(MC POV)
I teleported myself back to the beach, making sure I was completely clean before doing so.
After that tentacled thing finally died, the whole space had warped to collapse within itself, dumping me back onto the palace garden.
Luckily, no one was around to see that so I slipped away from there as soon as I could.
Dusting myself off, I got ready to head back towards the villa, completing the ruse that I had only been out for a late night stroll along the beach.
I was fully expecting the beach to be empty so I was quite surprised when I heard voices coming from my left when I reached the stairs.
"Do you think we should help him?"
"What if this is Master's punishment for something he did?"
"I think we should just leave him be."
"Ummm… This is really all just a misunderstanding you know? Could you just help me out?"
"Yeah, I think we should just leave him there."
I followed the voices to see the four youkai maids standing over whom I recognised as Brendan, still buried in the sand.
Ah… I knew I forgot something…
I cleared my throat to get their attention.
The four of them reacted rather unexpectedly, all of them leaping back and pulling out a weapon to face my direction.
I guess it should be expected that the servants here are also trained in combat to serve as bodyguards for the Royal Family, though Gamma had already proven herself to be a capable fighter.
Once they saw me, they hastily lowered their weapons and bowed, "Forgive our insolence, Master!"
I waved my hand at them, "Don't mind it. It's normal to be wary of someone sneaking up on you in the middle of the night."
They thanked me profusely before I lowered my gaze at Brendan who was making rather pitiful gazes at me.
"M… Master… Help… I don't know what happened… But I woke up like this..."
Yeah… No way I'm telling him that Cai Hong had buried him there for fun.
I reached out my hand and manipulated the sand to break away from Brendan, freeing him from his confines.
"Tha… Thank you… Master…" Brendan gasped, though he did not move from his spot.
I raised an eyebrow at him, "Are you not getting up?"
Brendan grimaced, "I… It seems like my body's gone numb from being trapped there for so long…"
I sighed, can't be helped then. He's also in this condition partly because of me, so I guess I'll just bring him to the baths to get him washed up.
Making my way to him, I lifted Brendan up with my arms in a princess carry to carry him back to the villa.
Gamma quickly stepped in front of me, "Master, I… I can help you with him."
I shook my head, "It's alright, I got him."
Without waiting for another second, I teleported both of us into my room's attached bath, depositing Brendan on one of the chairs that was used for washing.
"You might want to strip out of those swim trunks, no doubt they're filled to the brim with sand by now," I suggested.
Brendan nodded and tried to reach for the waistband of his swim trunks, only to groan in pain before his hands dropped back down to his sides.
"Still no good?"
Brendan shook his head with a sigh.
I guess there's no helping it, it's the duty of the Master to help his disciples after all.
I got down to help strip him of his swim trunks.
Brendan was surprised by my action and quickly shook his head, "Ah… Ah… Master! I… I'll deal with it myself later! You really don't need to!"
I raised an eyebrow at him, "What's wrong? We're both guys here so no need to be reserved."
"That… That isn't the issue here, Master…"
"Oh? Then are you perhaps… Shy?"
"Let's… Let's just say that I am…" Brendan sighed, sneaking a glance towards the door for some reason.
I shrugged, "We'll still need to get you cleaned up though. I'll just do your back for you and you take care of the rest, how about that?"
Brendan hesitated for a moment before nodding his head, "P… Please, Master."
I took one of the buckets of water and poured over him slowly, watching the water cascade off his back to wash off the sand.
"Woah!" Brendan yelped, recoiling in surprise.
"Too cold?" I asked.
"Ye…. Yeah…" He shivered, wrapping his arms around himself.
"Oops, my bad. Forgot to check the water first."
I heated the water up before pouring it over him, the alchemist letting out sigh of relief as the warm water wahed over him.
With the bucket emptied, I took one of the clean washcloths and began scrubbing his back, making sure to get all the dirt and grime off my disciple's skin.
"Is this too hard?"
He groaned, "No Master… It feels nice."
"Alright, just tell me if it hurts."
I continued with my scrubbing until I found the current position a little uncomfortable, since I had to stay in a squatting position.
I stood back up and tapped his shoulder, "Do you mind bending over? It's a little bit easier for me to reach you if you do."
"Of… Of course," Brendan obliged without complaint. "Is this better?"
"Yeah, just need to get it nice and wet."
Just when I finished soaking the washcloth to continue with my scrubbing, the bathroom door was thrown open and Diao Chan immediately screamed, "Master!! I can be on top too if you want!!!"
Brendan and I turned to look at the door to see all my disciples and my sisters there, all of them dressed in rather revealing lingerie.
Odriana tilted her head, her sketchbook still held in her hands, "Ara? Was my dear little brother not indulging his carnal desires with Brendan?"
"You're mistaken. We left Brendan back at the beach and I just took him back here from there," I explained.
All of them looked from me, to Brendan, then to each other, taking a second for their faces to change into one of horror.
"We completely forgot!!" They screamed.
Well, I forgot as well, but no reason to tell them that.
I nodded, "Yep, so now he's a little bit weak from being stuck in the sand for so long so I'm helping him wash his back."
Lian Li poked her fingers together sheepishly, "Oh… We heard… Umm… We thought…"
I waved my hand at them, "Yes, yes. I know you girls have a vivid sense of imagination. Why don't you all wait for me in the bed, I'll just finish up with Brendan and we can all go to sleep and play more tomorrow?"
A chorus of "Yes, Master" echoed from them as they filed out of the bathroom, a few of them stealing glances over their shoulders as they did so.
I even saw Odriana sketching something quickly before leaving and I could guess what the content of her sketch was.
"I see why you wanted to keep the pants on," I sighed.
Brendan only nodded with a strained smile.
"Oh well, must be hard for you too, being the only guy here. Tell me if you need some help with relieving yourself and I'll see what I can do."
Brendan turned to me with widened eyes.
"Yeah, I know of a few brothels in Jin city, but don't make it a habit of it though."
"Oh… I er… I'll keep that in mind Master," Brendan muttered, seemingly both relieved and disappointed at the same time.
Hmmm… Not sure what he was expecting but I better finish up here and get back to my girls, no telling what they might be saying or doing while I'm gone.
