The sky had already turned pitch dark by the time I returned to the dormitory.
My body felt light, the stress of the day completely washed away by the... vigorous exercise I just had. I hummed a little tune as I walked up the path.
There, under the magic lamp of the porch, Lily the maid was waiting for me.
Her silhouette was stiff, her hands clasped in front of her apron. When she saw me, her posture relaxed, and a bright, relieved smile appeared on her face.
"Master!"
She jumped ahead, meeting me at the bottom of the stairs.
"Where were you, Master?" she asked, her voice a mix of concern and scolding. "Why are you so late today? Dinner is getting cold!"
"I... got held up," I lied smoothly. "Extra training."
"Training?" Lily narrowed her eyes. "Dr. Elise specifically forbade that!"
She started bombarding me with a barrage of questions. "Did you hurt yourself? Are you dizzy? Did you take your mana supplements?"
But as she was speaking, she suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
She leaned in.
She came close. So close that Alex could feel her warm breath on his neck.
Sniff. Sniff.
She started sniffing all around him like a cat inspecting a stranger. She smelled his collar. She smelled his shirt. She even leaned down and took a dangerous sniff near his waist.
Suddenly, she backed up, her green eyes wide and sharp.
"You had sex, didn't you?"
"..."
My heart skipped a beat.
What the fuck?
"How..." I stammered, looking at her in genuine horror. "How can you know that just by sniffing?"
Does she have a dog's nose or something? Or is 'Smell of Adultery' a skill maids have in this world?
Lily didn't answer immediately. Her expression darkened, the cheerful maid facade cracking completely to reveal a very possessive, very dangerous woman underneath.
"I smell... musk," she whispered, her nose twitching as she leaned into his personal space. "Sweat. Another woman's cheap perfume. And..."
She pointed a shaking finger at his trousers, right where a faint damp spot remained.
"...the distinct scent of... hmm... sex."
She stepped back and crossed her arms.
She crossed them right under her gigantic boobs. The upward pressure pushed her massive assets up like rising dough. The fabric of her black maid bodice strained to its absolute limit, the lace trim fighting a losing battle. It was pushed so high that Alex could actually see the dark, puckered rim of her areola peeking out over the top.
But for once, Alex didn't have the mind to enjoy the view. Lily was staring at him with the intensity of a dungeon boss. If he didn't answer, she wasn't going to let him pass.
"Who was she?" Lily demanded.
Alex sighed, rubbing his neck. "Why do I need to tell you that? I'm an adult. It's my private life."
"Of course it matters to me!" Lily shouted, stomping her foot. "I have been trusted by the Duke to take care of you! And for that, I need to know what you do!"
She took a breath, her chest heaving hypnotically.
"It is my duty to ensure that the Young Master does not stoop so low as to go to some filthy brothel! What if you catch a disease? What if a succubus drains your life force? I need to know!"
"So you just wanted to know that?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes!"
"Don't worry," Alex scoffed, stepping around her to head inside. "I have standards, Lily. I don't like my key to go inside a lock that has been unlocked by every guy in the city."
He paused at the doorway and looked back at her.
"I had sex with my classmate. And FYI... she was a virgin."
Silence.
Lily froze. Her angry pout vanished instantly. Her eyes went wide.
"A... classmate?" she whispered. "A virgin?"
"Yes. Now, is dinner ready? I'm starving."
*****
Twenty minutes later, Alex sat at the long dining table.
He stared at the spread in front of him.
It was a feast. But not just any feast. It was a terrifying amount of "Stamina Food."
There was grilled eel. There were raw oysters. There was a soup made from what looked like Minotaur testicles. There was a steak covered in garlic.
"Master!"
Lily walked in, carrying a bottle of expensive wine. She was beaming. The angry maid from the porch was gone, replaced by a sobbing, proud mother figure.
"The Young Master has finally become a man!" she wailed, wiping a fake tear from her eye with a handkerchief. "Oh, if the Duke and Duchess were here to hear this news, they would be so happy! Their little boy... popping cherries!"
"Stop it," Alex cringed, poking at the eel with his fork. "You're making it sound weird. And please don't tell my parents."
"We must celebrate!" Lily ignored him, pouring the wine. "To think you found a nice, pure girl at the Academy... oh, I'm so proud."
She pushed a plate of glistening, slimy oysters toward him.
"Eat up, Master. All of it."
"Lily, this is too much," Alex groaned.
"No!" she insisted, her eyes gleaming with a strange light. "You just emptied your sack, Master. You must have lost a lot of 'energy.' You must replenish it immediately."
She pointed at the Minotaur soup.
"These dishes boost 'energy' production. They refill your tank."
She leaned over the table, her cleavage resting on the tablecloth near his plate.
"Eat it all," she purred. "Because if you replenish your energy tonight... maybe I can help you empty it again before bed."
Alex looked at the mountain of aphrodisiac food. He looked at the hungry maid.
He picked up his fork.
"Well," he muttered. "I guess I need the protein."