I guess I know what I did wrong

“That was so much fun!” Dawn stretched her arms over her head as she walked back into the hotel, in the lead. Dani and Nick followed behind her, putting them in the perfect position to see Dawn’s tail flicking behind her, supporting the veracity of her statement. “It’s been a while since I went on a good nature hike!”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it!” Dani said with a smile. “We should really thank Kim for the idea- I had a lot of fun, too. What about you, Nick?”

Nick nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I think so, too. It wasn’t as intense as I was fearing it would be.” He’d enjoyed the hike, and it hadn’t even gotten him all that sweaty.

It had been a good time.

“I didn’t know you like nature walks, Dawn,” Dani said, catching up to the short girl. “Forgive me for saying this, but you don’t seem the type.”

“I get that a lot,” Dawn admitted sheepishly as they passed through the lobby, heading for the elevators. “Because I’m so short, right?”

Dani shook her head quickly. “No, that’s not it at all,” she assured the other girl. “It’s mainly because, well… you’re so smart.”

Dawn blinked and tilted her head to the side. “What, smart girls can’t enjoy a good workout every now and then?” She teased. “You know, I used to be a gymnast, too.”

“Yes, we’re quite aware of that,” Nick said with a laugh. “The leotard kind of gave you away.”

Dawn stuck out her tongue in response. Her ears twitched playfully. Dani giggled right along with her, and nodded.

“Back when I used to travel, I would go all over the place,” Dawn explained. “There are a lot of hiking trails in asia, which is one of my favorite destinations.”

“Wow, that’s amazing,” Dani said wistfully. “I’d love to travel someday. Go to Japan, you know? I’ve always wanted to go there.”

Nick could picture that. Dani, looking like she did now, walking through the streets of Japan? People would assume she was a bold cosplayer. It would probably be a pretty funny sight.

…But, he figured that he probably shouldn’t mention that stuff out loud, it might just make her embarrassed.

Plus, he didn’t want to ruin the mood.

“Japan is one of my favorite places to travel, too!” Dawn said enthusiastically. “We should totally go sometime, Dani! On my last trip, I stayed in this beautiful little ryokan, it was just lovely, you’d totally like it! Hey, maybe Carly can come, too!”

Dani liked the sound of that. Carly would absolutely love to go to Japan.

“Hey, can I come?” Nick raised his hand, only half-serious. The two girls turned and looked at him, surprised.

“…Well, yeah,” Dani said, nodding. “I thought that went without saying.”

“Of course you’re invited, Nick!” Dawn agreed enthusiastically. Her cheeks turned red and her ears flattened on her head as her tail drooped down behind her from shyness. “I, uh, thought that it would be a great trip for the two of us. And, well, Dani and Carly too, of course.”

Nick nodded thoughtfully. It really did sound like an enjoyable trip. Something that they could do when they returned to earth. Whenever that would happen.

“It’s pretty pricy, though,” Dani said. “You don’t have to pay for me or anything, Dawn.”

“We can work all that out later,” Dawn said, waving her hand. Right now, she didn’t care about anything like that, she just wanted to spend time with the people she liked. They could decide how the trip would go.

Who knows? Maybe, in the future, the whole harem could end up going on a trip to Japan. That seemed like a wonderful idea!

“…We can talk about this later, though,” Dawn said, turning to the elevator. “For now, let’s head up! It’s almost time for dinner!”

She paused, her hand freezing right above the button. Looking sheepish again, she turned and smiled bashfully at Dani.

“…Sorry. I was kind of, uh… trying to get ahead of myself there. This is YOUR date, Dani. I shouldn’t rush things. Is there anything else you’d like to do?”

Dani appreciated the consideration from Dawn. She glanced at Nick. “…Honestly? I think I’m good,” she replied, shaking her head. “I’ve had a lot of fun already, and I think you have, too, isn’t that right, Nick?” She asked him.

“Yeah,” Nick agreed, nodding. “I had a lot of fun today. Thanks, Dani.”

