Chapter 379: Borrowing a Child from You |
Our time gathering information in the shop didn't last too long. After all, by the end, those three shop assistant girls were completely drained, their bellies empty of any more "goods".
Lin Mo pretended to listen casually to some of the content. All he could say was, professionals truly lived up to their name...
Of course, he wasn't idle either. While waiting, he took a good look at the various furniture and props in the shop.
He certainly wasn't planning to take any of these things with him. After all, no matter how many times they'd been cleaned, they were still used items. However, the designs could serve as references for him to make and replicate his own versions later.
They didn't stay there too long. After chatting for a while, they left.
It's worth mentioning that the ones Ellie had chosen earlier were all the shop's top-ranking "ace" selections, so the price wasn't cheap, costing over a thousand gold coins.
This level of spending was genuinely a bit high. Such high-end consumption could only be seen in special places like the Imperial Capital or Nasadok Town.
But, to be fair, the quality truly matched the price point. Those three girls who came earlier, compared to the girls in his home, were only slightly inferior in appearance alone, the gap wasn't that big.
After leaving Romantic Home, they continued to stroll around the town for a bit longer, then headed straight back.
It just meant Lena had to work a little harder.
Lena herself was very happy to cook for everyone... mainly happy to cook for Lin Mo and Ellie. Although she was familiar with the others too, this girl was, after all, the more introverted type, not like Ellie who could easily blend in and get along with everyone.
It's worth mentioning that today's dinner was much more sumptuous than usual because today's ingredients included the Epic Level magical creature meat from that time-space secret realm they encountered on the 26th floor of the Nasadok Dungeon.
Speaking of which, this was the first time everyone had eaten Epic Level magical creature meat, and also Lena's first time using Epic Level magical creature meat to prepare dishes. Fortunately, processing high-grade ingredients isn't actually troublesome. On the contrary, because the quality itself is high enough, even simple preparation can make it taste delicious. But to fully unleash the potential within the food, that requires a Chef with sufficiently high skill.
Although it was her first time preparing it, Lena handled it quite well, and the final product was exceptionally enticing.
As soon as the dishes were placed on the table, Ellie couldn't wait to dig in heartily.
Her rather bold and unrestrained movements formed a stark contrast with Finnie, Flora, and the others beside her...
Of course, Lin Mo didn't mind, just smiled knowingly, then turned more of his attention to Lily.
As a princess, Lily naturally had impeccable manners. Her movements appeared very elegant, graceful, not stiff, nor did they seem crude. It was the most natural dining state, but...
Wasn't the speed of her eating a bit too fast?
Even though her actions looked unhurried, the rate at which the food in front of her disappeared was completely beyond imagination, like magic. In the blink of an eye, a large plate of meat was gone.
Lily's appetite was clearly much larger than the others. Even compared to Lin Mo, it was at least two to three times his.
This was actually a kind of talent. After all, magical creature meat can nourish Qi and Blood and enhance attributes. Being able to eat more isn't just about appetite; it also represents an astonishing speed of energy digestion and absorption. The fact that Lily's strength improved so rapidly was probably related to this as well.
While thinking about these things, Lin Mo leisurely cut into the steak in front of him, enjoying the delicious food.
For him, even the enhancement effect from Epic Level magical creature meat was just the icing on the cake, not something to be overly sought after. So, maintaining a normal mindset and eating normally was fine.
After finishing the meal, about one-tenth of that Epic Level magical creature's meat had been consumed.
That might sound like a lot, but one must remember this was an Epic Level magical creature, standing a full seventy to eighty meters tall, with an abnormally massive physique.
Calculating it, the amount of magical creature meat consumed in this one meal was probably two to three tons...
More than half of that went into Lily's stomach, so after the meal, this princess's face carried a somewhat embarrassed expression.
"Um... should I... pay?"
Lin Mo couldn't help but laugh, shaking his head. "We're all family here, why talk about money? Eat to your heart's content. There's still plenty left. If we finish it, we can just go kill another one. If you really feel bad about it, then go help Lena out more. She does work hard cooking."
And so, after the meal, Lily went to help wash the dishes.
This task was often helped with before. After all, they couldn't push all the household chores onto Lena alone, so Ellie and Sherfilia often took turns helping Lena with these things.
However, from now on, this task would likely fall to Lily, because since she joined, Lena's cooking workload had genuinely doubled.
After dinner, everyone habitually lounged on the sofa, chatting with each other.
The spot where Lin Mo sat naturally became the focal point of everyone's attention, including the seats beside him, which also followed a certain arrangement. Lin Mo wasn't clear about the specific order, but they must have discussed it, as the person who came over each time was different.
