Being unable to resist the urge to try out their "gifts", those two exchanged glazes to then jump into action, Aster softly smiled at their sudden enthusiasm, of course he didn't forget to tease them by cladding himself with the golden armor that has tormented them during the whole training part of the date.

"Humph!", naturally this earned a soft snort from both girls, the first one to act was Nerissa, out of the stream of water that loyally followed her, her blue jade sword was ejected to then land right on her right hand.

"Nine Sea Sword, Formless", then as if of magic, the large water stream that was moving besides her, disappeared as if it evaporated into nothingness, of course that was only the case for those whose eyes weren't sharp enough and Aster doesn't fall into that category.

Instead of disappearing, for his golden eyes, the water stream simply went from liquid state to gaseous state, the water turned into something similar to mist, yet not only it couldn't be seen with one's eyes but it was concealed from spirit sense too.

'This is in part intent, she has reached the peak of the second level, with some experience she'll be able to set a foot into the third level', concluded Aster.

Without knowing what how Nerissa was planning to use her newly acquired ability, which is the whole point about it, water is flexible, unpredictable as it can change and transform depending on the circumstances, Aster instead chose to focus on the pair of sharp weapons that were aiming at his chest.

Not wanting to be outshined by Nerissa, Tiana gathered her soul energy on her glaive to activate her innate ability and very much to her surprise, the process was way smother than with her war spear, so much that it actually reduced the time she took to cast that "line" and so with a happy smile that didn't match her next action, she slashed at Aster.

Nerissa no the other hand chose a stabbing attack, her she might be sword user instead of a rapier or spear user unlike Aria or Camila, but her second level isn't "Sharpening" like Aster's, but "Flowing" which focused on increasing the fluidity of her attacks, so from other people's point of view, her blue jade sword seemed to bent as it reached Aster's body.

Contrary to what those two expected, Aster extended his hands to catch their attacks head on, the result as one would expect was a loud explosion yes, however there were some surprises added to it.

"Booom!", the first surprise was the golden head of the Tiana's glaive which lit up like the sun, Tiana felt a warm sensation coursing through her body as the thing drew her soul energy, channeling it into her blade of the glaive as a result followed by the invisible "line" and then the physical side of her technique, a shinning energy slash landed on Aster's right hand.

The second surprise came from Nerissa, her attack was way less flashing compared to Tiana yes, seemingly being just her blue jade sword cladded with her sword intent, a strange thing considering she is primarily an energy path cultivator, but then to her surprise, blue lines shone on her clothes and as if a weight had been lifted off her chest, her previously "plain" looking attack exploded with a myriad blue light particles.

Each and every of which converged on the point of contact between her sword and Aster's armored hand.

Both clashes were the origin of the previous deafening explosion, the ground cracking and debris flying in all directions, this time however there wasn't a curtain of dust since even that was blown away by the impact, luckily those three were in an area where there weren't any treasures buried, otherwise quite a bit of them would have shattered on the spot.

But the incredibly strong impact which even dispelled the clouds above the nearby area, wasn't the most surprising thing for Tiana and Nerissa, but the fact that Aster now stood ten meters away from them and also that as the destruction trail left from his previous position to the new one, suggested, he was forced backwards.

"Crack!", and the surprises didn't stop there, crispy cracking noises reached those two's ears which they followed to their origin, just to see the light protection around Aster's hands crumbling apart.

With a still smiling expression, Aster raised his hands to show those two his armored palms, revealing that there was a white scratching mark on each one of them, in other words, Tiana and Nerissa just managed to bypass the golden light protection and though superficially, they scratched his armor.

"We got him~", exclaimed them at the same time.

Aster chuckled finding their reaction rather cute.

"Mm, showing such elation about successfully attacking me, that's surely a strange taste", he jokingly said.

Tiana and Nerissa's smiles froze on their faces, they might be young maidens but they aren't sheltered nor naïve so it wasn't hard for them to understand what Aster was referring to.

And so, a cute reddish tone appeared on their faces, but it didn't last long before Aster laughed at them before saying.

"So did you two liked your gifts?", Aster's question made Tiana remember the doubt that raised in her heart earlier.

"What was that earlier, the glaive drew soul energy and my attribute by itself to then release it into an attack that timely followed my new technique with utmost precision… how did you do that?", she mumbled.

