Esther Guide

Esther was born in Manafall, the sole heir to a fallen family of sword masters.

Esther's grandfather Chiron was a famed sword master who had wandered the Far East in his youth. During his travels, he'd met a master who taught him the ways of the Hidden Cloud Style. He'd then returned to Manafall to establish his own dojo, and while he was never a knight, he was nevertheless a well-respected swordsman who pushed his mastery of the blade to its limits.

Chiron's son, Lyle, took up the blade like his father, but was not able to attain the same level of mastery. Chiron's stubbornness and training methods drove away prospective students, the dojo's reputation took a turn for the worse, and the family's finances were always in the red. Lyle grew resentful of his father. He was relieved when he learned that his child was going to be a daughter—he assumed that Chiron would not be willing to teach the sword to a girl.

Fate, however, didn't unfold as Lyle had hoped. Though Esther was small in stature and lacked great physical strength, she was persistent. She also possessed an innate instinct for the blade and could always find the perfect path to strike at an opponent's weakness. But what Chiron cherished most about his granddaughter was the fiery determination in her heart to master the art of the sword.

Esther viewed what others called her weakness, her small build, as a strength. It was perfect for learning the Hidden Cloud Style: a subtle, concealed swordplay style that hid even one's shadow within the fog of war.

And so, under her grandfather's loving tutelage, Esther immersed herself in mastering the Hidden Cloud Style. By the age of fifteen, she had conquered every tournament she entered. She even easily claimed victory in a tournament hosted by the royal court. With her extraordinary skills plain for all to see, Esther caught the attention of the royal palace and was soon inducted into the Solar Knights.

When Esther left to join the Solar Knights, her grandfather Chiron bestowed her with his famed blade, Silver Flash. It was the blade he had inherited from his master, and the one that signified that she was the official inheritor of the Hidden Cloud Style. However, her father Lyle, consumed by a sense of inferiority, still refused to acknowledge her. Even the day Esther left home to become a knight, he was unable to face her.

After joining the knights, Esther quickly proved herself more than capable in real combat. As her list of accolades grew longer at an ever-increasing rate, she received praise from her superiors and was promoted to the 1st Brigade.

However, this newfound fame came with its share of jealous detractors. Esther's unsociable and avoidant nature only made this problem worse; when she was officially recognized as a knight commander candidate at the young age of twenty, breaking record after record, the shadows behind her started to grow more numerous.

When the time came for four new knight commanders to be appointed, Esther was named commander of the 9th Brigade. The 9th Brigade was a unit composed of troublemakers and disgraced knights—those who had caused incidents or failed in their duties. They were treated poorly, and their missions were perilous. In other words, despite her sparkling reputation and vaunted accomplishments, Esther had received the most difficult assignment there was. She knew immediately that it was the result of the jealousy and resentment her noble-born superiors bore towards her, yet she made no complaints. She believed that the treacherous path ahead of her could be a direct route to mastering the art of the sword.

Esther quietly accepted her position in the 9th Brigade. The unit was rife with cynicism and self-deprecation, but she remained undeterred, treating everyone with fairness and unwavering discipline. Her calm authority, combined with her overwhelming strength, soon began to inspire those around her. Reina was the first member to fall in line. Then, little by little, even those who had once looked down on her were moved by her integrity and sound judgment. When Flare, the Magic Academy's top graduate, unexpectedly joined the unit of her own accord, the 9th Brigade gained even stronger bonds and spirit.

Though it had never been Esther's intention, under her leadership, the 9th Brigade grew into a tightly bonded and capable fighting force. In just a single year under her command, they were achieving feats that surpassed every other brigade.

One day, royal scouts brought troubling news: a massive pirate fleet was set to anchor off the shores of Solismenamus. In response, the royal palace dispatched three brigades, including the 9th Brigade, to purge the threat. The 9th Brigade's mission was to strike first, seize the enemy ships, and cut off their escape route back out to sea. But even before the operation could begin, things went wrong.

Just before setting out, Esther's squire, Isuka, took her beloved sword Silver Flash and vanished. Esther had a bad feeling, but duty left no room for hesitation, and she armed herself with a spare sword.

The plan itself was simple. The 9th Brigade infiltrated the anchored ships, took control, and then waited for the rear units to arrive. Yet, the flawless execution of the plan only deepened Esther's unease. As she tried to shake off the feeling, the promised reinforcements still hadn't arrived. Something was wrong. Esther ordered her knights to disembark. That was when pirates began to shout and surged out of hiding. They surrounded the knights and began to close in. At the heart of it all stood a man who could only be their leader, and a blade gleamed in his hand: Esther's sword, Silver Flash.

It was then that Esther realized her instincts had been right all along:
This was a trap.

