The sun had set as Martel lay down on his bed in the inn. He was currently waiting for everyone to go to sleep so that he would not be interrupted when he started his training, as he needed less sleep than anyone else. He had already split off his two Soul Bodies, who had gone to one of his new bases where he was grinding his Blacksmithing and Apothecary Skills.

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door that separated the rooms.

“Master, may I come in?” Laelynn asked.

“Yes.” He replied nonchalantly but flinched once she entered the room.

Laelynn came in wearing lingerie that matched the color of her hair. Martel couldn’t help but inadvertently swallow as she was incredibly beautiful. She had a body women would kill for, and a beautiful face of which had an Elven shape made it slightly exotic and appealing.

Laelynn did not notice Martel’s state as she closed the door behind her and approached him. “Master, I’m here to serve you tonight.” She said with a slight stutter.

“What do you mean by ‘serve’?”

“Master doesn’t know? At night, Master can d-d-do anything he w-w-wants to me.” Laelynn continued with a smile. Her body started to shake, her breathing became labored, and her face began to go white.

Martel immediately knew that this wasn’t due to any form of excitement, but the start of a panic attack. He quickly used Gentle Touch, knocked her out, caught her, and gently tucked her into his bed. He couldn’t help but sigh inside. Laelynn was slightly naïve, and her previous master abused her and put some strange thoughts into her head. Even if she trusted him not to do such a thing, she couldn’t help but subconsciously associate her abuse with the ‘night service.’

Martel sighed as he went to the door till the others he was going to leave as he didn’t want to remove Laelynn from his bed. Additionally, because he wanted to practice with Ki, it would probably be better he wasn’t anywhere near them, so it wasn’t much of a concession.

Martel opened the door only to have a terra-cotta haired woman fall into his arms. Hestia, who had pressed her ear against the door, had lost her balance, which resulted in a compromising encounter. Martel hadn’t even noticed her presence, but he did notice the soft feeling in his hand. He quickly removed his hand and helped her up. “Sorry, it was unintentional,” Martel said earnestly.

Hestia momentarily had an extremely embarrassed expression on her face before it returned to stoic. Even with this, the slight blush on her cheeks gave light to the current turmoil and embarrassment she felt. “No, Sir, I’m sorry. It was my fault.”

Martel nodded. “Laelynn had a panic attack and passed out, so I gave her my bed.”

Hestia could help but feel slight relief that nothing happened, but not even she realized it. “If sir has the need, you are welcome to take my bed.” She said before she visually flinched as what she meant could be misunderstood. Given that she and Laelynn were going to share a bed, there was enough room for two people.

“That’s all right. There’s something I want to take care of anyway, so I’ll step out for a while. Don’t wait up for me. I’ll grab a sleeping bag later.”

“Sir, I can sleep in a sleeping bag instead.”

“Thank you, but I don’t think I can sleep well if it means forcing you to sleep on the ground. Now, go to sleep and make sure the others do as well. We are going to get an early start in the morning.”

“Yes, sir.”

Martel exited the inn and teleported to one of his bases once he was hidden away. After he was settled in, he began to think about his training. Ever since he had slain Nidhogg, he had been preoccupied with Angelica’s appearance, setting up operations on Earth, consummating the relationship between himself and his wives. This, coupled with the fact that most of his strength was at a bottleneck, meant that he didn’t spend much time focusing on it. However, with the help of his Soul Bodies, he had much more time now. The System was a guaranteed way to improve his strength, but he did not want to hinder other potential paths. As such, his first thought was to improve his Ki.

He was currently Peak Rank 10 Ki. Ki was stored in a core within the heart, which exited the core in a flame-like shape. Peak Rank 10 Ki was theoretically the largest as this flame cannot grow any larger without exiting the heart. Strangely enough, Ki could pass through the inner area of the heart, but could not pass through the exterior. Trying to do so would bring incredible pain because the heart would burst. He knew from his research that attempting to increase his Ki in this manner would only lead to death. However, Martel knew that there was a Rank 11 Ki. After Rank 10, every time the strength of Ki doubled, it would increase in rank, but he did not have any idea how to start.

At a loss, he decided to try to observe his Ki Core with his soul, an ability he had gained with the help of Artoria, one of the souls dwelling within him. With his soul, he sensed the inside of his body managed to locate his Ki core. After observing it for a short while, he finally decided to go inside. The inside of the Ki Core was underwhelming as it was merely a mass of Ki. However, within the massive blue, Martel noticed a red and black source of color. After some observation, Martel realized that these two colors were the source of his ability to change his Ki attribute, so he decided to call these the Ki Attribute Source. Because Martel could already access Fire Ki, he decided to turn his attention to the Destruction Ki.

