[Kira POV] Year 5, Day 198 (Around lunch time; 6 days after courtesan seeding; 14 days left in courtesan contracts)

  The meeting room was stuffy. Hot. Too many people in too small a space for too many hours.

  Kira sat at the head of the table, going through her mental checklist for what felt like the tenth time. The quarterly leadership meetings were always exhausting, but this one had gone particularly long. Emergency session—scheduled before her upcoming trip, but also overdue anyway.

  She glanced around the table. Bunny. Nora. Alfa. Several senior maids. Everyone looked tired. The kind of tired that came from covering too many topics for too many hours.

  "Alright," Kira said, keeping her voice professional despite the mental fatigue. "Are we done with everything, or can we finally end this?"

  Bunny stretched, ears drooping slightly. "Can't think of anything new. Pretty sure we've been going in circles the last bit anyway."

  The others murmured assent.

  [Finally. Been here since morning. Need to get back to actual work instead of just talking about work.]

  Kira stood. "Before we're done—Bunny, Nora. Greyhold visit in few days. How's that looking?"

  Nora's smile was easy. Confident. "In the bag. Our greenbadges will be running security across the entire region soon. Three cities signed already. Multiple more interested."

  The professional part of Kira's mind filed that away. The rest was already wandering.

  [A maid cafe. That's what this was supposed to be. Remember that? Cute establishment. Guests. Service.]

  [Instead...]

  [We run the biggest landpad in the region. Internal continental flights use us as their midpoint. The Adventure Guild guild master? Puppet. Happy puppet from what I hear—Bunny's army makes his every wish come true as long as he plays along.]

  [City Watch. Private army would be more accurate. Worst scum possible kept in line with whip, candy, and blood oaths. And now we're selling that model to other cities. "Public order services" for post-reconstruction chaos.]

  [Those three contracts I reviewed? Two cities requested slum removal. Borderwatch-style. The third wasn't much better.]

  [And somewhere in all this we built a liquid factory. Massive extension under construction. Started because Mistress Null's obsession and we had to scramble to avoid the next catastrophe.]

  [Assigned merchant-daughter-7 to help—22 suggested her, Bunny confirmed the girl has brains. Really well done, actually.]

  [Coca-cola's apparently popular now. Mistress's obsessions can make good business cases. Ending up probably quite profitable.]

  Kira caught 7's eye. "Good work on keeping the factory running. Make sure LOVER doesn't bankrupt us with his generosity."

  7 bowed. "Of course, Lady Kira."

  [Golden hands, that dwarf. Workers love him. Production's solid. But business sense? None. Zero. Less than zero somehow. No wonder he fell into debt slavery. We banned him from unsupervised negotiations after a few merchants nearly cleaned us out.]

  [Had to give catkin-33 standing orders. She's with him near constantly anyway—follows him around like maiden-in-love most of the time. Told her to call for help immediately if anyone even approaches LOVER about money. Sales. Contracts. Anything monetary.]

  [Actually, any other maid and even most of regular staff working there have same orders. Call for help. Instantly. When anyone wants money talks with LOVER. Everyone knows by now—keep him away from negotiations.]

  [So yes. We have everything. Except the actual maid establishment we set out to create.]

  "Meeting adjourned," Kira said. "Back to work, everyone."

  The room cleared. Kira gathered her notes and headed toward her office.

  [Need some air. Need to check actual operations instead of just discussing them endlessly—]

  Nora's voice stopped her. "Kira. Wait."

  Kira turned. Nora was still near the meeting room.

  "What is it?"

  "There's someone at the gate. Asking for Null."

  [Who asks for Null at the gate?]

  Merchants mostly. Exotic food sellers. Rare ingredient traders. People who'd heard about the legendary battlemaid's appetite.

  [Null's a glutton. Massive one. But unlike LOVER, she actually knows prices. Even exotic items. Market rates. Plus most merchants know better than trying to scam the legendary murderous battlemaid. Easier marks elsewhere, so they just take reasonable profits and move on.]

  "Tell them we have no time for merchants today. Mistress Null is with Flower and Canary."

  "They're not merchants."

  Kira stopped. "What?"

  [Who else would come to the gate asking for Null?]

  "Two females. Green-haired human. Pink-haired elf who looks sickly."

  Nora paused. "Gate already contacted the temple. The elf doesn't look good. Master Void wouldn't appreciate a dead elf at the front gate."

  [Strange. Pink hair. Sickly. Asking for Null specifically. Not the usual.]

  "I need some air anyway. Let's go look."

  She headed for the exit. Nora followed.

  Toward the front gate.

  Kira saw them from a distance.

