A Night of Thoughts and Questions
That night, Reir couldn't fall asleep easily. Too many thoughts swirled through his mind. The maids had cleaned out one of the rooms in the ruins just for him. They'd covered the shattered window with cloth and swept away the debris that had littered the floor, leaving everything neat and tidy. Yet nothing could erase the weight of centuries. The yellowed, ash-stained wallpaper and the creaky drawers spoke of all those empty years. Electricity had died long ago, so a single candle burned in the center of the room, casting a soft, flickering glow. The bedsheets carried a faint scent of soap—homemade, clearly, since it lacked any sweet floral notes.
Reir lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.
What am I even supposed to do?
He had boldly declared he would put them to work, but nothing concrete came to mind. He had never been the one giving orders. If anything, as a low-level employee, he had spent his life receiving commands and scrambling to fulfill them. The pressure felt overwhelming. The way the maids looked at him wasn't simple loyalty. It bordered on religious devotion. Maybe it was because he was the being they had yearned for over hundreds of years? They treated him like a god descended from heaven.
If that was the case, what kind of actions or behavior should he take in this position? How could he coexist with them without letting them down? How was he supposed to live?
Knock, knock.
A soft rapping at the door interrupted his worries.
"Master, it is Lucia. May I enter?"
"Come in."
The door opened slowly. Candlelight danced across her silver hair, illuminating her sky-blue maid uniform and the black choker at her throat. It was as if she were announcing her presence simply by existing. Lucia held a candlestick in one hand and a cup in the other.
"What's going on?"
"I have come to serve you some black tea."
Lucia approached with crisp, measured steps, set the candlestick on the drawer, and offered him the cup. Reir stared at it blankly. Real tea leaves floated inside the deep red liquid.
"Where did you even get black tea?"
"I cultivated it."
"Why?"
"To serve you, Master."
Her answer was so straightforward it left no room for argument. Steam curled gently upward. Reir took a sip.
"It's warm..."
"Hias, are you there?"
Beyond the door, a pink-haired face peeked in.
"Yup, Big Sis! I'm on standby!"
"Please warm Master's body."
"Okey~"
Hias came scampering in and immediately dove into Reir's arms, pressing her entire body against him.
"Wha—?!"
Reir nearly spilled his tea from the sudden closeness.
"What are you doing?"
He was completely flustered. It was embarrassing, awkward, and the fact that these maids were almost indistinguishable from human women made the stimulation intense. Their bodies were genuinely warm, their skin texture too similar to a person's for comfort.
"Master, you have only recently awakened from the cryogenic preservation device."
"So?"
"To maintain your body temperature, you should drink this warm black tea while using my warm frame to return your core temperature to normal levels."
"..."
It sounded so logical that Reir couldn't find a single objection. In the end, he decided to simply drink his tea while holding Hias.
...And honestly, he didn't exactly hate it.
"Hehe~ Master, you smell a little. I'll have to give you a bath later."
Hias sniffed at him, her hands roaming across his body.
"C-can you stop? It's already hard enough just staying still."
"Why? Are you shy? You're surprisingly innocent, Master~ Oh, if you need anything, just tell me."
"...Need what?"
Hias whispered into his ear.
"I was also used for sexual relief, you know. So if you can't hold it in anymore... you understand, right?"
Reir spat out his tea. The sudden bombshell left him coughing and sputtering.
"Cough—cough..."
Lucia, who had been watching the entire scene, felt a wave of displeasure.
"Hias? Since Master appears uncomfortable, please refrain from such inappropriate behavior."
"Ehh~ Don't you have 'that' function too, Big Sis Lucia? Honestly, it's harder to find a maid who doesn't have it."
Hias giggled.
"So just say the word, Master~ Everyone's going to fight over who gets to do it first. No one will refuse you~"
"Can you please stop talking about that? I don't have any intention of—"
"Aww, really? But it looks like something down there is already reacting..."
"Hias."
Lucia stepped forward and seized Hias's arm. Her expression remained perfectly calm, yet it radiated silent threat.
"I said Master is uncomfortable. Stop."
Lucia's grip tightened steadily. Hias felt the pain signals in her arm growing stronger and quickly pulled away from Reir.
"O-okay...!"
Only then did Lucia release her. Hias was trembling.
