Rant Valo's voice was firm as he declared with a serious and determined face.

Veia was shocked out of her wits. Her master just denied her again! This was the fourth time!

2 times she confessed to marrying him and the other two were her asking him to do it with her… Just what was she lacking!?

She pouted and turned away in disappointment. When Rant Valo saw her do that, a wry smile formed on his face.

"Are you done?"

Floriana Sabina's cold voice rang out from the side. Rant Valo looked over and saw that she was not pleased for some reason.

"Wh-what is it, Master?"

Rant Valo felt chills run down his back when her eyes met his. It was like a beast was biding its time to attack its prey.

"Hmph! Nothing!"

Floriana Sabina turned away from Rant Valo with a snort. Rant Valo scratched the back of his head in confusion. First, Veia was acting weird, and now even his master. Just what was happening?

Rant Valo was left by himself so he walked towards the river bank and washed his face. But for some reason, two frowning girls were following behind him!

If it was not daylight, he would surely think that they were bandits.

Rant Valo kneeled on the river bank and washed his face. The two girls stood by the side and watched him without saying anything. Rant Valo pretended that they were nothing but air as he continued to wash his face.

"Uhhh… is something wrong?"

Rant Valo got fed up quickly and couldn't help but ask but to no avail did they respond.

STAREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE~

Rant Valo felt helpless. He only said that he wouldn't do it with women that he didn't love but now both of them are acting like this! Could it be that he should do it with women that he didn't love!?

Shivers ran down Rant Valo's spine when the thought appeared in his head. DIsgust welled up inside him. The sheer thought of it made him wanna puke.

He was a loyal man with integrity! He's gonna marry Zaria-chan for sure!

An idea suddenly formed in Rant Valo's head. He chuckled evilly as he looked at the both of them from his peripheral vision.

"Mannn, I would like to take a piss in the river right now! I'm gonna take my pants off now!"

Rant Valo shouted exaggeratedly. He peeked sideways and saw Veia's eyes were shining while Floriana Sabina was impassive. His cheeks couldn't help but twitch when he saw them acting way different than what he thought they would do.

"I'm really gonna take them off! Really! Seriously!!"

Rant Valo did not give up and continued to repeat his words while he placed his hands on his shorts and acted like he was gonna pull them down. But it only made Veia's eyes shine in anticipation whilst Floriana Sabina was still looking at him impassively. For Floriana Sabina, Rant Valo was just a baby considering their age gap so it would just be like watching a baby pee in front of her.

Gulp

Rant Valo felt his mouth parch from their actions.

He stopped pulling down his shorts and walked away from the river bank. He got hungry from trying to shake them off.

He went under a tree and picked some of its fruits. The fruits were lying low so he was able to pick plenty without expending too much energy.

He took a generous bite and the fruit's juices exploded inside his mouth. The sweetness and the tanginess of the fruit were so perfect that Rant Valo quickly picked another one.

The two girls that shadowed him sneakily plucked a couple of fruits when he was not looking their way.

Rant Valo felt the feeling of being watched disappear so he turned his head towards his two shadows. His mouth twitched when he saw them hiding their hands behind their backs while fruit juices leaked from their mouths.

He didn't need to ask to know why they stopped looking at him.

"Wow! This fruit is actually a Red Star Apple!? In the middle of this forest!?"

Floriana Sabina suddenly shouted in shock. She looked at the red fruit with a big bite in her hand.

Rant Valo was surprised at her sudden outburst and couldn't help but look over. This time, Floriana Sabina did not hide the fruit behind her.

"Disciple, you're so lucky! You even found this rare fruit!"

Floriana Sabina generously praised Rant Valo. Since this fruit is one of the rarest fruits out there.

"Red Star Apple?"

Rant Valo muttered in confusion. He never heard any fruits like that.

"A Red Star Apple is an apple variant that only bears fruit every 1000 years. It is a rare fruit that can help purify your mana! It even works on all cultivation levels. It was said that the higher your cultivation was when you ate this fruit, the better its effects would be!"

Floriana Sabina explained to Rant Valo and Veia who were similarly making a confused expression.

PUHHH!

Rant Valo spat the fruit in his mouth in shock. He wasted another precious resource! He should have saved this fruit and only eaten it when he was at a higher cultivation stage.

"Ah, the fruit!"

Rant Valo cried out in frustration when he realized that he just spat out that fruit.

"Still, do they normally bear fruit this much?"

Floriana Sabina stared at the tree with dozens upon dozens of Red Star Apple hanging on it. Usually, they only bear 5-13 apples at a time according to a book she once read.

"What would happen if I stopped eating this apple right now?"

Rant Valo asked Floriana Sabina. He was hoping that he could stop right now so he could take full advantage of the effects of the fruits in the future.

"You would die, Disciple."

Floriana Sabina explained innocently like it was no big deal. Rant Valo immediately scrambled to take another bite of the apple.

"Wuhhy though… munch munch"

Rant Valo chewed as he asked. He feared that if he stopped chewing for a second then he would lose his life.

"The fruit has certain requirements for its effects to work, too little then it will trigger your mana in an explosion, and eating too much has no added benefits or any side effects."

Shivers ran down Rant Valo's spine. He felt like he had been shivering too much today.