After the intense emotions he’d faced with Gina on his date yesterday, he appreciated having a day where he could just take things easy and relax with his friends and enjoy himself.

Yes, today had been pretty intense in terms of his physical strain, but it had been relaxing on an emotional level, and that was fine by him.

“I think we can head up, then,” Dani said. “And don’t worry about dinner- I think I’m gonna try my hand at cooking again!” She declared, cracking her knuckles like she was planning on getting into a fistfight with the stove instead of cooking on it.

Nick appreciated her passion.

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Dawn said. “As long as I don’t end up having to eat semen, like last time… blegh.”

She made a face like she was going to be sick. But as Nick remembered, she had actually liked that decently well when Rose had prepared it for her, even though he didn’t like the fact that the blonde had done something so underhanded.

Dani made a face of her own. “…Don’t even joke about that, please,” she said, shaking her head in disgust. “I’m gonna make some great food, just you wait!”

She winked at Dawn, and the cat girl nodded in excitement.

Nick was just glad that everything seemed to be going smoothly. The three of them got into the elevator, and headed up to the Master’s Suite.

But, when they got to the Master’s Suite, he was taken aback by what he saw waiting for him outside of the door.

“…Mary?” He asked, surprised. His eyes widened as he approached his wife. Mary had a worried expression on her face. She shook her head quickly and bit her lip.

“Nick, it’s, it’s, uh… …Yeah,” she mumbled out, not even speaking coherently to him. Nick didn’t know what to make of that.

“Is everything okay?” Dawn immediately shifted from her laid-back, playful vibe to a sense of urgency when she heard the worry in the other woman’s voice. “Did Echo do something?”

Dani bit her lip.

“No!” Mary’s eyes widened and she waved her hands quickly. “No, it’s nothing, um… nothing like that, I mean… not… not technically, I guess…”

She glanced uneasily at the door, then back to Nick.

“…Just… I wanted to talk to you before you went inside,” she said. “It’s… kind of important that I do, you know? So you won’t get surprised by what you see.”

Nick was immediately worried again. “Yeah, of course,” he said to his wife, nodding. “Whatever you need, Mary. So, what’s going on?”

She glanced back at the door again. “It’s, it’s about, um… …Cinder,” she mumbled out at last. “She and Sylvia are, uh… waiting for you inside.”

Nick’s eyes widened in surprise. He looked at Dani and Dawn, both of whom seemed just as confused as he felt.

“Well… that’s not exactly new, I guess,” Nick said, shrugging. “I mean, Cinder’s here to do her job, right?” He asked.

Mary blinked, and nodded. But the apprehension Nick saw on her face told him that there was more to it than she was letting on.

“…If that’s not it, then what’s going on?” Dani asked, sensing something was amiss.

Mary shook her head. “Just… just come in, okay?” She opened the door and led the three of them into the suite.

“Good evening, Daddy!” They were immediately greeted by Sylvia’s charming smile. The white-haired girl leaned over and winked coquettishly at the three of them, but it was obvious that her affections were reserved for Nick.

She was dressed in a very skimpy maid costume, which immediately set off alarm bells in Nick’s head when he saw it.

Oh, please, please don’t tell me that she’s going to be doing something to seduce me, he silently prayed. He didn’t have the energy to deal with that now. But at the same time, he couldn’t bring himself to push her away, either.

If she was going to go to this much trouble and use her Method Acting transformation to copy Cinder’s maid obligations for the day, then he was at least just as obliged to hear her out and be normal around her, rather than give her the cold shoulder.

So, in that regard, he tried his best.

Sylvia was smiling from ear to ear. But the real problem Nick had was with the girl standing next to her, and he didn’t realize it until his eyes landed on her.

Cinder looked miserable. More miserable than he’d ever seen her before, and that was saying something.

Her clothes were rumpled, like she’d had to change into and out of them multiple times. Her hair was even messier than usual and her eyes looked tired. They brimmed with hunger, like she’d been going without eating. He noticed all those physical details first, so he didn’t even see the collar around her neck for a few seconds.

Dawn picked up immediately that something was wrong, though. She was much more perceptive than he was.

