Chapter 11: A difficult decision (but for the future)

“Right, please bring up your work so I can review it.” <Lisa>Lisa said, lying in her bed with her back supported by a generous amount of fluffy pillows so she could face the girls. Quilt pulled over her belly as she reached the bedside table to grab her glasses, resting them on her elongated ears and nose as she looked down on the two girls who were on the floor at her side. “Okay~” <Eel>“R-right, I’m not too confident…” <Emily>One was of course the purple haired {High-Dragon} but with far plumper cheeks - like a girl her age should have. It had been about a month - apparently approaching the end of summer but the heat was still plentiful - since Eel had arrived at ‘Elizabeth’s Paradise’ and in that time she never skipped a meal…Quite the opposite, she even went back for seconds despite her portions of porridge (refusing to eat anything else to Ali’s dismay). Because of this and the constant moving she had been doing, she had finally started to look like a regular seven year old girl. Currently she lied flat on her stomach drawing on a piece of paper with a crayon - head turning up as she was called causing her bright violet hair to bob up softly.Beside her feet would be Emily would be sat with her legs crossed - both girls in matching white one piece dresses that help up by laces from the shoulders but otherwise left them exposed as the shoulders and collar.The two girls would rise as they were called to happily and timidly bring their paper to the lying Lisa.“Don’t sell yourself short Emily, you're really smart so if you haven’t got it right I’m sure I haven’t.” <Eel>Turning to the girl behind her with a smile as she handed the paper to Lisa who would readily take it. Bringing the paper above her face since it would be bad to put pressure on her stomach at this late stage of her pregnancy - at the very least expecting by the next 2 months and according to what Leaf told Eel she would give birth to a boy. She wasn’t sure how Leaf could know but Leaf was mysterious and cool like that so she accepted it as fact already.What they had mostly been learning was reading, writing (to level up {Common Language (Orrid Kingdom)} {Skill}) and {Mathematics}. This was because, according to Lisa, it would be easier to teach through methods involving the two. That, and the first thing she wanted to teach was about united currency and generally give them a deeper understanding so they don’t fall for any traps. Even in the middle-class many women weren’t taught the basics of such leading to them ending up living unfortunate lives (often short ones). Many female adventurers have ended up as combat slaves from accepting a shady invitation to a ‘Whale Guild’. A ‘Whale Guild’ is a guild of adventurers that is said to give safety to numbers  by accepting only D-Rank adventurers. It often haphazardly parties together adventurers and takes a cut from the requests they complete but often these ‘Whale Guilds’ will also deal with more ‘nefarious’ behaviors and in this country it was really bad. Often they will vaguely tell them they will allow them to work for a noble contact they have (or something along those lines) only to be enslaved shortly after the contract is established - selling them as trained guards/sex slaves.On a lighter note ‘Elizabeth’s Paradise’ is also counted as a female only High-Ranking Guild, often referred to as an ‘Agency’, which is a guild that will train promising rookies and establish teams with great dedication to the safety of their adventurers. For the brothel though it means they have no need to buy security. Eel of course is going to join the ‘adventurer’ side of the brothel.Of course, not only females suffer from similar practices as homosexuality (although marriage is not a common or accepted practice) was considered an open secret if not accepted though only for males - at least that was the case for humanity. Elves were very open about dating the same gender since even the boys are very feminine (so even the male slaves are popular just not in a brothel but more personal) but {Beast-People} tended to be far more conservative and reaction often depends on the subspecies. {Hyena-People} being an obvious outlier since their females are born with {Hermaphrodite} so form/prefer matriarchal societies and are hardly the only race to possess the skill.Anyway, soon Lisa would nod her head softly and pick up a crayon (cheaper and less messy than ink as it’s just coloured wax) from her bedside table. “You did well, I’m assuming you reached level 5 in both {Mathematics} and {Common Language}? Although leveling is easier at the lower levels it is certainly true that one is considered skilled at level 5 - it was already impressive to be level 3 at your age.” <Lisa>Nodding her head with a smile as she placed the paper down onto her stomach before reaching out, receiving Emil’s trembling paper. Glancing through to get an estimate of the girls progress in her level Lisa would widen her eyes as she ticked further and further down the page. Patting the cow on her head after placing the crayon down.“You are a genius for your age - I don’t even think I was so skilled at your age so I have no misgivings about the fact you’ll at the very least be as competent as me. Guessing level 7 at both.” <Lisa>Although Lisa wasn’t mean she was known for being strict and honest so getting such high praise from her was a great surprise to the half-cow. Eel just had a smug smile as if she was the one who was complimented. <Heh~ knew I wasn’t dumb~>Her reasoning was simple - if Emily was a super genius she didn’t need to feel bad about being dumber in comparison. One thing she’d learn from her time with the girl is she was not only smart but showed her dwarf blood just as much as she did her cow ones. Skilled with problem solving and hands -  already having {Hand User Lvl 2} and {Sewing Lvl 2} (from practicing hand-jobs and doing various home-crafts) which was nearly amateur! The levels were split up as lvl 1; apprentice level, lvl 3; amateur level, lvl 5; skilled level, lvl 7; adept and finally lvl 10 which is when one was considered a master at that particular thing. Most people would take a month or longer to just achieve an apprentice level but in such time she had basically skipped that and approached a stage which would instead take years.

