novelraw Chapter 335: Was the Book You Read Even a Decent One?
Chapter 335: Was the Book You Read Even a Decent One?
Flora looked at Finnie with a bitter smile, momentarily not daring to meet her eyes.
She didn't know how Finnie would view her now. A person she trusted and was as close to as a sister had chosen betrayal.
She must be so disappointed, so sad...
Flora felt a stabbing pain in her heart. For a fleeting moment, she even thought of regretting it, of treating what she had just said as a joke. But she couldn't do it.
The moment those thoughts arose, it was like a sharp blade plunging deep into her heart, making it hard to breathe.
She couldn't give up. Even if she wronged Finnie, even if Finnie came to hate her, she had to be selfish just this once.
Flora took a deep breath, finally mustering the courage to look at Finnie.
Those light purple eyes were filled with shock, confusion, and a faint trace of resentment.
Flora lowered her head again. It's over. Finnie must definitely hate her now... She must think I'm a despicable, shameless woman.
Lin Mo looked at the expressions in the two women's eyes and knew that right now, they both needed to cool down. So, he broke the long silence. "We haven't eaten yet. Let's have a meal first... Teacher Flora, will you join us?""I... I've already eaten..."
After saying this, Flora, like a child who had done something wrong, hurriedly ran back to her room.
Lin Mo had never seen Flora so flustered before. Watching her flee in panic was actually quite amusing, and he couldn't help but smile knowingly.
Then, as if nothing had happened, he asked Sherfilia to cook as usual, and they all ate together.
It was already quite late. After dinner, everyone returned to their respective rooms.
Lin Mo wasn't in a hurry to wash up, because today happened to be Sherfilia's turn. Compared to washing himself, of course, having the little maid help was much more comfortable.
Sure enough, not long after, Sherfilia pushed the door open and entered, followed by Finnie, whose expression looked a bit unnatural.
Lin Mo waved his hand, signaling Sherfilia to go into the bathroom first to make some preparations. Then he walked up to Finnie and gently ruffled her hair. "What are you thinking right now, Finnie?"
Finnie looked up at him, pursed her lips, and shook her head somewhat blankly. "I... I don't know..."
"Will you hate Teacher Flora because of this?"
"How could I?"
Without a moment's hesitation, Finnie quickly shook her head. "I'm just a little... surprised."
"And then?"
"And then... I also feel a bit awkward."
In front of Lin Mo, Finnie never hid any of her emotions or thoughts. As soon as Lin Mo asked, she answered honestly.
"Why?"
"Because... Sister Flora always used to take care of me like a real older sister..."
Lin Mo suddenly understood.
The "sister" Finnie was talking about wasn't a biological sister, but more like a "motherly elder sister."
The time Flora spent in Silverstream City coincided with a rather confusing stage in Finnie's growth. During that time, Flora gave her a lot of encouragement and guidance. Coupled with the constant companionship and care, Flora actually held a place in Finnie's heart akin to an elder.
That's why she was acting so conflicted.
"So that's how it is... But from the way Flora looked just now, she probably misunderstood something. She most likely thinks you already hate her because of this."
"I... I don't! I just don't know how to face... facing Sister Flora together..."
Finnie looked a bit anxious. She turned and started walking towards the door. "I need to go explain things clearly to Sister Flora."
Lin Mo gently pressed down on her shoulder. "No need to rush. Calm down first, Finnie. If you go find her now, it will only make the atmosphere between you two even more awkward. Besides, sometimes these things don't need to be spelled out directly. Tomorrow morning, just greet her as usual, and continue interacting with her the same way you did before. She'll naturally understand."
"Oh."
Finnie had always been very obedient. After thinking about it, she felt Lin Mo's words made sense and stopped being so anxious.
Just then, Sherfilia had finished her preparations and poked her head out from the bathroom. "Master, Young Mistress Finnie, the water temperature has been adjusted."
Well then, what else was there to say? Time for a pleasant, but not exactly relaxing, bath.
Flora didn't sleep well the entire night.
As soon as she closed her eyes, she would remember the look Finnie gave her last night, and then she couldn't help but recall their past together. The sense of guilt in her heart grew stronger and stronger.
