On the other side of the partition, Pudding finally took a proper look at the clothes. Earlier, she had been too flustered to notice, but now that she examined them carefully, her face grew even hotter.
There was even lingerie included among the set.
'D-do I really have to change into these too?' she wondered, her embarrassment deepening.
Since the clothes had been given to her, she assumed she was expected to wear everything. Too embarrassed to ask, she quietly began changing despite her discomfort.
Soon, the soft rustling of fabric reached Zechs, and it aroused him.
But he decided not to go over to eat her immediately; instead, he decided to pass the time by engaging in some conversation. "By the way, Pudding-chan…"
"W-what is it?" she asked nervously, worried he might be breaking his promise. She cautiously peeked out and saw that he was still sitting in his chair. Relieved, she withdrew her head to continue changing, and also asked, "What is it?"
"Once, you are done changing. We'll need to use your Devil Fruit power for something," Zechs said.
"My Devil Fruit power? For what?" she asked curiously as she finished removing her chef's uniform as well as her undergarments and began putting on the lingerie he had given her.
"No one in my crew knows you," he explained. "If they suddenly see someone they've never met before, they might think you're a stowaway. That could cause unnecessary trouble. So use your ability to handle it. Adjust their memories so it feels like you've already been with us for a few days. Understood?"
"Hnn… got it," she replied with a nod as she finished with the undergarments and moved on to the white pantyhose.
Manipulating memories was a simple matter with the power of the Memo-Memo Fruit, and Pudding had no issue carrying it out.
Satisfied with her response, Zechs said nothing more and allowed her to change in silence.
A few seconds passed before Pudding spoke again. "This… this won't close. It's stuck," she said, struggling with it.
"What's stuck?" Zechs asked curiously.
"The zipper at the back," she replied, trying to pull it up… but for some reason it seemed stuck.
"Do you want my help?" he asked casually.
"…" She hesitated for a moment before nodding shyly. "A-alright…"
Zechs stood and walked toward the partition, "Very well then…"
When he reached it, he saw Pudding standing with her back to him, the zipper in the back still open. It ran from her lower back all the way up to her neck, leaving her smooth, fair back completely exposed.
Heck, if not for the pantyhose she was wearing, he would have even seen the crack between her butt cheeks.
But still, looking at her back that only had the strap of her black bra, his throat tightened as his gaze lingered, and he felt aroused. For a brief moment, he felt a strong urge to pull her close, pin her against the wall, and ravish her thoroughly.
"W-what's wrong? D-don't just stand there… hurry and close it…!" she said, feeling very embarrassed.
"Hmm… alright," he replied.
Taking a slow breath to steady himself, Zechs stepped closer and reached for the zipper. As he pulled it up, his fingers brushed lightly against her bare skin, and the contact made her shiver as a breath leaked out, "Hnn…"
'C-control yourself… h-he's supposed to be your stepfather…' she told herself, and bit her lip, forcing her body not to react.
The quiet moment stretched on in uneasy silence until the zipper finally reached the top.
"It's done," Zechs said lightly, breaking the tension that hung in the air.
"T-thank you," Pudding replied with a small nod, her voice unsteady. She quickly picked up the white maid apron and began tying it, trying to distract herself and escape the awkward atmosphere.
"I'll help you," Zechs said.
"I… I can manage," Pudding replied quickly.
"Let me do it," Zechs said, and before she could protest further, he took the straps from her hands and stepped behind her, tying the knot at her back.
She could only helplessly stand there and let him do it while her heart loudly thumped in her chest.
Silence settled between them once again, broken only by the sound of their breathing.
Pudding could clearly feel his presence behind her, strong and imposing. At only 166 cm tall, she seemed small in comparison. She barely reached his shoulders, and the difference in height only made him feel more overwhelmed.
Each time he breathed, the faint warmth of his breath brushed near her neck, causing her cheeks to flush even deeper.
'If it continues like this…' She had a feeling that if this went on for a few more seconds, she'd find herself bent over or maybe in some other similar scenario, and she wouldn't be able to resist at all. No… it was better to say that she'd not want to resist at all!
The thought made her heart race even faster, but along with it came a wave of nervousness and fear.
'I… I….' She didn't think she was ready for something like that.
Not to mention, Zechs was supposed to marry her Mama. Pudding couldn't bring herself to cross that line with him.
Realizing this, she knew she had to say something, anything, to break the ambiguous silence between them.
