Chapter 58: Manners maketh man… No manners maketh punched man…

"So peaceful..."

I am currently waiting for Erevain and the rest to tell me that the food is ready.

That is why I’m sitting on one of the living room's sofas, fluffing Lyra's soft tail as she lightly purrs.

Also, she is staring at Sophie with her cat-like eyes for some reason.

Sophie is sitting on the sofa in front of mine by the way.

*staaaaaaaaare*

"...mmm...why are you staring at me?"

The staring is clearly bothering her and making her nervous.

As for me, I just keep enjoying the fluff.

It is soft like a well-kept cat's hair.

My lil' sis had one, that is why I know that.

When I still lived with my parents, that cat used to sleep inside of my manga closet a lot, so I ended up buying a her a bed and putting it there.

Huh? How did I keep the cat's hair from contaminating my manga? Really?

Are you actually a faker? Or just a noob? I did it with special plastic coverings and special illustrated boxes for each series, of course!!

It surprises me that you don't know...just look for the plastic coverings online...geez...

"You are Dog, right?"

So asks Lyra to Sophie out of nowhere...huh?

Dog?

What a strange and sudden question...

"Wha-wha—?!"

Aaaand now Sophie's reaction to it is even stranger...hmm.

"Well, Master here did turn Baronet Greese and Count Alessandro into women. So, I thought that might be the case with you."

"That's...."

Sophie is looking at me as if asking me what to do.

But then again, I do not get this...Dog?

I mean, she is right on the gems with Sophie being gender bended, but what does that have to do with Sophie being a dog or just Dog?

My instinct should tell me, but I am focusing more on the fluff because this day has been tiring and it heals me.

"Also, you seemed to know where everything was in Dog's house. Even the secret compartment in the floor that I did not find when I checked your house."

“…!”

Hearing that, Sophie quickly gets off from the sofa and points at Lyra…

"You checked my hous—?! Ah..."

...and then she stops herself, realizing that she just admitted to being this 'Dog'.

"Victory."

Says Lyra with a relaxed expression while doing the ‘V’ sign with both of her hands.

I then look at Sophie and ask...

"Dog?"

...while tilting my head and making a deadpan expression.

"Ugh...that...used to be my codename, Master..."

"Oh."

Now I get it, so that is why Alessandro called Lyra 'Cat' instead of Lyra...wait...

*staaaaaaaaaaaaaare*

"Wha—? M-master, why are you staring at me? I-it's kind of scary..."

"She was called 'Cat' and has feline ears and tail. So, I am waiting for your dog ears and tail to come out."

I say that with completely serious expression, and she gets flustered.

"Haah?! I-I don't have those! N-nothing will come out!!"

"Oh...and here I thought I would be able to complete the set."

"W-what set?!"

Sophie looks cute when she gets like this but...need more fluff...

"Ears."

"Yes."

I turn to Lyra and ask for her ears and she quickly lies on my lap.

I then start fluffing her ears while hearing her purring and looking at her even more relaxed expression.

"D-don't ignore me, Master!!"

So shouts the maid who doesn't have dog ears despite being called 'Dog’.

“Master, I will tell you about myself now…”

“Okey...”

We both totally have a blissful expression on our faces. Nothing can disturb us.

“Hey!”

Nothing.

“Lyra Zardi. That is my full name...”

Her voice seems nostalgic as she says that and it’s clear that she holds dear such last name.

Something that I can’t say for the rest of what she tells us.

She is 19 years old and she was 'saved' by Alessandro at an early age. The Count took her in after that and ‘saved’ her a second time from the strange sickness that had been threatening her life until that point.

“Then, training started…”

Alessandro trained her in secret, separate from any of his…tools. Training that ended a few years before the creation of Sophie’s specific group. As in…she was already active when Erevain’s fall happened.

As for her role…

“I would do any task he gave me, from organizing and archiving information to taking care of things in the capital when others were away…”

She was like Alessandro’s hidden assistant. But that recently changed as she was 'asked' to take the responsibilities of another agent who was ‘fired’, for Alessandro didn't have the patience nor time to train some new arrival.

I think you can guess what happened to that agent though...

"...with the Count my instincts didn't tell me to follow, just to endure and look for a way to survive. But...purrrr...with you, my instincts told me to follow...purrrr...that I can relax and stop acting...purrrrrrr...that warmth can come…purrrrr…so I chose to do that...purrrrrr...."

She says that while rubbing her head in my hands, asking for more fluffing.

I, of course, oblige to that honorable duty.

