The Great Inauguration (Zoe in the Dragonmaid Château)

Zoe rolled her way across the floor between them, seeing what she could see. So far, they hadn't had any luck in her search, everything looking fairly normal. "Not yet...just some dust and cobwebs. I'm gonna move over to the caskets, next. Maybe I'll have more luck there..." Pulling herself out from underneath the wine barrels, she visibly shook off the dust on her person before moving over the the racks next. Maybe one got shoved in with the bottles...it looked like there was enough room for one of the pieces, if the other two they had gotten were any indication...

Zoe searched through the racks finding seemingly nothing. It wouldn't be until Philia peaked behind the racks that it would be revealed. "Zoe, I see something shiny back there... A little bit left from where you are reaching."

Search: 62
Event: Treasure Hunt
Pieces Found 2/4
Points: 6/10
Time: Afternoon: 1/2 (3rd day).
Current area: Cellar.
Maids: Philia

"Hm?" Zoe's ears twitched as she heard Philia's statement. Had she missed something? Upon closer inspection, Zoe could see the shiny something too, although she couldn't make out exactly what it was. Could it be the kind of shine they were looking for? "Now what in the world are you...?" Zoe reached her hand in that direction to see if she could stretch her arm in far enough to grab the shiny something, hoping it was what they were looking for. She felt a little embarrassed that she missed it the first time, considering the shine it gave off.

When Zoe pulled the little object from its hiding place, she found herself staring at a crystal knight piece. Just like the other two, it was beautifully made and this one marked her third piece. Only one more and she could get four more points and, with them, gain access to the final game. She was so, so close and she still had most of the day ahead of her!

Philia peeked in to take a look at the piece, surprised by how pretty it was, just like the others. "Only one more, Zoe! We got this!"

Event: Treasure Hunt
Pieces Found 3/4
Points: 6/10
Time: Afternoon: 1/2 (3rd day).
Current area: Cellar.
Maids: Philia

Zoe felt the object that she was seeing the sparkle of and pulled it out of its little hiding hole, that familiar crystal shine coming through now. That was three! "Mhm...definitely." She slipped the piece into her pocket as she started to make her way out of the cellar. "Hey, you don't think Ori was mad about something, do you? I hope I didn't tick her off or anything..." Her mind went back to that a little bit as they had been searching. Maybe she was just like that, heck if Zoe knew.

"Okay, so we've knocked out three areas, and gotten lucky. So, we've got a lot of ground to cover for the last one, and the only place I haven't been in the mansion is..." She gulped as the thought came to her. "T-The staff bedrooms. Do you think that...we should go there, next?" Zoe had been delicate in her search so far, so she wasn't too concerned with leaving things more messy than when they found them. It was more the fact that she'd be rooting through the maid's personal belongings...hopefully that wouldn't be seen as weird.

Philia needed to give some thought to Zoe's question. She know that Ori was fast to lose her tempter but she didn't seemed angry this time so it was probably that she didn't feel like helping. "I don't think she's mad, trust me, she can be really scary when she's mad. I think she just didn't want to help... But that's okay! I'll help you just twice as hard!"

Philia wasn't sure why Zoe was so hesitant to visit their quarters, she was the mistress this time around after all. "Oh! I can show you my room if we go there!" It was clear that the idea made the little maid very happy, as her tail was giving away. "We might find Sylvia there, maybe she can help us."

Event: Treasure Hunt
Pieces Found 3/4
Points: 6/10
Time: Afternoon: 1/2 (3rd day).
Current area: Cellar.
Maids: Philia

Philia was always a good way to keep her focused, and she ruffled her hair a bit with her hand. "We can start there, then. Sylvia would be good, too. Maybe she'll want to help more than Ori did." The woman might have overwhelmed her before, but she had noticed that she was different with Philia present. Maybe that'd be enough to keep Zoe focused. Plus, Eri was here now! She'd do better to just keep that in mind.

"Right, then we're going there next. Lead the way, I haven't been there yet."

(Move to -> Staff Bedrooms)

"I'm sure Sylvia will help us! Don't worry!" Philia's pigtails wiggled in the so familiar fashion Zoe was used to by now. "Oh right, you have never been there. It's just on the opposite corridor that leads to your room. Follow me."

Heading out of the cellar and once in the backyard, Zoe and Philia would find Eri taking in the view. The red haired fox girl was too taken by the sight of the ocean over the cliff to notice the pair. Seeing this, Philia tugged Zoe's sleeve and whispered into her ear. "Want to surprise Eri? She seem focused on the sea."

