Bonus Story
Azuma
A MAGI SERVED AS the supervisor of the mass-produced maid robots
who worked in House Banfield's mansion, but aside from her the maid
robots were all of equal standing. There was no hierarchy between them,
save that they all obeyed Amagi.
The highly efficient maid robots worked in a mechanical, inhuman
way, but there was a certain beauty to them. Their movements surpassed
the clumsiness of humans, and if an unforeseen situation occurred, they
responded without alarm, hurry, or waste. They were indispensable in the
maintenance of House Banfield's vast mansion.
The people of the Algrand Empire weren't fond of artificial
intelligence, however. It had risen up against humanity—its creators—in
the past, and in fact, almost destroyed them. That history had been passed
down within the Empire, and people still tried to avoid artificial
intelligence. Thus, not many appreciated the work of Amagi and the other
maid robots.
Still, the maid robots were hard at work once more without
complaint.
Shirane was now cleaning a room that Liam used. She went about
her duties indifferently, until a few human servants peeked through the
door she'd left ajar to air out the room.
These were also maids who worked for House Banfield, but they
enjoyed a high status among the servants. They were either noble girls
who'd come to House Banfield for training, or the children of officials and
soldiers who held important positions within the domain.
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These girls, aware of their privileged position, glared at Shirane
harshly.
"Why does the count let a maid robot clean his rooms?"
"I hear it's always been like this. What's that all about?"
"Careful... You'll get chased out if you complain too much.
Remember that big group that disappeared a while back?"
They were annoyed because, with the exception of a few
individuals, only the maid robots were allowed to serve at Liam's side.
These girls were being instructed by Serena, House Banfield's head
maid, and though one had received high marks as a maid, even she wasn't
allowed to serve Liam personally. In addition, their understanding of
House Banfield was that the lord would never take you to his bed, however
hard you worked. But House Banfield had made itself known far and wide
within the Algrand Empire, and thus, many girls went there hoping for a
chance to advance themselves by way of Liam's bed.
Any number of people requested to work at the mansion, so
naturally the competition for positions there was tough. As a result, only
the most elite were employed. Even the maids were women who'd been
extolled as peerless beauties in their homelands. When they made it
through the harsh competition, however, and finally arrived at House
Banfield's mansion, they found nothing but other girls just as capable as
they were. Thus, the competition didn't end after they were hired. In light
of that, the maids' frustration when Liam hadn't taken notice of a single
one of them was only natural.
The three maids observed Shirane's expression.
"You can't tell what she's thinking with that blank look on her
face."
"They have nothing but work in their heads."
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"Come on, let's get going. If someone sees us here, they'll snitch,
and we'll get demoted."
The three eventually left, tired of spying on Shirane.
Once Shirane had confirmed that they were gone, she changed her
vision mode. Before, she had only been looking at the view before her, but
now comments popped up and vanished one after another at the edge of
her vision, sometimes even accompanied by images.
Shirane was alone in Liam's room, but to her it seemed lively with
all her fellow maid robots' commentary.
"Who was it? Who did it?! Who moved the vase on display in Hall
B309?!"
"Ah...that was Chino."
"Chino?! Why did that pet move the vase? How come?! Come on,
someone tell me!"
"Well, she broke a few of them. Master had to buy new ones."
"No! My perfect arrangement has been distuuuuurbed!"
More maid robots joined in the conversation, to respond to their
upset sister's comments.
Shiomi added to the line of comments: "Azuma again? You're so
noisy."
When Shiomi wrote that this, Azuma responded with an angry emoji
and a new comment: "I don't want to hear that from you, Shiomi! You're
the one always making a fuss and getting in trouble with our supervisor,
aren't you?"
"Now you've done it, you bootlicker!"
"Huh? Was that a compliment?"
"It was an insult! Do you even have the same specs as the rest of us
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if you can't recognize an insult?"
"You may have intended it as an insult, but I choose to take it as a
compliment."
On the outside, the maid robots appeared impassive, but they shared
a great amount of chatter through their dedicated network.
Shirane posted a sighing emoji and added her own comment:
"You're too fond of the supervisor, Azuma."
Her sisters replied one by one to her comment.
"Yeah, you're obsessed with her."
"You threw a fit the other day about wanting to work with her,
didn't you?"
"Aren't you the one causing her the most trouble?"
The comments flowed across Shirane's field of vision. Azuma
must've read them all as well, because she posted an angry emoji before
leaving the chatroom.
***
The next day, on her way to work, Shirane spotted Azuma being
reprimanded by Amagi. To an outsider, Azuma would merely appear to be
hanging her head without expression. To Shirane, however, she looked as
though she were crying.
