Letting out a sigh, Lucas grabbed his hopeless student by the arm and, with so difficulty due the huge difference in their sizes, began dragging him along, "Co on, let’s go."
"Ah, um, er, right..." Kaden tripped over his words, and nearly tripped over his own feet, as he got up while still trying to avoid eye contact with the girls.
Eris and Tina giggled at the innocent sight, while Audrey just flushed even redder.
Only after the boys had reached the villa’s large bathroom and stepped inside did Kaden finally manage to calm down, though his cheeks were still blushing faintly.
Slapping the older boy on the back, Lucas scolded him in a half-exasperated tone, "You need to be more courageous if you ever want to be together with Audrey!"
"I don’t want... I an... I do... But..." Kaden stuttered before lowering his head and mumbling, "I just can’t stay calm whenever I’m around her... she’s... she’s just so perfect..."
The disconnect between how Kaden looked, and how he acted was such a huge contrast that Lucas didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as he watched.
"Teacher... how are you able to... to act so natural around girls?" Kaden asked pitifully, "Audrey is... is... t-t-he best... but Big Sister Tina and Little Sister Eris are also really pretty! Yet you’re able to talk to them so easily! Can you teach your secret to getting along with them?"
There were tis Lucas wanted to tell Kaden that the girl he so casually referred to as ’Big Sister Tina’ was actually the famous Genius Princess of the Rockwell Kingdom, just to see how the lumbering oaf would react, but he knew better than to do that, so he simply shrugged, "Sorry, I can’t help you there. All I can say is that Tina, Eris, and I have been through a lot together, so it would be stranger if we were still uncomfortable with each other."
"So... I need to spend more ti around girls to get used to them?" Kaden wondered out loud.
"Er... sothing like that," Lucas nodded, unsure if that would really help this shy, reserved giant.
Thinking of sothing just then, Lucas hastily added, "But, be careful. If you hang out with too many other girls, Audrey might misunderstand..."
When Lucas ntioned this, Kaden imdiately went pale with fright, "You’re right, Teacher! I can’t let that happen! I have to stay away from all those other girls then!"
"No... that’s not what I..." Lucas, feeling a headache coming on from the boy’s naïve reactions, decided that perhaps this was sothing Kaden would have to figure out on his own.
Sighing again, Lucas patted the older boy’s shoulder a bit more gently this ti, "Lets get cleaned up before Master and the others arrive and make things... uncomfortable for us."
"En," Kaden nodded seriously, understanding exactly what Lucas ant.
Eris, Tina, and Audrey were very much opposed to the idea of mixed bathing, but Celestina, Allina, Vanessa, and several other older mbers of the fairer gender who were also staying at this little villa didn’t share those sa reservations.
To put it frankly, when it ca to matters of n and won, these powerful female warriors didn’t even see Lucas and Kaden as boys.
Babies might be a better description; which, to be fair, made so sense seeing how all of them were old enough to be the pair’s grandmothers.
Lucas and Kaden, on the other hand, didn’t quite see it the sa way; after all, as powerful Spirit Realm Cultivators, none of these won showed any signs of aging, appearing no older than their mid 30s.
And so, in order to avoid the awkwardness of these mature beauties walking in on them while they were naked, Lucas and Kaden hurriedly shed their clothes, grabbed buckets, and ran over to the tub filled with hot water.
Scrubbing himself down, Kaden couldn’t help comnting, "This soap is really a miracle product. It’s so much more convenient than Bathing Cream, and so much cheaper too! How did you co up with it, Teacher?"
"Well... it was sothing of an accident, really," Lucas casually explained, mixing a few truths with a bunch of tall tales as he rinsed the suds out of his hair.
Less than 15 minutes later, the two boys walked out of the bathroom and prepared to head to the dinning hall, where dinner was being prepared by the villa’s staff.
When they arrived, they found that Eris, Tina, Audrey, and Sasha were already seated at the table, along with a very unexpected guest.
"Steward Warren! What a pleasant surprise to see you here," Lucas called out, genuinely aning what he said.
Warren, a steward in the Rising Sun rchant Guild, had been in Rockwell City at the guild’s headquarters for so ti now, helping to coordinate the chamber of comrce’s support for the South-West Province’s evacuation and resettlent operations.
