Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
December 5, x791.
To no one's surprise, Maria did not end up joining the group session with Alfonzo, Erza, Sun, Saeko, Retsu, and Ai. Though, she did not leave, either. Although, she did admit to herself that over the years spent in service to the Marcus House, she had developed feelings for her master, she wanted to actually go through a proper courting ritual, rather than just jumping into it.
Besides, as a young woman, Maria always imagined her first time being more romantic. Well, unless she ended up working for an employer who would leverage their position to make her join him, or her, in bed.
As for today, Maria was in charge of all the maids, as it was Grayfia's day off. And as it just so happened, Grayfia was actually out on a date with Alfonzo.
But what that really meant is that the other five maids, aside from performing their duties, had all the time they wanted to gossip.
And Ikaruga was the most active in that regard.
"I still can't believe you stayed to watch Master Alfonzo plow five other women." Ikaruga said with her eyes shining. "This was your first time actually watching, wasn't it?"
"Wha! Wha! Wha!" Mey-Rin sputtered in embarrassment as her face reddened to a worrying degree.
"*Sigh* Must you use such crass language, Ikaruga?" Miyuki said in her usual, nearly emotionless tone. "We have to take Mey-Rin back to her room to rest more than twice a week because she's so easily embarrassed. We really don't need you adding to those numbers."
"She'd probably get over it if she just let the master take her to pound town." Ikaruga replied with a shrug of her shoulders.
Even before Ikaruga's words ended, Mey-Rin's face reddened even further as steam shot out from the top of her head, and her glasses fogged up before she fainted. Luckily, Maria was close enough to catch her before the bespectacled maid fell to the floor.
"You have way too much fun with this." Maria said in a tone filled with fond exasperation.
"it's not like you don't have a great time messing with people either, maria." Ikaruga shot back. "You're just too proper to take things as far as I do."
"Fair enough." Maria replied with a shrug of her own. "Anyway, I'll take Mey-Rin to her room. I'll be back in a moment."
"No, just lay her down on the couch." Ikaruga said while pointing at one of the living room's couches. "I'm not letting you get out of telling us everything about what you saw."
"I'm actually curious to know what it was like from an outsider's perspective, as well.' Ai said with a smile. "I mean, I've never just watched before. The one time I stayed in the room while Master Alfonzo was making love to the other women, I ended up joining Grayfia and Miyuki."
"*sigh* You, too, Ai?" Maria asked as her cheeks took on a slightly pink tint.
"Stop playing coy." Ikaruga said while rolling her eyes as she wiped down a picture frame with a damp rag. "Let's get to the juicy details."
"Fine…" Maria said in a resigned tone. "I still don't' know why you need my perspective. I was only watching from the outside. Ai was actually involved. She helped Madam Erza clean off Master Alfonzo's… *Cough* semen and joined the others in his bed after the competition Madams Erza and Sun, as well as Mistresses Aeko and Retsu had."
"Actually, I've yet to tell them what happened." Ai replied with a shrug of her own as she wiped down the coffee table.
"Really?" maria asked with her eyes widened in surprise.
"It's true." Miyuki replied. "Because this is definitely the first time that I'm hearing about Ai cleaning up any of Master's semen."
"And you're so jealous that your eyes are shining in an eerie green color." Ikaruga pointed out with amusement in her tone.
"I would not be surprised if they were." Miyuki replied, completely unbothered about having her jealousy exposed.
"*Sigh* I still remember the days when everyone thought you hated Master Alfonzo because of the words you always said when he woke up." Ai said while shaking her head lightly.
"Oh, I remember that.' Maria said with a giggle. "The only ones who were not scared that you were going to kill him in his sleep were Madam Elicia and Master Alfonzo himself."
"Yeah, if I woke up to someone hanging over me and saying something like, 'I wish you had never woken up,' I would have definitely fired that person on the first day." Ikaruga added with her own giggle.
"Yeah, but you have to admit it was pretty cute when we found out what she actually meant." Ai said with a gentle smile. "She only wanted him to never wake up because she liked looking at his sleeping face."
With all the teasing, the tips of Miyuki's ears turned red in embarrassment. Luckily, her hair covered her ears completely. Add to that the fact that her emotions never showed on her face, and no one knew that she was feeling any embarrassment at all.
"Can any of you honestly say that Master Alfonzo's face is not one of the most handsome you've ever seen?" Miyuki shot back, trying to hide any signs of her embarrassment. "And when he is asleep, he has an innocent charm on top of all that. Can you really blame me for enjoying the sight of his sleeping face?"
Ikaruga's, Maria's, and Ai's snickering let Miyuki know that she was not fooling anyone. Still, she maintained her stoic expression as she continued cleaning the living room.
