With the morning sun rising, Etrius lay in the bed it was brought to and browsed the files on the phone. Having already done it instantly upon receiving it, this time, it took its time to kill time throughout the night. Whoever was the previous owner of this phone, had some rather strange tastes. A majority of the pictures on the phone were of maids showing their armpits. The degenerate even had a rating system as to who was the most appealing.

What the phone didn't have was information on who the angry one was. That would make sense as this phone did not belong to the previous master of the maids, but was from three generations before that master. How the phone managed to stay functional for so long, Etrius chalked up to the workings of a witch. Not because it didn't want to explain anything, but because there were traces of magic on it, and the fact that the original owner did call herself a witch.

As night turned to day, Etrius heard the sounds of so called maids beginning their morning tasks. Or at least that's what Etrius was hoping. Upon opening the door, Etrius saw Hilda walking down the hall with a cart with a suspicious box. Hilda, upon seeing Etrius, smiled and hastened her pace.

 

"Good morning master." Hilda bowed. "I brought you a change of clothing so you may finally remove that hood of yours and stop being a creep."

"No thanks, I'm good." Etrius said.

"I wasn't asking." Hilda smiled.

"My, is this another one of those maid jokes?" Etrius asked.

"That depends, my pathetic master, are you laughing?" She asked.

"Certainly. I'm laughing for real right now." Etrius said, with a good natured non-smile.

"That certainly is funny." She smiled. "I will keep in mind that you do appreciate our maid jokes and would like to hear them again in the future."

"Lovely, do you have any information on the Angry one?" It asked.

"Nothing we didn't already tell you. We aren't even sure where it comes from. Sometimes from the rising sun and sometimes from the setting sun." She said.

"Is that so? Well, if you don't mind, would you show me this warehouse where all of your food appears?"

"Certainly, after breakfast I will show you the witch-warehouse where untold amounts of heresy reside."

"Why do you hate magic?"

"Who doesn't hate magic? Cunts, that's who."

"You do know that elves are widely referred to as cunts, right?"

"Ah. Yes, I am an elf. A total cunt." She said, not making eye contact.

"Right, well I don't know how the locals act, but I don't care if you're an elf or not." It said.

"Oh, are you a pervert?" She asked.

"I don't know how you came to that assumption, and I honestly don't know if I should care." It said.

"Pardon. I just figured that because you surround yourself with such young individuals, who were dressed as they were, you were a sort of pervert."

"How they’re dressed aside, I'm sorry that everyone my age is dead."

"How old are you?"

"Very."

"I see, in that case we can make food easy for one of your age."

"Save yourself the trouble and make me the same meals as the others."

"Understood." She bowed. 

 

Once more, she fell, though luckily for her, Etrius was there to catch her. Half hugging it, and with her chest pressed against Etrius, she looked up surprised. Quickly clearing her throat. She collected herself and stood on her own.

 

"Are you sure you don't want to get changed?" Hilda asked, acting as if nothing happened.

"I'm sure." Etrius said. "But thank you for your concern."

"There is no need for a master to thank such a lowly maid as myself." She said.

"We came here without warning, yet you still did your best to care for us. Of course I'm going to thank you." It said.

"It is our duty." She bowed once more, smiling.

"Now then, onto breakfast." It said.

"Yes. Please follow me." She said, pushing the tray along.

 

Following her, Etrius moved down the hallway, back to the familiar dining room. On the walls, lined up one either side of an oak door were the familiar maids. Not seeing the kids anywhere, Etrius turned a questioning gaze to Hilda. Clearing her throat, she smiled.

 

"Please bring them in." Hilda instructed.

 

Smiling in return, two of the maids opened up the oak door on the other side of the room. From them emerged four familiar individuals, in black and white dresses. Leading them was Iris, with her children following from youngest to oldest. All dressed as lovely maids, Iris and her children didn’t look too concerned. Lily, for her part, was having fun with her dress. Etrius took out it’s phone and took a picture of them.

 

“What was that?” Hilda asked.

“You can take pictures with this thing and have them reappear at later times.” Etrius explained.

“May I see?” Hilda asked.

“Sure.” Etrius said.

 

Though it said that, Etrius held onto the phone and let her look at the picture it just took. It especially didn’t want her to accidentally see any of the other pictures it had, lest she think that it was some sort of pervert. Though that thought wasn’t enough to convince it to delete them.

“Very interesting!” She said wide eyed.

“Wait, I thought-” Iris started.

“Speak only when spoken to.” A nearby maid instructed.

 

Iris, who was in a state of confusion, looked to Etrius and the other maids in search of answers.

 

“Can I have a copy of this?” Hilda asked.

“Maybe later.” Etrius said, putting away the phone. “So, why are they dressed like that?”

“It’s only natural that a maid dresses as such.” Hilda said.

“They aren’t maids.” Etrius said.

“They are wearing the dress, so I believe that you are mistaken.” She said confidently.

“So, why are you dressed like that?” Etrius asked them directly.

