"..."
Priscilla's red eyes flashed with brilliance, and she opened her arms to hug Lister.
"It seems you are indeed very tired."
Priscilla's voice whispered in his ear.
It was really strange... The deep voice of a dark dragon actually had such a gentle, affectionate tone.
"Lister, you're mistaken. I'm not Aurola, I won't treat you like she did... I didn't in the past, I won't now, and I won't in the future either."
"I won't force you to do things you don't want to do. If you're tired, then rest. You said you want to do some research like before, then go ahead. Although the demon realm is a barren place, it can still afford to add one more person's meals."
"You just need to be here, that's all."
Lister gently broke free from Priscilla's embrace and looked into her eyes. There was not a hint of falsehood in those pupils that seemed to flow with blood.
"...Have we met before?"
"Didn't we write letters?"
"No, even longer ago."
"Maybe, the life of dragons is so long... Who knows?"
Priscilla smiled mischievously, then turned and left the room.
"Anko will come over later, you can tell her directly if you have any requests. Good night, Mr. Lister."
Priscilla's figure disappeared from the room.
Watching her leave, Lister sat in place, frowning.
He could be sure that this was definitely the first time in his life meeting a living dragon... But if Priscilla didn't know him before, there was no way to explain why she was so intimate with him.
That meant... Although he didn't know Priscilla, Priscilla knew him?
'What? I was stalked by a dragon Demon Lord?'
Lister instantly felt a little numb.
'...Forget it.'
The person in charge said I could slack off with pay, so let's just live with it.'
'Anyway, being put on the wanted list by the church in the human world was basically equivalent to being beaten by everyone, so it was better to just mix with the monsters.'
'And... I wonder when I can see the fluffy, warm monster girls mentioned before.'
*Knock knock*
Suddenly, a knock on the door interrupted Lister's thoughts.
Opening the door, it was Anko, whom Priscilla had mentioned earlier.
"Mr. Lister, is the room to your liking?"
"Rather than that, it's a bit too much to my liking."
"That's good then."
The succubus head maid's lips curled into a faint smile, then she clapped her hands.
"Come in."
In an instant, two figures, one large and one small, darted out from behind Anko.
The larger one had white cat ears, a white cat tail, and a white knee-high maid outfit.
The smaller one had black cat ears, a black cat tail, and a black knee-high maid outfit.
"They are the exclusive maids in charge of your daily life. The white sister is called Airu, and the black sister is called Ai."
Anko introduced with her hands spread, and at the same time, the two cat maids bowed in unison,
"Hello, Master."
The older sister's posture was impeccable, her cat ears obediently drooping, and her cleavage was clearly visible.
The younger sister's movements were also precise, but her slightly swaying tail revealed her thoughts, and it was flat under her clothes.
Lister's expression was calm as he helped the two up.
"In the future, there's no need to be so respectful to me, just maintain the most basic courtesy. Also, don't call me Master, just call me by my name or add any title."
"My name is Lister."
'Fluffy and warm... They're here!'
Lister was very interested in monster girls.
Of course, this was due to his professional habit as a doctor in his previous life, which made him very curious about the wondrous aspects inside the bodies of these creatures that had certain similarities to humans but completely different internal structures.
It was definitely not because he was a monster girl enthusiast.
At this moment, although Lister appeared calm on the surface, his heart was actually filled with a strong desire to explore.
'It's been a long time, fluffy cuties'
Anko silently observed Lister's behavior, then showed a graceful and restrained smile.
"It seems you are very satisfied with them."
The succubus head maid bowed again.
"Then, I won't disturb you any further. If you have any needs, please tell these two. Mr. Lister, good night."
Anko turned and left Lister's room, leaving only one person and two cats in the spacious room.
"I'm truly overwhelmed, Master... However, Lady Anko specifically instructed us to take good care of you, so..."
Airu seemed very uncomfortable with Lister treating her with such a close attitude, so she hurriedly bowed down again. On the other hand, the black cat Ai still maintained the posture of being helped up by Lister, wagging her tail and staring at him without moving.
"Ah, Ai, that's too rude! Quickly..."
"Stop stop... I understand your feelings, but at least with me, you can relax a bit."
Lister helplessly helped the somewhat flustered Airu up again and tentatively scratched the base of her cute, fluttering ears.
The moment Lister's hand touched her, Airu's body instantly stiffened as if electrocuted, but as Lister slowly scratched, her body gradually relaxed.
"Mmm..."
According to his knowledge, this was a gesture of relaxation and closeness within their race, similar to greeting and hugging.
"I'm not someone of noble status, nor am I someone with great power... So, just treat me as an ordinary guest, that would make me happier instead."
Lister withdrew his hand, and Airu was no longer as nervous as before, her ears slowly drooping down.
"O-Okay... Um, because Ai and I just became official maids of the Demon Lord's Castle, so, um..."
"Mm, I understand. Let's improve together."
"U-Understood, Master."
"How about starting by changing the way you address me?"
"Uh... Then, Lord Lister?"
"That works too."
Lister didn't plan to force this respectful little maid to call him in a casual way, as this was probably the limit of what she could accept.
