(MC POV)
"Master… We love you..." Manami moaned, finally falling into an unconscious bliss beside her sister.
I already learnt from my experience with them last night so it was easier for me to satisfy these two foxes in hear this time around.
Leaving the two to recuperate, I went back out into my courtyard after Xun Guan dressed me again.
My disciples were still sitting there alongside the servants, at least they looked less confused than they were before this.
I went back to the pavilion and sat down on the bench to face them, "Sooo… I suppose all of you have questions about what just happened?"
Brendan raised his hand "Umm...Yes, Master… Was I mind controlled?"
I grinned, "Well… Yes and no. The actions you took were basically things you already wanted to do but just didn't, so… You should have just told me how you felt, Brendan."
His face actually turned bright red before he hid it behind his hands.
"Then… Then what about us, Master?" Lian Li asked fearfully.
"You girls were different. You had your preferences flipped so if you liked me before, you wouldn't have."
The girls all breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing my words.
Eris raised her hand meekly, "And umm… Me, Master?"
I took a good long look at the four variations of her.
It didn't make sense that there would be four of her, there was nothing in that flip that would make her split like that.
What's more, omniscience also confirmed that this was how she was all along which definitely didn't make sense.
I didn't notice it before but now that I am paying attention, each of them were actually slightly different from the others.
The first one looked like the normal Eris that I was familiar with, the action of nervously playing with her fingers was something I saw her do often.
The second one kept shifting her weight around restlessly, like a predator waiting to pounce. She also had a kind of wild look about her despite looking exactly like Eris.
The third one had a feeling that was the complete opposite of the second one. Her presence was so thin that she was hard to notice her even standing there. It just felt like she had blended herself with the background.
Then there was the last one who pretty much personified the word 'demure'. Like she would have been the stereotypical traditional housewife who would follow the husband a few steps behind him while keeping her head down without a word.
I crossed my arms, "Yes… About that, I don't know why either. Apparently you've always been this way? Do you know what that means?"
The four of them shared a look before nodding their heads.
The first Eris stepped forward, "Actually, Master… Ummm… There's always been four of me living inside one body."
I frowned, "Split personalities?"
All of them nodded.
"I am Eris," The first one introduced herself. "I was born the day Master had given me this name."
Err… Born the day I gave you that name? So I was right… The people I gave names to pretty much were changed in some way. But what about the other three?
"And I'm Bait!" The second one chirped merrily. "I pretty much poofed myself in 'cause of those stinkin' bandits Master took care of! Nice ta' finally meet 'cha in person!"
Ok… Err… I don't even know what to say for her case. She… 'poofed' herself into existence? Ok…
"... Laverna… Honoured… Reserved…" The third one greeted me with a bow.
Even though she only said those three words, I kind of understood she was saying "My name is Laverna, I am greatly honoured to meet you, Master. I came to be because of the need to stay reserved for a period of time in my life."
I turned to the last one and she did a curtsy, "Well met, Master. This humble one is Denna. This one was made when this one had been travelling with several merchants back in the day and the need arose for this to act like a humble, demure lady."
… Ok. I kind of get what's going on now.
I tapped my chin with a finger, "Ok, I get it. I remember Eris had been wandering from place to place for some time before we met, correct?"
The swordswoman nodded her head to show me I was correct.
I then continued, "So you've adopted different personas to fit yourself in better in the situations you find yourself in while travelling. Somehow when I named you, those personas manifested as separate personalities within you and they all live inside the same body. Did I get it right?"
"Yes Master."
"Right'o Master!"
"Correct…"
"This one is once again humbled by Master's genius."
I tilted my head at them, "No wonder you were so good at sword arts, you have four times the capacity to learn and you're able to adapt quickly since you have four consciousness inside you to counter anything thrown at you. But now for some reason all your personalities are manifested physically outside…"
"That's right, Aniue! What happened to cause all of this?" Tsuki asked, suddenly rushing forward to grasp my hand with tears in her eyes. "I can't believe I was made to simply see Aniue as nothing more than just a normal brother! That was unacceptable!!"
Err… I mean… What else did you want to see me as?
Before I could even ask her, Elaria had also rushed forward to clasp my other hand.
"Me as well, Onii-sama!! I even felt that there was nothing weird with me when I actually called Onii-sama 'Onii-chan' in my mind!!"
Is… Is that even a big deal?
"Me too! Me too!!" Diao Chan waved her hand in the air. "How could I have said that Master tying me up and whipping me was painful?! That's the best gift I can get, Master! So could I please get something like that done to me? Please? Please? Pleeeease?"
Well Diao Chan's just like normal I guess.
I decided not to ask them that and instead explained, "There's a new student who joined our Sect during the student selections that can create some sort of mirror world that can flip anything he wants within it. It seems like he's infatuated with me so he er… Wants to eliminate the competition…"
I looked pointedly at the girls to show what I meant by 'competition'.
"I guess the mirror world he made kind of made Eris's multiple personalities manifest into a physical form as a side effect. So I was thinking of simply getting rid of his existence."
Unexpectedly, Brendan stood up, "Master. Could we please deal with this person ourselves? It doesn't sit well with me that even after getting these gifts from Master, we're still relying on Master to protect us like this."
I smiled at him, "But I do want you all to rely on me though? It'll trouble me a little if I become unreliable."
"Eh? I… I didn't mean it that way, Master!" Brendan denied quickly.
I chuckled, "I know, I know. You want to see proof of your growth so that you know you're actually not disappointing me right? What about you girls?"
"I agree with him, Master!" Lian Li replied immediately, a determined look on her face.
The other girls were also in agreement.
"Well alright, in that case I'll leave this situation to you guys. I'll add a protection inscription to protect you from his manipulations and since I still need to take care of those two foxes that are constantly in heat… I trust you can do this without any other help?"
All of my disciples bowed their heads to me, "It will be done, Master!"
Oh, I'm so proud of them~