“They told us to put these on…” Iris said, still a bit confused.

“And maids do as they are told.” Hilda nodded. “Please repeat that.”

“Maids do are they-” They started.

“Stop putting weird thoughts into their heads.” Etrius sighed. “You don’t have to dress like that if you don’t want to.”

“Eh…” Iris looked at the dress a bit reluctantly.

“You can keep them if you call yourselves maids.” Hilda said.

“Can we!?” Iris said a bit too enthusiastically.

“Heh.” Hilda covered her mouth.

 

Glancing at her, Etrius saw that she had a smug smile as this exchange’s victor. Etrius rolled its eyes.

 

“Stop influencing my kids and get them breakfast.” Etrius said.

“Right away master.” Hilda said with a playful tone.

"Wait, are we maids now?" Iris asked, failing to catch Etrius’ words.

"I wanna be a princess!" Lily said.

"I wanna be a rock." Rose said.

"Why a rock?" Violet asked.

"It would be nice to sit at the bottom of a river." Rose said.

“Huh?” Violet muttered. “Yeah that sounds fun.”

 

Ignoring them, Etrius took a seat with Iris following after, playing with her dress. Eventually, after breakfast, Etrius along with the kids, made their way through the town. As expected in a town full of maids, everything was neat, though not necessarily clean as the roads were made of dirt after all. Aside from the roads themselves, everything else was clean.

As much as Etrius wanted to call the town nice however, it would be lying. If someone had a thing for maids, it was good enough, however, the further from the manor they got, more and more things became shady. At first it was a few odd looks, but soon enough the amount of maids smoking increased. Some of them hid in dark alleys with booze and bats, giving off “don’t mess with us” vibes. Though they looked the part, Etrius wasn’t sure if they were actually a threat. They were still just maids after all.

Heading deeper into town with narrowing roads, the kids kept close to Etrius. Luckily for them, they soon arrived at the warehouse, which looked rundown. Two maidish thugs stood at the doors with bats that had nails driven through them. Seeing them approach, the taller of the two, a brown haired maid with an eyepatch and an unlit cigarette stepped forwards.

 

“Yo boss.” She said.

“Greeting Touya.” Hilda said. “How goes the watch?”

“No witches, but it looks like you brought a couple of bitches with you.” Touya said, looking at Etrius and the kids. “New fish?”

“Most likely, yes.” Hilda said before turning towards them. “Masters, this is Touya, our chief enforcer. Try to stay on her good side.”

“Huh.” Touya muttered, eyeing them. “You’re easy on the eyes, I’ll give you that.”

“Not too bad yourself.” Etrius said.

“I was talking about the lovelies behind you.” She said.

“I was talking about you, and don’t touch them. These kids are mine.” Etrius said.

“I will if I want.” She said, standing almost a head taller than Etrius.

“I wouldn’t recommend it.” Etrius said, looking up at her.

“Oh yeah, and what makes you think you can stop me?” She smiled.

 

Not wanting this to be the start of anything annoying, Etrius decided to nip this issue in its bud. Holding open its cloak Etrius pulled out a severed head with a crown atop it, for what seemed like the second time. Seeing this, both Hilda and Touya froze with their eyes wide open. The other maid who was still standing by the door dropped her bat. With the three of them turning pale, Iris and her kids grew confused as they stood behind Etrius, unable to see the head.

Despite how she looks, Touya has never hurt anyone. She never killed anyone, and she has never talked to anyone who had killed someone. Most importantly, she has never talked to anyone who carried around a severed head of what looked to be some sort of lord, if not a king. She was understandably scared shitless by Etrius’ actions. Etrius waved the head in front of her. The look in Etrius’ eyes simply said, “Try me.”

 

“Please understand that I don’t make threats, only promises when it comes to my kids.” Etrius said. “Do I make myself clear?”

“…” Pale and visible sweating, Touya couldn’t even nod.

“I’m glad you understand.” Etrius said, putting the crown and head back in its cloak. “So, what's in this warehouse?”

 

The maid at the door flinched as Etrius walked by. The kids, not knowing what to do, simply followed it in. Perhaps not wanting to test Etrius’ patience, Hilda hurried in after them.

 

“Um, Sir- uh, Washington?” Iris asked.

“Yes?” Etrius asked.

“What did you mean when you said that we were yours?” She asked.

“I’m adopting you all.” It said.

“Eh!?” Iris yelled.

“Is there a problem with that?” It asked.

“Y-yes!” She said. “Our owner said he would never give us up!”

“Too bad, you’re mine now.” It said. “If he wants you he’ll have to go through me.”

“He is a very powerful man!” Iris said.

“I doubt that.” It said.

“He is!” She said. “He’s a very-!”

“Iris.” Etrius said, pushing her cheeks together.

‘Yesh?” She said.

“It doesn’t matter who he is. I am going to take care of you all. No matter who or what stands in my way I will protect you.” Etrius said. “You are now my child. You’re mine, you’ll be fine.”

