Chapter 103 - Heated Encounter On A Hot Beach...?!

Akira and Vash followed Zhao: into the dusty, cobwebbed bowels of what had once been an old, abandoned Norn fort. Until it was seized by the occupying Cultivators, repurposed for use as a soldiers' barracks and prison.

At the entrance, one was greeted by the well-worn beds of the Cultivator soldiers, a long wooden chest placed at the foot of each. And it was here that Zhao halted, with Akira and Vash following him, while other soldiers could be seen, in the background, guiding the rest of the survivors deeper into the fort, down a set of stairs.

"Look around," Zhao said. "I'm sure there are some old pieces of armor you can wear."

The two nodded, then proceeded as told: with Vash swiftly retrieving individual pieces of brown leather armor from the numerous chests; as Akira's scanning gaze quickly fell upon a regular [Iron Sword], set upon a rack in a weapons rack leaned against the wall.

"I won't be electrocuted if I try to pick it up, will I?" he asked warily.

"No…" Zhao answered, with a perplexed look. "However, to be seen walking in public, with anything that can be construed as a weapon, will assuredly invite unwanted attention."

Akira became chibi, grinning mischievously. "And what if I just kept it hidden in my inventory? Hm?"

"It would be incredibly risky," he said, wagging his finger with an amused grin. "Provincial guardsmen, posted at every major hold's capital town, will frisk anyone seeking entry. As well as conducting random stop-searches, on those who manage to make it inside. For, you see...a bounty is placed on the head of anyone they manage to catch breaking the treaty—giving them plenty of incentive to wield their authority like a blunt ax."

"Such a system…" Vash mused with a mild look of disgust, as he equipped a pair of [Dominion Leather Gauntlets]. "Isn't it highly vulnerable to corruption?"

Zhao turned away, his hands folded behind his back. "Indeed, there are certain checks in place to try to protect the innocent. Each hold has a Dominion Liaison Officer, whose job it is to examine each claim to confirm its validity through the use of a [Scrying Orb], which allows him to see past events through the eyes of a target. Thereby—"

Akira suddenly cut in, questioning, "what's it like to be inside of a [Maidé Ball] anyway?" Thus earning him a strict glare, along with an attempt at hiding a smirk from Vash.

"Hey. Us adults are speaking right now—wait your turn."

"No, no, it's quite alright," Zhao reassured, as he retrieved a lone [Maidé Ball] that was dangling from a loop on his belt. "It's only natural for one to be so curious about this technology."

Vash gave a curious look. "A Cultivator soldier has a [Pocket Maid] as well?"

For a moment, he was silent; suddenly stern-faced. "I do," he said, looking upon the device in his hand with what unnervingly struck Akira and Vash as a trancelike stare.

"I thought the law only applied to 'natives.'"

"My people, the Cultivators…" Zhao began to murmur, leaning his face downward, pausing to lick his lips before continuing: "It is as if we have this overarching...tendency…to justify our duplicity, and self-serving wrongs, with whatever politically expedient excuse we can think of."

Akira and Vash exchanged concerned glances—what was he talking about?

"As for the contents of a [Maidé Ball]..."

…

Chunhua could hear the sound of gently lapping ocean waves. Feel the heat of the sun, shining brightly upon her face and bare skin, her back pressed against thin strips of rubber. Smell the bitter salt of the briny sea and a sweet floral fragrance. 

Then, Chunhua opened her eyes.

'I'm...on a beach?'

She was resting on a reclined beach chair, dressed in only a scant, sky blue, frilly two piece bikini with a thin, deep blue robe of see through silk draped across her shoulders, and no recollection of how she'd arrived here. Other than—

"Zhao," she gasped as her eyes flung wide, upon remembering he had captured her inside of a [Maidé Ball]!

Could that be where she was now…? The thought briefly crossed her mind, but she quickly shook her head. 'No way. There's no way the inside of a [Maidé Ball] looks like...this. Because that would be insanely stupid.'

Clearly, the haughty Cultivator hottie was laughably unfamiliar with her own fictional universe. As, upon listening more closely, she could hear the sound of faraway laughter, coming from across a wide expanse of sandy mounds, where she glimpsed two young women having a spirited game of volleyball.

The two young ladies couldn't be more opposite in appearance: One bearing a light brown tan and a tall, lean-sculpted physique, with wavy dirty blonde hair tied into a messy ponytail and narrow, focused gaze; dressed in a coconut bikini with palm leaf sarong. The other was shorter, her skin as pale as snow, with a slightly more robust physique that fitted snugly into her pale gray one-piece. With dark hair, reaching as far as her ears and curling upward at the tips; and a set of large, cute, sparkling light blue eyes.

