"So this is a Brilliant Moon Stone," I remarked.
I scrutinised the light blue moon stone in my hand that piqued my interest. It was comparable to marble in terms of touch. I wasn"t sure if it was the surface or inside that was emitting a blue light. The stone was slightly transparent, so I could see the shards and bubbles inside. I didn"t know how the stones were produced, but they were quite pretty. When I looked at the mine ahead, however, I realised how cheap the stones were.
The stone was the least valuable sort of jewellery in the North. Not even Ling Yue, who had the pride of a n.o.ble, would use it for jewellery despite her not having a single piece of jewellery. It was for children to play with or the only thing the poor could use as jewellery.
The mine itself wasn"t damaged. Not even the Winged Race would damage the equipment despite ma.s.sacring Ling Yue"s entire tribe, for you needed to use it to earn money if you occupied the place. n.o.body would hold a grudge against something that could be used to earn money. The panthers came afterwards, and they were even less likely to damage these things. Hence, the mine basically hadn"t undergone any change. It was in its original state – other than have a layer of dust due to being left there for so long.
I nodded. I had my arm around Ling Yue while she leaned against me. She looked at the mine below and softly said, "It"s basically here. I rarely came here even when my family was still around, so I don"t know how to extract it. However, I"m sure that the miners will come if I tell them that I"m still alive and want to extract it again. After all, they relied on us to feed them for so long. They"re definitely willing to have a stable job once again."
"Great." I nodded: "Since the equipment is all there and we have workers, there won"t be any problems. This mineral is very important to us. The revival of the North depends on this. I"d say we"re quite lucky, as the mana inside the Brilliant Moon Stones comes from somebody who provides mana. Luckily, I have Mommy Vyvyan, who"s a demi-G.o.d, with me, so I"m sure that she could start up the biggest machine."
Although the mana of the Brilliant Moon Stones could be replenished with moonlight every night, the foundational mana of the stone depended on the mana circuit of the person who produced the stone. Since the mana in the stone derived from the person who provided it with mana, Lucia could make a mana circuit for a Brilliant Moon Stone, but the result would be very poor.
Mommy Vyvyan was in the North. If I asked her to provide mana, then there would be enough. The mana circuit I wanted to produce at the moment was the type that could be used to operate a large machine. So accordingly, adequate mana was a must. Mommy Vyvyan could provide it with sufficient mana, but I was certain she"d make me compensate her for the favour… I didn"t have a choice, though. I really needed her.
I turned around with my arm still around Ling Yue.
"The purpose for my trip here this time was to examine the basic situation with the Brilliant Moon Stone mine. I confirmed they were all right, albeit not in detail. I was sure that Lorana wouldn"t admonish me.
"Uhm, I"m sure she won"t."
Next, we just had to let Ling Yue use her influence to bring the workers back to begin mining. Fundamentally, there were no problems. The mining would proceed.
"I"ll write a letter to Lorana tonight. Construction of the factory can commence once I head back."
Ling Yue wagged her tail and gave me a serious look: "So, is that all the work you have? Leave the mining of Brilliant Moon Stones to me. It"ll be fine; I am your wife, after all. We are mining this for our sake. Naturally, I will do my absolute best."
I gently stroked her stomach: "What about our child, then? You"re pregnant now, so shouldn"t you be focused on looking after yourself?"
"I didn"t tell you when I got pregnant… I didn"t give you trouble, did I?"
"You did. And major trouble for that matter."
I touched her ears, and then gave her a kiss on her cheeks. I looked at her slightly scared eyes and then followed up with a smile, "Because I wasn"t by your side when you told me. Do you know how bad I felt for you? Plus, I was worried you"d be upset or unwell, since I wasn"t by your side. I was worried you had no appet.i.te and if you were well. You didn"t tell me you got pregnant. Do you know how worried I was about you?"
"I"m your wife, so being pregnant is my duty!" exclaimed Ling Yue. She didn"t shyly apologise. She narrowed her eyes and stood next to me proudly. She wasn"t embarra.s.sed: "I didn"t tell you because I was worried you"d get distracted. I told you, because it"s my responsibility as a wife. I don"t consider what I did this time to be wrong, yet you failed to see my efforts for what they are. That is a mistake on your part as a husband!!"
I smiled and felt her ears. Her fluffy ears felt great to touch. If I had to compare them, I"d say they were very similar to dog ears… The way she wagged her tail proudly didn"t resemble a fox, but rather, a dog its owner loved dearly.
"It"s not my mistake now, is it? Shouldn"t a husband be concerned for his pregnant wife? I"ll still be worried about you even if I know that there"s nothing wrong here."
I bit her ear. Her ear was one of her most sensitive spots. Ling Yue narrowed her eyes, and then rubbed her face against mine as she enjoyed it. She moaned: "Hnng… I"m quite pleased with that response. Why is it that you sometimes know the right things to say, while you don"t at other times?"
"I feel as though I do a great job saying the right words when I"m with you."
"Including thinking about your mistress who has pa.s.sed away yesterday?" Ling Yue twitched her ears, and then stood straight up to face me. She then kicked my calf and snickered: "There were people around yesterday, but there is only the two of us right now! I"m going to get even with you for mentioning your mistress yesterday! You"ve got guts to mention your mistress in front of me!!"
Truthfully, there wasn"t just the two of us, as Gerald and Tanya were watching from a distance. But nonetheless, Ling Yue pulled me down already. I watched her amorously lick her lips. I felt as though I shouldn"t tell her.
"Don"t worry, we"re different to you. I can seal any part of my body using mana, so you don"t need to worry, my husband."
Ling Yue mounted my hips. She lowered her body down to kiss me. We lay on the ground with the scent of gra.s.s. I grabbed hold of her tail, and she kissed me while her tail gently shook in my hands. We didn"t know when the next time we met would be, so we cherished it every time.
I had no intention of letting go, in spite of the fact that I knew that Gerald and Tanya were watching from afar. After all, Ling Yue initiated it. I had no means of rejecting her, since she was so beautiful in that moment. Moreover, she was my wife.
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