(MC POV)
"Master Lin, dinner is served," the servant girl from Heavenly Sword Sect, Keqing, announced with her head bowed.
I nodded a thanks to her, "Thank you, we will be there in just a moment."
She bowed her head and walked back to the direction of the pavilion, leaving me to wrap up my lesson review with my cute disciples.
I turned back to my disciples, "Anymore questions?"
Diao Chan raised her hand, "Yes!"
"Mmm… What is it, Diao Chan?"
She poked her fingers together shyly, "Ummm… We did good right?"
"Of course."
"Ehehehe~ Then… Could we all get a reward maybe?"
I smiled wryly, "Don't I always? Let's go to the big bath tonight, shall we?"
The girls cheered enthusiastically, it wasn't common for me to bathe together with them, after all. It's not that I mind, but if I were to bathe with the girls, most of the time there would not be spent bathing if you get my meaning.
Not sure if Brendan wants to join us this time though?
All of us headed to the pavilion where the other servants were waiting with a small feast laid out on the table.
At this point, we have yet to assign a servant to each of my disciples yet, though I don't think it would be a good idea for Elaria to have one just yet since she is still new to this. I want to spoil her but not too much that impedes her growth.
I looked down at the spread before us and it looked like a spread fit for a noble of upper society.
"Today's course is roasted stuffed boar, sea bass with scallops, assorted steamed vegetables, braised chicken, sliced abalone soup and freshly baked white bread," Keqing announced with a respectful bow.
Usually, the girls would always let me have the first taste of the food but this time they had insisted they be the taste testers first.
Brendan took the role of being the tester, not because of his gender but because of his skills as an alchemist to identify foreign substances.
I personally felt that was kind of going overboard and even if the food was poisoned, I would be able to neutralise it anyway.
These girls were sent here as servants in the first place. If anything were to happen to us, their entire Sect would be persecuted so it wouldn't make sense for them to assassinate me, right?
Still, my cute disciples were claiming that it would be a huge blow to their pride if anything were to happen to me under their watch.
All of us watched Brendan take a sample of each food. It was obvious from his serious face that he wasn't tasting the dishes for their flavour but actually circulating his Quarks to break down each of the food to find anything that might be dangerous in them.
"They're all fine, Master," Brendan announced with finality.
That was my cue to take my first bite of the food.
Needless to say, despite how it was obviously prepared as best as the servants could, it was still inferior to what Eris and I could make. But well, it's the thought that counts and we finally had someone else doing the work for us.
"It's not bad," I admitted.
"We thank you for your praise," Keqing bowed her head, the other servants mirroring her action.
My disciples took that as the cue to dig in, each of them with varying degrees of reactions.
Eris was, of course, the least impressed by it. I could guess that she would be training her assigned servant the intricacies of cooking soon enough.
I looked towards the servants, "I suppose this is as good of a time as any. Why don't the eight of you introduce yourselves?"
Without hesitation, Keqing stepped forward and curtsied, her long hazelnut hair that was tied in a neat ponytail drooped past her shoulder as she did so, "As Master Lin already knows, I am Keqing, niece of Heavenly Sword Sect's Sect Master. I was an Elite Practitioner there and I specialise in Light and sword Techniques. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
The girl from Lilac Lance Sect stepped beside her, "Likewise, I am Marie of Lilac Lance Sect. I am single and twenty years old this year. Though my Practitioner skills are lacking, I am confident of my housekeeping skills. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
She makes it sound like this is a matchmaking session or something.
The next girl strided forward with confidence. Though my girls were obviously still much more beautiful than her, it can be said that she was the prettiest one amongst the servants with her slender frame and smooth features.
"This one comes from Nirvanic Gate Sect and was given the name Zhiyang. It is regrettable, but this one is merely just a normal servant the Sect has chosen to send to Master Lin purely based on my looks. Though this one can not compare to Master Lin's disciples, please feel free to give me any orders as you see fit."
My disciples watched her with rather weird eyes.
The next servant was a little surprising since she had cupped her hands together to greet me instead of curtsying.
"Well met Master Lin. I am Liehui of Raging Winds Sect. As your servant, please feel free to give me any orders and I will work to fulfill them!"
From her movements I'm guessing she practices body strengthening Techniques, quite an interesting one.
The servant after her had a face that made it seem like she did not want to be here. I could still tell from her toned figure that she had practiced some form of martial art as well.
"I am Lydia of the Swordmaiden Sect. As I am tasked to be your servant, your burdens shall be mine to carry as well."
Yep, even her tone of voice made it seem like she wanted to be anywhere but here. I should double check with her if she really wasn't forced to be here.
The last three seemed to hesitate, as though not sure which one of them should go first.
As though pressured, the smallest girl of the bunch stepped forward and bowed, "I… I am Joanne… Of… Umm… Fairy Garden Sect... I… I… Ummmm... Please… Please take care of me!"
Seems like she gets really nervous when put in the spotlight. She's only a little taller than Cai Hong but she was definitely an adult.
The next servant had a distinct head of striking red hair. I almost pegged her as the stereotypical hyperactive girl but instead, she was entirely ladylike when she performed her curtsy.
"Good evening Master Lin and Mistresses. I am Elizabeth of Teardrop Sect. Though I may not be as talented as sister Keqing, I too am an Elite Practitioner within my Sect. My specialty lies in Water and Air Techniques. It is my honor to serve in the presence of Master Lin."
My guess? She might have been a noble at some point in her life too.
That of course, left the final girl who looked as plain as a person can be. Like if you had passed by this girl on the street, you probably wouldn't look at her twice and most likely wouldn't remember her either kind of plain.
It was only when you looked closely that you realised her eyes were amber in colour and you might notice a slight shimmer in her figure for some reason.
I had a weird feeling from her since she got here but since she hasn't done anything out of the ordinary, I did not confront her about it.
She bowed her head, "Master Lin… You may call me Sophia. I have come to offer my life for you as a former member of the Dark Sect."
Almost immediately, all of my disciples leapt up from their seats and slipped into their combat stances, even the other servants had leapt away from her to draw their own weapons or to point their Techniques at her.
Sophia remained entirely calm despite their actions, her eyes fixated solely on me.
I looked at her with half-lidded eyes, "You were sent here by Twilight Gate Sect, were you not?"
"That is correct, Master Lin."
"Were they a front of the Dark Sects as well?"
"They are not, Master Lin."
"So why would they send you here?"
"They were returning a favour I did for them before."
I raised an eyebrow, "A Dark Sect member did a favour for a Grand Sect?"
She took a deep breath, before fixing her steely gaze on me, "No, I did them a favour when I was still the Sect Master of Heaven Sect, Master Lin."
...
Well… Things just got really interesting didn't they?
