CHAPTER 177: FINNIE’S MOTHER MAKES HER INTENTIONS CLEAR

After calming Ellie and Caina down a bit, Lin Mo went straight to the City Lord’s mansion.

The guards at the mansion gate were the same familiar faces. It was just a gatekeeping job, but standing guard at the City Lord’s mansion was still a pretty good post.

“You look like you’ve put on a bit of weight lately?”

Lin Mo knew these guards fairly well. He greeted them and started teasing.

“Haha... I just married a young wife. She’s a great cook, so I’ve been eating more lately... Don’t worry, sir. I’ll slim down soon—won’t ruin the mansion’s image.”

The guard scratched his head, embarrassed.

Lin Mo patted his shoulder and didn’t press the joke further.

After all, these were matters outside his authority. Joking aside, how the guard handled it was his own business;

Lin Mo couldn’t decide it for him.

After chatting a little, he walked into the mansion.

The guards watched his back enviously.

“How nice... to be favored by the City Lord like that. Walking into the City Lord’s mansion just because.”

“Don’t mention the mansion—what about Miss Finnie’s chamber...”

“Ahem—”

The lead guard coughed twice to warn them: “Nothing’s confirmed yet, don’t talk recklessly.”

But in truth, he knew it was almost certain.

They weren’t fools—anyone could see how Miss Finnie and the City Lord treated him, especially Miss Finnie. A few of the older guards had practically watched her grow up;

with the way she looked and spoke, who wouldn’t think she liked him?

Miss Finnie liked him, and the lady of the house didn’t object—wasn’t that a done deal?

Hadn’t they noticed the mysterious Sherfilia’s unusual attitude toward him too?

Now it was just a matter of time before they broke the news and discussed marriage.

“Well, the guy’s clearly talented and capable, otherwise Miss Finnie and the lady wouldn’t favor him. Look at his recent battle records—could anyone achieve that?”

“That’s true—strong and good-looking, both talent and looks. Someone like him will rise quickly.”

...

Lin Mo didn’t hear the guards’ gossip. He was familiar enough with the mansion’s layout from his visits and didn’t go to Finnie’s room;

instead he headed straight to Sherfilia’s small courtyard. R̃åŊꝊВĘṤ

As expected, Sherfilia sat in the pavilion in the courtyard, holding a teacup and sipping slowly.

“Finnie—did she go to the church?”

Lin Mo sat naturally opposite her.

Sherfilia nodded. “Miss left for the church this morning. She successfully broke through to Level Two yesterday.”

She clearly understood exactly what Lin Mo wanted to ask.

Behira smiled and pointed at the teacup in his hand: “Would you like some tea?”

Silverstream City’s etiquette attendant rose to pour a cup for him and set it before him.

“Thanks for your effort on this Secret Realm expedition.”

Lin Mo thanked her sincerely. Without Sherfilia, the trip into the Secret Realm would not have gone so smoothly;

he might not even have dared to enter, and he certainly wouldn’t have gotten these rewards.

Sherfilia shook her head. “I told you—this is what I should do.”

“Your duty and my thanks are two different things.”

Lin Mo said while sipping the tea. It tasted refreshingly light;

the faint tea fragrance lingered at his nose—clearly a fine variety.

“How has Silverstream City been lately?”

Sherfilia shook her head. “I haven’t looked into it. You can ask the lady—she’s in her study right now.”

Lin Mo waved his head. “No need.”

If anything major happened, he’d naturally be informed.

Just then, a maid approached. “Mr. Lin Mo, the lady requests your presence.”

“Uh...”

Lin Mo put down his teacup awkwardly. If she’d asked him to come, it would be rude to refuse.

He nodded to Sherfilia and followed the maid out of the courtyard.

The maid led him to Lady Behira’s study;

after bringing him inside, the maid bowed slightly and left.

Lin Mo pushed the door open. Behind the desk, Lady Behira bent over her work.

“City Lord, may I ask what you need of me?”

