After the slave owners went bankrupt, they all wanted to keep me as a mistress.

"The common bird-people have arms that are more like wings, and their lower limbs are like bird claws. Although they have an appearance similar to humans and belong to the demi-human branch, their habits are more like those of upright bird-like magical beasts. Their lifespan is also similar, and their talents are not as good as humans, but they have a strong ability to reproduce. Their colonies can be seen all over the continent."

Mu Qiu touched his chin.

In other words, the less human they are, the closer they are to Fury, the more common they are; the closer they are to humanity, the more aristocratic they are.

"But I've never seen bird-people or winged people."

As Mu Qiu spoke, he turned at the end of the corridor and walked into the restaurant.

Vera followed behind him, her long, silvery-white hair tossing gently, the ends brushing against Mu Qiu's cheeks intentionally or unintentionally, carrying a faint fragrance.

She gave a soft hum: "Of course, this is the northern border of the Orion Empire. It's not exactly a wealthy or open region. Plus, your Orion Empire is notoriously xenophobic. Here, apart from strong individuals who are very confident in their own strength, very few foreign races will set foot here."

Mu Qiu brushed away the slightly itchy strands of hair from his face, looked at Vera, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "So you're very confident in your abilities?"

Vera's pretty face froze instantly.

Of course not!

If it weren't for the mission involving the forbidden books, she wouldn't have come to the border of the Orion Empire.

"Of course! I am a noble elven mage! Dealing with mere border monsters and... and ill-intentioned humans is more than enough!"

"So how was our noble elven mage, Miss Vera, captured?"

"Those despicable humans failed to catch me!"

Vera snorted and stubbornly said, "They trapped me with a magic scroll. They didn't even dare to untie the magic scroll from beginning to end, so the one who captured me wasn't human, but just a magic scroll!"

"As a mage, being trapped by a high-level magic scroll is something that can't be helped."

Mu Qiu and Vera chatted as they arrived at the restaurant and took their seats. Not long after, Adele and several catgirls brought up breakfast.

Luna and the other catgirls were already sitting at the table, their tails wagging excitedly, their eyes sparkling as they stared at the food. But they were all well-behaved and didn't reach for the food beforehand. It wasn't until Mu Qiu picked up his knife and fork and said, "Eat up," that they cheered and began to enjoy their breakfast.

"Luna wants to eat ten grilled fish, meow!"

"Luna's going to have this sweet bread, meow!"

"Wow! Master's sausage is so big! Luna wants to eat it, meow!"

Seeing Luna trying to cut the large sausage in front of her with a knife and fork, Mu Qiu's lips twitched, and he reached out and patted Luna's head.

"Don't say strange things while you're eating!"

"Strange? Meow?"

Luna blinked, not thinking there was anything wrong with what she said.

The catgirls nearby chattered away, their cheeks bulging from eating.

"Master, eat fish!"

Mu Qiu looked in the direction of the sound and saw Xiao Xiao picking up a grilled fish and placing it on the plate in front of him, looking at him with a blushing face.

"Yes, thank you, Xiaoxiao."

Mu Qiu smiled slightly and reached out to pat the little head.

"Hey hey hey..."

With its eyes half-closed and its fluffy orange cat ears twitching, the little cat seemed to be thoroughly enjoying its owner's caresses.

Adele sat quietly to Mu Qiu's right, sipping her porridge and occasionally using a fork to serve Mu Qiu some food, showing the head maid's thoughtfulness.

Her gaze would occasionally fall on the noisy catgirls beside her, and a slight smile would appear on her lips.

It seems quite nice to be by my owner's side.

Although it's unknown how long this will last.

Although it's unknown when the master's family will arrive, or whether the master will leave one day and return to his family...

But at least for now, let's not think about these worries.

At least for now, they can still feel the warmth brought by their owner.

After breakfast and a short rest, the team prepared to set off.

Considering the dangers of Mirror Lake Forest and the potential for battle, Mu Qiu decided to leave the catgirls, whose ranks were generally between Iron and Bronze, behind and have Melinda help look after the manor.

Mu Qiu originally only wanted to bring Vera along, but since Luna and Adele discovered the treasure map, he decided to bring them along as well.

Upon hearing that she was going to search for treasure with her master, Luna became extremely excited, jumping around as if she were going on a picnic rather than an adventure.

"Treasure! Treasure! Luna's here, meow!"

A few hours later, the group arrived at the outskirts of Mirror Lake Forest.

The towering ancient trees here block out the sun, making the light in the forest dim and dappled, and one can faintly sense the aura of some magical beasts around.

"According to the route marked on the treasure map, the entrance is in the northeast direction, and it will take about two to three hours to go deeper into the area."

Mu Qiu checked the markings on the map again.

"Leave it to Luna, meow!"

Luna volunteered and nimbly leaped onto the branch of a large tree in front of her, constantly scanning her surroundings.

"Luna, clear the way! I'll warn you immediately if anything bad gets close, meow!"

The team began to venture deeper into the forest.

Luna nimbly leaped and darted among the branches, acting as a sentinel, while Adele and Vera walked in front of and behind Mu Qiu, protecting him in the middle.

The forest was quieter than I had imagined, with only the rustling of fallen leaves underfoot and the occasional distant cries of unknown birds and beasts.

Huge, gnarled tree roots protrude from the ground, covered with a thick layer of moss and fungi.

