My Servant System

"Making beauty products is certainly an idea that we could cash in on, especially if we determine which herbs are needed for certain things and come up with a few of our own recipes to make our products unique; give them a fragrance or a certain smoothness that other places can't match..?"

My musings made Leone nod as she too considered the idea, before Grandpa added "You can also go ahead and create different lines for different races, different lines for men, futanari and for women, different lines for different ages... all of those things could gradually expand your consumer base to encompass more people than other places as well. All you would need to do is determine what each category would generally like, and work from there."

That made me nod as I began to recall all of the various skincare products from my previous life, which had men and women lines that appealed to their different thought processes and the specific ideas that society had for each of them; that would work well here too, and with everything being a bit more complex thanks to the addition of futanari and the fact that the ingredients here were things I had never come across, it was a curious idea that we could certainly pursue.

The only problem we had was what Anput had said before; "We sadly aren't in a position right now to be creating and running a business, especially not since we are constantly on the move and going out to fight the Fiends or train ourselves to get stronger."

Grandpa nodded at that, a soft smile gracing his elegant features as he replied "I understand that... and it only makes my heart ache all the more, knowing that this weight has already begun to settle onto your young shoulders. This should be time spent enjoying the low responsibilities of the Academy, hanging out with your peers and exploring your interests, not heading out to fight..."

He let out a sigh at that, only to shake his head when Anput idly responded with "I don't think we would have ever had the choice, nor would we have chosen to remain in the Academy; each of us were in positions too far up that were already laden with responsibilities. It's what was expected of us and what we were raised to do. No point in fantasizing about something that would have never happened; that energy is better put to use making sure we can do our jobs easily."

"That's exactly my point... you're still young; you shouldn't need to be worrying about those things at all! You should be able to enjoy being young without any issue, and yet..."

Leone and I just smiled wryly at one another as Anput replied "And yet we can't, because we were born into these positions. A Princess, a Begum, and the daughter of one of the most powerful and ancient bloodlines in the entirety of the northern continent? Who also had one of the rarest types of magics ever? We were never going to have a normal, typical childhood. Especially not with the Fiends returning now; it just wasn't in the cards for us. And honestly, I don't think we mind that much; sure I would love some peace and to have to do nothing, but I also love having this purpose to push forwards and get stronger."

He sighed again before nodding, looking back towards the sparring duo and watching on as his wife ducked beneath a heavy swing from Jahi's blade, only to be forced back when her sword crashed against the Demoness' weapon, which she had positioned to cover her side.

The dagger in her off hand was about to stab forwards into Jahi's side, but she was caught off guard when the Demoness jabbed at her chin with a straight punch, taking a hand off of the hilt of her sword and opting for more offense.

"Besides... Jahi was never going to want to sit still for long anyways. It's part of who she is to be out fighting."

"I suppose that is true... something all Demons possess, even if they try to deny it. Well... still, consider it. Surely you can realize the benefits of pursuing a passion that can make you money? You won't always be able to always rely on others for funds after all. You'll need to start procuring your own wealth, more than what you currently have saved up."

It was my turn to sigh as I nodded, knowing that he was telling the truth since it was something that I had been thinking about recently as well; that need to become more independent even though we had one of the greatest and wealthiest safety nets to fall back on whenever we felt the need; Mom was the primary 'carer' in this situation for us, but the Empress and the Sultana would likely offer help if we ever requested it as well.

If not them, there was always the aunts and siblings from Leone's side, or we could ask for some aid from our 'new' grandparents; if worse comes to worst, we could also ask for a loan from the Demon Clans, but that would be a slippery slope I never really wanted to find myself on.

But, none of that was ever going to happen since we could always secure money for ourselves with relative ease; monster hunting, enchanting, blacksmithing and alchemy all were lucrative enough in the short term, and each had their own long term wealths waiting to be realized if we were smart enough.

"We'll certainly consider it soon, and I don't doubt that we'll be experimenting anyways with some of the suggestions you had; Anput seems interested in the infusions and baths, while we could create our own lotions and the like to get a recipe together. As for enchanted items, I already do all of our enchanting for us, and I've always been able to make a good amount of coin quickly selling off our old gear."

"Then... I suppose when things quiet down and the world returns to its peaceful state, you can come and find me for aid; I have more than a few stores waiting to be properly used at the moment, ones that are being rented or simply held whilst the surrounding area develops into something worthwhile. Or if that is too... imbalanced for you, I can always offer a fair amount of coin and set up meetings between you and other investors if you prefer. I would just need to know."

We all gave the man a smile and nod, before our attention was drawn back to the sparring duo when we heard a loud clang and a grunt, which had come from Jahi as she found a sword resting against her neck and a dagger pressed against her ribs, preparing to slide between them and into a lung.

Her own sword was resting in the sand, its hilt bare and waiting to be grasped again, but sadly the Demoness who had been wielding it was raising her arms in surrender, a fair amount of surprise lacing her amethyst eyes.

"I will admit I thought this would take less time... I'm not much of a warrior, but I do know a thing or two about fighting, and well..."

Chuckling softly, the Elf walked forwards and made his way over to the duo, his emerald eyes landing on his wife as he asked "Didn't you say before that you were going to-"

"Quiet, Alamar."

Her icy voice only made the man chuckle some more as he nodded, the easy smile on his face not fading at all despite the woman turning to glare at him, before her eyes landed on us, those deep blues filled with challenge.

"Well, I suppose I am next~?"

A challenge that Anput decided to accept as she grabbed the blade from the sand and began to shift it for her purposes, her mana snaking over the metal and altering its composition slowly as she created a thinner, single edged scimitar that she seemed to prefer now over her longsword.

"Very well."

"Ah, let's take a step back again then. Minuvae, don't... never mind."

Smiling at Jahi as she joined us, Grandpa kept walking back as he asked "Were you surprised? She doesn't... well, I guess she does; give off the vibes of a fighter, I mean. At least through her eyes, anyways. I suspect that you are a visualizer, much like your Mom is; you judge with what you can see before tuning your judgement with reality. You see the lithe frame, neutral stance, and don't think that she can be that strong, only to become surprised when she can match your strength?"

"Something like that, yes... I thought she would be similar to how Anput is in a fight; quick with some bite, but more of a reflexive fighter instead of a strength based one."

He chuckled some more as he nodded, gesturing for us to focus on the fight again as he said "That's because she has a unique style that she created for herself. Psychologically manipulative is what she loves to say; she utilizes small bursts of mana to match your strength and put you on edge, goading you into thinking too much. Something she does instinctually now. When you look at her, you see the sharp gaze and lithe frame and assume she is someone who fights with speed, only to start doubting yourself and her as you trade blows. Fascinating, isn't it?"

"It is... though that almost feels impossible to do; how do you manage to control your mana in such a way without giving it away? And the amount she needs to match some of my swings... how does she know how much to use?"

"She's an assassin, remember? Her observation skills are honed to a deadly extreme. As for her control, not only is she an Elf, she has been working on making the most of her Core since the day it was awoken. Each day was spent using almost all of her mana to maintain her body to a certain degree, before she slept to regenerate everything. Her original family was quite... unique in that regard. Prioritized mana control over anything else. Could take a normal spell and make it do things no one's ever seen before..."