Nice to meet you, young lady

"I'm back～"

I returned to the base with the maid homunculus, Rena, trailing behind me.

"Ah, welcome back, Onee-san. Were you out somewhere?"

Dea-kun came to greet me… Crap. The whole reason I went out was to get something I could use in secret without Dea-kun or Aishia finding out…

"Hm? And who might this be…? A new friend of yours, Onee-san?"

"Nice to meet you, young lady. It seems I have found the one I am meant to serve. I am Rena, your maid."

"Eh?"

"Huh?"

In a flash, Rena had glided in front of Dea-kun, dropped to one knee, and was gazing up at him while cradling his hand in both of hers.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing to my Dea-kun?"

"So your name is Dea-sama. What a lovely, charming name. Young lady, please command your maid Rena as you see fit."

"Um. I'm a boy. So I'm not a young lady."

Dea-kun calmly and gently turned her down.

Hah, too bad for you! Dea-kun isn't a girl! Dea-kun is strictly for looking at!

"This cute AND you have a little something extra down there? What a bargain. That'll make nighttime service so much more rewarding, won't it?"

But Rena didn't so much as flinch. If anything, she doubled down.

"Then allow me to visit your chambers tonight. Don't worry, leave everything to me."

"We're not doing that!?"

"Not happening!?"

I grabbed Rena and tried to pry her off… tried to… I can't pry her off!? What monstrous strength this woman has!!

"Please stop, Karina-san. I am Dea-ojousama's maid."

"If you're a maid then stay back! And don't think you can become Dea-kun's maid without my permission!?"

"Why would I need your permission? My pseudo-soul has already designated itself as Dea-ojousama's maid. There is no room for you to interfere."

"Ah… Please stand down, Rena-san? A maid who can't listen to what Onee-san says is unnecessary. This is Onee-san's house, you know?"

"My deepest apologies, young lady."

The moment Dea-kun spoke, Rena obediently apologized, released his hand, and glided smoothly into position diagonally behind him.

"Sorry for bringing home something weird, Dea-kun."

"No, I'm used to dealing with maids, so it's fine. We had quite a few at my family home. Would you mind letting me handle this for a bit?"

"Ah. Sure."

Right, Dea-kun really was a young master from a good family. Having a fair number of maids around, knowing how to handle them and all that.

"By the way, what gives you the right to call yourself my maid without having established an employment contract?"

"My apologies, young lady. Then let us form a Contract Magic. My compensation shall be the privilege of serving you, young lady. In exchange, I shall serve you, young lady."

"I can't trust someone who doesn't discuss wages. Compensation is necessary for living, isn't it? Are you perhaps a spy receiving payment from somewhere else?"

Dea-kun's words were pointed, but perfectly reasonable. And yet Rena's eyes positively sparkled with delight.

If I had to put it into words, it'd be something like: "This master is the best."

"I am a homunculus created to be a maid. Without a master, I have no choice but to die. Conversely, if I have a master, my Chaos Engine will function and I can serve tirelessly without sleep or rest… Serving you, young lady. That is both the condition for my survival and my compensation."

"I see, so your very life is the payment… That's somewhat believable, but in that case, please serve Onee-san. I'm just a freeloader here."

"Please reconsider!!!!! I want to serve a beautiful girl!!! My Chaos Engine is revving like crazy and my energy is at MAX!!!"

Hey, I'm a beautiful girl too, you know?

"A natural one is obviously better!!!"

"… Fair point."