There were certain types of clothes that elevated the beauty of women. Lingerie was an obvious example, hiding so little and emphasizing it through contrast (or, if particularly saucy in design, framing beautiful bits with lace). Another lovable contender were skin-tight clothes, be it latex or swimsuits. Although less naughty, I also loved dresses, particularly ball dresses, with a high amount of style but little fashion. Fashion was temporary and often designed for the spirit of the time. Style was eternal and much more fundamental.
Lastly, there were uniforms. It pleased the spirit of most humanoids to see a matching set of something and clothes were no exception. An overarching design theme sticking to a person always looked nice. Not all uniforms were created equal, however. There was a certain appeal to a soldier's outfit, but on its own the sex appeal was rather low. A bunny girl outfit ranked much higher.
Like many hot-blooded men, my favourite set of clothes to see on a woman, out of all categories, was the maid outfit. Black and white joined as frills, lace, stockings and plain cloth through careful stitches into one of the many variants. A well made maid uniform was the ultimate marriage between style, practicality and history, signalling both a long line of traditions and a serving attitude. Clearly, the maid outfit was the outfit of choice for the significant other of any cultured male.
Therefore, seeing Esther dressed as a maid was my personal (if temporary) heaven.
It all started with the shoes. Normally she aimed for footwear that was purely practical. For the sake of the outfit, she was now in high heels. Their black colour harmonized wonderfully with the equally black stockings. Through the fabric, I could barely make out the nakedness of her long legs.
The upper rim of the stockings disappeared under a dark skirt. White embroidery, outlining the shapes of flowers, decorated the rim. The skirt was neither scandalously short nor was it prudently long, striking a classy, yet tantalizing, medium.
A white waist band was secured behind her back with a neat ribbon, and from the front dangled a small apron. The top of the outfit was primarily black, sitting over a white blouse like a corset. That blouse was only truly revealed around the chest, where the pale was stretched out by her sizable chest. A wonderful amount of cleavage was created from that relative tightness, framed by short frills. The sleeves were short and tight, leaving the smooth skin of her arm visible.
Sadly, my carefree indulgence in the visual feast came to an end when I arrived at her face. As gorgeous as she was, as cute as the decorative headband made her ponytail, she still seemed displeased to see me enter..
I didn't even try to act like I was surprised to see her there. "These look really good on you, my lady," I complimented and received a long stare in response. Noteworthy was that her pupils didn't narrow, neither did her eyes go from amber to sulfuric yellow. While she obviously was feeling something negative towards my presence, it was not wrath. My personal guess fell on shocked surprise.
"Why are you here?" she asked straight out of the door. Perhaps given where I was standing right now, in the entrance of a servant cafe, it was more appropriate to say that she asked this of me straight at the door. Either way, I had to hold back the cheeky remark that this wasn't an appropriate way to talk to a customer. I wasn't there for the service anyway.
Before I could decide on how to properly answer, we were approached by an elderly gentleman.
"Welcome to the CafΓ© Served," he said in a smooth voice. He wore a butler's outfit, much in the same aesthetic. His shoes were polished, the black pants cut perfectly and his vest had those two dangly bits at the back whose purpose eluded me but which looked good nonetheless. Underneath, he wore a white shirt. His buttons were made orderly and a black bow tie sat on his collar. He was the complete package of an elderly noble butler, sporting a trimmed moustache, hair that was combed until it sat flat on the head and a monocle on his left eye. "I am Allister, owner of this fine establishment, at your service. Please excuse any rudeness of our new employee, we are working her in."
"No, no, we know each other," I waved off, not wanting to get Esther into any trouble. "Getting a bit direct with me is perfectly okay."
"Oh, that is a pleasant surprise... that makes you the first understandable exception all morning!" The butler was downright ecstatic about this. It was obvious that this gentleman was here to look over the newcomers' shoulder. From the sound of things, Esther needed the schooling in the communication department. "Do you wish to get a table?"
"No, I am actually here because of that," I gestured at a 'Help Wanted' sign that was sitting behind the large window next to the entrance. Karona's intel had included the cafe hiring, so I had come here already determined to apply.
The way the butler looked at me changed following that announcement. Analysing me as a potential worker was a whole different beast than as a potential customer, after all.
Welldark made sure that the necessities of most of the students were met, courtesy of the provided housing and monthly allowances. In a world where the basis of existence was guaranteed, certain sectors of the economy profited immensely. Entertainment and services were among the top two. This servant cafΓ©, where maids and butlers took and fulfilled the orders, fell a little bit under both categories.
CafΓ© Served was a middle-sized restaurant. It stretched over two floors and a cellar containing a bar. While the main restaurant was open every day (except Sunday) from 7-23 o'clock, the bar only opened on Friday, Saturday, and for hosted events. I could glean that much information just from looking around and reading what was written on info boards.