Maids VS Apocalypse

"Visitors aren’t the problem." As his irritation levels rose, Mark picked up the cup in front of him. "It’s those who come over unannounced that bother me. Especially the ones who don’t bother to introduce themselves."

He was about to take a sip when a very recognizable smell entered his nose and he lowered the cup, staring at it for a while.

"This is alcohol..." His face twisted in a grimace.

"Of course it’s alcohol." The big guy grinned, raising his own cup which looked like shot glass in his hands. "This is a celebration!"

"Let’s save the toasts for later. The new guy asked for some introductions!" Ramsay interjected then cleared his throat.

Probably due to the influence of the alcohol, the Sergeant seemed to be in high spirits as he turned to the large man sitting beside him.

"Starting with the elephant in the room, you have Ben Bernthal!"

"Nice to meet ya, lad!" The big guy, Ben Bernthal, gave a toothy grin as he raised his cup again.

If he had to describe him, Mark would say the guy looked like a massive dwarf. The kind who likes hammers and booze.

His beard was long and thick with a color that matched his dark brown hair. But having a beard wasn’t so strange, especially when there was something else to catch one’s attention.

The big guy was big. Really big. Big enough to use the entire sofa as a chair. He looked like a heavy-weight sumo wrestler. A giant who would cause a tsunami if he were to free-dive into an ocean.

That said, despite what the pot belly might have suggested, Mark didn’t feel that calling him obese would be right.

The reason for that was the massive arms coming out of the sleeveless leather jacket he was wearing. His bulging biceps, thick forearms, and giant hands made it seem like he was a character from that one pirate anime, and the fact that he was skipping leg day didn’t help either.

Ramsay continued with the introductions, turning to the man who was being restrained by the blonde guy earlier

"Beside him is Franco Nero. An Italian who has never been to Italy!"

"The only thing Italian about me is my parents." The man in question remarked.

"Says the guy who would lose it over some pineapples." Ramsay smiled cheekily.

"That’s a perfectly normal reaction! Right, fresh blood?"

"Y-yeah..."

Franco Nero was the exact opposite of the big guy beside him. He was tall and skinny, so much so that Mark suspected he had anorexia. The skinny dark jeans and black tank top he wore didn’t help. Adding to that his shoulder-length raven hair and hollow cheeks, he looks like a nicotine-addicted guitar player in some rock band.

"Don’t let his appearance trick you. He’s just twenty-five."

"Ramsay you-"

"Anyway!" Ignoring his long-haired colleague, Ramsay turned to the remaining two. "The short one is Elya Martin." He casually lit a fuse by gesturing at the ginger-haired girl then moved to the guy beside her. "The blonde one is Alex Mahone."

"You mothe-"

The blonde guy quickly grabbed the sho-... The blonde guy quickly grabbed the petite girl and covered her mouth, same as he did seconds ago. Unlike last time, however, she seemed to go still for a second then went on a rampage trying to release herself.

"Let’s get along, Newbie!" The blonde guy, Alex Mahone, spoke with a smile, completely ignoring the girl who had long since turned tomato red. "And never use that word when talking about her."

"I... will keep that in mind..."

Mark didn’t need to be told what word he was referring to.

Alex appeared like a normal if slightly handsome guy. He was a bit taller than Mark and had the lean physique of a famous actor. The smile he wore the entire time gave him a friendly and energetic aura, the kind that exorcises anti-social darkness dwellers like Mark.

The de-... the girl he had restrained was energetic as well but didn’t seem friendly in the least. She clearly lost the genetic lottery when it came to height and figure, leaving her with a child-like appearance, which would’ve been cute if not for noticeable anger issues.

What piqued Mark’s curiosity was the nature of the relationship between those two. The blonde guy seemed unbothered by what he was doing, completely oblivious to the increasing temperature of the girl in his arms. The girl, on the other hand, seemed like she would explode at any moment.

Even someone as socially inept as Mark could tell how the girl named Elya Martin was feeling at this moment, and even though he barely knew either of them it felt like he could tell where it was all going.

The ginger girl’s entire body started glowing pale green as she cranked up the output of her Force Field to the maximum. That caused Alex to let go of her as if she had suddenly caught on fire. The moment he did, Elya spun around and punched him in the stomach.

"Idiot!"

Her small fist sank into his body and droplets of blood leaked out of the corners of his mouth which were still raised. As if the force of the blow kicked in a second later, the blonde guy’s entire body went flying. Mark could only watch as a hole was blasted through his apartment, giving them a glimpse at the hallway.

Still huffing, Elya sat down and picked up the soda can that was in front of her. After taking a few large chugs she seemed to notice Mark’s gaze on her.

"What?" She asked with a frown, her cheeks still ablaze. "You won’t be staying here for long. Who cares if there is a hole or two?"

"O-oh, right..."

Mark quickly turned away and pretended to look at his food, all while panicking on the inside.

’A tsundere!’ He felt the blood drain from his face as the thought ran through his mind. ’And the violent kind as well!’

Just then, a certain image flashed in Mark’s mind. It depicted a young girl with long drill-like blond hair. Though she was dressed in a maid outfit, the way she kept her chin raised and crossed her arms under her moderately full bosom showed that she wasn’t the kind used to serving others.

Recalling who she was, a shiver ran down Mark’s spine.

"These are the members of Squad Four the Head General mentioned before." Ramsay spoke to Mark before turning to the other three "Guys, welcome our newest members, Mark White and Lara Becker!"

Mark looked at the others one by one. He was waiting for someone to say something about what happened to the blonde guy, but no one seemed to be bothered by the fact that he had just been punched through a wall.

Not wanting the silence to become awkward, Mark cleared his throat and introduced himself.

"I’m Mark White." He said. "I joined barely a day ago so... I hope w get along."

He was worried about his voice breaking but thankfully nothing happened. Having nothing to add, he gave his maid a look. As if on cue, Lara got up from her seat and grabbed the sides of her skirt, lifting it slightly as she curtsied elegantly.

"My name is Lara Becker. I serve as Master Mark White’s maid."