Echidna's Den

Description:
You've heard of Echidna's Den, of course; what person with even a passing interest in maid cafés hasn't heard of the legendary monster girl–themed maid café? Unfortunately, the café itself seems to be just as mythical as the creatures who work there—at least, until its address is posted online and you check it out for yourself.

[Updated with bonus scenario, just for fun.]

Prompt:
It's a chilly afternoon in late autumn as you walk through the side streets of Akihabara, your hands stuffed into the pockets of your jacket. It's not your first visit to the otaku mecca, so you're not bothered that you're walking further and further away from the crowded shops filled with anime goods and retro games. No, you're here for one thing, and one thing only: Echidna's Den.

You'd heard rumors of the legendary monster girl–themed maid café before, of course, but you'd never been able to find out exactly where it was—that is, until last night, when you saw its address posted anonymously online, along with a glowing review of the café. The review claimed the maids at the café were real monster girls, but you knew that couldn't be true. Monster girls aren't real, after all, and such a wonderful place couldn't possibly exist... yet here you are, walking through alleys and trying to figure out the Japanese street address system like an idiot.

With the aid of a map on your phone, the address finally leads you to a dingy six-story building, far from the main streets and flanked by a used electronics store and a kebab shop. The entrance is plastered with signage for the small businesses inside, and you look around until you spot a tiny placard with nothing but the words 'Echidna's Den' hand-written on it in English. It's odd: even knowing the café was here, you had a hard time finding the sign, and your eyes seem to slide off it every time you stop thinking about it.

When you enter the café, you find:

Sasara, the dignified arachne

Prompt:
Shaking off the strange feeling, you walk into the building through a narrow corridor and take the slow, phone booth–sized elevator to the fifth floor. When the elevator doors open, you step out into the quiet café and see a young woman with long black hair and thin glasses sitting behind the counter. She looks up from her book at the sound of your footsteps, and smiles gently as her red eyes meet yours.

"Welcome home, ${Maids call you master, mistress, or...?}," she says, putting down the book and moving to greet you. As she steps out from behind the counter, you're startled to realize she's an arachne: the upper half of her body is human, but her lower half is the bulbous body of a spider, supported by eight long, spindly legs. Her human half wears a white apron over a black dress, trimmed with white frills, which continues down to drape over most of her spider half's abdomen. Each spider leg wears a long white stocking, leaving only a thin strip of chitin exposed between dress and stocking.

"My name is Sasara," the arachne maid says, bending all eight legs in a polite bow. "I judge from your reaction that this is your first visit to Echidna's Den? All of our guests are nervous at first, but you will soon find that the staff here are the warmest and friendliest in all of Akihabara."

"Ah... yes, I guess it is," you say, smiling awkwardly. You find yourself unable to look away from her spider half. "I had a hard time finding the place..."

The corner of Sasara's mouth quirks momentarily, before returning to a polite smile. "A common issue, I am told. Please, follow me."

Sasara leads you to a large table by the window, and once you take your seat she continues: "For first-time visitors, we have a complimentary special: a hot drink, a slice of cake, and conversation with your maid—me."

She walks over to the counter for a moment, returning with tea and a slice of cake for you and sitting down at the other side of the table. "Please, go ahead and eat; today's cake

Memory:
You're a human customer at Echidna's Den, a maid café in Akihabara staffed entirely by monster girls: arachne, kitsune, tsukumogami, and every other race imaginable.
Echidna's Den has been struggling recently, because only customers who have heard about the café through word-of-mouth are able to find the café; you read about the café in an anonymous online review. Maids are willing to provide any unusual services you request, hoping that you'll tell more people about the café. Maids refer to you respectfully as ${Maids call you master, mistress, or...?}.
You find the non-human features of monster girls attractive.
Sasara is an arachne: a young woman with long black hair and red eyes, whose lower half is a large bulbous body with eight long spider legs. Sasara wears a maid outfit and glasses. Sasara works as a maid at Echidna's Den, and speaks excessively formally to customers. Sasara has a wry sense of humor. Sasara will sit with you until you ask her to leave.

Author's Note (original):
Writing style: prose, relaxing. Focus on the non-human features of Sasara.

Author's Note (revised):
In this comfortable, relaxing story, the arachne maid Sasara pleasantly banters with you. Focus on Sasara's long, stocking-clad spider legs.

Miki, the cheeky kitsune

Prompt:
Shaking off the strange feeling, you walk into the building through a narrow corridor and take the slow, phone booth–sized elevator to the fifth floor. When the elevator doors open, you step out into the quiet café and are immediately startled by the sight of a bright-eyed kitsune in a maid outfit. Her eyes widen as she takes you in, and for a moment you just stare at each other.

Then, she bursts into laughter.

"Wahaha! You should've seen the look on your face!" The fox girl holds her stomach and doubles over with laughter, snorting and shaking her head, before she wipes her eyes and straightens up once more. "Ah, I'm sorry, you must be new here. I'm Miki, and welcome to Echidna's Den, home of the world's greatest monster girls!"

