by J. J. Pavlov
Seeing this, Gilmirin froze once again, realizing that the person before her was the princess. The demon maid would stand out among a crowd, so Asoko never having seen her before meant that she must have been absent during every gathering so far.
Before Gilmirin could kneel down and excessively speak apologies for not recognizing her, the tentacles making up Asoko's hand reached her hair. The purple mucus that could eat away everything but silver trickled onto her hand without doing any harm. At that sight, the demon maid's eyes widened in surprise.
Past her, Daica smiled to herself. Her skin was deadly to the touch for all living things, but Chaos was the first embrace she felt in more than a decade. She could understand Gilmirin's fear to hurt others very well, and the surprise at meeting somebody who was immune.
"See?" Smiling, Asoko looked into her opposite's violet eyes with a warm expression.
Of course, she wouldn't revel in a mere encounter with one of the abundant maids in the castle, if she hadn't gotten to know her better in a more private capacity afterward. Despite being so timid around people, Gilmirin is a real monster in the bedroom. She has some clear animalistic traits and behavior, but can also be sweet like a kitten. It was a new and incredible experience for Asoko, who usually likes to take the lead.
"What are you thinking about?" Lenoly's voice pulls the Crawling Chaos out of her reverie, sounding not in the least amused. When the latter turns around, she sees the little bakari in a maid outfit, accompanied by the real maid from the same species.
The bakari maid with horns nearly one fourth her total body length is Lervia, a spunky and loud-mouthed girl with a delinquent's attitude. She stands at a few centimeters taller than Lenoly but sports a body with similarly modest curves.
Unlike Gilmirin, she's from a species with abundant numbers and was selected not only for her cute appearance but her skills in battle. She's one of the combat personnel among the Maid Corps, but her looks can't be dismissed either. Assuming the demon queen was the one who selected her, Asoko admits that she has excellent taste.
"Just that you look cute today, too." The Crawling Chaos lies with a smile as she regards Lenoly. Since there was not much to do in the castle, the little bakari has settled into learning magic combat with the maids. It's not surprising that she has grown the closest to Lervia then, the only member of the same species among the Maid Corps.
"You won't get anywhere with such obvious flattery." Sniffing in contempt, Lenoly turns away. But judging by the developing blush on her cheeks, which the girl herself doesn't seem to be aware of, the flattery is getting to her after all.
"What about me, Chaos-sama?" Lervia asks with her arms raised in a complaint. The personalities of the maids are as diverse as their species. Many are like this bakari, who doesn't show much respect before a member of the royal family. Of course, they would never dare to do that in front of the maid leader.
Additionally, only maids that came after Queen Pelomyx ascended to the throne use Japanese honorifics such as Maou-sama or Chaos-sama. The older generation still says Your Highness - aside from Rewera - as if it's something that was only recently introduced.
"You're always cute, too." Embracing Lervia, Asoko pets her soft brown hair and rubs her face against the bakari maid's prominent forehead. "I like honest girls."
That last line is a jab at Lenoly, who glances at her fellow clan member, who returns the embrace with a satisfied smile, in noticeable envy. Although they grew relatively close during their travels, ever since they arrived in the demon castle, they seem to have drifted apart a little.
"What are you two doing?" Letting go of Lervia, the Crawling Chaos asks her since Lenoly doesn't look like she would respond now.
"I just showed her the mustering routes and escape passages. We're going to the courtyard to do magic training." The bakari maid replies in a chipper tone, smiling broadly. Then her face brightens as an idea comes to her, visible to all through her easy to read expression. She may not be the sharpest, but she's a cute little nugget. "Do You want to join us, Chaos-sama?"
"No, you go ahead. I'm on my way to find Ninlil." Asoko caresses Lervia's head with a smile. Since she joined the Maid Corps long after Pelomyx took the throne, she doesn't know that the catgirl is the former maid leader.
Apparently, around a fourth of the currently employed maids are from Aldeath's era, so she's not entirely unknown. They still respect her even though she committed what can only be called desertion. Although the same seems to have been the case with many other maids at the time.
"What do you want with her?" Lenoly finally speaks to Asoko again and asks with a scowl. She seems to be under the impression that the Crawling Chaos is walking around the castle in a constant state of horniness, looking for the next girl to share the night with. Maybe she's miffed that she hasn't been called upon yet, or simply looks down on such behavior.
"Ask her a few things about Rewera and Tamariki." Shrugging, Asoko replies with the truth. "Have fun with magic training then."
With these words, they go their separate ways again. Asoko watches the two bakari girls in their miniskirt maid outfits skip along the corridor until they round a corner and out of sight. The maid styles are just as unique as those wearing them, with some seemingly favoring traditional long skirts lacking any frilly adornments. In contrast, others choose to look sexy by showing off what they have.
Once again, the Crawling Chaos falls into reminiscing when she thinks of all the maids she has seen so far. Most memorable are the encounters she had on her first exploration tour of the castle's left wing, which houses the quarters of the Maid Corps.
