Chapter 112: Goddess Ear Massage
[Null POV] Year 5, Day 207 (Night)
Null walked back toward the Maid House, where Courtesan 1, the annoying dryad, waited.
She finally asked, "What's the issue with her?"
Bunny sighed with frustration and tiredness. "Won't agree to transfer. Me and Flower worked on it together and tried everything we could think of. She just refuses."
She continued. "It's strange actually. She has horrible contract. Was a slave not that long ago. When someone frees you into contract work, you can't really choose terms. You take what's offered."
Null understood. [Freedom with conditions attached is better than slavery, but not by much.]
"Also," Bunny added, "Flower's agency doesn't trust her at all. They literally pay her small bonus to spy on the dryad here. Keep eye on her. Report back."
[Right. Flower mentioned this before. Spies on everyone for the agency. Extra income. Been doing it for centuries. Standard agency practice—all the girls snitch on each other there. Not homey feeling like here. Just business. Just survival. Just everyone watching everyone else.]
"Dryad was sent here because there was high risk she'd try to run in Central—too many places to hide and too many opportunities. They hoped a backwater location like Borderwatch would calm her down with fewer options and easier control."
Bunny stopped walking. Looked at Null directly. Helpless expression showing.
"I have no idea how to get her to sign."
"Can we force it?"
"No." Bunny's voice was sharp. Immediate. Final. "Very bad idea."
She explained. "Contract law for life-contracts and similar? Most heavily monitored thing in the Republic. Entire Syndicate depends on it. People need courage to sign those near-slavery-level locked-in contracts. So any violations? Extreme prejudice. Too many horror stories where empires were destroyed over contract violations."
She switched to seed network. Private.
«Example time. If you got caught as monster who killed some village in Kingdom or Church State? We'd survive. Probably forced to say things, do things. But generally okay. We've played through this scenario multiple times. Ealdred even provided plans for the Twins if they get exposed.»
[Never thought about it. If I got caught. But others have. Planning. Preparing contingencies. Nice to be part of team that thinks ahead.]
«But if we're caught forcing a contract?» Bunny's mental voice was cold. «We're done. Too much at stake for Syndicate to ever allow it. In school, our contract law teacher forced us to stand for entire hour repeating that it's the one line you never cross. Never. Ever.»
Null was impressed. [Didn't know this law was that holy and absolute.]
Question formed. «What about failed maids I killed? Terminated? Pulled seeds from?»
«Our contracts are strict—demand-everything type. Termination for failed training is legal.»
Bunny provided an example. «One of Ealdred's students, Artemis, runs trainings now and terminates all failures. Had one escape and survive. That one went to guild court trying to get some gold for damages. Lost badly and got returned to Artemis for training. Never heard from again. Legal precedent with proper termination and no violations.»
[Don't know laws. Don't need to. Team has experts for that. They handle legal. I handle force. Everyone does what they're good at. Works fine.]
But then thought about Cookie Fairy. The harpy Sara.
[Why did she learn law? Just lucky? Knowing only one specific section by chance?]
[No. She has books—multiple legal references carried in her item box. That's not luck, that's commitment and dedicated study. Impressive.]
[Interesting harpy. Very interesting. Would like to meet her.]
With no ideas left, Null asked, "What do you suggest then?"
Bunny's answer was practical and efficient. "Offer her a way out. She signs, we free her instantly. Complete release. Done."
She added the alternative. "Or she doesn't agree and returns to agency. This half-signed contract situation is bad for image if it comes out, but at least we're not breaking laws, risking Syndicate wrath, or destroying everything we built."
"Let her go then." Null's voice was flat. Decided. "She pissed everyone off anyway. One less problem."
It was almost easier anyway. [Nobody wants her here. One less problem.]
When they got back to the Maid House, Null saw strange sight in front of it.
People carrying things out. Everything from the three maids' rooms—the ones who decided not to merge. Belongings. Furniture. Personal items. All of it.
People also moving things from other places in the establishment that belonged to them. Removing traces. Erasing presence.
Plus three corpses piled next to all of it.
When they reached the pile, Bunny asked. "Can you wait a second?"
"Okay."
Bunny walked to the corpses. Spit on all three.
"Traitors."
The three bodies had fair amount of mutilation signs. Everyone here had used them as punching bags to show their feelings. Expressing grief through violence. Processing loss through rage.
Null saw catkin-33 exiting the house. Crying. LOVER tried to comfort her.
Seeing the S-rank cry was new. During maid training, Ealdred had whipped her quite a lot—she was a "slow learner", stubborn. And from what Null noticed, whip as punishment versus a centuries-old S-rank was totally useless. Ealdred moved to other motivation methods in the end, and even those barely worked—this one had seen and felt nearly everything over centuries.
