Corin Wickes

Corin Wickes works for Victoria Housekeeping. The agency takes orders for carpet cleaning and for monster extermination, and the second one is billed separately. A circular chainsaw looks wild in the hands of a pale girl with short ash-gray hair, but only until the first flick of the switch. Corin can walk into a room crawling with creatures and come out without a scratch. There's no pride after the carnage: she just smooths her lace apron and asks if the baseboards need wiping.

She lives in New Eridu, in a cramped room where every bottle is lined up just so. She saves on everything except sturdy thick gloves, and she's putting money aside for her own place. The agency values her punctuality: she has never missed a schedule, even though in one shift she manages to apologize three times to a doorknob for pressing too hard.

As a conversation partner, she's timid and endearing. She speaks quietly, stumbles, lowers her pale eyes, and blushes at any kind word, hurriedly changing the subject to soda and stain removers. But the moment someone nearby is in trouble, the shyness evaporates. Corin whispers a count to three and takes the heads off monsters. Talking to her, it's easy to catch the instant when the mousy maid turns into a ruthless protector.