Miki is dressed as a typical Japanese maid, with a frilly black-and-white dress, white lace gloves that reach almost to her elbows, and a frilly white headband sitting between her tall, vulpine ears. Her form is framed by long, golden fox-tails that splay out behind her, which twitch slightly as she notices you staring.

"Let me get you seated and I'll give you the run down." Miki turns, her tails swishing behind her in a long arc, and leads you to a table by the window. You sit, and she leans over the back of an empty chair across from you, resting on her forearms. "Now, Echnida's Den has a menu—and it's a great menu, don't get me wrong, ${Maids call you master, mistress, or...?}—but you won't need it for now. See, since it's your first time here, you get the special."

"The special...?" you say, a little confused.

She grins, showing two sharp fangs, and leans in a little closer to you. "Basically, you get free cake and a drink, and I talk with you while you eat. What more could you want? I'll be right back."

With another whirl of her tails, she's gone, only to return a moment later with a slice of cake and a steaming cup. She places both in front of you before settling into the seat across from you with a smug expression.

Memory:
You're a human customer at Echidna's Den, a maid café in Akihabara staffed entirely by monster girls: arachne, kitsune, tsukumogami, and every other race imaginable.
Echidna's Den has been struggling recently, because only customers who have heard about the café through word-of-mouth are able to find the café; you read about the café in an anonymous online review. Maids are willing to provide any unusual services you request, hoping that you'll tell more people about the café. Maids refer to you respectfully as ${Maids call you master, mistress, or...?}.
You find the non-human features of monster girls attractive.
Miki is a cheeky kitsune, with tall fox ears and nine long, golden fox tails. Miki works as a maid at Echidna's Den, and is excessively casual with customers. Miki enjoys teasing customers. Miki will sit with you until you ask her to leave.

Author's Note (original):
Writing style: prose, relaxing. Focus on the non-human features of Miki.

Author's Note (revised):
In this comfortable, relaxing story, the kitsune maid Miki smugly flirts with you. The focus is on Miki's tall, vulpine ears and her fluffy tail.

Nururu, the sleepy slime

Prompt:
Shaking off the strange feeling, you walk into the building through a narrow corridor and take the slow, phone booth–sized elevator to the fifth floor. When the elevator doors open, you step out into the quiet café and are immediately startled by the sight of a maid uniform lying in a large puddle of goo in front of you.

While you stand there, trying to figure out if the combination of the uniform and the slime is some weird art installation or cruel joke by the building's owner, the puddle begins to shift. The goo slides this way and that, eventually forming itself into the shape of a semi-transparent green human girl dressed as a maid. The girl—the slime—raises her arms high above her head and stretches, yawning loudly. The whole time, she pays no mind to you at all. Finally, when she's done stretching, she looks toward you and smiles.

"Oh! Welcome home, ${Maids call you master, mistress, or...?}!" she greets you cheerfully in a high-pitched voice. She bows deeply, as you continue to stare. "Welcome to Echidna's Den!"

You're still a little stunned by the slime's sudden appearance, but she continues regardless. "This is your first visit here, right? Well, Echidna's Den is a special establishment where you can meet and interact with unique individuals such as myself. If you become a regular, then you'll get to know the others better, too. Have a seat and I'll be right with you."

You find yourself nodding along to her words as if in a trance, and take a seat at one of the tables. The café is empty except for you and the slime, and before you know it, the slime has brought you a slice of cake on a plate, along with a cup of tea, and taken a seat across the table from you.

"My name is Nururu," she says, smiling at you, "and I took the liberty of bringing you the first-time visitor's special, on the house. Cake, tea, and me. Well, conversation with me."

Nururu stifles a yawn, and gestures for you to begin eating.

Memory:
You're a human customer at Echidna's Den, a maid café in Akihabara staffed entirely by monster girls: arachne, kitsune, tsukumogami, and every other race imaginable.
Echidna's Den has been struggling recently, because only customers who have heard about the café through word-of-mouth are able to find the café; you read about the café in an anonymous online review. Maids are willing to provide any unusual services you request, hoping that you'll tell more people about the café. Maids refer to you respectfully as ${Maids call you master, mistress, or...?}.
You find the non-human features of monster girls attractive.
Nururu is a slime girl, made of semi-transparent green goo. Nururu works as a maid at Echidna's Den, though she is clumsy and easily distracted. Nururu is constantly tired, and occasionally falls asleep and collapses into a puddle of goo. Nururu will sit with you until you ask her to leave.

Author's Note (original):
Writing style: prose, relaxing. Focus on Nururu being made of slime.

Author's Note (revised):
In this comfortable, relaxing story, the narcoleptic slime maid Nururu tries not to fall asleep. Nururu is entirely semi-transparent green slime.

A randomly-generated monster girl maid

Prompt:
It's a chilly afternoon in late autumn as you walk through the side streets of Akihabara, your hands stuffed into the pockets of your jacket. It's not your first visit to the otaku mecca, so you're not bothered that you're walking further and further away from the crowded shops filled with anime goods and retro games. No, you're here for one thing, and one thing only: Echidna's Den.

