A peaceful morning was breaking out in the Grim Palace, albeit with a little more noise than usual. My lady, the Queen of Witches, sat peacefully on her chair with a black cat on her lap while two new faces stood behind her.

One tall, one small. Both of them with their hands straightened and back clenched stood silently.

The sizzle of heated pans rang out. I flipped a pancake, placed it on a table, drizzled it with chocolate syrup, honey, and a few bananas, then gently placed it in front of Weiss.

I could see it.

The muscles above her brows twitching ever so slightly.

The kids were drooling. I made more pancakes and placed them on a plate.

"You guys have breakfast too,"

"No!" Treska and Delka both shouted back with missing a beat. Pissed, I glared at them and a sigh left me.

"Why?" Don’t wanna know, to be honest. Delka, the little one with blue hair and soft, cutesy features that made one think ’child’ before anything else, opened his mouth and spoke in a similarly childlike voice.

"We want to protect our lady."

"A-allow us to be of use," Treska added, his voice a little shaky. He seemed to be worried about if we would take this kindly. Older one was mature, of course. "Madam and you have helped us immensely. Even if the two of us gave our lives it wouldn’t be enough."

"Give up your life, the very thing we saved?" I asked, flipping another pancake. Theirs can get cold, I had to keep my hands moving for Miss Witch right here. She would get cranky.

I could already sense her getting cranky.

"To be of help, yes!" Treska said. The boy was emotional. Delka too straightened his back once again, almost cartoonishly, with his brother.

"Butler," Weiss finally spoke up. "I don’t really care what these brats are doing as long as they don’t disturb me."

Poor girl. She was being stared at and hounded at breakfast. I could feel you, my dear lady miss Witch. Even I would hate it.

That said, her stance was pretty soft. She basically asked me to keep them here, it wasn’t to get rid of them. We were both quite interested in Delka too.

But... if I were to keep them here, I had to do something to mask their smell at least, or it would be unbearable for Weiss.

If it was unbearable for Weiss, it would be unbearable for me. She was just being petty anyway, perfume? Would perfume work?

Sighing, I snapped my fingers at the kids.

"You two, take your breakfast now if you don’t want me to kick you out."

"But, protecting the lady..." Delka started speaking again.

"She doesn’t need you little kid," I said. "You’ll do better as a butler, in fact. I’ll train you."

"Tsk."

Weiss clicked her tongue at that.

"An assistant, Butler? Who said you can do that?"

"Miss Witch..." I looked at her dejectedly. What the hell! I deserved to get some subordinates at this point, I had been working here for almost two years now! I was due for a promotion. Labor rights!

"Only for small tasks, I don’t want anyone else tending to me. You’ll become lazy."

"I work very hard."

"Needs some chocolate syrup."

Damn it.

***

The breakfast event went by in that manner. Weiss had retired to her room for a while and I was faced with the two kids. Tomorrow, I would have to go out for ration again.

Delka and Treska along with Jake and John were standing in the courtyard with me, I could also sense the Gardener Golem, a tiny clay boy with a pair of scissors in his hands, staring at us.

"Hm. Both of you are talented beastkin, but Treska, you’ve already awakened your beast form so you have an edge."

Bigger and sharper than most kids his age, Treska was a warrior through and through.

"Sir! I can be of help... but I do understand now. With Mr. Jake and Mr. John here, I am barely strong enough."

"Don’t be dejected. They’ll train you. There are frequent hours when I am not around, and times when it’s inconvenient to go with these tall attention whores."

"..."

"..."

What, unfair? Suck on it.

"Jake and John, you got it? Please train Treska everyday, make him strong, but not too much."

"Mister..." Delka, the blue-haired beastkin spoke up next. "I would like to fight too. I can get strong..."

I smiled showed him my thumb, downward. "You’ll help me kid, both of you will. I’ll teach you simple tasks, and the rest of the time you can study and grow properly, alright?"

"Study?" Delka’s eyes widened. For a thirteen year old he seemed a little innocent, but that was something I appreciated. Kids should be like that. Elita must have been a great patron for these children.

"Yes. There are a lot of things of value here, especially in terms of business."

By all means, the Grim Palace functioned on it’s independence. There was no source of income for us, and there was no need for it before I came here. Most expenses, I was handling through petty thievery and selling some things from here and there for an hefty price, Weiss probably didn’t know the E of Economics.

But this kid. If we were to make a proper business out of the Corduil Potion too, I could use him very well. He would be a great and devoted front for our work.

So we will use him like that.

The kids were all planned out.

"You guys start now, Treska and you two. Delka, you follow me."

Delka and I left the others behind and headed up to the library, the vast, grand place that had changed things for me a few weeks back. By all means, I was still hoping to be out of Weiss’ clutches, so these kids being here was just another positive thing for me.

Eventually...

I would leave.

Delka sat down and I started looking for books. That’s when a book I particularly didn’t want to see came in front of me.

[HEY!]

The page read.

"What is it?"

[We must take on the next stage of gaining strength! Your constitution has grown mature and accustomed to the sensation of mana in your body. We must take on the next step of gathering mana and using spells]

"Oh..."

[The next step is to get stronger mana, mana is released more when inhibitions are reduced or thrill is increased]

"Okay...?"

[The best way I would recommend is either through loving romance, or through excitement and incitement in a place that would make both parties extremely nervous, like somewhere public]

"Aha! Makes sense!"

[Really?]

"What do you think?"

[I should fuck off...?]

"FUCK OFF!"