Ren sat on the fluffy bed that their hostess had provided. Both she and her sister Rin had been cleaned in the luxuriously large bath using their rescuer's scented soap.

The scented soap made their hair smell like wonderful flowers. It was much like what some of the women who ran the brothel training camp smelled like. After they had been cleaned, large fluffy towels were used to dry them off before the homeowner made them new clothing and told them to turn in for the night.

Small treats had been left for her and her sister after the bath. They were very delicious!

“What do you think, Rin?” Ren asked her smaller sister as they both sat in the enormous bed with incredible pillows woven with amazing puffiness and expensive thick yet soft blankets of comforting warmth. Both sisters were similar in many ways, although her smaller sister Rin was actually a year older than her.

Ren waited patiently for her sister to respond as Rin was staring once again at the wonderful lights overhead. Previously both girls had spent time turning the amazing things on and off with the switch by the door. It was like a scene out of the stories, the command of light by mere mortals!

“We have been blessed by the Serpent God.” Rin said finally before looking down as she petted the small shadow wolf puppy that had declared her lap his personal property. Other wolf puppies had contested, yet were all defeated by the shadow colored one. Somehow, sitting with their legs crossed like some people meditated had become an invitation to the furry overlords to sit in the sister’s laps.

“We have?” Ren asked, as she used her slim tail and one hand to braid Rin’s hair, while the other hand was occupied petting the small white puppy that had taken over her own lap.

“Without a doubt. Moth-, no, Auntie Eve is very strong. Strong enough to have this fluffy army of doom, Big Brother Kudzu, and that strange bird that is hovering about me all the time. Not to mention the super cute tiny adorable mice that sneak around. Even better the food! It is very amazing!” Rin said, her voice full of awe. Both sisters had stared awestruck at both the lunch and dinner meals that were served. Each of them had poked the other, constantly testing if they were dreaming when gazing on the plates of fried foods!

“Auntie? Aren’t aunties old?” Ren said, suddenly focusing on the more important topic. Even though she was young, she was very confident all the older girls and even the women from the place they had been sold to held age as very important. It didn’t seem like a good idea to call their savior old unless she likes that sort of thing?

“Maybe?” Rin said, one finger on her chin as she pondered. Her other hand found the secret spot behind the shadowy wolf puppy's ears that made his eyes roll back and his tongue lolling out. Watching the cute little paws twitch was funny as she finished up the third pigtail braid.

“I don’t think we should use Auntie then. How about Big Sis?” Ren said, putting forth her favorite choice. No one was ever offended by being called a big sis! At least, she wasn’t!

“She is big in certain respects.” Rin said slyly, glancing back at Ren before she looked away. She had a similar sort of tone that some of the older men took when looking at women of a particular persuasion back at their village.

“Oooh! Yes, they were nice and soft too. I fell asleep on them. They were just so bouncy, soft, and big.” Ren said, her eyes dreamy. She hoped that her own male mind control devices were as large. At least, that was what the woman who sold them called the things.

Big sister Eve’s chest was like the most comfortable pillow ever, and it was heated because she had a big heart!

“Do you think she would share the secret on how to reach that size?” Rin asked, curious. Not for nothing, both sisters had heard from the brothel training camp the repeated mantra of bigger is better. Ren admitted they might be slightly different from normal children now, considering they knew some secrets on handling men effectively. It wasn’t like she could not have listened when the others were talking about their clients!

“Maybe, Big Sis doesn’t seem to keep secrets on purpose. It is a little weird. She’s a lot better than those stupid adults that say don’t do something, and then never explain why.” Ren said, starting the fourth pigtail braid she had been preparing.

“Right? Big Sis is a genius! She talked with me like I was an adult!” Rin said, barely able to keep from bouncing away from Ren’s hand.

Both of the small wolf puppies chuffed in agreement with that statement. Ren was confident they were speaking. She couldn’t understand their language at the moment. Until she had a class, there was no hope of understanding the furry overlords, which made her a bit sad.

“Do you think Eve will help us Level?” Ren asked. Rin was super bright and would be able to figure something out in regards to leveling. She was the one who had talked their older brother into killing squishy rats after all. However, it never hurt to get help from someone more robust, in Ren’s opinion!

“Maybe, she seems a little ignorant on that sort of stuff?” Rin replied. “Almost as if Leveling was easy, like how the tales of the Serpent God paint it. Slaying beasts far and wide, gaining power without end, rising to rule and Empire from the bones of his prey, that easy. Right?”

Ren nodded and said, “Big sis seems to have that same aura that the Madame had, right?”

“Yes! The same!” Rin said, “That casual feeling that nothing around her was a threat, and everything was within her power! That feeling! It feels warm and comfortable to be near her, right?”