"Ah! Young Master Lucas!" Warren imdiately got up from the table and walked over, extending his hand with a big smile on his face.
Taking the hand and shaking it firmly, Lucas raised his brow as he asked, "It seems sothing good has happened to you, Mr. Warren. Your face is practically glowing."
"Hahaha, is it that obvious?" Warren laughed heartily before gently tapping the badge he was wearing on his chest.
When Lucas saw this badge, a bronze-coloured sun with two stars in its centre, he realized that Warren had been promoted from a Low-Rank Steward, to a Mid-Rank one, which explained why the man was in such a good mood.
"Congratulations, Mr. Warren," Lucas acknowledged the achievent, drawing another burst of laughter from the newly promoted steward.
"I couldn’t have done it without your support, my young friend," Warren replied earnestly.
It really was largely thanks to Lucas that Warren had managed to obtain his recent promotion.
Between introducing soap and maple sugar to the market, and the massive number of purchases to help facilitate the evacuation of Herald City and Port Calden, Steward Warren’s career had indeed been benefiting greatly from the business Lucas had brought him.
"Ahem" Sasha suddenly interjected, "I do hope that in the future, when you achieve great success, you won’t forget about those who helped you along the way, Steward Warren."
"Of course, of course," Warren flashed a perfect business smile, "All successful business relationships are built on trust. I would never do anything that would tarnish the good rapport between us."
All this was a little overwhelming for Audrey and Kaden, the two outsiders who weren’t nearly as familiar with the dealings between Lucas, Sasha, and Steward Warren. However, these three knowing each other and being on good terms was hardly surprising compared to so of the other things this pair had learned over the past month or so.
After a little more small-talk, as well as a few minor business matters, Lucas was about to take his seat when he sensed a few powerful auras approaching.
"Good, it seems everyone is here already," a clear, calm, yet authoritative voice called out from the dining hall’s entrance.
"Greetings, Master/Marquess Balfour," Lucas, along with everyone else saluted politely as Celestina and Vanessa walked in, both of them still wearing their armour, apparently having just co from the military camp on the western side of the city.
Waving her hand, signaling for everyone to dispense with the formalities, Celestina walked over and casually sat down at the table, prompting everyone else to also take their seats.
Turning to her First Disciple, Celestina asked, "So, is everything ready for tomorrow?"
"Yes, Master," Lucas nodded, "I’ve finished all the preparations, including the blueprints and docunts I plan to present. I was hoping to go over everything one last ti with Commander Crest, but..."
"Ah, Allie will be a bit late," Vanessa, ever the free-spirit, chid in, "There was an issue with the joint scouting mission the Steel Shields and Raging River Legions were planning to send out tomorrow, so she had to stay behind to work things out."
"Alright," Lucas pondered for a bit before saying, "In which case, it should be fine. I can briefly go over things with her before the eting tomorrow."
"Good," Celestina declared, "Tomorrow’s eting is critical for the long-term stability of the region, and while I don’t anticipate any silly mistakes being made from either you or Allina, it never hurts to be careful."
"However," Celestina tapped her finger against the table lightly, "If sothing does go wrong, or soone tries to make trouble, don’t fret it too much. Dealing with such things is my responsibility."
"Then I’ll have to thank you in advance, Master," Lucas smiled, feeling so of the tension lift from his shoulders.
Tomorrow, delegations from the Baker, Moore, Carlson, Patterson, and Drax Families would all gather together in Iron Rock to discuss the future direction of the South-West Province. It was at this eting that Lucas would also have to present all his plans and proposals for ongoing relief asures, economic stimulus, and joint developnt projects.
Lucas had already attended, and even chaired several etings over the past month-and-a-half, but this one was by far the biggest, with the most powerful and influential audience. It might also be the most impactful discussion which would take place regarding the current crisis.
Saying he wasn’t nervous would be a lie, so hearing his Master would be there to cover for him indeed ca as a relief to Lucas.
That being said, the young boy wasn’t planning on screwing up. This eting would likely be the last thing of consequence he did in the South-West Province before leaving for who knows how long, so Lucas was going to give it his all.
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