Bonus Short Stories

Maid Lover

Oscar and Naiz lounged by a fountain located in the square of a small oasis town. Two weeks had passed since Naiz had joined Oscar and Miledi on their journey, and the three of them had stopped to stock up on supplies. They had decided to split up to do their shopping, then meet back up at the fountain. Over an hour had passed since Oscar and Naiz returned to the fountain, but there was still no sign of Miledi. Naiz frowned and muttered something.

“Miledi’s late.”

“Well, she is still a girl. It’s no surprise her shopping’s taking longer than ours.”

Naiz nodded in understanding. He’d heard that girls took longer to shop than guys too. But still, he was getting tired of waiting. He looked over to his partner, who didn’t seem the least bit impatient.

“You seem rather knowledgeable about women, Oscar.”

“Please don’t make it sound like I’m some kind of skirt chaser.”

Oscar frowned. Though it was true that back in Velnika he’d been forced to accompany girls in their shopping more times than he could count. Many of his regular customers, or their relatives, or their friends would “coincidentally” run into him on the street, and then strong-arm him into going along with them.

If those outings count as dates, then I guess I’ve been on dozens. Can’t say I actually wanted any of them though.

Oscar adjusted his glasses and changed the subject.

“Anyway, it’s not like we’re in any hurry. I made a new board game the other day, how about we play that to pass the time? It’s a mock-war game where you order your pieces around and try to capture the opponent’s king.”

“Oh, sounds interesting.”

Naiz’s interest was piqued. However, before they could start their game of magic chess, Miledi arrived.

“Sorry I took so long, guys! But I’m back now~”

Oscar and Naiz exchanged looks, and turned toward the overly energetic voice. When they saw what Miledi was wearing, their jaws dropped open.

“Miledi, what on earth is that outfit?”

“Nufufu. Impressed? You’re impressed, aren’t you? Have you finally fallen for my charms too, Na—”

Annoyed, Naiz grabbed Miledi’s face in a death grip before she could finish.

“Miledi, what on earth is that outfit?”

“Okay, okay, I’ll quit joking around, so please stop crushing my skull!”

Miledi hurriedly took out a letter and a photo from her pocket. She flung them both to Naiz, who caught them with ease. His expression stiffened as he examined the picture.

“Nufufu. Hey, Nacchan, how does it feel? Those two sisters took pictures of themselves in maid outfits just for you. As a grown man, how does that make you feel? Come on, tell—”

Naiz clamped down even harder. The picture showed Susha and Yunfa wearing revealing maid uniforms. Both of them were striking sexy poses. If anyone found out a grown man like Naiz was carrying around a picture like that, they’d certainly think him a pedophile. Ignoring a growing headache, Naiz opened the letter. It was quite long, but the gist of it was this:

Naiz-sama, remember how much you were talking about the maid uniforms of that one restaurant before? We thought you might like them, so we tried wearing them too. I hope you like the picture. Love, Susha and Yunfa.

Naiz definitely knew what restaurant Susha and Yunfa were talking about. In the last town they’d stopped at, they’d had dinner there. Naiz had really liked their food, so he’d asked one of the waitresses for the recipe. The question was, why did Susha and Yunfa know about that?

“One of the Liberators delivered that to me. Then, on my way back, I saw a similar outfit in one of the shops, so I figured why not?”

Naiz wasn’t even listening to Miledi anymore.

“Hahaha... Look, Oscar. I can’t stop shaking.”

He was terrified. Terrified of the fact that Susha and Yunfa seemed to know his every move. Oscar, however, didn’t respond. In fact, he’d been completely silent since Miledi returned. Wondering what was wrong, Naiz turned to look at him.

“O-O-kun?”

Oscar’s attention was completely taken up by Miledi. She was actually somewhat scared by the intensity in his gaze.

“Glorious...”

Oscar looked Miledi up and down, his eyes sparkling.

“O-O-kun? What’s wrong? You’re starting to scare me a little...”

“Miledi, you’re the most annoying person I know. Even when you do those dumb cutesy poses of yours, they just make you look like you’re trying too hard.”

“Hey, are you trying to make me mad?”

Miledi went from scared to angry in a heartbeat.

Oscar ignored her and continued his speech.

“But still, that maid uniform suits you perfectly. I suppose if I had to critique your outfit, your skirt could be a bit longer, and folded better.”

Oscar started inching toward Miledi.

“You’re still a novice maid, so it’s understandable that you’re not an expert with the uniform yet. Listen up, first of all, a maid is supposed to be prim and proper. So no peace signs and definitely no cutesy crap. If you’re going to strike a pose, then you have to do it right. Keep your arms demurely in front of you, and when you walk, keep your gait graceful. Never, under any circumstances, act like an excited little child. Keep your eyelashes long, and don’t look too arrogant.”

“Okay, I get it, you have a maid fetish. C-Can I go change now?”

