Ace and Archer smiled ear to ear as they looked at the piles of precious gems in front of them.
Just like Selene had told them earlier, she was able to detect these treasures from the ground, allowing them to unearth them with the help of Bridget’s Earth Magic.
Although it sounded simple, the process was actually rather complex.
Only two hours had passed since they left the cave, but Bridget was already sweating buckets.
Her magical powers were draining at a rapid rate, and she needed to take several minutes of rest before she could continue digging for these precious gems and minerals.
In order to help her recover, Ethan didn’t hesitate to give her rejuvenation potions, in addition to lending her his Magical Bracelet.
While the Magic Power inside her body was recovering, she was using the magic reserves stored in the Magical Battery to cast spells.
Although Bridget was his Protector, he didn’t let Luna mention anything about her ability to condense Magic Power because he didn’t want others to know her secret.
Luna understood that Ethan was only looking out for her, so she also kept silent and recharged one Magic Battery after the other. She’d pass it to Bridget every time the one the latter was using ran out of power.
Due to the mental and physical exhaustion that Bridget was suffering from, Ethan asked Selene to only focus on places with dense concentrations of precious gems and minerals.
This way, Bridget could gain more with the hard work that she was tasked with doing.
Of course, the others also helped. However, their help was limited.
In fact, only Sefarina, who specialized in Wind Element, could do something to help Bridget do the heavy lifting since she could carry rocks and dirt away with her magic.
“Thank you for your hard work. You can rest for today,” Ethan said to Bridget and Sefarina, whose bodies were now covered with sweat.
The young man then glanced at Selene. He asked her if she knew any places with flowing spring water so that the ladies could take a bath and freshen themselves up.
He had the power to sense water in the surroundings, but it was much easier to ask Selene since Janga Valley was her own backyard.
After gathering the spoils, Ethan split them evenly, adding more shares to Bridget’s and Sefarina’s portions, for they did most of the work.
Since there were plenty of resources to be gained, the handsome young man didn’t need to be stingy.
They still had plenty of days to gather treasures, so he decided to just gather them at a reasonable pace.
Ethan was more worried about his other teammates from Brynhildr Academy, and wondered if they were still hunting down the students from their rival academies, preventing them from gathering resources of their own.
An hour later, all the ladies, including Selene, soaked in the spring waters, making them all sigh in relief.
However, it didn’t take long before all of them, with the exception of the Carbuncle, gazed at Emma’s body with envy.
The Assistant Librarian doesn’t make any effort in making herself look good in the presence of others.
The only time she would put some effort into looking beautiful was when she was alone with Ethan.
Now that she had removed all of her clothes, her seductive body was out for everyone’s eyes to feast on, making even Luna feel inferior.
“… Life is unfair,” Bridget said as she looked at her own modest breasts before shifting her gaze towards Emma’s voluptuous chest filled with womanly charms.
Luna and Sefarina were both C-Cups, while Emma was a D-Cup, making her look fuller and more seductive than the two other beautiful ladies.
“How did you make them that big?” Bridget asked Emma.
“Sorry, but this should be related to genes,” Emma replied. “I didn’t do anything special. But maybe if you give your chest a massage, it might grow bigger.”
“… Will it really work?” Bridget inquired.
“I don’t really know,” Emma answered before a mischievous smile appeared on her face. “But, there are breasts enlarging potions. I just don’t know if they are safe to use. Why not ask Master for a breast massage? Who knows, he might just help you increase your breast size.”
Bridget’s face immediately turned beet red after hearing Emma’s reply.
“Y-You, stop talking nonsense.” Bridget glared. “Just because you are Master’s Promised One, don’t think that you can act smug. If you don’t do a good job, I will steal your position from you.”
“Sure,” Emma smirked. “Feel free to try.”
Suddenly, everyone heard a familiar voice inside their heads.
“Challenge Accepted.”
The water in the spring rippled, and a beautiful young lady, with cat-like ears, appeared in front of everyone.
Just like Emma, she had an hourglass figure, and her skin radiated a youthful glow that made her look dazzling as the light rays of the setting sun fell upon her body.
“L-Lilith?” Luna asked. “Is that you?”
The young lady, who seemed to be in her early twenties, turned to look at Luna with a smile.
“It is me,” Lilith replied before sitting beside Luna and giving her a hug. “It’s been a while since I returned to my original form. Don’t be surprised next time, okay?”
Lilith was older than them by a few years, and she was radiating this sense of confidence, which made Emma raise an eyebrow.
She had long black hair, and the two cat-like ears on the top of her head made her look exquisite, further enhancing her feminine charm.
Also, there was a hint of a mysterious air of maturity around her, which made her incredibly attractive.
“Make sure to do your best so you keep your position, Emma,” Lilith commented. “If you fail then I will definitely take your place.”
Emma smiled sweetly as she gazed at the shameless Cat-Kin who coveted her position.
“The fact that I found Master first meant that I was the one Fated to be with him,” Emma stated. “Also, this is proof that we already share a bond.”
Emma lightly tapped her right chest, and a red rune, which meant “Soul” in the ancient language, appeared in front of everyone.
Lilith, Bridget, and Sefarina looked at the lightly glowing rune and sighed in their hearts.
This was indeed the symbol of the Promised One, and this meant that no matter what they did, Emma’s position was more or less unshakable.
Even so, they were still Ethan’s Protectors.
With or without the symbol on their chests, they would still protect him with their lives, as expected from the members of the Protector Clans that served their family.
“Um, excuse me but… what is this Promised One you are all talking about?” Luna asked. “Ethan mentioned it to me in passing, but he didn’t elaborate on this subject. Can you all tell me what it is?”
Lilith, Bridget, and Sefarina glanced at each other before shifting their gaze to Emma.
Truth be told, they didn’t have the authority to tell Luna anything. However, the angelic beauty was someone whom their Master had recognized as his future wife.
Because of this, she also gained the qualification to know a little bit about the background of the people who served her lover.
“While I can’t tell you the full details of what the Promised One entails, I can tell you what I am allowed to tell you,” Emma replied. “This title is something that is bestowed upon the person whom our Lord recognizes as his first supporter. Of course, the gender of the Promised One doesn’t matter.
“They are simply the people who will live and die with their Master because of the unbreakable bond that is shared between their souls. In short, my soul is now bound to Master. So, if he dies, I will also die. This also means that I have a special role to play in his life as his Protector and his property.”
There was still more that Emma didn’t say because it was confidential information.
Until Ethan successfully completed his Coming-of-Age Trial, the secrets of the Four Protector Clans and his true identity would remain a secret.
Although the information that was shared with her wasn’t much, it made Luna realize that her lover wasn’t a simple person.
By now, almost everyone in the academy knew that Ethan was just a farm boy.
A country bumpkin who was lucky enough to attend Brynhildr Academy.
If these students only knew that this farm boy was actually being protected by four mysterious Clans, they would probably change their opinion of Ethan.
Especially the Nobles who looked down on him in the past because of his background.
Nobles like Langston who thought that Ethan was a soft persimmon that he could pinch any time he wanted.