For a moment, the sight of Eri so happy left Zoe spellbound. That was what she really wanted, after all. Something about the way the gentle outside breeze ruffled her fluffy made her look really beautiful like that, too...her tail lightly whapping against the ground was a sign of that, but thankfully it wasn't loud enough for anyone that far away to hear.

Philia tugging at sleeve was enough to get her to snap back to reality as she leaned in close. "Mmm...yeah, I like that. Be really quiet, okay?" Sure enough, each footstep was carefully place along the path that wasn't grass, and was as light as could be. Zoe certainly had a bag of tricks when it came to these sorts of things. Each step got her closer, and closer, and closer, until...

...she wrapped up Eri in a surprise hug from behind, lifting her off of the ground! "Eri!"

Eri was truly surprised by the sudden hug. She let out a little squeak from it, it was more adorable than anything else. "Z-Zoe?" Once the initial surprise was over, Eri wrapped her arms around Zoe, returning the hug. "The view here is beautiful. I'm a bit jealeou of the time you spent here." Eri chuckled and looked back into the ocean and then to Zoe and Philia, giving the little one a little pat on the head. "How's the treasure hunt going? Everything going well?"

Philia giggled from the pats and looked at Eri nodding. "Zoe already found three! She's really close now!"

Eri looked a Zoe smiling. "For what I remember it was four you needed right? Where are you heading next?"

"We are going to the staff's quarters! Want to tag along, Eri?" Philia seemed more excited than usual, it was probably because of how the hunt was going.

"Hmm? Oh, sure thing. Beats walking around without anything to do."

Everything about Zoe always brightened up when she talked to Eri, or when she was just nearby. It was noticeable in every way, from her tone, to her body language, to her tail making gentle whaps across the ground. It was likely that even Philia would see how different she was when she was close by. "We're doing great!" She showed Zoe the pieces they were holding on to. The light from outside made them have a soft reflected glow, before she put them back into her pocket.

"You should definitely come with us! I haven't been there yet. So it'll be new for both of us!" She hadn't expected things to work out like this, so that'll make this better. "And trust me, there's so much to see here." Zoe snuggled up next to her for a second before getting her head back in the game. She still reached over to hold her hand as they went off to their next location. "So what've you seen so far? I know it's still early but I didn't think we'd be doing so well so quickly, either! Philia's been a big help."

"I haven't seen much. They show me to my room and then I came here to see the sights you spoke of in you letters." Eri accepted Zoe's hand as the couple followed Philia who was guiding them towards the staff's rooms.

It only took a few minutes for the three of them to arrive at the hallway that led to the bedrooms. "This way, see? Opposite to yours." The little maid smiled and walked down the hallway. There were four doors, probably bedrooms belonging to the maids.

Something didn't add up though. Why were there only four bedrooms when there was five maids though? It was something that Eri, and probably Zoe as well, had notice. "Four bedrooms? Shouldn't there be five?"

Philia looked back at the pair amd nodded. "Sylvia and Ruby share their bedroom. When I can't sleep I go there and they let me sleep with them. It's really warm and comfy! But Hara told me to knock first in case they are playing 'adult' games. They never tell me what kind of games those are!" Philia finished that with a pout, clearly too innocent to know about what the couple of maids did in their bedroom at night.

Event: Treasure Hunt
Pieces Found 3/4
Points: 6/10
Time: Afternoon: 2/2 (3rd day).
Current area: Staff's Bedrooms.
Maids: Philia

For a moment, Zoe was trying to parse that statement. Maybe they were just close, if Zoe looked at it like that then there wasn't anything too strange there. But when Philia talked about "adult" games that they played, an image flew back into her head from a day or two when she was going through the halls, and had caught a glimpse of something that explained that much, much better. She couldn't hide a strong blush as she recalled that. Probably best that Philia hadn't grasped that entirely yet.

She shook her head, ears flopping with the exaggerated movements as she tried to push that aside for now. "A-Anyway! We were gonna start with your room first, right? And then we'll move over to the others? They wouldn't be upset if we went through them as part of the challenge, right...?" She couldn't really shake a light blush off of her face as she spoke, which would probably be a little noticeable.

Philia nodded before running to one of the doors. "This is my room! Come in, come in!" Philia entered the room, waiting for Zoe and Eri to follow.

"Oh right, Zoe. Have these." Before following Philia, Eri handed Zoe a keychain. "Ms.Hara gave these to me when I asked her about your challenge. Said it was in case you needed to access their rooms. So I take they don't mind us going in."

