After she had finished mopping the floor, she put the mop and the broom back into the junk room. She went into the laundry room and started to do laundry. Her owner had told her that she shouldn't mix different colors of clothing, so she decided to start with the black clothing. Most of the black clothing were pants, all possessing buttons, so she turned them inside out and checked the pockets. Most were empty. However, in one she found bill. It had someones face on it, and a number, starting with a one and followed by three zeros, it was ten times a hundred. Maka put the bill on the top of the washing machine, and, as she continued doing the laundry, wondered what she would do with it. She could tell her owner, obviously. But would that be such a good idea? She didn't know how he would react. Whatever he would do in this case, it would not be as bad as what he would do if he found out that she had simply taken the bill. What would he do if he thought she had stolen money? That would probably depend on the amount in question. Maybe he would just whip her, like he did earlier today, or he may crucify her. Maka also began to wonder how much this bill was worth. It probably wasn't worth that much if her owner simply forgot about it. He would probably never notice that the money was missing.
But what would he do if she gave him the bill back? Maybe he would reward her. But what if he decided to punish her instead. On the other hand, in that case he would be punish her for honesty, which wouldn't make much sense. He would probably reward her, or at least praise her for her honesty. Or he might simply take the money and do nothing else. Giving the money back to him seemed to be a very safe option.
She also had to consider what she could do with the money. She could spend it , but to spend it before she escaped would be impossible, since she would not be allowed to leave his house. She could sneak out, but that would probably not be as useful. On her escape, however, it could be extremely useful. She could use the money to buy food and water, or as a bribe. The exact usefulness would depend on the value of the money. However, carrying money would also make her a target for robbery. But wouldn't she already be a target for every bounty hunter and petty criminal for being a runaway?
She closed the machine's hatch and began to adjust the settings. Her owner had said that an hour would be enough. But how would the knob have to be turned so that it was set to one hour? The knob was labeled with various numbers, starting at ten "[?]", going in steps of tens until a hundred and ten "[?]". Then the numbering continued at two "h". The "h" probably stood for hours. Since a hour was sixty minutes, the symbol after larger numbers probably stood for minutes. She set the knob to sixty minutes. Setting the temperature would be harder, because she didn't know at what temperature to clean these specific clothes. However, she had learned that low temperatures were generally safe, if not as efficient as the optimal temperature. The knob for the temperature had numbers on it, starting at thirty, going in steps of tens up to ninety. Each number was followed by a small circle and a "C". What did the small circle and the "C" represent? How much where thirty "°C". Fortunately, there was also a setting marked by a horizontal dash. That would probably mean that the machine wouldn't heat the water. She decided to go with this setting. The worst thing that could happen would be that the clothing would have to be laundered twice. Even if her owner would punish her for this, the punishment would not be as severe as if she had ruined his clothing. With every setting being set, she started the machine.
As the machine sprung into action, she decided to go to her owner and tell him about the money she found. Based on her owner's reaction, she would be able to judge how she should deal with found money in the future. But where was he? Maybe in his office. She went towards the office, a low clacking sound coming from the door. It was always a series of clacks, followed by a ding, then more clacking. Sometimes the clacking stopped, only to resume a short while later. She would have to knock first. But how would her owner react to such a disturbance. He probably wouldn't like it, he was obviously busy at the moment. But maybe he would get angry if she didn't tell him about the money soon. Taking a deep breath, she knocked at the door. The clacking stopped. She could hear her owner get up from his chair. He walked towards the door and opened it.
"This better be important", he said.
"I finished the laundry", said Maka timidly.
"I'll go get the whip", he said, as he stepped out of the door and locked it behind him. Maka realized that he thought that she was wasting his time, and now he wanted to give her a whipping. Having an already sore back, Maka started to panic as she knew she had to say something.
"No, please master, please don't. I can explain", said Maka.
"You've got a minute", he said, still moving for the whip.
"I found this money in one of your clothes", said Maka, as she handed him the bill. Her owner took the bill, looked at it and stopped walking. He was thinking it over. Maybe he wouldn't whip her.
"This is not important enough to interrupt my work. I won't whip you now, but the next time you interrupt my work for something that can clearly wait, I will", he said, as he went back into his office.
"Thank you, master", said Maka, relieved that he let her off with a warning. But how would he have reacted if she hadn't disturbed him at work? He would probably have reacted positively. After all, he changed his mind after she had told the real reason for interrupting him. She still had no idea how much this money was actually worth. It couldn't be worth that much if her owner had simply forgotten about it.