However, the spot behind him was more special, always reserved for the little maid.
Who could blame them? No one else's massage techniques were as professional as Sherfilia's. Even if the technique could be learned, that maid-like temperament and the feeling she gave were hard to imitate. Sherfilia's niche was quite stable.
But compared to before, today everyone's minds clearly weren't on chatting. After a few simple words, the living room fell somewhat silent.
The reason was simple. It was still because of the afternoon trip to Romantic Home. Everyone had learned something, and now they were all reviewing it in their minds...
And so, not long after, everyone dispersed to their own rooms.
Lin Mo also took Sherfilia back to the room with him... It seemed tonight was the turn of the Finnie master-servant pair and the academy teacher-student pair.
The night passed in a flash.
...
Early the next morning, Lin Mo opened his eyes, reminiscing about last night's experience.
How to put it... Since they were suggestions provided by professionals, there was naturally something to them. However, since they were only learned through verbal descriptions, the techniques were still a bit unpolished and required more practice.
After getting up, it was time to prepare for departure.
Of course, before leaving, Lin Mo first left a "Spatial Coordinate" here.
Later on the journey, every time he reached the teleportation limit distance, he would also leave a "coordinate." This way, when returning, he could practice the [Teleport] skill along the way.
Currently, a 10-kilometer teleportation distance, even with the Evolution Route bonus making it only 13 kilometers, was still too short. Not to mention comparing it to the ultra-long-distance cross-country teleportation that relied on teleportation arrays, at least expanding it to a hundred kilometers would make things much more convenient in the future.
Unfortunately, this skill had just been acquired not long ago, and Lin Mo didn't know exactly how much distance leveling up would increase.
For the journey, they still used that carriage, but the horses pulling it had been replaced... They were new horses bought from a shop in town yesterday. The ones used before were also magical creatures, but their level was a bit low, making the speed somewhat too slow.
These two newly replaced horses were both Mid-Level Lord-Level magical creatures, reaching level 15, and their speed was more than just a little faster.
Of course, the price was also very expensive.
Taming magical creatures was extremely difficult, so the value of these tamed magical creature horses far exceeded their original value by more than tenfold. One horse cost a full fifty thousand gold coins!
Thinking of this, Lin Mo was still quite envious of Noren. The mount she rode before was a Dragon-blooded Griffin, a level 30 magical creature!
The higher the level of the mount, the greater the difficulty of taming, and the more exaggerated the price markup.
That griffin's value was absolutely in the millions!
Someday, when there's a chance, he'd have to find a way to get a flashier mount, preferably even flashier than Noren's Dragon-blooded Griffin.
Thinking about these things, after leaving another coordinate, Lin Mo returned to the Portable Space.
Even with the horses changed, traveling to the Imperial Capital still required some time. Of course, he wouldn't be idle along the way. The [Spatial Creation] skill needed continued research.
While Lin Mo was basically expanding the Portable Space, the others weren't idle either. They were all practicing skills, sparring with each other...
Sometimes the fights were even so intense they didn't seem like sparring, carrying a bit of personal grudge.
But anyway, with Finnie there, injuries could be treated promptly, and no one would really go all out. Lin Mo didn't bother to intervene.
Intervening wouldn't help anyway and would likely have the opposite effect.
After a journey under the stars and moon, they finally arrived at the Imperial Capital.
Lin Mo checked the results of this journey. In the end, the size of the Portable Space increased from the original 300×700×700 to the current 500×1000×1000, becoming much larger again.
Now, just the area alone was already one million square meters, which is 1 square kilometer.
The current level of Spatial Creation was 7. He wondered how big this Portable Space would ultimately become after reaching the max level of 9?
Getting off the carriage, the Imperial Capital before them had been visited before, so it wasn't unfamiliar.
He just didn't know where Noren was now?
Regarding the Eclipse Moon Grass material matter, it was best to find Noren directly, since they didn't know any other members of the Oxivis Family.
Although they had Finnie's connection, whether the other members of the Oxivis Family cared about this connection was still unknown.
While it wasn't impossible to resolve, it would be a bit more troublesome.
After smoothly entering the city, Lin Mo headed straight for the previous Oxivis Trading Company.
If they went directly to the Oxivis Family estate, they probably wouldn't be allowed to enter casually, so it was best to go to the Oxivis Trading Company to inquire.
If they were lucky, Noren might even be there right now.
