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

Mu Qiu snapped out of her daze, subconsciously reaching up to wipe her mouth, only to find there was no saliva. She immediately glared at him: "You're the one who's thinking it!"

As he spoke, he pulled the blanket over Vera.

Unexpectedly, whether Vera did it on purpose or by accident, Mu Qiu saw her roll over from the inside of the bed, wrapped in a blanket, and her soft body leaned against his arm and thigh.

"what--"

Vera yawned lazily, her eyes still sleepy.

"So, Master wants me to serve him in bed? I understand. I'll sleep with Master in my arms tonight."

After she finished speaking to herself, she wrapped her arms around Mu Qiu's waist like vines, then closed her eyes. Within seconds, she began to breathe softly and evenly, as if she had fallen into a deep sleep.

Mu Qiu: "..."

You fall asleep way too fast! You don't give anyone any time to react!

Mu Qiu instinctively tried to break free, but Vera, though a mage, was a true peak Gold rank mage. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't break free from Vera's slender arms.

Her body pressed softly against him, clinging to him like an octopus, and he could smell the faint fragrance emanating from her.

After struggling for a while, Mu Qiu, feeling a bit sleepy, gave up and let the soft body press against him.

Forget it.

She had no objections, and he didn't really have any either.

Mu Qiu's original idea was simply to treat these slaves better, so that after breaking their contracts, they would only choose to leave and not betray him, their master.

Even if one wanted revenge, one should seek it out on the slave traders; perhaps they could offer some assistance then...

Mu Qiu was just a little worried: what if they didn't want to leave?

He glanced at Vera's data and immediately felt reassured.

Risk of betrayal: virtually zero.

Risk of escape: High.

Fortunately.

Her escape risk remains high, so there's no problem.

Mu Qiu closed his eyes with peace of mind and soon fell asleep.

Not long after he fell asleep, Vera's breathing suddenly became rapid. She turned over and wrapped her long, slender white legs tightly around the boy beside her.

"Ugh... Oh... Master... Master... Waaah!"

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Logically speaking, someone of your rank, Kimi, has no right to criticize me!

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Mu Qiu slowly woke up from his bed.

While still in a half-asleep, half-awake state, the arm unconsciously reached out and groped towards the side.

The palm first touched something soft, and a slightly cool resistance came from under the fingertips. With a little force, the resistance easily collapsed, and the five fingers, like roots deeply embedded in the soil, easily sank into this soft mass, unable to extricate themselves.

With each downward push, one could almost feel the slight yet stubborn resistance beneath the softness, and the fingers unconsciously sank deeper, beginning to knead forcefully.

"Ouch... Ohhh..."

"?!"

Mu Qiu, who was in a daze, was jolted awake by the voice and instinctively turned his head to look.

What came into view was a down pillow.

His knuckles were sinking into it; it was soft and cool, like the feel of fine fabric clinging to feathers.

It meekly yielded to his palm, gently encircling each of his fingers, deeply embracing his restless hand.

Seeing that what he was holding in his right hand was just a pillow, Mu Qiu breathed a sigh of relief. A strange feeling washed over him, a mixture of relief and subtle disappointment.

Was it originally a pillow?

He thought that waking up in the morning would definitely lead to the discovery of a major disaster!

Damn it, why did all I managed to grab was a pillow?!

and many more.

Why... is there another pillow next to his pillow?

Mu Qiu suddenly paused for a moment.

This pillow must be the one Vera leaned against last night, right?

Where is the Kavira?

Mu Qiu didn't see Vera and prepared to get up to look for her.

He braced himself on the bed with his arms, making a move to sit up, but before he could sit up straight, he felt a noticeable weight in his lower back.

Mu Qiu looked down and saw the silver-haired elf lying on his waist, her face buried in his chest, seemingly talking in her sleep.

"Ooh... I want to be filled up by my master... um, ooh... hiccup~!"

Mu Qiu's lips twitched.

What kind of dream are you having, you little elf?!

And why did he find the blanket wet as soon as he touched it? An elf of this age wouldn't wet the bed, right? If it wasn't bedwetting, then this wet blanket looks very suspicious!

"Never mind that lewd elf for now, let's think about the next steps."

Mu Qiu rubbed his forehead.

"First, we need to buy a manor."

Mu Qiu was very clear about one thing: he was not a true nobleman.

The reason he was considered an aristocrat by the auction house's old manager was not only because he spent lavishly and looked like a pampered young master, but more importantly—the auction house's old manager was just a commoner.

Commoners have no right to question the status of nobles.

