(MC POV)
The girls were unusually cheerful and affectionate throughout the rest of the journey.
Lian Li would constantly worry over my health asking, "Master, does your feet hurt from the walking? It's hard to keep pace with that small body right? Do you want me to carry you?"and then proceed to cluck over me like a mother hen.
Manami was just as doting as her, maybe even more so. But then again, she has always seen herself as the big sister so it's not really that surprising. With my current form, it's not difficult to imagine her trying to make use of the time she still has a 'younger brother' since it's quite likely I'll revert back soon.
Though I'm not sure if "Does Master want to fluff my tails… Or maybe, fluff me?" is something an elder sister would say to her younger brother.
Even Kiyomi was giving her sister strange glances.
Eris on the other hand became extremely strange. She would appear to be extremely hyperactive for a few seconds, constantly hopping around and whistling before suddenly turning quiet and poised. When I asked her if anything was wrong, she would become flustered and fumble over her words.
I didn't break her, did I?
Then there was Diao Chan, who was basically the same as always except for the fact that she constantly asked me to punish her for her misdeeds with an extremely perverted look on her face.
She would constantly put herself in various provocative positions when she got the chance and anything I did just seemed to be spurring her on even more. Even when I ignored her she would mumble something about 'Ignore Play' while panting in the corner. Seriously what is wrong with her?
Did the small punishment I gave them result in their antics? That can't be can it?
I only wanted them to see how a group of professional Adventurers worked together since I haven't really had the chance to teach them group combat so far. And since they had also injured one of them, it would also be a convenient time for me to remind them not to look down on non-Practitioners.
I'm sure that after my disciples see how professional these Adventurers are, they would learn not to look down on others just because they seem weaker. For an Adventurer to have a few hundred Request completion, they should be quite formidable right?
It would be a good chance for Eris to learn a few things from them too if she wanted to, since all of them used swords as their primary weapons.
I had Kiyomi stay behind though, since I needed a replacement for Cai Hong to nap on as my legs were getting numb. I figured Manami would share with her whatever she learned from them anyway so Kiyomi wouldn't lose out much.
But seeing how they're acting now, I'm not sure if they actually learnt what I wanted them to learn…
Oh well, I'm sure they will go back to normal after a few days.
At least the good thing was that Cai Hong was just as cute as always, so I gave her lots of head pats.
"Master, how long more before we reach your esteemed Sect?" Kiyomi asked as we began our trek up a small hill.
"Ara ara? It seems my little Kiyomi is rather impatient now, ufufufu~" Manami chuckled. "Worry not, we should be able to see it once we crest that hill."
Sure enough, right as we reached the top of the hill, we could already see the mountain that Heaven Sect was built into.
Kiyomi stared at it for a moment, "So… That's home huh?"
"You'll love it there," Lian Li assured her with a smile. "Everyone is nice and welcoming."
"Yep! If anyone dares to bully you, just come look for us, m'kay?" Eris gave her a thumbs up.
Kiyomi gave her a wry smile, "I'll keep that in mind."
"I reckon we should be able to reach there by sundown, unless Master wishes to… Spend a little bit more time outdoors?" Diao Chan asked, looking coyly at me.
I sighed, as much as I would like to delay my return to the Sect, the prospect of sleeping in a proper bed tonight was too good to pass up.
But before that, there was just something I needed to check up on.
"Tell you what, why don't you girls go ahead and show Kiyomi the Sect first? I want to take a slow walk back to the Sect by myself," I suggested.
Lian Li looked at me worriedly, "Will Master be alright on his own? I think one of us should stay behind with you just in case?"
Lady… Unless a Great One appears out of nowhere and catches me off guard, I highly doubt there's much around here that can actually put me in danger.
No way I'm going to tell her that though.
And no, that's not a flag, shut up.
"I'll be fine. I'll call you girls if I need help ok?" I assured her, patting her head.
"Ugh… Mmm… If Master says so…" Lian Li relented.
Manami stretched out her palms and a circle of light glowed beneath her feet. The girls stepped in without hesitation and they disappeared with a flash of light, leaving me alone on the road.
Doing a quick check that there were indeed no more witnesses, I snapped my fingers and my vision shifted, my teleportation Technique moving me to a middle of a clearing.
I looked around me, a little confused at the rather empty space.
This was the slavers' camp site right? Why is the place so barren?
I strolled through the clearing, inspecting the ground as I went.
The earth was burnt black, with all traces of life wiped out in a fifty meter radius from the centre of where the camp should have been. There were no dead bodies lying around and even the monster carcass I was expecting to find was nowhere to be seen.
Was all this done by that Mordred's party?
Huh… It seems like I have underestimated the Adventurers of this Plane more than I thought.
Or maybe, Mordred possesses some sort of really powerful skill or ability?
That would make sense, but for the entire encampment to be completely obliterated without a trace… That guy must be quite the formidable one.
I'll probably have to keep an eye out for his party in the future, just in case.
Oh well… I had wanted to use that particular monster's core for some self improvements but I guess I can still take this time to find other replacements for it.
That's one reason why I'm still remaining in this form really, since I think getting as much of a powerup as I can through this cheaty method had way more pros than cons.
Hey, it beats having to spend years behind closed door cultivation ok?
Just when I was about to return back to where I came from, I heard the sound of footsteps behind me.
I turned back to see the last person I expected to see.
"Ehehehe~ It's been awhile my little toy~ Won't you let me taste your blood again?"
