The shrine maiden carried a mop and bucket, not her usual oonusa and ofuda. The magician held a deck brush, not her usual broom. Household chores are nothing compared to resolving incidents. Cooking and doing the laundry couldn't be easier. Even if that's what you really think, letting it slip in front of a certain head maid is ill-advised. "If you think it's so easy, you should be done in no time." "Huh?!" And so, the shrine maiden and magician's (involuntary) maid training began.

Sakuya Izayoi is the Scarlet Devil Mansion's head maid. She's referred to as being "perfect and elegant," and her work is flawless. Doesn't she sometimes stop time in order to get things done, you ask? Well, of course. She would hardly be the perfect maid if she didn't. Reimu Hakurei is the Hakurei shrine maiden, not a maid. She often disposes of youkai when resolving incidents, but that doesn't count as cleaning. At this point, it's worth restating that she's definitely not a maid. Marisa Kirisame is an ordinary magician, not a maid. Her beloved broom isn't used for cleaning. Given the state of her house, it's tempting to think she should abandon maid training and call in the professionals.

The shrine maiden and magician received quite a shock upon arriving at the Scarlet Devil Mansion. They were expecting their maid training to start right away, but instead, they were handed a pair of maid uniforms. They'd come to terms with undergoing training, but they'd heard nothing about wearing the uniforms. They were furious and refused to wear them on account of them not fitting perfectly. "We have lots of maids. I'm sure we can find a couple that fit even better than those!" It wasn't long before two perfectly fitting maid uniforms were found. The shrine maiden slipped into her uniform, with her face turning red from embarrassment. According to the magician, it was "as red as her regular outfit."

The Rebellious Mini-Fantasia It's easy to throw on a maid uniform, but becoming a maid is a whole different story. In particular, becoming a housekeeper, someone who manages several maids and servants, requires a lot of hard work over a prolonged period. What's more, depending on what tasks you're in charge of, the terminology and specific way of doing things can change. For example, within the task of "cooking," there's someone in charge of planning, prep, sweet making, ingredient storage, and so on. While some maids may specialize in one or many of the above, others spend most of their time performing entirely unrelated tasks. The style of employment and expectations for a given position may also depend on what country or region you live in. Furthermore... [The following paragraphs have been removed for brevity.] To put it bluntly, being a maid is a tough job.

"This is no good. Do it again." The magician had lost track of how many times she'd been told to clean the same spot again and was getting bored. She was considering sneaking off to the library and perusing the books, but there was no way the head maid would allow it. "I'm waiting for you to suggest we call it a day, you know?" the magician said to the shrine maiden, who appeared to have overcome her initial embarrassment and was now intent on performing all of her tasks perfectly. But the head maid's standards were as strict as could be. "You keep getting carried away and kicking up a load of dust. Come back two hours earlier." The shrine maiden and magician's training was far from over...