Still…acting, huh? What could she mean by that? Could it be how her personality seems slightly different than what she showed before? Like that ‘victory’ bit…yeah, that was probably her real self coming out.

Which implies some things…some dark things…like, could it be that the Count forced her to act in a certain manner? That seems very, very possible…even without instinct telling me so.

Hmm…oh well. Just like she said, she can stop now.

Also…she cute. She fluff. Me keep.

Oh, someone is coming. I bet it’s Erevain coming to tell me that the food is served.

That reminds me that I will also be trying out the food that Jules brought.

Can't wait.

_________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, in the bustling streets of the merchant district, three gorgeous maids made their way through the various stores and stalls.

"Haha! It feels good to be back here! Right, Mika?"

Said the spunky maid to the bespectacled one beside her.

"It indeed does, Lucy. I certainly missed the streets, the sounds..."

"The bookstores and libraries too, right?"

Lucy winked at her with a smile that was a mix of uber positivity, playfulness, and cheerfulness.

That smile enchanted any passerby that was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of it, but it instead made Mika seemingly annoyed.

"I was going to say the people, but yes, the libraries and bookstores too..."

As such words left her lips, one could see a slight bashfulness behind such annoyed façade.

"Oh! Maybe we can buy some books and other stuff after completing the list!"

So exclaimed Lucy her great idea, one that was sadly doomed to be shot down by her friend.

"You fool! You can't be spending Master's money on other things besides the ones on the list!"

Mika's hand went straight to smacking Lucy's head, but she evaded it with a playful laugh as she circled around her friend, her skirt fluttering as she did so.

That left some other passersby blushed and with their mouths agape, while others went a step further and tilted their heads, trying to catch a glimpse of what was under her skirt.

"Ahahaha! I don't think she would mind, Mika. You're just too stingy."

"What part of me wanting to respect Master's money is being stingy?! Also, don't move around like that. People are trying to see what is under your skirt."

"Hmm?"

Lucy tilted her head to the right for a moment, as she genuinely seemed to not know what she was taking about, but then her eyes widened as she remembered.

"Right! I forgot I was using a skirt!"

"How can you forget something like that?!"

"Ahahahaha! Sorry, Sorry. It's just that it feels so easy to move with it that I...just forgot. Tehee~."

"You...! We are ladies now! So, you should act like one! You can't be showing your pa-pa-pa...!"

As Mika embarrassedly stuttered trying to utter such word, Lucy’s smile changed into a teasing one and moved closer to her.

"Panties?"

"....! Don't say it! It's indecent!"

"Ahahahaha! Mika, you are all red! Hahaha!"

Enjoying herself, Lucy laughed loudly as she hugged her stomach and even closed her eyes, inadvertently giving Mika a chance for revenge.

"There!"

And so, the bespectacled maid smacked her laughing friend on the head.

"Gak—! Oww! I bith muh tong thoo..."

Said the now teary-eyed maid who had her tongue out.

"A-anyways, we can't be using Master's money for things that aren't on the list. Right, Gabrielle?"

As she said that, the maid pushed her glasses upwards like she always does and turned to where she thought her other friend was, but she wasn’t.

"Huh? Gabrielle?"

"She isth oveth there..."

"Ah, yes. I see her. Also, stop talking like that Lucy, you didn't bite your tongue that hard."

Lucy had pointed at a stall where a dwarf woman was selling her wares, there were weapons such as daggers, swords, and even crossbow bolts on display, but her main merchandise wasn't weapons but crystals.

One of such crystals, a Shadow Crystal, attracted Gabrielle’s attention the instant she saw it and had no problem separating from her fellow maids to try and obtain it.

Something she was in the middle of as her fellow maids laid eyes on her.

"...and what if I propose a trade?"

"That'll depend on what you have and...if I need it."

“Ohoho…you will after I show you what I intend to trade with.”

As the conversation between dwarf woman and the blonde maid went like that, the other two maids observed their friend carefully.

"Hey Mika..."

Whispered Lucy.

"What?"

"Have you noticed that Gabrielle adapted quite quickly to the being a lady thing?"

"Thing? That's not...haa…"

The bespectacled maid facepalmed and sighed before continuing.

"...but yes, I did notice. Her way of moving and speaking is similar yet different."

"She also flirts naturally with some shopkeepers and there’s 'that' too..."

"Yes...'that'...she was quite bold with Master. I don't remember her being like that..."

They whispered to one another, focusing more on their conversation than on other things.

"Could it be that she was always like that, but we didn't know it?"

