There were 25 islands of notable size in the North Lake guild. Sorted from smallest to biggest, they were given to the top 25 performers in the tournament that Fusion was to host every couple of years. It was an institution John had brought to the area, based on the previous hyper-competitive duels the local Abyssals had fought over land ownership. Making it an event with a set frequency and binding rules greatly decreased the lethality of that tradition and it let the fighters enjoy their spoils for a little while. They were heavily encouraged to keep training to maintain their hold on that island or even rise up the chain to get a bigger one.

The top of the 25 islands somewhat broke with the pattern. It wasn’t the largest of them all and it couldn’t be won by simply scoring the top position in the tournament. If the champion of the tournament wanted to try, they had the right to challenge Fusion’s president. Otherwise, it would remain in the Gamer’s possession. With that arrangement, he didn’t have to crush lesser Abyssals every time the tournament came up.

Technically, whoever managed to take the island from John also had the right to make the North Lake state secede from the Federation, but that was an issue the Gamer didn’t expect to come up anytime soon.

Savage Island, that had been the name of it when Aclysia defeated the leader of the Small Lake Pact. Following the Gamer’s consolidation of power in the area and his decision to leave this space fully in her charge, it had been renamed to Servitude Island. Aclysia had promptly announced her plans to make this a school to train maids.

Despite Aclysia’s numerous other duties, she had put enough work into it to get the basic premise off the ground. Part of that was thanks to the previous inhabitants of the island. Few of the forty women that had lived there previously were cut out for the servant life. Sure, John had enjoyed a particularly wild orgy with all of them wearing maid uniforms, but anyone could put on an outfit.

Arriving on Servitude Island, for John, was like stepping in his personal paradise. A tall wall surrounded the shore of the vertically stretched landmass, with a cut east and west letting one step onto a beach and a pier respectively. A respectable mansion was right next to the teleporter. It had been visibly improved since the harem had originally built it, but John still felt the connection to it any human felt towards the fruit of their own labour.

In the summer, there had been a beautiful flower field around. At the moment, they were in the colder months of the year and so flowers were rare, popping out of the healthy grass. John spotted the occasional bee, a scout of the bee-fairy courts they had settled elsewhere in the barrier.

Nature and civilization being in harmony within the confined space was already a good move towards paradise, but what truly made it were the women around. Aclysia had no qualms about this being a place to train maids, not butlers, and so John was the sole man on an island where everyone wore and lived the black-white uniform of the female servant. In accordance with the season, the women wore versions of the maid outfit that were less revealing. Longer skirts, stockings, overcoats and hats modified the usual perfection of lace, frills, and elegant cuts of the uniform.

The way they walked alone was enticing to John. It wasn’t that there was anything inherently sexual to their movements, just that the dignity of every measured step tickled his fancy. Looking closer, he found that there were certain women whose uniforms were a bit more elaborate and whose grace was closer to Aclysia’s natural servitude. One of those maids, a blonde with a lean figure, approached John and Aclysia.

“We are pleased you found time for us, Master Newman, Headmaid Aclysia,” she greeted the two of them with a respectful bow. “How may the maids of Servitude Island be of service?”

Aclysia was the one to answer, raising her voice with authority. “Prepare a room for a new apprentice,” she instructed and made a simple gesture towards the white-haired demonette at her side. “This one has shown interest in mastering the way of the servant. Master and I will give her a tour, then she will decide whether to join or not.”

“As you wish, Headmaid,” the blonde responded and looked over to the afrit. “What is your name?”

“A—Amelia,” she responded hesitantly.

“A nervous stutter… shall I quarter her with Lemilia?”

“For a start, that works,” Aclysia confirmed, and the maid bowed her head again to walk away.

“Am I in trouble?” Amelia asked nervously.

“No,” the weaponized maid firmly denied, which only served to make the submissive demonette even more unsure. “Lemilia is the speech teacher of the school. She will be working on removing your verbal tics, such as stutters.”

“…I don’t want to cause unnecessary work…” the afrit mumbled.

“A fundamentally proper stance to have, for a servant,” Aclysia commented. “After all, it is our calling to solve the issues of our Master. However, this school’s ambition is to teach the world’s greatest maids. Cause the unnecessary work here, so that you may learn all you need to in time.” The weaponized maid gestured invitingly and the three of them started their walk west. “At the moment, this school houses twenty apprentices and ten teaching maids, myself and Beatrice excluded. As you notice, the teacher to student ratio is high. This is deliberate. Every one of the maids that finishes their training here is a unique servant, not just a person who learned the craft.”