As the future heir of the Oxivis Family, besides her own strength, commercial ability was also a very important factor. Previously, Noren had gone to the Doria Kingdom to establish the Noren Trading Company as practice. After that experience, it proved she indeed had the ability to manage a trading company. The family would likely continue to let her take on more responsibilities; it wouldn't be strange if she had already started managing the Oxivis Trading Company in the Imperial Capital.
Of course, this was just Lin Mo's speculation.
And the actual situation seemed not to be like this...
"You mean Miss Noren? Unfortunately, just two days ago, she went to the Roxez Empire."
"Ah?"
Lin Mo was instantly stunned. "Went to the Roxez Empire? What is she doing there?"
"I'm not very clear about that... Does the guest need to purchase anything?"
Lin Mo frowned. Coming all this way, and Noren wasn't even here. This was really...
"Do you have Eclipse Moon Grass for sale in your shop?"
Helplessly, Lin Mo could only ask directly, though he didn't hold much hope in his heart.
"Eclipse Moon Grass?"
Sure enough, upon hearing his words, the shop assistant in front of him immediately showed a look of confusion, clearly having never even heard of it.
This was troublesome.
Lin Mo frowned tightly. In that case, they could only directly negotiate with the Oxivis Family. But without Noren's connection... He glanced at Lily beside him.
This situation seemed to require Lily to step in and help resolve it. As the empire's princess, her face carried considerable weight.
Just as he was about to turn and head to the Oxivis Family, a graceful figure suddenly walked towards them.
"Mr. Lin Mo, please wait."
Lin Mo followed the voice and looked. The person appeared to be in her thirties or forties, with a good figure, a pretty face, and looked somewhat familiar.
"Family Head!"
The staff member beside them was instantly startled and hurriedly bowed in greeting.
Family Head?
Lin Mo was stunned. Was this person in front of him the head of the Oxivis Family, Noren's mother, Lady Bessie's sister?
The beautiful woman in front of them looked Lin Mo up and down, nodded, then said with a smile, "Please follow me."
Saying this, she turned and went upstairs.
Behind her followed a maid of similar age, which seemed to be the standard for the Oxivis Family.
Lin Mo followed her to the top floor of the Oxivis Trading Company.
"Please, have a seat."
The Family Head said this while sitting on the sofa opposite.
Lin Mo and the others sat down. The maid beside them immediately poured tea for them.
Elara's gaze swept over the young man in front of her one by one. When it landed on Lily at the edge, she suddenly paused, exclaiming in surprise, "Princess Lily?"
"It's me. Pleased to meet you, Duchess Elara."
Lily's voice was very calm. At times like this, she truly had the bearing of a princess.
"This is truly..."
It took Elara a good while to calm the turmoil in her heart. She then turned to look at Lin Mo again. "Although I've heard news about you more than once, I'm still shocked when actually meeting you. I never expected even Princess Lily to be traveling with you."
"It's due to some coincidences."
Lin Mo didn't elaborate. Some things were hard to explain.
Elara didn't ask further and immediately got to the main topic. "So, you came this time for the Eclipse Moon Grass?"
"Yes, I wonder if the Oxivis Family has..."
Lin Mo felt both expectant and nervous.
If even the Oxivis Trading Company didn't have this material, he was afraid he'd really have to go to the northern border himself.
Fortunately, the answer from the other party's mouth made him sigh in relief.
"Don't worry. The Oxivis Family does indeed have this material in our collection, and of course, we can directly give it to you..."
The latter part of the sentence spoken by the other party made Lin Mo slightly frown.
Giving, or saying it's free, isn't necessarily a good term. After all, free things are often the most expensive.
"Don't overthink it."
As the head of the Oxivis Family, Elara could see through what he was thinking with one glance. She waved her hand and said with a light laugh, "Since you know my sister and have such a relationship with little Finnie, we are naturally already one family."
This one sentence directly shortened the distance between them. Lin Mo immediately understood.
Just like the Adventurers' Association, the Oxivis Family also hoped to build a good relationship with this young man of astonishing potential.
But, was it really that simple?
"However..."
Sure enough, soon, the other party changed the subject again and continued, "I hope you can help me with a favor."
"What favor?"
Elara suddenly smiled. "I want to borrow something from you."
The way she said it was a bit frightening.
The corner of Lin Mo's mouth twitched. "Madam, you couldn't possibly want to borrow my head, could you?"
Elara was stunned for a moment, somewhat puzzled. "Why would you think that?"
"Nothing... Please continue."
Elara, after all, was an Imperial Duchess and didn't dwell on it. She continued from where she left off. "I want to borrow a child from you."
"Ah?"