'T-think… think of something to break the silence, o-otherwise…' She hurriedly searched her mind for a distraction. Then, suddenly, a topic came to her. "B-by the way… w-what should I call you?" she asked.
"What should you call me?" Zechs asked, raising an eyebrow, a bit confused by her question.
Pudding hurriedly explained, "Y-yes… I mean… should I keep calling you Stepfather… or… something else?"
"Oh… that," he reacted, understanding what she meant.
"Yeah, so… what should I call you?" she asked again, while secretly letting out a breath of relief.
It felt like she had managed to shift the atmosphere, and the ambiguity between them began to ease.
In fact, Zechs had certainly noticed her attempt to shift the atmosphere, but instead of going against it, he decided to go along with it.
[That's surprising, host. I thought you would surely pounce on her,] Miss System remarked.
'I've decided to take things slowly with her… after all, it hasn't even been an hour since I summoned her,' Zechs thought. He intended to give her some time to adjust to her new reality before moving any further. 'Besides, her heart is already mine. I know she won't resist if I push her… so there's no need to rush. Let's wait for a while… and honestly… I'm hoping for something...'
[What could that be?] Miss System asked curiously.
'Guess,' Zechs replied mysteriously.
[…] Miss System rolled her eyes. In truth, she already knew the answer, but she chose not to say it, allowing her host to indulge himself.
Pudding, who didn't know of Zechs' conversation with Miss System, was genuinely curious about what he wanted her to call him.
Technically, he was going to become her stepfather, but she obviously couldn't keep addressing him that way.
"Well… isn't it obvious?" Zechs replied casually. "Since you've become my maid, you should address me the way a maid would address her master."
"As a maid?" Pudding murmured, thinking for a moment before nodding. "T-then… I should call you Zechs-sama… or Goshujin-sama…"
"How about 'Master'?" Zechs suggested.
"M-Master?" Pudding repeated, startled.
Although 'Goshujin-sama' also means master. 'Master' itself hits different.
"Of course. But if you don't like that, you could call me 'Daddy' instead," Zechs added with a smirk.
"Goshujin-sama is fine," Pudding said quickly, choosing the safer option without hesitation. For some reason, both 'Master' and 'Daddy' felt far too embarrassing for her to say.
"I would've preferred if you chose 'Master' or 'Daddy,'" Zechs said, sounding slightly disappointed.
"I'll stick with Zechs-sama… or Goshujin-sama. Yes… those sound better," she replied with a small nod, doing her best to ignore his disappointment.
"Fine…" Zechs said. 'But only for now,' he thought. 'Soon enough, I'll have you calling me both 'Master' and 'Daddy.''
With that decided, he finished tying the knot behind her and stepped back. "The knot here is done too," he said.
"Thanks for the help… Zechs-sama," she said softly. Holding the hem of her outfit, she turned toward the mirror and slowly spun, checking how everything looked.
"It suits you," he said from the side. "Even in a maid outfit, you look very cute, Pudding-chan."
Pudding's cheeks flushed, a warm sweetness rising in her chest. Then her gaze shifted to her face, specifically to her third eye, and the smile… disappeared.
After a brief pause, she reached up and began adjusting her bangs to cover it.
"You don't have to hide it. I like it… just the way it is," Zechs said from behind.
"I… It's still better to cover it," she replied quietly. "You may like it… but not everyone will…"
Zechs was silent for a moment before nodding, "Alright… whatever makes you feel comfortable… but… I still want you to know that you don't have to hide it when it's just me…"
"I will… keep that in mind…" she nodded, as a smile appeared on her face and her heart began to race again…
Afraid of falling in love with him all over again, she quickly changed the topic, "A-anyway… d-didn't you say that I needed to make use of my Devil Fruit… t-then.. let's do that…"
"Sure…" he nodded, and turned around to lead her outside.
Pudding lingered for a moment in front of the mirror and looked at her reflection once more.
A small smile slowly formed on her lips.
'Yeah… compared to that time, I'll probably be happier here… since I'll be with Zechs-sama…' she thought.
With that, she quickly turned and followed him out of the cabin, her steps noticeably lighter as she went.
Charlotte Pudding Maid (Image here)
…
"Let's start with him," Zechs said, looking down at a sleeping crew member.
"Mm," Pudding nodded.
