The party of three steps into a large, circular room with a domed roof. In the middle of the room is what feels like the umpteenth stone statue we’ve seen tonight. This time, instead of some over-the-top display depicting the life of Sir Pimpington, the sculpture is just a standard-looking blind goddess holding a set of scales in one hand and a large key in the other.

Aside from the key, it’s a popular motif that I’ve seen before, even if I’m not sure what realm’s Goddess this sort of statue is supposed to be depicting.

Sam, not trusting this situation after what happened in the first room, draws her sword. “Another one of these dummies? I can handle it!”

As if on cue, the statue rumbles. The lifeless stone eyes begin blinking as they fill with a magical light. Her Highness gets ready to attack, but she’s stopped by the Golem extending its hand as it begins speaking in a booming voice. “PUT YOUR WEAPON AWAY, CHILD. THIS IS NOT THAT SORT OF TEST. JUST AS MY MASTER’S SECRETS WERE LAID BARE, SO TOO MUST YOU REVEAL YOUR OWN SECRETS IF YOU WISH TO PROGRESS!”

Huh. Well, that’s relatively straightforward.

‘My disappointment is immeasurable,’ Zutiria makes a disgruntled grumble of depression as she clutches her staff to her chest. ‘You can’t make me. I won’t do it.’

“THESE SECRETS MAY BE ABOUT ANYTHING, SO LONG AS THEY ARE EMBARRASSING. THEY DO NOT NECESSARILY HAVE TO INVOLVE ONE’S TROUBLING PERSONAL HISTORY.” The statue clarifies conveniently for Zutiria. The little Mage lowers her guard a tad but continues to give the Golem a troubled glare.

“That’s not so bad, is it?” Meri smiles at her friend, trying to cheer up the petite woman.

‘I’m still less than enthused, but I will participate if something comes to mind that doesn’t encroach on my privacy too much...’ Zutiria crosses her arms, pouting.

Turning on the voice transmission, I call out to the key’s guardian. “Can we at home participate as well, or does it have to be the adventurers who are present in the room with you?”

“LOOK, I DON’T REALLY CARE. THE ONLY RULE IS DON’T LIE. NOTHING WILL HAPPEN. I’LL JUST KNOW IF YOU’RE LYING AND THE SECRET WON’T COUNT.”

“Magical truth or dare, without the dares!!” Peri clasps her paws together in excitement.

“But without the dares, it’s no fun, nyaa...” Cherry points out, upset.

“Settle down, girls. I’m sure the two of you can convince the Myaster to play the more fun version with you sometime after you’re properly mated to him.” Snow sighs while her words bring out a shared blush and giggle from the younger maids.

“H-How many secrets do we have to tell you?” Meri sets down her shield on the nearest wall, feeling we might be here for a while.

To answer her question, the statue sets the key on one half of the scale. It falls fast, and the opposite scale rises into the air. “EACH SECRET WILL TIP THE SCALES. ONCE THE BALANCE IS COMPLETELY REVERSED, I WILL GIFT THE KEY TO YOU.

It’s just sitting there, unguarded. This is our chance. “Girls-”

“I KNOW HOW CHEEKY YOU ARE WHEN IT COMES TO ADVENTURING, SO BEFORE ANYONE GETS ANY IDEAS I WANT TO MENTION THAT THE KEY WILL EXPLODE IF TAKEN OFF THE SCALES ON ITS OWN.”

“Heh, Daddy got called out for cheating!” Sam snorts at me.

“Forgive me for trying to clear this dungeon as efficiently as possible,” I sigh. “Who wants to start?”

‘I’ll go with something light to test how much it’s worth,’ Zutiria looks up at the blind statue before telling it, ‘I like sniffing Sir’s balls, and it’s not just because I can smell the mana brewing in them. They are ripe with manly musk, and they stir my womanhood, or whatever.’

“HAHAHAHAHAHA! Ball-sniffer.” Sam erupts into laughter, and Zutiria shuts her eyes from frustration.

“EVERYONE KNOWS THAT,” The statue says. Indeed, the scale doesn’t move at all.

The little Mage shrugs, accepting her lot in life. ‘I tried, alright? Someone else, please go and embarrass themselves next.’

