Words are very unnecessary, they can only do harm

Amelia felt her hand shake as she knocked on the door. But she pushed past that. She had dealt with troublesome students before. One was behind her, in the common area, heckling her behind her back even!

She just had to think of Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin as another troublesome student. Just a girl with a bad past who made bad decisions, and needed some stern support to get her life back on track, that’s all.

Even if those decisions were multiple assassinations.

Still. Amelia couldn’t let that affect her judgment.

She knocked on the door.

No response. Then again… what was she expecting? It’s not like the assassin could tell her to come in or anything like that. Did she even know the proper etiquette to come to the door when someone was knocking?

If Amelia wanted to actually have a conversation- or something resembling a conversation, anyway- then she’d have to be proactive about it, even if that meant being a little rude.

She took a deep breath, exhaled, and walked into the room, knowing that if the mute assassin wanted to get mad at her, she’d have every right.

The dark-haired girl’s eyes widened when she saw Amelia enter her bedroom. Immediately, she sprung forward and braced herself, ready to pounce like a tiger.

“I’m not here to hurt you,” Amelia sharply stated, holding up her hand. “I just came here to talk with you, that’s all.”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin frowned, then scrunched up her face in consideration, almost like she was studying Amelia carefully. Then she pointed at her mouth.

“…Yes. I’m aware that you can’t actually talk,” Amelia said. “That wasn’t my point.”

The assassin rolled her eyes.

“That is very disrespectful, young lady,” Amelia chastised her out of reflex. “Don’t roll your eyes when I’m talking to you!”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin’s jaw dropped. She stormed over to Amelia and gestured emphatically at the door.

“…Yes. I know that it’s also rude to barge into someone’s room,” Amelia said, taking her best guess at what the other woman was trying to indicate. “But I already apologized for that.”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin crossed her arms over her chest and raised her eyebrow, cocking her hip to the side.

“…Did I… forget to apologize for that?” Amelia’s cheeks reddened.

The assassin nodded.

“Then… I apologize. In the future, if you’re not busy, please at least answer the door if someone is knocking, if you would,” Amelia requested. “It’s the only way we can make sure that you’re safe. What if something happened to you?”

Even as the words left her lips, Amelia knew that it was a stupid thing to say. The assassin quickly showed what she thought of that suggestion, cracking a smirk and then holding her sides, before bursting out laughing.

It was strange, seeing someone laugh but without any sound coming out. It would have unnerved most people, but Amelia wasn’t most people. She pushed through that confusion and discomfort, and focused on the girl herself.

“This is serious,” she said, trying to get the conversation back on track. “Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin, that’s your name, right?”

The woman in question crossed her arms over her chest again and gave Amelia a dirty look.

“…Well, I don’t mean your name, I just… what would you like me to call you?”

Another roll of the eyes reminded Amelia of her prior mistake.

“…Right. I’ll be asking you yes or no questions then, does that sound okay?” She tried instead. “If your answer is yes, then nod. If no, then shake your head. Does that work?”

The dark-haired girl considered that idea for a few seconds, then she nodded. The look on her face was filled with uncertainty and ****, though.

Amelia knew that she needed to work on helping this girl communicate better. But she would have to handle that later. In all her time as a teacher, she’d never dealt with a student who couldn’t read or write before. That was one of the benefits of teaching adults. And the poor thing didn’t even know sign language!

But all that could come later.

The teacher walked further into the room, and felt the assassin’s eyes following her. As she approached one of the awkwardly-shaped gummy chairs to sit on, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin pushed her way in front of her and held out her arms. She narrowed her eyes into a menacing glare, which threw Amelia off completely. She just stared at the girl for a moment, trying to process everything.

“…I’m not going to eat your candy.”

The assassin blinked, then let out a silent sigh of relief and straightened up. And just like that, she was all smiles again.

How odd. She’s almost child-like in her attitude. I suppose that comes with the circumstances she was **** into, doesn’t it?

Amelia almost wanted to cry. The poor thing.

“Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin… I’m sorry, can I call you that?” Amelia asked, remembering how angry the girl had gotten before when she referred to her that way.

