The next day.
Erica made a tragic discovery—her maid still couldn't brew her wake-up coffee for her.
Of course, today's Erica was no longer the same Erica as yesterday.
Yesterday, Erica hadn't known about her maid's relationship with Akuto, and she'd subconsciously assumed Arianne would wake her up.
But now, not only did Erica know about Arianne and Akuto, she'd already braced herself first thing in the morning for "no one's going to wake me up" and "no one's going to prepare my wake-up coffee."
After getting up, Erica took a good long moment to admire her own graceful figure in the mirror before heading downstairs to the dining room.
And while she admired herself, she seriously mulled over a question.
Since Akuto had already "shared hearts" with her, and she'd also prepared herself to offer herself to him in the future… then shouldn't she start taking some action now? For example… finding people to band together with?
At first, Erica had been the type who, even if she was willing to serve Akuto, absolutely refused to share him with anyone else. Because she hadn't been completely convinced by him, nor had she truly fallen for him.
But now, after learning from Akuto about other worlds and the ways fate could be intertwined with them, Erica realized Akuto would be her firmest comrade and her strongest backer once she challenged destiny head-on.
And the way Akuto had clearly insisted she verify her own ideas first before moving on to the next step had genuinely moved her.
Normally, with Akuto's status and strength, if he wanted her, all it would take was a single sentence.
But instead, Akuto chose to let her verify her beliefs first—to let her try resisting fate with her own hands.
That alone was enough to shake Erica to her core. And as far as Erica knew, Akuto himself intended to oppose fate as well—only his methods were far more violent and direct than hers.
Erica didn't have much confidence in her own struggle.
But if it was Akuto… then she believed he would succeed.
And if one day Akuto succeeded while she failed, then she would follow at his side as his most steadfast supporter.
"Tch."
With a soft little sound, Erica set down the piece of bread she'd been holding beside her cappuccino.
Arianne was definitely busy, but luckily the lower floors of the mansion had full service facilities and plenty of female attendants. So Erica still got to drink the cappuccino she loved most.
"Mmm. Not as good as Arianne's, but still a rare little gem."
A dozen minutes later, Erica set down her cup and glanced at her wristwatch.
"Ten o'clock, huh…"
"This mansion is top-class, and food's available twenty-four hours a day, but… considering Lily will be here soon, I'd better go wake Akuto-kun."
A few minutes later, Erica arrived outside Akuto's room carrying two breakfast trays.
When she looked down at the two trays in her hands, her mouth twitched in irritation.
"If it's going to be like this every day, am I going to end up becoming Arianne's maid?" Erica couldn't help grumbling.
Even so, she had no intention of speeding up her own "progress." It was only a matter of ten days—maybe even just a few days. There was no need to rush at all.
Besides, Erica was facing a much bigger problem right now.
After Lily arrived… should she form an alliance with her?
Erica had been thinking about that constantly.
From yesterday to today, she'd completely understood that the number of women around Akuto in the future would absolutely not be small—and chances were, quite a few of them would be even more outstanding than she was.
Reality had already smacked her in the face, and Erica had now let go of her dream of becoming a Godslayer. She only wanted to become the Paladin who could knock down that so-called "Protector of Europe."
And even right now, Akuto already had two exceptional women at his side at the "holy knight" level: Lucrezia Zola, the Witch of Sardinia, and Saint Raphael, the strongest female Paladin in Europe. There would likely be even more in the future.
Even if Erica had confidence in her looks and potential, she didn't have the confidence to be the sole flower in Akuto's harem.
But Akuto's behavior—having two maids sleep with him—had opened a whole new door for her.
Right. If one person isn't enough… then you form a group.
Erica didn't doubt for a second that Akuto could pull off some massive "all-under-one-blanket" situation. With Akuto's personality and possessiveness, calling a few more over with a snap of his fingers would be the most natural thing in the world.
And in that kind of situation, banding together mattered.
Since Akuto liked having two maids together, then he probably liked having her—their "master"—together with Arianne, the maid.
In fact, from the way Akuto had even included Lily and Anna's magic teacher, it seemed highly likely he would also like it if she and Liliana were together too. If Erica looked at it through a man's eyes, she'd probably like a pair of twin female knights—one blonde, one silver-haired—herself.
And so, a new question formed naturally.
Should she speak with Liliana first, test the waters, and "band together"?
After thinking it through again and again, Erica still made a fairly conservative decision.
If she had to choose someone to be with her, then she'd be willing to have Lily with her. They knew each other well, Lily was a good girl, and most importantly, with Lily's personality, she wouldn't end up at each other's throats with Erica later.
