NEC Chapter 113: The Gift That Shocked Everyone

When Frost received the message, she was somewhat bewildered.

When she arrived, the count had given her a full year's tuition and living expenses at once, along with winter and summer bedding and clothing for all seasons. It had only been a few months, far from the time for her family to send her things.

According to the Royal Central Spiritual Energy Academy's rules, items delivered to students had to undergo strict inspection before entering the academy and being given to students.

To prevent any campus lightning strike incidents!

Frost came to the academy gate somewhat confused. Captain Lynn, the Vast Sea Territory's Chief Guard Captain and Councilor, who had already passed security inspection, quickly straightened his attire and immediately performed a deep bow.

Vast Sea Territory forbade kneeling, and this period had really stifled Lynn. For some people accustomed to kneeling, not bowing to nobility made their bones feel like ants were crawling through them.

Lynn was an old mercenary wanderer who had struggled through the south, most skilled at reading expressions and flattering superiors, or more positively put, was well-versed in social etiquette.

Arranging for him to make this trip was most appropriate.

After all, patrol duties in the territory weren't particularly urgent now, especially since the Youth Corps had taken over most daily order maintenance, showing signs of forming another armed force.

According to inside information, the next generation of centaurs and humans were eager to establish an armed garrison and a loyal guard centered on the lord.

Back to the scene, Frost didn't recognize Lynn and instinctively stepped back, blinking her eyes at this gray-haired old soldier, then saw him raise both hands, palms holding a small, exquisite badge.

A piece of emerald green new leaf seemingly touched with morning dew, its veins flowing with faint magical radiance.

That was the high elf contact token she had given Chen Mo, which her aunt from the elf elder council had given her.

She finally knew who it was.

"Chen... ah, it's Chen Mo! How is he now? Has he advanced?"

Lynn respectfully answered, "Eh, the lord... the lord's territory is developing smoothly, and he has also advanced to become a formal mage."

"The lord misses the lady very much, but there are really too many things to handle in the territory, so he can't spare time to visit the lady. He can only send some small gifts, and he's extremely sorry, hoping the lady will forgive him."

Old Lynn was experienced. When Chen Mo mentioned Lady Frost, his tone carried such solemn entrustment that even if he didn't consider her a wife, he at least treated her like a sister!

That made her half the master of Vast Sea Territory!

So even if the lord hadn't said certain things, Lynn had to fill them in.

"Oh my, what's there to be sorry about!" Frost showed a long-absent smile, "I'm very busy now too, and I don't have time to see him either!"

"I've advanced too! If he doesn't use those strange things, he definitely still can't beat me!"

The little girl spoke without scheming, but old Lynn's mind was alarmed.

What did she mean by strange things?

What did she mean by can't beat you?

That Silver Armor badge on your chest, could the lord's small frame withstand one of your punches?

This "beat" obviously wasn't literal! Could such words be said in public?

Pretending not to hear, Lynn took out Chen Mo's personal letter and handed it to Lady Frost along with the badge.

Chen Mo's letter was quite simple.

He and Lady Frost had shared hardships together, and due to the Everchant Essence matter, owed Frost a great favor.

Chen Mo was also very certain he could repay this favor in the future, so their communication was very straightforward, without much empty courtesy.

The letter mainly covered three things.

First, the Everchant Essence the elves should give you, seven total, I've already received them.

You previously agreed to give them to me, so I shamelessly accepted them. Once again, I express heartfelt thanks to the beautiful and generous lady!

The little girl’s eyes curved into two crescent moons.

Then, Chen Mo mentioned that in your last letter, you said you'd leave at most one for your father, but I feel quite bad about it, and should leave at least one for him.

So compromising between us, that's one.

It wouldn't be appropriate for me to send it directly to your father, as he might have some misunderstandings about our relationship, so I'm sending it to you first for you to send to your father. This seems more normal.

