Catgirls And Dungeons-Chapter 201: Surprise present

Step.

Step step.

We follow Mister Alvero down the cobbled path. On either side, beds of crimson flowers bloom in quiet abundance, their petals stirring with the breeze. The air is sweet and fresh, cool like the autumn wind.

And ahead... our mansion rises.

Tall, dark, and elegant, Noctis Sanctum looms like something out of an old fairytale. Ornate gothic arches, stained glass windows, ivy trailing along the stone.

At first, I feel calm.

Just walking beside Eris, listening to the soft rhythm of our footsteps on the path, inhaling the scent of crimson flowers trailing in the breeze, it feels peaceful.

But the closer we get...

The more everything inside me begins to stir. Anticipation.

My heartbeat starts to pick up. A flutter here, a skip there, like a bird waking up beneath my ribs.

And then—

We stop.

Right in front of the grand wooden doors.

It’s massive and dark, with ironwork curling like vines across their surface. Just above them, draped from the high archway, is a beautiful silken banner. It’s ivory white, edged in deep red velvet, with words spelled out in elegant gold:

’Welcome, Eris and Felicia, to Noctis Sanctum.’

I stare at it.

And suddenly, I can barely breathe.

My hands curl at my sides, then uncurl again. My fingers twitch. My throat feels tight, choked with emotion.

Because this isn’t a dream.

It’s real.

We now have a home.

Yes, a home!

One that belongs to us, one that welcomes us in by name.

Here, with Eris, we’ll build something beautiful. Together, we will live a life full of joy and magic and laughter. We’ll fill these halls with memories. All kinds of memories. Sweet memories, silly memories, chaotic memories, maybe even a few crazy ass memories sometimes. And no one will interrupt us, no one will judge us, no one will mess with us.

Here, we will have the whole world to ourselves.

Just us.

Together.

Always.

I can’t help it. I giggle, a soft, breathy sound that escapes before I can stop it. My cheeks heating up a bit.

And then, I feel her.

Eris reaches out quietly and slips her fingers through mine, squeezing my hand just once. It’s warm and steady, grounding and reassuring. I sway a little, bumping her gently with my shoulder. Our tails brush, hers against mine, mine curling softly in return, like even they are whispering to each other too: we’re home.

And just like that...

My heart melts with happiness.

"Miss Eris, Miss Felicia." Alvero’s voice brings us back to the moment. He turns toward the door with a small, composed smile. "The present we prepared for you is just inside. Once you push it open... you’ll see."

"Ohhh!" I gasp, nearly bouncing. "Right—the present!"

I almost forgot.

The Guildmaster mentioned this earlier, didn’t he? Their will be a surprise waiting for us behind this door, prepared specially by the Hearthcarvers Guild!

Eris lets out a soft chuckle beside me, clearly amused by how worked up I’m getting, her eyes crinkle at the corners as she tilts her head slightly toward the door.

"Shall we?" she says softly, smiling.

"Nn!" I nod, practically vibrating.

Honestly, I can’t wait!

And so, together, we step forward.

"One... two..." Eris begins the countdown.

"THREE!!" I shout.

Together, we push—

The doors creak open.

And slowly, steadily, the front hall of Noctis Sanctum reveals itself before us.

----------------------------

The door swings open—

And then, suddenly—

"WELCOME HOME, MASTER FELICIA! MASTER ERIS!!!!!"

Five voices ring out in perfect unison, sweet and bright and terrifyingly synchronized!

I freeze.

No—I short-circuit!

"W-w-w—WHAT IS HAPPENINGGGG?!" I yelp, stumbling a step backward, nearly tripping over my own feet!

My heart is thundering. My tail fluffs up like I’ve been electrocuted!

Badump! badump!

Because standing there, lined up neatly in the front hall like some surreal welcoming parade, are not one, not two, not even three!

But five...

FIVE!

FIVE FREAKING CATGIRL MAIDS!

WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THIS?

They’re all dressed in matching black-and-white maid uniforms that are frilly, spotless, and way too perfect. Each one has a tiny lace headband perched neatly on her head, and a crisp white apron tied with a bow around the waist. They bow in perfect sync, dipping waist-deep at the exact same angle.

And then they look up.

Five pairs of big, sparkling eyes look back at us, bright, colorful, wide, and... impossibly cute.

I’m in shock.

Because it’s not just that there are five of them.

But because they all look exactly the same!

They all have that same petite, youthful build, with same soft, doll-like faces. And their hair are all a little bit tousled, shoulder-length haircut. I can’t help but notice the hair styles looks eerily similar to mine.

