Hours kept passing as if time itself had decided to crawl at a turtle's pace. The carriage moved along dirt paths that wound between gentle hills and fields stretching like green carpets as far as the eye could see. They passed through several small villages, some so quiet it seemed the wind was the only inhabitant. And they made several stops… though only because Daru kept needing to relieve himself.
Jay looked at him each time he asked to stop, with the face of someone who had reached a very specific level of emotional exhaustion.
"Brother… you've got the bladder of an old man…" Jay said, leaning back in his seat and stretching his arms.
"It's biology, not magic," Daru replied, climbing back into the carriage as if nothing had happened.
Still, after hours and hours of travel, the landscape began to change. The horses slowed their pace little by little, as if walking toward something solemn, something important. Jay noticed the change and instinctively leaned toward the window, pulling the curtains aside.
What he saw made his eyes widen slowly.
"That town over there…?" he murmured, pressing his face closer to the glass.
A few hundred meters off the main road stood a massive mansion, so large it made the nearby houses look like toys. Towering white walls surrounded the property. A black iron gate decorated with golden details gleamed under the sun. And just behind, on an elevated point of land, rose the mansion itself: large windows, elegant columns, a deep blue roof reflecting the sky.
"That mansion… must belong to some noble around here," Jay said, puffing out his chest as if he had just made a very professional analysis.
Daru only let out a soft laugh, a laugh that clearly said: "Oh, brother… how naïve you are."
Jay looked at him suspiciously, raised an eyebrow… and then flipped him off without hesitation.
"Here. In case you were running low on motivation," Jay said with a mocking grin.
The carriage continued forward until it reached the grand entrance. And then, as if sensing their presence, the gates opened slowly.
The sound of metal moving echoed through the air, and a small gust of wind swept into the property, lifting dust in a dramatic flourish.
Jay swallowed hard.
Please don't let this be a joke…Please don't let this be a joke.If this is a prank, I'm jumping off the carriage.
His mind repeated those words like a prayer.
Meanwhile, Nekotina watched the mansion with absolute disinterest. Her expression was the same as a child looking at an ordinary stone on the road. And yet her tail remained draped across Jay's lap, as if making sure he didn't escape was her personal mission.
The carriage reached the front entrance, where a huge fountain rose in the center of a roundabout. Water fell with elegance, as if dancing, and the sound was so harmonious it almost resembled music.
When the horses finally stopped, someone approached. A man in a flawless black suit. Gray hair slicked back. A straight back like a spear. A thin, perfectly trimmed mustache. His face bore wrinkles, yes, but they were wrinkles of experience, not weakness. His dark eyes were calm, yet carried a strength that made one think this old man could break anyone's spirit if he wished.
The butler opened the carriage door with a bow so elegant it looked like a scene from a play.
"Welcome home, my lord Daru," he said in a deep, grave voice that resonated like an old but powerful drum.
Jay froze.
His mouth opened slowly. His brain disconnected for two seconds. And his entire life flashed before his eyes.
My lord…?Did he say 'my lord'…?To DARU?WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?
Daru stepped down first, waving casually.
"I'm back, Antonio," he replied with a natural ease that made it seem he had lived there for years.
Antonio. The butler's name was Antonio. Far too elegant a name for a man who looked capable of splitting a mountain with a sermon.
Jay climbed down next—though more like fell—while Nekotina pulled him by the hand. She followed right after, still clutching his fingers as if afraid he might vanish suddenly.
Jay lifted his gaze toward the mansion.
His eyes gleamed. His face transformed. He wasn't seeing a mansion. He was seeing a mountain of money. A carefree life. A promising future full of luxury.
He wore the same expression as a glutton staring at an endless banquet.
God…I don't know what's happening here…But I'm going to adapt quickly.
Jay knew nothing of manners. He didn't know where he was standing. And he didn't know what plan his brother had.
But one thing he did know:
This smelled like money. A lot of money.
And Jay Baker wasn't about to waste that opportunity.
Daru walked ahead with firm, almost exaggerated steps, as if every movement were designed to say: "Look at me, I'm the master of this castle." His coat swayed with the wind, and the light streaming through the windows made him look even more important than he surely intended.
Behind him was Jay, still with his mouth half open in shock. At his side, clinging to his torn shirt with one small hand and her tail swaying gently, walked Nekotina. She advanced with short steps, her gray eyes scanning everything—not out of interest, but because the sheer size of the mansion forced anyone to look around.