Event: Treasure Hunt
Pieces Found 3/4
Points: 6/10
Time: Afternoon: 2/2 (3rd day).
Current area: Staff's Bedrooms.
Maids: Philia

Before she walked in, Eri stopped her with the set of keys. "Oh...well that answers that question, huh? I'll admit, I was a little nervous about going into rooms uninvited, but I guess that solves itself...Hara thinks of everything, it seems like." She chuckled to herself as she slipped the keyring into her pocket.

"Philia's been excited about this since we decided to check the bedrooms. Probably a good idea not to keep her waiting!" She turned back around towards the little maid and her room, taking her first steps in. "Don't worry, we're comin'..."

When they entered Philia's room, they found it filled with plushies and toys of different sizes and forms. They wouldn't be surprised that this was the girl's room. "Come in, come in!" Philia wasn't alone in the room, Sylvia was there too and she had a duster on her hand.

"Oh my, I wasn't expecting for you two to come in, mistresses." She placed the duster on a shelve and then bowed. "Don't mind me. I'm just finishing the cleaning of this room." The woman's demeanor was just like Zoe had seen her last time with Philia, much different than if they were alone... How would she act if Philia wasn't around, only Eri and her...

Event: Treasure Hunt
Pieces Found 3/4
Points: 6/10
Time: Afternoon: 2/2 (3rd day).
Current area: Staff's Bedrooms (Philia's room).
Maids: Philia, Sylvia.

There was some part of Zoe that had expecting a sight like this. Soft, plushie animals of all kinds lining the room, and everything was bright and vibrant. Philia seemed like she had everything she could ever want right in this room.

She hadn't expected someone to be in there with them, though. Sylvia...she was nice, but the teasing was very, very powerful on her. Luckily, her theory had proven correct: she was entirely different with Philia present. Part of her felt bad that she was using that to her advantage, but the other part of her was remembering how she had very skillfully reduced her to a puddle in the garden earlier. She did not want a repeat of that if she could help it. So, for now, it worked in her favor to stick with Philia.

"Oh, Sylvia! Hi! Hope we're not bothering you. Just, you know, on the whole treasure hunt thing..." Her gaze went through the room, a little in awe of just how packed the room was with plushies of all kinds. "These are all yours, Philia?"

"Not at all. You all seem to be in good spirits, I take the hunt is going well?"

"Yeah, Zoe already has the 4 pieces!" Philia popped her head from a mountain of plushies before jumping out of them with something in her hands.

Eri was a bit confused by the girl's statement, she knew that Zoe had 3 pieces but Philia said 4? "Philia, I thought you and Zoe found 3 out of 4."

"Yeah! But look at what I found between my plushies!" She showed the item she was holding, the final chess piece, the king. It was as beautifully made as the rest of the pieces and, with it, all four pieces were gathered.

"Oh my, I thought I hid it much better. I wasn't expecting you two to come so early." It made sense now, Hara said that she would inform the other maids about the challenge, meaning that they would be the ones hiding the pieces. Ruby in the kitchen, probably Ori in the cellar and maybe Rose in the living room, which means that Sylvia was hiding the last piece here. "Congratulations, mistress. Now it's time for the final puzzle. Please, head to the reception hall."

Philia's Search: 100
Event: Treasure Hunt
Pieces Found 4/4!
Points: 6/10
Time: Afternoon: 2/2 (3rd day).
Current area: Staff's Bedrooms (Philia's room).
Maids: Philia, Sylvia.

Zoe's ears popped up when she heard Philia say "four", just like Sylvia seemed surprised at the same time. She looked in her pocket and only saw the 3. "We do only have the three...hey, Philia, did you miscou-"

However, that vanished when she pulled out a little object with a familiar crystal shine. She could only assume no one knew this room better than Philia. If anything felt off, she was going to be the first to notice. "You found it?!?" That was it! That was all four!

"Cmere, you!" She rushed over to the little girl and wrapped her in a tight hug, spinning with her little legs dangling off of the floor. "We did it! We really did it! And you did it! You did so good!" She ruffled Philia's hair with a free hand, hyped up and excited, as her wagging tail showed. She was going to get all the headpats she could ever want for this.

Sylvia giggled seeing the happy reaction from Zoe. She was super excited thanks to Philia finding the last piece.

