Chapter 6 discovery

"Now that Day 1's transformations are complete, I'd like to talk a little about the day's program and the days to come. As you've guessed, every morning after breakfast there will be a round of transformations. You've seen what it looks like, there's nothing really nasty about it, at least as long as you cooperate. Of course, if you're too ****, we'll have to use more forceful means to make you do it," says Nezoko.

The threat was barely implied, and almost everyone present took it seriously. There was Marion, of course, who hadn't yet taken the measure of the situation. But reality would eventually set in one way or another.

"Then as for the day's program, 7 of you are completely free to do what you want until breakfast tomorrow morning. You can skip lunch and dinner if you like, but whatever you do, you'll be at breakfast tomorrow morning at 8am. The transformations will take place at 9 am, so try to avoid being late. I'm sorry if you're a late riser, but we don't allow late arrivals," says the hostess.

Most of the girls weren't too bothered by this remark, as most of them were used to getting up early. Except for Marion, who used to get up at 9.30 a.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. on weekends.

"You're probably wondering where we are, so I'll answer that question now. There could only be one place to do the round on the Naruto Theme, and I'm obviously talking about Konoha, the hidden village in the land of fire." said Nezoko, overplaying the announcement so much that the silence that followed was even more deafening.

This seemed to bother Nezoko for a moment, but he quickly recovered.

"Ah yes, I forgot, you can't react if you can't speak. Iris an impression?" asked the hostess.

"I'm curious, what is Konoha? Is that the village where you live?" asked Iris, leaving the host dumbfounded. She couldn't have been expecting this answer.

"Okay, obviously this is my fault how did I ever think that animals descended from baboons would show common sense and logic. It won't happen again. I don't have to ask you such difficult questions anymore, it's clearly out of your competence. Let's talk about something that, as a mammal, you should know a little better. Every night, one of you will have to sleep in the same bed as our Master. You don't have to fuck, but you're encouraged to, of course" said the hostess, who made no secret of her contempt for the human species. Well, no, it wasn't contempt, let's say it was more like how a human being feels about a hamster. Clearly the idea of granting it intellectual qualities didn't even cross his mind.

"The first to sleep tonight with the Master is Karine. Let's give her a big round of applause," says Nezoko.

Karine thought for a moment before concluding that this was good news. Talking to this 'Master' face-to-face while everyone else was still busy analyzing the situation would benefit her. As for William, he had much the same idea in mind. He had to get to the bottom of his suspicions. It was decided he would confront her tonight.

"I'll let you know in the morning who should sleep with the Master in the evening. To punctuate this round until the main event, I'll do my best to propose activities on the theme of this round, of course. Participation in these activities is voluntary, but I'd advise you to take part, as there are plenty of cool prizes to be won, as well as a number of BP. As far as your rooms are concerned, and to find out where you'll be sleeping when you're not sleeping with the Master, I'll show them to you on the guided tour that's about to start in a few moments. I'm now going to allow you to talk and move around. Except, of course, Marion, who is deprived of her right to speak for another 1 hour. Who knows, maybe she'll learn a little politeness," says Nezoko.

Marion didn't seem particularly delighted by this news. The rest of the harem hesitated for a moment. Even Iris didn't dare ask any questions. She did, however, keep her notepad close at hand - you never know. In the end, it was Elisa who spoke up.

"I'm still not sure I've understood everything. Honestly, it's a lot to take in. But if I've understood correctly, you want us to form a harem for William," says Elisa.

_"I can confirm that this is one of the show's basic objectives" _replied Nezoko, delighted that at least one person had understood the show's basic objective.

"Ok then, I'll skip the why and how questions, which I have a feeling won't be satisfactory. Is William responsible for our participation in this show?" asked Elisa.

The idea must have lingered in the minds of all the participants, for they all nodded in agreement when they heard this question. William wanted to take offence that they'd even think he could do that, but in the end, reason prevailed. Of course it was a possibility. He was one of the main beneficiaries of the whole affair, from a certain point of view.

_"William is not responsible for your presence here, at least not in the sense you mean," _Nezoko replied.

"Meaning?" asked Anna, who was clearly not satisfied with this answer.

"That is to say, you've all been chosen because you have a link with our Master. This link can be important, as in the case of you, Anna, or almost anecdotal, as in the case of our inspector, Charlotte," explained the hostess.

The answer seemed to satisfy those present, especially Iris, who was filling entire pages of her notebook.

