Yes, Lady Funina!

Even if they didn't give her lipstick or cosmetics, they would at least give her some local-style jewelry, right? What normal person would give a beautiful lady controlled weapons like knives, guns, swords, or clubs?

“Really? I just noticed that the sword you’re using seems quite old. Although it’s well-maintained, it’s become somewhat outdated compared to your current strength,” Richard said.

He is a pragmatist and usually prioritizes practicality when buying gifts.

Clarinde doesn't usually wear jewelry, so Richard chose the 'Tenmoku Kagetsuki' as a gift.

As one of the five masters of Inazuma Raiden, the 'Tenmoku-ryu' school of forging is undoubtedly exceptional. It produces some of the best weapons available on the market, and generally speaking, even with money, you might not be able to buy a weapon of this caliber.

And the price of this weapon is naturally quite impressive, much more expensive than clothes or cosmetics.

By the way, Richard brought Navelette a bottle of fresh water from the Musou Blade Rift. The taste was amazing, really potent!

Upon hearing Richard's words, Clarinde immediately felt that Richard had put a lot of thought into the gift, so much so that all the resentment she felt from being oppressed and exploited by Richard vanished without a trace, leaving only a deep sense of gratitude.

It can be considered that he was successfully admitted to the ICU.

------

"Hmm..." Funina frowned and slowly opened her sleepy eyes. It felt like she had slept for a long time.

Although she still felt a little tired, she was at least not as sleepy as before. She hadn't had such a comfortable and restful sleep in several days.

Since the attack, Funina has been living in constant fear. She doesn't dare to leave the house at night or walk alone unless absolutely necessary, let alone go out for a walk to clear her mind.

She was afraid that the guy who attacked her would suddenly jump out from some corner and give her a hard stab.

You see, the power in the ring Richard left her has been completely exhausted. If she were attacked again, she would be truly helpless.

Funina knew very well that she, the water goddess, was no different from an ordinary person. When faced with the attackers that night, she was simply a fish on a chopping board with no ability to resist.

Even when going to the Opiclie Opera to watch the trial, Frynn would always call Clorind, who had just finished work, to come along.

As for her guards... after Richard's reminder, Furnessa clearly understood that these guards were there to make her feel safe, not because they could actually protect her.

"Awake?" Richard put down the light novel he had brought back from Inazuma. It was actually a gift for Funina, but he was using it to pass the time for now.

"Hmm..." Funina responded, still a little dazed from just waking up, her eyes clear and innocent.

Funina sat up, lifted the blanket, and stepped onto the soft carpet with her small feet in white socks. She looked down for a while, found her round-toed little leather boots, and put them on.

"How long have I been asleep?" Funina asked.

"About five or six hours?" Richard checked the time. It was 10 p.m., and he had returned to Mo Mang Palace around 4 p.m. Fu Ningna had fallen asleep as soon as she saw him, so it had indeed been five or six hours.

Funina then noticed that it was completely dark outside the window, and even the shops on the street were closed. It was estimated that only her office in the entire Momang Palace was still lit up.

"It's so late already, Richard, have you eaten yet?"

"No."

Why don't you go eat?

Richard looked into Funina's clear and innocent eyes. Did he not want to eat?

Whenever he moved more than three meters away from Funina, the girl would start to frown. When she was about five meters away, she would start talking in her sleep, and from what she said, it sounded like she was having a nightmare. Her senses were incredibly sharp.

With such a human-machine separation automatic alarm, how could Richard possibly escape? He simply sat in his office and waited for Funina to wake up on her own.

However, Richard did not say these words to Funina. Instead, he said, "I'm not very hungry, and I want to wait for you to wake up so we can eat together."

"Is...is that so..." Funina's eyes darted around, her hands unconsciously started playing with the ends of her hair, her cheeks began to heat up, and a little excitement flickered between her brows.

Richard closed the light novel with both hands, stood up from his chair, stretched, and said, "Let's go see what we can eat outside."

"It's so late, there probably isn't anything left to eat, right?"

"Go check out the Vasari Corridor; some of the restaurants there are open 24/7."

Upon hearing Richard mention the place name, Funina's pretty face changed slightly, and she said somewhat awkwardly, "Why don't we eat at my place? I have some desserts there..."

“We can’t just have dessert for dinner, can we?” Richard said. “Let’s go, it’s on me.”

Seeing that Richard had already said so, Funina had no choice but to agree, but she still felt uneasy. When she walked out of Mo Mang Palace, she couldn't help but shiver when the cold night wind blew.