Philia hugged back, her own tail wrapping itself gently around Zoe and her little pigtails wiggling like crazy. When she dived in she was just looking for her favorite plushie to show Zoe and Eri, she wasn't expecting Sylvia to hide the last piece there from all places. The little maid laugh, really happy and almost as excited as Zoe, a little blush showing on her cheeks from all the praises.

Eri took a look at the final piece, the king, wondering what kind of puzzle Zoe would have to solve. "So now you only need to solve a puzzle and win the points? I'm sure you can do it, Zoe. You have a lot of time left after all."

Event: Treasure Hunt
Pieces Found 4/4!
Points: 6/10
Time: Afternoon: 2/2 (3rd day).
Current area: Staff's Bedrooms (Philia's room).
Maids: Philia, Sylvia.

Still hugging the little maid, Zoe made it so she was carrying the little maid with one arm as she turned around to Eri. "Hmm, puzzles, huh? Not exactly my best area...but, you're right, we've got a lot of time. I might need it to figure things out." She hadn't expected to get done all of this so quickly. Was she just lucky? Or had they just been looking well? She definitely felt lucky, at least.

"Right! So...reception hall, right?" With her free hand, she took a look at the last piece. All of them had that same crystal reflection. She was really hoping she wasn't going to have to play Chess though. She's never done that before. She turned and waved at Sylvia before she left. "We'll get our of your hair now. I guess we'll probably see you later, then? Probably!" With that, she set Philia down and the group started making their way back, through the halls.

(Move to -> Reception Hall)

Sylvia waved as the three of them left the room before returning to her duties, she would make sure to head towards the reception hall, knowing well enough what the final step of this challenge meant.

Meanwhile, when Zoe, Eri and Philia arrived at the reception hall, it was completely different. She noticed that there was a table in the middle. On top of that table there were several crystal pieces, just like the ones Zoe had in her pocket right now. Upon close examination, they could see that they were placed in a way that resembled a mid-game situation, with a few spots free for the pieces Zoe had collected. On the other side of the table, Hara was waiting patiently for the wolf girl to place the pieces on the board. Behind her, Ori, Rose and Ruby were watching, waiting for the final challenge to begin.

Event: Treasure Hunt
Pieces Found 4/4!
Points: 6/10
Time: Afternoon: 2/2 (3rd day).
Current area: Reception Hall.
Maids: Philia, Hara, Ori, Ruby, Rose

So this was it, huh? The final part of it all. It's only been a few days since all of this started and Zoe was at the final section. She had all 4 pieces in hand. Zoe looked to the two of them, knowing she was going to have to do this last section on her own. "Wish me luck!" Zoe nodded, as she approached the board.

Four slots for four pieces. And Hara on the other side. "I...we got all four." Something about the headmistress was a bit intimidating for her, but she had come this far. No point in feeling nervous now. Right now she was really hoping that she didn't have to learn how to play Chess right at this moment. She took a deep breath, before looking over each empty slot. Each one was marked with something like the shape of the piece, and Zoe set each one in its respective hole. No turning back now.

Once all the pieces were in place, Hara approached the table and stood on the opposite side from where Zoe was. "Let us begin the final trial then. As the first and a remarkable guest, we offer you this trial." The different pieces started to change in form as they started to resemble Zoe, Eri and Philia except the last one that didn't seem to be able to keep a form. "Hmm... Interesting..." Hara adjusted her glasses and with a snap the rest of the figures turned into different monsters with a golden door on the other side of the monster pieces. "To win this game, you must take all your pieces, including that strange one to the golden door. Please be mindful of your movements."

The final game had began, one last puzzle and one last challenge awaited Zoe...

Event: Final Game
Zoe Piece: 5/5
Eri Piece: 5/5
Philia Piece: 5/5
??? Piece: ?/?
Enemy Pieces: 7

Map:

Current area: Reception Hall.
Maids: Philia, Hara, Ori, Ruby, Rose

Well...it certainly wasn't chess, that was for sure. Zoe wasn't sure how she was doing all of this. Magic? A lot of it went clear over her head, but she was sorta grasping what she needed to do. Maybe. Four pieces...one of her, Eri, and Philia...and a fourth? It seemed kinda...malleable. She couldn't think of a fourth person that important to her on that same level. But, that still felt odd...

"So, before I start...questions. Do I move one piece at a time? And what happens when it touches one of the monsters, do they get removed right away? And...what's with this one, over here?" Zoe looked over at the unformed piece, still a little curious. "I-I hope I'm not asking too many questions...strategy's not normally my thing..."