Chapter 2165: A Warm Home

【Outlander, you have returned to the present time.】

In "Her" gentle voice, Xia De, who stepped out from the doorway of his study again, saw the scene of his own study with the lights on, saw the night view of Tobesk outside the window, and of course, saw the red-haired Duchess waiting for his return.

A peaceful home always allowed Xia De to relax his tense nerves, and the gentle embrace given by the witch also allowed him, who was slightly exhausted, to truly feel comfortable. Although the forty-minute adventure didn't sound long, and the Tree Father had repaired all his injuries, he had after all experienced an escape from the hands of an ancient evil entity, which was more dangerous and difficult than any battle.

Although Miss Galina didn't know what Xia De had just experienced, she could tell from Xia De's expression that he needed a hug now.

The Outlander didn't say a word, just took deep breaths, while Little Mia had already jumped onto the desk, watching the two tightly embracing each other. The scent of perfume on her was always so reassuring to Xia De, and feeling Xia De sniffing her scent, a smile also appeared on the witch's face:

"Do you want to eat something? I'll have Tifa and the others prepare it."

She asked very understandingly, and Xia De nodded:

"Okay, then prepare some late-night snacks. What just happened was really... I have a premonition that the story between me and that stone statue in the deep sea is definitely not over yet."

He didn't say the name of the evil entity in his home, because it was very unlucky.

Miss Galina didn't ask immediately, but while the maids were preparing the late-night snacks, she pulled him to sit down in the dining room. On one hand, it was to wait for the hot food, and on the other hand, she hoped that the atmosphere of so many people moving about in the house could make Xia De's spirit better.

This trick was very effective, even more effective than drinking holy water and potions. So Xia De, who had rested a bit, unfolded the two paintings on the clean tabletop, and while Miss Galina curiously went to look at them, he took out the two leaves from this time.

The two leaves this time both represented strange arts, which were Strange Art - Dragon Roar and Strange Art - Corrupt Blood Mist. He observed as usual whether the veins of the two leaves were the same, and just as he was about to put one of the leaves in front of his eyes, he was caught by the wrist by the witch.

Golden eyes looked at him worriedly:

"I remember you mentioned that using these leaves would bring mental burden. If it's not very urgent, use it tomorrow morning."

Xia De thought for a moment, nodded, and gave up the plan to learn the strange art now. But then, he thought of a very interesting question:

"These leaves have always been used by myself. You guess whether others can also obtain the power within the leaves."

The red-haired witch pushed Xia De gently:

"This is a gift given to you by the ancient Tree God. If you give this to others, it can even be considered a kind of blasphemy, don't think about it randomly."

As she spoke, she crossed her arms on the tabletop, then leaned her head on her arms, tilting her head to look at Xia De:

"Compared to that, tell me about the story this time. Judging from these two paintings, your guess about Miss Elether came true."

Because there was no lack of time at home, Xia De told the story very meticulously this time. The light of the gas lamps in the dining room was so warm that one could put down all worries. He talked about how he fished up Professor Evans, how he experienced the illusion with the witches, how he went to paint the oil paintings of the two girls alone, and how he turned into a dragon at the last moment and escaped from the lightless sea area with the *Glorious Messenger*.

The witch listened very carefully, and even when the maids brought the late-night snacks and Xia De's speed of telling the story slowed down while eating, she didn't urge him. After all, compared to the content of the story, the witch preferred the atmosphere of listening to her man tell a story in a warm home at night.

After Xia De finished telling the story and the maids took away the plates, she smiled and said:

"You must have omitted some details of the story, such as the part about painting the oil paintings, but I can guess roughly. The adventure this time can be considered smooth overall, but have you thought about how to handle your relationship with Miss Elether?"

She winked at Xia De:

"Or, have you already planned to build another golden birdcage, just like the one you built for that pair of butterflies."

"Although I know you are teasing me, I still have to clarify that I don't have any ulterior motives toward Miss Elether. I just feel that with her help, if I really encounter a situation where I need to go to sea in the future, I won't need to worry about transportation."

The smiling witch originally intended to continue saying things like "Look, you still want to get on that ship," but thinking that Xia De had been tired for a long time, she stopped her sentence:

"Yes, yes, Hamilton of Leded is always right. Then Mr. Knight, after eating the late-night snack and finishing the story, go wash up. It's getting late, it's time to rest."