"Anyway…" Ikaruga said as she got her laughter under control. She then continued as she turned towards maria. "You still haven't answered the question. How was it watching them have all that fun?"
"You're not gonna let that go, are you?" Maria asked in an exasperated tone.
"Nope!" Ikaruga replied cheerfully. "Now, spill the beans. I want to know every thought that ran through that pretty little head of yours."
"*Sigh* Fine…" Maria said in a tone filled with resignation. A moment later, her cheeks reddened as she continued. "When the four ladies entered Master Alfonzo's workshop, I had just served him a cup of tea while he and Ai were working on something. Then, I was completely gob smacked when they said they wanted to have a competition and even more so when I realized what that competition consisted of."
And for the rest of the afternoon, Maria told Ikaruga, Ai, and Miyuki how she felt during the "Sword Maintenance" competition and Alfonzo's subsequent competition after the winner was decided. However, all the gossip came to an end when the rest of the mansion's residents returned from the guild hall early in the evening.
Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Crocus.
Well, not all of the mansion's residents returned in the early evening. Rather, only Alfonzo's lovers and children returned. As for the master of the house and the Head Maid, they were currently walking hand in hand through the streets of Crocus, enjoying their date on one of Grayfia's few days off.
"It's been more than five years since we hired you, Grayfia." Alfonzo said while looking down at Grayfia, who, instead of her maid uniform, wore a black corset dress with gold and white accents. "Still, every time I see you in casual clothes, it always feels like the first time."
"Though unnecessary, your flattery is appreciated." Grayfia said, a smile curling her lips. "Though, I must admit, I get the same feeling whenever I get to spend time with you.'
"You know good and damn well that it's not just flattery." Alfonzo said while rolling his eyes. "But whatever."
Grayfia only giggled at Alfonzo's exasperation.
"By the way, do you ever wonder what the other maids are up to when you're not around?" Alfonzo asked, genuine curiosity tinting his tone.
"Not really." Grayfia replied while shaking her head lightly. "As long as they perform their duties to an acceptable degree, what they do in my absence is none of my concern."
"And by acceptable degree, you mean to perfection, right?" Alfonzo asked with a grin.
"There is no such thing as perfection." Grayfia replied, her turn to roll her eyes. "But I will admit, my standards for what would be considered acceptable are considerably higher than most."
"Then a hair less than perfection." Alfonzo said while raising his free hand and holding his thumb and index finger close together to indicate the distance from perfection.
"I'm not that bad." Grayfia said as her expression turned into an adorable pout.
'God damn it, the gap moe is too much.' Alfonzo thought to himself. 'If Lici was here, she'd be losing her fucking mind right now.'
"Something tells me I don't want to know what you're thinking right now." Grayfia said after glancing at Alfonzo's expression.
"You make it sound like I was thinking something rude.' Alfonzo said with a grin.
"No, I do not think it is something rude." Grayfia replied with a shake of her head. "I just think I'd be better off not knowing."
"I was only thinking that you were really cute when you let yourself go." Alfonzo said in an innocent tone.
"The worst part of that is that I can tell you're being honest." Grayfia said as she turned away, leaving Alfonzo with a view of the back of her head. "And just like I said, I would be better off not knowing."
Though Alfonzo was unable to see her face, he had a sneaking feeling that the most adorable blush was currently coloring Grayfia's face. And because of that, he wished he had the [Byakugan] at this very moment.
'I wonder if Mei would be upset if I went to the Mist Village and plucked out Ao's eye for moments like this.' Alfonzo thought to himself.
On a side note, as soon as Alfonzo had that thought, the blue-haired Mist shinobi, who was on his way to the Mizukage's office, shuddered in terror. He then activated his stolen Byakugan to search for any threats.
Even though Ao was unable to find anything, he spent the rest of the day looking over his shoulder and jumping at shadows, actions that made Mei and the other Mist Village higher ups look at him with strange gazes.
"Anyway, we've been shopping for the better part of the afternoon. Wanna grab a bite to eat before we head back to Magnolia?"
"A meal would be good." Grayfia said as her smile widened. "But I'm not on duty again until tomorrow afternoon. So, maybe we don't have to go back tonight?"
Grayfia's request was accompanied by a pair of upturned eyes. And despite the fact that almost all of his wives and lovers used the same trick on him, he never found it any easier to resist them. Added to that was the fact that whenever Grayfia was in her work-mode, she was nothing but stoic professionalism. So, when she used such a tactic, it was even more devastating.
"I don't mind." Alfonzo replied with a shrug. "In that case, why don't we go to the Sixth Sense Hotel? I'll cook something just for you."
Hearing that, Grayfia's smile spread, lighting up her whole face.
"That sounds lovely." Grayfia said softly as she tightened her grip on Alfonzo's hand while threading their fingers together, moved closer, and hugged his arm with her other arm.