The other woman sighed again. She nodded, albeit very clearly **** about the situation.

That was good enough for Amelia.

“I wanted to talk to you about your roommate, Ella,” Amelia said.

A confused look crossed the assassin’s face, and she tilted her head to the side. Her face seemed to be questioning the notion of Amelia even talking about Ella at all.

“Did you know that girl… she…” Amelia was struggling to find the words to broach this topic with the other woman. It wasn’t an easy task. “…She has some issues that she’s having trouble with.”

That should cover it, right?

The look on the assassin’s face said that she didn’t really care about that. Her eyes may have continued to glitter the way they always did, but her smile was still devoid of emotion. Amelia had spent enough time around zoning-out students to recognize that, at least.

“I’m serious,” Amelia said, trying to keep her tone gentle so as not to set off the other woman as well. She’d already done enough damage with Gina and Cinder today, she didn’t need to upset anybody else with her “helping”.

Again, no response. Not a nod, a shake of the head, or anything. Just a blank stare.

What’s wrong? Amelia wondered. Why isn’t she answering? Doesn’t she understand what I’m asking of her? Is she really that naïve to the interactions of others?

Amelia had made it very clear that she wanted Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin to be more considerate and accommodating of Ella’s situation, and not directly antagonize her. Anybody would have understood that!

So why wasn’t she agreeing?

Unless…

Oh no, I did it again, didn’t I?

Amelia rubbed her temples and sighed.

“I’m sorry… I need to be precise. I’m always doing this…” Amelia apologized, shaking her head. She’d attempted to avoid the specific details out of consideration for Ella’s privacy, but in doing that she’d avoided actually talking about the issue at all.

Fortunately, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin was still focusing on her. Which caused Amelia to wonder if maybe she was feeling lonely, all by herself here in the room.

One problem at a time, though.

“If Ella gets too flustered or nervous, or anxious, or scared… it really hurts her,” Amelia tried again. “And if that happens, then… bad things will happen. And you wouldn’t want that, right? She could get violent, and that’s not okay for anybody. You don’t want to feel anxious all the time, or feel hurt, right?”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin shrugged.

Maybe Amelia was going about this the wrong way.

“Look…” She rubbed her temples and sighed. “I know that the way you were raised… you probably haven’t interacted with very many other people. At least, not ones that you needed to be considerate of. Do you know what that word means? Considerate?”

Amelia wasn’t surprised that the other woman shook her head.

“Being considerate means being careful of the feelings of other people. To take how they feel into account, and try not to hurt them. How would you feel if someone tried to hurt you?” Amelia asked, forgetting momentarily that she was trying to stick to yes or no questions.

Fortunately, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin was happy to respond to her question in graphic detail. She raised her foot and brought it down sharply on one of the pastries, splattering cream all over the frosting floor.

Amelia stared blankly at the assassin as she smiled cheerfully back at her.

“…Okay, but we aren’t allowed to use ****, remember?” She pointed out. “No hurting other people. We’re trying to resolve conflicts peacefully.”

The assassin frowned. She held her chin like she was contemplating, a gesture Amelia wondered if she’d learned through imitation. Then, her eyes widened like she’d come up with an idea and she turned back to the teacher with a big smile on her face.

She raised her thumb to her throat and slowly drew a line across it.

Amelia sighed. “No, I just said, we can’t use **** to solve our problems.”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin’s eyes widened and she shook her head quickly, waving her hands.

“So… not ****, then?”

Another shake of the head. Then the assassin girl repeated the gesture with her throat.

“…No threatening people, either.”

Like a deflated balloon, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin slumped over, her face falling. She sighed and trudged over to the bed, defeat plain on her face for everyone to see.

Amelia sighed. What a mess.

“You need to find more peaceful ways to resolve the situation,” she pleaded with the other girl, following her over to the bed. “You don’t want to hurt Ella, do you?”

The other girl’s dark curls bounced as she shook her head. That was a good sign, at least.

“Okay, that’s good. Can you tell her that- no, I guess you can’t, huh?” Amelia bit her lip, realizing the difficulty here.