"Hmm…"

With such a question in their minds, they both imagined the Gabrielle of the past acting as the one of the present and that brought awkward expressions upon them both.

"That..."

"...wasn't good."

Both maids shuddered by what their imagination showed them.

"There is something that didn't change though, Mika."

"Hmm...what, Lucy?"

"Her laugh."

"Ah."

"It was kind of creepy."

"Yes..."

"My, my, what a relaxed pair we have here."

"Ga-Gabrielle!"

"When?!"

The two maids jumped in surprise as the third maid appeared behind them, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Ohohoho, you were so immersed in your little girl talk that I finished acquiring an excellent Shadow Crystal, and I even had time to...listen to you both."

Her usually seemingly closed eyes gazed sharply at them, which caused the two maids to shiver.

"Ahaha...haha...since when?"

Asked Lucy with an innocent looking face, perhaps trying to appear more childlike and thus obtain mercy.

"I-I apologize."

Mika, on the other hand, lightly bowed, hoping her apology would free her from the impending punishment.

"Since you got...imaginative."

At that moment, both maids gulped and started to back away from their friend.

While such thing happened, two knights wearing black armor where passing through the streets.

They both had heavy armor that was engraved with the emblem of the order they belonged to.

Some people moved away the instant they saw them.

Others would start whispering bad rumors about them between themselves.

"I heard that they abandoned a merchant caravan when things got bad..."

"That's nothing, I heard they took too long to deliver medicine to a village and the situation got worse...then the leader put the blame on the village head..."

"Uwaa...what is the King thinking?"

Others would glare at them as if they were seeing trash walking through the street.

And finally, still others would treat them normally and even with respect, but the majority's opinion was quite clear.

The knights didn't care though.

They walked proudly, with their chests so high as to let anyone know to what Order they belonged to.

Their air of superiority was so thick that one could choke on it.

That's when one of them noticed a group of beautiful women dressed in maid uniforms and tapped his partner's chest, giving him a head's up.

““Hehe…””

With that, they both made a salacious smile and walked towards them to have a better look of their bodies.

And so, they passed them...but not before one of the knights quickly touched the butt of one of the maids.

It was the behind of the blonde one that had her hair done in curls.

It was just a light touch, one could even pass it as an accident and an apology would suffice, but it was intentional, nonetheless.

He knew it.

And she knew it too.

She turned around and managed to lock eyes with the knight that did it.

As such, the knight got nervous for being caught. But for his surprise, she smiled at him in a seductive manner.

"My, Sir Knight. If you want to touch you just have to ask~~."

Said the maid with an alluring tone, coupled with her body movements that emphasized her body's features.

The knight smiled as if he had won the top prize in a contest and quickly moved towards the maid, only to be stopped by her delicate hand on his breastplate.

"My goodness, aren't you an eager one? Shall we go to that alley then?"

Her voice only more and more seductive as she spoke and pointed at a nearby alley, blowing away any sense of reason from the knight.

"Show me the way, luv'."

Said the hungry, hungry man while his partner didn't know what to do.

"Oh dear, what are you doing over there?"

She said as she looked at said partner and then to her companions.

She then smiled devilishly which made the two maids widen their eyes and shiver once more, dreading whatever their friend had in mind.

"My lovely friends will entertain you too, of course. So, please, follow us~~."

"...!"

"...!"

"Can't say no to that, can't I?"

Said the partner of the knight as he looked at the two maids in front of him while licking his lips.

Meanwhile, the said maids had 'You can absolutely say no!' written all over their faces, but the other knight didn't care.

And so, they went to an empty alley near them, one that was between two big buildings, making it covered in their shadows.

A perfect place for men and women who can't control their desires.

Upon their arrival, the blonde-curled maid pressed herself on the knight's breastplate, looking at him with desire and making her big breasts more noticeable.

"Now, how should a repay such a dirty knight for that surprising touch? Before we..."

She exhaled seductively unto the metal and then looked at the knight again, her eyes seemed full of arousal.

As for the knight…

He was already on the verge of grabbing her and pushing her down, but the foreplay had him charmed to the bone.

"I know! I shall hit this brave dirty knight once, before he uses his...sword. Ohoho..."

“Ha…ha…ha…”

Her laugh at the end gave away what she really meant with 'sword', and the knight nodded while breathing heavily.

"Then do it, luv! Hit me once!"

"My, such an understanding knight!"

She then closed her delicate hand, turning it into a fist.

That is when something seemed to start covering it before...