  The pink hair was impossible to miss. Massive. Reaching almost to the ground. Like something out of a painting.

  The green hair on the other was equally striking. That shade. That specific unique shade. She remembered from school—magic theory lessons—hair colors like that usually meant extreme affinity for something. A mage probably.

  [Strange pair.]

  The gate had more people than usual. Two maids on regular gate duty. But also multiple greenbadges. More than necessary for standard visitors.

  [Interesting pair draws attention. Or maybe the sickly one—medical concern. Standard protocols.]

  As Kira got closer, she noticed Beta in the distance. Coming from the temple direction. Moving fast.

  [She's been spending all her time there lately. Probably came personally when she heard about the half-dead elf at the gate. Typical Beta.]

  Then Kira got within a few meters of the strange group.

  And felt it.

  Not her. The dragon. The remnant inside her. The piece of what had been merged.

  Recognition. Immediate. Absolute. Undeniable.

  [True dragon. That pink-haired elf. Not elf. Dragon. True dragon in human form.]

  And more. Somehow—through that dragon sense—she knew. This one knew Dirty Dog. From before. From the past. No idea how or why. Just: known.

  Kira stopped. Frozen. Panic slamming through her.

  [Dragons tracked us down. They found us. They came for Dirty Dog. They came for—]

  Her hand moved to her spatial storage. Slave collars. Did she have any? The kind that worked on true dragons?

  [Why would I have those? Who carries that kind of equipment? What am I even—]

  "Kira?"

  Nora's voice. Concerned. Watching her.

  "All okay? What just—"

  Kira reached through the seed network. Fast. Desperate. ?That pink one. True dragon. Human form. Do you have collars??

  She couldn't think. Couldn't plan. Just: first thought. First panic response. First defense.

  Nora moved.

  Instantly. Professionally. No hesitation.

  She stepped forward. Smile in place. Welcoming. Professional.

  "Hello! We heard you ladies are looking for Null. Welcome to our establishment."

  Pause. Gesture toward the guard house.

  "Let me get you some guest badges. Just a moment."

  Kira blinked. [Guest badges? What badges?]

  She looked around. The other maids looked equally confused. The greenbadges watching with similar uncertainty. Nobody seemed to know what Nora was talking about.

  Nora stepped into the guard house. Emerged seconds later. Two medallions in hand. The kind that went around necks.

  [Oh. Those. The prototypes we tried for visitor identification. We gave up on those system months ago. Why does she have—]

  Nora approached the green-haired one first. Apologetic. Polite. "Very sorry for the formality. Security protocols. You understand."

  She placed the medallion around Green's neck. Closed the clasp behind her back.

  Then she approached the pink-haired elf. The dragon.

  "Same for you, miss. Just temporary. For entry."

  She lifted the medallion. Moved behind Pink. Started to place it around her neck.

  Her hands worked behind Pink's back. Closing the clasp.

  Except—

  Something materialized. From nowhere. From item box probably. In Nora's hands.

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  Not a medallion.

  A collar. Slave collar.

  Her hands moved faster than Kira could track. Professional. Practiced. Smooth.

  The collar snapped around Pink's neck. Click. Lock. Activation.

  Pink's face showed surprise. Shock. Understanding dawning too late.

  Green moved. Tried to intervene. Tried to help.

  Multiple greenbadges intercepted. Fast. Professional. Clear understanding of what was happening.

  Restraining her. Not violent. Just: controlled. Efficient.

  One of them—older human male—pulled out another collar. Moved in. Clicked it around Green's neck before she could react.

  Both collared. Both locked. Both secured. Done in seconds.

  Seconds. Maybe less. Professional. Smooth. Like they'd practiced this.

  Nora smiled. "Thanks, Jordan. Nice job."

  She looked at the other greenbadges. "Hide what just happened here. Now."

  They moved. Surrounding the group. Creating visual barrier. Making sure nobody outside could see clearly what had just occurred.

  Kira stood there. Processing. Mind catching up.

  [We just collared two visitors. One of them a true dragon. At our front gate. In broad daylight.]

  [What the fuck just happened?]

  Nora moved immediately. Pulled scarves from somewhere—her item box probably. Wrapped them around both women's necks. Quick. Professional. Hiding the collars.

  She leaned close to Jordan. Whispered something. Too quiet for Kira to hear.

  Then turned to Kira. "Grab the pink one. I'll take green. Princess carry—let's be nice if possible. Move fast."

  Kira blinked. Then moved. Automatic. Training taking over.

  She lifted Pink. The dragon. Careful. One arm under knees, one behind back. Standard princess carry.

  [Light. Too light. Sickly really does describe it. When was the last time she ate properly?]

