The Great Inauguration (Zoe in the Dragonmaid Château)

So there was multiple rewards...that was exciting. The first of which wasn't exactly something Zoe could use, but even she could tell that it was an important and powerful object. And old, very, very old. Eri practiced spells, and magic, and all sorts of things! Maybe this could help the both of them. She'd have to be gentle with it. Especially since it was both a reward, and a gift. "We'll take good care of it, I promise!"

And then, there was the second part. A single wish, they say...? It could be anything! There was a lot of anything that she wanted. A lot of anything that she'd actually benefit from, too. So what should she go with? A home? They already had a place of their own, even if it was basically just renting that out. Money? No, they were fairly well off, and doing well without that. And then, she had a thought.

"...okay. I want...I want Eri to experience everything I got to, in this place. One week, here, where there's no trials, or challenges...just...a vacation! I want everything she could ever ask for taken care of and more! And...and I want her to be happy, like I've been these last few days. Is...is that okay?" More than a few likely would have expected that her wish would be about Eri, but she struggled to think of wants for herself. She really was her everything, after all.

Hara looked at the other maids and saw them nodding, then she directed her gaze towards little Philia, who was nodding even more excited. Seeing that made Hara reach a decision, she looked back at Zoe and, with a pretty serious look, she spoke. "I am afraid that I can't allow that, mistress..." Soon, that serious face turned into a gentle smile, Zoe could swear that it was the first time she saw the Headmistress of the manor smile and it was a good look on her. "For that very reason, instead of a week, we offer you a whole month."

Behind Zoe, Philia was having a hard time to hold back her excitement, she was wishing non-stop that Zoe said yes but didn't want to pressure the wolf girl into a decision.

Zoe blinked a few times in rapid succession at that answer. For a moment, she was a little crestfallen, before Hara had followed up with her new offer. "A-A whole month...?" She had been completely blindsided by that, instead. Originally, she thought asking for a week had been generous, but now...

"Y-Yes! Yes, a thousand times yes! I accept!"

Hearing Zoe accept Hara's offer made Philia really happy, she couldn't hold herself back anymore and rushed to hug Zoe again. "You and Eri are staying here for a month!? Yay!"

Eri also approached Zoe and Hara, looking at the maid. "Thank you for the offer, we are really happy to accept."

"Mistress Zoe, mistress Eri. Please enjoy your vacation to you hearts' content. If there is anything we can do to make your stay more pleasant, please let us know but for now... I think this deserves a celebration banquet."

This time it was Ruby who approached the group. "I'll get to work on that right away." She looked at Zoe and Eri smiling. "If you excuse me."

She nearly got knocked off of her feet when Philia tackle-hugged her as hard as she did, but she caught her mid hug and spun around in her own happiness. "You bet! You've got a whole month to show us all the cool things you can think of!" She was giggling with a youthful grin the entire time, as she brought her gaze to Eri. "I thought we both needed something like this. Just for a little bit, we can forget about all of that, and enjoy ourselves. I hope you're as happy as I am!" She gave her a big, toothy smile, having regained that bright and cheery energy she always kept going for Eri.

"Have you tried the cooking yet? It's amazing! You're gonna love it. Tell 'em, Philia!" Her fluffy tail wagged back and forth as she still held onto Philia who was clearly intent on not letting go for a while. That was okay, though. She didn't really wanna let go, either. "I was thinking of asking her for some pointers over the month. Maybe...it'd be good to learn some new skills and help around the house, when the month is over..." Zoe got a little bashful thinking about it, knowing she wasn't super good at a lot of the more complex chores and didn't want to feel like a burden to her.

Philia nodded. "Yeah, Ruby's cooking is delicious! I'm sure you'll love it." The little maid's tail was also waving like crazy. She was as excited as Zoe to hear that they would stay here for a month. "There's a lot of stuff we can do now!"

Eri chuckled, gently petting Philia's head. "I'm sure that, if you two liked it so much, it must be delicious indeed." She looked at Hara and the other maids, everyone except Hara seemed to return to their obligations, seemingly very happy by the idea of having guests for a whole month. She directed her gaze at the hugging duo once more. "So. What's our first plan?"

