Chapter 682 Grape's Tears
"I'm not serious. It shouldn't be a competition between you and him. You should be proud of him instead," Lawrend replied.
He wanted his maids to feel loved all the time so he wouldn't let her feelings get hurt because of his words. He didn't want more of his maids to have inferiority complexes.
"I know. I won't let you get away no matter how strong you become. Bleh~," Humility said and stuck her tongue out.
She turned and left.
Amene walked up. Her cute orange cat ears flicked and her cat tail swung back and forth, revealing her excitement to the world.
"You have done so well with your bow. You have surpassed your tribe members already. What do you want?" Lawrend asked.
Amene pioneered the bow path. She was already equivalent to an Arch Mage. It was as if Lawrend was seeing history appear in front of his eyes. Just like the story of the two progenitors of the Sword Guild.
"I want a powerful bow, Master. No one could create the bow I wanted-nyaa," Amene answered.
"I will make the best bow for you within this year," Lawrend replied.
Since he was an Earth Mage now, he was able to relax and give his maids what they wanted. He was also curious about his abilities. He could challenge himself by creating a bow. That would increase his understanding of magic.
"Thank you-nyaa~" Amene turned back.
Grape stepped forward.
Unlike the others, her cat ears were drooped down and she looked at her feet. It was even more obvious that she was depressed when one looked at her cat tail. It was touching the ground with no strength in it.
"You're a High Mage. What's wrong?" Lawrend asked her.
"Master, it's just that I feel like I can't compare to my other sisters. I know they aren't as good as me in 'that' category, but I can tell that they're learning really fast. Soon, they won't need me anymore. My talent in magic is poor. I can't catch up to anyone," Grape answered dejectedly.
Lawrend felt a pang of pain in his heart. Grape didn't meow at the end. It was a sign that she was truly depressed.
Lawrend rubbed his forehead. This was the problem with having so many maids. He loved them very much but some of them couldn't catch up to his improvement.
"Alright. I will help you improve your mana pathways."
Lawrend knew he had to treat his maids equally. If he wanted to happily live in a world with his maids, he needed to make sure they could keep up with him. Otherwise, what was the point of having that goal if he didn't even take the most obvious step?
"Nyaa!" Grape's cat ears stood erect.
She ran up to him and embraced his chest. Tears of joy ran down her face and she tightly wrapped her arms around his body.
Lawrend was surprised by her actions. He didn't even have a chance to react. He might be an Earth Mage, but there were things in the world he couldn't possibly predict.
"Relax… You will become stronger too. You've been through a lot and I love you," Lawrend whispered beside her cat ear.
Her black cat ear trembled a little and she looked up. Her teary-eyed face made Lawrend love her more. He rubbed her head and slightly play with her cat ears.
"Nyaa…"
Lawrend slowly pushed him away from his chest.
"Aren't you going to say I love you back?" Lawrend teased.
"I love you too," Grape replied and looked away.
She was embarrassed to say something like that in front of her child. Her cheeks turned pink and she wiped her tears quickly with a handkerchief.
"You can go now. I will help you later."
Lawrend smiled at her. Grape took a quick peek at his face before looking away. She became even more embarrassed because she could feel her heartbeat starting to go quicker. She didn't want her daughter to see her doing naughty stuff.
It was a must that Grape leave or she might not be able to control herself anymore.
"My God, is it my turn?" Ramiela asked.
Lawrend shook his head and called out, "Valentina."
A cloud of mist left Lawrend's body and formed a human body. It was none other than Valentina. Her pure white skin was almost as white as the three half-slime children.
"Master, I'm here. Your little ghost," Valentina replied and kneeled in front of him.
Many of Lawrend's children widened their eyes in surprise. They had never seen Valentina in their whole lives. That was to be expected since Valentina had always been inside of Lawrend's body.
Sometimes she was at the crystal ball he got from the Runic Heaven Mage and that item was always in Lawrend's possession.
"She is one of your aunts. She lost her body long ago and could only walk the world as a ghost. She practices soul magic just like the rest of you," Lawrend explained to them.
"Oh!" x8
Hearing that she practices that same magic as them made the opinions of the eight children on her better. They felt more connected to her.
"You have become an Earth Mage, Valentina. I don't think you need any reward unless you can become a Heaven Mage again," Lawrend said.
"Wha–! Master, just so you know, it took me centuries to become a Heaven Mage during my life! I only became an Earth Mage so fast because you helped me and I have experience beyond it. I might not become a Heaven Mage in the next ten years," Valentina replied angrily.
"Hahaha! If you truly become a Heaven Mage, I will reward you with our child. For now, you can have this and this."
Lawrend threw her two scrolls. One of them was a Foundational Plant Spell and the other was an instruction on how to improve her soul magic.
"Thank you! This is more than enough. Hehe," Valentina replied.
She memorized the contents before returning them to him, and she entered back into his body.