Gathering Wives with a System

Chapter 559: Using Special Shop, Heart Of Magic, Dragon Ranks Of Dragon Maids

After making the arrangements, Isaac headed back toward the mansion. Emily followed beside him while the summons dispersed to prepare themselves. They were grooming themselves to look presentable. To be exact, Tirra was hounding them to look presentable.

In her own words, her image would fall if she was followed by dirty looking people.

The rebuilt mansion looked almost identical to the previous one. If Isaac didn’t already know it had been destroyed, he might not have noticed any difference at all.

Once inside, he gathered Alice and Selene.

”You two should come with us. The concert starts soon,” Isaac said.

Neither of them objected. In fact, Selene looked rather excited by the idea. She was also a fan of Celia.

The maids, however, seemed reluctant. Since the disappearance of the leaf from the Tree of Harmony, many of them had been working nonstop. Isaac could tell they still felt responsible for not informing Isaac on time about it.

”We’ll stay behind and continue looking after the mansion,” Lyra and Kyra, the twins, said.

”No. You can do that later. Celia’s biggest concert isn’t something you can recreate afterward,” Isaac replied immediately.

The maids exchanged uncertain looks. Some clearly wanted to continue working despite his orders.

Isaac folded his arms and looked at them firmly.

These maids had spent thousands of years suffering. He was not going to let them work endlessly without taking a break, and enjoying themselves. They were all coming.

Faced with his decision, the maids eventually gave in. None of them were willing to argue with him for long.

Just as the group stepped out, several of Isaac’s clones arrived. They were accompanied by another group of maids from the Crawling Serpent Tribe.

A few rescued children followed behind them. The youngsters looked around curiously while sticking close to the maids.

Among the newcomers was Priscilla. The head maid quickly approached after spotting Isaac.

Meanwhile, Alice happily began looking after the children together with several other maids. The rescued youngsters seemed far more relaxed than what Isaac would’ve predicted. It seemed they were high level enough to gain some semblance of sentience.

Priscilla stopped beside him and studied him carefully. Her eyes narrowed slightly as if she were trying to confirm something.

”Did you get stronger, master?”

”Yes,” Isaac answered with a nod.

The group was already making its way through the corridors of the stadium. Since they were using a VIP entrance, there were very few people nearby despite the massive crowds elsewhere.

”Congratulations, Master. Also, please take this,” Priscilla said.

She retrieved a bottle from her spatial ring and handed it over.

Isaac examined the container curiously. The liquid inside carried a faint golden color.

”This is...?”

”Prama Alcohol. It’s one of the Crawling Serpent Tribe’s finest products. They’re very skilled at brewing poisons, and that expertise translates surprisingly well into alcohol,” Priscilla explained.

Isaac raised an eyebrow at that explanation.

Priscilla continued, ”This drink can make even Overlords drunk. More importantly, you can remove the intoxication whenever you want. When you wake up the next day, your mind will actually feel refreshed.”

That certainly sounded unusual. Something capable of affecting Overlords was rarely ordinary.

”Thank you,” Isaac said sincerely.

Priscilla inclined her head before falling back into step beside the group.

Isaac wasn’t much of a drinker. Still, since Priscilla had specifically brought it for him, he planned to try at least a small amount. The rest he could share with the Lords later.

A few minutes later, the group arrived at their destination.

The stadium was enormous. Tens of thousands of people filled the lower sections while countless lights illuminated the structure.

People could either stand near the stage or sit inside floating booths positioned throughout the upper levels. The floating structures were one of the venue’s main attractions.

They had only been possible because Isaac had gained so many talented crafters from the former Fortified City 82. Without them, constructing something like this would have been far more difficult in such a short notice. Perhaps, even impossible.

As they entered their assigned booth, everyone quickly found seats. The children rushed toward the edge to look at the crowd below before being gently pulled back by the maids.

Unfortunately, the maids had no intention of relaxing.

The moment Isaac sat down, several of them immediately began working. One prepared drinks while another organized snacks.

A third maid somehow appeared behind Isaac and started massaging his shoulders.

Isaac sighed.

”You know, you can sit down and enjoy the concert too.”

The maids smiled politely. A few even nodded.

Then they continued working exactly as before.

”You really don’t have to do this.” Isaac tried again.

”We want to, Master. Watching the concert and serving you at the same time isn’t difficult,” Priscilla replied.