“Cinder!” She gasped, running over to the maid. “Is everything alright? You look terrible!”

“Oh, thank you,” Cinder sarcastically growled at the other woman. “That’s what everybody wants to hear, isn’t it?”

Dawn’s cheeks reddened. “Err… I didn’t mean, I just… uh…”

Her mouth flopped open and closed for a moment as she tried to come up with something to say. Usually, she could handle herself a little better than this, but Cinder’s viciousness had put her in an awkward position.

Biting her lip, Dawn turned and looked at Nick for moral support.

“Is something wrong?” Dani asked hesitantly. She knew that she and Cinder didn’t exactly get along well, as this morning had proved, but she was still worried about the agitated maid. It looked like Cinder had really been put through the wringer, which was saying something seeing as THEY had been the ones who’d just come off a multi-hour hike.

“Just forget about it,” Cinder muttered at her. “Okay? It’s none of your fucking business!”

“Sorry, you’ll have to excuse her,” Sylvia chirped, stepping in front of the other girl and holding her hands out to the sides. A not-so-subtle attempt to draw their attention back over to her. “Cinder, she, uh… …Well, it’s a long story-”

“Sylvia, shut your fucking mouth!” Cinder snapped at her. Her listless frame suddenly became animated, and she shot a furious glare at the other maid. For a moment, the only thing she wanted to do was shut Sylvia up FOR her, once she realized that Sylvia was just going to keep on talking regardless.

Once that thought crossed her mind, a jolt of pleasure shot through her body courtesy of the collar, and she started to shake.

“RrrgghaaaaannnhhhhhH!” Cinder’s furious growl gave way to a pleasured moan and she doubled over, clinging to the couch as her body shook like a leaf.

Sylvia winced. “Oof… yeah, that’ll happen sometimes,” she said, clicking her tongue and shaking her head. “Sorry, but you shoulda known better…”

“Wait, what just happened?” Nick asked. He finally noticed the collar Cinder was wearing. “Sylvia, what’s with that collar?!”

“Oh, you mean Cinder’s collar?” Sylvia blinked. “Yeah, see, I’m not supposed to talk about that, didn’t you hear her?”

She puffed out her cheeks and put on a scolding voice. “Naughty Daddy! Asking a girl to reveal her friend’s secrets like that!”

Nick wasn’t amused. Neither was Cinder, for that matter.

“You fucking bitch…” Cinder managed to sit herself down on the couch as the last shocks of pleasure finished traveling through her system. “Stop being… such a fucking little brat…”

“Sylvia…” Dawn narrowed her eyes at the white-haired girl, and she wasn’t alone. Dani also leveled a glare, even though she doubted Sylvia was actually responsible for what was going on here.

Sylvia looked around, and then raised her hands. “Okay, okay, I’ll tell you guys,” she said, taking a step back. “Since Cinder said it was okay.”

Cinder looked like she wanted to eat a lightbulb, but she still nodded reluctantly and then hung her head in embarrassment.

This was the last thing she wanted to think about right now.

Getting the other girl’s tacit permission, Sylvia cleared her throat, presenting herself like she was the host once more, and with a flourish, presented Cinder’s transformation to the others.

• Obedience Collar: Cinder has been lashing out like a brat, or more like a wild animal. That kind of behavior isn’t acceptable for a dignified young lady! So, to facilitate a more productive state of mind, she’s been affixed with an Obedience Collar. As long as she’s wearing that collar, any action she takes or thought she has that runs contrary to the rules of Harem Hotel will result in an overwhelming surge of pleasure. Whether that will have any impact on her behavior or not remains to be seen. (Punishment)

It took everyone a second to register what they were seeing. Dani’s eyes nearly bulged out of her skull in surprise.

“…You’ve gotta be shitting me,” she muttered, shaking her head. Once the shock wore off, anger flooded into her. “That bitch! What does she think she’s playing at, doing something like this!?”

“This is way more serious than I would have expected,” Dawn said, biting her lip. She had no idea that Echo would actually start implementing punishment transformations.