John hummed approvingly, catching up to his first maid and putting an arm around her waist. “Leave it to my Aclysia to cure the world of its maid-deficit.” He placed a quick kiss on her cheek and she lovingly snuggled against him. As best she could while continuing to walk, anyway. He looked left and spotted one of the signs of damage from the recent conflict. Several of the trees in the garden had been destroyed. While the upper parts had since been removed, the trunks still remained burrowed in the ground. A trio of maids was in the process of unearthing one of them.

They stopped in their work to respectfully bow before their Headmaid and John. Following an acknowledging nod by Aclysia, they returned to digging and hacking away at roots.

“The work of a maid is filled with physical activity. From simple tasks such as cleaning to the exhausting demands of gardening, we have to be skilled at every challenge that a household could face.” Aclysia took a moment’s pause. “As a biological entity, it is recommended that you always use the correct equipment and wear gloves. Take good care of your hands. A maid’s grasp should be firm and gentle and her palms soft.”

Amelia needed a couple of seconds to realize that she was expected to respond. “Y-yes!”

“Yes, Headmaid,” Aclysia corrected. “Always address people by their fitting honorific, especially in public.”

“Yes, Headmaid!” Amelia almost shouted her answer.

Aclysia made a slightly displeased face and resumed the tour. “You are certainly in need of verbal training. Lemilia will take good care of you.”

“Why don’t you explain the teaching practices here?” John asked while they approached the bee-fairy courts on the westernmost point of the island. They lived in a series of large stone barrels. There was more traffic between them than there was to the rest of the island. Given the season, they likely kept themselves busy with hive politics. One of the barrels had been destroyed and out of the cracked walls grew an impressive structure of yellow wax.

A little podium had been erected in front of the homes and was serving as the staging ground for a public debate. Another trio of maids observed the tiny, black and yellow fairies enact an overdramatized version of noble politics. Like the previous trio, these three took a moment to acknowledge the visitor’s existence and, like before, they continued once Aclysia gave them a respectful nod.

“In this school, apprentices are subject to two different kinds of official lessons, that being the lectures and the caretaking. The former is what you can currently observe.” Aclysia stopped at the necessary distance so that her own speaking wouldn’t meddle with the ongoing lecture. “These are scheduled events that specifically exist to teach the maids in a subject. What the maids get taught each week is decided by the teachers, specifically their overseer, which leads us to the latter category.” Aclysia resumed the walk, John felt the motions of her artificial muscles under the hand he had shamelessly pushed between the slits of her skirt. “A large part of your lessons will be practical and, as such, you are expected to take care of the island. You will accompany one fellow student and your overseer and go over the tasks for the day.”

“So… my overseer would be Lemilia?” the afrit asked.

“In the beginning, yes,” Aclysia confirmed. “Your overseer changes monthly depending on what the school identifies to be your biggest weakness. Each overseer also teaches in the lectures, so you will come to know all of them. You have free time in the evenings and while such a lecture is going on. Provided you are not scheduled to attend it, of course.” The weaponized maid took a pause while they passed the pier. “Master, we may require an upgraded harbour.”

“Hmm,” John hummed and looked at the simple stone construction. It had suffered some basic damage. Nothing immediately worrying, but certainly something that went against the flawless look of the place. “You could use an update… a new boat as well… I’ll talk to Gnome and see if one of the vessels we are currently constructing can be relocated.”

“My thanks, Master.” Aclysia kissed his cheek and they continued their tour. “The caretaking will take up the majority of the day. Whether you are in charge of cooking, gardening, farming, sewing, fishing or anything else, you must tend to your given task dutifully. The lectures are mostly about additional education. Although the maids decide for you apprentices what you get taught in each week, you do get to decide what kind of education interests you. At this moment, we offer extensive lectures for engineering, rhetoric and philosophy. We are trying to extend our offers with additional topics that are either practical or would be mentally stimulating for Master.”

“Uhm… a question, if I may, Headmaid?” Amelia carefully raised her voice again.

“Back straight – ask with a firm and respecting tone,” Aclysia chided the potential apprentice. “Choose your words deliberately. We do not want to waste time.”

“Yes, Headmaid. Am I to serve John Newman, by the end of my apprenticeship?”

“You may serve a master of your choosing.” Aclysia’s response reflected some unhappiness. “My John certainly deserves every maid he wants, but it is not necessary for you to pledge yourself to him. Similarly, it is not necessary that you are open to his sexual advances while you remain here.”

