“The gods will forgive everything. You are meant to love the great scholars, yet you favor the poor scholars. The tolerant Axis Doctrine allows everything—whether homosexuality, furries, or lolicons, the gods permit it all…”
“Eh!”
“Young Master Lin Nuo, where are you off to again?”
“After finishing the prayers, the bishop said he might tell us more about Princess Amidina. I heard the princess is the most elegant and beautiful elf in the entire Salidor Divine Empire. The bishop has been to the Capital many times but has only caught a glimpse of her once.”
“Don’t you want to at least know what your fiancée looks like before she arrives at Claremont Manor? At least get familiar with her hair color… Eh! Young Master ran off again!”
“Something about homosexuality and lolicons…”
“Among all the nuns, only Xi doesn’t recite that kind of abstract nonsense during prayers.”
Back in his room, Lin Nuo’s gaze drifted through the dusk outside the window toward the church he had just escaped from.
He almost couldn’t resist giving it a middle finger.
“Besides, it’s not like they haven’t seen Amidina’s looks before. Who knows her better than me?”
Amidina, the only daughter of a royal family in the Salidor Divine Empire, inherited her mother’s constitution, born with long, slender, willow leaf–shaped elf ears. Her beauty was peerless; everyone who had seen her called her the cold and elegant Water Saint Princess.
He still remembered the original novel’s character illustration vividly: Amidina dressed in a luxurious and noble saintly gown, her slender legs tightly bound in lace-trimmed sheer stockings, tucked into gorgeous stiletto heels, graceful and poised.
That one image had stunned countless readers, Lin Nuo included, making her one of the female characters he remembered most fondly.
If this world’s Amidina was really as beautiful as in the original art, then just those delicate white feet wrapped in lace socks alone could drive some insecure foot fetishists mad, making them exclaim:
—Give me those! I’d soak them and drink the water for a whole year!
“Bang!”
Suddenly, a white arc flew in through the window, landing on his bed.
Squinting, Lin Nuo realized it was Fatty Bird flying in.
“No, I was just saying…”
“Where did you steal those socks from?”
Lin Nuo poked the exhausted Fatty Bird lying on its back with paws in the air.
Seeing what it held in its beak, his expression twisted oddly:
“Those really are lace stockings?”
“Before, you only liked bringing back shiny things. Stealing socks isn’t a good habit. Hand them over; I’m confiscating them!”
Lin Nuo carefully examined the tiny, exquisite thin sock—it was a female style, made of soft material, not something ordinary commoners could afford.
It felt slightly damp, probably dropped and taken by Fatty Bird when it was being changed.
The white fabric was still clean even after some wear; clearly, whoever wore it took great care of their foot hygiene…
Ptooey!
Is that important?
Besides… the more he looked, the more it really did resemble the stockings from Amidina’s illustration.
“Chirp chirp!”
Fatty Bird shook itself off and jumped up.
“You said you saw two women being chased outside the manor? This is Claremont family territory, it shouldn’t be dangerous… Are you sure?”
“Chirp chirp chirp…”
“Hm, you make a good point.”
Lin Nuo slipped the stockings into his pocket.
“Lead the way. We’ll watch from a distance.”
***
Evening, the sky darkening.
The sound of the moat’s rushing water surrounded the vast, luxurious Claremont Manor.
To the north of the moat lay a dense forest interspersed with scattered houses, appearing dim and somewhat desolate.
A figure with wavy golden hair jumped across the suspension bridge over the moat, folding away an umbrella and stepping into the steady rain.
“The usual—keep watch.”
“Chirp!”
Fatty Bird fluttered up from Lin Nuo’s head, circling overhead to scout.
Due to the location, this area seldom sees sunlight year-round.
The few dozen households that once lived here moved away years ago, leaving only ruins and dilapidated houses.
Usually, only long-distance adventurers passing through would stop here to rest.
Last time Lin Nuo was here, he even saw a female adventurer carefully washing a small eggplant while glancing around nervously, hastily finding an empty room.
Soon after, sounds indicating she failed some kind of inspection came from inside…
So, was that eggplant really just for eating?
Still without an answer, Lin Nuo ventured further inside but found nothing unusual.
Fatty Bird wouldn’t be mistaken.
Maybe those two women had already left.
Just as Lin Nuo was about to leave, he suddenly remembered that a week ago, his mother had blocked his door and dragged him to the church to hear the bishop recite some prayer about the gods forgiving lolicons and homosexuals.
That day, Lin Nuo sneaked out again, afraid to face his mother’s anger, so he took Fatty Bird and a blanket to crash in some empty room here overnight.
Right—this very room.
Squinting, Lin Nuo quickly found the spot; his blanket was still there.
If he didn’t take it back soon, one day some female adventurer carrying an eggplant might spill something unclean on it.
“Shh, are they still following?”
Suppressed voices came from inside, making Lin Nuo pause.
“Why did you bring me running this way… What? You know the useless Young Master of the Claremont family? Then there’s no way I can outrun this!”
“…It’s your fault I got hurt, you know?”
“If it weren’t for you, this moonlit sock-chasing magical girl, would I have missed my ultimate attack…”
A lovely female voice, but he couldn’t catch the exact words.
Lin Nuo glanced at Fatty Bird, who wasn’t signaling, then crept closer.
A sliver of light seeped through the door crack— a magic circle, healing water magic.
Among the two women inside, at least one was injured.
Calm down, deep breath.
Lin Nuo wiped his face.
It sounded like they were hiding from something…
But if it was a clash between mages, regardless of their positions, this was beyond a low-level dog like him.
At ten years old, he had followed behind the Saint Knight Army on an adventure, cluelessly beaten by a sudden magical attack from nowhere, bedridden for eight years.
That experience made Lin Nuo clearly understand that even in this other world, he should stick to the basics of young men’s code of conduct—someone’s being chased?
Not my problem.
What’s it to me?
Screw it!
Just as Lin Nuo turned to leave, his foot stepped on something with a squelch.
“…”
Oh, no!
Who the hell left an eggplant here?
“Who’s there?”
Before Lin Nuo could take a step, the door creaked open first, and a slender jade-like arm grabbed his collar.
Pulled inside without warning, Lin Nuo turned his head.
His eyes caught the girl’s graceful, delicate profile, the unmistakable elf ears tucked beneath her hair, and the elven tiara resting on her smooth forehead.
Instinctively preparing to escape, Lin Nuo’s brain felt as if rusted within seconds, skipping past the elegant corseted gown outlining a slender waist, locking onto the girl’s naturally cold yet mesmerizing peach blossom eyes.
His mind nearly crashed from the sudden impact, as if struck by a powerful magic blast.
Holy hell!
Ai… Amidina?!
“Why did you drag him in? That reaction shows he’s just passing by. Hey… don’t forget I’m still here, you know!”
Following the voice, Lin Nuo looked at the blanket he had brought.
Beneath it glowed a radiant healing magic circle, and there lay another breathtaking beauty with her collar half-open.
Lin Nuo’s brain was hit by what felt like ten magic blasts all at once, roasting him inside and out.
Did he skip the almanac before going out today?
Wow, it really is you.
He had just run into someone he least wanted to see, someone he absolutely never expected to meet now.
The lucky girl, bearer of the original novel’s protagonist aura, founder of “Don’t Underestimate a Girl’s Poverty,” Feng Aotian herself—Xiafuya!