If the other party appears to be an aristocrat, then you should treat them with the courtesy due to a VIP; you can't go wrong with that.

This is the survival wisdom of people at the bottom of society.

But other nobles could question him and doubt the authenticity of his identity.

They won't bring up the issue directly—that would make things awkward for both sides, and in the end, one side would be unable to back down.

If you don't give the other party face, they won't give you face either. Before long, you might unknowingly offend a nobleman, which is not a wise thing to do.

They would treat him as a true aristocrat, warmly welcoming him and introducing his family's glorious history at the banquet. Then, casually, they would ask him which family he came from, and with a flattering tone, they would ask him if his family also had a glorious past... Then they would start chatting with him about the daily anecdotes of high society.

Mu Qiu could neither say which prominent family he came from nor knew anything about the common sense of high society.

After some conversation, these truly knowledgeable and cultured nobles easily saw through Mu Qiu's fake noble identity.

But Mu Qiu also had a way to avoid being exposed.

That means only ever associating with nobles who are one rank below you.

You said you wanted to hear about my family's glorious history?

When facing nobles of the same rank, it is often difficult to refuse them. One might offend someone by saying the wrong thing, and stammering would arouse suspicion.

But if it's a nobleman who is inferior to oneself.

Excuse me.

—Logically speaking, a noble of your rank has no right to inquire about our family's affairs.

The stronger the people around him are in terms of combat power, the more powerful his family appears to be.

What kind of family or power could possibly have slaves with sixth or seventh-level strength?

"However, with the potion resources of Radiant City alone, Vera's cultivation level can only be raised to this level at most."

Mu Qiu pondered in his heart.

Speaking of which, when Vera took off her clothes last night, he seemed to vaguely see a crescent-shaped mark flash by on her lower abdomen.

He remembered that when he first bought Vera, she didn't have this mark on her body.

Is the mark formed after drinking the magic potion?

However, she drank too many potions last night, and it's unclear which one was responsible for the effect.

We also need to find time to verify whether she received any blessings.

"In addition, it's time to start looking for a second slave worth training."

"Having only Vera as a slave is ultimately not enough to ensure my safety. Although my goal is to make her break her contract and regain her freedom, thus turning all my investments in her into losses, once she leaves, I will have no one to protect me."

"Therefore, it would be best to find another slave with sufficient potential and be able to invest heavily in her, and train her as well."

"Finally, once we have the manor, we'll buy a batch of maids from the nearby slave market to manage it. We'll pay them the highest wages possible, and every extra gold coin we can spend..."

Mu Qiu was making plans in his mind.

He has a lot to do, and he wishes someone would give him a manor, but he knows that's impossible...

"Well."

Just then, Vera squinted her eyes, seemingly waking up.

Why is she still lying on top of her owner?

Shouldn't we change our position?

Vera's head was still fuzzy. She had woken up, but she hadn't fully shaken off the dream she had just had.

"Ha..." She raised her head and looked at the black-haired boy opposite her, her sleepy voice tinged with a hint of confusion, "Master, aren't you planning to change positions this time?"

Mu Qiu: "?"

No, sis, do you want to hear what you're saying?

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Master, you shouldn't be grabbing my ears; you should be pulling my hair from behind.

"Vera, if you're still not fully awake, then sleep a little longer."

As Mu Qiu spoke, he reached out and pinched Vera's pointed ear.

"Not here..." Vera said shyly, shaking off Mu Qiu's hand and muttering softly, "Master, you should have grabbed my hair from behind..."

As soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly noticed that Mu Qiu glanced at her silently, opened his mouth, and looked like he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Eh?

Why did the owner's reaction suddenly change from before?

Just then, a gust of cold wind blew in from the window, lifted the curtain, and slapped the elf girl's cheeks with its cool touch.

The cool morning breeze instantly dispelled any lingering sleepiness, waking Vera up completely.

Was she dreaming just now?

Wait, wait a minute, does that mean the master heard what she just said?!

Vera frantically tried to sit up from Mu Qiu's body, but as soon as she put her right hand on the blanket, she felt a wet sensation.

"Huh?!"

"Master, so you did such a... such a lewd thing while I was sleeping?!"

Seeing Vera's shocked expression, Mu Qiu rolled his eyes in annoyance: "That's covered in your scent! You're the one who did such a filthy thing!"

"Is...it mine?"

Vera leaned closer, still somewhat skeptical.

Before she even bent down, her keen sense of smell as a fourth-tier professional allowed her to detect that familiar scent.

"..."

A blush crept onto the fair and flawless face of the elven girl.

Could it be that this suspicious water stain actually smells like her?