Paul finished assessing Maya's magic pool and replaced his mana with Qi but this time he decided to go deeper and check if his theory that he had just formulated was true.
It took more time than just checking her meridians and dantian but he got the answers that he wanted and even if he suspected it,now he knew for sure.
When he finished retracting his Qi from the girl he opened his eyes and had a serious look on his face.
-Ladies, we need to have a serious talk about what I just discovered.
He said with a deathly serious face.
Both girls looked at him understanding that this was a serious matter.
-Can I not cultivate?
Maya asked, afraid that she didn't have the talent like her older sister.
-It's exactly the opposite,you have the same talents as Mia and to be honest you both might be more talented than me.
Paul said, calming her anxiety.
-Then what is the problem?
Mia asked.
-The problem is that aside from your skin color you both are human and you are both incredibly gifted.
If someone were to find out that you both are dual cultivators then you will be in great danger.
Paul explained the situation to them and his words shocked the girls.
-You mean that we are not goblins anymore?
Maya asked,shocked by that revelation.
-The only goblin feature that you have is the green skin color,other than that you are a human just like me.
His words were like a lightning bolt that struck the girls making them speechless.
-Than what is the problem if we are humans then we can just go to live with other humans.
Mia said,after she came back to her senses.
-You don't understand. The skin color is enough for most people to treat you as goblins and if someone captured you and discovered how gifted you both are.
Forget about just becoming slaves,you would be used as a breeding object as a chance that a child from any of you would inherit your talents is high.
The girls pondered his words and it was Mia who understood what he meant first.
The moment she understood she went pale as this would be a fate worse than death.
-Then what do you want us to do?
She asked with a shaky voice,visibly startled by the possibility that he had just described.
-I would like for you both to stay here and train until you are both strong enough to defend yourselves.
Paul said seriously.
-And in the future when we will enter some settlement or a city I want you both to play a part of my servants.
He continued.
-Why should we become your servants?
Mia asked suspiciously.
-You won't.All you need to do is to pretend that you are my servants without actually being them as the law of this world allows me to protect you and prevents others from hurting you since they would have to answer for hurting a servant that doesn't belong to them.
Paul explained and this calmed down the girl who was getting the wrong idea and got angry.
-What's the difference between being a servant and pretending to be one?
She asked.
-If you are a servant then you have a contract with your master that binds you to him but unlike a slave contract it can be broken by both parties whenever the contract terms are violated or if they simply want to end it.
You two would not need to have a contract with me,just pretending that you have one is enough and most people will leave you alone as you would be under my protection.
He explained the workings of a servant contract to her which took her a moment to understand but finally calmed her down.
-Then we don't need to pretend and we can simply become your servants.
Mia decided.
-Are you sure?
This is not a simple matter as the contract is binding for both of us and if any of us breaks any of the set rules then there are penalties.
Paul knew how the contract worked because in his previous life all his maids were under such a contract.
-Then let's set the terms in such a way that they will be easy for us to follow.
Mia said.
It was not like she wanted to be a servant but if it meant that she and her sister were protected then she would do it.
Paul was speechless as he expected the girls to reject the idea all together since it bound them and they only met a short while ago so they had no idea if they could trust one another.
The girls looked at this from a different perspective.
For them Paul provided food and when they were in pain he risked his life to help them not to mention that he even used his own clothes so that they could cover up a bit.
In their eyes he did many things for them when he didn't need to do any of it and it made them trust him a bit.
When he came to his senses a few minutes later,Mia was explaining everything to Maya who was clueless about what they were talking about.
He waited patiently for the girls to discuss the matter and when they were finished Mia approached him.
-It is settled.We will become your servants but there are things that you can't order us to do.
She said.
-Then we need to find something to write the contract on.
Paul said nodding.
He knew that there would be some terms that they would want to include in the contract but it didn't bother him at all.
He didn't know himself why he wanted to help the girls as he could just leave them to their fate and be done with it but something was pushing him to help them and protect them.
They didn't have any paper or anything else to write on so he took out a few pieces of firewood and split them in half after which he used his knife to smoothen them a little.
Then he got a piece of charcoal from the bonfire and used it to write a contract on the wood.
It was crude but it should be enough to make the contract.
The girls told him their terms and he added a few of his own to make it easier for them all.
The payment for their service was set as food and the knowledge that he had to impart to them.
The main term was that they couldn't attack each other and betray each other,which was more than enough to make them all happy with it.
After the contract was ready they all had to sign it with their blood.
Paul went first and made a little cut on his thumb and stamped the contract under the place that was designed for the master to sign.
Mia was next and she didn't hesitate when she cut her finger and stamped the contract in the place that Paul instructed her to.
Maya was not too happy with the prospect of cutting her finger but seeing her sister do it she decided that she would do it too.
The moment she left her mark on the piece of wood,the letters started to shine with a golden light and floated from the wood pieces dividing into three parts and entered their bodies.
The contract was accepted by the gods and as a sign of it they all had received a symbol on their bodies.
The symbol looked like a rabbit's head with its blades crossed underneath.
This was something that happened often as the strongest beast that you killed so far became your symbol