Seeing Grayfia smile so happily, Alfonzo could not help smiling, as well. He then took the lead as the two headed towards the Sixth Sense Hotel for a romantic dinner.
A few hours later, Alfonzo and Grayfia were seated in the Sixth Sense Hotel's Presidential Suite having just finished the dinner Alfonzo made for them with a bottle of wine on a bucket of ice sitting between them.
"You're cooking was as wonderful as always." Grayfia said while dabbing her lips with a napkin.
"I aim to please." Alfonzo replied with a smile. "I've got dessert, too, if you're up for it."
"I would never turn down a dessert you've made personally." Grayfia said with a smile.
"Then, I'll have it brought up." Alfonzo said before pulling out his lPhone and having the kitchen staff bring up dessert. Then, after ending the call, he placed the lPhone on the table and reached for the bottle of wine as he continued. "It should be up in a few minutes. Until then, how about a glass of wine."
Noticing slight apprehension in Grayfia's expression at the mention of a glass of wine, Alfonzo tilted his head in confusion. He felt like there was something he was missing. But for the life of him, he could not remember what it was.
Eventually, Grayfia gritted her teeth before nodding in acceptance. And when Alfonzo saw that, he decided he could think about what was bothering him at a later date.
With his mind clear, Alfonzo picked up a pair of wine glasses, placing one each in front of himself and Grayfia. Then, he took the bottle of wine from the bucket of ice, popped the cork, and poured them each a glass.
"A toast to our time together.' Alfonzo said with a smile as he raised his glass.
Once again, the apprehensive expression reappeared on Grayfia's face. Even so, she did not hesitate to raise her glass, as well.
"A toast to us." Grayfia said as her apprehension seemed to melt away.
*Clink!*
A moment later, the sound of two glasses tapping could be heard. Then, both Alfonzo and Grayfia took a sip of the red wine in their glasses.
And at that moment, Alfonzo remembered what it was that he had been forgetting.
'Shit… She's a super-fucking-lightweight.' Alfonzo thought to himself as Grayfia's eyes glazed over, and her pale skin reddened at a visible rate. 'I remember reading that in the High School DxD light novels. But why the hell did I forget?'
The answer to that question was both simple and complex. It was simple because of the dimension hopping he and Elicia had done over the last three years. As for why it was complex, one of the companions they found during those adventures lived in a High School DxD Universe. However, that universe was what most people would call an AU, or Alternate Universe.
And in that AU, Grayfia was not the lightweight that she was portrayed to be in her source material. And because they had interacted with that Grayfia on multiple occasions, and the two Grayfia's were so alike, Alfonzo completely forgot that his Grayfia was more like the one from the source material than the other Grayfia he had actually met.
"Alfonzo~." Grayfia said, a definite slur in her tone, as she stood up unsteadily. She then used a hand to support herself as she circled around the table to approach Alfonzo. "You know, I'm already thirty-six…"
Reaching that point, Grayfia finally reached Alfonzo. Then, without the usual grace she usually showed to the world, she flopped down into his lap.
"And… I've never experienced real love until I came into your service." Grayfia continued as she wrapped her arms around Alfonzo's neck. "But now that I have… I would like to ask you a favor."
Alfonzo could only smile wryly at another new side of his head maid.
"I'm listening." Alfonzo said as calmly as he could.
"Would you please grant me the opportunity to be a mother?" Grayfia asked, her tone turning bashful. "It is one of the few things I've truly wanted in this life. I would say it is second to being the best maid this world has ever seen."
'Damn… Being a maid really is her reason for living.' Alfonzo thought as his wry smile widened. 'But what would make her like that in this world? I mean, in DxD, she was a member of the Extra Demon Clans, clans of devils specially created to serve the Satans. But she's human here. So, this doesn't make sense.'
While Alfonzo lapsed into thought, Grayfia, who was staring into his eyes, began to get uneasy at his silence, thinking he was unwilling to impregnate her, a maid. As a result, tears began to well up in her eyes.
Seeing Grayfia's tears, Alfonzo was immediately snapped back to his senses. He then wrapped his arms around the voluptuous, silver-haired maid in his lap and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips.
"Of course I'd be willing." Alfonzo said with a smile. "I'm more than happy to make our family even bigger."
With that, Alfonzo stood up abruptly with Grayfia in his arms.
"Kya!" Grayfia let out an uncharacteristically cute yelp in surprise.
"In fact, I think we should get started right now.' Alfonzo continued with a chuckle. "At the very least, we should get as much practice in as we can."
Grayfia could not help giggling in response.
"But what about dessert?" Grayfia asked. "It should be here soon, after all."
"Oh, we're still gonna have dessert." Alfonzo said, his smile turning lustful. "But instead of plates, we'll be eating it off of each other instead."