When she had awakened in the body of a Cosmic Horror, she had met a mousey maid with a lizard tail. She had then gone to the dining hall for breakfast with her mother, where several more maids had been serving them. But right after, the demon queen had only led her on a quick tour through the castle. Then she had been teleported out of the castle, and the accident - or incident - had happened.
Whereas her other half had returned shortly after and spent a few weeks here with their mother and the maids, Asoko had been sent to the desert nation of the Khurut Sultanate. Aside from almost dying there, she had ended up in the sultanah's harem, where she had been surrounded by beautiful girls around the clock. Thus, she couldn't begrudge her other half for being able to spend time with the demon maids.
But now that she was stuck in the castle on Mithra and Rewera's orders, she decided that exploring the places she hadn't seen during the tour with Queen Pelomyx was in order.
The right wing of the castle is reserved for the family of the monarch as well as lordly guests. There wasn't much in the way of politics in the Dominion, and regional lords governed their lands mostly autonomously. Aside from joining the demon queen in wars and using the unified silver and gold currencies called agaton and orons, it couldn't even be called a proper nation. That's why visitors rarely came.
The left wing is similarly-sized, though it lacks any and all decoration. The walls are left naked, and no carpets line the floor as they would most likely become frayed from all the heels walking over them each day. Laughter and lively chatter always echo in the hallways, as the maids often leave the doors to their rooms open when visiting each other.
That evening, Asoko wore a maid outfit herself, changing her appearance to the one she had in the sultanah's harem but touching herself up a little to blend in better as a demon. She went undercover to see how the servants behaved when not on duty, choosing the time after dinner was over.
When she poked her head into one of the rooms with open doors, she found two maids dancing with each other arm in arm while another played a flute-like instrument. One of the dancers was a little clumsy, while the other patiently showed her the steps.
They noticed Asoko watching but didn't pay her any heed until the song was over. Before then, the Crawling Chaos had already moved on; she didn't want to engage in conversation and only see a bit of what they did in their free time.
Most open doors had a pair or group of maids talking or playing with each other. Some invited Asoko in, others didn't even take note of her because they were so engrossed in their activities, which ranged from exchanging gossip to playing cards or dice.
There's a communal bath where some of the maids spend most of their time off-duty. Amerega is one of the maids who requires constant humidity, but there are a few of an even more aquatic nature similar to Cadrienna.
Asoko didn't go inside since she didn't want her libido to build up just yet; there were many more things to be explored. But for the rooms with closed doors, she had to be a little more forceful. After all, those inside would interrupt what they were doing if she knocked, falsifying the glimpse into their lives that she wanted to get.
Thus, she quietly opened doors and peeked into how the maids spent their free time alone. Some lazed around on their beds, others sat at their tables writing notes, diaries, or letters to their families. Of course, most noticed Asoko with their keen senses, inviting her in thinking that she was a newcomer or ranting at her for not knocking.
After the third maid raised her voice loud enough for others to stick their heads out of their rooms, Asoko decided to leave the area and return in the form of Chaos. Now, they wouldn't be able to yell at her for opening the doors to their rooms anymore. That it was an abuse of her power didn't even enter her thoughts.
Soon, she found the batgirl who served her during the first breakfast in this world. Her bed and the floor were littered with all kinds of personal belongings and the leftover cores of fruits. The person herself hung from a wooden beam by her clawed feet, seemingly asleep. But when Asoko opened the door, her large ears twitched, and she startled awake before dropping down from the beam.
In the next moment, she hit her head on the floor quite audibly.
"Hey, are you alright?" Asoko quickly rushed to her side and asked, but the bat maid tried to get up on wobbly feet.
"I'm fiiine..." She slurred her words while swaying dangerously before falling forward. The Crawling Chaos quickly caught her and carried her to the bed, laying her down on the least loaded spot.
"What's your name again?" It might come across as if Asoko doesn't care to remember the names of all the maids since her other half might have learned this one's before, but she was never great with names in the first place. Surely, Chaos slipped up and forgot some of them as well. In any case, she made a mental note to remember this girl, as she hit several points in her strike zone.
"It's Nezera, Chaos-sama." The bat maid responded with a surprised expression. This made Asoko involuntarily pet her reddish-brown hair, upon which she quivered like a cute small animal. It sent her heart aflutter.
"I'll remember it." The Crawling Chaos whispered into Nezera's big ear, upon which it twitched. Touching her nose in a playful gesture, Asoko then helped her back onto her feet. "I'll come to visit you again some time - or you can come to my room yourself."
Of course, the invitation was meant exactly what Nezera's blush indicated she thought it did. With a wink, Asoko exited the room and left the bat maid standing unsteadily as her imagination doubtlessly began to wander.
The next room only had a gray stone statue, depicting a naked girl with a pair of giant curved horns and bat-like wings extending from her back. She was crouching on the floor and staring up at the door with a blank expression. Her form was perfectly lean, with finely chiseled muscles that must have taken a master sculptor to create.
However, there was no pedestal under her, and something told Asoko that this could have been the result of petrification. Maybe a spell went wrong, or it was natural for this particular demon.
Touching the statue, talking to it, and knocking on its head didn't help, and she didn't want to try something that could cause her to fall over and crack or even break, so Asoko moved on. Surely, whoever lived next door would be able to explain this, if they were in.
