Chapter Text
The air inside Mostro Lounge used to smell like expensive coffee, saltwater, and unfair contracts. But this afternoon, the air was heavy with a cloying scent of strawberries, vanilla, and male desperation.
Azul was behind the counter, frantically checking the cash register. He wore a black Victorian-style maid dress with puffed sleeves and a skirt that, for his taste, had far too much volume. The white lace headdress on his head felt ridiculous atop his silver hair, but his eyes shone with the gleam of pure greed.
"The profit margin on cakes has gone up 400% just by renaming them 'Magical Love Cupcakes'," Azul muttered, adjusting his glasses with his middle finger. "If we keep up this pace, I'll be able to buy that ancient alchemy patent before dinner. All thanks to the subliminal ads I inserted into the school cafeteria menu three days ago. I knew they would work."
"Azul," a soft, deep voice called from his side.
Jade appeared, a tower of calm and terror. His dress was identical to Azul’s, but on Jade, it looked like the uniform of a serial killer who had decided to go undercover in a bakery... and the skirt was much shorter. He adjusted his pristine white gloves.
"The customers at table 4 are asking if the 'Special Service Menu' includes being stepped on."
Azul sighed, rubbing his temple. "Tell them that falls under the 'Premium Punishment Package.' That’s 300 extra madols per step. And make sure to smile while you say it, Jade. The smile is what sells."
"Oya, oya... Understood. It will be a pleasure." Jade smiled, and for a second, his sharp teeth glinted under the dim lights of the lounge.
The door swung open. A group of Scarabia and Pomefiore students entered, hesitant. They had heard the rumors. They needed to see it to believe it.
Jade slid toward them, intercepting them before they could flee. He executed a perfect curtsy, holding the hem of his skirt with both hands and bowing his head with a feigned submission that made the newcomers’ skin crawl.
"Welcome home... Goshujinsama ♥"
Jade’s voice was pure velvet wrapping a dagger. The Pomefiore student at the front turned red up to his ears.
"H-huh? G-Goshujinsama?"
"Please, allow this humble maid to guide you to your throne," Jade continued, leading them to a table with unsettling smoothness. He seated them and served tea with movements so fluid they seemed choreographed. "Be careful, it is hot. I wouldn't want your delicate tongues to suffer... unless that is what you desire."
While Jade left the customers in a state of existential confusion, on the other side of the room, true chaos was unfolding.
Floyd was in his element.
Unlike Azul (who did it for money) or Jade (who did it for the pleasure of observing), Floyd was simply playing. The short skirt allowed him to move fast, and he had discovered that spinning around made the fabric lift up, which provoked hilarious reactions from the Koebi-chans.
"Nee, nee! Kingyo-chan didn't come, how boring," Floyd complained, leaning on the table of a visibly trembling Heartslabyul student. "Hey, you. You look pale. Want me to give you some energy?"
The student nodded, too terrified to speak.
"Great!" Floyd snapped his fingers and pulled out a plate of omurice. "Right, time to eat! Open wide. Aaaah~"
The student hesitated. Floyd narrowed his eyes, his smile becoming a little more... moray eel-like.
"I said... Aaaah~. Don't make me repeat myself, Koebi-chan."
The boy snapped his mouth open. Floyd shoved a giant spoonful of rice and egg in, perhaps with too much enthusiasm.
"Good boy!" Floyd exclaimed, patting him on the head as if he were a dog. "See? Eating is fun. Now, the finishing touch."
Floyd straightened up, put a hand on his hip, winked exaggeratedly, and brought his other hand to his lips.
"To make it taste better...! Chu! ♥" He blew a flying kiss with such charismatic force that the Heartslabyul student simply slumped back in his chair, his soul leaving through his mouth.
"Ahaha! Another one down!" Floyd laughed. "Azul, this one broke! Do I get extra points?"
From the counter, Azul clicked his tongue.
"Floyd, stop breaking the clientele before they pay! And you, table 5, stop staring and order something!"
A wealthy customer—a Scarabia student with too much of his parents' money—raised his hand and pointed at Azul.
"Hey! You, the one with glasses! I want you to serve me. I heard you're the manager. I want the best service."