This was indeed correct. Earl Liuyun was already intentionally blocking communication between the two, and if he knew his daughter had given an elf token to an outsider, who knows what he'd imagine.

The second matter in the letter, Chen Mo also straightforwardly mentioned the Spring of Life water.

I need this thing. The elves don't know I intercepted their gift to you, only saying you need to write a personal letter, and they'll bring some Spring of Life water next time.

I thought it over and can only ask the "kind-hearted as spring snow, wise and clear as morning stars" Lady Frost to help me write a letter.

If possible, it would be best not to wait until next year's March 3rd. I hope it could be earlier, preferably establishing a market at Red Tree Highlands where elves could get whatever supplies they need, and I'll try to obtain them.

Seeing how Chen Mo started various shameless flattery whenever he needed her help, Frost distinctly remembered how Chen Mo had been dismissive one second, then bowing ninety degrees to her the next.

The little girl couldn't help giggling.

At this moment, quite a few spectators had gathered at the academy gate.

Delivering supplies was normal, but reportedly a convoy had entered the inspection room, which was somewhat exaggerated.

Frost's nemesis Lucia also inconspicuously arrived at the scene, arms crossed, and seeing the little girl's delighted expression, couldn't help raising an eyebrow.

"Looks like this little girl's lover."

"Huh?" The nearby young noble was extremely curious, "Isn't this a letter from her father?"

"Would you be this happy receiving a letter from your own father?"

"...That's true!"

Another follower timely approached, "Should I arrange for someone to cause some trouble later? She's having her lover back her up, so let's embarrass them?"

Lucia shook her head, "Don't be reckless, so many people are watching in the academy!"

"Don't worry, I have experience."

"I heard she has quite a lot of stuff that needs carrying. Outsiders can't enter the academy, so they'll need to call people from the servant office..."

Here, Frost turned to the last page.

"My territory is now called Vast Sea Territory. It's developing quite well, already having over three thousand people, and might surge again soon."

"I very much look forward to respected Lady Frost visiting Vast Sea to appreciate the magnificent scenery of desert rivers and rolling sea tides. When you come, I'll personally be your guide!"

"Oh right, I'm sending you some small gifts with this letter. Actually, I don't know what you need, so I just gathered various things, hoping some might be useful to you."

"If there's anything you want, remember to tell me, and I'll try to find it for you!"

Frost's emotions gradually calmed, but the joy in her eyes still danced like a little bird.

This feeling of having a friend in a distant place who cared about her was something the little girl had never experienced before, quietly bringing some brightness to her otherwise dark academy life.

At this moment, the first batch of inspected "gifts" had been moved out of the inspection room.

The reason for the delay was precisely what the young noble had mentioned. The number of people who could enter the academy for visits was strictly limited. Chen Mo had sent quite a lot of things, so they had to call people from the academy's servant office to carry them.

Lynn had been coordinating with the academy's inspection personnel about how many people to request and costs involved. Only after the main items' inspection was completed did the inspection personnel finally determine and notify the servant office to send over twenty strong male servants with various carts, creating quite a procession as they began loading.

The first cart contained several large boxes. Just as it was wheeled out, the noble child who had given the earlier suggestion whispered to Lucia, "Big sister, the show's starting, look!"

The frontmost servant pushing a flat two-wheeled cart seemed to trip over something, stumbling forward and falling onto the cart. The cart lost balance and instantly tilted forward.

Three boxes stacked on the cart slid off and crashed heavily to the ground.

A perfectly timed little trick, just a servant taking a spill and getting scolded later.

Making that little girl's things scatter everywhere and blocking the road would be quite satisfying.

The box lid popped open under impact—

Instantly, a dazzling, almost suffocating golden torrent poured from the box!

Dense masses of gold coins, like a bursting river of molten gold, gushed, flowed, rolled, and jumped with a crash!

They reflected pure and violent light in the noon sun, flowing freely across the smooth bluestone ground, creating a clear, melodious, yet incredibly shocking symphony.