She received her answer sooner than she would have thought. When she slowly opened the door to the next room, she beheld a woman lying in bed on her stomach while reading a book. Kicking her legs like a girl in love, she seemed to enjoy the contents while cradling her chin with one hand.
Asoko's eyes would have been fixated on her shapely bare bottom - most likely a nude sleeper - if not for a more striking feature that caught her gaze. The woman had several dozen living green snakes instead of hair, each one moving individually while flicking their tongues with hissing sounds.
The medusa maid suddenly jumped up with a squeal and covered herself up with her blanket, turning to Asoko with a surprised expression. For an instant, the latter thought that her life was over, and she would be petrified by her glare. It was her punishment for trespassing into another's room without knocking.
But nothing happened, and when she peeked up, the maid was staring at her wide-eyed.
"Your Highness! I did not expect you here." She quickly got up from the bed, but Asoko averted her eyes.
"Sorry for entering unannounced." She nodded in apology. Sultana Marika readily admitted her fault in front of subordinates, but never did so in excess. A ruler should know when to apologize, or they would come to be viewed as a despot. Still, they should maintain their dignity as superiors even in those situations.
"Umm, my eyes do not cause petrification, unless I will them to. Please, it is alright to look at me." The woman hastily explained when she realized that Asoko was trying not to look at her. Her tone of voice was unexpectedly modest, standing in complete contrast to her slender but mature body.
When the Crawling Chaos turned to look, she found that the medusa maid's eyes were venom green, sporting vertical slits for pupils. Dark green scales rimmed her face and extended all the way down to her exposed shoulders and collarbones. Her olive skin had a slightly green sheen to it as if her entire body were covered in tiny scales. She was beautiful without a doubt, and after Nezera, Asoko found another girl she wanted to know the name of.
"I am Chialdara." Standing up from the bed, she performed a curtsy using the blanket wrapped around her body as a makeshift dress. "Please excuse my appearance."
"Did you petrify the girl next door?" Such suspicion was warranted when confronted with a medusa, and Asoko had to ask to make sure.
"No, I did not, Your Highness!" Chialdara's voice was flustered when she replied almost violently, the blanket slipping off as she pumped her fists. "Khuko turns to stone at night. She is an aberration among the gargoyles, which is why King Aldeath took her in at the time."
As far as Asoko knew from games, gargoyles turned to stone when sunlight fell on them, so she guessed that this was what Chialdara meant when she said Khuko was an aberration.
"I am sorry for doubting you." Nodding in apology once again, the Crawling Chaos let her eyes wander across the medusa maid's exposed body. She was almost as tall as her, but her body looked far softer, and her breasts were more modest in comparison to Kuroe Makoto in her previous life. Now, she could look whatever she wanted to, so there was no point in using her as a reference. "I shall excuse myself then."
The wiggle of Asoko's eyebrows made Chialdara realize that she had been standing before her princess in the nude again, upon which she squealed and quickly picked up the fallen blanket. She might look like an adult, but she behaved like a pure maiden at heart.
Asoko made a mental note to visit her again before taking her leave.
The next few rooms ended up locked, with the maids either sleeping or out, until Asoko found one that was unlocked. Upon turning the knob and pushing it open, she found a scene she could have anticipated - just not at that scale.
It was the cruelest part of nature at work.
A large spider web spread throughout the entire dark room; one couldn't walk a single step without getting entangled. At its perceived center sat a giant spider with a female humanoid upper body growing out from its head part - an arachne. She was leaning over another girl that resembled a moth.
The latt
er was tied up and gagged in what could only be judged bondage, so maybe this wasn't a predator on prey situation after all.
"Tch. Just when I was getting to the good part." The arachne clicked her tongue in irritation before lowering herself from the web. "Next time, knock before coming into another person's room."
"If you want privacy, lock your door." Asoko replied without a hint of remorse despite being the one who just barged in. Since the two of them were in the maid quarters, they were both most likely maids - or at least one of the two was.
"Chaos-sama?!" It would seem that the arachne was a maid, as she finally recognized Asoko. Her whole body jumped in shock, causing a vibration to run through the entire web, which was transferred into the moth girl. She twitched in surprise and tried to turn her head toward the doorway.
Her eyes were covered by straight silver bangs, but tears were streaming down her face into the fur collar around her neck. When she moved, it became clear that rather than a collar, it was part of her body - a sort of mane growing around her neck and reaching all the way up to her chin. It looked incredibly fluffy and comfortable.
"So, what's all this?" Asoko stepped forward while trying to avoid getting her hair entangled in stray webs near the door. She couldn't make it very far into the room, though, as the arachne dropped down onto the floor and bowed her whole upper body as deeply as she can.
She was a head taller than Asoko due to her large lower body, but her humanoid part was closer to Lenoly's in shape. Her arms appeared to be in latex gloves that reached all the way up to her shoulders. But upon closer inspection, the Crawling Chaos realized that they were, in fact, covered in an exoskeleton. Although the arachne appeared to be naked, her completely flat chest lacked nipples.