"Mm, I'm also curious, the basic concept of my fourth sword "formless" basically combines all my spirit energy with my attribute and then changes regular water into a flowing mass of really small water particles that can be assembled at will, as a result the burden on my body and meridians is appalling and yet when my clothes shone earlier, it was if all the pressure suddenly disappeared… how did you foresee that I would need that?", added Nerissa still marveled about it."I have a sharp sense when it comes to girls, especially pretty ones", casually said Aster, which made those two pout in response, feeling their glares which were brimming with the question "can you see the future or what?", he stopped teasing them to then say.

"I prepare the gifts only after thoroughly studying techniques, fighting styles, attributes, cultivation paths and lately since I can see "flaws" I can somewhat predict the direction in which you'll grow".

"So, you knew this would be the result from the very beginning!", exclaimed Tiana in surprise which made Aster smile in response.

"As a leader it is my duty to know your strengths, as a spirit blacksmith is my job to furtherly empower you and as your friend it is my pleasure to cover your weaknesses".

"It's not like I can see the future but more like I betted you two will achieve the best possible result out of this opportunity to grow".

Aster of course couldn't see the future, through observation and interactions in the form of sparring he could more or less tell in which direction the girls could grow, but there are countless possible results ahead of them, he reviewed all the ones that came to his mind in second plane thanks to parallel thinking, but regardless of that, Aster always opted to believe they will obtain the best possible result and focused on that.

Both Nerissa and Tiana's hearts were invaded by a warm sensation, while Aster's words might be shameless and playful most of the time, his actions spoke for him, to create equipment for them based on the premise that they would manage to make the most out of a chance to grow it's a solid proof of the confidence he had on their potential.

"Humph, stalker… thanks", limited to mumble Tiana, as for Nerissa she was much more open about her gratitude as she sweetly smiled at Aster.

"Thanks~", she said.

"Well, there is also the fact that I might have gifted Alice a way to transform her tail into a mass destruction weapon", casually said Aster remembering the ring decoration he made for Alice's tail.

"W-Wait her tail, then why didn't she use it earlier, your date with her has already happened, but my team won yester…", Tiana's words stuck in her throat before she slightly gritted her teeth.

'That lewd cunning dragon princess!', she inwardly cursed, realizing that Alice set her up, she "lost" by little on purpose to encourage her to go on a date with Aster, Tiana could even imagine Alice mockingly laughing at her now.

Aster of course had easily seen through Alice's little trick, but he didn't say anything, in any case this motivated Tiana and Nerissa to bypass the walls that were blocking their ways, that wasn't her main focus though, she just wanted them to recognize the marvel of going on a date with her beloved brother, everything else was a plus for her.

Ultimately Tiana only sighed, in any case she had truly ended up enjoying this date, and she felt grateful towards Aster, he put all that thought into helping her after all, she couldn't help but childishly smile as she gazed at the glaive she was holding on her right hand as well as Nerissa's soft armor.lightsnovel

Seeing that Aster chuckled to then say.

"Don't worry Tia, I'll make you a nice armor in the form a cute frilly dress for you to use on our next date".

Tiana's positive feelings towards Aster plummeted on the spot, but she then looked at herself and couldn't help but admit that her choice of clothes was certainly not the best for an outing with a friend.

Tiana's daily clothes consisted on skirts on top of black fit leather pants and blouses, both made with materials harvested from spirit beasts, when she trained, she also added armor to her skirt, shoulders, chest, arms and legs, instead of wearing full body armor since she preferred to have better mobility, since she is a body cultivator meaning she has a strong physical defense anyway.

lightsΝοvel And she followed that same formula for today's date, black leather pants and boots as well a white blouse with white stripes and armor on top of it, an outfit that gave her a valiant but slightly rigid charm.

'Maybe I shouldn't use armor the next time…', she thought, especially because Nerissa who also came to train was using regular clothes, even know that she wore armor, it consisted in a blue skit and a white blouse with detached sleeves and blue floral patterns, it was quite feminine without the need of it being extreme.

Feeling Tiana's aggrieved gaze, Aster laughed and then offered those two his hands as he said.

"Don't look at me like that, since our training is over how about you two ladies accompany me for a nice warm meal?".

Nerissa accepted on the spot, while Tiana mumbled a couple of things, but she accepted, after all that training, she was really hungry, so they both reached for Aster's hands and then the three of them disappeared from the Treasure Graveyard.A moment later three figures holding hands appeared in the middle of the street at East Sky city, the junior disciples at this point not only were used to see Aster appearing out of nowhere in the city, but expected him to do so, they even had laid down a system in which those of them who spotted him would inform the rest so they could catch a glimpse of their idol.