"[KI STRIKE]!"

…she uttered such words. All as she liberated overwhelming amount of pressure that not only startled the charmed knight, but also his partner who had been trying to flirt with the other maids...and failing miserably.

"Eh—GUH?!"

There was nothing he could do but blurt out something a mere instant before the maid’s attack landed. And when it did…he felt the impact on his chest, his ribs, his spinal column, and even though he was using his armor, the pain was so unbearable that he fainted right at that moment.

*CRASH*

*thud*

All before such attack sent him flying into the alley’s wall.

"What?!"

So exclaimed the other knight as he went towards his unconscious partner.

And as he reached him, he noticed something that made him go pale

"W-what the hell are you?! That armor was made of adamantite!"

Shouted the man who was crouching as he held his partner in his arms.

Said partner's chest plate had cracks on it. Cracks that surrounded a dent in the form of a fist with pieces falling here and there.

"My goodness, is that true? Such a flimsy thing might as well be made of paper...but you should be grateful that that is not your friend's chest."

Said the gauntlet-wearing blonde maid with a perfect smile, brandishing a fist that fit said dent.

Gabrielle.

"Did your mothers not teach you any manners?"

She towered over the scared knight as she asked such question, her smile never going away.

"Aaah! You...you...! You don't know who you are messing with! We are knights! The Bulls of the Zenith!!"

"My, my, but I do know."

Gabrielle’s gaze grew even more intense, but her smile remained as she looked upon the faces of those knights before her and remembered.

She remembered the knight who fanned the flames of the others who called them traitors.

She remembered the knight who spat on the news of her friend’s apparent death.

Thus, the pressure that she was giving off only grew even more. So much so, that it made the knight hallucinate a smiling monster slowly approaching him.

"Then...then...then...why?!"

"You touched something that doesn't belong to you and I do hold a grudge about five years ago."

"Wha...? F-five years ago...?"

Such response only added even more confusion to the storm of emotions that the scared knight was experiencing.

"My, I spoke a bit too much. Please, Sir Knight. Go to sleep like your friend."

"N-no!"

With that, he dropped his partner and started to back away, crawling on the floor, for his legs had stopped responding out of the fear filling him.

But he didn't find the solace of escaping, but the crushing reality of the alley's wall and the sudden appearance of that...smile.

"[KI STRIKE]!"

Before everything painfully faded to black.

______________________________________________

Gabrielle looked at the two unconscious knights before her and murmured.

"This is not enough. You do not deserve to be called knights. Let alone walk with the authority of one."

She then walked to one of them and grabbed him from his leg, throwing him on top of the other one.

"Spirits of light and nature, take away your blessing, let them know not of warmth but pain, let them know the value of what could be lost, let them know the true fear of...death, [Cursed Healing]."

The moment she finished such chant, a muddied and sinister green light slithered its way towards the two unconscious knights, entering their bodies.

"Ugh..."

"Gghh..."

The unconscious knights groaned as the light released an ominous aura that completely covered them before it disappeared.

"No more healing for you two. Enjoy being broken."

She said while smiling, satisfied.

_________________________________________________________

The other two maids who were looking at their comrade felt as if something had clicked in their minds.

"That is also something that didn't change, Mika..."

"You are right...Lucy..."

Their faces showed a nervous smile on both.

They were grateful to the Goddess that they were comrades and friends of Gabrielle and not her enemies.

They thanked the Goddess, multiple times.

"My, what are you doing just standing there you two? We have a list to complete and a Master to satisfy. So, let us go! Ohohohohohoho!"

Gabrielle walked past them while laughing heartily as if nothing had happened.

And so, the maids continued their shopping quest.

To be continued...(cue illustration of the shopping trio doing their best at obtaining the materials!)

Holy fact: big cats can do purr-like sounds, jaguars, lions, tigers, all of them can do such purr-like sounds if petted. There are videos online if you want to see for yourself or...if you are lucky then your local zoo has that one rescued specimen that is more habituated to humans and lets you pet them. That was my case years ago and it was surreal.

Thank you very much for reading! I hope that you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, don't forget to drop a heart! Also, do tell me which maid did you like the most in this chapter down in the comments! As always, if you want to help me commission some art of Gabrielle and the rest, please consider donating to my Ko-Fi!

Special thanks from the bottom of my heart to: EmbraceTheSleeb, Lord-Hollow, YukisoraRin, LordInquisitorSteele, Anon and Anon2!

And with yesterday's news, I'll add this, please don't translate my work without permission.

See you tomorrow!