_"Okay, so I guess the contestants were chosen based on what would be the best scenario for the show. I see it's a vicious logic, but a logic, nonetheless. You've secured our cooperation by putting the threat of transformations on the line. Now I have a question: what's in it for us? From what I can see, all we have to do is do the bare minimum so as not to be punished too much and we'll be fine. How do you plan to motivate us?" _asked Anna, surprising William with her words. He hadn't thought of it that way, but it was a legitimate question.

"The answer is simple. The winner of the show will receive a wish. It can be almost anything as long as it doesn't go against the show. That is, you can't leave the harem or cancel transformations." says Nezoko.

The mention of a wish seemed to captivate her audience, which delighted the hostess. At last, they were reacting properly.

"Can we really wish for anything? For example, world peace, wealth, and eternal youth?" asked Karine, who could hardly believe what she had heard.

"So no, as I said, not just anything, but yes, it's quite possible to grant everything you've taken as an example. I would remind you, however, that it's only for the big winner of the game. You're only at 0 VP for now, so we're far from the end," says Nezoko.

The members of the harem nodded in agreement: it was so far away that it was almost not worth spending time thinking about it. Almost.

_"But what about me? How are you going to get me to cooperate with this show? From what I understand, you won't threaten me with transformations since they have a positive impact on me. Nor can I win the wish in the end. So, what's your plan for that?" _asked William.

Nezoko sighed at this. It was always unbearable to be treated like an idiot by such an inferior species. She was thinking beyond what these insects could conceive.

"William, William what do you think will happen to these women if you refuse all their advances and seek to isolate yourself and not cooperate with the rest of the show?" she asked.

William blushed at this sentence.

"You wouldn't dare..."

"I wouldn't dare punish the harem members for your lack of cooperation, is that what you were going to say? William, I'd do far worse than anything you could imagine. Then look at it this way: if you want to punish a member of the harem, all you have to do is ignore him long enough. However, all this is purely hypothetical, we both know you'll cooperate because you wouldn't want the fate of those women on your conscience," said Nezoko.

William knew how to handle a lot of emotions, but guilt was clearly not one of them.

"You like it, don't you?" said Anna. The sentence sounded more like a statement than a question.

"What is it?" asked Nezoko, even though she understood exactly what Anna was implying.

"You take pleasure in the psychological **** you inflict on William and on us," said Anna.

"Oh Anna, I haven't even started yet, all this is just an amuse-bouche. You'll see, I'll do my best to shake all your certainties before this show is over" replied Nezoko, which succeeded in making William worry even more.

A silence settled in. Everyone was lost in thought. Were they worrying or dreaming about what might be asking with wishes? Hard to say, probably both.

"If not, I propose to show you where you're going to sleep. Follow me" said the hostess.

Without further protest, the participants hurried to follow her. There was no discussion. No one was talking. They were busy thinking and observing the village they were in.

The architecture was strange, to say the least. Traces of classical Japanese architecture were clearly visible but mixed with different traces of modernity. They walked for a few minutes, changing direction so many times that Elisa wondered if Nezoko was lost. Eventually, however, she stopped in front of a door and opened it without waiting.

"This is the room of the first pair of the harem," said the hostess.

The room was rudimentary, to say the least. A single double bed with a chest of drawers as the only other piece of furniture. The whole was in a rather pronounced Japanese style, but with a few Western touches here and there.

"It's simple," commented Elisa.

"I'm delighted you like it, as it will be your room with Hélène. Elisa and Hélène were the Suiton team. We'll continue our tour, and you can spend some time in your room later," said Nezoko.

They continued, and 3 times the same scene was repeated with the Raiton (Anna & Nicole), Katon (Charlotte & Karine) and Doton (Marion & Iris) teams. The tour concluded with the Master's room, also known as the Futon suite. William immediately recognized the building he was in. It was the Hokage office in the manga. It stood just below the Mount Rushmore of Naruto's Kages.

The room was far more luxurious than the others. And the bed was of a size William could hardly describe.

"That concludes our tour of the rooms. I think you're starving, it's almost noon after all. So I'll take you to the dining room and then you'll be free for the rest of the day." said the hostess.

They entered a simple dining room with a rectangular table containing all manner of dishes. There was a total of 9 chairs in 2 rows of 4 facing each other, with one seat at the end of the table. This was the seat dedicated to the master.

"And that concludes this tour, I'll leave you to enjoy the rest of your day. If you have a concern, I'm sure it can wait until tomorrow. Feel free to explore if you get lost and I'll teleport you back here tomorrow for the transformations," said Nezoko before simply disappearing before their very eyes.