A few days had passed since the divorce. I lived in the mansion at that time, leaving the one unfinished business to Emilia and Eliza, who happily joined after she was awake.
After we returned to the mansion that day, we had a small tea party in the garden, as Vivian had promised. However, the treat she said was delicious was still a level below what Milea could make, but of course, I didn't say anything about that as it was still delicious.
In those last few days, Vivian would always watch her daughter's magic training and always had some tea after they finished. It was at that time Eliza persuaded her Mama to live with her in Academy City, but that was still a bit hard.
That lasted for 3 days as we waited for Sandra and Jane to arrive. Vivian finally decided to accept Eliza's persuasion on the fifth day after something happened.
Rowen Rose, who had never returned since we arrived, was sentenced as a Sinner and would be jailed in the church by the veteran priest in Rose Barony.
The news shocked the civilians and even Vivian, but the latter party accepted it almost immediately because she had seen something that Linda recorded. Thanks to that, Vivian finally accepted the offer to move to Academy City with her daughter.
That priest moved exactly like I requested. I should bring him some gifts later.
Also, Vivian actually punished the maid for making such a dangerous move, but it wasn't too harsh to the point it made her quit.
I also developed my relationship with Eliza at night. She... became more honest and even invited me when I was about to reward Emilia. Though my childhood friend was still a bit reserved about doing a threesome, she was willing to wait until I was done with Emilia's reward.
As for Vivian, I felt like our distance was also getting closer, especially after Eliza told her mother she was in a relationship with me. The older woman began to call me affectionately, just like how she acted with Eliza.
Beatrice also reported the progress in Border City to me while looking like a little child. On the seventh day, I allowed her to orgasm once and let her regain her original form because there was a need to introduce her as the new Succubi leader in the Border City, replacing Melissa.
And I also asked her to take care of Ria, the wolf girl, as I couldn't keep her hidden any longer even with Emilia's help. That girl was really fierce and wanted to bite me anytime she got the chance. So I handed her back to Beatrice for now, asking the Succubus to send her to Academy City soon.
That was unexpected, but good work from her nonetheless. I could count on her as long as I kept a tight leash on her neck.
And also, I wanted to return to Academy City as fast as possible because I wanted to make sure Garcia wasn't consumed by her lust and the knight squad was doing well. So we decided we would go back as soon as Sandra and Jane arrived.
Then on the eighth day after I arrived, they arrived.
I decided to meet them first as the others still needed something to prepare before going on a trip. Girls took a long time to prepare, after all.
"Kyuu!!"
Astro immediately jumped at me from the top of the horse when he saw me in front of the mansion's gate. The little tiger was excited and remembered me as his master, happy to be reunited with me.
"Hahaha, good to see you too, Astro."
"Kyu~"
He licked my cheek as he landed on my shoulder. It felt ticklish, but I ignored Astro for now and looked at Sandra and Jane. They looked rather… dirty and haggard from their journey. In short, they smelt and looked bad.
Even Sandra's white hair wasn't shining anymore and was covered in dust and dirt. Her clothes and boots got a patch of dry mud here and there, and the horses didn't look beautiful anymore.
They had probably showered in the city when they stopped, but they had no change of clothes. It was natural for them to get dirty then.
So I decided to clean them.
"<Purification>."
Golden lights covered their bodies, and the filth in their bodies was washed clean. Sandra looked at what happened with pleasant surprise, and the horse neighed.
Jane, however, had a bigger reaction than the Dark Elf.
"W-What happened? We are really clean now!"
Her reaction was what I had been expecting. Not knowing what had happened and having no idea what the spell did to her, Jane spun around in wonder and confusion that her maid dress was suddenly cleaned.
Then she looked at me and gasped, bowing her head deeply.
"T-Thank you very much, Sir Arthur."
"Don't mind it."
I brushed her gratitude off with my hand as I stopped Astro from licking me with my other hand. It had become too much, so I just pulled a pet snack from my inventory so he could nibble on it. And he did enjoy it while crying cutely, holding the snack with his paw.
"It's good that both of you arrived now. We are just about to move?"
"Move?"
Jane raised her head once again as she looked at me, confused.
"Yes." I nodded at the maid.
"Actually, Madam Vivian and Eliza are now preparing for our return to Academy City. There are some troubles when both of you are still on your way here, but telling you will take too much time. Just know that we are going back to Academy City right away."