After a pause, she smiled and said:

"Don't let Tifa take your cat to sleep in other rooms, let Little Mia rest in the bedroom too, otherwise it will hate me."

Xia De looked at her in surprise, but the red-haired Duchess had already stood up:

"Tomorrow is Sunday."

Xia De also stood up;

"Since you are not going to Moon Bay this time, I'm afraid there will be no chance to make that kind of joke about Green Lake again."

The Duchess thought of the joke she made with the Audrey and Megan sisters when she first arrived at Green Lake a few months ago, so her smile became even brighter:

"Who says I can't joke about them if I'm not there? Oh, I mean, Xia De, do you need to arrange for Tifa to rest in the bedroom with us tonight? Although we won't do anything, you seem to like the feeling of being surrounded by girls while sleeping."

Xia De didn't know what expression the black-haired maid-in-chief had at this time. He only knew that tonight he still needed to let this witch lady know that the owner of this house didn't always have a good temper.

The night grew deeper, the maids rested, and Xia De fell into a dream with Galina, who had her hair down, in the master bedroom on the second floor. On the ridge of the endless wilderness, the Outlander looking up at the vast starry sky easily knew that he was already in a dream at this moment.

He liked the scene in this dream, so he wouldn't do anything because he realized it was a dream in the past. But at this moment, having the blessing given by the Old God 【Giver of Dreams】, Xia De was also very curious about what the "power of beauty and innocence" would manifest as.

He tried to meditate on strange items under the moon, but nothing appeared; so he tried to feel special power, but all he felt was the gentle wind brushing his face under the wilderness.

Finally, "Her" voice sounded in the gentle wind:

【Your childhood, the beauty you felt in this world, what is it that supported you all the way here?】

"Naturally, it's you and them."

"She" smiled, and in that laughter, Xia De looked up at the moon again. He still didn't quite understand what the "power of beauty and innocence" manifested in the dream was, but he knew that from now on, no matter whose dream he was in, this moon would always accompany him.

In short, the witch who stayed at No. 6 St. Deran Square on this Friday night was still very satisfied. The evidence for this judgment was that early Saturday morning, when she was having breakfast with Xia De wearing a "cheap" nightgown that didn't match her status, all the maids could see that when the Duchess looked at Xia De, her eyes seemed to be spinning.

Miss Galina wanted to accompany Xia De at home for this Saturday morning, but unfortunately, not long after breakfast, the eunuch attendant from the Yodel Palace sent a letter, asking her to go see her "troublesome" nephew immediately. As for why His Majesty the King in the Yodel Palace knew that Miss Galina was here early in the morning, of course, it was because she was not the same as Leisia.

Every time Leisia came here, she not only had to hide her whereabouts but also had to pull her sister out of the palace to help cover it up. But for the Duchess of Saladir, she didn't need to be so troublesome long ago. After all, almost the entire Tobesk knew the relationship between Xia De and her, so it didn't matter if she covered it up.

However, she said one important thing before leaving. Although she was not going to Moon Bay this time, the plan for Tifa to take her followers to Moon Bay had already been made. Although the specific date had not been determined, the maid-in-chief and the maid corps should set off next week.

In other words, before Xia De opened the new time key, it was possible to see the visitors from Tobesk in Moon Bay.

Tifa didn't express much about this. In fact, when Miss Galina was present, she rarely took the initiative to have too much eye contact with Xia De. But Xia De was still looking forward to meeting her in Moon Bay... of course, not for "stealing love." He was just curious, when Tifa and Miss Matilda appeared at the same time, what interesting performance the communication between the two equally loyal maid-in-chiefs would have.

【Yes, "loyal."】

It seemed that early Saturday morning, "Her" mood was also very good.

Although there was a group meeting in the afternoon, Xia De still thought about going to Moon Bay for a turn in the morning. Since the problem of the time key had been solved, Miss Elether should take the initiative to appear.

However, there were a few things to deal with before setting off. First, use the mounting skills learned when dealing with the "Mermaid Oil Painting" to mount the oil paintings of the Blue Dragon and the *Glorious Messenger* for easy preservation. The storage location was still the space behind the hidden passage in the basement. Xia De didn't think about moving these important "souvenirs" to the third floor. After all, the basement was the safest.

As for the second thing, it was naturally the two leaves that were not used last night. ===== CHAPTER 2166 =====