Three days had passed on and Ryu was in his plantation space with Dorothea. The maid's body had already begun showing changes with the change in her diet. Her cheeks had become much more supple as her body gained some mass. Her body was not yet fully satiated but at least it was on the right track. It was time for her to try out what type of magic she had awakened. 

Ryu was planning to get some custom-made dress made for the lady but for now, he preferred her naked. "Are you ready, Dorothea?" The maid had learned enough to know how she can gain some basic control over her mana. "Yes, Ryu. What should I do?" Although, it wasn't easy for him to teach her everything from scratch but as long as it was a pretty lady, she was not going to complain. 

"Concentrate. Focus on the mana in your channels. Try to accumulate it in your hands and then visualize it spurting out of your body through your limb." She nodded in understanding, closed her eyes, and focused for a few minutes. Nothing happened. "Don't worry, just keep trying. Here, let me do it with you." He sat down beside her and began cultivating so that the older woman can have some company. Dorothea was really happy that Ryu came into her life. Had it not been for this boy, she might have already passed away. But now that she had made her decision she was happy that she chose to follow him. All this time he had been an absolute sweetheart to her. Thus, she can't disappoint him.

Thinking till there she once again closed her eyes and focused on her internal mana flow and urge it towards her hands. But it was easier said than done. No matter how much she tried to force it the flow in her body refused to listen to her. It seemed to have a mind of its own. Time passed and minutes changed into hours when Dorothea fell back on her butt. She had taken this mage business as a joke. It was clear that she was not cut out for the task. 

Ryu opened his eyes to see Dorothea with a downcast expression as she looked up straight into the clear sky above. He knew she had failed despite giving her best. Actually it was not her fault. In truth, he himself had underestimated the importance of an awakening ceremony in a mage's life. When they had awakened their dormant powers, they had inadvertently gained control over their internal mana. Only now when he had to train a mage who had not undergone the ceremony, did he come to realize how much that magic crystal had helped them? 

"Haha... Why so said, little maid?" He put his hands around her waist and tried to cheer her up. "I can't do it, Ryu. I tried my best but it just doesn't work." He saw the deep disappointment in her eyes. This woman truly desired to help him. The most important reason behind her accepting this life of slavery was just so she can help Ryu out and now that she had effectively failed in that too, he can easily anticipate her condition. 

"It's only been, what? An hour? Are you going to give up on it this fast?" Dorothea had no answer for that. He was right. It had been a single hour. She can't give up just yet. Although she made practically no progress all this while, that didn't mean that nothing will change if she kept going. Her expression changed for the better and her cheeks turned reddish. "Can I ask you something, Ryu?" 

He was happy that she was back to her usual persistent self. He pulled her tighter against his chest. "Anything for you my darling." Dorothea was too shy to admit it and she shoved her head in his chest. "Can you... I mean.. can you... kiss me once?" The boy had some strange charm. The last time when he had kissed her forcefully, she can feel all the negativity burn away in her mind. She just wanted him to cheer her up. Even after all these days, she had not gathered enough courage to initiate a kiss on her own. So she had to rely on Ryu for that.

"Haha.. you are so cute, Dorothea." He pulled her head up but the mature woman refused to meet his eyes, choosing to keep them down out of extreme embarrassment. "How can I kiss you if you keep your head down?" Ryu complained, only then the woman loosened her neck muscles allowing him to tug her head up by her chin and press his lips against her.

***

Today Kira and Ryu didn't find any vines to exterminate so they were enjoying their break on the banks of the small pond. "Brother Ryu, I am planning to visit Mrs. Emily." Ryu was happy that the girl showed enough courage to at least talk about the subject. "Sure, do you want me to accompany you to her place?" Kira pecked her head while biting into her fruit. "So when are you planning to do that?" 

"Hmm.. let me think about it. How about we do it next week? No.. she might be busy. I think we should visit next to next week. Yes, that will be for the best." Ryu wanted to facepalm himself so bad. Just when he praised the girl, she showed her true colors. "Next day when we meet at the plantation, we are going to together to her house." 

"Ahh.. we can't do that brother Ryu? How can I go there without informing her? That's not it.. ahh?" She was foolishly panicking. But Ryu can understand where she was coming from. Emily's name truly inspired awe in even the citizens of the capital, say less about a town. She was the pride of the people living here. She and her husband had given Korua the name and fame that it might never receive in the upcoming centuries. It was nothing short of a miracle, half a century back when a rag-tag town produced not one but two Grand Magus at once. The residents here might never achieve something greater than that ever. 