It was around 10 AM when Lin Mo got up that he realized Flora, who was usually the earliest riser, still hadn't come out of her room.
But this actually worked out well. Lin Mo gave Finnie a meaningful look. Finnie immediately understood and proactively walked towards Flora's room, knocking on the door.
Inside the room, Flora's body trembled. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to sound calm as she asked, "What is it?"
"It's me, Sister Flora."
Finnie's voice caused Flora's slightly calmed mood to plummet and surge again. She tightly clutched the hem of her clothes, momentarily at a loss for words.
"Sister Flora, are you up? It's time for breakfast."
Just as Lin Mo had said last night, Finnie called her to eat in a very ordinary manner.
Flora was stunned for a moment. She seemed to detect no trace of resentment or anger in Finnie's words. After hesitating for a while, she finally pushed the door open and carefully stepped out.
"So Sister Flora sleeps in too sometimes."
Finnie automatically ignored the tired look on her face and the slightly bloodshot eyes. Very naturally, she took Flora's hand and led her to sit together at the dining table.
At that moment, Sherfilia also placed the freshly made breakfast on the table. Everyone gathered around to eat breakfast together. Everything was exactly the same as usual, with no difference at all.
This normal and relaxed atmosphere gradually eased Flora's tense mood.
She opened her mouth but ultimately didn't have the courage to bring up what was said last night.
It was like a prisoner awaiting sentencing, both wanting to know the punishment and terrified of finding out.
Halfway through the meal, Lin Mo started talking about serious business. "Tomorrow or the day after, we'll set off for the Lonia Kingdom... This trip will probably take quite a while, so if there's anything you need to do or anything you need to bring, prepare it in advance."
Everyone acknowledged one by one.
The rest of the day passed very leisurely. There was nothing important to do. Lin Mo simply meditated for a while, expanded his Portable Space a bit, and incidentally studied some content related to the manor's layout and design.
In the afternoon, he took Finnie, Ellie, and the others for a couple more strolls around the streets of the Royal Capital. They passed by the Noren Trading Company along the way, but Nuolun wasn't there right now, so there was no need to go in.
Come to think of it, they currently had a huge sum of money on them. In theory, they should go on a spending spree, converting that money into combat power.
But the members of the Silver Radiance Team weren't really lacking in equipment anymore, including most conventional alchemical reagents. If there was any area for improvement, it would be things like elemental reagents, Magic Stones, and the like.
However, the Noren Trading Company branch here in the Doria Kingdom was, after all, just a small offshoot of the Oxivis Family's trading company. It was a practical attempt by the family heir, Nuolun. Its scale and the grade of its goods were obviously far inferior to the main Oxivis Trading Company.
Therefore, even if they had higher-end items like advanced elemental reagents or high-grade Magic Stones, the quality wouldn't be too high, and the selection would be too limited.
It would be better to wait until they reached the Lonia Kingdom and go directly to the Oxivis Family's trading company to purchase them.
Time moved to the next day.
Everyone got up relatively early today. By a little past 7 AM, they had all finished washing up and were starting breakfast.
After eating, they left the academy directly. Elvish found out they were leaving and came to see them off personally. He gave a few words of advice and told Flora not to be willful, to take good care of Lin Mo. That blatantly biased attitude, which he didn't even bother to hide, left Flora momentarily wondering who was really his student.
Although she could understand and comprehend Teacher Elvish's meaning.
For her... or for 99.9999% of the people on this continent, being able to stay by Lin Mo's side was an immense opportunity, something to be cherished.
Speaking of which, what about that child, Eve?
Flora suddenly remembered her golden-haired student.
Previously, she and Eve could be said to be "fellow sufferers sharing the same misery," so she had developed extra fondness and concern for this already talented student.
Now she had successfully gotten on board. But why hadn't there been any news from Eve these past few days?
Had she given up?
It was hard to imagine...
This was a chance to soar to the heavens, an incomparably rare opportunity that no one else in this world could match. Given Eve's competitive and strong-willed personality, she truly couldn't imagine that child choosing to give up.
But since she hadn't come until now, it seemed that was the only explanation.
Flora shook her head helplessly, pushing these distracting thoughts aside.
Better not think about others. Consider herself first. Although she had gotten on the boat, so far, she was still just an "unofficial member." Who knew when she could become an official one?
