Divine Luck: SSS-Rank Battle Maid Harem

Zach hadn't brought Nora along to the south because…n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

He had left her behind since she…

He thought she didn't want to tag along after…

Maybe she was busy?

Zach couldn't come up with an excuse. There hadn't been enough Labyrinth Tickets so Zach simply hadn't thought to make her go with them just to wait around while they entered the Labyrinth.

He knew she could take care of herself, but there was no reason to make her take care of herself in the middle of what could have been pirate territory when she could spend her break in the Academy, relaxing, training, studying, cleaning, cooking, playing, and fishing.

Zach almost thought he had been considerate in giving Nora a vacation.

Needless to say, Nora did not see it like that. She had done all that and more, but most of it had been boring. It also looked like Zach had ditched her to go hang out with his familiars and female classmates. A maid technically working for his family who had been by his side since they were children would only get in the way.

He had even brought yet another maid back with him. He was insufferable.

"Sorry, Nora."

"..."

"...I'll bring you along next time."

"...You better."

Nora stood up from Zach's fancy armchair and went to prepare some snacks. It was her way of apology after taking out her resentment at being left behind.

When she returned with a tray, Zach introduced Soara.

"A deity?" Nora looked at the black-haired, fair-skinned beauty with skepticism and disbelief. A deity was such a distant concept that she had trouble understanding that Soara was one and that she was standing right in front of her.

"Yup. Impressive, right?" Zach grinned. He hesitated to brag about Soara to the others, but he didn't keep any secrets from Nora.

"More like unbelievable. Are you really a deity?" Nora asked Soara.

"That's correct. I am far from my peak strength right now, but I am still technically a proper deity."

"I see. It's nice to meet you, Soara."

"Likewise, Nora."

Their meeting and greeting was much more peaceful and harmonious than the ones between the familiars. It was because Nora was confident. No matter how many familiars, maids, or beautiful women he summoned, she would still be his only childhood friend. She was first. She was also a real human woman, not a familiar.

"So, did the Labyrinth of Syst also give you one of those Wishing Keys?" Nora asked, curious how he went about summoning a familiar this time since he hadn't used the Chamber of Ceremony in the Academy.

"Nope. Soara was staying in the Labyrinth, and when I put a figure of her on a throne, she appeared. We talked a little, and she decided to become my familiar." Zach gave Nora a brief version of the events. Details could be shared later.

"Uh-huh." Nora nodded before looking Soara up and down with another doubtful gaze.

"Death and Transcendence, was it? What's up with the maid dress?" She asked. From the sound of it, based on Zach's explanation, Nora had chosen to become his familiar rather than having been summoned as one.

Soara looked at her clothes, inspecting them real quick.

"It just seemed right."

"'It just seemed right'?" Nora echoed for confirmation.

"Yes. The other two were maids, so I figured I should become one as well. And after leading for as long as I did, I felt like it would be nice to follow someone else for once," Soara explained. She could already tell that Nora held a special position in Zach's heart. There was no problem in being honest with her feelings, especially since Zach was sitting right next to them and listening to their conversation.

"Got it. It suits you."

"Thank you." Soara bowed slightly with her head and shoulders. Nora had accepted her.

Nora turned to Zach.

"If you don't mind, Young Master, I've been thinking about something lately."

"Go on."

"Why do you keep it a secret that your familiars have names and can talk?" She asked, finally voicing a doubt that had gnawed at her thoughts since Zach first summoned Yanael and decided to keep that secret.

"...It feels like it would be troublesome if everyone knew how special my familiars are. Wouldn't everyone want to know more and pay a lot of attention to every move I and my familiars make?"

"..." Nora gave Zach a blank stare.

"Remind me again, what was your Title? Oh, and how did you act in your first year?" Nora helpfully brought up Zach's dark past to remind him that he was no stranger to trouble. And the one who craved and did things to attract attention in the first year had been him. He also hadn't exactly tried to keep a low profile with anything else.

Zach was not afraid to take place in social situations.

"I have no control over my Title. And my first year in this place was also my first time interacting with people other than you, my family, and some of the servants and knights at the estate. You can't expect me to act like a normal person."

"I have never expected you to act like a normal person, Young Master." Nora made sure to add formalities when speaking so Zach wouldn't think she was too rude.

"But maybe I shouldn't have expected you to have some self-recognition, either."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Zach questioned Nora.

"You and you alone are entirely responsible for your Title. And if you had been worried about catching attention and attracting curious gazes, you should have thought more about how you act." Nora laid it out straight with no regard for Zach's feelings.

He clutched a hand over his chest and pressed back in his fancy armchair. He was hurt and in disbelief at the words Nora was saying.

"I'm sorry, Young Master. I thought you needed to hear it before it was too late." Nora bowed in apology. She had definitely spoken out of turn. If her mother had been present, she might have been stripped of her maid dress on the spot and fed to the dogs.

Fortunately, for multiple reasons, Zach wasn't her mother.

He was kind enough to realize that Nora was saying it for his own good.

He was also smart enough to realize that the worst part of what she was saying was that it was true.

"Shit…Am I that bad?"

"...Whenever you overhear someone whisper about you or talk about you behind your back, regardless of the topic, your lips twitch and cramp into this weird, stiff smile."

"..."