"Here's our new houseguest, Akihiro bando-san. He will be an assistant host until he returns home." Kuruso introduced me right away.

My stomach lurched once I focused on the one thing that made this universe different from what I knew. I had raised my hand in greeting, but the prepared "Yo!" had died in my throat when I saw them.

I knew they weren't fake as soon as I saw where I'd ended up. Still, I saw them just on informational pamphlets. They just looked like well-done photoshops. But holy shit! Monsters are REAL! Isn't that just the coolest thing ever?!

" Gk," I said, my eyes widening more and more as if trying to take them all in.

"I'm glad to meet you, Bando-san," Miia said, bowing slightly. The slick red scales on her lower body glistened in the sun: "Please call me Miia!"

"Mk," I replied.

The blue-feathered wings of a childish-looking harpy fidgeted as she carried her nails across the floor, cheering; "I'm Papi!" she cheered. "Papi the harpy!" she greeted.

Trying to comprehend what I had seen, I replied, "Sk."

A dignified voice full of steely resolve said, "And I am Centorea." The ample chest of the last of the three caught my attention. I wondered if she had back problems. However, that was quickly forgotten when I saw her impressively equine lower body and realized she was a centaur. "We would greatly appreciate any assistance you can provide for our Master."

"S-s-o c-c-c..." Come on, man, say something! You only get one first impression, so stop screwing it up!

"Uh, Bando-san?" Kuruso asked concernedly. "Are you all right?"

In confusion, Papi tilted her head. "Did we bake him?" she inquired.

"You probably meant to say 'break,' Papi," Centorea corrected.

"That's right, break!"

Huh. I wasn't expecting that. How could I tell papi was using the wrong 'break' there?

It's okay; I can handle this. I must take a deep breath and properly greet three, two, and one.

Instead of screaming, I shouted, "So COOOOOOOOL!" I mean, fuck it. I should be excited about seeing fantastical creatures I never thought would exist.

In response to my sudden raised voice, such fantastical creatures and Kuruso flinched in alarm. As a result, my face heated up to almost intolerable temperatures, so I coughed to try and alleviate the sheer awkwardness that permeated the room.

"Um, I mean." There you go. "Hi, I'm Akihiro Bando, but I can just be called Aki, though you know I am Aki because Kuruso told you that already," so, uh..." Get it together, get it together! Feel free to explain yourself. They'll appreciate it. "I'm sorry about that freak-out. I've never seen a liminal before, so it was shocking."

She waved her hand as if to blow my apology away. Despite her smile, her smile still had a nervous edge. "Your first reaction to us was pretty tame, though! I don't recall anyone saying 'cool' quite like that before."

"Incredibly, your species exist," I explained, self-conscious and scratching my head. "My home has nothing like you."

"Really?" Centorea asked, folding her arms under her chest. Moses, those things were huge. There was no way she could be comfortable like that. "Master said you are a dimensional traveler. Does your dimension have any liminal?"

I thought they were taking this remarkably well before I remembered what universe I was in. Thankfully, there was a lot of tolerance for stuff like dullahans and devils in society, so it was probably easier to accept weird shit like traveling between dimensions.

I shrugged. "I don't know; if my world does, the liminals haven't been discovered or revealed to the public." I shook my head. "So the point is, I think I'm just lucky to see you guys here. Technically, or according to Smith-san, I'm a liminal due to my unique circumstances, so let's stick with that."

"Boss is hosting you too?" Papi inquired.

I replied, "Kind of?" Kuruso shrugged. "I'm more like an assistant host." No, I'm not a part of the harem. "I'll be helping him out around the house." "You guys can count on me for cleaning, cooking, laundry, etc."

With wide, glee-filled amber eyes, Papi gasped, "So you're the assistant boss!" she declared.

I rubbed the back of my head. "Uh, yeah," I said, "I guess so." In terms of nicknames, it wasn't the worst I'd had in college. Lord willing, nobody in this universe would ever find out.

"Very well, then, Bando-sama, we will be grateful to receive any help you can provide." Centorea smiled.

Ehhhhhh. "Sama" was a bit too much, though I'm not surprised since Kuruso was called Master.

Her coils fidgeted anxiously as her fingers kneaded the hem of her shirt. As soon as I saw the beginnings of tears falling from her face as she spoke, I felt the separation anxiety flowing into her voice. She asked, "Is this going to mean Darling won't be around as much?" Both Centorea and Papi looked concerned at her words.

It's almost as if they couldn't function before he entered their lives.

On cue, Kuruso reassured them: "Nothing like that, Miia! He will relieve some of my workloads so that I can spend more time with you."

It was like magic when the words worked, instantly transforming the faces of all three monster girls into dreamy, excited expressions. I had no idea if that was the intended effect, but I had to give him credit for it.

"In any case," I said, turning toward Kuruso, "where is my room? I want to get settled in before anything else happens."

He pointed backward and said, "All you have to do is head up the stairs, and it's the second room on the left, right next to mine."

"Awesome, thanks," I said as I turned to leave. "Well, it was great meeting you all."

As if in response, Miia snapped out of her Darling daydreams and waved back with a wide grin, revealing cute little fangs. "Bye-bye, Bando-san!" she exclaimed.

I stepped back into the main hallway and took a deep breath. That went right. Although I had thought I was prepared to encounter real monsters, it wasn't possible. Seeing a lamia, a harpy, and a centaur in person was fantastic! What kind of nerd would not think that was cool? My friends back home would think they were terrific! It would've been nice to have them around, too...

Rather than moping, I shook my head, brushing those dark thoughts aside. If I could enter this universe, I could leave it. At least, I hope.

My doubts about never returning home intensified as I approached my designated room. Kuruso's instructions were clear, and I soon found myself in a spacious and comfortable room. Smith provided a queen-sized bed underneath the window, a desk to my right, and a closet filled with clothes in my size. The lady kept her word, at least.

I sighed as I collapsed on the bed and sank into the soft covers. Yeah, this wouldn't be so bad. I wasn't thrown into a hostile universe where humanity was feared for extinction. I didn't have to fight or struggle to survive. I just had to clean up the house occasionally. There were worse places to end up. At least I had this room to retreat to, utterly detached from the craziness outside.

CRASH!

"Master, are you okay?!?"

"I'M SORRY, DARLING! DARLING?! DARLIIIIIIIIIIING!"

...

Indeed this would become a reality?

With the grim determination of a soldier marching to war, I emerged from the room with a heavy sigh.

My first day as assistant host of the Kuruso household began with me saying under my breath, "All right, MonMusu. Let's see how much bullshit I can handle." As I said before, the simulation is glitched.

To be continued...