She had been bought by the brothel 3 months prior - start of summer - and been learning from basically the start but training for about a month. Meaning most would only just be in apprentice level at most. But, something else one had to realize is she also did this without any {Class} corrections to aid her. One could say that Eel who had only been there a month and had already achieved those previous skills at level five as well as {Hand User lvl 1} with the limited time she had to practice was also impressive. But, with {Hero}...

<| Showing {Appraisal Control} result;

Status: {Class}

Requirements: [-]

Hero: The world has to have a protector and you have been chosen by the world. Be brave, be bold and don't give up!

[+Unique Skill, +5 Gained {AP}, Increased Affinity With All {Skills}, +{Appraisal Control}] |>

Yea, it felt like cheating when comparing herself to Emily so she didn’t.“Mhm, well that aside, Eel. You have recovered nicely so I think it would be best for you to begin your training with Ali - although I don’t know if you’ll want to pick up spear based combat I do think it would be the best choice from a logical standpoint. Your build seems a bit over average, you have a decent amount of {Str} and {Agi} but you have a high amount of {Dex}. Speed may need to be increased but you have enough to already be formidable if you get an apprentice level.” <Lisa>“Okay~” <Eel>This would excite the girl, although she felt like the spear was a bit basic and boring for a {Hero} to use - she had plenty of time. It won’t hurt to try it out, get some {AP} and {Level}s before changing to a more complex weapon like a sword! After all, every protagonist needs to stumble upon an ancient ruin and discover a magic bag and crazy strong sword!What’s a {Hero} without a holy sword?

Suddenly Lisa turned serious as she first looked at Emily.“Emily, I also think it would be best if you decide on a weapon to pick for yourself. Obviously we only have so many weapons we, ourselves use and I only use magic but we’re more than willing to search for someone or get you materials you need. Of course, if you wish, you can remain as a simple {Courtesan} I’m not saying you can’t. After you want, after 13 to seek a different occupation we will accept your choice - of course we won’t force you if giving your first time to become a {Courtesan} is too large a hurdle. Plus, the job has risks. Even with birth-control there's a chance of someone using fertility potion on themselves to counteract it - although this potion is rare someone right could still do it. Of course there is magic to ensure pregnancy doesn’t develop but it requires a skilled user of {Light Magic} so only me and Ali can use it.” <Lisa>Turning towards Eel once again she would reach over to pull something from her draw, two little coin purses. Giving one to Eel and one to Emily.“You may not understand the currency yet but this is your pay. 5 large bronze coins as a {Brothel Worker}. And Eel… Don’t tell Ali I asked this but you do seem to enjoy it here so I thought I may as well. Do you have any plans to work here, obviously you needn’t and I know you came in with a large dislike for this and similar professions.” <Lisa>“I-” <Eel>“You're still young so I won’t ask you to answer right away but I trust Fuka’s judgement and she seems to think you two are similar. Although she’s young and only human she’s sharper than a knife when it comes to this. I’m not as bad as Ali but I certainly won’t act like her way of life is safe or something one should aspire to - but it’s your choice. You likely haven’t even begun to feel lust, neither of you, so please just keep these things in mind you two. These coming years will be very important to you and I can speak for everyone in this brothel when I say we only want to best for you.” <Lisa>Her serious face did not split for a second but there would be clear care from behind those glasses of hers.To this the two girls wouldn’t say anything but just nervously nod.“Good, now go out front and help Leaf to take off the front garden. She likes you two and it will do you two good to get to know her.” <Lisa>Of course nobody would complain about that, doing just as advised while pondering what was said.***

