Maiden Selection

Tem was caught up in her friends' happy moment. Yumiko was assisted by Kou as she helped Tem to get changed into the maiden attire. She needed help getting dressed since she lacked the necessary common sense on how to do it.

She looked like a completely different person once everything was finished and set. She wore a shirt that covered her chest and a black-and-white skirt that covered her lower thighs.

She was restless, bored, and anxious as she stood. Being unable to tie her own long hair into a ponytail, she was ashamed as she waited for Yumiko to do it instead.

She was finally fully dressed. Unlike Elliott, who had been delighted to see her, she could not stand how she seemed and her limbs shivered.

Yumiko proudly chuckled as she clapped her hands together near her chest.

"Perfect! You look so gorgeous! Be careful not to abuse your charms and end up getting selected as a maiden. Remember, all we need you to do is give us the chance to enter."

To look Yumiko in the eyes, Tem rotated her head around like a rusted valve. While the underprivileged children joyfully danced all around her, she had been shivering from head to toe. They were having a blast while pulling her clothes.

"This can't be the only way, right? I'm sure there's a secret entrance that we can take, without me needing to wear this.... cutesy dress."

"Nope, sorry! This is our only way inside without getting spotted. We could rush in and cause a ruckus, but that wouldn't be the best option now, would it? Don't worry, you'll be outstanding in there in the middle of other maidens!"

"You're enjoying this too much..."

Ralphie smiled as he walked up to people, cigarette in mouth. He gave Tem a thorough examination from head to bottom, but all he saw was the brilliant beauty of her face. His own heartbeat was almost gushing from his nostrils as it raced to keep up with him. But after giving a big, composed cough, he was able to stop himself from being tempted.

"Apologies.... Anyway, the attendance is about to begin in about an hour, we better be there by then. I've already delivered the letter back to the castle, so the list of the names should be in their grasp. I must say, Yumiko.... You really do know how to copy someone's writing." Explained, Ralphie.

"Yeah, I really do, huh? I don't know how, but this was one of my many talents. Other than fighting and safeguarding I was able to copy someone's text in an instant. Hopefully it's good enough for Muro to fall to our deception."

The choice had been made. Yumiko, Ralphie, Kou, Elliott and Tem were all ready to leave the underprivileged street. Isabella and Phillip eagerly stepped forward before they departed. Like family, they bid Yumiko farewell. It would be challenging for them to be worry-free, but at least they had hope.

They waved at the homeless as they bid them farewell. They took their time saying goodbye. Tem's friends could barely believe that despite their poverty, these people had yet managed to display some signs of joy.

Children's screams reverberated over the entire street. They shouted out to Yumiko with delight, unlike before.

"Be careful out there!"

"See you, Yumiko, everyone!"

She gave them a sweet grin and a wave before returning the gesture. Tem covered the garment with a jacket before growing further embarrassed; only her skirt was visible.

Finally, they made their way to the gate of the castle. The first hour of the maiden selection was almost approaching. The true challenge has only just begun, despite the fact that they were safe. After all, trouble was lurking close and would soon encounter them.

The time to get back to the castle took 45 minutes.

There was only 15 minutes left until the first round of maiden voting.

Yumiko and the rest of the group hid behind building walls or blended in with the public. None of the maidens, who were waiting outside patiently, understood the full significance of the maiden selections. Tem felt disappointed and ashamed, stuck in in the middle of them.

The entrance to the castle's door began to open widely. Tem fixed her eyes on them as if they were a target. She was waiting for it to open and for someone to show up. The lead commissioner who led the maidens inside appeared to be a female scientist wearing a white coat.

The maidens grinned broadly as they took in the splendor of the castle. The scientist in front of them carefully examined each one and noted how many there were.

The woman's looks was the first thing they noticed about her.

She was a lovely young lady. Her short, white-tipped ponytail of dark brown hair was pulled back into a bun. Her dark brown eyes were beautiful. She had a pair of black, square-shaped glasses on her forehead.

She wore a red t-shirt underneath the white coat. She wore long, black silk socks on her legs, part of which showed skin. Last but not least, she donned a book that included a list of the maidens' names, which she read out loud.

"Let's get this over with. My name's Gabi Fabricius, a co-worker under Master Muro's command for "scientific purposes." First I need to see if all of the names on this list checks out your attendance. Let's see; Leonore Johner, Lena Rosenberger, Nayla Lorber, Rafaela Brandstätter, Elly Clasen, Merle Keiner, Rose Edelstein, Juliana Lasker, Kayami Uesato, Itsuko Kiya, Inari Ogami, Tem Miyazaki, Helen Hansch, Sandra Schoenherr and Valentina Schuster."

"Great.... Need to remember all of the names again. Anyway, looks like every name checks out. I see that all of you have the appropriate dress. Good... We'll start with body inspection. Please, don't be embarrassed, we must make sure that each of you aren't hiding some sort of an inappropriate item."

In front of a wide stairs, Gabi led the group inside into the enormous room of the castle.

"You may enter."

Yumiko and the others noticed Tem nodding towards them while they were outside. "Great, now's our chance!" Yumiko, Kou, and Ralphie dashed past the throng to enter. Before it shut, they rushed through the large gate, only to be met with astonishment.

"Holy.... This castle is massive." Exclaimed Kou..

Tem saw them enter the room from the sides to avoid Gabi's sight, only to discover that she was about to start her body examination. They were escorted into a different room, where others were standing in opposition to Yumiko.

They entered a storage area in a group of four. Resources were largely in the form of food and drink boxes or materials, potions on the shelves, and the area appeared to have been well-kept.

"There, we made it it. What do we do now, Yumiko?" Asked Ralphie.

