She once again sat down on the lush green grass with the other 2 maids before crossing their legs. They then closed their eyes and started to focus on their aura.
"Seems I didn't need to teach them how to sense their aura… good thing I brought along such highly skilled warriors," I mutter to myself while dipping my foot into the now warm water.
A few hours had passed, and the sun started to set. It surprised me how late it got so quickly, but after remembering how long it took to walk through the [Forest of Poison], I could only let out a long sigh before snapping my fingers.
White flames appeared around my maids and me, illuminating the area and giving off a comforting feeling. They weren't hot or warm… they just felt nice. Like when you wrap a blanket around yourself on a cold day but without the warmth.
"Mistress, I think it's about time you eat. You've barely eaten anything during this trip so far," My fire siren maid says, standing up with perfect posture.
"I want to save my appetite for new monsters," I say, sinking even further into the pond.
"Then allow me to hunt some food for you. I think I've already managed to suppress my presence and aura enough… but to be sure, may I request for Mistress to check for herself-"
"You're good," I say, interrupting the maid and waving her off.
"Thank you, mistress. I'll be sure to come back in about 10 minutes max," The fire siren maid says, bowing and then flapping her massive red wings.
"You girls continue. It seems she already realized that she has way surpassed you. She's almost at my level while you have barely passed the beginner stage of suppressing your aura and presence,"
I harshly tell the truth to my remaining maids to give them the motivation they need. I can tell they've been slacking off, but it was for a slightly good reason… they wanted to attend to me, such as massaging my body or getting me food.
Water wasn't a problem as I could drink the water that I'm bathing in… which I don't see a problem in. I can't even get diseases from it since it's practically boiling, killing any harmful bacteria.
"Guess I can practice some of my skills while waiting… I was supposed to be doing that anyway," I mutter to myself.
…
"MISTRESS! I HAVE IMPORTANT NEWS!" I hear a familiar voice shout from above me.
"Important or bad news?"
"IMPORTANT-"
"Okay, okay, just stop shouting… god damn," I say, rubbing my ear.
The fire siren maid came back and landed right in front of me, sweating profusely. Even her massive red wings were drenched in sweat, so I instinctively knew this was something big… which is why I asked if it was important or bad news… cause that much sweat seems unnecessary.
"Well, what is it?" I say, snapping my fingers, causing the raging black flames that I began to practice with instantly disappear.
"There is a massive line-like hole within the ground. HUFF HUFF HUFF…" My fire siren maid says, trying to catch her breath.
She also places down a few gray wolf-like monsters on the ground, which I immediately [Inspect].
[Timber Wolf Corpse]
[The corpse of a slaughtered Timber Wolf.]
Pretty basic… well, I guess we should eat this first before anything.
"The hole can wait as I assume it's not going anywhere. Let's eat," I say, rising out of the hot bath and wiping the excess water from my skin.
"Did anybody bring a towel?" I ask my maids, who quickly stood up.
They all shook their heads side to side, but it was to be expected.
I wish there were a skill that let me store stuff in another dimension… that would be handy.
"Would you like me to search for a towel-like object?" My elven maids ask.
"Nah, it's fine. I'll just let the wind- wait; I can use this… [Grand Water Magic],"
I proceeded to extract all the water from my body and hair. If it weren't for the training that I did with my water corps, I probably would've ended up extracting the water from inside my body… I guess that could be a new form of assassination. Draining all the fluid from your opponent's body.
"Speaking of draining all the fluids, I forgot to see Akito's new evolution and- AH SHIT! Treynis ring!" I shout, hitting the side of my head.
My maids slightly step back from my sudden outburst before preparing the fresh wolf corpses in front of me.
I can't even use [Grand Mind Magic] as I need to pinpoint the individual's location… and my sensing range doesn't reach my kingdom in the slightest.
"Do you prefer to be called a beastman or beastwoman?" I ask the maid who is currently helping me change into my dress.
"*sigh*... Damn it," I mutter before proceeding to put on my clothes with my beastman maid helping me change…
Is it more suitable to call her a beast woman?
"It is up to Mistress. You can call me whatever you would like,"
"No, tell me,"
"I-If Mistress insists… I normally don't mind either one, but I prefer to be called a beastwoman as I have no name," The beastwoman maid stutters.
"A name, huh? Would you all like a name as you all will be my personal maids… this also comes with the pressure and responsibility of becoming my best and strongest maids. Not only at fighting, but cooking, cleaning, taking care of me, and of course massaging me,"
My maids pause what they were doing before continuing. They were clearly shocked as none of my maids have names except for Alexa and Lucy.
"Huh? You girls don't want any names-"
"N-NO! W-we would like to accept Mistress's offer!" My maids shout, cutting my sentence off.
But it seems they clearly realized what they had done wrong and immediately apologized for cutting me off.
"I'll think of names tonight while I practice my skills, so continue what you were doing," I say as I finish putting on my clothes.
The morale of my maids had exploded upwards, causing them to take their jobs even more seriously than before.
…
[Gained the following skills]
[Boost]
[Feral Swipe]
"Did Mistress get any satisfactory skills?" My elven maid asks.
"Nah, it's all trash…." I mutter before standing up and stretching a bit.
"I will prepare a bed for you to sleep on, so please wait a minute," My elven maid says.
"Thanks, but after you're done, go to sleep. I'm going to stay up and practice my skills as this is the only free time I'll get,"
"As you wish," My maids say in unison before spreading out to find materials for a comfortable bed.
[Day 70]
"Anna… Bella… and… Amelia… how do you like those names?" I ask my maids as we were currently having breakfast.
Once again, it was Timber Wolves as they were the only things that tried to put up a fight with my maids, who chased the surrounding monsters down.
As I finished taking a bite out of the leg of a timber wolf, I looked back towards my maids, who were crying tears of joy. They were also barely suppressing the urge to lunge at me and give me a tight hug.
They continued to mutter "thank you" until their mouth, eyes, and throat went dry.
My elven maid was Anna, my fire siren maid was Bella, and my beastwoman maid is Amelia… I thought of those names the entire night while honing the mastery of my skills.
Last night was beneficial as I figured out the holes within each of my skills that I needed to work on… but trying to fix them was almost impossible.
After just trying to master [Ancient Fire Magic: Amaterasu], I immediately knew this would be hard and take quite a few weeks or even months.
"Okay, now you all need to hone your maid-related skills," I say before yawning slightly.
"Mistress, please let me massage your back," Anna suggests as I continued to eat the cooked wolf leg in front of me.
"Go ahead," I say while leaning slightly forward.
As soon as Anna's slender fingers dug into my muscles, I almost let out a moan at how nice it felt. And she didn't stop in the slightest as she worked her way down, making sure to loosen every nook and cranny of my back.
"Anna, please let me practice on Mistress's back as well. I've already mastered cooking, but you, on the other hand, haven't… so I believe I should practice massaging Mistress," Amelia says.
"Don't talk nonsense. Can't you clearly see Mistress is currently enjoying my massage as of now? Do not disturb her precious time as of now and go practice cleaning and washing her clothes," Anna responds, not even giving a glance to Amelia.
I let out a long sigh before gesturing for my maids to continue with what they were currently doing.