The air seemed to freeze. Then came the uniform sound of over a hundred people sharply inhaling "hiss—" and countless throats swallowing saliva with "gulp" sounds.

Chen Mo was a simple person.

Not knowing what gifts to send the little girl, he'd send money first, since he truly wasn't short of that.

And when the elders at home heard about sending gifts to the sole supplier of Everchant Essence, they supported it wholeheartedly with both hands and feet. So these first three boxes were packed full of gold coins.

Everyone present were noble children from distinguished families.

But having money at home and having money yourself were different things; having sufficient assets on paper and having enough disposable gold coins were also different things.

Simultaneously seeing this materialized golden torrent was yet another matter entirely.

Such a scene of numerous gold coins rolling out of two ordinary wooden boxes was like a broken-down van overturning in front of you and spilling a van full of hundred-yuan bills.

This visual impact was too direct, too brutal, enough to make the present noble children feel their scalps tingle and hearts race.

Wealth moves hearts, and sufficient wealth can sufficiently move hearts.

The accident-causing servant was terrified, scrambling on hands and knees toward those mischievously rolling little things scattered everywhere, desperately trying to gather them back while wailing like crying, "Kind masters and misses, please lift your feet! Please lift your feet! Don't step on them..."

"How can there be so many?"

Frost was also stunned. The letter did say "sent you some money!" but this "some" was way too outrageous!

Lynn bent slightly, explaining to the little girl, "The lord said, since this is Twilight City, big city prices are definitely high with big expenses, so having more money prepared is always good."

"The lord also said, if you're not comfortable living in the academy and want to buy a house or something, having more money on hand gives you more options!"

"Also, the lord worried about inconvenience when you need to use it, so the three boxes separately contain Resting Moon gold coins, Sky gold coins, and Mistmoon gold coins. Small boxes also have unmarked gold pieces and bars..."

The academy instructor supervising nearby felt his blood surging.

Worried about inconvenience, so one box of each type? Was this human speech?

Regardless, knowledgeable people could roughly estimate that if the remaining contents in the boxes were like what spilled out, this represented the entire annual fiscal revenue of a medium-sized territory.

Yes, fiscal revenue, not fiscal surplus.

Truly rich enough to rival nations.

In dealing with Mistmoon Divine Court, Chen Mo had realized a principle: having money might attract others' covetousness, but having money to a certain degree made you everyone's favorite financial backer.

Vast Sea Territory maintained serious trade deficits with all surrounding territories, which was why everyone's feelings toward Vast Sea grew increasingly warm.

Chen Mo felt if the little girl could also spend freely, she should be able to live more happily in Resting Moon.

Next, students who heard the news surrounded the gate completely, watching cart after cart emerge from the inspection room in a long line. Lynn timely and somewhat proudly introduced them to the little girl one by one.

"These are gifts prepared for you."

"The lord said you're alone in Resting Moon and have surely received care from academy teachers and classmates. He commissioned famous northern merchants to prepare these gifts. They're not particularly precious, but all are authentic products from their origins, representing sincere intentions!"

"These thirty large gift boxes with gold tassels are for your instructors."

"The lord doesn't know how many instructors you have, but in such a large academy, you surely know many teachers, so he prepared thirty sets first. If that's not enough, the lord will supplement them anytime!"

"These hundred medium gift boxes are for your classmates. The lord said when away from home, courtesy costs nothing, and estimates your class shouldn't exceed a hundred people."

"One for each person, a small token of goodwill. If there are small matters later, classmates can also give you information and lend a hand."

"These smaller gift boxes are for your grade-level classmates, five hundred sets... Ah, look at this outer packaging, this is unique, with ribbon hairpin flower butterfly bows that can't be found anywhere on the continent, only Vast Sea Territory can make them. The lord specially customized them for you!"

"This is a set of armor called Wind Walker Light Feather Armor. You may have heard of it, refined quality, half-body, lightweight, especially suitable for girls, with three built-in wind walker enchantment runes, providing brief levitation and continuous acceleration effects..."

