“Bro, I never want to fly that much again,” Kris said. Pretty much ever since they sat down to eat, Kris wasn’t able to stop talking to him. “Those seats felt like a torture device. And there was a crying kid a few rows up who wouldn’t shut up. Then there were a couple of punks behind me who kept on kicking my chair and pretending like it was an accident.”

“Sounds rough,” Ryouta said in response. That was about all he could say before Kris continued on.

“But you know – the seat thing, I get it. Planes are all electric these days. They’re still not as efficient as the old ones, so they have to make the planes even smaller, which means they have to save space even more… I can’t really get mad at them, but I’m still annoyed and want to complain about it.”

“Yeah. Even for me, the seats felt pretty… tight, and I’m nowhere near as tall as you.”

“Maybe I should go into the business of engineering planes instead of buildings. Bet I’d be famous and go down in history if I could make it so that plane seats are more comfortable and give more space.”

“That does sound like something that would be worthy of going down in history.”

“Yeah. By the way, you know if uh… any of the maids around here,” Kris paused to look at the women sitting at the table before bringing a hand up to hide his mouth from them, “are single? They’re all pretty cute.”

“Hey, Alice.”

“Wait! I whispered that for a reason!”

“Are your maids single? I’m asking for a friend.”

“Bro… not cool.”

“What? I said it’s for a friend. I didn’t mention that it’s for you.”

“Huh. Yeah. You have a good point.”

“Rao – Kris… you’re kind of – I’m teasing you. You know that’s not actually a good point seeing as how they can hear everything we’re saying, right?”

“Well if you’re going to explain it like that in front of all of them, of course they’re going to figure it out!”

“I mean – never mind.”

“Good.” Kris turned his attention to Alice. “So… about that question for his friend?”

Alice stared straight at him, unsure of whether he was just pretending to be stupid or actually missing a few brain cells, and sighed. “I would not know. If you wish to know, you will have to ask them that yourself.”

“Think they’d be alright with me asking them for my bro’s friend?”

Alice turned to look at Ryouta instead. “I thought we trained him on how to treat women better?”

“Well… it’s been a while since we’ve tried helping him,” Ryouta answered.

“He-hey, wait,” Kris said. “Just to make sure… you guys don’t actually think I’m that stupid, right?”

Everybody at the table was silent. Even Tabitha refused to speak up and answer that question.

“Come on! I mean, I’m serious about wanting to know if they’re single because I do think they’re pretty cute, but I was playing along for the rest of that stuff! Like I know you know it’s obvious we’re talking about me whenever me or my bro mention his friend. You know me enough to not think I’m actually that dumb, right?”

“I… still don’t know you that well,” Eva spoke up, “so… my opinion is neutral?”

“I’ll take a neutral opinion over a negative opinion.” Kris looked at Azalabulia. “What about you, sis?”

“A-ah – umm… well… I know you’re smart, but when it comes to women… a-and you don’t have to keep calling me your sister!” Azalabulia whined.

“If you don’t want me to then I won’t.”

“It’s not that I don’t want you to – it’s… just that it’s… embarrassing in real life.”

While Kris might have looked genuinely concerned over whether or not Azalabulia still wanted to be treated like his little sister, Ryouta couldn’t help but to sit there and watch with a smug smile as he got to enjoy the sight of his girlfriend looking so cute and embarrassed. He didn’t even have to do any of the work! All he needed to do was sit there and enjoy it. Besides, while he might not have had full faith in Kris’s intelligence, he did have full faith in Kris not having even the slightest bit of romantic nor sexual interest in any of his girlfriends.

“So… do I call you it or not?” Kris asked again.

Azalabulia wiggled around in her seat as she struggled to come up with a good answer. In the end, after no small amount of wiggling, she lowered her head and nodded.

“Thanks, Kris,” Ryouta said.

Kris tilted his head and asked, “What for?”

“For giving us that sight.”

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about, but I won’t turn down a free thanks.”

“You’re a good friend. Anyways, I didn’t expect you to have a maid fetish.”

“Hey, it’s not about having a maid fetish. They’re just really cute… while happening to be maids.”

“Maid fetish.”

“Alright, maybe a little.”

“You know they can’t be maids all the time though, right?”