Miledi slowly backed away. Oscar’s fanaticism terrified her. Once she’d put some distance between them she spun around and dashed off down the street.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Hiiiiii!? O-kun, snap out of it! You’re really starting to scare me now!”

Oscar grabbed her shoulder before she could go more than a few steps, then spun her around and forced her to meet his gaze.

“Miledi, right now you look more amazing than you ever have.”

“Thanks so much for that! But you know, you’re still scaring me! So I’m gonna go change!”

“Don’t be ridiculous! If you change, you’ll just go back to being your regular, annoying self! Without that maid uniform, you’re nothing!”

“Hey, now that I can’t let slide! I never knew you were such a pervert!”

“Excuse me! I am not a pervert! I’m simply a gentleman who loves maid uniforms!”

“I’m changing out of this right now!” “Don’t you dare!” “Just try and stop me!” “Oh, it’s on!”

Their back and forth exchange continued for a few minutes. Meanwhile, Naiz sighed deeply as he saw more and more people come to watch the spectacle. It didn’t help that he was still holding a picture of two underage girls in maid uniforms.

Farewell with my Beloved

“I’m sorry. I just can’t take you with me. Please, try and understand.”

Despite the man’s pleading, she didn’t listen. The forlorn look she gave him tore at his heart. He was just as sad to be leaving her as she was, however. They had weathered good times and bad together, supported each other in sickness and in health, braved both poverty and riches, and sworn to be together until death did them part. They loved each other, so of course neither of them wanted to part ways.

Unfortunately, the man had to embark on a journey. One that had no end, which would be filled with hardship and danger. That meant he would be forever walking in darkness.

“Don’t make that face, please. This is hard for me too, you know? Please, Suzanne, just try and understand.”

“Gweeeh.”

Indeed, Naiz was tormented over parting with his beloved irak, Suzanne. He was gently patting her oval-shaped face in front of the irak-seller’s hut. The shop’s apprentice, Oscar, Miledi, Susha, and Yunfa were all watching, incredulous.

“He looks like one of those deadbeat husbands who try to sell their wife off to pay off his debts.”

“Don’t worry, Mister... I promise I’ll take good care of Suzanne-chan.”

The young apprentice tried his best to placate Naiz, an exasperated expression on his face.

“Wait, does Naiz actually understand what that irak is saying?”

“Beats me, O-kun. All I hear is gweeeh.”

“Don’t worry, Miledi. That’s all I’m hearing too.”

Oscar and Miledi stared at their new comrade with exasperated expressions on their face.

Meanwhile, the dramatic farewell between Naiz and Suzanne continued.

“Gweeeh.”

“That’s not true. I don’t hate you!”

“Gweeeh.”

“What? You think I’m leaving you because I found someone else? Don’t be ridiculous, I’d never do something like that!”

“Gweeeh.”

“So bring me with you? I can’t, it’s too dangerous.”

“Gweeeh.”

“Will I ever come back...? I’m sorry, I’m not sure if I will.”

“Gweeeh.”

“Wait. Wait, Suzanne!”

Miledi snickered to herself.

“Even I could understand that last gweeeh. It sounded like ‘Hmph, I don’t care about you anymore!’”

“Yeah, it sounded like that to me too.”

Suzanne huffily turned away from Naiz and walked over to the apprentice boy. He seemed at a loss for what to do. Naiz crumpled to the ground as he watched his beloved Suzanne go off to another man. Oscar had never seen such a look of profound despair on his face before. Susha suddenly butt into Oscar and Miledi’s conversation with a completely unexpected remark.

“I want to become an irak.”

“Sue-nee!?”

Even Yunfa was surprised by that. Oscar and Miledi turned to Susha, shocked. Her eyes were dead, and there was a mirthless smile on her face. Both of them backed away a few steps.

“Hey, Miledi-san, do something.”

“O-Okay! Umm, what’s wrong, Sue-chan?”

“Is there any magic from the age of the gods that can turn me into an irak?”

Oh crap, she’s serious...

“W-Well, the world’s a big place, so maybe? But I think you’re a lot cuter the way you are, Sue-chan.”

Susha turned her dead gaze to Miledi, who squealed in terror and clung to Oscar for safety. Unfortunately, he too was trembling in fear.

“What good is being cute, if it’s not the kind of cute Naiz-sama wants?”

“You’re right, I’m sorry!”

The leader of the Liberators kneeled and bowed her head to its newest member. Yunfa sighed and muttered.

“Haaah, Sue-nee’s gone over to the dark side again. Bringing her back takes so much time.”

Yunfa set about consoling Susha, her practiced mannerisms making it evident that she was used to dealing with this. Oscar and Miledi were once again reminded that Yunfa was just as amazing as her older sister. No one else had been able to stand up to Dark Susha. In that moment, they both thought the same thing: There’s no way Naiz is ever gonna escape those two.