Demonic Pornstar System novel Chapter 783

Chapter 783: Unexpected Newcomer

Kaiden reached along his Dungeon-Master bond for confirmation, and the signature resolved warm and familiar. The dungeon only registered that signal for those he had claimed as his. A blonde, quietly capable household figure who had absolutely no business being within a hundred kilometers of this place right now.

’No...’

...

The Skyfiends carried them across the cavern in under a minute. The evolved forms were another thing entirely from the dog-sized hunters they had used for traversal, broad-winged and horse-backed, the ridge along their spines built to seat a rider without complaint. Kaiden slid down from his mount’s shoulder the moment its talons hit the Safe Zone’s stone.

Alexandra was making her way up the incline toward the Abyssal Cavern pathway, and she was making it work on pure stubbornness and leg power.

Two canvas duffels slung from her shoulders, the straps digging into her thin maid uniform. A third bag clutched under her right arm. A fourth one hooked over her left elbow. A woven basket balanced against her hip, covered with a cloth. Two more bags at her feet behind her, recently dropped for a breather, their contents suspicious enough to imply pots, ladles, and actual kitchen tools.

Her hair had come loose from its usual neat state, while her cheeks were flushed from exertion.

"Alex!"

Alice broke away from the group before anyone else had registered the scene, her dark halo form dissolving into her normal shape as her boots hit the ground.

"Let me help!"

"Alice..." Alexandra exhaled, relief washing across her whole face. "Thank you."

Alice was already yanking one of the duffels off her shoulder. Kaiden closed the rest of the distance at a walk, lifted the basket from her hip and the bag from under her arm in a single smooth motion, then shouldered the straps of a third bag she hadn’t even managed to drop.

Alexandra let out a long, audible sigh. Her shoulders dropped half an inch. She pressed a hand to her lower back and gave both of them a small, embarrassed smile.

"Thank you guys."

"Alex, why are you here?"

Alexandra blinked up at him.

Then, with open bewilderment:

"Why... am I here?"

Her brow furrowed.

"This is my home too... Kai, you told me so yourself. That I was part of the household."

Her blue eyes widened.

"...Have you decided otherwise?"

The tears started in the next breath, her expression opening into a raw panic.

"...Am I a bother?"

Kaiden’s silence lasted half a second.

"No, of course not... But this place is about to be attacked by a monster the world has never seen before. Within a few hours, this will be the most dangerous place on the continent. That’s why I’m asking."

Alexandra looked up at him.

The tears didn’t leave her eyes. But a quiet steel arrived with them.

"I know all that, of course. I might not be a genius, but even I understand that much."

She said it quietly. Then again, firmer.

"That’s why I’m here. My friends are going to fight for their lives and their freedom. They’re going to need all the support they can get. Who knows how long this will last? A day, a week, maybe months..."

She straightened her spine and both hands found her hips. The caretaker-who-does-not-negotiate energy clicked into place across her entire posture.

"Who will cook your meals?"

Kaiden blinked.

"Who will wash your laundry? Who will make sure you all come back to a home instead of a tomb full of dust and blood?" Her chin lifted with genuine offense at the very idea. "The abyssal creatures?"

Alice’s grip had gone still on the duffel.

"No," Alexandra answered her own question, and there was pride in it, territorial and quiet. "It will be me."

Kaiden stared at her.

"And it’s more than just caretaking she brings!" Alice joined in. "She’s our friend, not servant. Her presence makes me happier!"

Alexandra’s flush went pink as she listened to her friends sing her praises and nodded along with absolute conviction.

"...That’s correct."

Kaiden looked at her dryly then pinched the bridge of his nose.

He looked down at Alice.

Alice had gone from concerned to hopeful in the span of about three seconds. Her hands were gripping the duffel strap with both fists now. Her eyes were enormous.

"Big brother. I want her to stay!"

"Alice-"

"We’ll just kill every single monster that comes into the dungeon and make sure she is protected at all times!"

Kaiden stared down at his little sister’s face.

Then he looked at Alexandra.

The maid who had, over the course of the last few months, quietly carved a spot in his heart as surely as she’d carved one out in the hearts of every woman standing around him. Further proof of it was in Aria - the Yandere Princess herself, just now standing up for the idea of a pretty blonde maid sharing their home through a siege instead of hissing her away from the entrance.

Together with Alice, Alexandra was looking up at him with big, begging puppy eyes. Her lower lip was very softly caught between her teeth. Her flush was still high on her cheeks.

It was a devastating look.

Kaiden exhaled.

"...Fine."

Alexandra broke into the brightest grin Kaiden had seen from her in months.

"Yes!" Alice squealed, dropped her duffel to the stone, and launched herself at Alexandra in a hug that nearly knocked the maid off her feet. Alexandra caught her and laughed into her hair, and the two of them held on to each other for a long moment, Alice’s arms wrapped tight around Alexandra’s waist, Alexandra’s cheek pressed to the top of Alice’s head.

"It would have been so weird if I had to spend this whole thing alone!" Alice declared into her shoulder. "Stupid big brother goes off to bed all his women every night, and I would’ve been stuck hanging out with Scarlet and Mom the entire evening. The HORROR!!! Now I get to hang out with Alex instead!"