Moshi led them to the residence in the city that the king had given him.

The maiden, who was known to Nagao as Moshi's only servant, stood at the door to receive them. It was a canine-headed civilian girl who had not yet reached adulthood, but her scent was like a gentle pine flower pressed by snow, quiet and calm. Warm and unpretentious, she was an experienced servant, and she welcomed her master and her master's friend with a wagging tail.

"What's your name?" As they walked inside, Moshi and Opal talked about money and economics as Long Tail approached the girl.

She looked at him a little blankly.

"Duna. She replied simply.

"Duna. The young man nodded, "Are you from the West?"

"Yes...... My accent is obvious?" The girl looked a little shy, and Nagao laughed at it.

"No, no, no," he quickly explained, "just because I know that Lord Moshi used to be a retainer of the Duke of Firefinch, and he has only one maid from the beginning, so I guess you are also from the West." Of course, more importantly, you and the girl in the center smell different, walk differently, and look different. ”

"You laugh at me for being a hillbilly. ”

Longtail bared his teeth and smiled, "I hope you're a 'hillbilly', miss, so we can have a good chat." You see, I don't understand what Lord Mo Shi is saying, and they are left alone. ”

The girl's face softened a little, and her ears relaxed.

Or maybe the girl smelled that he wasn't a pure-blooded Heyal, and felt that they had a closer identity. Normally, Nagao didn't mind his lowly status, but at this time he felt happy.

For dinner, they sat at a long table in the dining room.

This long table was obviously originally part of the house, and it was not selected and purchased by Mo Shi himself. It seemed so quiet that it hadn't hosted a dinner party in a long time. Mo Shi sat in the master's place, Opal sat on the master's left hand side, and Long Tail sat on the right hand side, and the three of them could only fill a gap in it.

This is a very cold house, since the Firebird family officially settled the mansion in the royal city, this property belongs only to Mo Shi. Whereas, Moshi usually lived in the court.

Obviously, if it weren't for entertaining them, there would be no fire all year round, and there would be dust everywhere.

But when the candles were lit and the first hot soup was served to the table, the scene did warm up.

Du Na was the only one who served the food, and every time Mo Shi would say "thank you". This is of course extremely strange and unnatural, but it is also clearly a habit, a habit that Mo Shi maintains in his own realm "home".

Opal zirconium seems to know something about this. He did not object, quietly thanked the gods and ate.

Longtail hesitated for a moment.

On the one hand, he thinks that Opal Zirconia's cold demeanor of the eldest young master is very charming, which is what he is after. On the other hand, he was vaguely aware that Mo Shi was a different kind of person from them, and Mo Shi's behavior required him to find a balance at every turn, and it was a choice full of difficulties like asceticism.

But

The longtail twitches his nose slightly, sniffing into the girl's "spirit powder" (snowwalkers refer to exohormones, or pheromones, as "soul powders", which they believe to convey various emotions or sexual attraction as the powder that the soul sprinkles on the outside of the body).

He smiled warmly as the girl's body from the western lands approached him and put down the plate containing the barbecue.

At the end of the dinner, the maiden brought a huge sweet pie.

"This is my favorite," Mo Shi sighed, and laughed a little childishly, "and Duna is getting better and better, and looking at this beautiful color and pattern, I will be deeply jealous of whoever marries her in the future." ”

After dinner, the table was cleaned up and the flasks and glasses were re-arranged.

Mo Shi toasted the two of them in a way that Nagatail didn't understand. When Mo Shi drank wine, his face did not change color, and he drank it all, as if he was not affected by alcohol at all.

After two drinks, Mo Shi said, "It's time to talk about the arrangements for the future." ”

It was also at this time that Opal and Nagatail learned that Mo Shi had been given a new name and knighted. He didn't look happy, but fell into a kind of muddy deep thought.

"There are two things that need to be addressed right now. For me, of course. He was humble and calm, his expression dazed, "First, I need someone to help me take care of the so-called 'my property'. Second, I also need more assistants in the center, perhaps first, you are willing to accompany me to select some servants, and then, I also need friends and helpers. ”

Opal thought for a moment and said, "Whether it's the former or the latter, I'm willing to do it." But I'm guessing that if you say that, you probably want me to help you manage Chipping City in the Falling Star Mountains. ”

“...... But I'm just as reluctant to let you go. ”

"Well," Opal was silent for a long time, and then spoke very resolutely, with a kind of unquestioning trust and almost cold rational judgment, "I think I would be better suited to stay in the Southlands. At the very least, I can do my best to find peace for you when you don't have time to control your territory. ”

Mo Shi smiled softly.

"By the way, I have a gift for you. ”

Mo Shi took out a leather bag from his coat pocket and handed it to Opal Zirconia.

Opal took it and opened it, pouring the contents into the palm of his hand.

It was a white opal. It shines beautifully in the candlelight.

"This is what I got from the king, and I thought about polishing it to look like an empty wheel, but I never got a chance. Now that you've decided to go back to Chipcut, I think you can find good artisans and make it the way you want it to be. ”

The long tail could see and smell it, and Opal was deeply moved.

Opal even showed a rare smile without any sarcasm, and when he laughed like that, it was a little like crying.

"I would have ......," he noticed that he was a little too excited, so he paused to take a few deep breaths, "I was hesitant to give you a gem that I fancied in Chipping City, but you, you, you are as noble to me as the gods, and I don't know if I have the right to 'give' anything to you...... But, but ......"

Nagao was surprised by Opal's sudden, almost fanatical mood.

In his opinion, Opal simply went crazy like a sudden illness.

And Mo Shi was not flustered, he just lowered his gaze slightly and frowned.

"We're friends, Opal," Moshi reached out and pressed the back of Opal's zirconium hand and slowly pressed down the accent, "We're friends." ”

Opal quieted down.

After a while, he spoke again, his voice still trembling slightly: "Yes, yes. Moshi, we are friends, and I will always be your friend. ”

Then, he also took something out of his pocket, put it on the table and handed it to Mo Shi.

It was a small wooden box.

Inside the wooden box is a ring of empty wheels carved from obsidian.

It's a wonderful coincidence, both for "faith" and for "name".

"I'd love to wear it forever. Moshi promised.