The “are you an idiot” look that the assassin was giving her didn’t help matters.

“But there’s still the problem of Ella being afraid that you might hurt her,” Amelia pointed out. “And you can’t tell her otherwise. I mean… you are an assassin, after all.”

An annoyed expression crossed the other woman’s face, and she crossed her arms. The stink-eye she was giving Amelia was really something else, and the other woman didn’t need to be a genius to read the room.

“Look, I’m not saying she’s right to be afraid of you or anything!” Amelia clarified. “But she’s got her own issues. And with you carrying yourself like you’re going to hurt people, that can cause others to think bad things about you. I guess what I’m saying is… Ella has to spend the night with you. Can you try to be nice to her?”

Another sigh. Amelia was starting to think that maybe she’d misunderstood the situation completely.

“…Were you trying to be nice to her? Before?” She asked curiously.

The light returned to the assassin’s eyes. She nodded her head rapidly, her face filled with desperation and hope now that Amelia was finally speaking sense.

Amelia sighed in relief.

“I’m sorry… I suppose I also had those… preconceptions about your behavior,” she apologized. Amelia felt that her prior assumptions about Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin were at least partially justified, given the girl’s line of work, even if it wasn’t something that she’d chosen for herself. She certainly hadn’t been shy about her pastime, given how she’d resorted to **** almost-immediately in regards to just about anything she found inconvenient.

But she would have to learn to not be so judgmental about people going forward.

“Can I ask you something else, then?” Amelia tried instead. She wasn’t sure how to resolve the issue between the two girls if Ella was reacting to the same preconceptions that she had, at least not from the assassin’s side of things. But that didn’t mean she didn’t have more to say to the Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin.

A nod and a shrug of the shoulders was all she needed to move ahead.

“Do you… wish to learn how to read? And write?” Amelia tried. She’d been considering that for some time. As soon as she’d learned about the other girl’s handicaps, she’d planned to help her out in that regard- after all, it wouldn’t do to have a girl who couldn’t communicate at all.

But it wasn’t going to be easy.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin just shrugged. Of all the responses Amelia anticipated, that wasn’t one of them.

“You don’t care?” She nearly fell over. “But… reading is fundamental! If you can’t speak, and you can’t write, how are you going to communicate with others?!”

The assassin pointed at Amelia, then at herself.

“…W-well, yes, I suppose this is one form of communication, you’re correct about that,” Amelia had to admit.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin smirked and held out her hands in a “see?” kind of gesture to prove her point.

Amelia wasn’t sure she agreed.

“Just because this is a type of communication, that doesn’t mean it’s an effective one!” She chastised the other girl. “It’s coarse and blunt. You won’t get anywhere like that! Don’t you want to be able to share your innermost thoughts with other people? Show them the deeper part of yourself, and share the things you feel with them?”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin was quiet for some time. Then she got up off the bed and turned on her heel to stare down at Amelia.

The expression on her face conveyed a deep, somber sadness that Amelia couldn’t fully grasp. She wasn’t sure what the other girl was insinuating, but it felt very painful to look into those eyes.

“…I’m sorry,” she apologized quietly, looking down. “Perhaps I spoke out of turn.”

The other woman shrugged, and the sad look was forgotten.

But Amelia wasn’t going to give up that easily.

“Regardless, reading and writing are essential,” she snapped, standing up so she could once again look down at Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin. It gave her a feeling of authority over the other girl, even if she could snap Amelia in half without even blinking. “If you’re going to have any sort of relationship with Nicholas, then I expect you to be capable of reading at the level of a primary schooler at least!”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin’s mouth fell open in shock. She crossed her arms over her chest and ground her teeth together. It was odd, hearing sound come from her mouth.

“Don’t you growl at me!” Amelia snapped. “I’ll be giving you lessons, if I have to come in here and drag you out of bed!”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin crossed her arms over her chest and replied with a smirk that screamed “just try it.”

Amelia’s eye twitched in frustration. Just as she’d suspected, this girl was a problem student, alright.

“You might think this isn’t important, but it is,” she said sternly. “If you don’t learn to read and write, then… then you’ll regret it!”