"These aren't valuable, just some fruits, kept with ice blocks inside, they'll be fine for another seven or eight days..."

Suddenly, a huge commotion arose, and the watching crowd became greatly agitated, startling the already somewhat dazed Frost.

Outside the inspection room, the Grand Training Officer who had personally come stood seriously, looking at the creature being led out.

A unicorn.

That's right, to please the little girl, Lord Chen Mo had shamelessly appropriated High Priest Farrell's mount.

Everyone could tell at first glance that this creature was definitely formidable.

It was too robust!

Don't think unicorns were slender creatures; this was a true battlefield heavy assault cavalry.

The one before them had a perfect streamlined form, grayish-white throughout, with bulging muscles covering its surface.

Over 3.6 meters long, nearly 2.5 meters tall at the shoulder, weighing two and a half tons.

A horn over one meter long on its head, thick at the base and sharp at the tip, positioned right in the center of its forehead between its eyes, pointing straight forward.

Such a robust build meant it wasn't some thin-limbed creature. Its thick limbs stepping on the ground even gave a slight earth-shaking sensation.

This could only be considered a sub-adult, with much growth ahead.

Truly carefully cultivated adult specimens from Mistmoon Divine Court could grow up to eight meters with weights over eight tons, possessing natural bio-armor. Their horns could release lightning at close range, making them super-giant beasts capable of frontally charging giant tribes.

Unicorns' fame had passed through mythical age after mythical age.

The nearly four-meter one before them could only be considered a little guy.

Currently, this little guy seemed somewhat unhappy, slightly shaking its head while looking around and gently snorting through its nostrils, occasionally pawing the ground with its three-toed front hooves, clearly uneasy about the dense crowd and unfamiliar environment.

The accompanying unicorn keeper was trying to soothe it while gesturing to Lynn.

"Oh oh! Right, right, you need to wear that necklace, or this child will get temperamental after too long."

At Lynn's reminder, Frost retrieved a silver-white necklace from Chen Mo's letter envelope and somewhat frantically put it around her neck.

The little unicorn made a pleased neighing sound, trotted over with quick steps, and tried to nuzzle the little girl with its body.

If not for a warrior's physical fitness, the little girl would have been knocked flying by this nuzzle!

The little girl looked up in amazement, extending her slightly trembling hand to carefully stroke the unicorn's lowered hard forehead bone, feeling the surging life force beneath her fingertips, her eyes full of incredulity.

"This... this is... for me?"

"Yes, this cost the lord great effort to obtain. The lord said you'd definitely like it when you saw it."

Any warrior would love such a legendary creature, wouldn't they?

Most importantly, unicorns only grew in the north-central valleys of Mistmoon Divine Court, with no other production areas, so other continental nations rarely had opportunities to obtain them.

Only a few royal families and great nobles from various countries had obtained around ten unicorns through special channels in earlier years. In recent years, with Mistmoon Divine Court's increasingly strict control, unicorns hadn't appeared in central nations for a long time.

The one Chen Mo sent had complete documentation and clear provenance, officially gifted by the divine court to compensate Vast Sea Territory for successfully defending against unknown hostile forces' invasion.

Legal property with identification papers, breeding permits, and transfer certificates.

Now it belonged to Lady Frost.

Frost couldn't help looking up at her old opponent Lucia, who was still surrounded by admirers but looking somewhat pale.

She wondered if she could bring the little guy to combat in the next mounted battle!

Obviously, Lucia had thought of the same thing. The female swordsman imagined herself trying to trip this creature during mounted combat.

She couldn't help shuddering.

The nearby followers all kept quiet, but another great noble family's child licked his lips and sighed softly.

"You'd better pray this isn't really the little girl's lover's gift."

"To be able to do this much for this little girl, if he knew Frost got beaten by you..."

"Then it's just a matter of whether you can take a beating!"

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