If there was one thing that was frowned upon in Gaia, then it was 'aimless strength'. To have power you don't need is leads to corruption, and so, the Knights and Priests preach of harmony, and to only gain strength that is necessary... without greed.
Even the Head of the Royal Guards believed that one should live as determined by Gaia and the Imperial Ruler of Lancia. That's why she wasn't the least bit angry when she heard a member of the Royal Family exerted his status to do as he wanted.
"Your Highness, are these the sisters you are covering for?" Jenna asked the shorty politely.
This happened a few minutes after Arthur barged in to get healed and left just as abruptly as he came. Vhalen was happy the influential Head of the squadron that protected his family came here.
After nodding his head, he showed the silver-haired wolf girl the quintuplets he was talking about. She eyed them for a bit before looking through a few documents in her hand, then nodded her head without looking disturbed by this.
"...You don't look surprised." Vhalen spoke as he expected there to be a bigger backlash than this.
"Would you change your mind if I was?"
"Nope."
Jenna's eyes started at him like this: (﹁﹁)~→
She didn't dare to glare, but the emotions of wanting to roll her eyes was conveyed to her.
"It's because you're a Healer I expected this to happen one day..." She told him honestly.
"Seriously...?"
"Have you not noticed that all Healers tend to be unable to differentiate between friend and foe?"
"Not really."
"Unconditional kindness is as bad as unchecked malicious intent. There is a reason no one brings a Healer along with them when formulating a five-man party structure. They are too pacifistic..."
"...Do you blame me?"
"To answer Your Highness honestly: I don't. Those of the Healer Class are only doing as their 'Role' dictate. You too are only abiding by your instincts as a Healer... and using your status as Royalty correctly. His Majesty would be proud of you."
"...Thanks." Vhalen didn't put on airs in front of her and straightforwardly thanked her for praising him.
"These girls will be under your care from now on but they will be advised to stay close to you. I know you don't like being put under surveillance, so I'll assign a strong Archer and Warrior under my command act as bodyguards for you." As Jenna said that, she ignored the five sisters and invited in a strange duo who both wore very modest clothing.
"We are both honoured to serve you."
"Please call out to us and use us as you see fit."
Although both of them seemed ordinary on the surface, their hidden stats were something else...!
First was the woman hiding her ears and mouth:
{Spirit Essence- Elven Bow
• Innate Ability- Gaia Affinity
Magic Slots/ Wood Physique:
(Light Magic- Showering Arrows)
• Wood Magic- Vitalised Shot
Artificial Class- Jungle Archer:
• Class Skill- Marksmanship Genius
• Class Skill- Compressed Vigour}
Then was the man wearing a helmet like Samuel's:
{Spirit Essence- Vastlight Sword
• Innate Ability- Gaia Affinity
Magic Slots/ Sun Physique:
(Sun Magic- Heavenly Arc)
Fire Magic- Malevolent Inferno
Artificial Class- Immortal Warrior:
• Class Skill- Sword Genius
• Class Skill- Independent Healing}
What did these two have in common? They both came from the Prison Laboratory and were both rare 'Geniuses' that were just one level below 'Prodigies' in rank. Jenna was really giving him her best subordinates for his continued protection.
She herself was good at surveillance and investigation without being caught as someone with the blood of a Moon Wolf flowing through her veins. However, she was too occupied on watching over the five 'Hidden Dragons' of the Ruling Kingdom and keeping tabs on Drake's safety. It was already polite enough that she came here...
"I'll be leaving then. You two keep your distance until you are called out to." They nodded their heads before following along as Vhalen and the quintuplets were the only ones left in the room.
"It was that easy...?" The eldest sister wasn't at all disappointed. She just felt it was anticlimactic.
"I'm a Prince after all."
"Thank you for taking care of us."
"It's no problem at all~" He spoke before looking at the sky out the window. It was kinda early, but he could at least prepare for tonight, where he would be preforming at a restaurant, couldn't he?
"...What are we supposed to do now?" They were lost as they didn't know what to do from here.
The five girls had been running around to escape from the State Knights and Guards of the Ruling Kingdom along with that Killer they knew of. It looked like Vhalen had forgotten all about all that as he looked at them before speaking informally:
"Wanna go party with me?"
