A Thriving Residence
‘Mmh… I have accumulated quite a lot of followers, haven’t I?’ following Xiaolie’s education into her new role, Edrick decided to gather every member of his residence.
Now that he was finally done with Xiao’s script, it was high time for him to truly focus on making a name for himself... To elevate his status through all possible avenues–Not only becoming an indispensable member of the Elt clan, but of the kingdom of Leynlornd as a whole.
His intention was to lay down on the acquisition of ‘goods’. Or at least, not bother actively seeking out any for the time being. Instead, he was going to improve his businesses and himself to get started.
Even with his marriages to the Oie daughters, he did not believe himself ready to step foot into the realm of politics, law, or the royal court. He needed to have more personal power to be respected, and to first build some merit–Both with his own clan, other clans, and the people of this country…
All of this would also help him become a noteworthy figure in the eyes of the crown and eventually gain access to a powerful position that would allow him to forge strong links that went beyond the borders of this kingdom.
Navigating political affairs was definitely more arduous and confusing than fighting a powerful adversary. It was a completely different realm, and one Anoteros was frankly not that acquainted with.
So to get started, he decided to get himself a better understanding of where his very own residence currently stood.
Of course, after himself, the most important members of his household were his lovely wives.
Fanqia: The shapely matriarch–First wife, and an excellent asset in the domain of craftsmanship and other disciplines. Her innate bloodline made her intrinsically valuable. However, he did not wish to reveal this part of her to the public just yet.
He may be part of a great clan, but her ability to replicate the ways of the Velvet Pixies would definitely arouse interest that could very easily attract unwanted interest. So he first needed to more strongly cement his position and authority.
Linmin: The lithe foppoof–Second wife, and a great cook who was practising spirit cuisine, aiming to be able to prepare an incredible meal for the sole purpose of pleasing his husband.
Nothing much had to be hidden about Linmin. Edrick did not care if people knew that he had decided to officially marry a foppoof… And besides his talents as a cook, Linmin was a fairly skilled swordsman as well... So there really was nothing wrong with showing him off.
Hui: The perverted bookworm–Third wife, and a very well-read woman, versed in many languages, and with a strong thirst for knowledge. Even if her bedly tendencies could make her seem like a wife that was embarrassing to bring out, Edrick believed that she could very well handle herself.
In this world, divorce wasn’t really a thing. If you were officially married to someone, you were pretty much stuck with them. As such, your partner–Or partners–Were often seen as an extension of yourself in a way, and Hui’s knowledge and intellect would make Anoteros look very good.
Luxuli: Demoness and fourth wife… Although Leynlornd had a strong diversity in sapient populations due to being seen as a land of opportunities, demons weren’t too common. Some people even had misconceptions about them.
In fact, Edrick might end up getting more rumours about him because of Luxuli than Linmin...
On top of Luxuli coming from a country where magic was practised more than cultivation, thus offering a nice air of exoticism, her mere presence by his side–As an official wife–Was something Anoteros believed would be very useful in the future.
What better way to show that you are an understanding and agreeable person in discussions than to have a sapient from another species as your wife? Demons would definitely feel more comfortable around him due to this simple fact.
Not to mention, Luxuli's special ability for appraisal was tremendously useful. She would be a great boon for some of his future business ventures.
Yin: The muscular tomboy–Fifth wife, and a great show for his seriousness about cultivation. Otherwise, from an outsider’s perspective, it might seem like Edrick had picked partners who were all significantly weaker and far less talented than him.
It might sound silly, but in the cultivation scene, breeding to produce strong offspring was very important. Thus, only picking weak wives would be viewed strangely, as it would sort of imply that Edrick couldn’t keep them in check if they were too strong.
This would project a sense of weakness, which would be terrible for his image.
Yin, however... She was tall, strong, stalwart, and obsessed with cultivation... But most of all, she was submissive to him. She alone would allow him to evade this problem.
For his image and reputation, his wives were of tremendous importance. They knew this, too, and were aware of what to do to make their husband look good.
The rest of his residence was also important. It would be far less heavily scrutinised, but let it be known that anyone trying to find flaws would look into it as well.
His maids were divided into several groups.
There were the Nursery Maids... For now, there was only Muxing amidst this group. However, there had already been success with the birth and education of Deormann.
He intended to have Muxing birth many more of his children in the future. As a matter of fact, he was thinking about impregnating her again soon.
Then, there was his headmaid, as well as personal maid, Jingyi.
She hadn’t yet unlocked her potential, but it would probably not take much longer… Once her true strength was unveiled, she would become a great boon for him. Not only in sheer strength and utility, but also through her death-related aspects, as they would definitely make him feared, allowing him to gain a true reputation with the Sect Of The Old Decay beyond just his status as a young master of the Elt clan.
The sects and clans at the service of the Elt clan might show him respect, but they did not have a true loyalty toward him specifically. Gaining their trust and true respect would go a long way toward making him an unmissable name within the clan.
Of course, there was also Jingyi’s assistant, Yaling. That girl didn’t have anything special about her that he was aware of, but she was doing a good job, and was a rococoli that he very much enjoyed playing with.
Then, there was Yifei, his law maid, currently stuck doing accounting, keeping track of the treasury and expenses. In the domain of the law, she would be instrumental.
The maid group with the most members was obviously the Guardian Maids, made up of Lisha, Lihua, Pluma, Mumin, and now Ai as well.
They were combat talents that he was intent on nurturing, and who should be able to give him good offspring in the future. Albeit less ‘pure’ ones, as they would be born from maids and not wives.
But that was just a detail.
Shu, his business maid, would obviously be of great importance to his business ventures, but her own cultivation talents were not to be forgotten. She had a future in that regard, and thus also held value as a vessel for his seed.
Lastly, there was the greatest addition to the roster… Xiaolie Chen. Standing at one meter and seventy-five centimeters tall, packaged with a nice silhouette, a flat chest, long brown hair, and fierce crimson eyes… He had made his personal guard maid, intent on turning her into a killing machine.
To this end, he had even dressed her up like a butler. She was to be his greatest blade and attack hound.
Naturally, her status as the last noble of an excellent bloodline meant that Edrick would doubtlessly be putting many babies into her. Though her bloodline was going to be kept a secret for a while longer.
Having secured her loyalty through all possible means, Xiaolie even had the sword artefact and Weapon Encyclopedia returned to her.
Edrick couldn’t wait to see her in action.
Amongst his pets and servants–Ignoring those who were not there due to a realm difference, or acting as spies in righteous sects–There was his sasquatch son, but more recently, the red wolf.
Turns out it was a female, and he had decided to name her Oswulf.
‘I’ll need to take Wenxiong up on his offer… My crests seem to allow me to very easily perform beast taming…’