Feedback 1: The Futile Hunt for a Date Course
I confidently scoured the internet, but nothing meaningful turned up. Every post about date courses was ridiculously impure in intent.
With posts like that everywhere, finding a date course for women was like reaching for the stars. Plenty of people didn't want slaves, but even they didn't go on one-on-one dates with their girlfriends. It was common to take sisters as lovers together, or for a group of same-age friends or club members to all become one guy's girlfriends at once. And since men didn't need to do anything to win a woman's heart, date courses naturally became places designed for women to seduce men.
Such info wasn't useful for me, planning a simple outing to refresh Yukiko's mood. This wasn't a raid—what the hell did "recommended for 20 people" even mean? Digging into older posts from a few years back yielded the same meaningless results. There weren't many surviving date spots or routes left anyway, and most were abandoned.
As I stepped away from the monitor to collect my thoughts, the door opened.
"Pardon the intrusion."
Yukiko entered carrying coffee and bread. We used to have bagged coffee and bulk snacks at this hour, but she'd gradually reformed even my eating habits, one by one.
"Thanks."
The freshly baked bread slathered with cheese and the coffee straight from some machine rivaled anything from a café. For simple breads, she insisted she could put more care into homemade ones, and her diligence in baking them herself left me grateful to the point of guilt.
"A date course? It seems you've found a woman you like."
Yukiko had started wearing maid outfits around the house lately. Not just the ones I'd bought before—she must have gotten more, because each time I saw her, it was a slightly different one.
"It wouldn't be proper for a man like Master to indulge only in his slaves. Surely, there are many women who desire Master."
It wasn't cheating. Mikoto had returned a few days ago, and I'd held her a few times since.
"However, there may be women who would exploit Master's kindness, so might you grant me the chance to offer whatever humble advice I can?"
But Yukiko, with that icy expression and matter-of-fact tone, had a commanding presence that left me with nothing to say but 'Anyway, you're right, my bad.'
"Besides, it's hard to judge someone's true nature from meeting online."
It stung a bit that she assumed I'd met someone online, but it was a reasonable inference from someone who knew my every hour of the day. I hardly ever went out, so there were no opportunities to meet women.
"Once Master opens his heart, he can't easily say no. Even if a woman's looks fall short, he'd force himself to stay seated."
"That's an eerily plausible assumption... but there's no one I'm meeting. I was looking because I wanted to go with you."
"With me? Why is that?"
Her emotionless face and cool demeanor made it feel, for a moment, like she was angry. But living with Yukiko had taught me to be cautious about reading nonverbal cues in our talks. Strip away the blank face and cold tone, and it was just a straightforward question. She genuinely didn't understand why I'd want to date her.
"Isn't a date something you do to draw in someone of the opposite sex you like?"
"Maybe?"
"I am someone who serves Master without need for such things and must remain loyal for life. My heart is already entirely his."
Yukiko placed a hand over her chest and bowed slightly at the waist. This maid outfit had a subtle plunge at the neckline, and as she bowed deeply, her pale cleavage came into view.
"There's no reason at all for Master to prepare a date for me, is there?"
"Just... you seem so overworked lately. No, always, really. I thought going out and having fun might help you unwind a bit."
"Stress, you say."
Yukiko tilted her head, pondering deeply.
"I don't feel stressed right now. Working for Master is a slave's joy."
"Come on... Isn't there anything you want to do, or any place you want to go? Or would going with me be uncomfortable?"
No matter where we went, as long as I was with Yukiko, her devotion would focus on me, not herself. It was a shame, but giving her a vacation instead of a date might be fine too.
"I wish to be with Master anytime, anywhere, for my personal pleasure. My only worry is whether such feelings burden him."
"Good... Then, what would be a good spot for a date course?"
"What does one do on a date?"
"Well, just a man and woman meeting up to hang out... beyond that, who knows."
Before the war, I had no girlfriend. After, normal male-female relationships vanished from the world entirely. So, my brain lacked the data to answer Yukiko's question properly. I'd only seen stuff in dramas or movies—claiming confidently that this was dating felt embarrassing.
"Hmm, uh, wouldn't you know better? Like, if you had a boyfriend, or heard stories from friends..."
"A boyfriend is an alien concept to someone born to be offered up like me. Before meeting Master, I rarely even saw men outside of occasionally crossing paths with family elders."
"But you went to school, right? An all-girls school?"
"Most learning was at home—only studies needed to become a proper woman. Naturally, I had no peers."
I'd suspected her family atmosphere was off from that phone call before, but her upbringing sounded even worse. Her mother still texted or called occasionally. After listening a few times and seeing no point in replying, I'd blocked her now.
"Didn't they teach you anything useful for dates there?"
Yukiko closed her eyes briefly, thinking hard.
"After a man gives me his heart, he might take me to a nice restaurant before claiming me—that's about it."
It was oddly surprising how much Yukiko knew about male-female relations yet remained ignorant of dating. In bed, whenever I handed her the reins, I got to enjoy "Professor Yukiko's Position Practice Class"—she knew plenty there. I'd assumed she'd know about dates too. Come to think of it, a home-tutor Yukiko concept sounded pretty (sexually) intriguing. Maybe role-play that next time...
"More than dates, I learned how to liven up the mood and satisfy a man when accompanying him to seedy bars. But that hardly seems the atmosphere Master wants."
Home-tutor Yukiko... delicious. I wanted to jot it down, but not in front of her.
"Your life wasn't normal at all... So, for now, nothing you want to do or places you want to go?"
"Every moment serving Master is precious and joyful. Nothing else comes to mind."
"No prior info at all, so you don't even know what you might enjoy..."
Desire stems from lack, but someone unaware of their lacks can't feel them. Like a medieval person missing computer games.
"I believe that's an overly negative assessment. Even if I'd gone to school or had hobbies, serving Master would have become my greatest joy afterward."
Her serious, cool expression instilled massive trust, even in personal opinions. Like she was saying, '1+1=2. Don't you know that? What a hopeless idiot...' while flatly praising me—Yukiko's charm hit anew.
"Then, let's try the park tomorrow. Or somewhere farther, or a restaurant like you mentioned."
"Honestly, I'm not confident. I worry I'll disappoint Master."
"Huh?"
"I've already tasted the peak of happiness. No place or activity can make me happier than this moment with Master."
"No disappointment there. Gratitude, maybe... But even so, there's surely meaning in enjoying ordinary things."
Yukiko approached cautiously, like a pet awaiting its owner's permission. She stopped just short, a hair's breadth from my body—that final thin line uncrossed. I crossed it for her, pulling Yukiko into a tight embrace.