Lady Behira looked up when she saw Lin Mo and smiled: “Why do you seem distant after such a short time apart? Since Little Flora introduced you, consider us friends—no need to be so formal.”

“Ha ha...”

Lin Mo forced a smile. He didn’t feel any particular reverence toward the title;

after all, he hadn’t grown up in this world and didn’t care much for titles and status.

Still, when he reminded himself that this was Finnie’s mother, he couldn’t help but feel nervous—like he’d stolen someone’s child.

“Finnie’s been thinking about you lately...” Behira didn’t bring up business. She continued with small talk.

“She was especially worried when she learned you and Sherfilia went into the Secret Realm—she was a nervous wreck, wanting to come looking for you every day.”

Lin Mo could easily picture that scene and couldn’t help smiling. Finnie really was a lovable kid—kind-hearted and cute;

who wouldn’t like her?

Aside from team loyalty, much of her worry probably came from Sherfilia, who’d grown up with Finnie like an older sister.

Lin Mo wasn’t the type to be overtly self-obsessed. Although Finnie had shown dependency on him during the trip, he didn’t read too much into it. Caring among teammates was normal, and Finnie’s personality factored in as well.

The truth was, a little feeling might exist—Finnie was at the age of budding affection—but Lin Mo wasn’t going to trick himself into thinking she loved him more than was reasonable;

that would be ridiculous.

Then Lady Behira suddenly asked, “What are your feelings toward Finnie?”

“Finnie... she’s a very sweet and kind girl. As a teammate she’s reliable and her personality is pleasing.”

Behira smiled and shook her head. “I’m not asking for polite words or a teammate’s evaluation. I mean: do you see her as an ordinary girl?”

Lin Mo froze. Was this a hint? No—this was basically an outright declaration.

Did Lady Behira really mean that?

He thought for a moment and answered earnestly: “Finnie is a wonderful, adorable girl. I believe any normal man would like her.”

“Including you?”

“Of course.”

“If you were to marry Finnie, what would you do about the two half-orcs?”

Lin Mo looked at Lady Behira, unsure of her intention, but he expressed his stance firmly.

“No matter what, I wouldn’t abandon any of them.”

Surprisingly, Behira nodded in approval. “That’s as it should be. If you didn’t have that sense of responsibility, I’d worry about Finnie’s relationship with you.”

“I thought you wanted me to give them up and be only with Finnie.”

Seeing her relaxed expression, Lin Mo relaxed and joked.

“That would be strange—do I really come across that way to you?”

Behira didn’t get angry—only puzzled.

Thinking about it, she had indeed been friendly and kind since they met. Any earlier suspicions were likely remnants of his past life’s thinking.

But the other world had its own logic;

those old ideas needed to shift.

“The reason I had you come is to discuss this—Finnie’s shy and slow to speak. She keeps many things in her heart and can’t say them out loud. She needs you to take more care of her.”

Was this a prompt for him to be more proactive?

Lin Mo nodded clearly. “I will.”

Since he was already there, after family matters were discussed, it was time to talk business.

“So how has Silverstream City been recently?”

Behira’s expression showed some fatigue. “For now it’s relatively calm—no major incidents. But that calm is probably just the short lull before a storm.”

“However, you need not worry too much. I and other ministers, along with the Church and the Adventurers’ Association, will handle things.”

She spoke with a strategist’s air—confidence in her eyes.

“Victory will ultimately be ours.”

Facing pressure from the goblins and the Lawrence family, Lady Behira wasn’t merely on defense;

she’d been arranging things in secret.

From her current posture it seemed the preparations were nearly complete—just waiting to close the net.

No wonder she’d built Silverstream City into its current prosperous state single-handedly. Lin Mo felt reassured.

“If anything special happens, Sherfilia will notify you... She looks cold and quiet, but she’s a good girl. I hope you’ll bear with her.”

