"Master already has us," Sherry said, narrowing her eyes at Shea. "Surely he doesn't need more 'girls'."
I could clearly tell that last part was directed at me.
"Hehe… sorry, I was just thinking out loud," Shea said quickly, shrinking a little as several girls around the table shot her sharp glares.
"If Master wishes to add more members to this household, then that is his decision," Roxanne said calmly. "I trust that Master will make the best choice for all of us."
She turned to look at me.
That steady gaze of hers carried a strange, invisible pressure that made me unusually nervous.
…And why was I the one being put on trial here?
I hadn't even said anything. It was this rabbit girl who threw that idea out in the first place.
I wasn't even thinking about adding more girls.
…At least, not right now.
"Uhm… for now, we'll adjust the parties so that those who need more experience can be included in the fifth rotation and go again," I said, clearing my throat and steering the conversation away from that dangerous topic.
"Yes, Master. That is a good plan," Roxanne said with a small approving smile.
The rest of the girls nodded in agreement.
Feeling like I had just survived a boss fight, I quickly pushed forward.
"The main point is that these party rotations will give everyone enough time to handle their chores when they're not in the labyrinth," I continued, trying to bring the discussion back on track. "And not only that—once your chores are done, you can also spend time doing something productive."
"Productive?" Jasmine asked, tilting her head curiously.
"I'll explain that in detail after we finalize the cleaning schedule," I said, setting the topic aside for now.
The girls nodded, and I fell silent, allowing Roxanne and the others to discuss how to divide the cleaning responsibilities.
I only stepped in when someone needed to be assigned a specific area to manage.
Erina quickly volunteered to take charge of the kitchen, which made perfect sense. She was the most familiar with it, and cooking for nearly twenty people twice a day demanded a properly maintained space.
Shera and Viviana were more confident about handling the forest and garden. Given that Shera was an elf and Viviana a deerkin, their interest in those areas felt natural.
Miria, unsurprisingly, wanted to take care of the lake. Remu also showed interest in it.
That made me slightly concerned.
With two catkins in charge, there was a real chance the fish population might not survive long.
So I made them a deal—we would gradually introduce more varieties of fish into the pond. In return, they would be responsible for maintaining it properly.
At least that way, the lake wouldn't get completely emptied overnight.
Shea, on the other hand, surprisingly volunteered to handle the weeds and the front yard, claiming it was "fun" to pull them out while hopping around.
That was actually a relief, since none of the other girls seemed particularly enthusiastic about dealing with weeds after today.
The Oni twins, Ram and Rem, preferred indoor work. They chose to handle cleaning duties inside both the main house and the second house. Yasaka and Kunou shared the same preference, which worked out well since maintaining the houses alone was already a massive task.
Jasmine specifically asked to take charge of the bath.
I had noticed how fascinated she had been with it from the start, so it wasn't a bad choice. According to her, baths like these didn't exist in her homeland—which explained her interest.
Lillia volunteered for laundry duties. Considering her job as a Master Tailor, that was an obvious fit.
As for Sherry, Setsuna, Vesta, Anastasia, and Nyx—they didn't have any particular preferences. So they were assigned as support, rotating between groups wherever extra help was needed.
In fact, most of the work was structured on a rotation basis.
That way, no one could complain about having a heavier workload than others.
More importantly, everyone was paired up.
The idea was simple—help each other out…
and quietly keep an eye on one another, so no one slacked off.
The specific timings were decided mainly by Roxanne and Anastasia. They didn't assign exact days yet, since I had already mentioned that I would be experimenting with different labyrinth team rotations to find the best combinations. So for now, they only set general time slots for when each group would handle their duties.
Essentially, everyone was expected to complete their assigned work before the designated day off which was the 7th day of the week.
If they failed to do so… then they would lose that day off as punishment.
This punishment, interestingly enough, wasn't even my idea.
The girls came up with it themselves.
Sherry, in particular, had suggested it—something along the lines of, "We need a stricter punishment so no one slacks off."
She had that smug look on her face when she said it.
For a moment, I was genuinely tempted to drag her over my knee right there and give her a real demonstration of how strict the Family punishment really was.
Unfortunately, Roxanne agreed with her.
…and so did everyone else.
And just like that, losing the day off was unanimously decided as the standard punishment.
Sherry and Miria looked especially determined to never fall victim to it.
I was sure that once the newer girls experienced their first proper day off, they would feel the same way.
As the cleaning discussion came to an end, I clarified one final point.
Roxanne, as the Number One Slave, would oversee all of their work on my behalf—and report directly to me.
"Master, what about the daily supplies we need for the house?" Yasaka asked curiously.
"That will be the next issue," I nodded. "Food ingredients and basic necessities like toiletries will need to be replenished regularly. Especially food—I want all of us to keep enjoying the delicious meals Erina can prepare."
After all, food, baths, and sex were the only real forms of entertainment for me in this world.
"Thank you, Master. Leave it to me," Erina said with a proud grin.
"Also, Master, instead of buying things daily, we can stock up in bulk now that we have a much larger magic bag," Anastasia suggested.
"The ingredients will remain fresh inside the bag, so that would be ideal," Viviana added with a nod.