<Huh~ I heard that she was growing a garden but I didn’t think it would be so... Explosive~>Currently her and Emily were watching the silently humming Leaf as she would carefully stroke the leaves of a flower while in a squat. Although the entrance was once but a grassland, in one month it would have a beautiful assortment of flowers on either side of the path, bushes filled with various berries just behind the flowers to act as a set of walls to walk into the areas surrounding it. Neither of the two realized this but all these flowers and berries she was growing weren’t regular plants. Not, they were high quality ingredients for {Alchemistry}. She hadn’t made any herbs yet because she wanted paths to look appealing to members of the {Core Races} but she was well on her way to having anything the brothel could need.This ranged from birth-control, fertility enhancement, health regeneration, energy supplements, muscle relaxants and - of course - aphrodisiacs. Of course they weren’t just planted for such uses - she just found herself liking the look of such flowers and found them particularly appealing to her senses as a nymph. She planned for many other herbs and in fact was planning to change the entirety of the surrounding area into her own little forest. Almost like enshrouding the entirety of her friends at once in her green embrace, the thought of that made her very happy.Seeing Leaf happily work away, Eel would just not begin humming along to what she imagined Leaf’s hum would sound like and it didn’t take much more for Emily to follow. The pair of girls each had a bucket and a cloth and were currently wiping down the open gate in view of Leaf - since technically Leaf was the adult despite appearances. The trio of cute little girls just happily washed the large double gates - one gate to each of them - while the third green one peacefully watched them while playing with the flowers and tall bushes. Peacefully letting the hours roll by...That was until Eel heard a very familiar but unwelcome voice.“So that’s where you ran off to you brat, I respect your vigor but you don’t get to choose where you work! That’s her, guards, the girl who ran away from my orphanage after injuring me!” <Phik>The owner of the orphanage had made herself known to the group of three, Emily’s reaction being to run towards Eel at the first sign of an unpleasant situation. Hugging her arm and looking towards the big scary humans in leather armour that would be walking in.“Y-you can’t take her! Eel is my friend and is living here now!” <Emily>“Eh? This another one?” <Guard 1>One of the three guards said while looking towards Phik - they wouldn’t have their weapons of course. They were only doing the routine ‘search for a missing child’ thing. Though the girl was wanted by the lord and he had offered a large price to Phik for selling him the girl as a concubine - she would hardly tell this to the corrupt guards who never even bothered with their job.Leaf wouldn’t remain still and would gently pull the two girls away from the gates, thus guards, and further down the cobbled path.“Nah but what does it matter - I have a buyer set up already so I’m sure he wouldn’t mind a few more exotic girls. Just grab them both and the green one as well!” <Phik>“Eh, not sure if this is a good idea… You never told us the stray was picked up by ‘Elizabeth’s Paradise’… “ <Guard 2>“Does it matter? Their strength is overstated, I know first hand that they’re just like any other woman when you bed them~, one I had was so desperate she took me and another bloke in her cunt at the same time!” <Guard 3><Ah~ must be Fuka… Could I see older me doing that like Lisa suggested?>Eel’s mind was on other matters, not really worried about this situation one bit because she saw some training between the girls awhile back and knew one thing...“Plus, none of the highly ranked ones are here and these girls aren’t even adventurers! Always wanted to try that green one but she’s worth her weight in gold~...” <Guard 3> The man said, looking at Leaf who stood out front of the other two while Emily just closed her eyes and hugged only Eel, a vulgar smile on his face as he rubbed his hands together. The second guard sighed and followed up behind a smug looking Phik while the first just walked beside the vulgar guard - bored look on his face. Leaf walked towards the vulgar man with the same blank expression she always had. Her little finger on her right hand came up, hooked onto one of her leaves to have it fall to the ground - exposing her dark green nipple - before holding her small breast. Gently caressing it which certainly began to get all the men going.“Good girl now~ daddy’s going to make it hard for you to sleep tonight because of all the fun we’ll be having breaking in that ass of yours~” <Guard 3> His hand reaching towards her breast and then… It stopped moving.Thin strings wrapped around his wrist mere centimetres away from her breast as she would move her hand up up from her breast to her lips. Giving a flying kiss - except she blew. As she did that, a bubblegum pink mist escaped her plump green lips.Stepping back as another leaf would appear in the fallen ones place as the group were caught in the mist were all dazed. Lifting her hands the branches from the vines shot out and grappled the people  - another politely pushing the gate shut. The four people already glazed over looks while humping the air, some mentioning various things that you would expect them to say during a night with Leaf but obviously that wasn’t happening or trying groping something that wasn’t there. Leaf would just squat - watching with her hands on her cheeks and elbows on her knees.| I' going to watch these people now, little eyes shouldn’t watch this as it’s boring anyway. Oh, but tell one of the other big sisters to report trespassers on private property and attempted destruction of private property since I’m owned by the brothel. | <Leaf>There is no beating Leaf in her little forest.