The only issue was… Lily's feelings for Akuto-kun seemed far too deep.
If it was Lily and Akuto one-on-one, she would definitely agree without hesitation.
But if it meant serving Akuto together with someone else…
Erica couldn't say.
With Liliana's personality, either acceptance or refusal felt possible.
And since this involved Akuto, Erica didn't dare act on her own. She could only choose to observe for a while first.
Click.
With a soft sound, Erica opened Akuto's bedroom door.
Just as Erica expected, Akuto's situation looked much like what she'd seen yesterday. The only difference was that yesterday's heroine had been her maid, Arianne—while today's heroine was Karen, Liliana's maid.
Both of them looked about the same as yesterday: there was a tear a few square centimeters wide in the deep-navy and black pantyhose.
The difference was that today's tear seemed noticeably smaller—so small it didn't look ripped open as much as it looked stretched open.
Because she'd already prepared herself mentally, Erica wasn't shocked by the scene. She silently placed both breakfasts on the table, then—after a quick glance at the faintly trembling "head" submerged in pantyhose—looked over at everyone else on the bed.
Lucrezia Zola. Saint Raphael. Karen. Liliana. Diana.
And one little girl Erica didn't recognize.
Six people total, sprawled across a specially-made oversized bed.
Well… "sprawled" wasn't quite accurate for everyone.
At the very least, Karen was neatly sprawled on top of Akuto in a textbook position. It was just that with every breath she took, the muscles along her lower abdomen shifted slightly.
Looking at the scene in front of her, Erica first felt helpless.
Then, unexpectedly, she felt a trace of relief—and curiosity.
Relief, because Akuto wasn't the type of scumbag who played around and discarded people. Saint Raphael and Arianne were still at his side, and judging by how Akuto was, he would never let go in the future.
Curiosity, because Erica suddenly found herself wondering where Akuto's limit really was.
If it was six… then six probably wasn't even close to his limit.
"Guu… guu…"
A sudden gurgling sound drew Erica's attention.
She looked toward where it came from—Akuto's body. But when she looked closer, she realized it wasn't Akuto making the sound.
It was Karen on top of him.
With a faint rubbing sound, Karen's slightly rounded lower belly bulged a bit more, pressing even tighter against the black pantyhose she still hadn't taken off.
"…"
At that sight, Erica didn't even know what face she was supposed to make.
Now she understood why Arianne had so much "stock" on hand. Akuto's output efficiency in that department had reached a level where even unconscious loss didn't matter.
"Mm…"
Karen seemed to sense something. She let out a small whimper and slowly opened her teal-green eyes.
When she saw Erica sitting on a chair not far away, the haze in Karen's eyes cleared instantly. Her eyes widened, and her body tensed.
Akuto didn't open his eyes, but his brow twitched unconsciously.
The next second, Karen's slim waist arched back sharply, her eyes rolling up in a reflexive white. It was obvious her physical constitution wasn't particularly strong—after being "flooded" a second time in such a short window, she looked like she could barely endure it before passing out.
Only after several full minutes did Akuto finally stop pretending under Erica's resentful stare and slowly open his eyes.
"Akuto-sama… you weren't doing that on purpose, were you?" Erica asked with a smile. But there was a dangerous glint in her eyes.
She could tell now—Akuto had been awake the entire time. He'd just been pretending to sleep in front of her.
And it probably hadn't been just today. Yesterday with Arianne had likely been the same.
"As expected of you, Erica. Sharp as ever." Akuto smiled faintly and took out an Extraordinary Piece, merging it into Karen's body.
Lucrezia Zola, Saint Raphael, and Diana were one thing.
But Karen, Arianne, and Alesa… asking them to deal with Akuto was honestly too cruel.
They might be in their youth, but their strength was far weaker than the other three. If Akuto's symbiote hadn't been packed with life energy, Karen probably wouldn't have even had the strength to open her eyes this morning.
"Akuto-sama, that was…" Erica noticed something special about the piece in his hand. After Karen absorbed it, the aura of life around her surged. Her eyes, which had been rolling white, steadily returned to normal.
"This is my piece. You'll have one too, eventually. But at this stage, since you're still verifying your own ideas, I won't give it to you yet."
"Alright. I know what you came for. We'll get up, and then we'll go meet Liliana."
As he spoke, Akuto pulled free from Karen and, in an instant, completed his cleaning and dressing. Then he strode straight toward Erica.
(End of Chapter)
[Get +30 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]