“Does anyone have anything juicy they want to get off their chest? The bigger, the better.” I ask all six girls who could potentially say something. “If I have to, I can step forward.”

“Do it, Daddy! Do it!” Sam chants with glee, eager to have me reveal the ace up my sleeve.

Clearing my throat, I say with surgical precision, “I find Meri’s tummy arousing. I want to touch it and tease her about it, but thus far, I haven’t done so because I know her weight is an upsetting topic, and her feelings mean more to me than sexual gratification.”

“...W-Wha? What? WHAT? MASTER?! I-AH-UM-AH-NO N-N-NO!!” Meri falls onto her back as soon as she processes what I just said, and she reaches for her shield to hide behind it. Even though her shield hasn’t glowed, she successfully transforms into turtle form. “M-M-MY TUMMY IS NOT FOR TOUCHING!”

Sam starts laughing at Meri’s expense, while Zutiria’s face takes on a slightly judgmental flavor.

“ACCEPTABLE,” The statue declares as the balance on the scales shifts a little bit. Not too far or anything, but it’s noticeable progress.

“...So this is what gives you your kicks, huh?” Snowball asks while staring at turtle Meri. “I suppose I can’t judge, Myaster.”

“Nobody else was offering anything, so I had to throw something out there. Anyone have anything to volunteer?” I ask while shrugging my shoulders, purposefully moving on from Meri’s embarrassment to give her time to recover.

The next voice comes from someone I didn’t expect...

“U-Ummmm... maybe, nyaa?” Peri says behind me. She shuffles over to lean down against my shoulder. As I feel her large, pillowy breasts press into me, Peri bites her luscious lower lip and stares forward at the Taskmaster screen.

“Go on, Peri. No one else is taking the opportunity.” I’m admittedly curious as to what my adorable maid has to confess.

“...Do you promise not to be mad, Myaster?” She asks shyly.

Such a beautiful red flag. Wonderful.

“One way to find out,” I tell her in return.

Peri hangs her head, causing her bangs to cover even more of her face than usual. With great apprehension, the little kitten says, “I stole all of the Guild’s bottles of Succu-bye, dumped them out, and filled them with water. That way, when it was time for you to mate with Cherry and me, we wouldn’t actually be on birth control, nyaa...”

“Ah. Yes, as one does.” I nod my head. Thank the Gods that I made sure Cherry hid all the new bottles we stole from Pimpington's warehouse...

“...YOU DID WHAT?!” Cherry’s face blushes profusely, and her claws come out as she scratches the sides of her wooden stool out of sudden anger.

“YOU WANT MYASTER’S KITTENS TOO, AND EVERYONE KNOWS IT! I WAS HELPING!!” Peri hisses at Cherry while I sit here, blinking in abject disbelief.

“ACCEPTABLE,” As everyone processes what the blue-haired kitten just admitted to, the scales tip even more. Much more than my confession did, but not enough to get us to the crucial halfway point. 

“Peri, sweetheart. I would like a word with you in the other room, nyaa.” Snow stands from her seat and manifests her riding crop while none of us we looking. A murderous, silent smile sends chills down into Peri’s spine, but she knows better than to defy the head maid.

“O-Of course, S-Snowball...” The naughty girl stammers, not even attempting to run. Peri follows Snow away to her fate, and not even seconds after the door closes behind them, I hear a terrifying series of tool-assisted spanks.

“I DON’T CARE WHAT THAT STATUE SAYS, YOUR BEHAVIOUR IS THE MOST UNACCEPTABLE THING I’VE EVER HEARD, YOUNG LADY-”

“NYAA STOP IT, STOP ITTT, I WAS PLANNING ON USING THAT ASS SOON, SNOWWWW-! OW, FUCK, THAT ASS HAS PLANS! IT HAS PLANSSSSSSSSS!!”

“CONSIDER THEM CANCELLED! YOU THINK YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO SURPRISE THE MYASTER WITH UNWANTED KITTENS JUST BECAUSE YOUR INSTINCTS ARE TELLING YOU TO BREED?! WE ARE NOT BEASTS, PERIWINKLE! WE ARE BEAST-FOLK-!! CONTROL YOURSELF, NYAA!! THIS IS HOW WE GET SUCH HARMFUL STEREOTYPES!!”

“NYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH-”

This goes on for almost thirty seconds, and it’s so loud that even the party back at the dungeon can hear it. We all just listen and wait, wincing in pain every time we hear the crop smack Peri’s ass. Once the punishment is adequately completed, only Snow re-enters the office.

“Peri is having a little nap, nyaa. She will rejoin us once the ability to use her legs returns to her, Myaster.” The head maid says in a low, contemplative tone.

“...Right.”

Cherry is stunned beyond belief. Mumbling to herself as she trembles, she thinks aloud, “E-e-e-even I’ve never been punished t-t-t-that hard... I d-d-d-didn’t know Snow could get even worse...!!” The pitiable, pink-haired kitten has the face of a soldier returning home from war...

“Hi! It’s me again, pretty kitty!” Sam, still suffering from her botched brain-spell, calls out to the maid who just came back.

“Hello again, Mistress,” Snow politely smiles as she takes her seat.

“Pretty kitty, I think you should tell the stone lady a secret! Even you have to have one, right?”

“I’m sorry, dear, I don’t think I...” Mid-sentence, Snow pauses, and for some reason, she takes a glance at me. Sadness fills her eyes, and she lowers her head. “...On second thought, I might have something to say, I suppose. But I don’t think it will make anyone very happy.”

I swallow down a small amount of nervousness that crops up upon hearing her words. “Well, you might as well get on with it. It’s not like Meri is going to be offering any secrets any time soon.”

“N-N-NOT FOR TOUCHING!” The Shield Maiden reminds me from behind her shield, still trembling on the ground.

Snow takes a deep breath before letting it all out in a single, profoundly melancholic sigh. “If I had absolutely no other responsibilities, I would come work for the Myaster in a heartbeat, nyaa. I am deeply attracted to him, and I wish only that I was fortunate enough to have met him earlier in my life before things got so complicated.”

The statue is pleased, and its eyes shine brightly upon hearing Snow’s confession. “ACCEPTABLE,” The scales tip past the halfway mark, likely owing to how emotional this was for the maid to own up to.

Cherry reaches out her paw to cusp Snow’s shoulder, frowning. “Snow...! If you really feel this way, then... why can’t you just...”

“Cherry, don’t pressure her. She’s clearly conflicted enough as it is.”

“But Myaster, Snow wants to work here with you, nyaa! If you just pressuring her, then-”

“Do you think that’s the kind of man I am, Cherry?” I turn around in my seat and give the kitten a stern look. “You believe I would just keep pestering a woman I’m interested in until she gives up her entire life to come have sex with me?”

A lump forms in the pink-haired Catfolk’s throat, and her sense of shame grows apparent. “...I-I’m sorry, Myaster... Snow. I didn’t mean it like that.”

“You’re fine.” Snow says in a hollow, despondent voice. She looks away, refusing to make eye contact with either of us. “Best not to dwell on it. I’ve already made my choice.”

I know I shouldn’t challenge her decision, though... my eyes noticed a chink in Snow’s armor. Usually, reading her body language is more challenging than most people because of how guarded she is, but when the older maid said the word ‘choice,’ her posture, expression, ears, and tail all twinged with sadness all at the same time.

“People change, Snow. If you made a choice that didn’t work out, I don’t get what’s stopping you from making a different one.”

When she turns to face me, her expression is back to being impenetrable. She nods her head silently, leaving me no way to gauge how she took my advice.

“Cat people drama is fucking weird!” Sam tilts her head. “Everything would be much simpler if Snow just fucked Daddy like she wants to! Once she has some of that fat cock, she’d never wanna leave!”

‘Gods, what have I created?’ Zutiria asks, staring at the Princess, who now has even less of a conversational filter than she used to.

“YOU ARE ONLY TWO OR THREE GOOD ONES AWAY FROM TIPPING THE SCALES, ADVENTURERS. GIVE ME MORE ENTERTAINING DRAMA, AND YOU SHALL BE ON YOUR WAY!” The Golem gets impatient, feeling the need to remind us that it’s waiting for more.

Right before I ask who wants to go next, Cherry speaks up. She clenches her brown paws together into fists as she hangs her head, staring at the office floor below. “Snow? I know she’s in trouble, but can you go get Peri...? I have something I could say, and... I don’t want to say it if she’s not around to hear it...”