Combat Maid Harem

"Oh."

Lawrend felt relieved hearing her words. At least, his body didn't release any body odors. It was simply the dirt that accumulated on his body from sitting there for a long time.

"I will take a bath then."

"Nyaa! Take me with you!!" Straw pleaded and held his hands.

"Alright. I will invite your mommy so she can help."

Lawrend then turned to Aleshia and said, "I will be back. Keep the place secured."

"As per your orders, Master," Aleshia replied and bowed.

Lawrend carried Straw with him and found Grape. He told her about the plan and took a bath as a happy family.

…

Lawrend returned with damp hair and with Straw in his arms. Grape returned to what she was doing, which was helping Humility out with the paperwork. She wasn't capable of doing any other work besides that. Of course, that wasn't including her expertise in teaching the other maids how to make Lawrend feel good.

"Go and learn from them. I will be practicing my magic here," Lawrend said and gently dropped Straw to the ground.

"Yes-nyaa~!"

Straw ran over to the others. She wore a cute dress and she attracted looks of admiration from her half-siblings.

Seeing Straw reminded him of Feli. Lawrend rarely met her these past two years. She was busy trying to improve her magic for some reason. She didn't even try to consult with him.

Lawrend closed his eyes and meditated. He focused on refining his soul magic further. Once he was done, he could take the next step and become an Earth Mage in his soul magic.

If he succeeded, Lawrend could confirm his hypothesis that the world couldn't take his soul magic. It would be a big advantage for him as he would be able to get stronger without worrying about losing his strength.

A week passed by and Lawrend got infinitely closer to perfecting his soul magic. He only needed a catalyst to complete the missing piece and become an Earth Mage with all of the elements.

Lawrend opened his eyes and saw his children eating at a table set up in the middle of the training grounds.

"Good day, Master. The kids got bored, so we put a table here where they can interact with each other and eat food," Aleshia explained.

The whole place looked like a picnic spot now because of it.

"I see. Gather them in a single file. Get a long table and place a mattress on top of it," Lawrend ordered.

"I will be back, Master."

Aleshia bowed and left.

"Fufufu. I can sense you're getting closer and closer, Master. I can't wait to see you display your full strength," Aezel said as she walked over. She daintily covered her mouth with her hand like a refined lady.

"I know the feeling when I became an Earth Mage the last time. I just can't understand how I did it," Lawrend replied.

Once he got that down, he should be able to become an Earth Mage and still be very powerful just like his physical body's magic.

"You should ask Sister Valentina. She's an Earth Mage now, right?"

"You're right. I will ask her after this." Lawrend nodded his head in agreement.

"Fufufu. I will be watching the show from the sidelines," Aezel giggled and walked to the side.

Lawrend's eight children stood in front of him in a straight line. They couldn't help but become nervous.

Aleshia put away the table from the background.

Lawrend stood up and walked over to his children. He started from the left side and went to the other end, all the while staring them in the eyes.

"What do you need to do?" Lawrend asked.

"..."

None of them answered his question. They wracked their minds and tried to come up with an answer. Due to the stressful situation, none of them were able to say anything even though they clearly know what Lawrend was asking for.

"Veronica, answer me. You had the most time to contemplate the booklet," Lawrend said and stopped in front of her.

"T-The answer is… you need to inverse your mana pathways and etch it onto your soul?" Veronica answered, not sure about her own answer.

"Correct." Lawrend nodded his head at her approvingly.

Veronica smiled widely and relaxed after realizing that she was right.

"The mana pathway is the reason we can store mana in our bodies as mages. For our soul, it is non-existent. But that doesn't mean we can't put them there. You simply need to copy the mana pathway in your physical body and inverse it for it to work.

"Actually, you can even modify your own mana pathways. This will give you an unfair advantage over others as you can use more efficient mana pathways.

"In the past, I had done that. But I don't think it suits you all. It's very risky and you are all too young. You all have better chances starting earlier unlike me who started very late," Lawrend said continuously.

His children were only well over three years old. They tried to remember everything he was saying. Unfortunately, they could not understand the deeper meaning hidden behind Lawrend's words.

"So, how do you etch this mana pathway onto your soul without any mana?" Lawrend asked.

He walked back and forth once again. He gave them several minutes as he watched them think very hard about his question.

"I-I have an answer!"

Lawrend looked over and saw Zio lifting his hand up. His body shook as he tried to calm his nervousness.

"Go." Lawrend urged him to answer.

"W-We need your help," Zio replied.

"Correct. Indeed, you can't practice soul magic without my help. It's the most crucial aspect of this. Only I, who had done it before could help anyone new to it," Lawrend replied.

He nodded his head at Zio and continued onward with his back-and-forth walk.

"I want all of you to start thinking about your inverse mana pathways. Sit down and meditate," Lawrend said.