She pressed her fingers against the side of the man's head, as if trying to push them inside. Strangely, her fingers sank in smoothly, as though passing through soft jelly. The man stirred slightly, his expression tightening from discomfort, but he didn't wake.
After a moment, she slowly pulled her hand out, and with her hand came a thin strip of film drawn from his head.
This is the power of the Memo Memo Fruit, the Paramecia-type Devil Fruit she had eaten. It has granted her many abilities related to memories, and one of the abilities allows her to extract a person's memories as film strips and manipulate them however she wants.
By cutting or rearranging the frames, she can erase memories or replace them with new ones, which is exactly what she is going to do here.
"Zechs-sama… How should I change his memories?" she asked.
"Three days ago, our crew raided a slave ship," Zechs explained. "Several women from that ship ended up aboard my ship."
Pudding blinked in surprise. "You attacked a slave ship?" she asked. "Are you… one of those 'Peace-Mains' pirates or something?"
She had heard that some pirates operated differently from the usual 'Morganeers,' but this was the first time she might be seeing one up close.
Morganeers are pirates who pillage, plunder, and rob even the innocent people; meanwhile, Peace Mains are pirates who seek adventure on the seas and feed on Morganeers.
Zechs shrugged. "I didn't raid that ship to rescue anyone. I was just looking to see if there was anything valuable, like a Devil Fruit or something interesting."
"Oh," Pudding said, nodding as she accepted the explanation. Still, her curiosity lingered. "Then what kind of pirate are you? A Peace-Main or a Morganeer?"
"Whatever keeps us going," Zechs replied simply.
Ideally, he would have preferred to remain a Peace-Main. But that kind of life wasn't sustainable. Treasure wasn't something you found every day, and wealthy Morganeers weren't always available targets. If a crew was to survive and hold together, sometimes it had to turn to the same methods Morganeers relied on.
After five years at sea, Zechs had acted accordingly. He wasn't a saint, and the 600 million berry bounty on his head wasn't there for nothing. Even if the amount had been inflated by the number of powerful people whose pride he had wounded, it was still a bounty he had earned.
As for guilt, he had felt some at first. But over time, he had grown used to it. And as an Incubus, a being closer to a demon than a human, ordinary human morals didn't weigh heavily on him anymore. To him, the people he took from were no different from how humans treated livestock, like taking eggs from a hen or slaughtering it for food. Humans didn't feel guilty about that.
Of course, he didn't go that far as to slaughter Humans for food, but he also didn't trouble himself too much over the suffering he caused to the humans.
"I see… that makes sense," Pudding said with a nod. She didn't look disturbed. Her mother was also a Morganeer, so to her, this kind of thinking wasn't unusual.
Zechs hummed and changed the topic, "Anyway, add yourself to the group of women who were rescued."
"Understood," she said.
She began pulling out more strips of memory film, working carefully as she continued the extraction. While she worked, she asked, "So… did you find what you were looking for? A Devil Fruit or anything like that?"
"It was a dud," Zechs replied.
He didn't seem particularly bothered. Devil Fruits were rare, and finding one was never easy. Besides, it wasn't as if he had never come across any before. He had encountered a few over the years, but he hadn't eaten any of them.
Most Devil Fruits simply weren't worth eating.
People often said there was no such thing as a useless fruit, only a useless user. But Zechs didn't fully agree with that idea.
Could a simple Dachshund Zoan really compare to something like Okuchi-no-Makami or Kyuubi-no-Kitsune?
Could the Garb-Garb Fruit or the Jacket-Jacket Fruit stand on the same level as the Quake-Quake Fruit or the Soul-Soul Fruit?
Obviously not.
Because of that, Zechs had no interest in most Devil Fruits. If he were to eat one, it would have to be something exceptional, a powerful Logia, or a top-tier Mythical Zoan, or an extraordinary Paramecia.
Otherwise, he would rather remain without one than gain the weakness that came with it.
In any case, his Incubus bloodline already gave him abilities comparable to a Mythical Zoan, without the drawback of being weakened by the sea.
From his perspective, that was the better deal.
Shaking his head, Zechs watched as Pudding continued pulling out strips of memory. After a moment, she reached the part from three days earlier, the scene where several women were being transferred from the slave ship to their vessel.
"It's here," she said.
"Good. Now add yourself among them," Zechs instructed.
"Mm," Pudding nodded.