  Nora had Green. Same carry. Already moving.

  "Secure dome. Now."

  [Makes sense. Only place secure enough.]

  They moved. Fast. Through the compound. Toward the underground facility.

  Kira needed something. Anything. To get her mind off the fact she was carrying a true dragon in her arms.

  "What did you say to Jordan?"

  Nora's response came through the seed network. Private. ?Blood oath rollout. New greenbadges get it by default now—only way to join. Older ones have time to decide or leave. One guy at the gate refused. Made it clear he won't ever.?

  Pause. Then the rest, colder. ?Bit dangerous keeping him around after what he just saw. Asked Jordan to handle it. Trumped-up charges. Crucify tomorrow. Haven't had rule breakers in greenbadges for a while—good reminder that law applies to them too.?

  Kira's mind stuttered.

  [From maid cafe to crucifixion on false charges. That's... that's where we are now. That's what we do. That's normal procedure.]

  Nora added, still through the network. ?I'll let the others know to come to the dome too. This needs everyone.?

  They walked. Fast. Professional. Two maids carrying unconscious women through the compound like it was routine.

  "Lady Kira!"

  Beta's voice. Behind them. Running.

  She caught up. Breathing hard from the sprint. Healer instincts visible on her face.

  She looked at Green. At the woman in Nora's arms.

  "Is she... are you a saint?"

  No answer. Green's face was blank. Shock written across it.

  Pink was the same. Eyes open but unfocused. Present but not present.

  [Collar shock. Heard about it. Happens sometimes when someone's collared for the first time. The binding. The sudden awareness of loss. Mind just... stops. Shuts down. Usually passes after a while. Usually.]

  They reached the entrance. The stairs going down. Deep underground.

  Through corridors. Past security. Restricted areas. Places most people never saw.

  The massive door appeared. Enchanted. Warded. Heavy magic radiating from every surface.

  It opened as they approached.

  The dome.

  Hundred meters diameter. Twenty meters high. The spatial shifting field activated as she crossed the threshold. Nothing happening inside could be detected from outside.

  [Built for seedings. For ceremonies so we don't have to go to desert for those anymore. For secrets. For things that need absolute security.]

  [And now: for hiding a collared true dragon.]

  Three people waited inside. 22. Alfa. Ealdred.

  [Probably more coming. Nora said she notified everyone.]

  Kira and Nora entered. Still carrying the two women. Beta right after them. Eyes locked on Green. Still focused on that question she'd asked.

  Saint?

  The door closed behind them with a heavy thud.

  Sealed. Secure. Hidden from the world.

  Minutes passed. More arrivals.

  Mistress Null. The Twins. Master Void. Bunny.

  [Everyone important. Everyone who needs to know about a collared true dragon in our compound.]

  They stood. Waited. Watched the two unconscious women.

  More minutes. Slow. Tense.

  Then Green stirred. Eyes opening. Awareness returning.

  Beta moved immediately. "Are you a saint?"

  Silence. Just a second.

  Then laughter. Hysterical. Broken. Wrong.

  Mistress Null's voice cut through it. Clinical. Explaining. "For this one, that word is the source of all pain in the world."

  [Reading minds probably. How else would she know that?]

  Beta's face showed... something. Wanting to ask more. Not finding words. Not understanding.

  Green's laughter stopped. Her attention caught. Fixed on Null.

  "Are you... Null?"

  Null nodded.

  Green moved. Fast. Full submission. Prostrating toward Null. "Please, mighty one. We ask for protection. We offer everything we have. Just please—protect me and Pink."

  Pink's eyes opened. Same movement. Same desperation. Same prostration toward Null.

  Then—like remembering something crucial—Pink grabbed bags from her belt. Three of them. Green did the same. Three more.

  All six thrown forward. Landing at Null's feet.

  "We offer tribute. All we ask is protection."

  [What?]

  Everyone stood frozen. Processing. Confused.

  Kira decided to ask. "Protection from who exactly?" She gestured at Pink. "You're a true dragon. Not an elf. Right?"

  Pink looked at her. Eyes went wide. Fear. Pure fear.

  "True dragon?" Her voice cracked.

  She literally groveled. Grabbed Null's leg. "Please, mighty one. Please check the tribute. It has to be worth something. We can serve. Be useful. Please protect us."

  Movement. Bunny stepping forward. Picking up one of the bags.

  She looked inside.

  Froze completely. Absolutely still.

  Others moved. Following. Each one looking. Each one freezing.

  Even Null. When she looked. Just: stopped.

  Kira moved closer. Ealdred was nearest. Bag in hand. She reached out.

