Upsilon stood in front of the maid house, waiting for her sisters.
She'd come early. Too early, probably. But she didn't want them waiting for her. Didn't want to make them late. Didn't want to be the problem. Again.
Twenty months. Almost exactly. Since she'd arrived here as Maya. Slave to one of the delegation administrators. Just another city in an endless list of stops. Another master in a hopeless life.
Now: Upsilon. One of the letter girls. Part of something. Part of family.
Today was celebration. All twenty of them had finished their hundred points. All twenty had passed. All twenty had earned this day off together.
The first of the letter girls emerged from the maid house. Beta. Then Gamma. Delta. Others following. All in their uniforms. All smiling. Excited.
Alpha came last. The elf with covered ears—like 22, the one she now called Teacher.
She'd won the naming game. Best scores in Ealdred's training. That's why she was Alpha. First place. First letter. The others looked to her naturally—for wisdom, for guidance, for leadership. Not because of the name. Because of what earning it had proven.
She'd been named Lyra before. They all had old names. Slave names. Master names. But 22 had removed those—the attachment, the weight, the meaning. Left just sounds. The old names still worked. Still functioned as identifiers. But nobody liked using them. Most girls took it as challenge. As looking for conflict. Old names meant old pain. Old masters. Old chains. Better to use the letters. Better to be Alpha. Beta. Gamma. Names they'd earned. Names that meant something.
Upsilon hadn't known this kind of name removal was even possible. But 22 had explained it simply: most mages were idiots. Just cut away memories completely. Crude. Destructive.
Teacher knew better. Left the knowledge. Removed the feeling. The names remained as references. As history. But not as identity. Not as pain.
Alpha held something. A slip of paper. Official-looking.
"Is that—" Epsilon started.
"The prize." Alpha's smile was genuine. Proud. "One day as Master Void's personal attendant. Whoever wins bowling gets it."
The reaction was immediate. Excitement. Competition. Determination.
Everyone wanted that prize. Desperately.
The attendant duty had been implemented after the stampede. During the siege, Master Void had locked himself away for two days. Alone. Working. Refusing company. While the city fought. While people needed him. Until Mistress Null broke the door. The maids had been worried. Concerned. Desperate to help but unable to reach him.
Regular elven tradition demanded personal maids stand like statues during attendance. Silent. Still. Decorative. But kind Master Void wouldn't allow it. Refused to make them stand. Said it was cruel. Unnecessary.
So compromise was found. One maid. One armchair.
Upsilon wasn't sure whose idea the armchairs had been. But someone had acquired them. Massive. Soft. They looked almost like thrones. Cost over a thousand gold apiece—similar to what she'd been sold for at auction. Ridiculous luxury.
Such success that several more were acquired. Other than Master Void's offices, they were placed in maid house resting areas. Common spaces. Everyone could use those. Everyone loved them.
Upsilon had tried those chairs—probably every maid had. Felt strange sitting on something worth as much as she'd cost. But divine strange. Comfort she'd never imagined.
But attending Master Void? Sitting in his office chair while he worked? Watching him. Being useful if needed. Resting eyes on their kind master?
That was special. That was the prize.
One full day in that chair. Watching Master Void work. Being useful if he needed something. Making his day easier. Resting eyes on him.
All the maids loved that duty. ALL of them. It was the most desired position in the entire compound.
"Ready?" Alpha asked. Looking at all of them. Her sisters. Her family.
"Wait." Mu stepped forward. Looked at Upsilon. Concern showing. "Upsilon. You need to stop this."
Upsilon blinked. "Stop what?"
[What did I do wrong again? Did I cause issues? I always cause problems for everyone. Always make things worse. What was it this time?]
"I saw you from the window. Standing here like twenty minutes early. You can't keep punishing yourself endlessly for ending up last." Mu's voice was gentle. Firm. "The group grading—we all agreed to it together. We asked for it. Heard it worked for Mistress Null and the Twins. Wanted the same. But you ending up last wasn't your fault."
"It was my fault. I was slower. Weaker. Less capable. Everyone got punished because of me."
"You ended up unlucky," Alpha corrected. Calm. Authoritative. "All the rest of us were trained by our old masters. Had foundations. Experience. You came in raw. Untrained. Of course you struggled more. That's not weakness. That's circumstance."
"You got best scores in some areas," Beta added. Supportive. "The ones where the playing field was more equal. Where training didn't matter as much. You excelled there. That counts."
The others nodded. Agreement. Support.