"...Are we even allowed to?"
"Of course~ I already had these plans before and was going to go by myself until you guys popped up. Want to come with me?" He offered since he believed that sitting around only made people lazy and that there was a lot of things they could do.
"We're in!" Her younger sisters nodded as they were curious to see what this Healer was up to.
The first thing he did was take them around to the stores for a change of clothes and showed them around to his favourite places as he did so. They had fun picking out accessories and dolling themselves up for the 'party' he talked about as well as getting permission to live at Alex's house instead of staying there without alerting him.
Before they went out, Vhalen personally persuaded the scholarly freak and used some of the bartering skills he learnt from shopkeepers until the Magic Prodigy caved in... When Alex thought about it, he decided to give them some responsibilities too.
That's why he frankly told the Second Prince;
"I consider you to be paying for your stay here by working as our personal medic. You're great at patching up Arthur and are welcome to stay here as you like. With the exception of my friend, you all need to work to earn a living. Even Lily helps me think of new theories and magical formulas by talking to me about my own ideas. Them five, on the other hand, are useless since we don't need any fighters, and will have to act as live-in maids."
The quintuplets accepted his line of reasoning as they didn't want to impose on their benefactor.
"Sire, are we buying maid clothes as well?" The eldest sister was used to being the mouthpiece for her siblings. They were too afraid to talk to people at the same time despite knowing each other's thoughts. None of them liked taking the initiative...
"Of course. Working clothes are a necessity. Don't worry about the money. I'll pay for your clothes."
"Sire is too kind!"
"I know~" He smiled after taking them to a clothing store, and thinking about the mansion in his free time. It was a big place, but there was a distinct lack of servants despite him being able to afford them. Hiring servants was pretty easy to do.
There was a lot of cleaning and miscellaneous Classes that focused on maintenance rather than creation. Even Inns had Waitresses and Waiters due to hiring some of those regular people.
Alex didn't seem to hire anybody at first until he and a lot of other people barged in... but maybe that was because of that strange technology he had had hidden underneath the mansion itself.
What was Alex trying to do anyway? He didn't seem to be hiding his amazing 'magic technology'... Even personally inviting Vhalen to talk in the basement where he created most his gadgets. The shorty was surprised by this attitude.
On top of that, the scholarly freak was way too laid back about letting new people, like Spencer, live there and help him manage his things. Was there a reason why he was choosing to hire maids 'now'?
Or was he bored of cleaning it by himself?
But what made him worried was another thing: And that was what Alex said before walking away...
"Fear has left a message that she had already found another place to stay rather than living in this mansion. I'd say 'good riddance', but I guess I just wanted to tell you this before you get anxious and go looking for her." Alex told him straightforwardly.
He was surprised and worried when he heard that innocent girl, who didn't seem to know much about the world, went off on her own without saying anything. Although they weren't close, he thought that they were at least at the level of acquaintances before... Vhalen was kinda sad she just forgot about him, worrying if she revealed herself again.
Maybe it wouldn't happen. After all, she was ignorant of the world; not idiotic towards others.
This was especially true when he saw how she was able to expertly socialise with the people at the mansion despite their differences. She was a pleasant person to be around to the shorty...
"What do you think, Sire? Which style do you like best?" He was woken up by his maid's question.
Each one of the quintuplets wore a different kind of maid outfit each, mostly since there was no point in changing too many times when they all had the same figure. One sibling wearing an outfit was as good as all of them wearing the same uniforms.
Vhalen looked at them and compared them to the maids at the Royal Palace. His eyes didn't hold a hint of bashfulness as he openly looked over their maid outfits while ignoring their shy reactions.
To him, it was an ordinary thing to see maids walking around to maintain the large Royal Palace along with its multiple buildings. Those maids at the palace had long skirts and a formal atmosphere around them, as if they were ready for battle everyday. He knew well that maids valued practicality as their uniforms were meant to be easily replaceable and dull as to not waste money.
Even if they were in the Royal Palace and were at the centre of the entertainments from all of the Human Empire, the 'Royal Maids' were the pinnacle of woman who knew their duties to Royalty.
It didn't matter if they didn't have a miscellaneous Class like Housekeeper or Cleaner, as even the Fighter Class 'Battle Maids' knew their place and what responsibilities they held without needing to think of things like the Royal Family's honour.