“I value consent more than my fetish for maid uniforms,” John promised with a smile.

“There are, however, sexual lectures you are expected to attend,” Aclysia reported. “I expect one to be going on at this very moment. We will arrive there in a few minutes.”

They trotted down the path in relative silence. Past the arena, in which the tournament for the islands was carried out, and past the long inactive mana factory, they went. John made a mental note to tear that building down for good while they patched the holes in the wall. It had served a temporary purpose as a makeshift prison, thanks to the mana siphoning apparatuses inside, but he had no more use for it.

When they crossed the halfway point of the island’s length, the surroundings transformed rapidly. The spaciousness of the area around the mansion was replaced with a cluster of houses that stretched along the western wall. Each was big enough for a small family. Wooden fences separated the green areas around them.

“You will be given one of these houses,” Aclysia explained as they walked by. “You are expected to take care of it and the garden, in addition to your other duties. There will be inspections of the way you live. A maid that does not take care of her own household will make for a poor bride, and we cannot have that.” Aclysia turned left, towards the eastern wall. Fewer and much larger houses stood there. “These are the houses of the overseers. Lectures are usually held in there.”

Aclysia led them into one of those large houses. It had a lot more in terms of character than the semi-improvised constructions the Gamer and his group had originally erected in a couple of days. The specialization of the overseer was clear immediately. All over the walls, standing in the shelves, decorating window sills, were representations of the female form. Tasteful representations, as John found, nothing ludicrously perverse or extremely explicit.

The lewd moans that echoed through the corridors were more tantalizing than any of the visual hallmarks around. Closer and closer, they came to those sounds of female delight. Aclysia stopped before a door and knocked twice. The moans did not stop and soon a sultry voice responded, “Enter.”

They stepped into a candle-lit room in which a total of four maids were already present. Three of them, the apprentices, were naked and writhing seductively on cushions. They were at varying points in their twenties and played with themselves as they rode dildos. Even after noticing the presence of the new trio, they continued unashamed. The fourth maid was still in her uniform, albeit John could hear the steady buzz of a vibrator from underneath her skirt. She was in her thirties and doubtlessly attractive.

“Headmaid Aclysia,” the maid bowed her head respectfully. “Sorry, the girls are concentrating on their task.”

“They are forgiven,” Aclysia said. “I only wished to give this potential apprentice a quick look at the sexual training.”

“That so…” The sex teacher looker over Amelia, who observed the ongoings with a lustful blush. “A demon, that is new. She isn’t shy about sex, so that’s a good start. Hey.” The maid snapped her fingers to get the afrit’s attention.

“Y-y-yesssss?” the demonette stammered and hissed wantonly.

The maid raised an eyebrow. “Lemilia will have to teach you a few things. Tell me, what is the most important trait for a maid to have in the bedroom?”

“…Submissiveness?” Amelia responded hesitantly.

“A popular one, but no,” the sex teacher responded. “The answer is honesty. Men, at least those that are worthy of a loving maid’s services, are only truly satisfied if they can pleasure their partner. I will teach you how to take care of someone, how to give them sexual service, but always remember that your master will want you to feel good too. Let them know how to do that.”

“Yes!” Amelia responded enthusiastically. She sounded genuinely impressed with that advice.

‘You never tell me how to pleasure you,’ John joked through his connection with Aclysia.

‘You never needed to be told, you always knew how to make me happy, Master,’ the weaponized maid retorted.

They continued their tour, first leaving the building and then going south. There was less of import to show there. Houses made room for fields of wheat, berry bushes and fruit trees. Aclysia named all of them, made clear that a proper maid was expected to know what was in her garden and to have the knowledge to at least grow her own herbs. Fresh mint was always better than some store-bought stuff, she insisted. The fields were also part of the caretaking efforts.

Soon, their tour brought them to the southernmost point of import: a watchtower that went far above the walls. Although there was nothing up there, Aclysia still guided them all up to the top, letting Amelia see the entirety of Servitude Island sprawled out under them. “Our education will be thorough and demanding,” Aclysia finalized the tour. “Are you certain you want to attend this school?”

“Yes, Headmaid,” Amelia said; she sounded calm for the first time this tour.

“Good. Return to the mansion. You will be provided a set of uniforms and assigned a house.”

“Alone, Headmaid?”

“Alone,” Aclysia confirmed. “Master and I wish to enjoy the view for a little while longer.”