Upsilon felt something tight in her chest. "But I still—"
"You still passed," Beta said. Warm. Genuine. "You're here. You're one of us. You made it. That's what matters. Stop carrying guilt that isn't yours."
Upsilon couldn't speak. Just nodded. Accepting it. Trying to believe it.
"Now." Alpha gestured toward the gates. "Let's go celebrate. Together. As sisters. As family. As the letter girls who all passed."
They walked. Twenty maids in perfect uniforms. Moving through the compound. Through the gates. Into Borderwatch proper.
The city had changed. Massively.
Twenty months of reconstruction. Regional recovery. Borderwatch had grown maybe four times its original size. New buildings everywhere. New districts. New infrastructure.
The airship landing pads on the side of the establishment had seen the largest growth of anything. More pads now. Support buildings. Warehouses. Administrative offices. Constant traffic. Ships arriving and departing continuously.
All regional airship traffic centered here now. International flights passed through. Stopped. Used the facilities. Paid fees. Brought business.
"Borderwatch isn't the hub city by official designation," Delta observed. Walking. Looking around. "But it's taken that role by reality."
"Function over form," Alpha agreed.
They walked past the new Guild house. Massive construction. Three times the size of the old one. Still being built but clearly impressive.
Gamma sent through the seed network. Private. Safe. ?Mistress Null's plan still worked. Even with modifications later. The core strategy was solid.?
?What modifications?? Zeta asked. Confused.
[How does she not know?] Upsilon wondered. [This has been talked about extensively in the seed network. One of those things you're not allowed to speak aloud. Seed communication only. Has she just... not been paying attention?]
Upsilon explained. Through telepathy. Trying to be useful. Trying to contribute.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
?After hub city selection was canceled, news came through networks that a new delegation was coming. To interview all guild masters in the area. It would mean all our document forgery would come out. Our home would be in proper mess for helping with it.?
?So Kira, Bunny—everyone who knows anything about laws—brainstormed. Ealdred even contacted legal experts from Central he knows. They got a plan to come clean. Announced documentation was made later—retroactive but legal. Loopholes. Technicalities. Everything carefully worded.?
?Bunny used all the time before interviews to teach the Guild Master. How to answer. Where to answer. Making things stick. Official excuse was Guild Master needed stress relief after the attack and bad news. So the elf loaned a maid. Entire city knows Bunny's habits. Nobody questioned why she was with Guild Master for days.?
?Also the unlimited favors part came out. So Kira and Master Void announced no more favors. Used our transfers as excuse for using the favors. This also means even if our surviving masters wanted us back, it's too high profile now. Too visible to even try.?
?Except Bunny still visits the Guild Master. Weekly. For combing sessions. Where they actually talk. Where strategies happen. Where real control exists.?
?The delegation saw the Guild Master had slacked. But couldn't prove actual wrongdoing. They were quite surprised about his assistant Marcus though. How he kept many things running. So they made Marcus sub-guild master. Same rights. Same authority. Check and balance. This title is usually given when there are questions about guild master competence. Hint before more serious steps.?
?Marcus called a meeting the very next day after getting his title. With Kira. With other merchants. With city power players. Very interested in proving himself. Eager to work together. Council meetings. Making sure everything functions properly. He wants to succeed. Badly.?
?Result: Guild Master forced to actually work now. Bunny owning him from one side. Marcus pushing hard from the other. Trapped between devotion and ambition.?
?And the funny part—? Upsilon actually found this amusing. ?The Guild Master probably really likes combing Bunny. He even hired several bunnygirls as receptionists. More cooperative ones. Better for outside work activities.? She paused. ?But all those girls now work for our Bunny. Making sure the Guild Master does what's needed. He probably ended up even more controlled than before. Tried to get freedom, got more chains instead.?
?So the plan worked,? Zeta confirmed. Understanding finally. ?Just... differently than intended. More complicated. But functional.?
?See, Upsilon?? Alpha sent. Matter-of-fact. Then, with hint of humor: ?You're not the worst. You actually listen and learn. Zeta here lived under a rock this whole time.?
Several sisters laughed through the network. Friendly. Warm. Teasing.
Alpha continued. Thoughtful. ?And those bunnygirl receptionists? I wouldn't be surprised if we get some new sisters soon. Some call me and others who follow Teacher—22—as zealots because we teach proper standards of submission and servitude. But our Bunny is a totally different kind of dangerous. Those poor country bumpkins are all hooked and don't even realize it yet.?
They continued walking. The city busy around them. Alive. Growing. Thriving.
Further ahead: gallows. Shame posts. Several of them standing in a public square.