Erina immediately began enthusiastically listing various ingredients she could use to prepare even more elaborate dishes, while Miria, off to the side, kept repeating "fish-desu" as if reminding me not to forget it.
"Hmm… since Roxanne and I won't be home for most of the day, shopping—whether daily or in bulk—will have to be handled by you girls," I said clearly. "That's why I think it's best if I entrust some funds to one or two of you. That way, anyone can purchase what's needed without having to wait for us to return."
Some of the girls looked uneasy at the level of trust I was showing by handing over money.
But realistically, with my schedule, it wasn't practical for them to rely on me every time they needed to buy something—especially in a world without any means of instant communication like a mobile phone.
After discussing it among themselves, they decided it would be safest to entrust the money to someone who had an Item Box, so it could be stored securely and not misplaced.
Sherry even pointed out that I could always verify if they have hidden anything inside their item box by changing their jobs—since the Job wouldn't be changed unless the Item Box was emptied.
That was… a bit overly distrustful.
Still, I nodded.
Anastasia was eager to take responsibility for the funds, but unfortunately, her Merchant job didn't grant her an Item Box.
Lillia, on the other hand, did have the skill—but she quickly declined, saying she wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully while holding that much money.
In the end, it was decided that Sherry and Erina would handle the funds.
Anyone needing to purchase supplies would either go with them or request the required amount directly from them.
I decided to allocate twenty silver coins per week.
According to them, it was too much—but with nineteen people in the house, I had a feeling it might not even be enough. They would provide me with a detailed account of expenses either daily or at the end of the week. If needed, they could always request additional funds.
As I looked around, I noticed Roxanne had gone unusually quiet.
I had learned to recognize that look—she was a little upset.
Thinking back, I remembered how much she had enjoyed our quick shopping trip earlier that morning.
So I added, "Also… every morning after breakfast, I'll go out for a short shopping trip with two of you."
That immediately got everyone's attention.
"You can treat it as a short outing," I continued. "A chance for me to spend some time with each of you individually. We can also handle bulk purchases or pick up things you might hesitate to buy on your own."
That seemed to lift the mood noticeably, especially Roxanne who gave me a sweet smile in return.
"Master, you were going to tell us about something 'productive'?" Jasmine reminded me.
"Yes," I nodded. "By productive, I mean using your time after chores to develop your skills or hobbies."
I looked around at all of them.
"For example, Sherry could try crafting equipment using the drops we've gathered. Lillia could design and make new clothes for us. Viviana could create items for the house."
I paused briefly before continuing.
"Or all of you could contribute—growing herbs for cooking, planting vegetables… even building a small farm if you want. In short, I want you to create things that are useful—either for our household or something we can eventually sell in the market."
At the mention of selling, Anastasia's ears perked up immediately.
I wasn't just speaking casually.
There was already a rough plan forming in my mind—one that involved all of them.
But whether it would work or not…
That depended entirely on how good the things they created would be.
"Is this because Master is worried we'll run low on funds soon?" Sherry asked seriously.
"Not really," I replied calmly. "I just want you girls to learn some craft or something useful in your free time. That's all. Honestly, I'm not that worried about money right now."
I denied it firmly. I didn't want them thinking we were short on cash.
Not that they would—after seeing me casually produce fifty gold coins out of thin air.
…Except Sherry.
She was still looking at me skeptically.
"Uhm… I do have one or two ideas that could bring in a large amount of money at once," I added with a small grin. "They involve the Princess I met in Border Town and another, the Knight Captain of Vale."
"Oh? Master, tell us quickly!" Shera said excitedly.
"I'm not entirely sure if they'll work yet," I said, raising a hand to calm her. "I'll tell you all after I meet them tomorrow."
Then I added casually, "And if nothing else works, we could always sell mirrors and other high-quality goods from Palmasque to the nobles here."
"That's a brilliant idea, Master!" Anastasia said, her eyes practically sparkling. "Mirrors in Palmasque are cheap, but because of the distance, their price skyrockets here. And with your abilities, you could transport them effortlessly. We'd be swimming in gold!" she added, practically drooling.
I rolled my eyes at her greed.
Still, she wasn't wrong.
This was a proven tactic used by the original Michio in the story. Although he didn't have infinite mana potions like me or an Explorer Bag, so he could only bring one mirror back at a time and sell it at a decent price to that Duke.
With my advantages, I obviously had many more options open to me if I wanted to do the Mirror sales. But still, this kind of business was low on my priority list right now, so I wasn't in any hurry.
Some of the girls looked excited at the idea of creating things on their own. Others seemed unsure, quietly asking around if someone could teach them.
I clarified that it wasn't mandatory—but it would be a good use of their time.
Eventually, I wanted to set up a small library… maybe even a hobby room where they could learn, create, and grow.
…but that was still a distant goal.
"For now," I said, drawing their attention back to me, "there's just one last issue I want to discuss."
My tone turned serious.
"To be honest… this is the one that has been bothering me the most—"
I let my gaze sweep across all of them, making sure every single one was listening.
"—and it's also the one that should be our highest priority."
A brief silence settled over the room.
"I'm talking about security… our security."