After almost an hour, Martel was finally able to utilize Destruction Ki. He noticed that this Ki had an extraordinary offensive ability but somewhat lacked in the defensive department. It could corrode incoming attacks but was less effective in blocking then even basic Ki. Happy with his harvest, Martel turned his attention to the Fire Source for study. After observing it for a short time, he noticed something he would never have expected. Within this source was a soul core. After thinking about it, he realized this was probably the leftover soul of Fafnir, the Dragon he killed and absorbed to obtain Fire Ki. Perhaps, due to the absorption process or the power of destruction that originally corrupted it, little was left of Fafnir’s consciousness except for the most primal instinct.

After being surprised, Martel fell into contemplation before he came up with a crazy idea. Could this soul core be used as something similar to a Ki Core? After studying the two, he couldn’t tell the difference. He believed it would work as Soul Cores become Mana Crystals before eventually turning into Energy Crystals. The latter could hold any type of energy. He tried to put standard Ki within the soul core but found massive resistance to the point where he was worried the soul core would break. Unperturbed by this failure, he continued to experiment by utilizing his Fire Ki. This time, he was surprised to find it successful. He could only attribute this to the fact that the soul was extremely compatible with fire due to the abilities the owner previously had. He tried to put some Ki within it but found that the Ki would dissipate relatively quickly, which left it pointless.

Disappointed by yet another setback, Martel began to fall to contemplation again. Martel could think of getting the soul to hold onto the Ki willingly. However, he had no way of communicating with this soul, nor did he believe the soul had the sentience required to hold Ki consciously. However, if the Ki were to take the shape of something the soul was subconsciously familiar with, perhaps it would be different.

When this thought came to mind, Martel once again injected his Fire Ki within the Soul Core. However, this time, he decided to shape it as his Manifestation. He found the process to be extremely smooth until it formed the complete shape. All of a sudden, his Ki started being siphoned at an extremely high rate. If not because he already reached Peak Rank 10 Ki, he was afraid he would’ve been sucked dry. Under his Ki’s baptism, the Dragon Manifestation became more solid until it was nearly wholly lifelike before it stopped absorbing.

Martel felt an incredible connection between himself and the Ki Dragon. The soul was independent, but he felt as if he could control it completely if he wanted. This meant it could also act somewhat autonomously to basic commands. He brought the Ki Dragon out of his body, and it appeared next to him. He tried to control it and became ecstatic. The Soul Core acted as an independent Ki Core, which meant that it could easily separate himself. However, Ki would be lost in the process like a battle. This would result in a loss of battle power unless Martel replenished it. However, it was also the equivalent of having an additional Rank Ten Ki user in the battle for a short time. Additionally, as Martel was not impeded, he could even create another Ki Dragon Manifestation with his own Ki.

Martel took back the Fire Ki Dragon, which he distinguished as Fafnir, and observed it for a short time with his Ki core. The amount of Ki it had used was slowly being replenished automatically with the extra Ki that Martel regenerated and wasted. Martel was completely delighted by this discovery as he glanced over to the destruction source. Just when he thought it was a pity that he did not have another soul he could utilize, he suddenly did a double-take. A soul core in a similar state to the fire one was now present. After confirming it was there, he suddenly became ecstatic before turning confused. He wasn’t sure how he could’ve missed it, but it was there now.

Slightly perturbed, but unwilling to look a gift horse in the mouth, Martel decided to try and do the same thing. He used his normal Ki and Fire Ki, but both were rejected. Additionally, when he tried to use Fire Ki, it adversely affected Fafnir, which meant he could probably only have one Independent Manifestation per source. It wasn’t until he used his Destruction Ki that he began to have success. He tried to include some of his other manifestations, but none took.

Given that Nidhogg was the only possibility for the soul core’s origin, he decided to try the Ki Dragon manifestation again. Once it took basic shape, the same thing happened again, but Martel noticed a striking difference in appearance. While the Fire Ki Dragon was of the same appearance as Fafnir, this Destruction Ki Dragon was the same as Nidhogg. After some careful observation, he was fully convinced that both of these souls contained no traces of their previous personalities and had become mediums for him to control.

Martel was happy with this result. Although the direction of strength wasn’t the same as what he had heard about, his strength had improved. Additionally, he could theoretically create a separate manifestation so long as he had a new Ki Attribute Source and an appropriate soul core. With his devouring ability, he believed it to be fully possible. Perhaps he pioneered an entirely new way to utilize Ki, something unique to him and his circumstances. Content in this knowledge, Martel teleported back to the inn and went to sleep as tomorrow would be an early morning.

End of Day 81

With a flash of purple, Martel appeared within the neighboring kingdom of Wessex. Specifically, he was in the Duchy of Somerset, Hestia’s home territory. The sun hadn’t even begun to peek over the horizon, which was preferable to Martel. His purpose was to deliver Hestia’s letters and check on her parents’ situation. With a thought, he blended with the darkness and made his way to the castle that was Hestia’s home.

Martel found Hestia’s father’s study without much difficulty and left the letter in plain sight. Next, with the help of his SRIN, he located Hestia’s mother. Traveling amongst the shadows, he easily entered.