Now she cried like small child.
As soon as they arrived next to the pile, catkin-33 hit 12's corpse—a fellow zealot. Hit it hard enough to matter.
With enough force that half the upper body more or less disintegrated. The head—what was left of it—flew like a hundred meters before landing.
She cried like small child the entire time. "Traitor. Why you left us. Traitor." And something else Null couldn't fully understand. Crying too heavy. Words too broken.
LOVER panicked. Took catkin-33 like small child into princess carry. Moved back toward the house.
Null read his mind. Leaking heavily. More than usual.
[Doesn't matter how strong she is. Loss is loss. Losing a friend always hurts. Need to get her inside. Get her safe.]
Then with catkin-33 already in his arms, he saw Null standing there. His thoughts shifted focus immediately.
[She's here. Reading everything. Me included. Everyone's grief. My grief. Can't stop her. Can't hide anything.]
His mind continued. Unguarded. Flowing.
[Life after death? Will my soul stay with Null monster too? Is this my fate? Is she really a goddess? No—I've seen her true form. Eldritch. Horror. Wrong. No goddess is like that.]
[But I haven't seen any real gods either. Who says gods are actually holy? Slaves begged every possible god in existence. None helped. None answered. She may be a goddess—even if she's goddess of death and horrors. Maybe that's what gods actually are.]
[And when I die—and I will one day—if I choose different, will my corpse be mutilated too? Like these three? Will they hate me? Call me traitor?]
The final question. The one that hurt most.
[Will Mia cry over me? Or will she mutilate my corpse too?]
At the door, he paused. Looked back at Null one more time.
One final thought. Desperate. Pleading.
[I will make you all the coca-cola I can. Be merciful to me. If you are actually a goddess... please be merciful.]
He moved inside quickly. Catkin-33 still crying in his arms. Thoughts still loud. Still leaking. Still afraid.
Null watched him go.
[He still thinks too much. Panics too much. Should be like his sister Mia—she seems to be loving every day of her new life here. Happy. Content. No constant fear. No endless worrying. Why can't he be like her?]
Bunny turned to Null. "Let's go."
They walked inside.
They reached the room.
The dryad sat there. Visibly impatient. Two maids watching her. Guards more than company.
Null tried reading her. Nothing useful came through.
[Her mind control rivals 22 and Ealdred. But different type. Sometimes hear things, but never sure what's real versus manufactured. She produces false reasonings somehow. Too much disconnect between actions and thoughts. Gave up trying to read her years ago. Waste of effort.]
One of the watching maids wanted to leave desperately. Final words with traitor friend. Grief demanding it.
"You can leave," Null said.
The maid bowed and ran.
Null said over the seed network. «Bunny, you handle the negotiations. Me talking would probably only make things worse. She clearly hates me for naming her Courtesan 1. Better if I stay silent.»
Bunny sat across from the dryad.
"One more time. You sure you don't want to stay? Our offer's exceptionally better than your current situation."
"No thank you." The dryad's voice was firm. Tired. "Same answer. For days now."
The dryad's frustration broke through. "What's even happening? Been sitting here most of the night. Moved here by force after alarms. Nobody tells me anything. Total silence."
Bunny answered directly. "Attack on the compound. Some died. You were moved for safety."
Fear flickered. "Attack?"
Bunny's smile went cold. "Yes. Don't worry your head about it." Small pause with evil showing. "However, if you cause more issues, I'll station you at the front gate where it happened. Keep greenbadges' morale up. Rest of your contract duration."
"You can't—"
"Actually I can. Agreement terms."
The dryad's mouth fell open.
Bunny moved on. "However. Let's end this civilized. We bought all four courtesan contracts. Others signed."
She looked at Null. "Contract."
Null pulled it from item box. Only signature missing. Set it down.
The dryad stared. "I've been sold?"
"Not until you sign. Still agency property." Bunny explained patiently. "Bulk deal. Since you won't sign, two options. Go back to agency—they'll probably be happy to take you back despite us already paying. Get to keep both the girl and the money. Or be smart. Sign it. We free you immediately."
Suspicion. Immediate. "How do I know it's not a scam?"
Bunny actually rolled her eyes. "We make contract about it. Standard practice for girls leaving agencies after they find some rich admirer. Contract with new owner that ends all terms moment ownership transfers. Then sale happens. Not complex."
The dryad thought. Visibly. Wheels turning.
Null caught some thoughts. These felt real. Actual.
[Sounds correct. Heard about it from other girls. But maybe they lied to me?]
The dryad demanded. "I want to see this contract first."
Bunny pulled template. Started writing. Null moved closer.
Bunny kept it deliberately simple. Clear terms. No tricks. The moment contract transferred to them, all terms ended. They'd even pay associated fees.