  The moment she touched it—understanding. Spatial bag. Made to look like simple cloth. Treasure in its own right probably.

  And inside...

  More value than she'd ever seen. Not sure how much. Billions for certain. Tens of billions? Hundreds? Her mind couldn't calculate. Couldn't process the sheer amount.

  Five more bags. Same thing probably.

  [What the fuck kind of tribute is this?]

  Master Void spoke. Holding one bag. Staring at contents. "Can we... can we just buy Mr. Greed's entire porn empire with this?"

  Bunny answered. Automatic. Professional assessment mode. "Probably several times over. But it'll paint an even bigger target on our backs. And there's almost no instantly usable value here. Maybe a billion or two in liquid assets. Rest needs work to convert to easy gold."

  Ealdred added his own assessment. "I agree. This is too much. Too valuable." He looked at their two guests. "This is a dragon hoard. Right?"

  Pink answered. "Yes. Most of the bastard's hoard." She pointed at Null. "The one you defeated."

  "Dirty Dog?" Null asked.

  Pink looked confused. Like the name didn't register. "Dragon you defeated in Sweetwater." She pointed at the Twins. At 22. "Those two were there. And you saved the dwarf—LOVER—from there too."

  "We never learned his actual name," Null explained. "Named him Dirty Dog."

  Pause. Processing.

  "But who are you exactly? How do you know all this?"

  Pink answered. "I'm Pink Dragon. This is my friend." She gestured at Green. "We don't really have names. So we just use Pink and Green. I was that bastard's—Dirty Dog's—prisoner. Part of his hoard."

  Another pause.

  "I know all of it." She pointed at her eyes. "Eyes of the oracle. Discovered something happened after you collared him. Tracked you using LOVER as the weakest of your group. Watched for about five days. Then soul-smashed myself so other dragons can't find me."

  22 spoke. Clinical interest visible. "I've heard stories that true dragons can do that. Is that why you look so... unwell?"

  "Yes. It was the only way."

  Beta finally joined the conversation. Still focused on Green. "What's her story? Your Green friend? Someone with those talents should be leading a church. Running a temple."

  Pink's expression darkened. "Another of the bastard's victims. High affinity for holy arts made her desirable to dragons. She managed to save herself by getting elixirs. But the bastard locked her in his hoard vault with me. Hoping time would make her more... eatable."

  Beta's face showed shock. Horror. "Someone would eat a saint?"

  22 moved on. Practical. "Let's just seed them both. Safer that way."

  Bunny nodded. "Agreed. Oracle access alone makes this worth it. If the seed heals Pink too—bonus."

  [Bunny's already planning. Spy operations. Intelligence gathering. She's working on taking over the region. Oracle surveillance would make that much easier. Of course she wants this.]

  Ealdred spoke again. "Probably best. But let's keep all this treasure here. In the dome. Never know what traps dragons placed in their hoards."

  22 agreed immediately. "Yes. Every piece needs detailed checking before we dare use anything. I've heard horror stories about dragon hoards. Curses. Tracking spells. Worse."

  Master Void finally decided. "Mistress. Can you do it? Seed them?"

  Null considered. "Should be safe. They both want it. Clearly terrified of ending up in another dragon's hoard. In another cage."

  Pause. Like preparing bad news.

  "However. Both of them will join Kira and the courtesans in loyalty. They literally traveled half the world just for me."

  [More ending up loyal to Null instead of Void. The dragon showed me why during the merge. Master Void is good. Kind. Excellent master even. But Mistress? Different category entirely. The courtesans calling her goddess aren't that far off.]

  [And how much does Mistress already know? With mind reading? Probably everything.]

  "Just do it," Void said.

  [Mistress assigned him master. Not his preference probably. But he fulfills it anyway. As well as anyone could.]

  Null approached the two women. "Nora. Remove the collars please."

  Nora moved quickly. Unlatched both. "Sorry for the rough treatment earlier."

  "It's okay," Green said quietly.

  Pink just nodded.

  Null pushed the seed out. Slowly. Barely visible where it came from.

  Green first. Directly to the belly.

  Then Pink. Same placement.

  Spy's voice. Summarizing. ?Everything they own given freely. Eternal loyalty. No conditions. Just: please, no more cages.?

  Green's transformation was fast. Minutes. Now black eyes. Black hair with single green lock.

  Pink lay on the ground. Time passing. Everyone watching. Waiting.

  Green was already fully connected. Transformed. But her eyes stayed on Pink. Lying there. Worry clear on her face. Care visible.

  The silence stretched. Tense. Uncomfortable.

  Null broke it. "Twins. We need to go hunting."

  Everyone stared.