A lone lizardman hung from one. Dead. Wooden plate around his neck declaring crimes. Thief. Intruder. Warning to others.
"More thieves," Mu observed. Voice neutral. "They destroyed two Thief Guild bases already. Massive bloodbaths both times when they tried to establish. This one's probably solo. Individual trying his luck."
"City Guard here is totally psychopathic with how they do law and order," Zeta said. Loud. Casual.
Alpha turned sharply. Scanning the area. Checking for green bands nearby. She sent through the seed—fast, urgent:
?Don't you remember Lady Kira's warning? Extreme courtesy to City Guard. Always.?
?After Guild Master became useful—controlled—they reviewed all his policies. Most got canceled. But City Guard funding? That became top priority. With the city growing so fast, public order matters. They increased funding massively. Even hired from the Assassin Guild directly. Couldn't find enough psychopaths through normal channels.?
?And they were given many new tasks. Getting rid of slums, collecting homeless children to orphanages—Lady Kira made that very clear since Master Void is the largest supporter of orphans in the city—things like that. Many tasks. Slums give flame to crime. Feed it. The council doesn't want to know how City Guard handles anything, just that it gets done.?
?Borderwatch had slums. Then one day, it didn't. They simply ceased to exist. Orphans went to orphanages. The rest?? Alpha's tone darkened. ?Don't know. Don't ask. Nobody asks what happened.?
[Many know,] Upsilon thought. [Alpha probably knows too. She's just saving us from the truth.]
She remembered. There had been maids who'd asked. Who'd wanted to understand. Nora had talked to them—explained how it happened. For those stupid enough to come and listen.
Upsilon had been stupid. Had wanted to learn. Had felt bad for days after.
[Some things are better not knowing. Alpha's kindness is in the silence.]
Alpha continued, pulling focus back to results. ?And it works. Our city has one of the lowest crime rates in the Republic.?
?Also—? Alpha's tone turned pointed ?—our establishment is the second largest contributor to their salary fund. After the Adventurer Guild itself. There are plans for even more benefits. Keep them motivated. Keep them loyal.?
?So maybe don't call them psychopathic out loud. Where they might hear you.?
Zeta looked chagrined. ?Sorry. I wasn't thinking.?
?Clearly.? Alpha's telepathic voice went cold. ?You may have sixth-best scores, but you're clearly not listening. Not learning. So: no going outside the establishment at all. Home arrest. No talking near strangers. Be a good silent maid until you prove to me you actually listen and learn. Understood??
?...Understood.? Zeta sounded subdued. Embarrassed.
The others said nothing. But they understood. Alpha was protecting her. Protecting all of them.
They were all proud of Alpha. In no time at all, she'd worked herself high in the maid hierarchy—reported directly to Lady Kira now. Only Kira reported to Master Void. Below her were several senior maids, Alpha among them, with more layers beneath. Everything earned through excellence, through leadership, through proving herself worthy.
That's why Alpha could handle this. Why she had the authority to punish. Why the sisters accepted it. Better to be corrected by Alpha now than face Lady Kira or someone else later. Better to learn here, among family, than fail in public.
The bowling field was new. One of the latest additions to Borderwatch's entertainment district.
Large building. Professional setup. Multiple lanes. The kind of facility that attracted travelers. That gave the city culture. Character. More than just trade hub.
Spy appeared as they entered. Visible only to them. Floating. Curious.
?Bowling. Mistress Null knows this from her past life. I wanted to see if the implementation matched memories.?
The letter girls moved inside. Registered. Paid—Alpha handling it smoothly.
The facility was... impressive. Clean. Well-maintained. Professional staff. Everything organized.
And the enchantments. Upsilon felt them immediately. Anti-magic fields on the balls. On the lanes. On the entire playing area.
Any magic use triggered instant game-over. Disqualification.
And force limits. Enchantments that capped how much strength could go into throws. Prevented superhuman power. Made the game fair even for enhanced individuals.
"Clever," Alpha observed. Studying the setup. "Levels the playing field. Makes it skill-based rather than power-based."
Spy floated around. Examining. Comparing.
?It's exactly as Mistress Null remembers. The lanes. The pins. The balls. The scoring. Everything. Only the enchantments are additions—necessary for this world. For people with magic and enhanced strength. But the core game? Perfect recreation.?
He paused. Curious.
?I've seen similar things before. Here and there. Similar items. Similar words. Things that match Mistress Null's memories too perfectly. Even 22 had no idea how it's possible. Best theory: ancient divine children introduced these. Cultural artifacts from higher realms. Would explain the perfect matches across different places and times.?
