Is that a row of tubes?

"Whoa...!"

James exclaimed out loud when he stepped into the back of the Maison de Maid.

There were rows and rows of cryogenic tubes on either side of the wall, with each tube holding an **** naked woman inside.

Ram turned around a few steps ahead of James and smiled proudly.

"This is how Maison de Maid instantly provides the goods our customers.

Here, you don't have to wait for days on end to receive your desired characters; as soon as you make the choice, they are yours."

"Wow, that's...amazing."

James's voice faltered as he looked up. Shockingly, there were even more rows of characters on multiple floors.

He couldn't even begin estimating how much people...or characters were held in this backroom—which was totally larger than it was on the outside, by the way.

"It's an state-of-the-art pocket dimension technology, proudly invented by the RealDreams Space Manipulations Laboratory."

Saber added, comming in behind James.

"All stores in this emporium has access to a special storage room, where they could stock on characters for instant access.

It enables our visitors to get their desired characters as soon as possible.

Although, they would have to make reservations if they have a more obscure, or difficult character to come by."

"I see..."

James muttered.

He kept looking around the endless rows of naked women held in glass tubes, quite uneased by their seemingly lifeless state.

Then, he found something really unnerving.

"H-hey, hold on...isn't that...?"

James tapped rapidly on Ram's shoulder.

When Ram saw what he was pointing at, the pink-hair maid giggled.

"Ah, yes. That is also a 'Ram'. Would you like to take her?"

"I-but, you said your name was Ram!"

"Sir."

Saber tugged at James's sleeve with a troubled expression. It was never a good idea to openly express one's lack of knowledge.

"There are an infinite amount of parallel universes in existence, so no two characters are 100% the same.

Even if they share the same names, no two characters are alike."

James glanced at the Ram guiding them through the glass tubes, then turned to the Ram staying motionless in the tube.

"Would you like to buy her?"

Ram politely suggested again.

James scratched the side of his head.

He had only ever assumed that buying characters was similar to buying an ona-hole or a sex doll.

And sure, most of the customers in the emporium seemed to treat characters more as a toy than a person...but James was unsure if he could ever do that, or if he wanted to in the first place.

"...nah, I think I'll pass."

Whatever the case was, they still needed a maid.

"I see."

Ram huffed with a slightly offended expression before walking down the aisle in a more brisk pace.

James shoved the complicated moral questions to the side and scanned the displayed characters left and right, wondering who to take to his house.

He wasn't sure how far he was going to go with her, but he would be lying if he didn't want someone that suited his taste.

"Who's that?"

Both Saber and Ram turned to see which one caught James's eyes.

"Oh, that's Ryu Lion from Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon, or DanMachi for short."

Ram answered, then tilted her head.

"I didn't suppose you liked flat-chested characters."

"Oh, uhm..."

James rubbed the side of his neck. Saber was staring daggers at him from the side.

"...It wouldn't hurt if they were bigger."

He mumbled sheepishly.

Ram nodded and pulled out a tablet from her uniform. She inputed some controls, and the glass case suddenly cocooned itself in a sheet of metal.

"What is that?"

"Modifying the character's physics."

Ram answered indifferently.

"We don't want to sell a product that doesn't fit our customer's taste."

After a few seconds of humming, the metal casing retracted.

"How about now? Does this fit your taste?"

Ram asked.

James gulped, staring at the pair of tits pressed up against the front of the glass.

"Y-yeah, that'll suffice."

"Splended."

Ram typed some more into the tablet before leading the way again.

After picking one character, James found it much more easier to decide which characters he was going to purchase.

"Who's that?"

"That's Ichinose Asuna from Blue Archive. She is usually paired with Kakudate Karin from the same game."

Ram pointed at the glass tube right next to Asuna.

"Well, then I'll take them both."

"That's...is that a tail?"

"A shark tail, to be exact. That's Ellen Joe from Zenless Zone Zero. She is one of the more recently discovered products."

James rubbed his chin.

He had always had admiration for real-life sharks...why not buy her as an extension of that interest?

"I'll take her as well."

"Saber...this looks like you, doesn't she?"

Saber came up next to James.

She looked up at the lean woman incased in glass with a small frown.

"That's because she is also Artoria pendragon...only she had went though different events at a different time."

"The offical name is Artoria Pendragon Lancer Alter from Fate/Grand Order. You can also call her Lalter for short."

Ram added.

"Hmm..."

James glanced at Saber. Saber peeled her eyes away from another version of herself and slightly bowed her head.

"There is no need for you to seek my permission, sir. You are the master, not me."

James turned his gaze back to Lalter.

"Well...then...I'll take her as well. And I think five would be enough maids, won't they?"

Saber nodded in agreement.

Ram finished typing in the last order and lead them back to the shop lounge.

"Very well! I'll get the products ready right away; it will take an hour or so.

You may leave the shop during the mean time. Thank you for visiting Maison de Maid!"

James looked out of the shop window where there were plenty of customers playing with their characters.

"I wouldn't mind staying here and waiting."

"Oh, in that case—"

"Actually, I suggest we visit another shop durinf the waiting time, Master. It is near essential for someone like you."

Saber interrupted Ram before she could give an answer.

"Essential? Why? What shop is there to go?"

"The physic modification store. Not for the characters, but for you."

James frowned.

"For me?"

He looked down at his body.

Sure, it wasn't the best shape or extremely well built, but James never thought his body was so ugly that he needed to modify it.

Saber noticed her master's detest and shook her head.

"No, it's not to make you look good, sir. It's so that you'll be more vigorous."

"Oh."

Ram giggled behind her hand as a clear blush rose up from James's neck, all the way up to his cheeks.

"I-I...uh, do I really need that?"

Saber huffed with her hands on her hips.

"Of course you do! Any normal human would shrivel up in less than a week surrounded by multiple characters.

There are countless instance where the character owner was sent to the hospital after overtrusting their co—"

"Alright, alright! I get the point!"

James said out loud with his face more crimson than a ripe apple.

Both Saber and Ram giggled as James gave his phone number to the shop for later when his list of characters were ready.

James left Maison de Maid, still flustered after the experience.

"You just wanted to tease me becasue I ogled at bigger tits, didn't you?"

He asked Saber.

Saber, who was a few steps ahead of her master, looked behind and stuck her tongue out.

"Think however you want, sir~"