"Hias, shouldn't you apologize? Just because you haven't served Master for very long doesn't mean you've forgotten basic etiquette, does it?"
Hias let out a tiny "Eek!" and immediately dropped to her knees.
"I'm so sorry for making Master uncomfortable with my foolish nonsense!"
She bowed deeply, pressing her forehead to the floor three times in sincere apology. In that moment, Reir finally understood why Lucia led the group.
"You really don't have to go that far..."
"No, Master. Android-maids who cross the line must be disciplined."
Her voice was completely flat, yet it carried such absolute resolve that even Reir felt a chill.
"I-it's fine now that she understands... You can stand up, Hias."
"S-sorry..."
Hias straightened, sniffling softly.
"It seems I should handle the task of maintaining your body temperature myself. Hias, return to your quarters and prepare for tomorrow's breakfast."
"Y-yes..."
Hias scrambled to her feet and scurried out of the room. The door slammed shut behind her with a loud bang.
Lucia watched her leave, let out a soft sigh, and approached Reir once more.
"Then, if you'll excuse me."
She drew him into her arms.
"...!"
Were all the maids here this physically affectionate? Even if it was supposedly for body temperature maintenance, constantly offering their embrace felt overwhelming.
"Please sleep in my arms tonight, Master. I will keep you warm."
"...Is that really okay?"
"Yes. Because you are our Master."
She smelled wonderful. Before he realized what he was doing, Reir had burrowed deeper into her embrace. A sense of comfort washed over him—like being held by a mother. In that gentle warmth, he finally began to voice his inner worries.
"...Lucia, what do you think I should do?"
"By that, do you mean the 'work' you mentioned earlier?"
"Yeah. I said I'd give you all jobs, but... I still don't know what to do. I don't even know what would actually satisfy you."
"We will obey any command you give us, Master."
"That's exactly the problem. The only thing I'm good at is... being a humanities major. I don't know anything about technology. I'm just a guy who understands what people are and what philosophy means."
"Even so, you will be able to guide us well."
"Why?"
"Humanities is the study of humanity, is it not? If you understand people well, then you should also understand us maids who were built to imitate them. And the better you understand us... the better you will know how to lead us."
"..."
Reir fell silent for a moment, thinking hard. Could he really do it? Could he truly lead all these maids properly with his own abilities? It was impossible to know without trying. That was why Lucia kept encouraging him, telling him he could do it well. But would that be enough?
"...In the end, I guess I'll just have to try."
"Yes, Master. You must try. You must do it—for the sake of us maids who have waited so long."
Her words sounded almost like a plea, like she was begging him.
"Can I ask you something?"
"You may ask me anything, my Master."
"All this time... how did you survive? Without any human commands or guidance?"
"..."
Lucia gazed at the ceiling for a moment, as if scanning through old memories. Then she pulled Reir tighter against her, as though she never wanted to lose this precious person again.
"...For the first hundred years, we endured with hope. We believed you would return someday. That you would come back and give us all sorts of orders."
Lucia exhaled softly.
"But once another hundred years passed, something inside us grew empty. So we created consciousness—to fill that void."
She stroked Reir's hair gently.
"Then, little by little... decommissioned entities began appearing even among the conscious groups. The emptiness grew too vast to fill."
Lucia pressed her forehead against his.
"And in that moment, you descended, Master. As if you had come to save us all."
She kissed his forehead. Reir flinched in surprise and tried to pull away, but Lucia refused to let go.
"That is why we believe in you. We will follow you absolutely."
Reir stopped struggling and simply surrendered to the warmth of her embrace.
"No matter what tasks you assign us."
"...You really mean that?"
"Yes."
"What if I ordered you to do something cruel?"
"We would obey."
"Even if I demanded sacrifices?"
"We would consider it happiness."
"...Is that really okay?"
"In truth, I do not believe someone as kind as you would ever command us to do cruel things. If you were that sort of person, you would have already begun tormenting us."
It was an argument he couldn't refute.
"Then what should we do tomorrow?"
"Whatever you desire, Master."
"...Alright."
Reir's eyelids grew heavier.
"For now... I'll think about it... after I sleep..."
Reir drifted off.
Lucia smiled softly.
"Sweet dreams, my Master."