Maids VS Apocalypse

In the apartment adjacent to her master’s, Lara Becker slowly rose from under a thin blanket. Despite having remained awake the entire night, her beautiful face showed no sign that she lacked sleep.

She turned her gaze to the other side of the bed and saw an orange-haired girl still fast asleep. Her peaceful expression lacked any of the energy she displayed during the day.

The dhampir girl pulled the blanket to cover her new friend, got up without making a sound then slipped into the bathroom to take a quick shower. The cold water helped clear her thoughts even though it was far from what she usually enjoyed.

Drying her long silver hair would have been a tedious endeavor to anyone else, but the dhampir didn’t pay it much mind. All it took was raising the output of her Force Field to the maximum and in just a couple of seconds, the lingering dampness was gone. Even then she still wrapped her elegant figure in a towel and went about brushing her teeth.

With a single thought, a set of pure white lingerie manifested over her body, followed by a black dress and a frilly apron. Her silver hair gathered on the sides of her head and small black ribbons tied it into twin tails. Right above her temples, a cute headdress appeared to complete her distinct appearance.

It had been only a few days since she settled into her new vessel. She couldn’t say with certainty that she had grown accustomed to it, but something simply didn’t feel right unless she donned that outfit and styled her hair that way.

She stepped in front of the mirror and took a good look at herself. The clear ruby eyes silently observed her. A few seconds later, she slowly opened her mouth and revealed the fangs jutting out from her upper teeth.

She felt a slight tingling sensation and the urge to sink them into human flesh came to her, bringing along all the emotions she experienced while biting into her master’s neck.

Her face heated up at the thought of what she had done, but the image of the beast from that night flashed in her mind and her entire being suddenly grew cold.

The vessel was a powerful one and suited her very well. Its only flaw was the persistent craving, and whenever it made its presence known, Lara couldn’t help but feel a slight regret for choosing to sign that contract.

"To think it would be this troublesome..."

At first, she believed it to be a distasteful trap placed by the summoner to get around the restrictions preventing him from using her for his own pleasure, but when she learned he had no control over the creation of the vessel or the summon, it put her in a frustrating position.

Her predicament wasn’t the young man’s fault and so she had no right to hate him for it. The guilt she harbored over the cold treatment she showed him the previous day had kept her up the entire night. After much consideration, she had decided that an apology was warranted, though she still felt hesitant about going through with it.

"Even if he’s like that..." She muttered to herself. "I still owe him a lot."

Lara affirmed her decision with a deep breath then left the bathroom and walked to her master’s apartment, knocked on the door, and waited for a response.

"It’s open. Just come in ." A tired voice responded.

She had a feeling that her master was awake despite the sun having barely risen, but going by his tone, she realized he might have been up the entire night.

It was a troubling development, even if not a surprising one. The dhampir felt her anxiousness rise as she reached for the door handle and gave it a twist. Once inside, she walked into the living room and found her master sitting on the sofa.

She was about to greet him when he suddenly turned to look at her. Exhaustion was clear on his face and his mood appeared to be far from the best.

He fixed her with a sharp glare that sent shivers down her spine and the words she intended to say were suddenly caught in her throat. Then, as if a switch had been flipped, the young man beamed at her.

"Lara!"

It was a complete 180 that gave her a different kind of chills. Traces of exhaustion and lack of sleep were still visible on his face, but his mood had a drastic improvement, almost as if he was genuinely thrilled to see her.

"G-good morning, Master." Despite her effort, she still stammered.

"Good morning indeed!" The young man replied. "Did you sleep well?"

"Y-yes."

Lara only realized that she had lied after the reply left her mouth.

"I see. That’s great to hear!" The young man got up from his seat. "I will prepare breakfast right away. You just wait a few minutes."

"... understood..."

No matter how she looked at it, Lara couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off about the young man. Though he was practically glowing, she couldn’t bring herself to believe he was actually in a good mood. Or, at the very least, she couldn’t believe her return would be a reason for him to feel that way.

The young man started humming as he took out the ingredients he wanted Just then the door opened and a bearded man peeked his head in.

"Someone is in a good mood." Ben paused while squeezing his large body through the small door frame.

"Big guy, is that you?" Mark called.

"Sorry for barging in, Lad. I came to cook breakfast."

"You have something in mind?"

"I got some pancake mix from a nearby shop. Better than letting it go to waste."

"Alright! Been a while since I last had some!"

"Look forward to it, then!"

The big guy laughed and so did the young man. Lara was confused for a moment, not sure how to react. It was then that she noticed Ben looking her way.

He gestured toward the kitchen with his eyes then raised an eyebrow as if to as if asking a silent question. As it turned out, she wasn’t the only one who noticed that something was off.