A chuckling Alice grabbed their attention. “You should tell them that.”

“They… really are dedicated to their jobs, aren’t they?” Ryouta asked.

“Absolutely! I admire their dedication, though it does get to be a bit extreme at times.”

Eva, after swallowing the bit of salad that she had in her mouth, asked, “What makes them so dedicated to it?”

 “Well… I am not sure if it is my story to tell, but I do not think they would mind as they have often recited it with pride. You see, they were friends before ever being brought here. Girls abandoned in their youth and left in the care of the system. It was deemed too cruel to separate them, plus they loved to help out around the place, so they were kept together in the – ah… what would it be called? Where children stay before being adopted?”

Not a single person at the table was able to think of all the word, surprising all of them.

“Anyways, they stayed together and loved to help out around the place. They were inseparable! Now, here is where my father comes in. He wanted me to have sisters – friends. Because my mother passed away and he had no interest in finding another woman, he thought it would be best to adopt new ‘daughters.’ Given that nobody else was willing to adopt five girls all at once, he adopted them. His plan was to treat them as daughters and they were supposed to be like sisters to me, but… it did not end up that  way. Instead, as soon as they saw what condition our place was in, they got to work! Perhaps because they felt the need to repay him for taking them in, they made sure that the manor was spotless before the end of their first night here, and they have kept it in such a state ever since then.”

“So, basically,” Ryouta said, “your dad adopted them to be your sisters and friends, making them legally your sisters, and got willing child labor instead?”

“Close enough! Though, it is not as if we are not friends. I consider each and every one of them my friends, and they consider me the same.”

“But not sisters?”

Alice shook her head. “We may legally be sisters, but none of us look at each other in such a way.”

“How come?” Cassandra asked.

“Well, unfortunately, I think they have always seem themselves as… lesser, than us. That is something I absolutely disagree with and truly wish I could remove from their minds, but I fear it may be impossible. No matter what we have done to give them equal treatment, they have refused it. Personally, I believe that they are simply so devoted to their roles as our maids that they are afraid of a life where anything is different. I cannot blame them for that. If this is what they find comfort in, who am I to take it away from them? My father and I do not take advantage of their devotion, so it is not necessarily a negative thing.”

“Makes sense, I guess,” Ryouta said. “Wait. Didn’t you say one of them was from America? If they became your maids as kids, then… how does that work?”

“Ah, her case is… complex. She—”

“Are you sure you should tell us?” Cassandra asked.

Alice nodded. “Worry not, for she would prefer me to explain if anything. She has no problem having personal details shared and, if anything, prefers for others to do it as it saves her the trouble of needing to do it herself. The less time she has to spend explaining, the more time she can focus on doing other things that she deems more important!”

“Fair enough.”

“Anyways! Her childhood was… tragic. Her father was American and her mother English. Unfortunately, they divorced when she was but a baby, so she was often bounced back and forth between countries for visitation, but she primarily resided with her father in America. That is why she ended up learning ASL. Then, when her father died… she was brought here to live with her mother. But no more than three months after the fact, her mother – well… I would rather not go into details, but she passed away. So, because she had dual citizenship and was already here, she was taken into the government’s care and placed in the some ‘home’ that the others were already in, and they were quick to make her a part of their group. Does that clear things up?”

“Yeah, it does,” Ryouta answered. “Thanks for telling us about all of that. Though… I kinda feel guilty hearing it from you. I feel like I just heard a bunch of really personal gossip.”

“Please, it is nothing to concern yourself with. They are all very open about their prior circumstances and what led them to their life with us. If anything, they would likely be delighted to hear that I am talking about them so much!”

“They really love ya, don’t they?” Tabitha asked. “Even if they might not count themselves as your sisters, it sure sounds like they love ya just as much if not more than sisters would.”

A hint of red colored Alice’s cheeks as she scratched them with a single finger. “I… suppose there is some truth to that!”

“Hey, Albro,” Kris spoke up.

That cute expression of Alice’s was immediately replaced with a confused expression. “Al… Albro?”

“Yeah. Alice and bro combined.”

“Please refrain from ever calling me that again.”

As well as Kris might have gotten along with Azalabulia, the same closeness could not be applied to his relationship with Alice. “Sheesh, alright. Anyways, I wanted to ask what their names are. I figure if I’m going to like them then I should at least know what their names are.”