"If I may, mistresses. Today has been a long and exciting day, may I suggest taking a relaxing bath to recover energy? There's still some time until Ruby is done."

"Oh! Hara's right! You have only seen your room's bath right Zoe? You haven't seen the big one yet right? It's amazing! Amd suuuuuuper big!" Philia released Zoe and pointed to a hallway next to the stairs.

"A bath soukds good, what do you think Zoe?" The idea sounded perfect to Eri, a relaxing bath before dinner was always nice and Philia's excited description made her curious.

Zoe had been so caught up in the excitement and the rush of the day that she hadn't really considered her own hygiene all that much. The day had been...really fast and busy, since the very beginning. Was she sweaty? She definitely felt a little bit during the last challenge. Boy, that was a lot for her. She still couldn't believe she pulled that off. Wow, she was tired all of the sudden. Maybe she was just putting off how she actually felt until she had done everything she could. Well, it had certainly worked, because she felt none of this during the day!

She couldn't suppress a yawn, feeling a little drowsy. She was hungry, though, so she wasn't going to just pass out yet. "A bath sounds good...get some of this back. I...I guess I haven't seen the baths yet. It sounds nice, that's for sure!" She chuckled as she ruffled Philia's hair, although a thought occurred to her as she leaned in close to whisper to her specifically. "I don't...smell, right?"

Philia giggled and took Zoe and Eri's hands to guide them to the big baths. "Hmm?" Leaning in, Philia faked a disgusted look. "I think the dive bomb treatment is necessary! When we get to the baths, you have to run in and dive!" The little maid chuckled as she practically dragged them away from the reception hall and towards the baths.

As they arrived, they found themselves in a pretty big room, with a steamy pool right in the middle. Without waiting, Philia discarded her clothing in a clumsy manner and then ran towards the pool's edge and dive in. "Yay!"

Eri was impressed, this room was so big and the bath looked really nice. "Hehe, we shouldn't keep Philia waiting, don't you think Zoe?" Eri chuckled, clearly moved by Philia's energy and excitement. "Want me to wash your back and your tail?"

Zoe let her self be dragged along with Philia as she led the two of them back, setting her new spellbook onto her bed, and into the bath that she hadn't had a chance to see, yet. Extravagant, was the first thing that came to mind. Like many things in the mansion that she had seen so far, it was so different from everything she had known. And for now, at least for a month, something like this, was hers, and Eri's, too.

Philia had already rushed in before she had even taken it all in, clearly her energy much stronger than Zoe's. "O-Oh! Right, right...yeah, definitely don't wanna keep her waiting..." Zoe looked back at her tail, noticing that it had gotten just a little matted from the days away. "I-I'd like that." She couldn't hide her blush even if she wanted to, as she started to slip off her clothing. It was such an intimate thing to think about, even when they were so close. Even when it wasn't really a new thing for either of them. But, she was always so comfortable around Eri. That's the way it had always been, she supposed.

The trio enjoyed a good bath, playing and having fun in the warm, steamy water. Eri helped Zoe and Philia to wash their tails, making sure to take extra care with them. Time went on and they came out of the bath, feeling refreshed and relaxed. What came next was a banquet to celebrate Zoe's victory. It was filled with laugh and delicious food, everyone was enjoying it to their hearts content.

If anything, this joyful and merry dinner was only but a beginning to the vacation that Zoe had achieved through hard work and now what remained was for them to enjoy their stay. Even if they were in a vacation, Eri took her time to study the book Zoe had been rewarded with, sometimes she went to Hara for help while Zoe spent her time playing with Philia or learning a thing or two about cooking with Ruby, sometimes even Eri would join in. Eventual teasing from Sylvia were also a common thing when Zoe found herself alone with the maid, she wouldn't try anything major, just a light tease to see her cute reaction. They didn't really had to worry about anything at that time, only to have fun and enjoy their vacation, giving them time to think about the future and where to go from there but one thing was for sure, they would always be welcome if they wished to come visit and, sometimes, maybe certain little maid could make a little escapade to visit them...

(The End)