She took out another strip of memory from her own collection. In one of the frames, she appeared clearly. Carefully, she overlaid that frame onto the pirate's original memory, merging the two so that she now appeared among the rescued women as well.
"It's done," she said.
Then she gently pushed the modified memory back into the man's head.
"Alright, let's move on to the next one," Zechs said.
"Understood, Zechs-sama," Pudding nodded, and they continued the process.
Fortunately, most of the crew were asleep, so the work went rather smoothly…
While they were working on the memory modifications, Pudding also pointed toward a ship sailing not far from theirs, and asked, "Zechs-sama… that ship…"
"Oh, that one? It's Linlin's," Zechs answered casually.
"It's Mama's?" Pudding exclaimed.
She looked closely at the Jolly Roger but immediately noticed that it was different from the one she remembered from the Big Mom Pirates.
"The flag is different… is it because this is from before the Big Mom Pirates were formed?"
"That's right," Zechs said. "Right now, they're called the Charlotte Linlin Pirates. Linlin hasn't even started having children yet, so there's no such thing as the Big Mom Pirates at this point."
Pudding nodded slowly. "I see…" and stared at the ship…
"Do you want to see her?" Zechs asked.
"W-well… I can't say I'm not curious about what Mama was like fifty years ago," she replied, nodding. There was some nervousness in her voice, but her curiosity was stronger than her fear.
"Hm. She got too tired and is resting at the moment, so we'll wait a bit," Zechs said. "I'll take you to see her later."
[Host, you should be more worried about whether she'll kill you when she wakes up. Forget about taking a young girl to see her—she might get even angrier and end up attacking her too…] Miss System reminded him.
'Don't be such a buzzkill, Miss System, Linlin won't do that…' Zechs replied in his heart.
[Hey, I'm just saying…] Miss System shrugged.
'If you're so sure she'll kill me, then how about we make a bet?' Zechs said with a smirk.
[…] Miss System fell completely silent.
'What's this? Why are you suddenly looking towards the East, Miss System? Afraid to take the bet because you know nothing like that is going to happen?' Zechs pressed.
[Kkrrrhh… connection… interruption… kkkrrhhh… Host, it seems there is… kkhhrr… a signal problem… hhrrkkk… I'll be offline for a while… rrhhkkk…]
Zechs snorted. 'As if I don't know that trick.'
He ignored Miss System's obvious act and stopped paying attention to her antics.
Meanwhile, Pudding had fixated on something else. "Mama got tired?" she asked, her eyes widening. "Mama can actually get tired from something?"
To her, that revelation was almost as shocking as traveling fifty years into the past. Okay, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration, but it was still a tremendous surprise.
After all, in her entire life, she had never once seen her mother show any signs of exhaustion.
"Are you curious about how she got tired?" Zechs asked with a playful smile.
Pudding found herself nodding. "Yes…"
But as she looked at his expression, a sudden unease crept in. She had a feeling the answer might not be something she actually wanted to hear.
And sure enough, when Zechs leaned close and whispered the reason into her ear, her face flushed a deep red.
"Y-you… you didn't have to tell me that!" she exclaimed.
"You were the one who was curious, Pudding-chan," Zechs replied with a shrug.
"My mind is polluted now…!!!" she complained, and had a sudden urge to vomit out of sheer disgust.
"Hm? Isn't that reaction a bit too strong?" Zechs asked, blinking. Then he asked, "What exactly are you imagining?"
"You… a-and… Mama, that I remem—" she began, but before she could finish, Zechs quickly covered her mouth. "Actually… on second thought, I don't want to hear it," he said.
He had a very bad feeling about where that was going… and if he heard about it, his mind would also wander in that direction… so… he decided not to hear about it in order not to pollute it.
[Phew…] Miss System also let out a quiet sigh of relief. She hadn't wanted to hear what Pudding had been about to say either, and for a moment, she had nearly panicked.
Pudding looked at him with teary eyes. 'You don't want to hear it… b-but what about me…? What about the damage to my mind…!?'
Since she has yet to see the Mama of this era, the image that came to her mind was the older version she remembered, the sixty-eight-year-old, fat, ugly, bloated version.
The thought of the Mama from her memories with Zechs doing what he told her made her stomach churn in discomfort.
'Ugh… I really don't need that in my head,' she thought. Without hesitation, she decided to remove that memory from her mind—and erase it completely.
.
.
"I don't remember what I extracted… but… certainly feel much better…" she murmured, not even trying to look at the extracted memory and simply burned it.
