongings?"
"None. Just myself. I don't even have clothes. If possible, may I request an advance on my salary?"
"What do you mean?"
"If possible, I would like to receive at least half so I can buy necessities. I will be taking care of a child, so I must be clean and presentable."
"Hm. That's fine. I'll accompany you to the market."
"Thank you, master!" Sapphire said happily.
They left the room, and Dayesh requested money from Rana.
"Make it one thousand gold," he whispered.
"As you wish."
After receiving the gold, they went to the market.
"This place is like a capital city. There are so many modern things," Sapphire observed. She immediately bought a mirror. "Finally, I can see this body."
She looked into it. "Not bad. I look beautiful here. I have an Arab-like appearance."
Dayesh allowed her to buy what she needed and even helped carry her things.
"Are you hungry?" he asked.
"Yes, master. Can we eat?"
They found a small eatery. Sapphire was unfamiliar with the dishes but did not care. She was too hungry.
"I forgot to ask if you can cook. We usually just buy food outside," Dayesh said.
"Yes, master. Just give me money for ingredients, and I'll handle it."
She thought her salary was more than enough, so she might as well take on cooking duties too.
After spending almost the entire day outside, they went to his house.
"Wow, this house is huge," she said.
"Follow me. I'll show you your room before introducing you to my child."
She followed him.
Inside the room was a bed and a cabinet. After placing her things down, they went to Lzith.
"Papa!" Lzith ran to him. Dayesh picked her up.
"How is my child? Were you bored?"
Lzith shook her head, then noticed Sapphire.
"Papa, who is she?"
"She will take care of you from now on."
"Like Mama?"
"Something like that."
Lzith waved shyly and approached her.
"What is your name?"
"You can call me Sister Saph, or just Saph."
"Saph? Is that correct?"
"Yes."
"I'll call you Saph too," Dayesh said.
"That's fine, master," she replied. It had always been her nickname.
"I'll take a bath first before taking care of… what's your name again?"
"Lzith."
"Zith? Elzith? Did I say it right?"
"Elzith."
Sapphire was slightly confused by the name.
After bathing, she immediately joined them. She decided to cook while they spent time together.
"Vegetables, beef, and chicken. Beef is hard to cook. But wait, how is this storage so cold? Is this magic?" she murmured.
After cooking and preparing rice, she called them to eat. She took her portion to her room since she was not used to eating with others.
"Join us," Dayesh offered.
"No, I'll eat later. I'm still full from earlier," she said and left.
As she walked away, she overheard Dayesh praising her cooking.
"I just mixed things together. No seasoning. How is it good?" she whispered.
Dayesh fed Lzith while eating.
Meanwhile, the owl and the shadow communicated through empathy.
"Hey, aren't you supposed to be intelligent?"
"Who said that?"
"I heard owls are wise."
"That's an old belief. I'm not."
"I want to ask something. I am a shadow, but I want a physical body."
"You are a shadow, not a soul. That's impossible, unless you encounter a being that grants wishes."
The shadow fell silent, half believing it was impossible, half still hoping.
That night, Sapphire could not sleep. Even though she was comfortable, her body was not used to the place.
"I miss using a phone," she whispered. "There's no clock either. I wonder what time I'll wake up."
She eventually fell asleep.
The next day...
She noticed something like smoke near Lzith.
"Master, is it normal for there to be smoke near her?"
Dayesh laughed. "That's not smoke. It's a shadow."
"Why does it look like smoke?" she asked, slightly uneasy.
"Don't worry. It won't hurt you."
She shrugged. "If you say so."
She looked at the owl and touched it. It did not resist.
"Wow, I've only seen owls in pictures before."
"Some of your terms are unfamiliar. Perhaps they are from your region," Dayesh said.
She did not respond. Explaining that she came from another world would not be believable. For now, survival was her priority.
"I will leave in two days. I will prepare ingredients for you and Lzith. She said she liked your cooking. What do you call that dish?"
"I just made it up, master."
"You're creative, not just skilled."
"I think he's flattering me," she whispered.
"Sister Saph, let's play later," Lzith said.
"Sure, I'll teach you some games."