Upsilon listened. Fascinated. One of the biggest surprises after getting seeded—learning Mistress Null wasn't from this world. From the one where heroes came from. True, she didn't look like a hero at all. If anything, would fit more into the role of daemon lord. But still. Same origin as the legendary heroes. Same source. Strange.
The letter girls claimed their lane. Set up. Prepared.
And talked. About what was coming. About what they waited for.
"Two days," Mu said. Voice carrying relief. Excitement. "Two days until it ends. Until the punishment finishes. Until everything goes back to normal."
"Teacher—22—is literally counting seconds," Beta added. Amused. "She has a timer. Watches it constantly. Can't wait for it to end."
"Lady Kira can't wait to use her family name again," Gamma said. "She mentioned it yesterday. How much she misses it. How long it's been. It was almost sad. How she talked about it. But not daring to actually say the name. Not yet. Not until the punishment ends."
"And Mistress Null..." Epsilon trailed off. Everyone knew. Everyone understood.
?She and the Twins have been literally counting seconds for the last week,? Spy sent. His tone carrying sympathy. Understanding. ?Every second. Every minute. Waiting for it to end. For her to be close to Master again. The separation... it costs her more than anything else.?
Mistress Null. Stuck in the tool shed. Separated from Master Void. The punishment everyone knew hurt her most.
?We all saw them,? Alpha sent quietly. ?In the desert. When we got our seeds. The tragedy between them. They want to be close. So desperately. But can't. Because of the punishment. But for the seeding? They had to be. Forced together for that moment. Touching the teleportation crystal together. The Twins literally waited a few minutes before activating it. Giving them some moment of happiness. More closeness. Even just seconds more.?
The others nodded. That memory. That trauma. It stuck. Clearly. Vividly.
More than the terror. More than the fear. The tragedy of those two forced together was what remained strongest.
Upsilon wasn't sure why. Maybe her memory couldn't record the horrors of Mistress Null's true form that well. Or maybe seeing those two like that—desperate for closeness they couldn't have—was just more sad. More painful to remember. More human, somehow.
"Teacher—22—taught us that good masters may hurt themselves by giving fair punishments to loyal servants," Delta added. Soft. Understanding. "And given how Master Void is hurt by this... how he suffers from separating them... that teaching makes sense now. He's punishing himself as much as anyone."
Silence. Agreement. Sympathy.
"Two more days," Alpha repeated. "Then it ends. Then she gets to be close again. Then everything returns to how it should be."
"Can't wait," several of them echoed.
The game began.
Balls rolling. Pins falling. Laughter. Competition. Sisters playing together. Celebrating. Being family.
Upsilon watched them. Participated. Felt the joy. The belonging. The purpose.
[This is home. This is family. This is everything I never had before. Everything I thought impossible.]
[And in two days, they get relief. Mistress Null. Lady Kira. 22. The three who made this possible. Who gave us this home. Without them, we'd never have found this place. Never have belonged. They deserve their happiness back. They've earned it.]
She threw her ball. Watched it roll. Watched pins fall.
And smiled. Genuinely. Completely.
After she was sold due to debts, she'd never expected to be happy again.
Never expected happiness.
Never been happier.
end of Book 2/Arc 2 of Corrupted Reincarnation: The Eldritch Maid.
7 months after the punishment ended, moving into Book 3.
Maid Cast Introduced in Book 2:
Main Cast Level:
- 22 - The elf archmage zealot. OP. Called "Teacher" by those she's successfully poisoned with her ways.
Named Maids:
-
Lina - Hobgoblin, survivor from the initial three seedlings in Book 1. Sweet, simple, happy-go-lucky.
-
Pebble - Beargirl, massive but still beautiful-stylish despite her size. Likes to drink. A lot.
-
Nora - Wolfgirl who prefers shadows and doesn't say no to dirty work. Will get her own POV chapter in Book 3.
-
7 - Human ex-merchant's daughter who ran from forced marriage. Small spoiler but she will end up with name 7, due 22 influences. Hates her old name and family who wanted to marry her off, so unlike Kira, she happily gave up her old name.
-
Bunny - Bunnygirl. Shameless. Too competent for her own good.
The Letter Girls (20 total):
-
Alpha - Think of her as mini-22, elf - zealot in all ways possible. Reports directly to Kira.
-
Beta - Kind, helpful healer type.
-
Zeta - Scatterbrain.
-
Upsilon - Always trying to prove herself due to shame of finishing last in training.
The Five Courtesans:
Thank you for reading!
See you in Book 3!