Combat Maid Harem

"What is your opinion on the Blumin Emperor?" Lawrend asked.

Instead of answering, he opted to ask him instead. Lawrend's response caught the old man off guard. He held his chin and gathered his thoughts together.

"I was one of the Earth Mages the Blumin Emperor challenged in his early days. He was a prideful young man that believed he would eventually defeat everyone.

"At that time, he challenged me, and I scoffed at him as I saw him as arrogant and misbehaving as he only recently became an Earth Mage. So, we fought, and before I knew it, he used a series of Grand Mage spells that slowed me down before casting his Earth Mage spells.

"I'm only a Water Mage. It was hard for me to erode his Earth spells. In the end, I almost died, but he showed me mercy because of his pride. It was the biggest blow of my life. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have talked about it ever again," the old man described with bitter emotions.

His face was slightly red because of embarrassment. He found it hard to be looked at after revealing his shameful past to everyone here.

Some of the Earth Mages who knew the old man widened their eyes as they finally understood things about him that always puzzled them.

"Why did you participate in this war if you are scared of him?" Lawrend asked.

"I–! I'm not scared! I… I want to prove that, so I volunteered to join the others in this war," the old man responded desperately.

It was shameful to admit his own fear. Throughout his life, he had always avoided admitting it. What Lawrend did made him instinctively defend himself.

"Really? So you finally decided to crawl out of your shameful past and help others take him down? Is that it?" Lawrend asked calmly.

His calmness made the old man slightly angry. In his mind, it was hard to win against the Blumin Emperor back then. Even when he improved himself much more than before, he would hear news about the Blumin Emperor's explosive improvement.

Thus, it ended with him not being able to exact his revenge. This massive war was the only way he could attempt to take revenge.

"Don't underestimate him. He's an expert at sequencing spells. Don't let him take the momentum, or you will find an Earth Mage spell hurling towards you," the old man warned.

He was offended by Lawrend's words, but it was also his only chance to take revenge, so he didn't show his anger.

"What a coward. Instead of defeating him yourself, you decided to wait for others to take him down for you? Doesn't that make you feel ashamed of yourself?" Lawrend questioned.

His words made the old man become pale. It struck deep into his heart and sucked the breath out of him.

The old man repeatedly opened and closed his mouth but couldn't say anything in response. His logical mind agreed with Lawrend's words whether he liked it or not.

"I, for one, don't like relying on others, except for my maids. I'm also willing to take any risks to improve my magic. How about you?"

Lawrend stood up and faced the old man. He intimidated the old man, causing him to look down in shame.

The way Lawrend said 'except for my maids' confused the other Earth Mages. Of course, Lawrend would rely on his maids. Their purpose was to serve him and to make his life easy.

If that wasn't relying on them, what would that be called? Though, he doesn't really need to rely on them. It was simply his choice to do so because he loves maids.

Living a happy life surrounded by hot and beautiful maids should be a man's pursuit in life. At least, that's what Lawrend thought.

The old man was reminded of his past. He thought about everything he ever did and realized that he was overly cautious. He wouldn't do something if it had a lower than 99% chance of success.

He greatly valued his mage powers. If he lost them, he would become nothing in an instant. Because of that fear, he never did anything without being sure of success.

As for Lawrend, he did a lot of risky things. He wasn't really sure of success when he drained his mana before, but he trusted in himself. It was the confidence he built up because he needed to protect his maids.

If you need to move a box, would it move on its own? We all know the answer that it won't. Doing nothing meant nothing would change.

To make a change, whether it is painful or not, we need to take action. It was a fact most forgotten by almost everybody.

Instead of relying on the 'Goddess', Lawrend relied on himself. He was here today because of that.

The old man greatly regretted his decision to open his mouth. He wanted to slap himself as he only embarrassed himself in front of everybody.

"Let me fight him before you do," the old man suddenly said.

He raised his head and stared into Lawrend's eyes. He came to decide to face his fear. He was certain of his death, but he wouldn't be here if the Blumin Emperor never showed him mercy.

In fact, he wasn't the only one that was given mercy. Many others were like him, and they all ended up living under the Blumin Emperor's shadow. They were never able to surpass him or reach his level.

For the old man, it would be fine to die by his hands. After all, he was already old, and all he did was avoid his fear.

"You aren't afraid of dying?" Lawrend asked.

"What is the difference? Haha…" the old man laughed self-deprecatingly.

He realized how pathetic his life was after hearing Lawrend's words. It was more glorious to die fighting than die running away.

"Good. Face your fears and challenge yourself. That's the way to improve yourself. Your comfort zone will not make you a better mage," Lawrend replied and nodded his head in satisfaction.