Because Hestia’s mother was extremely sick, she was sleeping alone with the maid being in the adjacent room if she needed help and to check on her. Martel immediately scanned her with his eyes and his Soul Armament’ Drone.’ He was quite surprised at what he saw as she was suffering from multiple curses. They were relatively weak, but they would take an extremely long time to dissipate. What lacked in power the caster had decided to make up for in quantity. The benefit of this was that it seemed as though it was a common illness and not a curse. The demerit was relatively easy to dispel, only requiring multiple dispels from even a basic mage.

Just as Martel was about to begin treating Hestia’s mother, her eyes suddenly opened to look at the shadowy figure next to her. “Are you the goddess of death?” She asked calmly despite the nature of her question.

“I think she would be rather angry at me if I said so.”

Hestia’s mother was a little surprised that a male voice had replied. “Are you here to end my suffering?”

“Not in the way you’re implying,” Martel replied as he began to cast multiple Dispel Curse. After giving her another thorough check and was assured nothing else was wrong with her, he helped her drink a potion to aid in her recovery. “I was never here.” He said.

Hestia’s mother nodded, and that was the last she remembered of their encounter as Martel cast a Sleep Curse on her. He left Hestia’s letter to her mother in her arms before fast traveling back to the inn.

...

With a yawn, Kogane stretched as the carriage made its way out of the city. It was unusual for the spoiled Duchess, who was never much of a morning person, to be up this early. If not for the delicious, warm, boxed breakfast in front of her, she may have gone back to sleep. Even though Martel could quickly travel himself and his party to the desired locations, he decided against this as the journey would be a training process and help breed camaraderie.

For the several hours of travel, the group continued their training, particularly with Ki as it was simple to train in the carriage. Eventually, a group came to a forest.

“Sir, what are we doing at Fallen Hero Forest?” Hestia asked.

“Mostly training for everyone,” Martel replied as he addressed the whole group. “There are two groups of bandits within this forest. Your job is to wipe them out and deal with any other dangers that this forest holds. Additionally, I will not participate in the fighting. All I will do is give you a general direction to search. Do I make myself clear?”

Everyone nodded, couldn’t help but have a look of concern on their faces. Besides the fact that Martel wouldn’t be participating, they were also reduced back to Level 0.

Martel wasn’t too worried. With the help of his SRIN, he could monitor everything adequately and save them if anything went wrong. “Hestia, your job should go without saying. You’ll be attracting the enemies’ attention, especially away from anyone else. However, you should not allow yourself to get swarmed or take overly protect others.

“Laelynn, your primary job is to control the enemies. If Hestia starts to be overwhelmed, or you have nothing better to do, you should try and control as many people as you can with magic. Remember you’re Soul Armaments ability. Within the forest, you are extremely powerful, and you can use the terrain to your advantage.

“Cali and Crystal have similar roles. Your job is to take care of enemies that are distracted by Hestia or controlled by Laelynn. You two need to be mobile, observant, and commutative. Crystal should focus on taking out targets that are slower and have a stronger defense. Cali should focus on taking out faster enemies with a weaker defense.

“Kogane, your role is going to be one of the most diverse and most pivotal. Your Soul Armament is extremely useful for reconnaissance both before and during the fight. Your primary mission will be defined and take out any ranged enemies that may appear. If none are present, you need to support everyone else as necessary.” Martel continued.

Kogane would become a pivotal role. Both the Kitsune and nine-tailed fox races had unique magic called Foxfire. Foxfire was unique magic because it could be cast instantly and take on whatever the caster’s inherent element was. Typically, they would only have one element, but Kogane was unique because she had multiple. As such, her Foxfire was extremely robust. Because Foxfire was always in the form of a projectile flame regardless of the element used, its ranged capabilities were extremely high, and whichever element was used would have additional side effects. For example, a fire could cause burns, while electricity could paralyze. This made her extraordinarily robust and deadly on the battlefield.

“Does everybody understand their basic roles?” Martel asked.

“Everyone nodded.

“Good, then let’s begin.”

At first, everyone was moving somewhat clunky before they eventually maneuvered in a basic formation. Kogane’s Nine-Tailed Fox Soul Armament was consistently providing a lookout for the group would be more inconspicuous than anyone of the party. Given her importance, Kogane was also the only one who could arbitrarily use Mana potions, which Martel provided in bulk thanks to his apothecary grinding.

Hestia was having some trouble in her heavy armor maneuvering the terrain, but the combination of her Ki and Laelynn manipulating the surrounding vegetation didn’t hinder them for long.

Eventually, they approached the first bandit hideout. Thanks to Kogane’s Nine-Tailed Fox, they were able to identify the terrain and create an effective trap quickly. Kogane’s mischievous side was in full display as she came up with the plan to possess one of the bandits and lead others out. The result was only a massacre. Even though there were a few levels difference between them, Martel’s basic training and battle instructions provided far more potent than anyone in the group could’ve expected.