Ryu didn't let the girl continue with her banter, instead choosing to shut her mouth with a deep kiss. "You still need to be trained, I guess." He grabbed onto her breasts before kissing her back. Both of them can feel the temperature of the surroundings rise. Kira's hands had moved inside his pants to get a hold of his sleeping dragon. "Ryu!! Are you there?" Just when the environment was getting steamy, they were interrupted by a shout from Jake. 

Kira was a bit annoyed after her toy was taken away from her and Ryu can only shrug his hands. Although she was not mad from inside but who can stop her from pretending to be mad? Ryu looked at her pouting lips and gave her another kiss before calling back to his friend. 

***

"Can you please leave us alone for a few minutes, Kira?" From his expression, he must be here to talk about something serious with Ryu. Thus, she didn't fuss about it and left the two friends alone. "Looks like you are in some trouble brother?" Ryu knew the matter should be serious. Since Jake was not a guy who would seek help from others if he believes he can handle it alone. And now that he had come to him, the guy must have failed in doing so. He nodded back. "You guessed it correctly. I am really in a bind right now and although it might be impossible for you to help me out, I just want to try out all possible avenues of help."

"Well said. Now don't hesitate, let it out." He patted his shoulder to calm him down. Jake mulled over it for a while before gathering his thoughts. "I need some fruits." Ryu's grinned listening to him. The one thing he didn't lack right now was wealth in the form of his fruits. "Haha... Your brother here got himself a job. So speak up. Even if I don't have enough, I might be able to arrange it for you. So tell me how much you need." 

Though Jake was not fully convinced by his words, at least he had some hope. "I need somewhere around a 100 Yuvas." Ryu was confident of his newly gained wealth so he had put his chin on his hand and was waiting for Jake to call out a number. But once the boy announced the amount, Ryu nearly fell over. 

For the next few minutes, both friends were silent. In the end, Ryu responded with a wry smile. "What do you want that kind of funds for? Is it related to your father? Is he okay?" He had not anticipated that Jake will directly want to borrow such a huge amount. With the rate of 10 Turas for a single Yuva, with optimistic estimates, his total wealth will be around 15 Yuvas at most. What was worse one of the Yuva he had planted a few days back was not even responding to his mana. 

Jake shook his head in denial. "Father is alright, for now. But it's concerning my mother. 3 days back she was restrained by the people from Dark Wings. They told her that she was required to pay a 100 Yuvas but..." Jake explained to him whatever he knew about his mother's deal with the organization and how they were screwed by their missing uncle. 

Ryu patiently listened to his story without interrupting the guy. In fact, he was in awe of his maturity. His mother had been abducted and he had to get her back but still, the boy was not panicking, instead, handling the situation calmly. He even told him how he suspected Emma must have been involved in some prostitution business and that must be the reason why she began growing distant from him. 

"Hmm.. although she was a jerk to us, no offense. But we were surprised when she even turned cold towards you. Looks like from the inside she is not a bad person, going as far as to sell her body for her husband's treatment. That is praiseworthy. At least, this incident brought to our notice what she was going through." Ryu was aware of how much of a proud soul Emma was, coming from a noble family. So, for her to get involved in the flesh business like a commoner must not have been easy. That only goes on to show how much she must have loved her husband, to even let herself fall into a ditch of despair, just to try to save his life. 

Her struggles reminded Ryu of Dorothea. The couples in this world were too much attached emotionally. Such that loss of their spouses completely shatters them and they can go to any lengths to save their loved ones or even try to follow on their way if the other half passed away. Just like these two ladies Lyod and Emily too were very similar cases. He had never seen the old man laugh from his heart. All his emotions seem shallow. Emily was the same. His father had told them many a time, how the woman stopped engaging socially after her husband's death. Instead, choosing to live a secluded life. Only after so many decades had she began warming up back to her family.

Jake nodded. This time the boy was sad. "It's all my fault. I never tried to talk to her about any difficulties she might be facing. I took the easy way out and chose to ignore her." Ryu pulled the boy into a hug, once he realized his eyes were watering up. Patting his back he tried to console the guy. "Don't worry, brother. I will see what I can do." 

Ryu said that but he had no idea where he can arrange such a huge amount of money. They don't even have much time now. He will have to arrange all of it before tomorrow afternoon. 

***

Ryu was in deep thought back to his home. He didn't even realize when he had reached his own house. But just as he was opening the fence door to his garden, he saw someone walk out of his house. He was the blonde bastard and chief's son. Their eyes met but they walked past each other without any words. Both of them considered each other at too low of a level to even initiate a conversation. Ryu too didn't care about someone who he already defeated once. He must have come here to fuck Amelia, just so he can gain some confidence after his spectacular defeat. He can't care less about his shenanigans until he doesn't try to hurt anyone close to him. As long as it's just sex he will let Amelia decide if she wanted to entertain this jerk or not.