"Good evening senior brother~", sweetly said the junior girls in unison, only then they noticed who was accompanying Aster today, it was none other than their representative, the strongest disciple of the Black Sword faction and also their hope.

"Senior sister Nerissa!", exclaimed one of the junior disciples.

"Does this mean she beat one of senior brother's lovers and earned a chance to go out with him", mumbled another girl, between whispers and gossip, Aster managed to leave them behind not without Tiana laughing at Nerissa's predicament.

"Now don't take it too seriously, wait until Eric and miss Felicia learns that I can call her Tia now", jokingly said Aster which made Nerissa's mood brighten on the spot.

Tiana bit her lip in response, she then softly snorted and dragged Aster towards her favorite restaurant.

'Humph, since I'm paying the "price" anyway, I might as well make the most out of it', she thought, her plan was to make Aster buy her all her favorite dishes, which might put a strain on the wallet of even some of the elders of the sect, but Aster casually ordered all the specialties of the house while saying.

"Only the best for my girls" and that was checkmate for Tiana, leaving aside the jokes and all, the three of them enjoyed their meal and even shared a nice conversation that lasted for the remaining two to three hours of daylight left of the day.

Normally Aster would have taken them to another place, but it was enough for a day, also those two seemed to really enjoy a simple nice meal and asking him about his abnormal abilities, so Aster took it as a chance to get closer with them.

By the end of the date, the sun was replaced by the moon and those two had satisfied their bellies and their curiosity for the time being, of course they had no time to ask Aster everything, nor did he tell them everything right now, but the chance will surely present itself in the future, so it was enough for now.

After paying the bill, Aster used his authority and the three of them left the restaurant.

…

The scenery changed from the bustling and cheerful atmosphere of the restaurant to the comfortable and cozy living room of the castle.

Naturally the others immediately felt their return so they stopped what they were doing to welcome them, the first one to appear was none other than Alice, this time she arrived earlier than even Kana.

"Hee, judging by that "satisfied" smile, I guess the date was a rotund success~", playfully said Alice as she mockingly gazed at Tiana, while hugging Aster.

"Humph, yeah I had so much fun that I will do my best to beat you up properly next time", said Tiana, knowing that denying it would simply make it easier for Alice to mock her.

"That's great, we can all have fun together, right big brother~", Kana's cheerful voice interrupted those two, she appeared out of nowhere and was now hanging from Aster's neck while hugging him from behind.

"Hisss~", the little snake also announced her presence with a cute hiss to then copy Kana and coil around Aster's neck.

The other girls softly laughed at Kana's words, as always, the little girl knew how to bring harmony to the group.

Felicia who arrived with the other mothers a second later, couldn't forget to add.

"To think I would one day hear Tia say such words, now you are making me eager of tomorrow's date".

"M-Mom!", Tiana exclaimed, she gave a threatening gaze to Aster as if she was saying "Don't you dare say anything" as she walked towards her room, both mother and daughter had decided to live here since they didn't like to be alone at the other castle which Aster gave them.

"Hahaha, as expected of big brother Aster, you even tamed sis… aghhh!", Eric's thunderous laugh followed by a scream could be heard coming from the corridor that led to Tiana and Felicia's rooms, a moment later, Eric who had a bruised eye, arrived at the living room.

The others laughed at Eric while Sofia sighed, this fiancée of hers didn't know when to not let his tongue loose.

Leaving that aside, Aster said goodnight and went to his room, he had already eaten with Tiana and Nerissa and he was a bit tired, so he skipped dinner and went straight to bed, in any case there were only two girls left without taking into account that mother of his and their date would be tomorrow, so there was no need to ask about it.

That being said, the others still had dinner together and even played some table games like always, with the exception of Lilia who had appeared on the bed to wait for Aster even before he could reach the bedroom.

There was no night action, but she loved cuddling with Aster, especially because she knew her time to shine was coming and she already had a plan for her date with her darling.

And so, the night went on uneventful if you don't take into account the fact that when the others went to sleep, they were welcomed by the sight of Lilia selfishly hogging Aster for herself, her embrace was enveloping him whole, the only one who got to hold onto Aster was the smart little snake who remained coiled around Aster's neck.