The group pulled a similar stunt towards the bandits’ cave entrance and successfully wiped out the remaining bandits. However, they were completely unaware that one of the remaining bandits left through a hidden exit, which they did not find when they swept the location. Naturally, this bandit did not escape Martel’s knowledge, but he remained silent. Seeing the bandit’s direction, Martel knew that things would not be as easy the next time around.

After a short celebration, the party continued their course to the next band camp. However, this time, there was one noticeable difference. Their confidence had increased, bordering on arrogance. Martel could tell that Kogane was a little lax in her reconnaissance. Instead of a thorough investigation, she opted for more of a straight line. As such, she didn’t realize when twelve bandits had surrounded them. Eight of the bandits, armed with melee weapons, rushed out of their hiding spot and headed straight for the middle of the party behind Hestia.

“Hey bastard, come get me!” Hestia suddenly shouted as she used her Taunt Talent. However, in her panic, she used her Taunt against all of them who promptly rushed her. It was obvious she was going to be overwhelmed, which caused almost everyone to panic.

Kogane immediately started to attack one of the eight bandits instead of looking for additional enemies. Cali and Crystal also began to attack the bandits. Unfortunately, they could not do so effectively in the short term as the bandits were running away towards Hestia. Laelynn became casting magic to control the situation, but this only caused a response from the remaining bandits who were equipped with bows. Because of a mages’ overall distracted power and their typical lack of armor, it was a common tactic to utilize archers against them.

Laelynn froze as she suddenly noticed four arrows heading towards her. Perhaps if there was only one, and she was not caught by surprise, she could dodge. However, being caught off guard and attacked by for once made her freeze up. Just when she was about to despair, a flash of gold and black intercepted the arrows as Martel’s shield and Cali’s thrown short sword intercepted the arrows.

Martel glanced at Cali with some surprise as she had reacted nearly as fast as he did. The next moment, he sent two coins straight to the heads of two of the archers and a mana arrow through the remaining two. As per his new habit, he immediately checked the Log and noticed something interesting. He received more XP for the coin kills than the mana arrow kills. Since XP generated was based on the stat difference, the stats used also affected it. Purely stat-wise, his magic was significantly higher than strength and dexterity, which was only as powerful thanks to his Ki, which was not reflected in stats.

Martel did nothing as the rest of the party finished off the remaining bandits. No one spoke as a heavy and depressing aura pushed down upon everyone. It didn’t take someone with a genius IQ to see that Martel was unhappy and disappointed with the party’s performance.

The party remained in silence as they cleaned up the remaining bandits’ hideout. They eventually made their way to a small clearing where several were surprised to find an already waiting Terra. Terra hadn’t followed before due to the impracticality of bringing the carriage through most of the forest.

Terra had been led by one of the Nanas as it was now possible to mass-produce teleportation engravings thanks to the existence of Albionian Magic and Energy Crystals. Thanks to the AI, it was already theoretically possible to create a teleportation engraving for any location visited by the SRIN.

Martel glanced over the girls once they arrived at their soon-to-be campsite. At this point, the party had traveled through what was considered the ‘safe zone ‘of Fallen Hero Forest. At this point, there were two paths they could take. The first was to go deeper into Fallen Hero Forest, which Martel wanted to avoid as no one had received a single level up yet. The other option was to continue along the coast, which left them a half day’s journey to exit the forest. However, from the maps obtained for the bandits, they also avoided this area for unknown reasons. Brushing the thoughts of tomorrow out of his mind, Martel cast a Mana Barrier utilizing an energy crystal with a Sylvan battery to keep it powered.

Upon seeing Martel cast the barrier, everyone slowly and wordlessly began to take off their primary equipment, leaving only their unintrusive secondary in case of an emergency. This included Martel, who was wearing very simplistic breastplate armor. As he was one of the first done, he decided to try a little experiment. Placing his hand on the ground, he focused his mana and ran into the Earth as he managed the shape of a bench. The exact process was completed, and it also expended a lot of mana, but he did manage to create a crude branch that he sat on.

After Martel settled, he motioned for the girls to come over, which they did with their heads down, excluding Cali.

“Do you know why I’m disappointed,” Martel said with a frown and a sigh.

“Because… Because we got ambushed?” Hestia asked tentatively.

“Yes, but that was only the start. Kogane, what did you do wrong?”

Kogane tentatively moved up. “I got arrogant and looked down on the other bandits.”

“And?”

“I got lazy in my scouting, and I didn’t check to see if there any ranged enemies around when we were ambushed, which almost got Laelynn hurt.”

Martel nodded and quickly hid the smile that had begun to appear on his lips. The fact that Kogane was completely aware of this meant that she could reflect and learn from it. “Well, I’m glad you understand that, and I hope you will not make a similar mistake in the future. However, that does not mean that you will escape your punishment.” He said as he motioned her over.