"T-that's!" Jane raised her voice, clearly devastated by the news. "P-Please excuse me." Then she bowed once again before running inside in a hurry, leaving me with Sandra.
"Master." The Dark Elf called out to me expressionlessly.
I looked back at her, noticing a seriousness in her tone.
"Does something matter?" I asked. "Has trouble happened during your travels?"
"Yes. There is a big problem." She began, nodding slightly, confirming my suspicion.
I narrowed my eyes at Sandra, looking straight at her crimson eyes.
"Tell me about it without lying or making the trouble sound bigger than it actually is," I commanded her with an authoritative voice.
Problems were varied in size, and I had prepared for them since there would be a lot of it coming for me due to my position or the kind of subordinates I had.
And before I left with the flying magic carpet a few days ago, I instructed Sandra to listen to what kind of troubles or strange things were happening in the cities they would pass by so I could know the situation of the world.
Information was important, and getting it wasn't as easy as in the modern world. Communication was limited.
While there existed underground organizations like Border City or Raven Group that collected information around the world, they weren't so friendly to strangers, especially those who came from the church.
Having Sandra as my mobile information gatherer was great. As an assassin and one who had Lv 3 <Information Gathering>, it made her move everywhere easier and collect intelligence for me.
'And that Sandra said there is trouble.'
"Actually…" Sandra started with a low voice as she acknowledged my order. "I–"
Growwl~
At that moment, a loud growl echoed in the surrounding area. It was so loud that I could hear it clearly, and Astro put all the stack into his mouth, alarmed by the sudden sound.
I didn't need to look around to know where that sound came from and what that was. It was so comical that I facepalmed, letting out a long sigh of disappointment.
Well, I knew the source of that trouble and what kind of trouble it was now.
"Master, the trouble is–"
"You're hungry, right?" I cut off her sentence and threw a big loaf of bread from my inventory.
Sandra caught it with both hands and smiled happily.
"Thank you, Master!" She chirped happily and began to eat the big bread without thinking about manners.
Looking at her, she was like a small animal. Right now, I was feeding a pet and a small animal. Pretty strange, but it was good to pass the time while waiting for the other girls.
While waiting and letting her enjoy her bread, I gave Sandra another instruction.
"After this, we will return to Academy City, so…"
"I need to bring the horses with the maids, yes?" Sandra said, stopping eating her bread for a second before returning to it right after. "I…"
"Need some funds for the meal, I know." I finished her sentence for her as I knew what she requested.
It was what I did before I left her with the horse too, but it seemed like the money wasn't enough to satisfy her at that time. So this time, I gave her more, and she accepted it gratefully.
"Thank you very much, Master. I will also look around for some interesting information or beautiful girls."
While I appreciated that, the last one was unnecessary. I had no plan to find any other new girls and focused on developing my relationship with the current ones.
I needed to add, if no girl took my interest in the future.
The others exited the house shortly after, bringing big bags with them.
"Arthur! We're ready to go!" Eliza shouted at me while waving her hand.
Emilia wore her usual teacher suit as Vivian was present, but Eliza seemed to take a liking to the mage robe I gave her at that time.
Vivian wore a sleeveless white dress with a deep slit on a skirt and exposed cleavage. Its design emphasized the curve of her body and perky ass, making her look really sexy with a mature charm.
They gathered around me, and I took out the flying magic carpet.
"My! What is this?" Vivian looked interested, poking the floating magic carpet. "This is interesting."
On the contrary, Eliza looked really terrified.
"C-Can I take the horse instead, Arthur? I-I can handle a few days of travel with Linda and the others."
However…
"You don't want to travel with Mama?"
"And you should accustom yourself in the air as a person who specialized in <Wind Magic>. I won't teach you anything if you choose to travel by land." Emilia added, narrowing her sharp eyes dangerously.
"Ugh… I…" My childhood friend bit her lips, not sure about how she responded to Vivian's question and Emilia's threat. "…F-Fine. I-I will close my eyes all the time, though!"
"Fufufu, that's fine, Eliza."
Nothing could beat their persuasion, I guess. Even the scared Eliza agreed to join our magic carpet ride. I prepared a bag just in case she threw up mid-air.
As for their luggage, I put all the bags in my inventory, and we hopped onto the magic carpet. And then…
"AAAAAHHH!! H-Hold me tight, Arthur!! I will fall! I will really fall!!"
Eliza's scream became the bell of our return trip through the sky.