“Now that I think about it, I’ve only heard you say the one’s name. Rachel?” Ryouta asked.

“Yes, Rachel. The one who often cries, despises doing my father’s laundry, and has that poofy orange hair! She has always been the closest to me. Though, I think the others use her as a medium of sort. She conveys to me what the others are more reluctant to so boldly do themselves, so they live vicariously through her when she comes crying to me demanding attention.”

“That’s… really cute,” Azalabulia said.

“Right? They are all my precious maids. Aside from Rachel, the tall and deaf one who knows ASL – that is Abigail. Now that I think about it… the only two deaf women I know both have their hair dyed white.”

Everybody looked over at Serra who was much too busy enjoying the salad and steak in front of her to notice their stares. She did not pay even the slightest bit of attention to the conversation. If anything, the most that she did to involve herself in it was occasionally look around while chewing, but that was only to see if they were still talking rather than actually decipher what they were talking about by reading their lips. Food was more important than joining the conversation.

Though, no matter how little Serra was paying attention, Cassanda still leaned over with a napkin to wipe the corner of Serra’s mouth where there was a bit of salad dressing that she didn’t notice.

Serra squinted as her lips were wiped, resulting in a post-wiping pout before going back to eating her food.

“What about the others?” Eva asked.

“Ah, yes. Allow me to move on now that I have been reminded of just how adorable Serra is,” Alice said. “Next is Emily! She is – well… I feel like Kris when I say this—”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” Kris asked.

“—but the easiest way to identify her is her… well, chest.”

“Oh, her,” Cassandra said.

Everybody nodded. When it came to a maid who could be identified by her chest alone, every single one of them knew exactly who Alice was talking about without needing any further information.

“Yes, her,” Alice confirmed with a sigh. “That is Emily. She provides herself with a self-sustaining cycle of things to do.”

“How’s that work?” Tabitha asked.

“Well, you see… the poor girl lacks any sense of balance due to her chest. Not to mention that no matter how many years of experience she gains with them, she seems to never be aware of their presence, resulting in often knocking her chest into things, breaking vases and glasses, and so on. For as long as she has her chest, she will most likely produce a constant stream of cleaning for her to do. The only negative part of this is the emotional toll it has on her. While her chest may give her work, which she loves to have, she does not love knowing that it is her breasts and clumsiness causing said work. Also, remember! Brown hair.”

“Was the brown hair part really necessary?” Ryouta asked.

“Of course! Should you not remember their other physical attributes, you can use a color code to remember who is who! Rachel has orange hair, Abigail has white hair, and Emily has brown hair! Remembering this has helped me immediately tell who they are at a glance. Though, in Emily’s case, there is a much easier way of immediately telling who she is.”

Kris smiles and Ryouta already knows exactly what that smile means. “Don’t you mean two big ways?” Kris asked, raising his eyebrows at Ryouta for approval of his joke.

Ryouta looked away so that he wouldn’t also earn getting glared at by Alice.

“Have some tact,” Alice scolded him.

Kris crossed his arms over his chest. “Says the girl who’s constantly going on about her fantasies of wanting to get violated by a bunch of monsters no matter who she’s around.”

“A-ah – well…”

“He has a point,” Cassandra said.

“Yeah, I think I’m with him on this one,” Eva joined in.

“Hmph… fine. Let us both display more tact then!” Alice said with a pout. “Now, let us move on. Iris! She is the one responsible for almost all of the food we will enjoy during our stay. She tries her best to remain proper at all times, but she is incredibly weak to anything fluffy. Whether it is a stuffed animal, a real animal, or even a pillow – all appearances of a proper lady disappear when it comes to fluff.”

“Relatable,” Ryouta said.

“Also, black hair!”

“You’re really going along with this color coding thing, aren’t you?”

“Of course. Remember who is who will be much easier if you can associate their names with their hair colors. Now, finally, we come to Anastasia. She will also accept being called Ann or Anna, but her full name is much too beautiful to not use in its entirety. She is the one who you will always hear humming and whistling from. Whenever you hear either of those, you can rest assured that they will be from her. Blonde hair. So, remember! Rachel, orange. Abigail, white. Emily, brown. Iris, black. And Anastasia, blonde. Simple enough, yes?”