The marble floor reflected their shadows as if freshly polished. The walls held massive paintings, golden details, and chandeliers so bright they looked like tiny stars hanging from the ceiling. Jay swallowed hard.
How…? How the hell did Daru get all this?Did he win the lottery? Sell a kidney? Slay a dragon and get rewarded with this house?Or did he become the leader of some weird cult? WHAT DID HE DO!?
Nothing made sense. His brother disappears in Caracas, reappears in another world, and now the bastard owns a mansion on the level of extreme nobility. Jay breathed deeply, feeling a strange sting in his pride… and also a bit of envy. A lot of envy.
When they reached the massive double doors, carved with symbols Jay couldn't even understand, he thought:
Something's wrong… very wrong.A giant mansion, a professional butler straight out of a manga, everything spotless… too spotless…That's way too much work for one employee.No… wait… that means—
The doors opened.
Jay froze. Nekotina blinked. Daru smiled as if he had been waiting for this moment.
Six maids stood aligned in two rows, bowing in perfect synchrony. They wore classic maid outfits: soft skirts, immaculate aprons, and cute ribbons or headbands. But what stood out most was that they were all demi-humans:
One girl with cat ears. Another with a fluffy tail. One with golden eyes and vertical reptilian pupils. And in the corner… An elf with silver hair and long, delicate ears, shining as if she carried her own light.
Jay felt his soul leave his body.
"I KNEW IT!" he shouted, raising his hands to the sky. "IT COULDN'T BE MORE CLICHÉ! I KNEW IT, DAMN IT! A MANSION WITH MAIDS!"
The maids blinked, confused. Nekotina gave a small startled jump and tugged at Jay's shirt.
Jay turned furiously toward Daru, pointed at him with a trembling finger, and said:
"HEY, DARU! YOU SAID FINDING A HALF-WOLF GIRL WAS CLICHÉ! BUT HAVING A COLLECTION OF DEMI-HUMAN MAIDS DOESN'T SEEM TO YOU LIKE IT SURPASSES THE LEVEL OF CLICHÉ!? WHERE DID YOU GET THEM ALL!?" His voice cracked— "AND WHY THE HELL ARE YOU SO RICH!?"
Daru covered his ears with a mocking expression, shrugging his shoulders as if dancing with joy. It was shameless mockery.
"These things happen, you know?" he said smugly. "You arrive in another world, you work hard, and well… this is like a mandatory requirement. I just need the old loli and I'll have the full collection."
Jay clenched his fists. "Bastard! Daru, give me back my worries!"
The maids, without losing composure, bowed deeply and all said at once:
"Welcome home, my lord Daru."
Jay felt something inside him die. Something important. Perhaps his dignity.
He quickly approached Daru, feigning naturality, and in a low, fast, deadly serious voice said:
"Where do I get my elf maid?"
Jay climbed the mansion's inner stairs accompanied by Nekotina. The carpet was so soft it seemed to swallow their steps, and the crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling shone as if they had captured sunlight and let it fall in tiny golden drops.
Jay raised his voice, with a confidence he didn't even know where it came from:
"Heyyy, I'll take whatever room I see!"
His shout echoed and bounced off the walls, traveling through the wide hallways as if the mansion itself were mocking him.
At the end of the corridor, a door carved with delicate spiral figures caught his attention. Jay walked toward it with Nekotina close behind, her wolf ears twitching slowly, curious at the echo of their own steps.
Jay opened the door.
And was left speechless.
The room was enormous. Not big—enormous. The curtains were a deep red, embroidered with golden threads forming ancient floral patterns. The balcony had glass doors that let in soft light, illuminating a bed so large Jay thought he could sleep there with twenty Nekotinas without touching feet. The mattress looked like a compressed cloud, white, fluffy, almost sacred. The walls were decorated with landscape paintings that seemed painted by an artist obsessed with perfection: mountains, lakes, and blue skies that looked more real than the ones outside.
There was a polished wooden wardrobe, a desk filled with fine paper and elegant quills, and a carpet so soft that stepping on it felt like sinking your feet into warm sand.
Jay entered without a second thought and collapsed onto the bed.
"Uaaaaahhhh…!!" was all that came out of his mouth as his body sank into the mattress's softness. "God… this is amazing…"
Nekotina, standing beside the bed, looked at him with a face that said: seriously?