Zechs didn't bother to satisfy his curiosity either, and simply changed the topic, "You'll probably be very surprised when you see her. You might not even recognize her at first."
After all, the Linlin of this time was completely different from the large, imposing figure Pudding remembered. She was slimmer, far more youthful in appearance, and even noticeably shorter.
Zechs was certain that, for a moment at least, Pudding would question whether the woman in front of her was truly her Mama.
"Is that so?" Pudding murmured, her curiosity growing.
"But let's wait until she wakes up," Zechs said.
With that, he led her away so she could finish up with the modification of the memories of the rest of his crew.
…
A while later
Zechs stood in the training hall, continuing his daily sword practice.
Sha! Sha! Sha!
The sound of his blade cutting through the air echoed steadily through the training room.
Pudding was there as well, though she wasn't paying attention to his training. Instead, she sat nearby with a logbook in her hands, reading through the records of the various islands Zechs' ship had visited over the past five years of his life as a pirate.
As someone who has never really gone out on adventure on the seas and spent all her life within Totto Land, she was rather excited… and as she read them, she found many of the places interesting, but as she continued reading, something else caught her attention: 'What's up with these names?'
On several entries, she noticed several names written beside certain islands… and without exception, these names were those of women.
Curious, she looked up and asked, "Zechs-sama… why are there so many names of women written here?"
"Those names? Ahem… well… they're reminders," Zechs replied casually. "Memories of the time I spent on those islands… and the nights I shared with those women."
Pudding nearly choked as the meaning sank in. Her cheeks flushed as she glanced at him, silently calling him, 'Pervert, bastard, a womanizer!!!'
There were far too many names. If what he said was true, then he had spent nights with an overwhelming number of women. Many islands had as many as a dozen or more names listed beside them. Wasn't that too excessive?
'But looking at his face… It's not surprising that women would fall for him like dominoes,' she admitted to herself as her gaze drifted to him.
His sharp features, his serious and focused expression, the disciplined movements of his body as he trained, the lines of muscle shifting beneath sweat that glistened across his skin.
Pudding found herself staring, her expression gradually turning absent-minded, mesmerized, and dazed.
Gulp!
She swallowed unconsciously, unable to look away, a strange sense of restless hunger stirring inside her, causing her tongue to feel dry. She felt this strange urge to lick all that sweat off his muscular chest and abs.
Zechs, of course, noticed the intensity in her gaze. Without slowing the rhythm of his swings, he teased, "Fufu… Pudding-chan, looking at your future stepfather like that… what are you thinking of doing?"
"N-nothing…" she replied quickly, snapping her eyes back to the logbook. Her cheeks were flushed as she lowered her head and wondered anxiously, 'What's wrong with me?'
The way her thoughts and reactions were spiraling made her feel that something was seriously wrong with her… as if… she was some kind of creep!
'Am I… am I really a creep?' she wondered. After all, only someone like that would have the urge to lick all that sweat… and even almost have a nosebleed about it.
'N-no… I shouldn't think about it,' she told herself firmly.
But her resolve didn't last.
Only a few moments later, her thoughts started wandering towards his body again as her eyes became heart-like… and she almost began to salivate.
'No… Pudding, get it together…!' She snapped out of it and quickly shut the logbook before standing up.
"What are you doing?" he asked, pausing his sword practice.
"N-nothing… I just need some air to clear my head," she replied, her face still flushed as she walked toward the side balcony. Since the training room opened onto it, she stepped outside and stood there, watching the waves and letting the wind brush against her, hoping it would calm her thoughts.
"Alright. Just make sure you don't fall," he reminded her.
"I… I know," she said with a small nod.
With that, Zechs said nothing more and turned back to his training, getting used to the newfound Strength he had gained after obtaining Linlin's Steel Balloon Physique.
Time passed slowly as the sun rose higher, and before long, it was noon.
That was when a sudden roar erupted from outside.
"ASMODEUS ZECHS… YOU BASTARDDDDD!!!!!!!"
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People people... we ain't reaching the PS goals, are we? C'mon, guys, help me reach it. It's absolutely necessary for my satisfaction.
The current PS goal is to reach 150 PS within 24 hours.
And don't forget to leave comments and reviews to keep me motivated.
Of course, if the readers wish, they can certainly read up to 20 advanced Chapters on p-a-t-r-e-o-n: Knockturn_Alley