Anatuya held up her hands as I stared at her, "It was just a prank, Master," she said with a straight face. "I didn't touch you at all while you were out. Promise."
So she was basically saying that I just happened to be magically naked.
I pulled the sheet tighter around me and let out a breath. "Fine. Just don't do that again."
She smirked, "I never said I wouldn't." Before I could snap back, she sat up straighter. "Oh, and Surreal stopped by a bit ago. She said you need to be ready in four hours."
I nodded and swung my legs over the bed's edge. "Can you prepare the bath then?"
Anatuya's eyes lit up. "Of course. Mind if I watch on the side? I'd love to see more of that naked body up close~"
I paused, halfway to the door.
"What kind of maid asks something like that!?"
She winked and snapped her fingers. "The kind who wants her Master's consent first."
"You didn't ask for my consent on that prank!
"It wouldn't have been a prank if I did!"
In the end, I let her do whatever the heck she wanted.
The bath waited in a room off my quarters, its water steaming in a tub so large it felt more like a small indoor pool.
I sank into the warmth, letting it soak away the last of the haze from the wine. It left me feeling clean and sharp again.
Anatuya sat on the edge the whole time, her gaze steady, though I figured it came from some odd interest.
For whatever reason, it did not bother me much. She was another woman, after all, and I never saw my own body as anything worth staring at.
At some point, I realized that maybe she did that in case I felt uncomfortable letting her inside after the whack job of a prank she did. By attributing herself as a pervert, she knew that I would just scoff off her antics the more she did it.
Either that, she was just that unruly of a maid, and a raging homosexual pervert.
"As expected, no matter how many times I see it, your body is beautiful and nicely shaped despite your petite stature, Master." Anatuya nodded in deep appreciation as if she had just commented on a gallery exhibition. "How about trying to become a fashion model once?"
"Huh, I guess that is also a thing in this world."
She helped me out after a while, wrapping me in a towel before leading me to the wardrobe that she had already prepared.
A casual red dress hung there, simple but fitted, and she eased it over my head with quick hands.
As she smoothed the fabric, I glanced at her. "How old are you this year, anyway?"
"Somewhere around twenty-five," Anatuya replied, tying a loose sash at my waist.
I was surprised that human-to-demon age differentiation didn't have much dilution when it comes to appearance societal aspects.
I raised an eyebrow. "That makes you just three years older than me. You look even younger than that."
She paused and met my eyes. "How old did you think I was, then?"
I thought back to her face. "Maybe eighteen to twenty, from the look alone."
Anatuya let out a short laugh. "That's rich, coming from you."
I frowned. "What, because I'm short?"
She finished adjusting the dress and stepped back.
"Small and adorable females like you are rare among demons. You can say that, there are a lot of attractive aspects to it. Use it to your advantage, Master~"
I had the feeling that there were darker reasons to why those traits were attractive.
"Are you saying that in the perspective of a homosexual or the average demon?"
"Both~"
I turned to the full mirror nearby and took in the outfit.
It suited me well, the red bringing out a warmth I had not noticed before. Anatuya had picked it without asking, but her sense for style impressed me.
She knew how to make simple things fit just right.
"You don't even need makeup," she added, standing behind me. "Your face is already cute and beautiful as is."
I met her gaze in the reflection, narrowing my eyes.
"What does it mean to be a Demon, exactly?"
It had been on my mind for quite a while.
I didn't expect that there were a lot of similarities in societal aspects between humans and demons, and it made me even more enticed to find the truth about what made a demon—a demon, aside from their Demonic Essence.
Anatuya mirrored my look for a second, then turned the question back. "What does it mean to be human, then?"
I leaned against the vanity, considering it.
She was drawing me out, I could tell, but I answered anyway. "In my perspective, I believe that, to be human means being conscious and rational, to show resilience, having a chance to pursue meaning, and making your own view of the world someday. Well, at least that is the gist of it without complicating it too much."
Anatuya nodded slowly, her expression turning thoughtful.
"To be a demon means having desires and chasing them as far as you can. That drive shows you know yourself, and that's where Ego starts too—from acknowledging who you are."
I repeated the words under my breath.
Acknowledgment of oneself.
It stuck with me, making me wonder if I had not done enough of that to awaken my own Ego back home.
Then again, some humans sparked theirs right at birth, without trying.
We left the room and headed down the hall toward the lounge, where we would meet Lothair who would pick me up for the demonization process.
As we walked, I kept talking. "Not every human awakens an Ego, you know. The timing hits random—could be any age, or never. Is it different for demons?"
"Most of us awaken right at birth," Anatuya said simply.
I let out a wry chuckle.
That put the Demonic Realm at a real edge—if they ever united for an invasion, every last one would carry an Ego.
Earth would not stand a chance against that kind of force.
I glanced at her sidelong. "What about you? What's your Ego like?"
Anatuya smiled and stopped by a bare stretch of wall. "Punch that wall as hard as you can. It is easier to show than tell."
I hesitated, then drew back my fist, curiosity mixing with a spark of thrill.
"I will kick you out of this mansion if this is another one of your prank."
"I swear on my name that this is not one of them," she smiled so brightly, as she closed her eyes.
What kind of power fits someone as unpredictable as her?
I swung forward, aiming clean, but just before impact, a clear barrier shimmered into view.
My knuckles stopped short, the force behind the punch scattering like mist.
No jolt came back through my arm—nothing at all, as if an invisible hand had caught and held me still.
"That's my Ego, Proactive Guardian," Anatuya said, her tone matter-of-fact. "I can set defenses on things—objects, people, whatever—with a force that reacts to threats~
"The catch is I have to choose the target of protection ahead, remember it, and stay aware of the incoming attack and how the defense will react, and I'm not limited by the amount of protection target as long as I have the mental capacity.
"I can even make it absorb the energy of your punch and throw it back to you as one of the options."
"Glad that you didn't do that then." I flexed my hand, still feeling the odd emptiness from the stop. A laugh bubbled up. "Now that I know what your Ego is, no wonder Lothair allowed your request."
"Yes, praise me more, Master."
"Say, what are Lothair's and Surreal's Egos," I said as I continued walking. "For the two of them to hold as much power as to make me a legal resident of the Demonic Realm, while also throwing an entire mansion and an unbelievable amount of starting money at my face, I can assume that both of them are on the powerful spectrum."
Before Anatuya could answer, we already stepped into the lounge, and there they were—Lothair seated on a low couch, Surreal standing nearby with her usual blank look.
"I still have an hour left," I simply stated.
Lothair rose smoothly, her eyes meeting mine. "My excitement makes me impatient That's why I came early."