Lin Mo couldn’t shake the feeling that Lady Behira had become a maternal figure—always chattering about these matters.

Rumor had it she was a kind person but also commanded respect and presence.

Perhaps she truly regarded him as one of her own.

Lin Mo knew this wasn’t because of his looks or the contributions he’d made to the city—those were secondary.

The primary reason was his talent.

As he learned more about this world, Lin Mo understood how exaggerated his talent appeared. It was because of his talent that Flora introduced him to Lady Behira and why the city lord placed so much trust in him—even entrusting her daughter’s care to him.

Talent represented potential and set a ceiling for future achievement—that was a practical truth.

“I understand...”

Lin Mo took his leave and exited the study.

The next few days would likely be calm, but such quiet wouldn’t last long. Before the storm came, he needed to speed up his own strength growth to be better prepared.

No need to accept dangerous missions in the next few days—stick to picking off goblins like before.

In the afternoon, Lin Mo made a trip to the church to see Finnie and report back that they were safe.

Then he went to the Adventurer’s Street to deal with the loot from the trip.

“This is material from a Crimson Flame Tiger—selling for 170 gold coins, is that too expensive?”

Lin Mo pointed at the crimson tiger hide in front of him and argued his case.

“I’m not saying you... The market value for Crimson Flame Tiger materials is around 160 gold. If you sell it to me for 170, how do I make any profit?”

The merchant refused to budge and shook his head.

“All right, I’ll take a little loss—165 gold. Market price is market price, but this thing isn’t always available. Think it over.”

“All right, all right...”

Hearing the price, the other party accepted, counted out 165 gold coins, and handed them to Lin Mo.

Lin Mo took the heavy cloth bag and walked into an alley.

After confirming no one was around, he put the bag full of coins directly into his Spatial Ring.

Having this thing was truly convenient—no space taken, no weight—almost a divine item. Even if he were offered an epic-level piece of equipment, he wouldn’t trade it.

With the Crimson Flame Tiger materials sold, he moved on to the Blackwater Serpent. Both monsters were scarce, but this serpent was of a slightly higher grade and thus more valuable.

Lin Mo carried the serpent materials to the dwarf forging shop he knew well—number 27.

He pushed the door open and shouted in his loud voice: “Old man, come collect your goods.”

Adventurers inside glanced at him curiously and went back to picking equipment. That was the usual dynamic between customers and the boss at this dwarf forge.

The dwarf boss had a blunt temper and a crude mouth, so customers bantered right back.

Though rude-sounding, the atmosphere wasn’t bad.

The dwarf boss shot him a look. It’d been an absence, but Lin Mo was a special customer, so he remembered him well.

“Been so long I thought you were dead out there.”

“You’d say that—what, I’m dead? How could that be?”

Lin Mo said as he carefully placed the Blackwater Serpent’s eyes and serpent gallbladder on the counter.

He needn’t have been so careful—this was material from a Level 4.5 Blackwater Serpent. Although eyes and gallbladders were fragile, unless someone intentionally jabbed them they wouldn’t easily break.

“Oh?”

The dwarf boss widened his eyes in surprise. “You killed this?”

If he remembered correctly, the last time he saw Lin Mo the young man had only just become a Professional—maybe Level Two at most, even with his talent.

How had he managed to kill a Level 4.5 monster so quickly?

“What else?”

Lin Mo shrugged, no need to hide it.

“You brat’s pretty strong.”

The dwarf boss’ tone softened. He wasn’t one to flatter the powerful, but before a strong customer he certainly held back.

“So, how much do you want?”

Blackwater Serpent materials were rare and worth buying.

Lin Mo thought a moment. “How about 400 gold?”

“Why don’t you go rob a bank?” The dwarf boss jumped like a cat with its tail stepped on.

“This is material from a Level 4.5 monster.”

Lin Mo emphasized.

“Even so, it’s not worth 400—at most 330. Not one coin more.”

“How about 350?”

The dwarf boss rolled his eyes.