Lister yawned and looked back at the familiar yet unfamiliar wooden bed in the room.
Today could be said to have been a magnificent day, making him feel a bit tired.
"Airu, Ai."
"Yes!"
"Where do you sleep?"
"Um, we rest in the room next to your bedroom, so you can quickly call us."
"Okay. Then you two go rest first today, I'm a bit sleepy."
"Ah, please..."
Just as Lister was about to walk towards the bathroom, he felt a slight tug from the corner of his clothes.
"Ai!"
Lister turned his head and found that Ai was pulling on his clothes, staring straight at him, while Airu beside her had an expression of not knowing how to stop her, on the verge of tears.
"Is there something?"
Ai didn't speak, she leaned forward and sniffed Lister's body with her eyes closed.
"Sniff sniff..."
"...?"
Then, Ai pulled Lister's hand and pointed to her own ears.
"...You want it too?"
"Mm."
"Ai, you can't! Lord Lister is already very tired..."
"It's okay."
Lister smiled and squatted down, holding Ai's black ears that were slightly smaller than Airu's with both hands.
*Rub rub rub...*
Ai closed her eyes with a smile, making a "nyanya" sound of pleasure from her throat.
'Tsk, so cute...'
After a long time, Lister reluctantly stood up.
"Is that enough?"
"Mm."
"Then quickly go back and rest with your sister, I'm about to go to sleep too."
Lister took his change of clothes and walked into the bathroom. Before he could lock the door, the two cat maids followed him in and started touching Lister's clothes without a word.
"Wait... What are you doing?"
"Helping you bathe."
"Mm."
"No, it's fine, I can do it myself."
"Oh."
"Mm."
Airu agreed with a disappointed voice, then walked out of the bathroom and started taking off her own clothes.
"Wait! What are you doing again?"
"Warming the bed for you in advance."
"Mm."
"No, it's fine, I can warm it myself. Also, Ai, stop just saying 'Mm', say some other words."
"...Lord Lister."
"Hm?"
Airu's face immediately showed a tearful expression,
"Do... Do you dislike us?"
"Why would you think that?"
"Because, because you won't let us do anything... If Demon Lord and Lady Anko find out that you don't like us..."
"..."
'These two little cat girls... At least Airu, are still very nervous and a bit afraid of me, this unfamiliar guest'
'It seems she won't be at ease if I don't let her do something'
Lister sighed, then pointed to the large bookshelf in the corner.
"Airu, Ai, can you read?"
"Yes."
"Mm."
"Okay, then help me arrange the books on that bookshelf by category and alphabetical order, I glanced at it just now and it's a bit messy."
After assigning them work, Lister finally locked the door and immersed himself in the hot water.
'A timid white sister and a strange black sister...'
'What an odd combination.'
Looking at them, Lister silently thought.
'What do such creatures have to do with the monsters described as brutal and bloodthirsty in the mouths of humans?'
...
"Lord Lister, would you like something to eat?"
"No, I want to sleep."
"Lord Lister, would you like some water?"
"No, I want to sleep."
"Then, Lord Lister, do you need us to serve you to bed..."
"...What?"
"J-Just massaging you, or singing some of our race's lullabies... Ai used to fall asleep as soon as she heard it when she was little, or if you have other needs, that's fine too. Ah, no, but... Th-That is not allowed... Because Demon Lord warned us in advance not to serve you in that way..."
"..."
Although Lister didn't care at all about what "that way" was, he was very interested in the "lullaby" of Airu's race.
Or rather, he was very interested in the artistic level and style of the demon race living in a harsh environment.
"Then sing me a song, any one will do."
"O-Okay. Then, please close your eyes and get ready, I'll..."
"The mountains of Ur, blowing a warm breeze. Mother's child, sleeping soundly in her warm arms..."
Before Airu could finish speaking, Ai beside her had already started singing.
Ai's childish voice didn't sound immature at all, the gentle emotions flowing in it and the distant minor tune characteristic of the demon realm made Lister's mood instantly calm down.
Sure enough, even for monsters, when it comes to sleep and warmth, the first thing that comes to mind is also mother.
In Ai's beautiful singing, Lister slowly closed his eyes.
"Good night, Mr. Lister."
Before completely entering the dream, Lister vaguely heard this sentence.
...
"Ai, why did you call him 'Mr. Lister' just now?"
In the sisters' room, Airu curiously asked her sister Ai, her white cat tail moving along behind her.
Moreover, she had never seen her sister, who seemed a bit unapproachable, being so close to someone else.
"Because Mr. Lister is Mr. Lister, everyone calls him Mr. Lister."
Ai answered as if it was a matter of course.
"Everyone... Ah, Ai, could it be that he is that... that human?"
Airu remembered that when they were little, there was a time when their parents took the seriously ill Ai to the border. After a few days when they came back, Ai, who was on the verge of death at the time, immediately became healthy.
After asking their parents, they learned that it was an eccentric human who provided treatment to monsters at the border for free.
"Mm."
"...No wonder Demon Lord attaches so much importance to Lord Lister..."