Kogane tentatively made her way over to him, and she was unsure what he intended to do. However, she couldn’t react fast enough as Martel quickly picked her up, put her over his lap, and spanked her thrice before setting her back down. She rubbed her, but she looked back over to him with teary eyes that expressed her feeling of being wronged.

“Did… Did you spank a Duchess?” Hestia asked absentmindedly, as all the other girls, except Cali, were dumbfounded.

[I spanked an Empress before, though.] Martel retorted internally. “Hestia, do you know what you did wrong?”

Hestia stepped back in a slight panic.

“Hestia?” Martel repeated authoritatively.

Hestia flinched before she looked down to think. “I used my Taunt inefficiently.”

Martel nodded. “That you did. I know you still need some training, but you can target specific enemies. What you should’ve done was used Taunt at the stronger enemies to let Cali and Crystal take out the weaker ones on their own so that you won’t get swarmed. Additionally, you panicked and did not apply a Mana Barrier. You should have done that immediately after you used Taunt.”

“I understand,” Hestia replied with a nod.

“It’s good that you understand. Just as you should also understand, you will still be punished.”

“Sir?” Hestia asked in a slight panic.

“I have to remain impartial as the party leader when I administer rewards and punishments. We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”

Hestia began to blush furiously as she tentatively made her way to him. Once in arms reach, she turned around and tensed up. She was trying to find a compromise, but how could Martel let her off easily? With a quick pull over his lap, he gave her a nice solid spank before he brought her back up again.

Hestia was frozen from shock for several seconds. Her typically stoic face went through a myriad of emotions; anger, surprise, embarrassment, excitement, and confusion. She glanced back over at Martel before she quickly walked away to finish making the tent, with Kogane hot on her tail as she too wished to forget what had just happened.

Martel pretended to ignore them as he glanced at Laelynn. “Do you know what you did wrong?”

“I… I don’t know,” Laelynn dejectedly replied.

“When you saw enemies, you immediately panicked and started casting, making yourself a big target. Especially because we have such a good tank, your priority should have been to get yourself into the cover of natural terrain or your earth magic. Once you are protected, you can protect everyone else because you will be controlling the battlefield. You understand?”

“Yes.”

“Good, come here.”

Laelynn nodded and obediently walked over.

Unlike with a surprise attack, Martel instead gently took her hand, which he could tell was shaking. The reason why he addressed Laelynn now was that he had already ‘punished’ the other two, so Laelynn would know what it entailed. He was using this as an opportunity to try to get her over her fear. The moment she flinched from the contact, quickly brought her across his lap and spanked her. Unlike the other two, he didn’t set her back up but set her up on his lap as he gently stroked her hair and whispered in her ear. “Laelynn, you did well, were very useful, and I know next time you’ll do even better.”

Laelynn had begun to shake even more so, but, at Martel’s words, she stopped shaking and practically melted into his arms like butter. “I was useful?”

“Yes, you were,” Martel said as he continued to pet her. “Go and help the others construct the tent.”

“Okay.” She happily replied as she skipped over towards Hestia and Kogane.

“Crystal?”

“Yes.” Crystal replied, obviously nervous.

“You did your job, no more, no less. That is all.”

Crystal gave a deep exhale. “I understand.” She replied before she quickly went off to help with the tent as if she was afraid he would change his mind, which left only Cali.

“Cali, you reacted surprisingly well and protected Laelynn. So, you should get a reward. Is there anything you want?”

“Spanking.” She replied instantaneously.

Martel facepalmed as he looked towards the other girls. “… Seeing as that was the punishment, if you’re serious, later in private.” He replied once he confirmed that the other girls didn’t hear her.

A rare smile briefly flashed across Cali’s face as she quickly went off to help with the tent.

…

After about fifteen minutes, the tent was finally set. The girls all shared one large tent, which acted as a form of protection against nightly assassination and created camaraderie between the girls while Martel would use the wagon. Besides that, each of the girls had a private space to take care of their equipment and gear. Martel decided to use this time to get to know his new companions better.

Martel made his way over to Hestia, who was currently maintaining her armor. Although Crystal was currently doing the same with the party’s armor, Hestia insisted that she maintained hers first before Crystal also checked it. However, this decision was not paranoia on Hestia’s part, but it was a concern that could save her life. Especially at the early levels, there was a significant disparity in strength. Merely going to Level 1 could increase a person’s strength to over four times, which only diminished as levels increased. As such, equipment was a crucial equalizer.

To put it in perspective, most of the bandits that they fought were already at Level 1 even though the group itself was all Level 0. While the exact disparity varied as the party was talented with higher than average stats, the bandit still was at least twice as strong on average compared to the party. However, this gap was narrowed due to the party composition and equipment. Compared to the bandits’ tattered broken down equipment, the new and maintained armor of the party played a role. The equipment’s role was especially true for Hestia, who heavily relied upon it, which explained her slight obsession with insuring was in good condition. If her armor broke down in the middle of a fight, it would be detrimental not only to herself but to the entire party.