Lin Mo was instantly shocked, instinctively leaning back a bit, his back pressing against the sofa.
"This... this isn't appropriate, is it?"
The girls around them also immediately darkened their expressions, looking at her with unfriendly faces.
"Relax, it's just borrowing a child. I won't cause too much entanglement..."
Elara waved her hand. "I'll be frank. I think you should be able to understand. As a noble family, we often want to pass on superior bloodlines. Normally, we would seek marriages with other nobles or the royal family, but that inevitably involves many complex interest relations. Especially since the current royal successor is the First Princess, not male, and those princes are not very reliable... The Oxivis Family has no intention of getting involved in the struggle for imperial power."
As she said these words, she deliberately glanced at Lily.
These words were also meant for her to hear.
"Even so..."
The corner of Lin Mo's mouth twitched. "It's still not very appropriate, right? After all, there's the issue of status... and Finnie and Aunt Bessie's opinions..."
Seeing his flustered expression, Elara finally realized he seemed to have misunderstood something and couldn't help but giggle.
This young man, the status issue he mentioned didn't seem to be about noble status, but rather seniority.
"Of course, I don't mean you and me. I mean my daughter."
Then you should have said so earlier!
Lin Mo rolled his eyes inwardly. Not speaking clearly naturally led to misunderstandings.
He was really startled just now. If something happened with this aunt, even having a child, what would happen to Finnie? How would he explain it to Aunt Bessie?
But, so she meant Noren?
A smile suddenly appeared on Lin Mo's face. "That's no problem at all. Absolutely no problem."
"However... Your daughter's personality, will she agree?"
A slight smile also appeared on Elara's face. As an old fox who had been maneuvering in the center of power for many years, how could she not know what Lin Mo meant?
"You can tell her it's the Family Head's order."
Perfect!
With this "imperial edict" in hand, little Noren, you're in for it!
Although he didn't dislike Noren, her personality was still a bit annoying. She needed to be taught a proper lesson.
Lin Mo immediately extended his hand and shook Elara's hand opposite him. "Pleasure doing business."
"Do any of you have opinions?"
After shaking hands with Lin Mo, Elara turned to look at the others.
Everyone looked at each other. You've already settled the matter, how could we have opinions? Isn't this just pure bullying?
And Noren... including her maid, in the eyes of the more senior members, they never thought she could escape Lin Mo's grasp anyway.
So they all shook their heads, and it wasn't the least bit forced, completely from the bottom of their hearts.
This surprised Elara somewhat. She originally wanted to use this opportunity to establish authority, help her daughter, and eliminate obstacles.
She never expected it to go so smoothly, with no one really opposing...
This kid has some skills!
She secretly gave Lin Mo a thumbs up.
Lin Mo responded with a confident smile.
"Then, I'll have someone bring the Eclipse Moon Grass in a moment."
Lin Mo nodded. "By the way, there's actually one more thing... It's not a big deal. I think with the Oxivis Family's strength, it should be very easy to resolve."
This one sentence directly put the Oxivis Family on the spot.
The smile on Elara's face immediately faded. This kid, he wasn't planning to make an outrageous demand, was he?
"What is it?"
"Nothing much. I just want to deal with a rather troublesome magical creature..."
Elara relaxed slightly. "What level?"
"Level 37."
"Oh, I see. Then that's... Huh? How much?!"
"Level 37."
Lin Mo grinned, showing a mouthful of white teeth. "It shouldn't be difficult, right?"
Elara clenched her fist, feeling like hitting someone.
As a Duchess of the kingdom, she was relatively familiar with Lin Mo. This kid should have only recently undergone a universal promotion to Transcendent Level. At the same time, his own strength far exceeded that of Professionals of the same level, and it was extremely outrageous, possibly reaching a level above 26.
In her mind, a troublesome opponent was probably Epic Level?
If it was a level 31 or 32 magical creature, it really wouldn't be much for the Oxivis Family.
But level 37?
That would require a peak Heroic Realm expert to handle.
Even within the Oxivis Family, only two people had reached the peak of the Heroic Realm, and both were elders. Even she couldn't easily ask them for help.
Huh? Wait...
Elara suddenly thought of something, her eyes darting as she smiled. "A level 37 magical creature, the Oxivis Family can certainly deal with it. However, unfortunately, the clan elders have recently been in seclusion and are not in a position to act. So..."
"But you don't need to be disappointed. I know a suitable candidate who can also help you with this difficulty. However, this person, you might have to invite yourself."
"Oh, who is it?"
Elara looked into his eyes and said, word by word, "The Elf Princess, Velesia."