  "What?"

  Null explained. Clinical. Matter-of-fact. "This dragon takes energy. To heal her soul-smashed state. We've been here, what, ten minutes? The seed has already drained as much energy as 22's entire seeding took over eleven hours."

  She pulled out a large paper. Map. Kira recognized it—hunting map. Nora had organized the creation. Finding quiet targets. Minimal attention.

  Null literally cursed. "Too few. Too small. Too separated. Not enough volume fast enough."

  "What's wrong, Mistress?" Void asked.

  "Small targets scattered everywhere, far from each other. Plus no time to make them look like accidents. This dragon's seed pulls too much, too fast. I need something like the Cardinal domain again—massive, concentrated, easy."

  Void's face showed panic. Clear. Visible. "No. You can't. It's—"

  Nora interrupted. "Master Void. It may not be that bad an idea. You definitely heard what's happening in Church lands right now. After Mistress's last attack—taken as divine will against corruption—the Church split. Reformists versus old-school. Both sides have been preparing for civil war. You learned history. You know how bloody Church civil wars are."

  Horror. Pure horror on Void's face.

  [Three Church civil wars since independence from Empire. All massive. Zealot versus zealot. Brother-killing. The Empire collapsed thousands of years ago but Church influence across hundred continents didn't. Last war thousand years back. Billions dead. Church nearly destroyed itself. Still called the worst catastrophe in history.]

  Nora continued. "Mistress and the Twins use the same forms as last time—shadow and elemental bird. Only targeting old-school areas. The more corrupt side." She took the map. Pointed at areas near the desert. "Few cities destroyed. Gives them a nice divine message. Stop corruption. Repent. Maybe Mistress can even avoid killing more virtuous people in those cities. Divine hint. There's virtue. Way to save yourself."

  Pause.

  "Or we can let them have the fourth civil war. Billions dead again."

  Void almost screamed. "STOP. Don't think I don't know what you're doing. Justifying horrors—"

  Long pause. Struggling.

  "You're right." His voice cracked. "It's the best—" Couldn't finish. Almost crying. "Just do it."

  Mistress Null and the Twins walked toward the door.

  They left.

  [Probably teleporting right outside. This area blocks teleportation. We tested it after opening.]

  Total silence filled the dome.

  Finally, Void broke it. "Everyone back to whatever you were doing before. We still have a flight to catch tomorrow morning."

  He looked around. "22. Can you do something with those bags? Make sure we don't attract more dragons. We really don't need more issues right now."

  Then at Beta, who was already holding Green's hand. "Beta. Stay with them, please. You're our healer—with Null away, you're our best shot at catching problems if anything goes wrong."

  He walked toward the door. "I need some air."

  Kira watched the others leave. Bunny. Nora. Ealdred.

  Alfa stayed with 22. Helping with the bags. They placed them on six separate small tables. Probably starting every magical test in existence. Making sure nothing harmful lurked inside.

  Kira also moved toward the door. Heading out.

  As she passed, she heard Beta talking to Green. Something about healing. Beta definitely had some plan. Making Green a healer maybe. Training her. The girl clearly had massive talent for it. Enough to end up on a dragon's dinner menu.

  Kira was almost back to her office when she felt it. Energy flowing into the seed network. Subtle but there if you focused on it.

  Mistress was feeding.

  [Null's killing them. Thousands. Maybe tens of thousands. Feeding the seed to heal Pink.]

  [Maid cafe. We were going to run a maid cafe. That was it.]

  [But she doesn't really care about the killing. Same as more or less any other maid. She finds it wrong on some level—distant wrong, abstract wrong—like everyone else does. But the feeling when it happens is actually quite pleasant. Energy running through the network. Warmth. Satisfaction. Reinforcement.]

  [Everything justified in Mistress's name. Before she understood the mistake, it was Master's name. Results are the same. Actions for their benefit. Service. Devotion. Purpose.]

  [Fighting against it would be like killing herself. She needs this as much as everyone else. To survive. To live forever. The seed demands it. The bond requires it. Resistance means death.]

  [Only ones who talk against it: Master Void and LOVER. LOVER can be explained—broken seed, incomplete binding, something wrong with his connection. But why Master feels this way is mystery. Perhaps his past? His slavery trauma? Or because he feels it's his role to feel guilty instead of Mistress? Unknown. Strange. Doesn't matter ultimately. He still allows it. Still accepts it. Still lets it happen.]

  Kira reached her office. Sat at her desk.

  Brother's latest letter sat there. His complaints about the family name. Something normal. Something manageable.

  She pulled out paper. Pen.

  Started writing.

  Nice to have something simple. Something that made sense.