Nick’s reaction was far more subdued in comparison. He just read over the punishment transformation again silently, and then turned and looked at Cinder.

The furious girl’s face softened when their eyes met, which was unusual. He saw the look of guilt that flickered across her face, and immediately knew what was going on here.

“…Cinder, what happened?” He asked quietly, walking over to her. He may have been taking a risk by trying to interact with her directly, but he was willing to do that.

Cinder looked up at him with a pained expression on her face. She clenched and unclenched her fist, and he thought she was going to attack him at first… before he saw how distraught she looked.

Nick tried again, “…Cinder?”

“…Why does it even matter?” She muttered out, lowering her head. “You saw. You saw what I got, fucking thing… fucking… piece of garbage, fuck! FUCK!”

She slammed her fists down on the couch. Apparently, random acts of violence were acceptable when they were directed towards the furniture.

“ONE job!” She screamed. “I had ONE job! Keep Ella safe! Protect her! And what happens!?”

Cinder jammed her fingers into the collar and tugged on it until the pressure of the metal on her neck started to hurt. No matter how hard she pulled, she wouldn’t be able to tear the damn thing off. It was affixed to her.

“…I end up getting her punished like this!”

Tears welled up in her eyes, practically steaming from the heat in her glare. “How could I do that?” She muttered aloud. “How could I… do something like that to Ella…?”

Nick still didn’t know what exactly it was that Cinder had done. Which meant he didn’t know how to console her.

Not that she would even want consolation from him, given how she always was.

“…I’m sorry,” he said awkwardly, not sure what else to tell her. “This isn’t fair, Cinder, but… Echo wouldn’t just give you a punishment transformation like this for no reason.”

It made him feel sick to his stomach, defending the host’s decision like that, especially considering how much it obviously tormented the girl in front of him.

But part of being a harem master was understanding the value of fairness. That had been made abundantly clear to him.

Cinder raised her head and leered at him, but she didn’t look as angry as she could have.

Because the person she knew was responsible was herself.

“I can answer that, Daddy,” Sylvia said quietly, walking up beside him. She tugged on his sleeve. “…Cinder got into a fight with me. She lost her temper, and Echo happened to see it. That’s how. That’s how… all this happened.”

Nick frowned. He hated being right like this.

“Isn’t it just SO hilarious?” Cinder muttered, shaking her head. “I make a mistake like that, I lose my temper, and what happens!? I get punished! Fucking hell…”

“Excuse me!”

Mary’s sharp voice cut through the crowd. She had her hands on her hips, and a firm expression on her face.

“The fuck do you want?” Cinder spat at her.

“First, I want to say this!” Mary was using her no-nonsense voice. “Cinder, I’m sorry about the state that you’re in right now. It must be hard, dealing with that transformation.”

Cinder didn’t reply, she just kept glaring.

“…At the same time, however, you did do something bad,” Mary pointed out. Her voice softened just a hair. “…I don’t disagree that Echo’s punishment… it was too much. But are you just going to lash out at everyone when you’re upset, instead? Because… that isn’t fair, either.”

It was a harsh truth. Nick could understand where his wife was coming from, but was this really the time?

“And what about Ella, huh!?” Cinder demanded. She stood up and balled up her fists. “She’s stuck with this stupid punishment too, you know!”

“I know, and that’s what I find to be the most unfair thing about this,” Mary said. Any trace of scolding was gone from her expression now, and she only looked at Cinder with sympathy. “I wish there was something we could do to help… but like this… I just don’t see how.”

“It’s fucking ridiculous is what it is,” Dani muttered.

Dawn didn’t say anything. She was too overwhelmed by guilt. It’s my fault. When she ran, I should have gone after her. Maybe if I did, then this wouldn’t have happened.

“Okay! Everyone, you’re all correct, this is a really bad situation! But, it could be worse,” Sylvia reminded everyone. “It’s just a temporary punishment transformation! Right? So… all we have to do is help Cinder push through it!”

She was trying to keep everyone’s spirits up. But her words fell on hollow ears.