“Nnhnnn!” Ren said, finishing the fourth pigtail. She bit down on her lower lip as she focused on the fifth and final pigtail braid for her sister. She had to agree with Rin. She had never felt safer than the time she spent here. Even if they were in the Wilds, it still felt safer in Eve’s house than anywhere Ren had ever lived.

Finishing the last braid after a few minutes of quiet, Ren asked, “Are we still going with the path you thought up?

“I still think it is superior. You take care of physical things, and I take care of magical things. Together we will be many times stronger combined than if we each tried to split towards one or the other.” Rin said as she lifted the shadow puppy to turn and face Ren.

“Are you sure you want to pursue Alchemy?” Ren questioned. She still couldn’t forget how often things seemed to explode from the alchemy places she had glanced at in the dungeon town. Any business that mixed things up was usually marked by a constant state of repair and burn marks. Fire made Ren very nervous, and a fire wasn’t friendly like cute animals were!

“Alchemy is the perfect profession, eh?” Rin turned to look at two vines that had crept closer from the side while they talked.

Ren turned to look at the same vines as the vines stared back at them both.

“Big brother Kudzu?” Rin hazarded a guess.

“Indeed.” said the vines, somehow speaking with magic. “I couldn’t help but notice how you two children seem interested in Alchemy?” Both vines wrapped around one of the shoulders of each sister. It felt almost like an older brother advising his younger siblings.

Ren and Rin nodded at the same time, like automatons to the implied question.

“I happen to be something of a gifted individual in Alchemy. Would you be interested in working as my apprentices? I would, of course, ensure both of you girls were Leveled up as part of the deal.” Kudzu said, his voice persuasive. While most people might hold his plant form against him, the sisters felt Kudzu was very cool instead. Both of them had complimented Big Brother Kudzu when they were introduced to him. As a result, he was very courteous to each of them in turn. His vines could reach the cookie jar high on the refrigerator, which made him just below big sister Eve in Ren’s opinion. The magical plant continued saying, “I can sweeten the deal with things like these.”

Kudzu pointed with his shoulder vine at another set approaching from the side. Both girls' eyes were glued to the small brown objects two new vines holding mice had brought over to them. The mice carefully pushed each small brown food object into the sister’s waiting hands on the vines.

Chocolate! Ren thought, her mouth drooling. It was an amazing piece of ambrosia from heaven they had gotten to taste earlier at the end of dinner!

Ren and Rin both gulped. It was one thing to dream of Leveling, and quite another to have it presented on a silver platter by a powerful magical big brother, who happened to be a plant too!

The chocolate had already vanished and in no way was part of the reason they considered the offer at all.

Both girls huddled together, whispering with lightning speed, “Rin, what do you think?”

“It is an outstanding deal. We should take it, Ren!” Rin said, licking the remains of the chocolate from her hand.

“What if it is a trap to trick us into magical slavery, like at the brothel, Rin?” Ren asked, doing the same as her sister.

“Do you think that Big Sis Eve would let that happen, Ren?”

“No.”

“No!”

“Should we wait until we have a chance to talk with Big Sis, Rin?”

There was a pause as Rin turned back and asked Big Brother Kudzu politely, “Is this a limited time offer, or can we check with Big Sis Eve first?”

The vines seemed to shrug before Kudzu said, “Certainly if you wish to talk with the Slicer first, by all means, do so. I can wait.”

The girls turned back, communicating with each other through body language and the innate magic of almost-twins.

Ren finally turned to the vines and said, “Big Brother Kudzu, we would like to check with Big Sis Eve first. After that, if she gives her blessing, we would both be honored to assist you in the pursuit of Alchemy!”

“Excellent!” Kudzu said before his vines shifted back to their places along the floor and ceiling.

Ren and Rin stared for a few moments; finally, under the persuasion of their furry overlords, they let the two puppies lick the final remains of chocolate from their hands. Once that was done, both girls rolled off the bed to wash their hands in the bathroom. A small set of stools had been provided so they could reach the magical device that provided both hot and cold water. With a little squirt of soap and the excellent faucet magic device and both girls finished quickly. Drying their hands on the provided fluffy towels, they exited the bathroom.

Getting into bed proved no challenge as another stool was provided on each side of the bed. After both Ren and her sister had managed to get into the most comfortable position, each of them realized a small fact.

The lights were still on!

Before either girl could leave the warm comfort of the bed with their furry foot-warming gear, a vine flicked the switch by the door turning the lights off.

“Thank you, big brother Kudzu!”

“Thank you, big brother Kudzu!”

Reaching out a hand, Ren grasped her sister Rin’s outstretched hand before quickly relaxing to sleep. The incredible soft bed mattress had to be more expensive than a farm. An object with such a sheer level of comfort could cost nothing except pure gold. The bed's softness was better than any straw pallet, stone floor, or cloth-covered wooden board!

Full. Warm. Safe. Ren thought before sleep took her.