"Give me your hand." Richard took Funina's small hand, and a warm current rose from his palm, protecting Funina from the night's chill.

Fulina's previously panicked mind suddenly calmed down, as if as long as she was by Richard's side, fear, worry, and dread would not come to her.

This sense of calm lasted until the two arrived at the location where Fryna had been attacked that night, near the central landmark of the Vasari Corridor.

When Funina saw the familiar scene before her, she felt as if the events of that night were still vivid in her mind. She paused involuntarily and unconsciously tightened her grip on Richard's hand.

'It seems that night really left a deep psychological scar on Funina,' Richard thought to himself, feeling the change in pressure from her hand.

Thinking this, Richard said, "Clolind said you haven't been feeling well these past couple of days?"

"Ah."

"Were you attacked?"

“…Hmm.” Fu Ningna hesitated for a moment, but in the end she did not lie and answered truthfully.

"Where?" Richard asked, leading Funina by the hand as they passed the scene of the crime that night.

“Right here.” Funina pointed to an open space not far from them. She had been attacked that night while chasing the black and white wildcat.

Over the past five hundred years, Funina had encountered similar emergencies, but none were as thrilling as that night. The intense, almost tangible, bloody aura emanating from the other party made Funina feel for the first time how close 'death' was to her.

At that moment, Funina's first thought was that she couldn't die, because what would happen to Fontaine if she did? Her second thought was, "Richard, save me."

"I'm sorry, Funina, it was my oversight," Richard said. He really hadn't expected that the [Servant] would actually attack Funina after he left.

Funina shook her head. This was none of Richard's business; after all, no one but the attacker could have predicted such a thing.

Even Funina herself never imagined that one day she would be the target of a terrorist attack in Fontaine.

Seeing this, Richard didn't say anything more, and the two of them silently made their way to a restaurant. Considering Funina's mood for eating, Richard chose to get takeout instead of dining in.

Back at the Mo Mang Palace, Richard and Furness entered the elevator, entered the password, and pressed the button for the top floor.

Funina's palace is located on the top floor of the Momang Palace, a fact known to everyone in Fontaine. For security reasons, the elevator leading to the top floor has also been fitted with a combination lock.

The elevator quickly arrived at its destination. Just as Funina was about to take out her keys, she discovered that Richard had already opened her door with the packed food.

Watching Richard navigate the area as if he were at home, Funina couldn't help but slowly type a question mark.

It feels like Richard doesn't consider me an outsider at all.

Where did he get the key?

Richard's key was naturally given to him by Clarin. Seeing Frynn still standing outside the door, Richard turned around and said, "What are you standing there for? Come in. The slippers are in the shoe cabinet on the right, right?"

Isn't this right?

Funina stared blankly as Richard took two pairs of light blue plush slippers, one large and one small, from the shoe cabinet. He placed the smaller pair next to Funina's feet, while Richard put on the larger pair himself.

The slippers were brand new; Fu Ningna had recently seen them for sale in a shopping mall and bought them on a whim.

I wonder if Richard noticed this...

"These slippers..."

"They're not couple slippers. I just happened to see a buy-one-get-one-free deal at the mall, and I figured I couldn't leave guests without a pair of slippers, so I picked a size larger. No... it wasn't specially prepared for anyone in particular." Funina rattled off a long string of words as if she were rambling.

Richard blinked. He had only used a basic attack, so how come it looked like Frynn had already used her ultimate?

"These slippers fit perfectly. I just wanted to ask where you bought them so I can buy a pair sometime."

"You...you can just take him back. Anyway, there won't be any other guests in my house besides you." Funina realized that her reaction was a bit too much. Her face turned red, she lowered her head, and walked silently towards her bedroom in her slippers.

Aren't you going to eat?

"I...I'm going back to my room to change my clothes."

Chapter 151 How many couple-style items are left?

When Funina reappeared, she had changed from a gorgeous gown into loose-fitting home clothes. Her waist-length, snow-white hair was casually draped down, and the ahoge on her head, no longer oppressed by the top hat, looked proud and dignified.

Her fair face seemed to have been temporarily covered with light makeup to conceal the dark circles under her eyes. However, even though the makeup had concealed the dark circles, the faint sorrow between her brows still gave her a fragile and delicate appearance.

It is said that fragility is the privilege of beautiful women, and this is perfectly embodied in Funinna.

Beneath her seemingly strong exterior lies a broken heart. Coupled with her exquisite and beautiful face and delicate and petite body, her charm is not limited to the opposite sex; even people of the same sex can be easily captivated by her.

Why is Frynn a goddess?

