Chapter 1: Cecil and Camille
"Why do they keep leaving me? Did I do something wrong... no, if I do, I know it right away, but why? Sighed~, I don't know anymore."
"Jesus, this life encouraging me to commit suicide."
Cecil murmured under the cold wind as he looked up at the sky, tears flowing down his cheeks.
Cecil was going about his daily routine with his grandma when she vanished without a trace, much as his family had done to him, leaving no letters or even money.
He once attempted to locate them but could not locate them because of a lack of evidence, like CCTV or GPS, rendering his efforts futile.
Everything that transpired broke him down, as he felt he was trapped inside the darkness, with the light that should have accompanied him forever dissipating
"If I could turn back time and ask them what did I wrong or why they leave, whatever, we'll just sleep it..."
He stared at his bed, the bed where his mother sings him to sleep, his father tells him a story to sleep, his sister hugged him because she was worried, and his grandmother looked at him with her motherly smile and now he felt it was a void that dragged him into darkness.
Everything now was just a memory.
He didn't notice things around him shift while he slept, embracing a frigid blanket that should provide warmth.
...
"How long do you plan to sleep, master?"
"5 minutes — Huh? Who are you!?"
Cecil was startled awake when he heard another voice in his room and turned to face the source of the sound, while this person stared at him with her emotionless face.
He noticed a young woman dressed in gothic maid garb, her complexion as white as a doll's, her white hair reaching her waist, and her crimson eyes staring at him, and she gave him a robotic vibe.
"Master, my name is Camille, and I'm your maid," she bowed.
"Maid... I didn't employ any maid," Cecil said, surprised because he doesn't have much money, to begin with, let alone hire a maid.
As he continues to look at the maid, he notices a wooden wall behind her, then looks down to see that he is resting on the black carpet.
"Where in the fresh turkey am I?!" Cecil exclaims, leaping to his feet and scanning the area.
"You are now in your territory, master," Camille said, her voice was cold.
"Territory... maid... please explain one by one what happened to me, why I am here, and who are you," Cecil rubbed his temple, feeling as if the problem was drawn to him for a reason, and it was giving him a headache.
"Understood. Follow me," Camille said as she led him to the front door, which she opened, showing the entire world.
"You were sent here for a cause that I do not understand; I am Camille, a maid who was made expressly to serve you," Camille explained. "Tell me what you desire, and I'll make it happen for you."
Cecil, on the other hand, who was supposed to be listening, kept his gaze fixated on the outside world, his expression expressing surprise, amazement, and fear.
Two crimson and blue moons, a breathtaking sight, enthralling moving clouds, trees that tower taller than mortals, and the most astonishing of all, a flying creature.
"I-is that a fucking D-dragon!" He said, his finger shaking as he pointed to a soaring dragon he couldn't see in its entirety but he was certain it was a dragon.
It has the same body shape as a dragon in anime and is half the size of the moon with two huge wings flying in the air.
However, a flicker of light flashed through Camille's eyes as she noticed her master trembling and mistook him for being afraid.
"Do you want me to eliminate it, master?" Camille's hands turned into blades and her eyes glowed crimson as if being ready to slaughter the dragon that had scared his master but awaited her master's command.
Cecil was taken aback when he heard this. He glanced at the dragon, who is so large that it might demolish a city, and at the maid, who is as small as an ant in comparison to the dragon.
However, he didn't underestimate her, though, for a variety of reasons, one of which is that he is unaware of her strength and the power dynamics in this world.
Second, Cecil, who enjoys reading/watching novels or anime, discovered that you should never dismiss a quiet person because you never know who he or she is. He or she could be the protagonist who prefers to be low-key.
Camille, noticing her master's silence, gazed at the dragon with her glowing eyes and determined to eliminate it, believing her master couldn't speak because he was scared.
As a professional maid, she must eliminate an enemy that obstructs her master path.
Woosh!
She then jumped to the tree.
"Stoooopp! Came back here!" Cecil ordered as soon as he saw what was going on.
Camille came to a halt and jumped back to her master, her crimson eyes still glowing.
"Master?" She tilted her head with a confused expression wondering why her master didn't let her kill the cause of his fear.
"I don't know what you are planning but I didn't say you to kill it, Dragons are proud creatures if they know if their kind was killed, they will come knocking at our door with their whole clan."
"So to eliminate the dragon, I must eradicate their entire kind. Understood," Camille spoke as if she was aware of her master grand plan.
