Over the next few days, updating Gwen's stats became more normal.
Every day I was thankful that bras didn't exist in this world, but I had to concentrate hard to avoid leaving a large tent in my pants while updating Gwen's stats.
If it was any consolation, when Gwen put her shirt back on, she always leaned forward slightly to prevent the fabric from sticking to her skin and revealing two hard points at the top of her twin peaks.
Either the room was too cold for her without a shirt, or she might have had the same problem I had controlling the “tent” that wanted to form in my pants every time.
But even though she had noticed my problem with my pants when I wasn't concentrating enough, and I had noticed her problem with her shirt, we both chose not to comment on it and pretend it wasn't happening.
And that helped a lot.
Updating Gwen's stats became more mentally exhausting than it was before, but it was an exhaustion I was enjoying having to deal with.
Varen still didn't know about this, thinking that Gwen's [Noble Mark] was still on her arm, and neither of us had any intention of telling him.
I wanted to respect Gwen's privacy, and she didn't want to be embarrassed about having to take her shirt off in front of me for Varen.
So as the days went by, we just left it at that.
The two of them improved faster and faster, as the monsters they faced now were much more powerful than the monsters we had dealt with before.
When we had almost enough money to buy our house, their stats were as follows:
|-----------------------------------------
| Character Status |
|-----------------------------------------
| Name: Varen Holt
| Race: Whisper Devil
| Level: Low-Class Devil
| Master: Adam Morningstar
|------------------------
| Stats:
| Strength - h155 -> f323
| Agility - h133 -> f318
| Durability - i87 -> g253
| Magic - h193 -> e401
|------------------------
| Demonic Powers: Creativity Magic, Devil Whisper.
|-----------------------------------------
When Varen decided to really focus on becoming a support character who stays more on the sidelines in battle, the speed at which he gained points in other stats slowed down a bit while his Magic skyrocketed.
Sure, I didn't let him abandon the growth of his other stats, but it was clear that his talent really lay in magic.
|-----------------------------------------
| Character Status |
|-----------------------------------------
| Name: Gwen Harrow
| Race: Blade Devil
| Level: Low-Class Devil
| Master: Adam Morningstar
|------------------------
| Stats:
| Strength - i31 -> g218
| Agility - i46 -> g249
| Durability - i19 -> h182
| Magic - i71 -> g265
|------------------------
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
| Demonic Powers: Creativity Magic, Devil Blades.
|-----------------------------------------
While Varen was turning to the support side, Gwen was completely embracing the Assassin Fighter side.
The fact that she used multiple magic blades while moving with great agility and strength reminded me of Irelia, a very famous character from a game I played in my other world.
It was a combat style that was as lethal as it was beautiful, which suited Gwen's appearance very well.
As we completed C-Rank missions, I began to test how well they could handle it on their own, and despite facing difficulty, they were almost at a level where they could carry out C-Rank missions on their own.
Splitting the group to do missions individually would greatly increase the attention we would attract, but it would also greatly increase the income we would earn and the stats they would gain from killing monsters solo.
But considering the danger involved, I gave up on that idea.
I could let them go on missions together while I completed a mission alone, but splitting them up while they were still just Low-Class Devils would be a stupid move.
'It's better to earn less money and keep my servants safe and growing than to get greedy and put their safety at risk.
So we continued like this.
We were completing one E-Rank mission per week while completing one or two D-Rank missions per day over the last few weeks.
During their missions, since I didn't earn any stat points from fighting, I decided to shift my focus to doing some experiments with [Creativity Magic].
Analyzing the difference between the things I did 100% from scratch and what already existed and what I modified with magic or other different ways of using that magic, and to my surprise, in these last few weeks, after hundreds of tests, I got results good enough to show Varen and Gwen.
Now there was only one mission left for Varen and me to advance from D Rank adventurers to C Rank adventurers.
Unfortunately, Ironvale is so small that there are few B Rank missions, so we would have to continue doing only C Rank missions, which was not a problem for Varen and Gwen, since they still only had the strength of C Rank adventurers.
It would be good to let them just continue practicing with C Rank missions while they slowly grew stronger.
As we were returning to town after completing a D Rank mission, a group of 8 adventurers appeared on the road while a man pointed at us.
Using my Middle-Class Devil senses, I heard what he was saying, and it made me a little worried.