"Hey, what are we going to do here?" she asked, tilting her head, her ears twitching with the same doubt.
Jay raised an eyebrow, crossed his arms behind his head, and answered with exaggerated seriousness:
"Well… what else? Clearly… now we'll be kept by a millionaire."
He said it with such pride that Nekotina nearly stumbled from the emotional impact. She looked at him with an expression that screamed: you can't possibly be this stupid. But even so, a small sigh of resignation escaped her lips.
At that moment, someone knocked on the door.
Tok tok.
Nekotina went to open it and found the elf maid. Her silver hair shone like water under the moon, and her green eyes carried a calm that could make anyone tremble if they stared too long. Her skirt swayed softly with each breath, and her voice was an elegant whisper.
"Lord Daru has requested that Miss Nekotina receive a bath and a change of clothes," she said with a perfect bow. "Would that be acceptable, my lord Jay?"
That "my lord" went straight into Jay's soul.
And his soul… floated right out of his body.
It was as if he had ascended to otaku paradise, directly, without layovers. On Earth he had gone to Japan several times just to hear something similar… but no real maid had ever sounded like this. This was god-tier.
The elf repeated:
"My lord Jay?"
Jay took several seconds to return to existence.
"Y-yes… y-yes, of course," he finally managed to say. "T-take the… wolf girl… yes… that…"
Nekotina glanced at him sideways, as if thinking: this human is definitely broken. But she accepted and left with the elf.
The door closed softly.
Jay let out a huge sigh, collapsed back onto the bed, and said:
"This… is the best day… of my life…"
And for the first time in a long while, he simply decided to relax.
Jay closed his eyes, letting his body sink slowly into the absurd softness of that bed that felt like clouds stolen from a distracted god. The room was silent, interrupted only by the gentle sound of wind slipping through the curtains, moving the air as if it were breathing alongside him.
And as his body rested, his mind began to rewind everything he had lived.
A few weeks ago he was in Caracas, running from problems, hiding, surviving… And now? Now he was in another world, literally, like the anime and manga he used to watch at night when he couldn't sleep. The difference was obvious, and Jay knew it better than anyone: I didn't get a tutorial. No divine voice, no "choose your skill," no "welcome hero." Nothing. Just blows, blood, fear… and then my brother reappearing as if he were the protagonist of an epic novel.
As he drowned in those thoughts, the door opened softly.
"My lord Jay," said a sweet voice, almost sung.
Jay opened one eye.
It was another maid.
But not the elegant elf from before. This was the cat-eared, cat-tailed girl: short stature, light feline steps, bright yellow eyes, and a slightly mischievous attitude. Her tail swayed nervously up and down, as if she didn't know whether to enter fully or stay outside.
"Lord Daru asked me to inquire if you would like another outfit or if you prefer to keep the same one," she said with a perfectly rehearsed bow, her ears tilting forward.
Jay felt a heavenly shiver every time he heard "my lord Jay."
This… this really is paradise. If someone had told him he would end up like this, sustained by a new world and surrounded by maids, he would have said it was too cliché—even for him.
With a goofy smile, he replied:
"Y-yes, yes, I want another outfit. But… I'd also like this one repaired."
The girl nodded with feline discipline.
"In that case, please indicate how you would like the new attire."
Jay sat up suddenly and extended his hand.
"Yes, yes, give me paper and a pen."
The maid quickly opened a small white notebook and handed him a fine quill, bowing her head politely. Jay wrote without thinking, sketching and jotting down in Spanish all the details of the outfit he wanted: colors, pockets, style, vest design, adjustments for the jacket.
He handed her the sheet proudly.
The maid took it with both hands… and her expression shifted to adorable confusion: her ears perked up like antennas.
"My lord Jay… what are these letters?"
Jay blinked. He froze. His blood turned cold.
Damn… that's right. I still don't know how to write the language of this planet.
He had written in Spanish, a language this world couldn't even understand. The cat maid turned the paper upside down as if flipping it might make it comprehensible.
Jay covered his face and sighed deeply.
"Tell my brother to explain it to you… I still don't know the words of this planet."
The girl widened her eyes, understanding his problem, bowed deeply with her ears lowered, and said:
"As you command, my lord Jay."
Then she left with light steps, her tail swaying side to side as she gently closed the door.
Jay sank back into the bed.
"…I need to learn this language already…" he muttered, defeated, while the ceiling stared back at him in silence.