She calmly scanned her surroundings, but she couldn't find any way out of the enemies' tightening noose... and so she hung her head in despair. This was a trap to kill her, but her loyal knights would pay the price. But then, Reina asked for her orders, and when Esther looked up, she saw every member of the 9th Brigade focusing on her. Even Flare, always reckless and acting of her own accord, stood at attention, silent and ready. In that moment, Esther made her choice. Every hour of training she had endured had culminated in this battle.

If she could save her knights, then nothing else mattered.

Esther issued her order. She would hold off the pirates singlehandedly while her knights carved a path to safety. When Reina resisted, refusing to leave her behind, she threatened that insubordination would be punished with immediate execution.

To save her knights, Esther faced the pirates alone. She received a serious injury to her eye but refused to fall back: there would be no retreat until every last one of her subordinates was safe. When her entire brigade had finally managed to retreat, only then did Esther also make her escape from the ship.

However, the pirates pursued her relentlessly, and it became clear that Esther had been their only target all along. This actually came as a relief. Luring them toward the edge of a cliff, Esther struck them down one by one as they charged towards her, and when at last she slashed the leader's throat, she reclaimed Silver Flash from his lifeless body... before, exhausted, slipping into unconsciousness and over the side of the cliff.

When Esther awoke, she found herself in an inn in the small mountain village of Vestigia. She had been unconscious for an entire week, and Nia, the innkeeper who had rescued her, was relieved to see Esther awake but urged her to rest as long as she needed. Comforted by Nia's gentle words, Esther felt years of exhaustion wash over her and soon drifted back into a deep sleep.

Nia saw Esther as nothing more than an ordinary traveler who'd fallen injured on the road, and for the first time in her life, Esther felt a sense of peace. She hid her true identity and took time to reflect on her situation.

Once her body had recovered, Esther began helping out around the 「Maid & Clover」 Inn. Nia later gifted Esther a flowery eyepatch to cover her injured eye. It wasn't the type of accessory Esther would have ever worn as a knight, but touched by Nia's thoughtfulness, she gladly accepted it.

Sharing a quiet, simple life with an honest, hard-working woman like Nia brought Esther warmth and contentment she had never known before.

Though Esther was not a woman of many words, Nia recognized her thoughtful and upright nature. The two quickly grew close, as if they had known each other for years. Nia had been running the inn alone and was truly grateful for Esther's help, but when Esther's wounds were nearly all healed, they both knew that they would soon have to part ways. Nia could sense that Esther was actually afraid to leave—afraid to face the real scars she carried inside.

One day, Nia took Esther's hand and spoke of her own dream to one day own a grand inn bustling with maids and serving guests like nobility, and she asked Esther to visit again as a guest when that day came. Esther understood that Nia was telling her not to turn away from what she had to do any longer. Esther gazed at Nia for a moment, then nodded. She had decided to return to Manafall.

Esther had been presumed dead, so when she returned alive, it caused a huge stir among the knights. Aside from the 9th Brigade, though, few were glad to see her. Most were displeased that the thorn in their side was back once again. Esther was conscious of the chilly reception; every moment spent back around the knights felt like the embrace of a constricting serpent compared to the freedom she'd had at the inn.

In her absence, the 9th Brigade had been neglected by command and unpaid for weeks. They had stubbornly refused all orders until Esther's safe return was confirmed and suffered for their insubordination. Esther assessed that she had endangered the lives of the 9th Brigade and, worse, brought them dishonor. Taking full responsibility for the situation, she offered to leave her command—and the knights entirely. In return, she asked that the 9th Brigade receive no further punishments. Her resignation was immediately accepted—and, unsurprisingly, no one made any attempt to sway her from her decision.

During the return to Manafall, Esther never once met with the knights of the 9th Brigade. Whenever she suspected any of the members were searching for her, she hid away, for if anyone discovered she'd made contact, it would undoubtedly make the 9th Brigade's troubles worse. Reina and Flare, however, unaware of Esther's motivations to resign, were tireless in their search for her... which Esther found meddlesome, but it was a minor issue compared to everything else.

When Esther returned to the inn, Nia, surprised, asked why she'd come back. Esther responded calmly.
"It seemed like you could use a maid."

From that day forth, Esther became the first maid, and the mascot, at Nia's 「Maid & Clover」 Inn. Once she assumed her post, all of the inn's previous problem customers vanished. If anybody dared to do anything suspicious, Esther was on them at the speed of light, knocking them unconscious with a silent strike.

Esther had completely abandoned her childhood dream of mastering the art of the sword, but safeguarding her quiet life and the peace of the village had become her new dream, and the little things in that new life—things that others might call trivial or meaningless—had become her most precious treasures. Now living as a maid, she kept her beloved sword, Silver Flash, hidden in a broom close at hand, and sought to live each day to its fullest. With one eye covered by the eyepatch Nia gifted her, suppressing her sharp senses, and with the hands that once wielded a sword now holding a broom, Esther continues forward.

Whether the path she walks as a maid will one day cross with the one she once traversed as a knight remains to be seen.