“Would you like a hand?” Martel asked.

“You can go back over the armor I’ve already checked,” Hestia replied absentmindedly.

Martel nodded and went over the armor.

After a short time, Hestia had finished her maintenance, and Martel noticed she occasionally glanced in his direction with a hint of embarrassment.

“Is everything alright, Hestia?” Martel asked.

“Um? Yes, everything’s fine.” She replied with a slight flinch.

“Well, that’s good. Seeing as you were done with the equipment maintenance, we should get onto the personal maintenance.”

“Personal maintenance?”

Martel nodded as he withdrew a large already open tent with a massage/chiropractor chair from his Inventory.

“I’ll go take your equipment over to Crystal while you get changed into these.” He said as he handed her a pair of shorts and a hospital gown. “By the way, the opening is in the back.” He continued before he left the confounded Hestia to take her armor to Crystal and distribute the gowns.

“Hestia, are you ready?” Martel asked after he had finished.

Hestia tentatively peeked her head out of the tent flap. “Sir, is this necessary?” She asked, slightly embarrassed.

Martel tilted his head. “Is something wrong? You shouldn’t have any prejudices against massages or revealing your back. Is something bothering you?”

“No… No, Sir. Nevermind.” Hestia tentatively replied before she went back into the tent.

Martel briefly cracked a smile as he entered the tent, where he found Hestia awkwardly twiddling with her hair. “Given you use heavy armor, your physical well-being is very important, so I want to make sure you’re in good shape. Will have you start by lying face down on the table, please.”

Hestia hesitated for a moment before she acquiesced.

Once she had laid down, Martel noticed the possible reason for her hesitation. She had a single scar across her back. “Hestia, does this scar bother you?”

“A little. Scars aren’t something considered appropriate for a lady, especially a noble one. What’s worse, as a fighter, a scar on the back is demeaning.”

“How did you get it?”

“When I was trying to figure out how I would fight, I initially settled for a basic swordsman, which meant I was wearing light armor. One of my first expeditions was within the Labyrinth to obtain the False Mana Crystals to help my family. Unfortunately, we ran into a horde. While the average level of my party was higher than the enemy’s, there were too many. My HP eventually went negative, and I took one more blow. The fight lasted for a short time after. In the excitement, I had forgotten I was injured. Once healing magic was eventually cast on me, my wound had already begun to heal, which caused the healing magic to accelerate the process resulting in the scar. That was one of the reasons why I decided to wear heavy armor.”

“I see. Would you like me to remove your scar?”

“Really!?!” Hestia suddenly exclaimed as she righted herself.

“I’ll take that as a yes then. Lay back down.”

Hestia quickly obeyed, and Martel got to work. The first thing he did was to check how Lesser Restoration would affect her body. On top of the scar, she had other scar tissue on her muscles along some of them being tight. As he expected, the restoration did nothing. Moving on, he used destruction magic to destroy the scar on her back.

Interestingly, her HP spent as a direct result healed her back flawlessly. Martel surmised that the reason this occurred this time was that he had instantaneously destroyed all of the scar tissue. Her body had yet to heal on its own compared to how she initially got the scar.

“Are you okay?” Martel asked as it would have been a little painful.

“Yes,” Hestia answered with a slight hiss.

Martel withdrew a couple of handheld mirrors in position so she could see her own back. “Well, that should be the most painful part of this treatment, take a look.”

Hestia glanced to his side and saw her back through the mirrors. She slightly teared up who quickly buried her head down in the chair so he couldn’t see. “Thank you.” She said softly.

“Of course. Now, I’m going to focus on correcting your body. It will be a little painful, but with a little magic, it will go well.”

As the others were making themselves busy around the camp, they would occasionally glance towards the tent due to the occasional suggestive moans and squeals could be heard.

As for Hestia, she was slightly panting with a red face, though it could not be easily seen hidden in the table. Martel went all out to release the tension in her muscles and correct her skeletal structure. With the help of magic to correct, fortify, and heal her body, it was extremely effective compared to typical therapy without any lasting side effects.

“How do you feel?” Martel asked after he finished and helped her stand up.

“I feel… I feel amazingly better.” Hestia said with some shock.

“Well, I’ll do occasional maintenance. Tell me if something feels off, and I’ll check it to ensure you stay in peak physical condition.”

“So, this will not be a daily thing?” Hestia asked with slight disappointment.

Martel was surprised for a moment and couldn’t help but chuckle once he recovered. “If circumstances allow, I would mind giving a quick checkup every night.”

“Sir doesn’t have to,” Hestia replied. She was lightly flustered as the relaxation and pleasure she received made her long for more.

“I may not go all out like this, but a quick massage won’t be a problem,” Martel replied as he began to exit the tent. “Go ahead and get changed back into your clothing.”