"First we'll look around the storage room to see if there are any leftover blood samples that we should take from under the castle's control. We don't want any more potions to be brewed to cause additional trouble."

"After Tem's done with her body inspection, we'll sneakily follow the maidens to their next destination which is most likely a gathering room. That's when Muro will probably started selecting the girls to be his test subjects."

"Hopefully, Tem isn't selected as one of them, because, if she's is, then our entire plan will be ruined. We can't lose sight of her no matter what. We must stay together as a group, and move together too."

"Yeah, about that... Elliott's gone."

They became alerted that Elliott still hadn't entered the room with them upon Kou's comment. He had gone someplace else.

The fifteen girls were gathered in the examination room, and he instead slipped inside after them. He was concealed behind a table, watching from the back.

He continued to analyze the women while maintaining a dubious smile, from their physical makeup to their attire. His eyes were fixed on them as if they were glue on paper. He chuckled, excited.

"This should be a fun scene to watch. All those pretty women undressing in front of me. This day couldn't have gotten any better. I can't wait to see Tem's body from up close. I'm just eager to see what's under that uniform."

Yumiko checked to see whether anyone was in the castle's main corridor by slightly opening the door and peering through the gap. After confirmation, she cautiously began to tiptoe across the marble floor to the opposite side of the corridor, while Ralphie and Kou silently observed.

She cautiously grasped the doorknob and slowly unlocked it without making a sound. The women waiting for their turn to be examined were caught in her blue eyes as they peered through the opening in the door.

Elliott was hiding behind the table as she took a careful check around the space. She became nervous to the extent where her face went blank. Elliott was hard to whisper to, despite her best efforts. She was only able to watch him cautiously approach the women from behind pieces of furniture.

The majority of the women had already had their bodies checked, so Tem's turn could finally start. Her entire body froze when she heard her name shouted, as if she had been trapped in a frigid environment. She resisted moving even slightly before finding the resolve to follow Gabi inside the changing room.

Elliott had a nosebleed. Without pausing, he crept further into the room, behind the curtains, and peered through them. Gabi began to reach for her uniform, and Tem waited. Elliott's eyes focused on Gabi's hands as they drew closer to Tem's breasts as she did not have permission to move.

Gabi's hands started to slowly but gradually untie her top. Tem's face began to smolder with increasingly hotter hues. As soon as she realized Gabi's hand had reached into her bra, she gulped. Then, suddenly, she noticed Elliott's face pressed against the glass off to the side of her field of vision, looking right at her.

She began to perspire more, and her eyes trembled with fear and shock. She could still feel Gabi's hand tightening between her breasts before it was abruptly pulled out.

She then witnessed Elliott's blood gushing from his nose and splashing against the glass, staining it crimson. His body cascaded down the wall like rainwater splashing.

"Would you please undress yourself. We must examine you completely." Asked Gabi.

"Wh-What? You're kidding me, right? Isn't it enough that you've already checked me 'there'?"

"I understand that this is embarrassing for you, but we cannot let you further inside the castle if we don't make sure that you're clean. I promise you that it's only us two in the room."

It was a difficulty. Due to her lack of expertise on how to properly put the uniform back on herself, she didn't want to undress. She was never shown how to do it by Yumiko and the others.

Embarrassed and unable to be suspicious, she sighed. She cautiously removed the uniform's left sleeve by reaching for it. Only to notice that Gabi had a needle in her hand, she was as serious as she could.

"Wait, hold on! Nobody told me that needles were a part of the examination."

The sunlight reflected off Gabi's glasses. Tem could only see her frightening and severe expression. There was a problem with the examination in some way.

Her eyes were penetrated by Gabi's menacing expression like an arrow, and then Gabi's voice followed her ears. Gabi in front of her attempted to swing her arm before she could respond. She forcefully collected a sizable quantity of blood from her body by thrusting the needle deep into her left shoulder.

Her body received a terrible shock from the stab, and she instantly shuddered, closing one of her eyes. It was designed to be that way from the start. The question of why she was exposed to be who or what she was would continue to circle in her mind.

Gabi speedily tucked her arm behind her back, standing spread-legged. She pulled out a brand-new needle whose tip was as sharp as a sword's blade after opening the belt's pocket. With her left foot, she took a stride forward, immediately looping her arm back in front of her.

Tem ducked as soon as Gabi cut. The arm passed over the top of her head, and she felt its touch in the tips of her hair. She avoided just in time, then abruptly got ready to stand back up.

But Gabi had already stood on her right sole before she could even think to move. She struck Tem in the stomach with a roundhouse kick that she twisted around.

Tem was thrown into the window by her strong kick before she fell out and into the area where the other maidens were waiting. Tem's body rolled on the ground as a result of her lack of balance, and she subsequently experienced the wall behind her suddenly slammed her rear. One of the glass pieces sliced into her skin in the back.

The moment Gabi stepped outside the dressing room, the maidens shouted in fright. Only a few of the maidens remained in the room while the others instantly started to flee.

The entire castle was alarmed by the glass breaking. Tem's allies, the "Sun Soldiers" and Muro were all notified. Ralphie and Kou bolted from the storage unit and sprinted through the hallway before charging ahead.

"What's going on?!" Shouted Ralphie.

When they and Yumiko entered the room, they realized their strategy had failed. They were astounded by the image as they watched Tem slowly begin to crawl back to her feet while lying on the ground, wounded.

Then, Gabi's voice invaded everyone's ears.

"Did you really think we'd fall for such a ruse? Sorry, but this is the end of your road. You cannot interrupt Master Muro. We assure you; your trickery ends here."

To be continued...