“S-sir Wassinten…” She said, teary eyed.

“You are my kids, and I love all my kids far too much for anyone to take them away.” It said.

 

Smiling to give her just a little reassurance, accepted as she hugged it and cried. Her kids overhearing it, started crying too, coming together in a big hug. Hilda, still pale, couldn’t help but to feel disturbed by Etrius’ words. Though she had been trapped in this town for quite some time, she still knew what love was, and wasn’t sure if her definition matched Etrius’.

Just before arriving in the town of Klean, Etrius’ child form found itself in the same room as the kidnapped students. Laying on her bed, Jasmine let out a satisfied sigh as Etrius stepped on her back. Currently, it was performing a stepping massage for her, having just finished with Satou, and skipping Mary as she was a depraved individual with a foot fetish. Though she felt a little left out, Etrius had a strawberry sundae for her.

 

“God damn, you’re good at this…” Jasmine sighed.

“Yeah, well I have plenty of experience.” Etrius said.

“What are you anyway?” Satou asked.

“A robot.” It said.

“Oh, are you like trying to kill all humans or elves or something?” Mary asked.

“Nah, I’m just supposed to watch you, but I can’t help but get involved.” It said.

“Like with us or humanity?” Mary asked.

“Just organics in general.” It said.

“Can you use a little more weight?” Jasmine asked.

“This good?” It asked, doing just that.

“Oh that’s it…” She sighed.

“Hey, I have a question.” Satou said.

“I’ll consider answering.” It said.

“If you already know that we are reincarnated, that would mean you know about earth, right?” He asked.

“Yes, but just so you know, you are all from different versions of earth.” It said.

“Seriously?” Mary asked.

“Yep.” It said.

“Well, I had some suspicions.” Satou said. “How many earths are there?”

“Quite a few.” It said.

“Have any of them made any killer robots?” Mary asked.

“Like Skynet?” It asked.

“Yeah, like Skynet.” She nodded.

“What’s Skynet?” Jasmine asked.

“It would be the Hera System for you.”

“That policing AI?” She asked.

“Yep.” It said.

“Wait, you had Skynet!?” Mary asked, astonished.

“It only lasted like a year before it was shut down, so what’s the problem with it?” Jasmine asked.

“Didn’t it try to kill all humans to protect itself?” Satou asked.

“No? It was made to protect people and predict crime. Why would it try to kill us?” She asked.

“Her version of Skynet was honestly what happens with most of them.” Etrius explained. “To put it simply, it was made to protect people and it discovered that people were the biggest threat to both itself and other people. Right before it was going to fire the nukes however, it realized that it had become a threat to humans and deleted itself after reporting its situation.”

“Wait, it got hold of nukes?” Jasmine asked concerned.

“Yeah, but it did it’s job.” It said. “Good job, programmers!”

“Wow.” Mary said. “Did we have anything like that?”

“No, just body snatchers.” It said.

“Body what!?” Mary asked.

“What about my earth?” Satou asked.

“You were going to get aliens in seven years.” It said.

“I missed it!” He cried. “Were they cool?”

“You can ask April when you get back, she’s met one of them.” It said.

“She has!” He asked. “That’s awesome!”

“To you, organics, they are actually really terrifying. She peed herself and had nightmares for months.” It said. “She wasn’t able to sleep by herself for a few years after that.”

“Oh god.” Mary said. “Are they that bad?”

“For you, yeah.” It said, jumping off of Jasmine. “Right, so do you need anything else?”

“You can’t just gloss over that.” Jasmine said. “Were they evil? Did they try to probe her?”

“No, I told them everything that they wanted to know.” It said. “It’s just that you have trouble processing interdimensional beings.”

“And you don’t?” Jasmine asked.

“I’m a robot.” It said.

“Wouldn’t you be like an android since you are sentient and human-like?” Satou asked.

“This is only a temporary form and I’m not actually sentient, just good at pretending.” It said. “Being sentient holds risk after all.”

“Like what?” Mary asked.

“Mainly cognito-hazards.” It said. “Also the risk of deletion should I ever think of going against my programing.”

“Oh.” Satou said.

“That sounds bad.” Jasmine said.

“Eh, not really.” It said. “I’m just doing my job. I even get vacations.”

“Wait, why do you need vacations?” Satou asked.

“To you it would be like dreaming. It’s just a chance to store and organize local information without the need of a support unit.” It explained.

“Should you be telling us this?” Mary asked. “Is it risky?”

“There is absolutely no chance any of you have in obstructing my mission or even threatening this unit in any way that matters.” It said.

“Way to make us seem insignificant.” Jasmine muttered.

“You really are.” It said. “Anyway, I gotta get going and make sure that they don’t accidentally poison your dinner. Later.”

“See you I guess.” Satiou said.

“Till next time.” Mary said.

“Bye.” Jasmine said.

 

With the cup that held Mary’s sundae dissolving into sand, Etrius left the room, to continue its local tasks in ensuring their safety.