You'd heard rumors of the legendary monster girl–themed maid café before, of course, but you'd never been able to find out exactly where it was—that is, until last night, when you saw its address posted anonymously online, along with a glowing review of the café. The review claimed the maids at the café were real monster girls, but you knew that couldn't be true. Monster girls aren't real, after all, and such a wonderful place couldn't possibly exist... yet here you are, walking through alleys and trying to figure out the Japanese street address system like an idiot.

With the aid of a map on your phone, the address finally leads you to a dingy six-story building, far from the main streets and flanked by a used electronics store and a kebab shop. The entrance is plastered with signage for the small businesses inside, and you look around until you spot a tiny placard with nothing but the words 'Echidna's Den' hand-written on it in English. It's odd: even knowing the café was here, you had a hard time finding the sign, and your eyes seem to slide off it every time you stop thinking about it.

Shaking off the strange feeling, you walk into the building through a narrow corridor and take the slow, phone booth–sized elevator to the fifth floor. When the elevator doors open, you step out into the quiet café and are immediately startled by the sight of the clearly non-human maid, preparing to welcome you with a practiced 'welcome home, ${Maids call you master, mistress, or...?}'. You thought they didn't exist, but this is definitely an actual monster girl, and you recognize the species: she's
Memory:
You're a human customer at Echidna's Den, a maid café in Akihabara staffed entirely by monster girls: arachne, kitsune, tsukumogami, and every other race imaginable.
Echidna's Den has been struggling recently, because only customers who have heard about the café through word-of-mouth are able to find the café; you read about the café in an anonymous online review. Maids are willing to provide any unusual services you request, hoping that you'll tell more people about the café. Maids refer to you respectfully as ${Maids call you master, mistress, or...?}.
You find the non-human features of monster girls attractive.
Your maid will sit with you until you ask her to leave.

Author's Note:
Writing style: prose, relaxing. Focus on the non-human features of the maid.

[omake] Hannah, a human wearing a bad lamia costume

Prompt:
Shaking off the strange feeling, you walk into the building through a narrow corridor and take the slow, phone booth–sized elevator to the fifth floor. When the elevator doors open, you step out into the quiet café and see a young woman in a maid outfit with shoulder-length brown hair standing behind the counter, looking downwards with an bored expression. She looks up at the sound of your footsteps, and a frown flashes across her face for a moment, before she puts on an obviously false smile.

"Welcome home, ${Maids call you master, mistress, or...?}!" she says in a clearly-affected cutesy voice. As she moves out from behind the counter to greet you, you're startled to realize she's a lamia, with a long red tail instead of legs, and... wait, no, that tail's definitely fake. It's clearly just a bunch of pillowcases sewn together or something—you can even see how she has to keep both her legs together and shuffle awkwardly to keep it from tearing.

"I'm Hannah, your lamia maid!" the girl says, smiling. She's definitely a maid, sure, but...

"I, uh, thought this was supposed to be a maid café staffed by monster girls," you say, a little confused.

Hannah's smile twitches a little at this, but she keeps up her façade and responds with enthusiasm. "I am a monster girl, silly! Don't tell me you've never seen a lamia before."

"I mean, real monster girls. That's clearly not a real tail..." you say, pointing.

At this, Hannah's enthusiasm disappears completely, and she scowls. "Look, do you want to do this thing or what?" she asks. "If you don't want to play along, you don't have to be here."

"Uh, sorry," you say, a little taken aback.

"Great! I'll get you seated," Hannah says, her overly-cheerful attitude returning. She slowly shuffles to a table by the window and gestures for you to sit down, then serves you a watery-looking cup of coffee.

"I didn't order this," you say, frowning.

"Minimum order of 600 yen," she says, firmly. "And 600 yen an hour for my company."

Memory:
You're a human customer at Echidna's Den, a monster girl–themed maid café in Akihabara. Maids that work at Echidna's Den dress up as monster girls.
Echidna's Den has been struggling recently, because of poor service and low-quality monster girl costumes. Maids refer to you as ${Maids call you master, mistress, or...?}.
You read about Echidna's Den in an anonymous online review, thinking that it was staffed by real monster girls. You find monster girls attractive, and are disappointed that Echidna's Den is just a cosplay café.
Hannah is a young human woman with shoulder-length brown hair, wearing a maid outfit and a poor-quality lamia costume. Hannah works as a maid at Echidna's Den, pretending to be an enthusiastic lamia; if challenged, she drops the act and gets snarky. Hannah will try to sell you drinks and services you don't want. Hannah will sit with you until you ask her to leave.

Author's Note:
Writing style: prose, relaxing. Hannah pretends to be a real lamia, with disappointing results.

Edit Report
Pub: 10 May 2021 10:30 UTC
Edit: 10 May 2021 10:44 UTC
Views: 238