Fine—this more straightforward dwarf wasn’t much for haggling. The market price of 330 gold was fair;

maybe even generous. If he’d gone to shadier shopkeepers, they’d dump it down to 300 right away.

After finishing that deal, Lin Mo didn’t leave. He asked, “Old man, do you have any more funds?”

“You got more materials to sell?”

Lin Mo didn’t waste words and took out the ogre teeth.

The dwarf boss inspected them carefully, measuring their size, then said gravely: “Level 5?”

“Exactly.”

After a pause of thought, he offered: “480 gold—how about that?”

“All right, deal.”

The dwarf’s price was reasonable, so Lin Mo closed the transaction quickly.

Finally, there was the lord-level monster—the Level 6 Gale Wolf.

The gap between lord-level and the previous monsters was significant. Lin Mo didn’t sell it at the dwarf’s small shop—judging by the ogre offer, the dwarf didn’t have the funds—and so he went to the city’s largest shop, number 11.

Compared to forge #27, this forge was much more luxurious. The decor alone showed the difference—the place was bright and spacious, a different tier entirely.

Of course, prices here weren’t as pretty... but Lin Mo was selling, so he didn’t mind.

“Welcome, guest. How can we help?”

A serious shop was different—upon entering a young salesgirl greeted him proactively.

“I want to sell materials.”

“What grade are they?”

The girl asked.

“Lord-level monster.”

Those five words lit up her eyes.

“All right, please follow me.”

She nodded excitedly and led Lin Mo to the second floor.

Apparently she also earned a commission when materials were sold.

She led him to a lounge on the second floor and poured tea. After a short while, a middle-aged man with an appraiser badge around his neck came in.

“Hello, sir. What materials are you selling?”

Lin Mo took out the Level 6 Gale Wolf materials. The appraiser inspected carefully, tapped with his tool, and nodded: “It is indeed Gale Wolf material. If you sell a complete set, we can offer 1,200 gold.”

“A bit low, isn’t it?”

Lin Mo frowned. “Lord-level materials aren’t common.”

“1,200 gold is already close to market price. If you’re unhappy, we can raise it to 1,230 gold at most.”

Lin Mo had already checked the general price range—1,100 to 1,300 gold. 1,230 wasn’t low. Big shops had higher costs but were generous when buying.

He’d just been bargaining out of habit—30 extra gold, why not?

All in all, it was acceptable. In a small city like Silverstream, shops that could buy lord-level materials were few. The Adventurers’ Association would pay around 1,200. Even traveling to multiple buyers might only net ten more gold—too much trouble.

So he accepted.

With that, the Secret Realm haul was nearly all dealt with—total earnings of 2,205 gold. Lin Mo’s net worth surpassed 4,500 gold—a substantial sum.

But for an adventurer, money spent to convert into strength was the real value.

Lin Mo had only used elemental mana potions for Fire, Lightning, and Earth at the novice level. Previously he lacked funds to buy potions for other elements;

now he needed to catch up.

If he didn’t drink the novice mana potions now, then later even if he found intermediate potions through chance, he couldn’t use them.

Besides the four elements he’d already consumed, the common remaining elements were Water, Light, Dark, and Wind. Since he hadn’t learned Dark-related skills yet, he could skip that for now.

He already had Water, Light, and Wind spells corresponding to the potions.

Naturally, he went to Shachel’s alchemy shop to buy mana potions—business was smoother with acquaintances.

When he arrived at Shachel’s shop, unexpectedly she wasn’t lounging on her chair. She sat upright, holding some materials, with vials for potions beside her—apparently researching something.

Hearing the door chime, she didn’t look up until Lin Mo stood before her. She glanced, then immediately looked behind him.

“Didn’t I tell you to bring Little Finnie along?”

“They’re all the same—just pretend I brought her with me...”

“Cut that out.”

Shachel rolled her eyes. “Tell me—what do you need? I’m busy;

I don’t have time for chit-chat.”