“I think so.” Ryouta turned his attention to Kris. “So, which one of them do you like?”

Kris brought a hand up to his chin as he thought about it. “I dig all of them. But not everybody can be as lucky as you and have multiple girlfriends. If I had to choose one… I don’t know. I guess I haven’t really gotten to know them on a personal level to make that sort of choice. When it comes to looks… they’ve all got their own speciality that makes them equal. Rachel has got that super cute hair and freckles. Abigail is tall and I want her to put my head on her lap. Emily has huge boobs. That beauty mark next to Iris’s mouth is crazy hot. And Anna – Anastasia has great hips and a super friendly face. I’ll be honest, bro, I’d probably take whichever one would have me. Plus they all seem really hardworking and I respect that. I need a woman who can keep me straight and doing what I need to do, you know? What if like… that’s why I like them? Maybe I don’t like them because they’re maids, but because being maids proves how hardworking they are?”

“You’re suddenly really introspective, aren’t you?”

“I don’t know, I’m just being stupid, probably. I just want a girlfriend, man.”

“Well, at least liking them because you respect how much of hardworkers they are is better than liking them only because they’re maids, right?”

“I guess so. I don’t know. Does it really matter? I just know that I can’t take my eyes off them whenever they’re in the room. I start thinking about what our lives would be like together and all that. Like what our kids would look like and what we’d do when we’re old and wrinkly and shit.”

“That… that might be looking a bit too far into the future for women who you barely know.”

“I know, but still. Like usually when I see a girl I like, I just think what’d it be like to spend a night with her and then maybe giving her a massage in the morning before taking her out for breakfast or something. You know, normal bachelor stuff. But these maids… I don’t know bro. Seeing them makes me wish I was as cool as you so that I could date at least one of them.”

“He-hey, don’t talk like I’m some sort of super cool guy. I don’t even know how I’m not single right now.”

“I don’t get it either, dog boy,” Tabitha said with a mouth full of food.

“Nah bro, you’re awesome. I seriously wish I could be more like you. But then… I guess I wouldn’t be me if I tried to be like you,” Kris said. “I don’t know. It’s confusing to think about.”

“Seriously,” Ryouta said, “you’re already cool. I mean, look. You’re able to talk about your feelings and be all introspective in front of everybody so easily. I wish I brave enough to be that honest. I think that makes you cool. Seriously.”

“If – if more people were able to be as honest as you,” Azalabulia said, “then everybody would get along even better… b-bro.”

“As much as I hate givin’ ya any praise, they ain’t wrong,” Tabitha agreed. “I can respect a man who’s honest about his feelin’s, even if he’s you.”

For once, it was Kris who had a bit of a blush on his cheeks as he looked away. “I don’t uh… really think it’s anything special. I’m just doing what my mom taught me. She always said that real men wear their emotions on their sleeves and are never ashamed of their feelings.”

“Sounds like good advice to me. I wish I was taught that when I was a kid,” Ryouta said.

“What were you taught then?”

“Well… my dad was kind of the stoic type. He was still stuck in that old mindset of guys having to be stoic and that it’s only acceptable to cry when alone. My mom always yelled at him about that sort of thing and told me not to listen to him, but I guess it still rubbed off on me. I mean, I know that I’m anything but stoic, but I’m not able to be as open as you are.”

“For whatever it’s worth, if you ever need a man to cry around, you can come to me bro. I get it that guys can struggle with that sort of thing around women, especially around the ones they’re with, so if you ever just need a bro to hug you and lend you a shoulder, you better come to me.”

Ryouta sighed and hung his head down. “See? You’re way cooler than me. And uh… I – I guess I’ll extend that same offer to you.”

“I already know you’ll be there for me whenever I need you, bro. You’re awesome like that. I don’t think I’ve ever known anybody more dependable than you.”

“C-come on, I’m not that dependable. You’re the one who’s always been there and managed to do every single thing asked of you without needing any help. You have a job and you do it. You’ve never let us down. Meanwhile, I’ve always got to depend on everybody around me for help.”

