By the time Luo Hong woke up, it was already evening. He headed to the cafeteria to enjoy being "spoon-fed" by Mei, and in return, he gave her some "nourishment" as well.
Raiden Mei: Level 24 → Level 25 (NEW!)
After helping Mei level up, he went to the Lord's office to see Theresa, who was busy reviewing... blank documents.
Strictly speaking, these Valkyrie NPCs didn't do "real" work; their mere presence in a department provided passive buffs.
Mei in the cafeteria stabilized the army's food supply and provided "Cat Food" style combat buffs.
Theresa in the office gave a production bonus to base materials.
Himeko and Kiana were in the military—Himeko as a general boosting overall power, and Kiana as the template for the soldiers' durability.
The highest-level Bronya was placed in the role of Head Maid.
As for the effect?
"...to relieve the stress of the hardworking Lord!"
Now, he had assigned two more maids to Bronya—Cangxuan and Danzhu!
"Perfect. This is how it should be!"
Sitting in his office chair, Luo Hong was "leveling up" Theresa while simultaneously operating the system panel to assign tasks to the two sisters. His current territory level was still too low; once it increased, he could unlock the laboratory to research new unit types. When that time came, he could toss the sisters in there.
But before that, he needed to raise their levels significantly, or the lab would be useless.
In this game world, talent alone wasn't enough. As long as the level was high enough, even Theresa—whose base IQ was only [76]—could be more useful in the lab than these two genius sisters.
As he finished leveling Theresa again, he sensed Bronya's arrival.
[Theresa: Level 30 → Level 31 (NEW!)]
"Asleep by ten, are we?"
With a playful smirk, he discarded the Theresa in his arms onto the desk like a used rag, restored his clothing, and teleported back to the Lord's manor.
"What a good little girl."
Yesterday, he had learned from Bronya that the time in this world moved in sync with the outside world. Of course, as the Lord, he could set the time here to be permanent daytime to contrast with the outside world. But since Bronya arrived every night, it was a pleasant arrangement that suited him perfectly, so he left it as is.
When he entered the manor, he happened to see Bronya lifting the skirts of Cangxuan and Danzhu.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk!"
Luo Hong clicked his tongue with a playful look. "I never imagined you had such hobbies, Duckie. I thought you only had eyes for Seele."
"N-No! That's not it! And Bronya wouldn't 'do things' to Seele either!"
Caught off guard, Bronya's face flushed as she shot back, "Bronya just wanted to see if these two sisters had been... despoiled by you yet!"
"Oh?" Luo Hong looked shocked. "I thought you understood me better than that. To think you'd view me so cynically... it breaks my heart."
"So, did you do it or not?"
Bronya didn't fall for his act. She maintained an expressionless face and pressed for an answer.
"Of course I did," Luo Hong answered without a hint of hesitation. "You know my personality. Why would I let meat that's already in my mouth fly away? You can't expect me to stop chasing other women just because I have you, right?"
He interlaced his fingers and gave her a meaningful smile. "Duckie, we are in a business transaction. You have no right to control me."
"..." Facing his logic, Bronya found herself unable to argue. Silence was her only refuge.
As he said, they weren't in a romantic relationship. Even if she were his girlfriend, she might have a reason to speak up, but... she was just trading with him. For some reason, she felt a slight pang of bitterness in her chest, and her whole body felt uncomfortable.
She shook her head, pushing the thought aside. "The deal continues," she said coldly. "This time, Bronya wants to know about Class Monitor Fu Hua's past."
Then, with hollow eyes, she began to pull off her maid uniform.
"Oh?" Luo Hong smirked and caught her small hand. "Is Duckie angry?" He squinted his eyes, looking as if he could see right through her.
"How could that be?" Bronya replied in her usual monotone. "Bronya and the Lord are merely in a transaction. I wouldn't dare overstep my bounds."
"You are definitely angry." Luo Hong's grin widened, but surprisingly, he didn't feel like touching her tonight.
Instead, he picked her up and sat her on the bed. By their side, the sister-maids, Cangxuan and Danzhu, stood ready to serve. Cangxuan held a fruit platter while Danzhu fed him pieces.
"Then today, I'll show you Fu Hua's life story." Luo Hong snapped his fingers, projecting a virtual display before them.
"Bronya... isn't... angry." Seeing that Luo Hong was actually behaving himself and keeping his hands clean, the fire in her heart subsided a little.
Soon, she was completely immersed in the magnificent saga of Fu Hua's life.
As someone who already knew the story, Luo Hong's attention wasn't on the plot but rather on Fu Hua's... "front armor." He suspected it was even flatter than the Duckie in his arms. No—it was definitely flatter. After all, 8 > 50,000+!
Even compared to the current Bronya, he felt Bronya was the winner. Although she looked petite, she actually had quite a bit of "firmness" to her, evident by the way her thigh-rings indented her skin. Coupled with her plump "Duck Tail," Luo Hong found her absolutely irresistible.
"I won't show you the later parts of the story," he said, ending the projection once the timeline reached the present. "Not because I'm afraid you'll mess up the plot, but because it would ruin the suspense."
Having learned Fu Hua's past, the relationship between the two girls would likely normalize; Bronya wouldn't feel the need to be constantly on guard against her.
"I understand," Bronya nodded, coming back to her senses. Then, she started to undress again. She didn't want to owe him anything... it definitely wasn't because her anger had faded!
"I don't need you tonight."
Luo Hong stopped her again, looking at Cangxuan and Danzhu. "I just pulled these two. I need to 'level them up' more. You can just watch from the side."
Bronya: ( )?