And not only that, they blink in unison too. Up until now, every movement, from the bowing to blinking, and even their breathing are in perfect sync with each other.

The only difference is their hair and eyes color. Each individual has eyes color matching their hair color, but different from each other.

Blonde. Pink. Blue. Green. Orange. Five candy-colored gradients, lined up from left to right like a living display shelf. novelbuddy.cσ๓

But everything else though?

Completely identical. Like they came straight out of a factory mold.

"Wait... quintuplets?" I whisper, voice catching, eyes flicking nervously from one to the next.

For some reason, this both amazes me and terrifies me at the same time!

Now, Alvero, standing calmly beside us, folds his hands together with that same ever-composed posture.

"As you can see," he says, adjusting his glasses, "this is the special gift prepared by the Hearthcarvers Guild to welcome you to your new home. We sincerely hope it meets your expectations and that we may continue our partnership in the future."

"Hmmmm," Eris hums, arms crossed and looking far too pleased with herself. "Not bad. Not bad at all!"

She doesn’t look even slightly surprised for some reasons.

I turn to her slowly, incredulous. "E-Eris? What’s going on?! Who—what—are these girls?!"

"Hehe, sorry, sorry," she says, barely holding back a laugh. "I just wanted it to be a surprise. But yeah, these are our maids! All five of them! They’ll be looking after the house from now on!"

I stare at her.

Then the catgirl maids.

Then back at her.

My brain kind of stalls, like it’s trying to load too many tabs at once.

"Wait—you knew?!" I blurt out, as things start to click.

"Of course," Eris says cheerfully. "Alvero messaged me this morning while you were still curled up in bed, so I figured it’d be more fun to let you find out this way!"

"EEEEHHHHHH?! That’s so unfair!"

"So?" she then grins, nudging me with her elbow. "What do you think? Isn’t it perfect? We won’t have to scrub floors or sweep the hallways or sort the laundry or clean dishes or water plants or—well, anything, really! And just look at them—they’re adorable!"

I turn back toward the maids.

They’re still smiling, still standing in perfect formation.

Well....

WELLLL....

I can’t argue with that!

The maids, even with that whole weird lookalike thing going on, they’re all super pretty and cute. And yeah, doing chores every single day in this huge mansion? That sounds like actual torture! It’s good that me and Eris will be able to spend more time training and getting stronger without having to worry about trivial things.

And of course, as the world’s leading catgirl connoisseur...

All catgirls are definitely welcome to join our party!

But—

"Y-yeah, I do..." I mumble, fidgeting with my sleeves. "B-but I thought it was just going to be the two of us living here? I mean... doesn’t privacy matter to you? Are you really okay with them hanging around all the time?"

Eris reaches out and places a gentle hand on my shoulder.

"Well! You don’t have to worry about that," she says, smiling calmly.

"...Eh? What do you mean?" I ask, blinking at her.

She leans in slightly, like she’s about to let me in on some big secret.

"They’re not actual people," she whispers. "They’re homunculi."

I blink. Hard.

"...Wait, what? Homunculi?"

"Mhm! Homunculi," she says again, clearly having fun with the reveal.

"Wait—like... fake people??"

I know I probably sound ridiculous right now, but come on!

Alvero steps forward to clarify, his voice smooth as ever.

"Indeed. As Miss Eris stated, these maids were actually homunculi, created by our grandmaster alchemists."

———————

A moments later, as Alvero and Eris explained to me, I now finally understand.

The catgirl maids really are exactly what Eris said they were—homunculi.

Artificial beings, created through alchemy to look and act like humans... but without actual thoughts of their own. They can’t disobey, can’t think independently. They exist purely to serve within the bounds of their programming.

It’s wild.

I take a little more time to... investigate.

For science.

I gently touch one of their arms, just out of curiosity.

And, oh my gods—

Their skin doesn’t just look perfect... it feels real, too. Soft and smooth, with this almost silky texture. A little cooler than normal skin, maybe, but still eerily lifelike.

They even breathe like real people. I can see the rise and fall of their chests, hear the soft sound of their breathing. It’s almost unsettling how natural it all seems.

I blink at them, still processing everything.

"And... what do you guys eat?" I ask, eyes wide. "Do you eat food like us?"

One of the maids—the one with soft blue hair and blue eyes—steps forward and bows slightly.

"Master Felicia," she says politely, "we do not consume human or Furren food. We are sustained entirely by mana, which is drawn from the artificial mana cores embedded within our bodies."