"No! no, I say don't kill unless I say so," Cecil responded quickly as his headache worsened.
This maid often seems to misunderstand him, causing him to sigh in frustration.
'I'm afraid to sleep now...'
After looking at the sky and seeing the dragon had vanished, he looked at the maid and asked, "What should I do now?"
"Master must fuse with this," Camille took out a blue glowing orb from her pocket.
"And what will happen to me?" He wondered, intrigued by a blue sphere that drew him in for some inexplicable reason.
"I do not know, master," Camille answered.
"That's okay, how do I fuse it?"
"Master must put it on his forehead."
Cecil nodded and gently placed it on his forehead.
After then, a flood of knowledge flooded into his head, and he felt as if he were inside a computer, viewing all of his memories and all information he received.
[The Tavern System is now fully functional!]
"Whoa!" Cecil was startled, and he touched his brow, but nothing changed except the sensation that his brain was waggled.
"Who are you, Tavern System...?"
[Tavern System, and I was developed to assist you in making this tavern better.]
"Again, who created you," Cecil's interest piqued as he learned that the system was designed specifically to assist him, the same as his maid.
[I don't know]
"Sigh, I wonder what is the purpose of this person is, he is making my life hard..."
In all happening at him, he even starts to wonder if he is the protagonist.
He sat in his chair, leaning his head against the table, and slowly asked, "So, what should I do now? and can you show me my status?"
[Owner: Cecil Ferros]
[Rank: Bronze 1 Star]
[Tavern Level: 1]
[Tavern Name: (None)]
[Menu: (None)]
[Tavern Points: 0]
His smile twitched faintly as he realized his strength; he has no idea how the world's power dynamics work, but he believes he is in the lowest rank.
He then asked, "How can I gain tavern points?"
[Money]
"Alright," Cecil nodded in understanding.
He can gain by selling food of his tavern, and tavern points are equal to how much guests pay.
"Now can you explain to me more about this world?" He turned his head and asked Camille.
"Master, the name of this world is Ruined World, and there are four continents: North, South, West, and East. We are currently in the North Continent, in the forest between two empires at war. This is merely the information I acquire because I can't leave you behind," Camille explained.
Cecil nodded in understanding and asked, "Is there a nearby village because it's hard to find a guest if we are inside of the forest."
"No, master," says the maid, "but I'm not sure about outside because I haven't checked it yet."
"Oh, we'll check it out tomorrow because it's late and we have no idea what danger lurks in the woods," Cecil stated as he walked away, intending to explore the tavern further because he hadn't done so previously.
Camille only nodded and followed behind.
The tavern is less than 1000 square feet (93 m2), about the same size as a small house, and is divided into three rooms: a backroom where supplies are stored, a bedroom, and a room where he serves the guests. In this room, which is direct across from the exit, there are three round tables, two on the left and one on the right, with black carpet in between.
Also, the tavern is illuminated by a gigantic, spectacular chandelier.
He chooses to walk to the back room and check if they have supplied before going back to bed because he is through with this room.
"What is this!?" When he opened the door he was dumbfounded by what he saw.
A mountain corpse of various monsters.
"Master, when you were still asleep I hunted monster nearby for your food," the maid walked forward and spoke.
"Sigh," Cecil murmured, "You are such a good maid, I'm not sure whether I'm worthy of being your master."
"I will hunt more, master.
Cecil shook his head, "No, no, let's sleep, I'm tired of what's going on around me."
Since there was just one bed, he inquired, "By the way, where do you sleep?"
"At your side, master."
"Oh, alright," Cecil nodded.
He wasn't the type of man to blush and thought a pervert things just because a woman wanted to sleep with him, he values women and their privacy.
Unless they asked him he's willing to do it, he is just a man after all.
While they are laying on the bed.
He didn't notice tears slowly flowing out of his eyes as he lay in bed gazing at the star; yet, just because he didn't cry and spoke normally to the maid did not imply he was unaffected.
His family's disappearance, followed by his grandmother's, and his sudden arrival on this strange planet for unexplained reasons and a system, took a toll on his existence.
"Let's abandon me to fate, the same fate that has brought me to this point in my life, I'm tired..." Cecil mumbled sorrowfully.
Camille, who was resting behind him, opened her eyes and glanced at Cecil as if she was pondering about something before slowly hugging him.
"Thank you..." Cecil replied faintly before falling into sleep.
*Snore! Snore! Snore*