"Let's go."
As he said these words, Eve's figure flashed through Lin Mo's mind for an instant. The experience of exploring the Secret Realm with her back then was actually quite good. Lin Mo also quite liked that strong-willed girl.
But she hadn't come after all. She hadn't even come to Teacher Flora's place these past few days. Perhaps she was cutting ties with the past... Such things couldn't be forced, so he let it go.
The morning Royal Capital was already very lively. Although not as bustling as the period just before the Hunting Competition was about to start, it seemed even more vibrant than when Lin Mo had first arrived.
Probably because during this time, the news of the Doria Kingdom's Royal National Academy winning the Academy Grand Competition had spread widely. Many people were curious about how such a small kingdom could defeat so many medium and large kingdoms, and even two academies from the Violet Empire. So, they had all come to investigate. This led to a several-fold increase in the number of people entering the Doria Kingdom recently, greatly stimulating economic development.
It was said that because of this, some large trading companies were also planning to come and expand their market.
The influence of the Academy Grand Competition was simply too great. It was almost the most influential competition within the Violet Empire's sphere of influence, especially widely followed by younger groups. This wave of popularity from winning the championship would last for a very, very long time. It might even peak again when the next Academy Grand Competition began.
Looking at the bustling scenes on both sides of the street, Lin Mo actually felt a sense of loss.
Staying in one place for a long time inevitably breeds some attachment. But that's how adventure and travel are. You always have to leave for new places and start new stories.
And the people and events of the past can only settle into an inconspicuous corner of memory, occasionally recalled by chance, sighed over, and then left behind.
Arriving at the city gate of the Royal Capital, Lin Mo retrieved the carriage from the post station beside the gate. Although, in theory, he could have kept it directly in his Portable Space, he had paid for it back then. Wouldn't it be a waste not to use it? So, when returning to the city, he had still checked the carriage in. It also freed up space, making it convenient for him to organize his Portable Space, and he didn't have to bother with taking care of the horses.
He didn't bother calling everyone to get on the carriage. He directly had them all enter the Portable Space.
Lin Mo turned around once more, took a look at the city, then turned and showed the map to the horse pulling the carriage, indicating the direction before getting on board.
Then, as soon as he lifted the carriage curtain, his movements froze completely...
"Eve?!"
Golden hair, red eyes... The person sitting in the carriage right now was none other than Eve.
"When did you get in here?"
Lin Mo looked utterly bewildered.
"The night you returned, at the city gate, after you all got off the carriage..."
Eve turned her head to look at him and answered honestly.
"..."
Lin Mo was speechless.
The carriage had been stored at the post station. With Eve's skills, it wouldn't have been difficult for her to sneak in.
No wonder he hadn't seen her all these days. She was lying in wait!
Lin Mo rubbed his forehead, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"If you wanted to come along, you could have just told me. It's not like I wouldn't have brought you..."
Eve looked at him, tilting her head. "Wouldn't you?"
"Would I?"
Lin Mo's counter-question made Eve blink. She thought about it seriously. "If it were me, I probably would."
After all, in her logic, upon closer thought, their relationship wasn't particularly close. From beginning to end, it was just a brief cooperation, incomparable to the girls around him.
Since there was no special relationship, facing someone whose strength and talent were far inferior to her own, and whose personality was also quite bad (in her own opinion), Eve really couldn't think of any reason for the other person to let her follow along.
That's why she chose this method to force her way along.
Eve's gaze remained fixed on Lin Mo. She seemed to ponder seriously for a moment, then suddenly turned around, facing away from him, and bent over...
"What are you doing now?"
Lin Mo was completely baffled. He found he couldn't understand this girl's train of thought at all.
"Hit me..."
"???"
"If you're unhappy, hit me. After hitting me, you can't drive me away."
What kind of divine logic was this? And...
"So what does this have to do with what you're doing right now?"
"I... I read a book..."
A blush appeared on Eve's face, and her voice was uncharacteristically trembling. Unfortunately, Lin Mo couldn't see her shy expression right now.
"The book said men all like to hit here. They'll be happy after hitting it."
Was the book you read even a decent one?
Lin Mo was dumbfounded.
How come he hadn't discovered before that this girl was completely not normal?