As soon as Martel said that, he quickly went around the corner of the tent. He grabbed a little nine-tailed fox that was hiding there by the scruff of the neck with a swift motion. “Kogane, your next,” Martel said with a smile as he spoke to the fox, Kogane’s soul armament. He had noticed once Hestia started to express her appreciation for his care vocally. The little fox showed a slightly bashful expression before it began to dissipate.

A short time later, Hestia quickly retreated from the tent to her part of the camp, avoiding Martel due to her embarrassment. Right after she did so, Kogane, who had changed into a hospital gown in the carriage, came over to him. Unlike the typical energy which she showed when she jumped into his arms, she appeared a bit more timid than usual as he walked up next to him. As he noticed her mood, Martel surprised her by sweeping her up into a Princess carry and bringing her out to the tent.

“Are you all right, Kogane?”

“Yes.” She replied, still slightly down. “I’m just feeling bad about my performance today.”

“Well, it’s long as you learn from this experience, then it would be a good one. Everyone makes mistakes, but only those who did learn from them make another. Now, get on the table.”

Kogane seemed a little relieved by his consoling and obediently got on the table. Kogane’s condition was about the same as Hestia’s in general. She didn’t have the burden of wearing heavy armor, but her recent experience had quite adversely affected her body. Even though her muscle mass was back, that didn’t mean that she would be in good condition. Kogane giggled as she especially enjoyed the foreign sensation of her bones cracking from Martel’s adjustments. Content that Kogane was now in better physical and mental condition, Martel sent her away to be replaced by a beaming Laelynn.

“Laelynn, do you know what we are going to be doing?” Martel asked her.

“Yes, I heard from Hestia.”

“Do you think you’ll be alright if I touch your body?”

“Of course. After all, my body belongs to Master.”

Martel quickly covered his nose as he felt he might break out and nosebleed from the suggestive statement delivered by the pure and cheerful Laelynn. “Lay down on your back first.”

Laelynn nodded and got on the table.

Martel gently cupped her head in his hands and immediately felt her tremble. “Laelynn, are you okay?”

“Yes, M-Master, I’m a-alright.” She replied with an ever slight stutter.

Martel sighed. “Laelynn, look into my eyes.” He said, and she obliged, just before he cast the Blessing, Calm, on her.

The Blessing and Curse Spells were both relatively unique as they had an extensive repertoire of uses. Naturally, it wasn’t so simple as willing for a specific effect. At least one line of the spell would be slightly different, and mana’s exact usage would also change. Naturally, this wasn’t a problem for Martel with his memory.

Laelynn, who had abruptly stopped shaking, maintained her gaze at Martel. “Master, you have beautiful eyes.”

“Not as beautiful as yours.”

Laelynn averted her gaze with a slight blush, but her smile betrayed her happiness.

Martel managed to adjust Laelynn without having any more problems. At least for the short term with him, she wouldn’t have a panic attack. Her body condition was somewhat unique, as living with her past injuries only exacerbated its poor conditions. Thankfully, with his knowledge, Ki, and magic, Martel managed to get her in good condition.

“Master, touch me more,” Laelynn said in a cheery voice, enjoying the simple contact.

“I’m already done, so we need to give Crystal a turn.” He replied, knowing that she was thoroughly enjoying his treatment.

Laelynn pouted but obediently exited the tent. Martel smiled and was relieved upon seeing her reaction. He couldn’t imagine the life she lived growing up with that curse and the amount of persecution she went through. As he continued to think about how to help Laelynn’s mentality, Crystal showed up. For some reason, she seemed even more embarrassed than Hestia as she walked up next to the table. She became even more embarrassed once Martel picked her up and placed her on the table.

“Why did you do that? I’m not a child.” She replied in a fluster.

“You’re welcome,” Martel replied, rolling his eyes. “Just lay down on your belly.”

Crystal obliged, with a slight grumble.

Martel began checking over her body and found her muscles were actually in terrible shape. “Were going to have to figure out a new workstation for you,” Martel said as he realized that her smithing was most likely what caused it.

Crystal could only groan in response as he was quite relentless with her muscles.

Once Martel was done with the intensive care, he decided to chat with Crystal. He knew next to nothing of the dwarves as Shiba never interacted with them, other than their ale, and was curious. “Is your appearance typical of a dwarf?”

Crystal visibly flinched. “W-W-What you t-talking about?” She asked in an embarrassed fluster.

“Well, from my world, female dwarves were often stereotyped as having beards.” Martel, who asked the question innocently, continued.

“Oh, well, that’s kind of true. While not all or much, most female dwarves do have beards.”

“Really? Then why don’t you? Not that I’m complaining.”

Crystal flinched at his clarification but continued. “In my case, it’s because I have the hero’s bloodline. Humans are somewhat unique as they are a blank slate when procreating with another humanoid species. In other words, if a human and elf procreate, the resulting child will be an elf. However, a bloodline with multiple human ancestries is more likely to create variable traits, like females lacking facial hair for dwarves. The only exception is those who procreate with a hero, which does not seem to require multiple human ancestors to have this trait.”

