Aria was silent for a while before she sighed and nodded. "Since they saved you guys, I don't have any choice but to make an exception for her. However, I'll won't impart my spells to her if I deem her unworthy."
Old man Raku let out a breath of relief when he saw her nod. He smiled, "That's up for you to decide. However, from what I could see, she is a diamond in the rough. After training under you, she will show her brilliance to the world."
Aria raised her brows, thinking, 'Foster father seems to think too highly of her. I hope she doesn't betray his expectations and is not like the rest of the humans.'
Because of how the old man advocated Rima, she started to have some expectation for this human girl. She knew even though her foster father lost his cultivation, he still had a life worth of experience and his foresight. So, he wouldn't think so highly of someone without a good reason.
'However, no matter how good she is, if her character is the same as other humans, it'll be a waste of time teaching her.' She thought.
As if old man Raku saw through what she was thinking and sighed, "Little girl, although some humans have done terrible to you and you have a biased opinion of them, you should know, not every human is evil or bad, some are good too."
"Yes, I understand, foster father." Aria nodded half-heartedly.
Seeing her attitude, old man Raku shook his head inwardly and changed the topic. "So, when are you planning to leave for the central plains?" He asked in a concerned voice.
"I want to spend some time with little Arya, meet foster mother and Elena and now I've this human girl to teach, so I'm thinking of leaving after a week or so." Aria said, avoiding his gaze.
Old man Raku frowned. "You shouldn't delay this matter. It is of utmost importance right now. As more times passes, it'll be difficult to extract the demonic energy. As for spending time with Arya and others, you can do so after returning, no? As for Rima, your disciple, take her with you so she could broaden her horizons and keep you company."
"Okay. I'll go after a few days then." Aria meekly replied. No matter how strong she became, she would never dare to be disobedient to her foster father. So, despite not wanting to go, she conceded.
"That's good. Now you rest alright. I'll come back tomorrow with your future disciple." Old man Raku nodded in satisfaction, patted her head lovingly and walked out of the house.
Seeing him disappear from her sight, her shoulders slumped down, and she murmured, "I don't know any emperor ranked mage, foster father. It seems I have no choice but to join the ancestral clan in the central plains if I want to get rid of this demonic energy."
'Tch, I should have been quick and killed him before he got the chance to detonate.' She thought.
Demons were dangerous not only because they were stronger than other race or because they were cruel and ruthless, but also because they would self-detonate when there was no chance of survival for them.
If it was a normal self-detonation which would only cause destruction, it would've been fine since you could survive it. However, when demons detonate, they would also blow up their demonic essence, which was like a poison for other races. If it entered your system, it will slowly kill you if not cured it time. Aria now suffered from the same problem.
Old man Raku, after leaving Aria's estate, furrowed his brows tightly and hurriedly walked towards the city lord's mansion. "We need to hurry and fortify the city as soon as possible or the Ninam city might not survive this war."
…
Post-midnight… Maria's house…
In her room, Max was lying in the middle with Rima and Maria on his Right and left, their heads placed on his shoulders. Both women had satisfied smiles on their faces as they ran their fingers over his chest in circles.
Max also had the same satisfied expression as he lay there, feeling two soft bodies pressing against him while his hands rested on their wavy waists. He greedily inhaled their enchanting and soothing scent.
"How was it Max, you're satisfied tonight, right?" Rima teasingly asked. She knew he wasn't satisfied yesterday, and this was also the reason why he had to choose Maria.
"Yes, very much. Thanks for your efforts." Max smiled and kissed her forehead. She really went all out to please him, so praising her efforts was a must.
"Hehe." Rima giggled happily.
Seeing this, Maria poked his chest and sheepishly asked, "H-How was I, my lord? Did… did you like me?"
"Oh, you were also great. I really loved it." Max chuckled and gave her a kiss on her forehead too, making her smile.
After that, while hugging each other, the three of them fell asleep, not bothering to wear any clothes or clean up the mess they made on the bed.
…
Maria woke up early morning, but because Max was hugging her with one hand, she didn't move and simply stayed there, enjoying the feeling of being in his embrace.
"You are up?" Just then, she heard Rima's voice.
Glancing at her, she saw Rima was already awake and was looking at her with a smile on her face. She returned the smile and greeted in a low murmur, "Yes. Good morning, big sister."
Hearing her call her big sister, Rima found Maria more pleasing to her eyes and nodded. "Good morning."
After twenty or so minutes, Maria asked, "Big sister, do you know when will my lord will wake up?"
"Why? Wanna have morning sex?" Rima teasingly asked.
Maria's face turned crimson in an instant after hearing her say this.
"N-No, it's not t-that." She stuttered as she spoke. "My parents will soon be up, so I'm worried that they might enter this room to check up on us."
*****
Thank you for the gift Jacob_Waters
1/2 Bonus Chapter