“But that’s good though. I might be open with my emotions and stuff, but I struggle when it comes to accepting help for anything related to work. I always feel like I need to do everything on my own or else I’m not good enough, so I work by myself no matter how hard it stresses me out. Being able to accept help is way cooler than forcing yourself to do things on your own.”

“Yeah, but you—”

And so, against all expectations for how the brunch conversation would go, Ryouta and Kris ended up getting into a back-and-forth praising spree where they took turns putting themselves down to lift the other higher. Aside from Tabitha occasionally throwing in the random remark to make fun of one of them or to agree, the rest of the women at the table decided to sit in silence and enjoy the show. There was just something incredibly appealing about watching two men relentlessly compliment each other back and forth, especially when one of those men was their boyfriend who they often thought about seeing with another man. In other words, no fewer than half of Ryouta’s girlfriends imagined him and Kris’s compliment war continue on into the bedroom where they would continue praising one another throughout the night.

Unfortunately for those with that fantasy, it would not be the case. What would, however, be the case was Ryouta and Kris talking themselves into such a flustered state that neither could speak anymore.

That was when Alice finally saw her opportunity to speak up. “Kris. Perhaps… I have been treating you too harshly.”

“Huh?” Kris asked.

“I believe I have learned enough about your character to give your endeavor my blessing. While I am still… hesitant, to entrust my maids to anybody… I believe there are far worse options than you. So long as you treat them with the respect and care that they deserve!”

“You sound like their dad talking to their new boyfriend,” Cassandra said.

“Well – I… care about them. Greatly. It is only natural for me to worry about any man who wishes to be their suitor.”

“It’s all good,” Kris said. “I doubt even one of them would be interested in me. Plus I’ve got to head back home after this visit, so we’d be separated.”

“They plan on joining us in our game.”

“Wait, seriously? So… they’re going to be playing with us?”

“Correct.”

“Then I’m not limited to only seeing them for these few days…”

“Also correct.”

“So… maybe I have a chance after all.”

Alice hesitated, but she still managed to say, “Correct.”

Kris turned to look at Ryouta with hopeful eyes. “Bro! There’s a chance! I mean, I know it’s still probably a super low chance, but that’s still a chance!”

“They’re going to hear you if you shout so loud,” Ryouta said.

“Well,” Alice spoke up, “about that…”

Ryouta and Kris turned to look at Alice together.

“We finished eating!” Alice announced.

The double doors to the dining room opened up, allowing the five maids to pour into the room all at once so that they could come and collect the dishes.

“You see, it would be safe to assume that every single thing spoken within this manor is heard by them. They have ears everywhere so that they may serve to the best of their capabilities at a moment’s notice. If there is a closed door, they are likely behind it,” Alice explained.

“So… what you’re saying – you’re saying that uh… they heard all of that?” Kris asked.

“Yes. All of it. From beginning to end to now.”

The maids, without saying a single word and without even looking at any of those sitting at the table, collected all of the dishes in a hurry before heading back out of the room and shutting the door behind them once more.

“Oh?” Alice asked. “Interesting…”

“I – I think they’re mad,” Kris said. “They acted like we don’t even exist…”

“Was that how it appeared to you?”

“How could it appear like anything else?”

“I was simply curious.”

Everybody but Azalabulia realized that there was something suspicious about Alice’s behavior. Well, and Serra seeing as how she was too content leaning back in her chair with her hands over her stomach to care about whatever was happening still.

“It – it’s alright. Maybe they were really busy and trying to focus on their work,” Azalabulia said to Kris in an attempt to comfort him.

“I don’t know, sis. I think I blew it,” Kris said. “Man… I met them, fell for them, and blew my chances with them all in a couple of hours…”

Alice raised a hand over her mouth to both hide her smile and to stay silent. Her understanding of what just happened with the maids was much, much different than Kris’s understanding. Of course, she wasn’t going to say that. While she might have gained a new sense of respect for him after coming to understand what sort of man he really was, she still enjoyed watching him worry just a little bit. Especially since she was confident that everything would work out on a positive note in the end.

But for now, she was happy to let Kris worry.

Cassandra gave Alice’s legs a little kick underneath the table since she figured out what was going on, but it proved ineffective seeing as how Alice had no feeling in her legs.

There was no interrupting Alice’s smug, slightly sadistic, amusement.