After the conversation with Merry-chan, the pieces finally clicked into place.
"So when we sleep, she clings to me really tightly… At first I thought she was just scared of being alone, but her hands… they were touching me in a really weird way," Merry-chan explained, tilting her head cutely.
"Seriously?"
"Yeah. And she's super friendly with all the female customers… I thought she was just good at customer service, but now I'm not so sure."
I replayed every interaction in my head. The way Royza stayed oddly calm whenever she overheard loud, passionate sex between me and the other girls. The complete lack of jealousy or curiosity. The way she always kept a respectful distance when I was intimate with anyone.
It all made sense now.
"So… she's into women. That's why she never showed any interest in men at all."
The realization hit me like a truck. She had been deeply grateful—and visibly relieved—when I never forced myself on her. To her, being touched by a man she didn't desire must have been terrifying. But if she had zero sexual interest in men to begin with, that explained everything.
"Well… it doesn't really matter if Royza is a lesbian," I thought at the time. "She's still an excellent employee. That's what counts."
That naïve, tolerant mindset lasted exactly two days.
---
Two days later, Merry-chan came running to me with wide eyes.
"Royza-san is hitting on the customers!"
"What?! No way!"
I had no moral high ground to stand on—after all, I had slept with plenty of my own patrons—but still.
"Especially the female customers… she's being really flirty with them."
The new branch's main clientele was upscale women. If Royza started actively seducing them, it could cause serious trouble.
I pulled Royza aside that evening after closing.
"Merry-chan told me you've been approaching the lady customers."
Royza lowered her ears slightly but answered honestly. "But Master… you sleep with women too."
"Well, yeah."
"I understand that. But Merry-chan is so cute…"
"I get that too."
Still, I had to set boundaries.
"Men are completely off-limits for you, right?"
She nodded. "Yes. In this world, same-sex relationships between women are… considered quite unusual. It can damage a shop's reputation if it gets out."
"I see. Still, I'm really grateful to you, Royza. I can't put it into words how much you've helped me. So… if I ever asked you to do it with me, would you?"
Royza blushed faintly. "If you ordered me as my master… I suppose I wouldn't have a choice. But only once, maybe…"
"No, I'm not going to force you. Ever."
She smiled softly, relieved. "I thought you'd say that."
She had me completely figured out.
"You don't seem to have any trouble finding women anyway. A plain girl like me probably wouldn't even get you hard."
"Plain?" I raised an eyebrow.
Royza had a slender, elegant half-elf figure—long legs, graceful neck, small but perfectly shaped breasts, and a tight waist. The word "plain" didn't even come close.
I stepped closer, deliberately pressing my hips forward so she could see the massive, rock-hard bulge straining against my pants.
"…Waaah!!"
Royza's golden eyes flew wide open in genuine shock at the sight of my fully erect cock.
"Royza, you're a half-elf. I'm sure your pussy would feel incredible. If you ever feel like having sex with me, I'd love to do it. But I won't push you."
"I-I'm sorry, Master!"
She bowed deeply, flustered.
That was that… except now I was painfully hard and needed relief immediately.
Thirty minutes later, I was balls-deep inside Lai-san, the soon-to-be bride who had "just stopped by for a drink."
"Nooo♡♡♡ I'm supposed to be preparing for my wedding tomorrow♡♡♡ I'm a bride-to-be♡♡♡"
"Yeah, I know."
I had told Royza not to hit on customers… and here I was, fucking one raw in the back room less than half an hour later. The hypocrisy was staggering, but Lai-san's soaked pussy felt too good to care.
"You're using me like a public toilet♡♡♡ My pussy that's supposed to belong to my husband is being treated like a cum-dump♡♡♡"
"Exactly. You're offering the womb that's supposed to carry your husband's child to me just because I offered you free fruit wine."
"I'm sorry, darling♡♡♡ This pussy… this womb… they've already become the property of your huge cock♡♡♡"
"I'm pretty sure you're already fertilized from last time, but I'm going to cum inside again anyway."
"Please♡♡♡ Pump more cum into my already-bred pussy♡♡♡ Just looking at your face makes my cunt get wet and ready instantly♡♡♡"
I gripped her hips and thrust hard, flooding her womb with another thick load. Lai-san's belly twitched as she came violently, her walls milking me greedily.
"Ooooooh♡♡♡ It's coming♡♡♡ I'm being casually creampied again♡♡♡ My fertilized pussy is so happy♡ It's drinking your semen so eagerly♡♡♡"
After pulling out, thick strings of cum poured from her well-used slit. The sight made me hard again instantly.
"More♡♡♡ Please make me feel even better♡♡♡ Fill Lai's pussy with even more cum♡♡♡"
We went at it for another two rounds until she was a trembling, cum-drenched mess.
---
Meanwhile, the fruit of Royza's flirting had an unexpected side effect.
Many of the female customers—especially the half-elf ladies who came for the fruit wine—had started migrating to the new branch. As a result, the main soba shop was now overwhelmingly packed with rowdy male customers.
"Hey! Another round of wine!"
"Coming right up!!"
Orders for fruit wine poured in nonstop, along with steady requests for soba and especially the salty, crunchy pickles that paired perfectly with alcohol.
"Pickles over here!"
"On it!!"
The sharp, salty asazuke made the wine go down even faster, and the novelty kept customers coming back.
"Yeah… this pace feels just right for the main shop," I thought with satisfaction.
The only remaining issue was staffing at Royza's branch. I wanted to bring Merry-chan back to the main store eventually, but for now she was indispensable over there.
The Guild Master stopped by again that evening, tankard in hand, to discuss the upcoming coliseum cooking competition.
"We're thinking of using large-scale projection magic so the audience can see the cooking clearly from anywhere in the stands."
"Projection magic? Like a giant screen? I want to see that!"
We sketched out camera angles and commentary flow while I continued serving customers—balancing trays with one hand and drawing up plans with the other.
The coliseum event was going to be on a completely different scale. I just hoped everything would run smoothly this time.
---
Later that night, as I lay in bed, my mind wandered back to Royza.
She was still wearing the slave collar. She was loyal, hardworking, and incredibly talented. Whether she preferred women or not didn't change how valuable she was to the business.
Still… the mental image of her slender half-elf body writhing under me refused to leave my head.
I sighed and stared at the ceiling.
My harem was already plenty chaotic.
But somehow, it felt like it was about to get even more interesting.