An apathetic shark maid...and more!

"Hello, master. My name is Ellen Joe from Zenless Zone Zero. It's an honor to serve you..."

Ellen's tone made it clear that she was not thrilled to introduce herself.

James scratched the side of his cheek. An indifferent maid was something he hadn't anticipated before buying characters in bulk.

"Good to see you, Ellen. My name is James Gardner. As you may know, I am your new master..."

Ellen snorted through her nose. When James stared at her, she feigned a small cough.

"...from now on. Do you have anything you want to say, or—"

"Does it matter?"

Ellen blurted out.

"What?"

The shark maid leaned forward and stared into James's eyes. Their nose barely brushed against each other.

"Personally, I'm not thrilled to be owned by someone I don't even know.

But judging from what that pink-haired maid said, it doesn't matter what I think or feel. You could literally modify me to feel most happiness while I suck your cock.

So, I don't have anything to say. Because it doesn't matter."

James looked into Ellen's eyes.

They seemed to be uninterested, apathetic—but he had a feeling that underneath those covers, there were fear and uncertainty bubbling deep within her heart.

"...I'm going to do my best to make you happy under my care. I promise."

Ellen huffed. Her thick shark tail swished once. She didn't look conviced as she stepped out of the office.

James sighed.

Inside the office table shelves, there were several documents about character ownerships.

Most of them were technical mumbo-jumbo, but one sentence stuck into his head.

[Characters are not human; when they aren't compliant, don't hesitate to use **** or any other method of discipline.]

James recalled the numerous examples showcased by other customers in the emporium. How the characters were often treated worse than a regualr family pet.

He shook his head.

He wasn't going to fall down to those level, no matter what. That was for certain...or so he hoped.

The final made took James by surprise as soon as she entered the room.

For starters, she was the only character taller than him. The closest record before was Karin, who was 170cm—a few cm short compared to him.

Meanwhile, this character seemed ay least 5~6cm taller than he was.

James stared up as the character walked in, her black shoulder armors clanking slightly, and took a seat on the chair.

"Uh...name please?"

The character didn't reply.

Her yellow-ish eyes reminded James of a dragon, and he swallowed a glob of spit.

"For the record, I am aware of your identity, I just want you to introduce yourself."

"Artoria Pendragon."

James stared at the character, wondering if he had just heard her correctly.

"Artoria Pendragon? You mean Saber? But..."

"She and I are essentially the same being. We only made a different choice when the crossroad appeared in front of us.

Therefore, although my name is Artoria Pendragon...I was called Artoria Pendragon Lancer Alter, or Lalter for short. I'm from the...Fate/Grand Order series."

Lalter frowned slightly as she explained the difference between her and Saber.

James scratched his head.

He recalled Saber saying she was from Fate/Apocrypha, not Fate/Grand Order.

He wondered if there were multiple 'Fate' series, in which case, things would get confusing really quick.

"...what's the different choice you made?"

He asked, more out of curiosity than anything.

Lalter paused, then rested her back on the chair with a small sigh.

"While the Saber you knew chose the road of a king, I chose the road of a Wild Hunt—to lead the deceased, unresting souls for an eternal pursuit.

But, in the end, it didn't matter.

Those crossroads ended up at the same spot; a servant to a man unrelated to either of us."

Lalter tapped the table with her forefinger with a wistful expression. By the looks of it, she wasn't accepting of her place as well.

After a brief pause, James decided to take a risky question.

"Would you rather be with someone else, or somewhere else? Because if so, I'll see if there is a way to help you."

Truthfully, James had no idea if what he said was possible.

It was strictly prohibited to send a summoned character back to their homeworld, and he didn't know if there was any way to circumvent that law.

However, to his surprise, Lalter shook her head.

"It seems like you misunderstood my intention, Master."

James blinked, surprised to hear Lalter call him Master without any detest.

"I didn't mean to reprove your actions. On the contrary, I am thankful.

Judging from what Ram had told us, you've seemed to have taken good care for Saber when she could have experienced something much, much worse.

I wish for you to keep caring for Saber like you have been doing up until now. And if a simple goodwill is not enough..."

Lalter gently pulled up her leotard, letting her tits fall out in the open.

"...I'll gladly offer my body and loyalty to you.

You can exert your deepest, farkest fantasies upon me, and I'll gladly accept them with open arms."

James gulped.

He wanted to say that he had heroically recined the offer immediately and reassured her that he would take good care of them both no matter what.

In reality, he was too busy hiding his rapidly hardening erection as he nearly drooled over the table.

Eventually, Lalter dropped her leotard back into place.

"I'll take it that you accepted my offer."

She said in a calm voice, but her face was blushing deeply.

Lalter quickly got up and headed to the door.

Still torn between taking care of the more incompliant maids and his throbbing cock just wanting to line them up and fuck each and evety one of them, James stood up to leave the office.

However, just when he took a step towards the door, it swung open again.

"Hello, master. My name is Rem. I am from Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu. I'm the last character you are receiving today!"

"Pardon?"

James froze on his spot. He quickly did a head count on the characters he had ordered before leaving Mansion De Maid.

"...no offense, but I'm sure I only bought 5 characters."

Rem smiled softly.

"Oh, you did. But Madam Ram said since you bought in a bulk, she slipped in me as a service."

After a pause, Rem slowly leaned in and added a whisper.

"I think she just wants you to buy a Ram as well."

James furrowed his brow. Why was the shopkeeper Ram so determined to get other versions of herself sold?

"If she wants me to take a Ram...why didn't she just give me one?"

Rem placed a finger on her chin and tilted her head, looking confused herself.

"No idea. Perhaps it's because I'm her sister."

"What!?"

James leaped out of his chair in surprise.

"You mean Ram just gave out her sister for free!?"

"Oh! No, no, that's not what I meant!"

Rem hurridly waved her hands.

"I meant, the character 'Rem' is a sister to character 'Ram', and we usually come in pairs.

So when someone only gets one, they are naturally drawn to buy the other as well."

"I-I see..."

James sat back down, but he still felt uneasy about the whole ordeal.

According to Rem's explanation, it just sounded that it was highly unlikely that this Rem and shopkeeper Ram was related.

Besides, even if they weren't actually sisters, it was as close as someone could be to being one.

James couldn't help but be disturbed by Ram's marketing scheme.

"...What happens if I don't take you, Rem?"

"I'd guess its back for the cryogenic tubes for me, or maybe I get sold off to some other shop."

Rem answered in such a casual tone, as if she was talking about what kind of groceries.

Somehow that irritated James even more.

James burst out of the office with fuming breathes, which Ram took it as a clear sign of victory.

"I see that you seem to have taken my gift, sir."

She said with a smirk.

Rem gave a wink from behind, but James marched straight up to the pink maid and poked her exposed chest in a hostile manner.

"Don't do this again. If you want me to get you, then fucking ask."

Ram hesitated.

Her pink eye trembled slightly as it looked down at James.

But then, Ram looked away with a huff and a shrug.

"Aren't you full of yourself. Before venting your anger out on an innocent saleswoman, why don't you get a hold on your characters?"

"What?"

James frowned and quickly followed Ram back out to the shop lounge.

And what he saw made his jaw drop open.

"Ryu! What are you doing!?"