If she were in a calmer frame of mind, she might have been able to explain to the other woman just why she would regret not learning these things. But at the moment, she was too mentally exhausted to remember her councilor’s advice about making sure that her points were always stated.

An awkward silence hung over the room. But Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin seemed fine with it, likely because it wasn’t a silence that she had anything to do with.

Amelia was far more uncomfortable.

She sighed and hung her head, seeing that this bizarre “conversation” wasn’t going to be going anywhere soon.

“Well… if you won’t consider learning to read and write at the moment, at least consider what I said about Ella, please,” she requested. “Try to be more considerate of her, alright?”

The assassin’s cheerful nod filled Amelia with relief.

“Then in that case, I’ll leave you alone,” she said, moving to leave.

But she was stopped by a hand on her wrist.

“Huh?” Amelia turned back to see Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin staring at her with an awkward expression on her face. It was an unusual look for the girl who was always smiling; she seemed embarrassed. Her pale cheeks had a light dusting of color on them, and she was looking down at the frosting-covered floor.

“…Yes? What is it?” Amelia inquired.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin pulled down her zipper, and reached into her jumpsuit. She retrieved a crumpled-up piece of paper that she handed over to the other woman.

Amelia recognized it instantly. “Oh, this is… this is the list of items to purchase,” she realized. Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin looked warily up at her, not sure what that meant.

“…It’s a list of things you can buy with your BP,” Amelia clarified. “And you don’t know what’s on it… I see.”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin walked over to the closet, opening it and pointing at one of the orange prison jumpsuits hanging from the rack. Her expression looked somber again.

“…Wait, is that what you were trying to get Ella’s attention about before?” Amelia asked. “You wanted her to read this to you?”

The assassin nodded.

Amelia sighed and adjusted her glasses. She wished that Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin could comprehend just how difficult it was for everyone, including herself, if she couldn’t properly communicate with other people. But there would be time for that later.

“The front side is a list of generic things that anyone can buy,” she said, reading off the list for the assassin girl, not aware that some things had been changed with Dakota’s recent adjustment of the rules.

Bonus Point Purchase Table*

• 100 BP: One free kiss from the Master
• 500 BP: Key to the Master’s Suite (May be used to enter the Master’s Suite outside of weekly obligation. One-time use.)
• 500 BP: Boost a Contestant's libido for one day (Lasts for 24 hours after purchasing. Effects stack with multiple purchases.)
• 1000 BP: Increase the severity of one of your Transformations
• 1000 BP: Aphrodisiac lotion (Enough to completely cover two individuals. Effects may vary depending on amount used.)
• 1500 BP: Temporary random Transformation for self (Lasts for 24 hours after purchasing. Cannot be used more than once every 24 hours.)
• 1500 BP: Free spa day with the Master (Upon purchasing the Purchaser and the Master will have 6 hours of free time in the spa, and will not be able to leave.)
• 2000 BP: Advanced knowledge of the next challenge (May not be shared with other contestants.)
• 2000 BP: Receive a dream that will reveal a way to please the Master (Will trigger the next time the Purchaser sleeps)
• 2500 BP: Ask any Contestant three questions that must be answered truthfully (Questions must be selected at time of purchase and cannot be altered later.)
• 2500 BP: Lock a Contestant of your choice in a Chastity Belt for one day (Lasts for 24 hours after purchasing. Only the Purchaser will be able to remove the Chastity Belt before this period elapses. Genital penetration will be impossible while the Chastity Belt is on.)
• 3000 BP: Suppress the effects of one Transformation for one day
• 3000 BP: One day, all-access pass to the Little Sex Toy Shop of Horrors (All purchases are free and non-refundable. If necessary please dispose of any undesired purchases in the disposable waste area.)
• 3500 BP: Increase the severity of another Contestant’s Transformation
• 3500 BP: Star in an erotic dream with the Master (The Master will experience the dream on the night of the purchase. Details of the dream must be determined at time of purchase. The dream must contain both the Master and the Purchaser, and may contain up to two additional Contestants.)
• 4000 BP: Trigger a vote for an additional Transformation for a Contestant of your choice
• 4000 BP: Lower a Contestant's libido for one day (Lasts for 24 hours after purchasing. Effects stack with multiple purchases.)
• 5000 BP: Boost a Contestant's Libido permanently (Effects stack with multiple purchases.)
• 5000 BP: One day with the Master (On the Purchaser’s next scheduled night with the Master, if applicable, for a 24 hour period starting from 6:00 AM of that day, the Purchaser and the Master will be isolated from the other Contestants on an intimate date, the details of which will be determined at the time of purchase.)
• 7500 BP: Change one of your Transformation paths (Permanently change one of your three Transformation paths to a different path chosen at random. You will still keep all Transformations from the previous path.)
• 10000 BP: Change your Room (Upon purchasing, choose another bedroom to sleep in until the next round. One of the girls in that room will be assigned to your previous room, and become Buddies with your previous Buddy.)
• 10000 BP: Five Victory Points
• 10000 BP: Lower a Contestant's libido permanently (Effects stack with multiple purchases.)
• 30000 BP: Ace in the Hole (Purchaser will receive a totem that can be used before an elimination one time to **** the Purchaser’s current Buddy to spare them from elimination. Totem may be traded but cannot be lost or stolen.) NO LONGER VALID
• 50000 BP: Harem Hotel: Island Holiday Season Funko Pop! Playset (Purchaser will receive one copy of each exclusive, limited edition Harem Hotel: Island Holiday Funko Pop! Mint condition, sealed in the box. Collection includes Dakota, Nick, Gina, Dawn, Dani, Carly, Holly, Mary, Kim, Rose, Marley, Morgana, Sylvia, Amelia, Vivian, Cinder/Ella, and Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin Funko Pops! Beach, Hotel, and Master's Suite playsets each sold separately, order now only while supplies last)