The others immediately agreed. From their expressions, they genuinely meant it.

At that point, Isaac gave up. There was no point arguing with people who clearly enjoyed taking care of others.

While he was being subjected to another shoulder massage, Alice glanced toward Priscilla. More specifically, she glanced toward Priscilla’s hands resting on Isaac’s shoulders.

The look wasn’t particularly subtle.

Nearby, Celeste noticed it immediately. A mysterious smile appeared on the maid’s face.

Without drawing attention, she leaned closer to Alice while continuing her own work. A small current of wind formed around them, ensuring that nobody else could hear the conversation.

Isaac noticed the movement but couldn’t make out a single word. Whatever they were discussing remained completely hidden from him.

A minute later, Celeste straightened up again.

Alice’s expression had completely changed, though it looked the same to the outsiders. The slight irritation from earlier was gone.

In its place was a faint blush that slowly spread across her cheeks. She quickly looked away whenever her eyes drifted toward Isaac.

Isaac looked between the two women in confusion.

What exactly had Celeste said?

The question lingered in his mind. Unfortunately, he had no way of finding out.

As if sensing his confusion, Celeste looked directly at him. Then she smiled and gave him a playful wink.

Isaac immediately had a bad feeling about it. Whatever had been said, he was fairly certain he was better off not knowing.

Experience had taught him that peeking into the secrets of women usually led to answers he regretted knowing.

Deciding not to investigate further, Isaac shifted his attention to a more important matter. Now that the battle was over, it was time to decide how they should use the Special Shop access they had obtained.

Emily and Alice gathered around him while the dragon maids listened nearby. Since Emily had earned two purchases and Alice had earned one, they needed to think carefully before making their choices. Opportunities like this did not come often.

After discussing several possibilities, Emily finally made her decision. She wanted to purchase a Summoning Orb as her first item.

Isaac had already looked through its description earlier. The orb was a special consumable item that could instantly summon any one of Emily’s contracted summons to her side once it was broken. Distance did not matter. Whether the summon was on the other side of a city or much farther away, it would immediately appear beside her.

It was a powerful emergency item, especially for someone like Emily. Having access to her summons at any time could make the difference between victory and defeat in a dangerous situation.

After purchasing the orb, Emily hesitated for a moment before speaking again. She looked slightly embarrassed, which immediately made Isaac curious.

”Isaac, can I ask something?”

”Of course.”

”For my second purchase, is it okay if I buy something I want? It’s not really necessary. I just... wanted to know if it would be okay.”

”What is it?” Isaac raised an eyebrow.

Emily immediately shook her head. She had a faint blush and remained silent.

Isaac looked at her for a moment before chuckling softly. Then he reached over and patted her head.

”You earned these purchases yourself. The Special Shop only appeared because of your ability, and you’ve worked hard all day. If there’s something you want, then buy it,” he said.

”Really?” Emily’s face brightened immediately.

”Really.”

A smile spread across her face. It was obvious how pleased she was by his answer.

With Emily’s purchases settled, attention shifted toward Alice. Unlike Emily, her shop contained entirely different items.

After looking through her options, Alice purchased an item called the Heart of Magic. It was a growth-type Mortal-rank treasure that could only be equipped by dragons.

The item was fairly weak for now. Its only effect was increasing the user’s Magic Art learning speed by one percent. Since Mortal rank was the lowest rank possible, such a modest effect was hardly surprising.

However, the Heart of Magic possessed something far more valuable than its current effect. It had the ability to grow stronger over time through upgrades.

The first upgrade condition required the blood of an Adult Dragon. That simple requirement ended up teaching Isaac something he had never properly asked before.

”What rank are all of you exactly?” Isaac asked the dragon maids.

”Celeste, Phoebe, and I are Arch Dragons.” Priscilla answered first.

Isaac blinked. He had expected a powerful rank, but hearing it stated so casually still caught him off guard.

”And the others?”

”The rest of us are Peak High Dragons. They are only a step away from becoming Arch Dragons,” Priscilla replied.

The room became quiet for a moment. Isaac had always known his maids were powerful, but he had never fully understood just how powerful they actually were.

Priscilla continued her explanation. ”High Dragons can use Magic Arts up to SS-rank. Arch Dragons can use SSS-rank Magic Arts, and each Arch Dragon can also use one SSS+ rank Magic Art.”