The dryad read it. Multiple times. Checking every line. Every word. Paranoid verification.
Finally. "Okay. Let's sign."
Bunny produced the ceremonial knife.
They signed the freedom contract first. Blood. Official. Binding.
Then the sale contract Null had brought from Central.
Done.
The dryad asked, still uncertain. "So I'm free now?"
"Yes. Live your life however you want." Bunny paused. Thought. "Since we have no relation anymore, you have three hours to pack and leave the premises."
Pointed to the door.
The dryad ran. Literally ran out. Freedom pulling.
Bunny looked at the remaining maid. "Follow her. Make sure she doesn't cause problems before she's out the gate."
The maid bowed and left.
Both alone in the empty room now.
Bunny looked at Null. "Mistress Null. Can I ask one question? It's been bothering me."
"Yes?"
"When you talked about life after death earlier, about heaven... your wording was strange. What's actually there?"
[What? Said it clearly. Reincarnation. Processing. What's strange about that?]
[Bunny's attentive though. Reads between lines. Picks up hesitations. Maybe noticed something I didn't realize I showed.]
Null answered honestly. "When I was there last time, some kind of automated system tried to reprocess my soul. Had small disagreement with it."
Bunny's eyes went wide. Another divine hint dropping. "Reprocess? Like... make something else? Reuse what's left?"
Null shrugged. [No idea. Don't understand it myself. Just know it tried. I disagreed. Left.]
Bunny sat heavily on the couch. Thinking. Minutes passing. Visible processing.
Finally. "This doesn't look good."
She looked at Null directly. Weight in her expression.
"I had an epiphany. It's a test."
"Test?"
"This. Here. Everything." Bunny gestured around. "You ask us to serve Master Void. But it's measuring us. How worthy we are. So next life you can reward or punish based on performance here."
Null had no response to that.
[How did she get there? Don't even know what those souls become. What happens to them. If anything happens.]
[But... not exactly wrong maybe. Can probably destroy Lina and Upsilon by pulling them like seeds. Can probably remove anyone I don't like who tries connecting. So... accurate? Maybe? Probably?]
"Don't know what happens," Null said. Simple truth.
Bunny watched her. Reading. Assessing.
Then pointed to the couch. "Sit."
Null felt confused. "What?"
"I'm flesh and blood. Different from you. Need rest." Bunny's voice was matter-of-fact. "Been up almost full day. In few hours everyone wakes. Questions come. Plus those in Central promised audio coverage of Kira's race through seed. Need energy to survive tomorrow."
Smile forming. "Ear massage during sleep is exactly what I need."
Wider smile. "You don't sleep. Perfect pair. I sleep. You massage ears. Next few hours. Simple."
Null made small laugh. Puff of air. Surprised. Amused.
[Goddess talk. Divine revelations. Soul reprocessing. And now demanding ear massage while sleeping. From goddess. Brazenly. Casually. Like asking for water.]
She sat. "You're asking goddess for ear massage?"
Bunny was already settling. Head on Null's lap. Long rabbit ears accessible. Positioned. Ready.
"Don't worry about goddess problems." Voice already drowsy. Sleepy. "Even 22 and zealot army learned Spy doesn't like worship. Will sort tomorrow. Everyone knows. Everyone respects it. No worshiping Null. She doesn't like it. Behave normal."
Pause. Almost asleep.
"Can't control what everyone thinks. But won't have issues with talking. With behavior. Promise."
Smile deepened. Almost evil despite sleepiness. "And of course goddess gives ear massage. Maybe you get addicted. Then when I'm small soul connected to you—get it for all eternity."
Null was about to respond. Say something about the audacity. The cheekiness. Actually amused by the brazen demand.
Bunny was already sleeping. Out completely. Professional instant sleep.
[That's... impressive actually. Talked. Positioned. Asleep. All in seconds. Efficient sleep. Professional rest.]
Null started with the ears. Playing. Testing. She'd felt happy emotions from those who did this. Time to understand why.
Soft. Very soft. Pleasant texture actually.
[Can see why people like this. Actually nice. Relaxing even. For both sides maybe.]
The night settled. Quiet. Peaceful moment in chaos.
Bunny sleeping. Null massaging ears. Learning. Finding it oddly pleasant. Acceptable. Good even.
[Goddess giving ear massage to sleeping rabbit who demanded it brazenly. This is my life. Strange. But better than expected. Actually nice.]
[Tomorrow: questions. Race audio. Prisoners waking. Problems continuing. Issues multiplying. Goddess problem—maybe Bunny actually manages to control it. Or maybe spreads anyway. Will see.]
[But now: this. Quiet. Soft ears. Sleeping friend who treats goddess like service provider. Who demands comfort. Who sleeps instantly after getting it.]
[Good enough. Actually good.]