novelraw Chapter 114: Gem
Chapter 114: Gem
"Mirrorheart, why do you seem so distracted?"
Loren bought a few kites, and just as the others were happily going to fly them, Mirrorheart kept looking toward the execution platform. Loren thought she wanted to voice some opinion, but instead, Mirrorheart said, "I want to buy a guillotine."
"What do you want that thing for? Chopping vegetables?"
"I want to buy one to place at home. Then I can lie on it, biting the rope holding the blade, while you stand behind me..."
"Alright, stop talking."
Loren promptly covered Mirrorheart's mouth. He had still underestimated the twists and turns of her thought process.
After playing for a while, Loren found it boring. He and Mirrorheart sat down outside a shop by the roadside, casually ordering a pot of tea and watching the children run around.
Naclis was a bit reserved, still maintaining her ladylike demeanor. After trying a few times standing in place and confirming she couldn't get the kite up, she obediently sat down beside Loren.
The wait for Mara to arrive was indeed a bit dull. If it weren't for the crowd, Loren would have wanted to find a place and have a round with Mirrorheart.
Nowadays, Loren slept directly with Laila at night, leaving little time for him to be alone with Mirrorheart.He estimated it would still be a long time before Mara arrived. Carriages were not only slow but also prone to accidents;
getting robbed by the roadside was commonplace. After all, not everyone had Church escort like Loren did.
However, no matter what, Mara had half merfolk blood, so her magical talent was quite good. The fame she achieved wasn't just due to her ghost ship;
Mara's own strength was also decent. Ordinary bandits couldn't do much to her.
Though, Mara's current strength wasn't that formidable either, probably just around the Scarecrows' level of combat power. After all, whether in career or strength, Mara was just starting out.
"Master Mentor, I'm hungry."
After playing for a while, Anna also sat down beside Loren and uttered her most frequent phrase.
Loren simply called the Attendant over to order food. Their meal yesterday had made Loren and his group famous, and many restaurants were eagerly anticipating their arrival.
Once they came, there would be no need to serve other guests today.
Moreover, Loren's reputation here was still significant. However, while people respected Loren, they wouldn't give him overly excessive privileges.
The chefs would put in more effort when Loren came to eat, not because they were currying favor with someone in high position, but simply out of admiration for Loren as a person.
While Anna was eating, Loren continued listening to other people's conversations. The vast majority were talking about the King's beheading. The locals didn't find it particularly strange.
The King made a mistake. According to the rules, he deserved execution. Nothing wrong with that.
But the tourists clearly didn't think the same way. In their understanding, as long as it wasn't a crime like blasphemy that touched the bottom line of higher privileged classes, the law obviously couldn't sanction privileged classes at the level of the royal family.
However, two voices stood out exceptionally here. It was a young couple from the Nofica Theocracy, the largest country in the God of Bountiful Harvest's territory.
They were both commoners, so they could only be from the Nofica Theocracy. Commoners from other countries simply didn't have the means to travel, let alone to such a distant country.
Anselm produced pearls and gemstones. The young couple's argument was also about these. The woman wanted them, but the man was reluctant to buy. The woman said, "If you don't buy it, you don't love me." The man kept apologizing.
Regarding this, Loren could only say they were too well-fed. Comfort breeds desire. The vast majority of commoners in this world wouldn't have such troubles;
for them, just having enough to eat was a luxury.
No need to send them to Gedlan;
sending these two to Gedlan for a few days would make them behave.
Other people's domestic affairs weren't Loren's concern. Even if the man ended up with a broken engagement ring, it was none of Loren's business. He deserved it.
The two didn't stay here too long before leaving. The reason was the woman found this place too low-class.
"..."
Loren found this rather hard to take. He even had the thought of composing a poem for this place;
its status would instantly rise.
However, Loren ultimately dismissed this idea because the food here really wasn't that great. Even so, Anna still cleared out their stock.
"After eating, let's go browse some jewelry stores."
Those two reminded Loren. He still needed to buy some jewelry for experiments, experiments related to the Abyssal Gaze Eye.
He wanted to know if the material for the Abyssal Gaze Eye had to be Abyssal Sea Crystal, or if any gemstone related to "antiquity" would work.
"Great!"
Anna was always enthusiastic about going out with Loren. No matter where they went, she was happy.
When they set out, Loren brought plenty of coins. After generously settling the bill, Loren led everyone out of the restaurant and headed straight for the largest jewelry store here.
What Loren needed were just gemstones. Coming to a proper jewelry store meant significant markups, but Loren wasn't short on money. He also wanted to get some souvenirs for the children.
"The world is so small..."
Upon entering the jewelry store, Loren saw that young couple again. They were selecting jewelry.
Loren had no interest in them and couldn't be bothered to show off. His purpose was clear. After finding a clerk, he immediately began inquiring about what he wanted:
"Do you have anything ancient here? At least older than Abyssal Sea Crystal. It needs to be usable as magical material.
"Oh, and get me a few pieces of Abyssal Sea Crystal as well."
The clerk immediately understood this was a big order and hurriedly called the store manager. The manager was a middle-aged woman who piled on smiles as she served Loren.
"This is Thousand-Facet Moonstone. It's used in many rituals and is sufficiently ancient."
The manager took out a silver-white gemstone to show Loren. Under the sunlight, it reflected a rich array of colors. Starnight's eyes lit up;
she also found this light beautiful.
Birds see a richer spectrum of colors than humans. This thing was probably even more dazzling than what Loren saw.
"Good. Get me a few pieces of this. Anything else?"
"Yes, yes... Primordial Jade, Time-Trace Amber..."
Watching Loren buy so many gemstones without batting an eye, the woman in the couple looked at Loren with shining eyes, but her gaze toward her own boyfriend was the complete opposite.
"Master, I want this."
Mirrorheart put a diamond ring on her ring finger, and it was even the wedding ring style.
"Alright."
Loren agreed to Mirrorheart's suggestion without the slightest hesitation.
Over all these years, Mirrorheart had contributed too much to this household. Moreover, Loren had tacitly agreed long ago to give her a wedding ring.
"I don't want this one. Please get me the raw materials. I want to make one myself."
As she spoke, Mirrorheart revealed a smile. This was the first time in all these years that Loren had seen a smile on her face.
No matter what happened before, Mirrorheart's expression had never changed.