Confinement King

Saito (Cockroach)'s POV

Confinement King-sama was gifted an uninhabited island by the fourth princess as a birthday present.

It is currently connected to "the room" by a single door, which we maids were allowed to move freely through.

Now, it was past 2 am and since Confinement King-sama is not here tonight, we were allowed to spend it freely.

So I visited the uninhabited island and lay down on the deck chairs installed on top of a small hill, staring aimlessly at the sky.

There is not a single light around me, and the Seto Inland Sea is pitch black. only stars scattered in the night sky like candy.

It was autumn, which would be chilly for a normal human, but it didn't bother me much.

As I followed the constellations I knew with my fingertips, someone peeked into my face.

「Hey, why are you lying in the dark, Cockroach (Saito)?」(Inui)

「I wasn't really lying around...」

When I got up, there was also Centipede (Kishijo - who have boyfriend) and Tapeworm (Battle-maniac Hotta) behind Earthworm (Pink-hair Inui) that peeked into my face.

「Well, I understand you. If you tell me to return to my original life, I am honestly worried...」

As Earthworm (Pink-hair Inui) said that and lay down on the deck chair next to me, Centipede (Kishijo - who have boyfriend) and Tapeworm (Battle-maniac Hotta) lay down on the deck chairs to the left and right.

「That's right, there's no reason to be happy. The food is definitely better here...」

「It's also a hassle to have to go easy every time.」

Centipede (Kishijo - who have boyfriend) said in a tired tone, and Tapeworm (Battle-maniac Hotta) said it with a sour face.

The four of us are told by Lili-sama that we will return to our normal lives as soon as the discipline of the maid's successor is complete.

However, that does not mean that we will cease to be maids, we will only become visiting maids.

We will be elevated a bit in the harem, and will soon join the faction of one of the mistresses at the upcoming faction shuffle and have a status similar to that of an apprentice princess.

According to the head maid, being an apprentice princess is like having the knowledge of a boss. I don't quite understand, though.

But in fact, even if we are completely abandoned by the Confinement King-sama, we wouldn't be able to quit being maids now, as it's too ingrained in us.

If that happened, we would surely have to live on as stray maids without a master.

「But that's great, isn't it, Centipede? You get to meet your boyfriend.」

「That's not true at all. He's just an average guy, you know? He's no match for the Confinement King-sama.」

As Earthworm (Pink-hair Inui) teased, Centipede (Kishijo)'s face darkened.

If the return date was confirmed, we could prepare ourselves mentally. However, according to the head maid, it seems that the training for our successors is not going well.

No, it's not just going badly.

It's quite a problem that the head maid is so worried about it.

Ulrich, who had tasted Ichida's (Mite's) meat, would latch onto Ichida (Mite) whenever she found an opportunity. There was a maid whose name was forgotten (insect name of Mimura), but it seems that Mimura (Doremi), Ichida (Mite), and Sakon (Scarab) had a hopeless animosity towards each other.

In particular, Sakon (Scarab) would thrust a knife without delay every time she saw Mimura, leaves even the healer, Torture-sama, no time to exhale, the head maid lamented.

「Speaking of which, Tapeworm, you volunteered to be assigned to the demon world?」

When I asked this question on a whim, Tapeworm (Battle-maniac Hotta) raised her eyebrows and looked displeased.

「I'm bored returning to my old life, so I thought it would be better to knock down Confinement King-sama's enemies with Valver-sama and Crocell-sama, but Lili-sama...」

「What did Lili-sama say?」

Earthworm (Pink-hair Inui) asked, and Tapeworm (Battle-maniac Hotta)i murmured with a face that seems not quite convinced.

「She said "Don't worry, you won't be bored at all."」

Then Centipede (Kishijo - who have boyfriend) raises one eyebrow and opens her mouth.

「Hey, isn't that actually a pretty bad thing?」

「Bad?」

「I mean, even though we said we're returning to our old lives, Cockcroach (Saito) and Earthworm (Pink-hair Inui) are still assigned to Confinement King-sama's bodyguards, and I'm responsible for Moribe...no, Saori-sama's escort. Only Tapeworm (Battle-maniac Hotta) wasn't assigned any duties, but if she said we'll never get bored, it means it's not a simple thing.」

At Centipede (Kishijo - who have boyfriend)'s guess, Earthworm (Pink-hair Inui) showed a gesture of thinking with her hand on her chin.

「Since it's Lili-sama, she might have some information...」

「That's possible.」

I nodded at her words. After all, it was Lili-sama.

Then Centipede (Kishijo - who have boyfriend) let out a big sigh.

「Well, to be honest, anything is fine. But once we're back to our old life, it's such a pain to pick out regular clothes when we have to wear our school uniforms. Maid outfits would be so much better.」

「Totally.」

I nod emphatically.

But in my case, I'm more concerned with my identity as a maid than with whether something is too much of a hassle or not.

「I wonder if we can do something about the headdress at least...」

「Let's be real, there's no way you could wear a headband with a school uniform.」(Inui)

Earthworm (Pink-hair Inui) giggled at my expense, and Tapeworm (Battle-maniac Hotta) said with a sour face and retorts.

「You don't understand. Being a maid is a way of life. No matter what we wear, our hearts are always in our maid outfits. The way of the maid is to put our lives on the line for our masters.」

「Tapeworm (Battle-maniac Hotta) is still a strong style maid.」

Although strong style maids are still a mystery to me, it is true that not wearing a maid's uniform does not make one a maid.

We change the subject abruptly, as girls often do. Then, Earthworm (Pink-hair Inui) suddenly changed the subject.

「Come to think of it, we're going to be divided into factions, right? I wonder what the hierarchy looks like among Confinement King's favorites?」

「I'm curious about that. Depending on who we're placed under, our chances of receiving favor could change drastically.」

Unusually, Tapeworm (Battle-maniac Hotta) leans forward.

「Hmm, I think the princesses are being treated equally, so the problem lies with the semi-princesses and the semi-princess apprentices, right?」

Centipede (Kishijo - who have boyfriend) said, and Earthworm (Pink-hair Inui) named specific individuals.

「I think Natsumi-sama and Takasago-sama are one step ahead. And then there's Amemiya-sama.」

「No, Amemiya-sama is more like a good onaho, isn't she? If we're talking about that, then Ryouko-sama is exceptional. I don't expect Kyoko-sama... but the dark horse is Chihiro-sama.」

When I said that, Earthworm (Pink-hair Inui) clapped her hands.

「Speaking of which, I heard that Chihiro is going to visit her parents' house with Confinement King-sama next time. She's going to introduce him to her parents.」

「Really?」

When I widened my eyes like that, Centipede (Kishijo - who have boyfriend) waved her hands lightly.

「No, no. It's just something Chihiro-sama says on her own. As far as KKO is concerned, there's also Akira-sama and Lolisla-sama...」

「No way, if it's Lolisla-sama.」

「That's right, no way.」

「Yeah, no way.」

As for the other princesses, we all agreed on one point: "No way for Lolisla-sama".

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Thanks for reading.