“Hey, Ashford, please give me your opinion on what I’m wearing right now.”
Ashford watched as Sonata, having found another nice outfit from who-knows-where, paced back and forth in front of him like a model on a catwalk.
“Uh… I’m not really into the Gothic style.”
“Ashford, it’s your turn to play a card.”
“Alright, Adagio.”
Hearing Adagio’s urge, Ashford looked down at the cards in his hand, but he suddenly realized he hadn’t heard what cards Adagio had just played.
“Adagio, what did you play?”
“Pair of Aces.”
“Oh, I can’t beat that.”
“Why can’t you beat it?”
“Because I only have a pair of 3s left.”
Aria, chewing bubblegum, looked at the pair of 2s in her hand and played them brilliantly.
“Pair of 2s, I win.”
Ashford looked at these three sisters who had suddenly appeared in his home, pondering the relationship between himself and the three of them.
Clearly, his relationship with the three sisters was very good, but why was there not a single memory of them in his mind?
He had even directly invited the three of them to live in his house; why had he made such a decision back then?
Hiss~~~ No, my head hurts too much, I can’t think about it anymore.
“Oh dear, is your head hurting again? Go to sleep; it won’t hurt once you’re asleep.”
“Alright, Adagio.”
Ashford shook his aching head, stood up, and left the room to return to his own bedroom.
Once he had left, Aria asked her eldest sister, Adagio, about their next plan with some nervousness.
“Adagio, what should we do next?”
“What else can we do? Just live here. There’s food to eat, water to drink, and clothes to wear—though we don’t really need to wear clothes, it seems the Bald Monkeys of this world all have to wear them.”
“I really didn’t expect that I would turn into one of these tailless Bald Monkeys too.”
“Ha, back in Equestria, we Sirens were ostracized by the ponies. I didn’t expect that in this world ruled by tailless Bald Monkeys, we wouldn’t even be able to find a decent place to stay.”
“But what’s certain is that there is no magic in this world, which allows us to exploit a loophole and use magic to control Ashford’s mind so we can find a place to live.”
Adagio didn’t feel there was anything wrong with her behavior; she had done far worse things in Equestria.
Now, it was just hypnotizing someone’s mind to find a place to stay.
“But Adagio, is it really okay for us to just domineeringly move into someone else’s home like this?”
“Sonata, do you want to go back to those days of having no fixed home?”
“Uh… no.”
“Then that’s that, isn’t it? And don’t make it sound so bad—what do you mean ‘domineeringly moving into someone’s home’?”
“I’ve seen that Ashford quite likes the food I cook. Although it’s my first time hearing about things like gas stoves and microwaves, judging by his explanations and the way he eats, my cooking should be pretty good.”
“If you feel bad about it, then just compensate him more in the future.”
“A great beauty like me acting as a housekeeper without needing a salary—Ashford is actually the one profiting here.”
As Adagio said this, she even stood up with her hands on her hips, preparing to welcome the cheers of Aria and Sonata.
However, the imagined cheers did not come.
“Adagio, why do you think Ashford would like you after you’ve turned into a Bald Monkey? Do you even know the aesthetic standards of this species?”
“Hmm… Sonata, according to what Ashford said, I indeed fit their aesthetic. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be interested in buying so many clothes either.”
“If we hadn’t used magic, I’m sure Ashford wouldn’t have brought us here.”
“Aria, Ashford isn’t losing out. I’ve been doing all the housekeeper’s work properly and keeping this whole house in perfect order.”
“Do you know how much a housekeeper like me would cost per month if I actually went looking for a job? So, come on, cheer for me.”
“Yes, yes, yes, Adagio is the best.”
Aria clapped and cheered half-heartedly, and Sonata followed suit, clapping happily.
Although Sonata didn’t quite understand what Adagio and Aria were talking about, following along was never wrong.
Adagio thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of being cheered.
She opened her eyes, intending to say a few words, but saw Aria fiddling with a strange little box.
“Aria, what are you doing?”
“Oh, I heard Ashford say this black brick is called a ‘mobile phone’. You can’t eat it, but it has quite a few functions.”
“One of its abilities is making calls. Just by pressing a few numbers on the screen, someone thousands of miles away can answer on the other end.”
“This is much more convenient than writing letters.”
Seeing that Aria was completely focused on the phone in her hand, Adagio stopped chatting with her and turned to look at Sonata, who was fiddling with clothes.
“Sonata, didn’t you hate wearing clothes? Why do you like playing dress-up now?”
“Adagio, I did hate wearing clothes before, but back in Equestria we didn’t need them anyway, so I naturally disliked them.”
“But since becoming this kind of tailless Bald Monkey, I have to follow the local customs. Like Aria said, I don’t want to be stared at like an animal in a zoo again.”
After Sonata finished changing, she started picking out more clothes.
Seeing this, Adagio frowned slightly.
“Sonata, I think you should understand that in this world, you have to spend money to buy things. Although I don’t understand the logic of using a piece of paper with a picture on it as money.”
“But a kid definitely wouldn’t have much money; you can’t squander it like this.”
“Don’t worry, I didn’t make Ashford pay when I spent money.”
“Then what did you use to pay? Did you use magic to control the shopkeeper?”
“I sold the gems I had with me.”
“What? You sold the gems?”
Adagio grabbed her hair with both hands as if she were about to go crazy.
Hearing Adagio’s anger, Sonata quickly explained.
“No, no, no, it’s not what you think. I didn’t sell the red gems that protect our voices; it was the other gems.”
“I never expected that gems, which are everywhere in Equestria, would be so valuable in this world.”
“According to Ashford, I’m now a ‘little rich girl’. So Adagio, if you call me ‘little rich girl’ now, I’ll give you money to buy lots of pretty new clothes!”
Seeing Sonata’s desire for praise, Adagio sighed helplessly and rubbed her brow.
“Fine, fine, fine, our Sonata is the best. Now go play over there.”
Adagio no longer held any hope for her two sisters; they were actually becoming immersed in the entertainment of this world.
She figured they might even forget their identities as Sirens one day, and in the end, the heavy responsibility would still fall on her, the eldest sister.
Controlling Ashford with magic was truly a perfect move.
Next, she only needed to learn all the knowledge and culture of this world and find a way back to Equestria.
Then she could finally have her revenge.
Moreover, Adagio had discovered that compared to ponies, the creatures here called Humans were much easier to manipulate emotionally.
And with no magic in this world, it was practically their home turf.