Bath Time!

"Young Lord, is the water warm enough? Are you comfortable?" Rian's soft voice sounded amidst the silence. Crouching at the edge of a large bathing pool, her hands gently moved in the water to check its temperature. 

"Yes," Theron slowly nodded as he kept his vision straight ahead, refusing to look at the people around. 

He was seated on a staircase-like seat at the side of the bathing pool, half of his body was submerged in the warm water. He was almost naked, with only a piece of white cloth, covering his private area.

Standing straight, Rian nodded and smiled. She glanced around and asked a few other maids to go near her. The maids gave her a few essential things for Theron's bath such as his soap and a soft towel. 

"I'll go inside then, Young Lord." Rian respectfully informed Theron as she quickly removed her clothes, leaving her with only her plain white underdress. 

Theron remained silent and pretended as if he was enjoying the water. He played in the bathing pool, splashing water around using his hands. It was a routine for him to remove the awkwardness he felt. 

Rian's smile widened as she scooped Theron using one of her arms. She also sat on the staircase-like seat at the side of the pool, placing Theron closely in front of her. Both of their bodies were submerged in water. 

"I thought you're tired, Young Lord? It seemed like a good warm bath had alleviated your tiredness." Rian chuckled as she saw how Theron played in the water in front of her. 

Theron only made a few chuckling sounds as a response, making himself busy. He did not want to look back nor glanced over at Rian as he would only feel awkward. It didn't help that there were more maids behind, watching them closely. 

It was normal for maids to bathe kids, but given his current mental age, it was difficult for him to feel at ease.

"Should I start bathing you now, my Lord?" Rian carefully asked as she smothered the soap in her hands, forming bubbles. 

Theron deeply breathed a couple of times, conditioning his mind. 

"Bath!" Theron exclaimed out loud, hinting Rian that she could start bathing him already. This better start already, so it could end quickly too. 

As Rian's soft palms touched Theron's body, he could only put aside the thoughts forming in his head. She gently bathed Theron, the warm water soothed his tired muscles. He was really thankful that his body was still of a very young age right now. 

To not feel any awkwardness or embarrassment, Theron resorted on recalling back the events that happened for today. 

Looking back, he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride, despite the exhaustion. He had shown his potential, and that meant a lot for him. 

'Hmm, let's see. Status Page' 

- - - - - 

Name: Theron Charles Xion

Age: < 5 years old

Mana: 35/35

Race: Human

Title/s: Son of A Baron

Future: ???

[ Swordsmanship (0/2): F ]

[ Magic (0/2): D ]

[ Visual: C+ ]

[ Communication: D+]

[ Reputation: D+ ]

Skills:

[Flame Spark]

Description: A basic fire spell that creates a small burst of flame from the caster's fingertips. Effective for lighting small fires or as a minor offensive spell against weak enemies.

Mana Cost: 5 Mana

- - - - - 

In three years, almost all of his attributes had naturally upgraded by a level or two, even without completing any missions. It was as if his stats were growing along with him.

As the System explained, his Communication, Visual, and Reputation attributes leveled up gradually through daily interactions and as his appearance became more mature. 

These changes happened without him having to put in any extra effort. But when it came to Magic, he had to put in a lot of effort to level up. 

He wanted to acquire another skill so imagine his disappointment when the System told him that he'd only be able to acquire skills every 2 grades up. That meant he'd have to reach a D+ in Magic before he could acquire another skill.

'Since I'm already here, might as well upgrade an attribute already.' Theron thought when he realized that they were just halfway done with the bath. 

For some unknown reason, his current bath felt longer than usual.

'What should I upgrade?' Theron thought to himself as he stared at his Status page intently. At the same time, he could feel Rian's hands roaming around every part of his body, gliding in the wet towel. 

'Uhm…" Theron's cheeks heated up. He swallowed, shaking his head. 

'Oh right, I need to level up my Swordsmanship so I can accomplish one more task.' Theron soon remembered. With a huge smile on his face, he happily upgraded it. 

[Ding!]

[Upgrade Completed.] 

Current Status

[Swordsmanship (1/2): F]

Theron felt a slight warm sensation in his body as the upgrade took effect. It wasn't much, but it was a start. Theron sighed contentedly, a small smile on his face.

"Young Lord, are you sleepy already? The bath will soon be done, don't worry." Worried about Theron's sudden sigh, Rian spoke of it suddenly. 

"I'm not." Theron answered in a small voice. He closed his Status page and stared in front of him instead. 

"Young lord, you're growing up too fast." Rian smiled although sadness flickered in her eyes. "I remembered when you were still a baby, I only bathed you in a small basin. You were so little back then." 

Theron remained silent for a moment, taking in Rian's words. "Why do you sound sad, Rian?" 

Was it bad that he was growing up?

Rian's smile softened as she shook her head gently. "Oh, it's nothing, Young Lord. It's just... watching you grow up so quickly makes me realize how fast time is passing. It feels like just yesterday you were a baby."

Theron's small smile returned. "But I'm still young, Rian."

"Yes, you're right, Young Lord." Rian chuckled softly as she stopped gliding the towel onto Theron's arms. She lightly carried him and made him stand on her lap, so they would have the same height. 

"Now it's time to clean your lower body, Young Lord."