That's why maids took a special place in Vhalen's heart, which was why he seriously thought up an answer when he was asked what was suitable for them to wear. Not only in terms of looks, but also practicality, as they still needed to learn chores.
"Are you all serious about being maids?"
"...We've lived by ourselves before and had worked as housemaids before." The eldest surprised him.
"What made you pick such a role?" After all, being a maid was unappealing even amongst roles.
Even if one was born into the Cleaner Class, that didn't mean their future only had one option.
A Class was only fate's beginning, not the end of it.
This wasn't due to them were looked down on, but had more to do with the public perception of maids as a whole. They knew well that the Royal Maids at the palace were boring and didn't dress up much...
They did their work, and when everything was shiny and clean, they acted as guards on the lookout, keeping security there perfect. No one could ever infiltrate without killing them first...
The Royal Maids were more like worker ants than human beings, and their empty eyes reflected this.
Their strict gazes was unnerving to some...
"No one cares about the Spirit Essences of those who blend into the background." This made him realise how they were able to easily hide themselves for so long without getting caught.
Although no Class was looked down on. Citizens still enjoyed watching flashier Classes at work in this kingdom of entertainment. Whether it be Bards or Singers, they loved showing off their Spirit Essences as if praising their own 'essence'.
That was how Gaia Humans in Lancia existed...
Vhalen took her words to heart and looked at the outfits that went from being modest to sensual.
"Are you girls seriously planning on wearing this one?" He pointed at the youngest sister at side while looking between her and the second youngest on the other side of the line they made.
One of them was practically winter clothing while the other one was practically the kind of clothing you'd see in a Maid Café. Cute, but didn't have the practicality he was looking for in their outfit.
"...There's only five styles in this shop, so..." The eldest blushed as she spoke for her youngest sister. That girl hid her face with her hands in embarrassment as Vhalen was looking over her.
If it wasn't for the fact that they could sense no lewd thoughts in his eyes, one of them would have drop-kicked the shorty already for scanning the young girl. Their youngest looked like the sweetest version of the identical sisters from head-to-toe.
On top of that, she was a shorter than the rest.
The handsome prince was practically the youngest sister's size physically, yet had a maturity in his looks that a teenager should have. When his gaze turned to look at the four beside him, they couldn't help but feel a little guilty for doubting him.
"I pick that one." He pointed as the third sister that was next to the youngest sibling of the quintet.
The maid uniform was a lot more pretty than the ones he had seen at the palace, yet also a lot more practical that the one that was showing too much skin. Thus, they also liked the one he picked.
"Why not the one I'm wearing?" The eldest sister asked as she didn't understand his reasoning.
"I'm picking the one that suits your personality. I may love practicality, but you girls should dress pretty when you have the chance to." The natural lady killer spoke before briefly using his hand to sort the third sister's hair, causing her to blush...!
She ran her hand through her hair as well before fully tying it into a ponytail, as she wanted to stand out and stay noticed by him even among her sisters. Then, something Vhalen didn't expect happened as he was about to tell them to leave.
They needed to rehearse what will happen at the party he would take them to as well as know what occasion they were celebrating. There was a lot of work he considered a necessity as Royalty.
The eldest grabbed his arm and spoke:
"Can you help us figure out a style? My sisters want to know which things suit them most."
"Do you even need to change you styles?"
"We do!" All of them spoke at once, causing him to realise he had accidentally got into something troublesome. It was going to be a real nightmare getting them to decide on new styles now...
From what he could tell: They wanted some 'individuality' from each other to appeal to him...
Vhalen sighed before getting unusually serious about this. He knew a Fashion Designer and was undaunted by the prospect of going to that hell called 'girls shopping'. He would definitely choose things that suit them before they continued...!
Little did he know that he was accidentally playing with the hearts of these girls who had only known kindness from ONLY him. His heart was serene as not any one of them moved his heart as 'women'.
This was why the Second Prince was called both a Lady Killer and Heartbreaker... He was too calm!
But that's also why every girl wanted a piece of him...! Despite not wanting to date him for too long.
It Alex was to see him now: That freak would look for the 'Harem Protagonist Ex' in his stats...!
The handsome shorty was far too 'formidable'!!!