“Look, there they are, that hooded man has red eyes just like the bat-winged monster you were hunting, as well as that red-haired witch next to them.” The man said as he pointed at us.
“And the bard?” A man asked in a cold voice, looking at us suspiciously.
“The bard has become much stronger in the last few weeks, ever since someone tried to kill him and he was saved by the hooded man. He started getting stronger at a speed that doesn't make sense. I think he must have sold his soul to the monster too.” The man said as he looked at us pretending to be afraid.
But I noticed that there was no sign of fear in his body, only malice.
“It seems we're still attracting a lot of attention and someone couldn't contain themselves... now I need to find out who it is...” I thought frustratedly.
The leader, a tall man with a scar on his chin and a smug smile, pointed at me. “You, in the hood! You're the red-eyed monster from the forest, aren't you? And who's the red-haired witch with red eyes next to you? Is she worth a reward too?!” He shouted.
‘Arrogant idiot.’ I thought as I felt my blood boil.
Gwen stiffened at him calling her a witch, placing her hand on a dagger she had summoned behind her back.
Varen also snorted as he gripped the hilt of the dagger at his waist, tense but calm.
“I'm not going to kill anyone, I can't kill everyone who talks shit to me...” I swallowed my anger, keeping my face neutral under my hood.
“Monster?” I asked in a cold voice, without raising my head. “You're seeing things, friend. Tired from the road? Lots of people have different colored eyes, what's the big deal about one more color?”
Then I took a step forward, letting Devil Whisper slide into my words using a large amount of my Mana, speaking in a calm voice. “I think you're wrong, and everyone else can see it.”
The leader blinked, confused, while two adventurers behind him exchanged glances.
Gwen stepped forward, her red hair swaying. “Call me a witch again and I'll make you swallow your teeth.” Her voice was sharp, but a little shaky, as if it hurt to be judged.
But she still looked at me, steady, as if to say she was with me.
“Calm down, Gwen, it's okay,” I said, putting my hand on her shoulder.
Turning to the leader, I used [Devil Whisper] again, louder. “You're making a fool of yourself, and your men know it.”
Hearing what I said, he opened his mouth but hesitated, looking at the others.
An archer chuckled, and the leader's face turned red.
“You... think you're fooling us?” He stammered, pointing his sword at me.
Looking at that blade pointed at me, I had to resist the urge to rip off the arm holding it.
But his voice faltered, and another adventurer, a woman with braids, rolled her eyes. “You're getting paranoid, Joren. They're just adventurers, look around, the man who gave you the information has already fled.”
Hearing this, the leader looked around and realized that the man who had been talking to him had indeed fled, leaving only him and their group.
“Damn, this must be some kind of trap.” The leader probably thought, becoming even more frustrated with the situation.
“You know, Joren...” I spoke in a soft voice, Devil Whisper shaping each syllable. “Your friend is right, you've been tricked.”
He frowned, confused and angry as he asked, “What?”
“It seems like someone wanted to pit your group of adventurers against the newbies who are growing up. Why don't you tell me who that man was?” I asked, still using Devil Whisper.
“I don't know... he just showed up at the Guild and told me he found the location of the little man-eating monster, asking me for a share of the reward if we captured it,” Joren said uncertainly.
“If I'm not mistaken, he was with some men from Iron Vein...” A warrior from the group commented in a low voice before being nudged by another member of their group, but I managed to catch it with my enhanced hearing.
Getting what I wanted, we ended the conversation and they left confused to complete their mission while we returned to the city.
When they disappeared down the road, Gwen relaxed, but her eyes still sparkled. “Master, you... how did you do that?” She asked in a low voice, almost in awe.
“Your Devils Blades aren't the only abilities I can use,” I explained with a smile.
Varen laughed, putting away his dagger. “I want to have enough Mana to use Devil Whisper like you soon, Master... But something about this smells fishy.”
“Did you hear that blond adventurer commenting that the informant was with men from Iron Vein?” I asked.
Hearing that name, Varen was shocked.
“If it's them, that makes a lot more sense...” Varen became furious as he tightened his grip on the dagger in his hand.
Gwen was confused by this information. “Who is Iron Vein, master?”
“A group of bandits who killed Varen before I turned him...” I explained.
Hearing this, Gwen was shocked and furious.
“I think it's time to settle their debt with you, Varen.” I said in a cold voice, receiving a cold nod from him as well.