“I see.”

“Do… Do you think I’m attractive?”

Martel was slightly taken aback by her question, but he still replied, “Yes.”

Crystal’s face began to blush visibly. “Then is what Cali said true? About your type.”

“What?” Martel replied, confused.

“She said… She said you liked brunette, big-breasted, legal lolis.” With an expression that she would die from embarrassment just saying it.

“What!?!”/[What!?!] Martel and Shield Goddess both shouted at the same time.

Martel’s eyebrow twitched. “Well, I don’t know about that, but I do know that we are now done with your treatment. Could you go get Cali, please?” He asked, smiling, but his eyes weren’t smiling.

“Okay.” Crystal replied as she quickly made herself scarce.

Shortly after, Cali entered the tent and her typical garb. “My turn?” She asked innocently.

Martel’s eyebrow twitched as he was aware she was feigning ignorance. “Just what do you think you’re filling our companions’ heads with?”

Cali tilted her head. “The truth?”

Martel’s forehead veins bulged. “Cali,” Martel said threateningly.

Cali pointed at him. “Angry from shame.”

Martel took a deep breath as his face turned into a smile, though his eyes weren’t smiling. “That reminds me, I still have yet to give you your ‘reward,’ don’t I.”

Now it was Cali’s turn to visibly finish as she began to turn out but the tent. “That’s okay, I-”

“I insist.”

*smack*

...

A short time later, the party was eating the soup that Hestia had wonderfully made even given their current circumstances. Laelynn was enjoying it without a care in the world. Hestia and Crystal were eating in silence. The ever slight blush on the cheeks betrayed their embarrassment from both the ‘punishment’ and the ‘personal maintenance.’ Cali was sitting on Martel’s lap, while Kogane was glancing at the two of them with a slightly envious look on her face.

Martel cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. “I want to talk to all of you, about the ‘punishment.’”

At his words, the girls, excluding Cali, visually blushed.

Seemingly unaware of the changes, Martel continued, “As for the reason why decide for the punishment to be a spanking-”

“Pervert.” Cali immediately interjected, which prompted Martel to karate chop her head.

“As I was saying, the reason I decided on spanking is that it hurts me as much as it hurts you. I don’t enjoy punishing you; I only want to make sure everyone can fight to the best of their abilities.”

The girls all nodded, still a little embarrassed, but were a little more understanding.

“Tell that to my sisters,” Cali whispered so that only Martel could hear, as she was trying to hide a smile.

This comment prompted Martel to give her a pinch, which made her squirm on his lap, which Hestia noted. “Cali, it isn’t proper for a young lady to sit on a man’s lap.”

Cali seemed slightly offended that someone was trying to take her away from her sacred ground. In response, she moved to a more intimate position with Martel. “My spot.” She replied obstinately.

“Big sis, I want to sit on Papa’s lap too.”

“Can’t.”

“Why can you, but not me?”

“Because I’m going to have his baby.”

"""[What!]""" The girls all exclaimed.

“Then… Then, I’ll have his baby too!” Kogane suddenly shouted.

The other girls, who appeared a bit shell shocked, said nothing, while Cali did something that even Martel didn’t expect. She sat on one of his legs, spread them apart, and motioned to Kogane, who quickly sat adjacent to her.

Now, Martel found himself with two lolis sitting on his lap.

“Papa, can’t I?” Kogane asked with a cute expression as if she couldn’t bear his refusal.

Martel suddenly found himself slightly conflicted. He had considered her to be more of a niece then someone of the opposite gender. With some hesitation, he finally responded, “We’ll talk about it if you still want to after you grow up.”

A bright smile appeared on Kogane’s face that she left happily and hugged him, while Cali had an expression of ‘praise me’ on her face.

[What’s up with loli’s wanting to have my kids?] “Why don’t you go and help the others clean up?”

The two of them nodded and began to help Hestia and Crystal cleanup. Laelynn wasn’t helping as she had quietly come up next to Martel. “Master.” She said softly, seemingly a little embarrassed, which Martel noticed was unusual for her.

“Yes?” Martel replied.

Laelynn didn’t reply as she hesitated for a second before she quickly also set down his lap. She glanced at him bashfully as her face took on a bright shade of red before she got up and ran back into the tent with her hands covering her face.

Martel was dumbfounded for a moment before he realized what had just happened. He wanted to facepalm as he had assumed that, due to Laelynn’s cheerfulness of personality, she would be ignorant about most things of that nature. However, after thinking about it, as a slave, she would have had a basic introduction to her expected duties, including that aspect. Upon that realization, and the context of the situation, she had just expressed her own desire to have his kids! [Isn’t this a little too fast? It’s only been a couple of days! The adventure has only just begun!]

End of Day 82