*New options may be added to the store at the Host's discretion. Costs and availability may change. For Contestant-Specific Purchases, see other side.

When Amelia read her own sheet, she had thought that some of these purchases were rather unusual. Apparently, there were darker forces at play in this game under normal circumstances, as opposed to the current situation where everyone seemed to be interacting pretty positively with each other. There was definitely the potential for conflict, though.

The excited look on Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin’s face as Amelia read the options off was also troubling.

“Would you like me to read the other side, as well?” Amelia asked, turning the paper over. She knew that this was private, but what could she do? The poor woman needed SOMEONE to read it to her.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin nodded, and Amelia looked over her list of purchasable options.

• 500 BP: Temp Modding – Purchasing this option will result in one random body modification for Contestant Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin. Their body will get a temporary transformation that will physically alter their appearance and functionality in one way. The transformation will wear off after 24 hours. (The transformations are only physical, and only aesthetic. Physical transformations that change qualities of the body such as increased sensitivity or projecting pheromones will not apply. Can be purchased multiple times.)
• 4000 BP: Little Goody Two Shoes – Contestant Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin will receive a pair of ruby slippers that not only make dancing easier, but come with a magic charm. Tap your heels three times, and who knows what could happen? (The magic can only work once every round.)
• 8000 BP: Makeup Kit – Contestant Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin will receive an enchanted makeup kit that will allow them to temporarily change their physical appearance. They will be able to become a perfect copy of anyone, whether another contestant or someone from Master Nick’s fantasies. The transformation can only be used once per day, and only lasts for an hour. (All changes are purely cosmetic. Copying the appearance of another contestant will not copy the qualities of their transformations on any level other than aesthetic.)

Amelia had to take another look when she read those. Especially the middle one. All these items seemed so… abstract.

Especially the second item. It didn’t even say what the magic would be! A random magic that triggered when tapping the heels three times? Yeah, no way that could ever backfire. As for the other changes, on a cosmetic level… she supposed they made sense? They did speak to Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin’s Body Modification path, and to a lesser extent her Bimbo path… but was Amelia so wrong for hoping that the poor girl would get something a little more… helpful?

Though, judging by the assassin’s perky smile… maybe these were the kinds of things she wanted.