Amagi scolded Azuma dispassionately. "You have not completed
your tasks on time, Azuma. You spend too much time focused on one
thing and ignore your schedule. Which vase is placed where does not
matter. They are functionally the same."
Apparently, Azuma was dissatisfied with the placement of the vases
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in the mansion's hallways, so she'd been rearranging them, which threw
off her schedule.
"But those vases—"
"I am not looking for an explanation. Return to your work
immediately."
Chastised by her beloved Amagi, Azuma became so despondent that
someone might even have been able to notice it in her expression.
Comments flew by in the maids' chatroom.
"Aw. She got in trouble."
"The supervisor shows no mercy."
"Master will always be the supervisor's first priority. There's
nothing we can do about that."
The maid robots sympathized with Azuma, but their reactions were
rather lighthearted.
Shirane was about to head to her own workplace when...
"Don't you think that's enough?"
Liam, who'd apparently hidden behind a pillar to watch the maids,
called out to Amagi in concern. It must've hurt him to see her scolding
Azuma like that.
Amagi remained expressionless as always, but Liam's appearance
seemed to exasperate her. "Master, please stop hiding inside your own
mansion. It is not suitable behavior for the head of the house."
She was telling him not to sneak around, but to behave like he
owned the place, since he did.
Looking awkward, Liam came out from behind the pillar and
approached Amagi and Azuma. "I didn't want to bother you."
Amagi didn't seem to trust his excuse. "You did not?"
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"I know it's your job to watch over Azuma and the others, Amagi,
but I think you're being a little harsh. It's not like she was slacking in her
work."
"It is slacking, if she does not adhere to her schedule. Master, it is
my duty to manage the maid robots. I cannot perform that duty if you
question every little thing I do."
Amagi was resolute even with her master. She appreciated Liam
worrying over the maid robots, but she saw him as interfering in her job.
At that point, Liam faltered. "D-don't you feel bad for her?!
Azuma's a good girl. She takes her work really seriously. And she's the
most devoted to you, isn't she?"
"Devotion is not a replacement for completing her duties. We are
responsible for maintaining this mansion. We have no reason to exist if we
cannot fulfill that responsibility."
"You don't need a reason to exist! If anyone complains about you,
I'll cut them!"
Even an artificial intelligence could sense the bloodlust in those last
words. Liam had probably imagined someone treating the maid robots
cruelly.
Azuma was rather flustered by Liam's behavior—by maid-robot
standards, that is. "I am the one at fault. There is no need for you to be
angry with the supervisor, Master."
"Oh, Azuma... You're such a good girl." Liam was tearing up.
"Okay, let's consider the vase placements together. Amagi, I want to move
the vases around with Azuma, so can I borrow her?"
The majesty of the absolute ruler of House Banfield was nowhere to
be seen in the boy timidly asking his maid for permission. He looked just
like a child pleading with his mother.
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Amagi shook her head slightly, likely getting the exact same
impression. "I cannot disobey your orders, Master."
Still, she didn't seem entirely content with his request, which
evidently made Liam nervous. "Liar. You'll get mad at me about this later,
won't you?"
"Will you still take her, knowing that?"
Liam's eyes darted for a moment; then he grabbed Azuma's hand
and ran off with her.
***
As Liam helped her rearrange the hallway vases, Azuma was
apologetic. "I am sorry for troubling you, Master."
"Don't worry about it. Amagi's scary when you make her mad,
though, so just be careful."
"Yes." Azuma continued to look sad, as if she couldn't forgive
herself, despite Liam's forgiveness.
Seeing that, Liam scratched his head awkwardly. "You really don't
need to worry about it. I want you guys to get along, I guess. I want you to
enjoy your time here. If you do, I'll enjoy myself too."
Azuma cocked her head. "But should you not be the one focused on
enjoying yourself, Master? We only exist for your comfort."
"Yeah, I guess so. Still, I want you guys to be happy. That will make
me happy."
As the two switched vases around, Tia and Marie appeared wearing
cute, frilly maid outfits with cat ears and bunny ears respectively.
"Lord Liam! Why are you doing something like that yourself?!"
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"We can take care of this! Please rest, Lord Liam!"
The pair did their absolute best to impress him.
In return, Liam only gave them a revolted look. "Don't get in the
way of my time with Azuma. You two can go clean the yard or
something."
The women's shoulders slumped. "Y-yes, sir," they murmured
sullenly, slinking off.
"You're kind to us but cold to humans, Master," Azuma said.
"I think I'm being pretty lenient with them, considering what they
did."
"What would you do if one of us maid robots committed the same
sort of crime?"
Liam gave the question a good thirty seconds or so of thought. "I
guess I'd say, 'Bad girl!' and that'd be about it. I just can't get that mad at
you guys."
"You really are harsh on humans, Master."
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