Azul froze. His plan was to manage, not serve. But the sound of heavy coins in the customer's pouch sharpened his senses. He took a deep breath, composed his best business smile (now converted into a maid smile), and stepped out from behind the counter.
He walked toward the table, feeling the cold Lounge air on his bare legs. Dignity, Azul. Think of the dignity... financial dignity, he repeated to himself.
Upon reaching the table, Azul gave a small curtsy, adjusting his glasses to hide the contempt in his eyes.
"Ara, ara..." he tried to imitate the tone he had seen in tutorials. "Does the gentleman have exacting tastes? I am Azul, the head maid. How may I satisfy you?"
The customer smiled arrogantly.
"I want you to draw something cute on my café au lait. And I want you to do it while singing the spell."
The vein on Azul’s forehead throbbed.
"Of course..." he said through gritted teeth. "But I must inform you that the 'Manager’s Singing Service' carries a 500% surcharge due to... the exclusivity of my voice."
"I'll pay double that!" the customer shouted, throwing a bag of madols onto the table.
Azul’s eyes transformed into dollar symbols ($$). The shame vanished instantly.
"Excellent choice, Goshujinsama!" Azul exclaimed with a suddenly high-pitched and sweet voice. He grabbed the chocolate syrup and began drawing an octopus on the coffee foam. "Here we go! Oishikunare, Oishikunare... MOE MOE KYUN! ♥"
Azul made a heart with his hands at the end, with impeccable technical precision and a smile so bright it was blinding.
The entire hall went silent for a second.
Then, it erupted in applause.
"Incredible! He's a professional!"
"I want ten of those!"
Floyd approached Jade, who was cleaning a cup with a disturbing smile.
"Nee, Jade... Azul is really into the role, isn't he?" Floyd whispered, laughing. "I think he likes the skirt."
"Fufufu..." Jade chuckled softly. "It is not the skirt he likes, Floyd. It is the power. Although I must admit... seeing the Dorm Leader doing the 'Moe Moe Kyun' is a memory I will treasure forever."
Outside the venue, the chaos was no less intense. The line of students didn't just fill Octavinelle; it went up the stairs and, judging by the screams, reached the Hall of Mirrors.
Among the crowd, Kalim waved his gold card.
"Jamil, look! I want Jade to insult me too! They say it brings good luck!"
"Kalim, don't be an idiot!" Jamil Viper shouted, trying to drag him away. "It's a scam with lace!"
A little further back, Riddle Rosehearts watched the spectacle with his face completely red, covering Ace and Deuce's eyes.
"This is indecent! Those skirts infringe on the Queen's Rule 789! It is...!" Riddle fell silent upon seeing Azul winking at another customer and the customer ordering another dessert with the price inflated ten times. "...It is disturbingly efficient..." he said, feeling a chill.
"Kingyo-chan-sama!"
Floyd ran toward Riddle the moment he saw him, and Riddle fled.
No one else could fit in the Lounge. The students "broken" by Floyd's kisses or Jade's insults were blocking the way.
Azul checked the clock and then the crowd waiting outside.
"Floyd! We have a bottleneck! Fainted customers don't consume! Get them out!"
Floyd lit up, hiking up his skirt for better mobility, finally stopping his chase of Riddle.
"Okaaaay! ~ Attention! The Floyd-chan Escort Service is coming through!"
Without any delicacy, Floyd began grabbing unconscious students by their ankles, dragging them toward the exit while humming happily.
♪ "Out of here, Koebi-chans, make room for those who pay... ♪"
Upon reaching the door, he tossed a couple of Heartslabyul students into the arms of their classmates in line.
"Done!" Floyd dusted off his hands and smiled at the terrified but excited crowd. "Who's the next one who wants to play with us?"
Azul, panting slightly but with pockets bursting, smiled.
"Jade, attend to Kalim before Jamil takes him away! Floyd, keep clearing the area! Today we get rich!"
And so, Mostro Lounge continued its strangest and most lucrative afternoon, proving that in Octavinelle, if the price is right, even the sea's most dangerous predators can become the land's most charming (and terrifying) maids.