So far, it seems that only Richard has seen Frynn in her home attire. Even when Clarinde visited Frynn's home, she was still wearing an expensive gown, constantly emphasizing her divine status.

Only in front of Richard could she shed her hard shell and reveal the soft flesh hidden beneath.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Fu Ningna felt a little uncomfortable under Richard's gaze. She couldn't help but look down at her outfit, which was just normal home clothes.

"To be honest, this is the first time I've ever seen you wear clothes like this."

"What do you mean by 'this kind of clothing'? Loungewear is quite common, you know." Funina felt that Richard's words were ambiguous, as if she was wearing something shameful, not loungewear.

"Lounge clothes are indeed very common, but it's not common to see Funina wearing lounge clothes."

"Is it really that exaggerated?"

"It looks great, it feels like I'm seeing a different side of Funina."

Richard never hesitates to praise beautiful things, especially delicacies like Fulina.

Funina is never short of praise, and being praised is as commonplace to her as eating bread.

However, for some reason, Richard's comment that it looked good made Funina feel exceptionally happy and shy.

Such words were hardly eloquent praise; Funina had heard them so many times over the centuries that she was practically sick of them. She had even heard far more elaborate compliments. Yet, it was these simple, three words she never wanted to hear again that came from Richard's mouth.

Funina's heart started racing.

What kind of feeling is that?

It's like eating the dessert you've been craving, doing the thing you've always wanted to do, or achieving a long-held goal. That feeling of satisfaction and joy is unparalleled.

“Since you think it looks good, I’ll wear it more often for you to see.” Without waiting for Richard’s reply, Funina blushed and walked straight to the dining table. “Let’s eat now, I’m starving.”

Seemingly to hide the eagerness on her face, or as if she was really starving, Funina brought out two pairs of bowls and chopsticks, one blue and one red, from the kitchen.

Seeing this, Richard couldn't help but joke, "I don't think these are couple's bowls and chopsticks, are they?"

“No, these are couple's bowls and chopsticks,” Fu Ningna said. “I just found them on sale while shopping at the mall. They were cheaper than usual, and the designs were more novel and attractive, so I bought them on a whim.”

After all, both the chopsticks and the plates are printed with heart-shaped patterns, so it would be too deliberate not to say that they are couple's chopsticks and bowls.

It would be better to just say it directly and openly, so as not to arouse suspicion... perhaps?

'Richard and I are completely innocent, upright and honest, so even if we use couple's bowls and chopsticks, it won't cause any problems!' Funina muttered to herself, as if trying to convince herself.

“I see. Indeed, the designs on the couple's set are more attractive than those on regular tableware.” Richard nodded, not bothering to expose the girl’s little scheme.

Without revealing Funina's true identity, she didn't need to personally purchase items like bowls, chopsticks, slippers, and other daily necessities. She only needed to instruct Funina's maid or Lady Hevima, and these things would be prepared naturally, in whatever style she wanted.

When Fulina heard Richard say that, she relaxed slightly, but Richard's next sentence made her nervous again.

"I just don't know who else you've shared this set of bowls and chopsticks with..." Li Cha sighed softly.

"What do you mean 'used by whom'? Aren't these bowls and chopsticks all new?"

So I'm the first one?

"Ah."

“But who can guarantee there won’t be a second one in the future…” Li Cha sighed again.

Funina: #

"If you're really worried, just take these chopsticks, this bowl, this plate, and these slippers with you when you leave," Funina said irritably.

"Lady Funina, are you starting to dislike me?"

"Be normal." Funina couldn't help but make a husky-pointing face, then very virtuously added a bowl of rice for Richard and said, "Don't talk, eat."

To be honest, the late-night snack wasn't very good; it was just average for a regular restaurant and definitely couldn't compare to the skills of the chefs working at Mo Mang Palace.

However, as the saying goes, food tastes extra delicious when you're hungry.

Neither Fulina nor Richard had dinner. Richard was alright, since he had already moved beyond the stage of getting energy through food; now he ate purely for the sake of ritual and to satisfy his appetite.

Fulina was truly hungry. She had been losing her appetite due to poor sleep and anxiety these past few days, but now that Richard was back, her mental state had improved significantly. In a good mood, she naturally wanted to make up for the hunger she had neglected.

Therefore, with the added ingredient of 'hunger', Fulina enjoyed an unprecedentedly satisfying meal, even more so than the crab soup Richard had made for her before.

Richard, on the other hand, only took a few bites of the food. After finishing the rice in his bowl, he didn't ask for more rice but watched Funina eat.