Sunlight struggles to penetrate the dense canopy, casting clear beams of light through only a few gaps, barely enough to make out the road ahead.

About two hours later, Mu Qiu and his group arrived at a relatively open clearing in the woods.

In the center of the open space was a small swamp, with green duckweed floating on the surface and the bones of wild animals scattered around.

"The next landmark marked on the map is a swamp..."

Mu Qiu frowned slightly as he compared the map with the map.

"This should be it. If we cross this swamp and head north for less than half an hour, we should be able to see the entrance to the treasure cave."

The swamp was not large, but it was extremely muddy, with bubbles rising from the murky water every now and then, emitting a faint stench of decay.

Several dead trees lay haphazardly in the swamp, forming a natural bridge, but they were covered with slippery moss.

"Everyone be careful, one after another, stepping over the dead trees."

Mu Qiu gave his instructions.

"Luna, go check on her first, meow!"

Luna was the first to jump onto the thickest dead tree, and with excellent balance, she quickly walked to the other side, then ran back.

"No problem, meow! We can go this way!"

When it was Mu Qiu and Vera's turn, Vera looked at the few dead trees and frowned slightly. She suddenly grabbed Mu Qiu and whispered, "Master, let me take you there."

As she spoke, the grimoire floating beside her turned a page, and her golden-level magic power began to surge around her.

Without needing to chant, a pale blue hue of wind elemental light naturally appeared in the air.

"Wings of the Wind!"

A pair of azure wings made of pure wind elements instantly unfolded behind her. Although they were not as solid as the wings of a real angel, they radiated powerful magical energy.

She first easily flew across the swamp and brought Adele to the other side.

Hmm, it's safe. It seems there's no restriction on flying above the swamp.

Vera then flew back to Mu Qiu's side, a faint blush rising on her face. She softly hummed, "Master, what are you waiting for? You're probably thinking about putting your wicked hands on my...that place while you're carrying me through the air, aren't you?"

Do I look like that kind of person?

As soon as Mu Qiu opened his mouth, he saw Vera pause for a moment.

Hmm...that makes sense...then let's change our flying posture!

Before Mu Qiu could react, Vera had already wrapped her arms around him from behind, passing them under his armpits and tightly embracing his chest.

With a sudden flap of the wind wings, the two instantly lifted off the ground and gracefully flew towards the opposite bank.

"Hey, didn't you say you wanted me to hold you..."

Mu Qiu suddenly felt his feet sink into the ground, and he was lifted up by Vera and suspended above the swamp.

Pressed tightly against his back was the soft and supple body of an elven girl, the faint fragrance of her hair lingering around his nose.

To maintain her balance, she wrapped her arms tightly around Mu Qiu so that he could clearly feel her thunder.

"Stop your nonsense, you lewd master! Who would let you take advantage of this to grope me like that? Hmph, you can't do anything lewd to me in this position, can you?"

Vera hummed a few times, and it was unclear whether it was because she was distracted or something else. She had been flying smoothly with Adele just a moment ago, but this time she started to wobble in the air. Mu Qiu could only feel his back being constantly squeezed and massaged.

Mu Qiu's body stiffened slightly, and he could feel his heart beating a little faster.

You're the one who deliberately did lewd things while flying, aren't you! You filthy sprite!

Mu Qiu wanted to say something, but considering that he might fall into a swamp if something unexpected happened while he was flying, he kept his mouth shut and decided to speak after landing.

Fortunately, the swamp was short, and even after flying crookedly through the air for half a day, it didn't take long.

Vera only let go of Mu Qiu's hand after they landed safely.

"Vera, what you just did—"

Just as Mu Qiu was about to speak, Vera, as if she had anticipated his actions, suddenly turned around and flew over, saying, "I'll go pick up Luna."

As they were talking, Vera returned again.

This time, he easily grabbed Luna by the back of her collar and brought her over like he was carrying a disobedient old woman.

"Wow! It's flying, meow!"

Luna was quite happy, flapping her limbs wildly in the air. She deliberately didn't run to the other side, just wanting to experience the feeling of flying.

As soon as she landed, Luna looked around curiously, constantly sniffing the surrounding air.

Suddenly, her cat-like eyes were drawn to a small object reflecting a faint light at the edge of the muddy ground.

"Meow? What's that shiny thing? Is it a gold coin, meow?"

Upon seeing what appeared to be gold coins, Luna immediately perked up.

Do you have gold coins?

Then she won't be sleepy anymore!

Luna crouched down and carefully dug a coin out of the damp soil with her small hand.

The coin had an ancient design and was not any of the currencies currently used on the mainland. It was cast from some unknown dark gold metal, with one side engraved with the image of some object and the other side with a blurry human figure whose face was half covered by a cloak.

Perhaps because it has been buried in the soil for so long, the patterns on it have been corroded quite a bit, and the objects and figures on both sides are now blurry.

"It doesn't look like gold coins, meow?"

Luna was somewhat disappointed, but she quickly realized that her master might need this, so she held up the gold coin again and showed it to Mu Qiu.

"Master, look at this! Luna has found something good!"

"This is... a coin?"

Mu Qiu didn't recognize the coin, so he looked at Adele and Vera.

Adele shook her head, indicating that she didn't know either.

Vera frowned and pondered for a moment.

"This coin... let me think, maybe my history teacher mentioned it in class. It should be some kind of ancient coin, or maybe it's a coin from the Age of Gods?"