Chunhua sat up in her chair, to watch the ball bounce back and forth between them. Wondering, 'if I truly am inside one of those infernal contraptions, then who might those two be?'

Before long, the tan one landed too strong a hit on the ball—causing it to go careening out of bounds.

At which, the pale one scoffed.

"Geez, Cindy! You're still attacking it like it's a wild bear."

The one called 'Cindy' looked down, sheepishly, poking two fingertips together. "Sorry. I am having been trying, but it is proving...difficult. Like with speaking."

Shaking her head amusedly, the pale girl went to retrieve the ball.

"Don't be silly! The way you talk is perfectly fi"—her words halted as, just then, her eyes fell upon Chunhua as she was half-stooped, reaching down for the ball.

"Huh?" she blinked, incredulous. "Where'd you come from?"

Chunhua gawked. "I…"

Cindy, straight-faced, joined Lorica at her side. "You were captured too, yes?"

"Y-yes." Chunhua crossed her arms, averting her blushing face with a sad frown in embarrassment. "I...suppose I really was, after all." Becoming startled when Lorica suddenly walked up, patting her on the shoulder.

"Well, at least you're not alone. Like I was, for many years."

"But...but…" Chunhua's lip fumbled, her eyes gleaming as though she was on the verge of tears. "I don't understand! If we're all [Pocket Maids], then why are we in this place together? And how is it that our appearances haven't been altered?"

"It's because our owners are in a party together," Lorica explained. Then, turned and glanced up at Cindy—trading sultry looks. "And aren't we fortunate?"

"Yes. She is quite beautiful," Cindy replied, with an innocent smile.

"Hey! I'm not finished with you two lowly mortals yet!" Chunhua snapped. "So quit talking about me as if I'm not standing right in front of you!"

Facing the irritated Chunhua again, Lorica abruptly gawked and snapped her fingers. "Ahhh! I remember you now," she said, before abruptly shifting her expression into a cute, kitty-lipped smile. "You're that hoity-toity Cultivator commander at Helgum!"

"Indeed," Chunhua said, turning to the side in a valiant pose with a proud smirk. "And as such, it would behoove you to treat me with the respect my station deserves."

"Not a chance," Lorica replied, her aforementioned "kitty face" unfailin00ⁿg. "When it comes to being a [Pocket Maid], both myself and Cindy are the ones who should be demanding respect, as your de facto seniors."

At once, upon receiving this bold retort, Chunhua looked ready to explode. "What incredible nerve!" she spat. "Now, you listen here"—before she could finish, Chunhua was immediately silenced by the volleyball being thrown hard into her face, with enough force to throw her back into the stinging hot sand.

"W-wha?" She blurted in a daze, watching with a dumbfounded look as Lorica was loudly laughing, and Cindy looked on with a timid smile.

For her: someone of such an esteemed position, to be treated so harshly…

Chunhua's breathing, along with her pulse, had quickened. For it was the same kind of thrill she chased by seducing a man in the shape of a bear with a grudge against her: treating her like a common whore; biting into her like a stick of cultivating beef jerky.

"Tssk tssk," Lorica scolded playfully. "Such a rude girl! Don't address your seniors so impolitely, or else face punishment!"

"F-fool…" Chunhua stuttered, as she rose up slowly, holding her arms out in front of her to ready a Feng Shui spellcast. "Don't you know I can transform a low spirit ranked entity—such as yourself—into a chocolate cake, and eat you where you stand?!"

Lorica's eyes narrowed as she bore a smug smirk, giving a fake yawn for good measure.

"I'd like to see you try, princess."

'What audacity!' thought the proud Cultivator. And of course she would "try"—and do much worse than that—in response to such insolence!

So, she waxed and wove her fingers.

She flexed and unflexed her body, in a secret mystical rhythm.

However, something was not right…

Normally she could feel the currents of mana flowing; wrapping around her, like a warm embrace from an overly touchy cousin. But here, felt nothing, even as Lorica's unimpressed expression wordlessly provoked her to try her meticulous chain of gestures harder. Faster. Ever more diligently—

"It's no use," Lorica finally said, crossing her arms. "Magic doesn't work in this place."

Oh.

Lorica cocked her head at Cindy: in an unspoken command, compelling her to tackle the unwary cultivator to the ground. Then, whilst she was proceeding to pin Chunhua beneath her, Lorica hovered above with a maniacal grin.

"H-have mercy!" Chunhua pleaded.

"Mercy!?" She laughed. "Your regime has completely ruined my life!" She glared. "I don't owe you mercy."

And it was time she got her payback...