"Master!" Bertha said. "I think I'll have the stuff ready!"

"You mean your Custom Spe-"

"Yeah!"

"Alright. Go on."

"Umm." Bertha looked around. "Shoot, where the heck did it go?"

You wait for a few minutes as Bertha almost frantically looked around.

"Master..." She looked at you with quivering lips. "I swear, I just had it..."

After calming he down, mostly by allowing her to get a few good sniffs of your body, she requested that you allow her another week to train.

"Master, I promise I'll be useful to you." She said, determination filling her eyes.

"I already know you are. You don't have to prove that to me." You smiled.

"I know. But still." She remained determined.

>"Alright. But don't overdue it." (Uses up Bertha's action next week) (Bertha guaranteed to get another Custom Special)
>"You can focus on your skills this week, and we can see where to go from there." (Bertha will have her weekly actions like normal)
>(Write-in).

In other news, Cattleya gained more experience using pistols, air shot rifles, and the gauntlets you made her. Combined with her claws, animal instincts, natural speed and flexibility, she became a terror in combat. Despite her physical progress she was lacking in the magical department, not to mention she hadn't even gotten her first [Custom Special] yet. While outwardly she didn't say anything, you could tell she was getting a little frustrated.

On the opposite side, Mel was able to make good use of her fae magic. She'd been practicing it often, as it incidentally complimented her class as a beguiler. She could now use Woodland Stride, which allowed her to quickly run through woodlands and could better hide everyone's tracks when traversing these biomes. And she was certain, as she told you, that she'd be able to gain the ability to levitate before long.

Unlike Bertha and Cattleya, she updated her [Custom Special]. The [Fae Dust Cloud] was now replaced by the aptly named [Missing Melody]; an ability which could temporarily deafen any enemy by singing a failed version of a fae song. It made her voice become almost impossibly high-pitched — more than it already was. You knew this because she accidentally used it against you and a few others— thankfully for only a few minutes and without any injury other than a headache. While you were quick to forgive her for that misfire, you could tell that event led to her getting knocked down a few ranks in the hierarchy slave-wives had.

Ayane, surprising herself, also seemed to be doing pretty well. Though she wasn't able to keep up with the likes of Gerty or Cattleya, your vixen was still able to hold her own for much longer than before. Her fire skill, Kitsunebi, had increased dramatically since she first became your slave.

"To think," She'd muse to herself, "That I had such power at the tips of my tails."

That was a sentiment many of your wives happened to share.

===