Sofia in front of him had the posture of someone trying to make a sales pitch, but to be honest, this deal sounded stranger the more he thought about it.
Lin Sheng had heard of bartering before, but a Silk Stockings-for-Silk Stockings Trade? What kind of new business model was that?
Besides, it wasn’t even the stockings that Lin Sheng liked.
What he enjoyed was the feeling of Sofia’s thighs wrapped in over-the-knee socks.
Honestly, it didn’t even have to be over-the-knee socks—any other style was fine too.
What he liked was the thigh, not the stockings.
Could it be that Sofia would sell her legs to him as well?
“Sofia, don’t you realize Her Highness the Princess seems a bit troubled?”
Just as Lin Sheng was still pondering how to refuse, another person sitting nearby spoke up.
The girl wore a pure white robe, and when she stood up, she was about as tall as Serveyia.
The wide robe covered her from the collar all the way down to her ankles.
To be honest, although it concealed most of her body and made her figure less noticeable, the dignified aura she exuded always gave Lin Sheng a sense of inviolability.
At times like this, mentioning someone’s figure felt almost offensive.
“Greetings, Your Highness. I am Freya Lightfeather, Saintess of the Church of Light. You may address me as Freya.”
The girl performed a very proper bow in front of Lin Sheng.
But, to be honest, Lin Sheng couldn’t really distinguish between different kinds of etiquette.
All he knew was that someone had bowed to him.
That was about it.
But her title was no small matter—the Saintess of the Church of Light.
To know that the Church of Light wasn’t just in the Human Empire, but revered by followers of Holy Light magic across the entire continent—an organization most admired and respected.
And the Saintess was undoubtedly one of the most important members of the Church.
A Saintess of such noble status even used an honorific in her self-introduction.
It left Lin Sheng flustered and unsure how to react.
“Freya, hello?”
Normally, after the other person bows, you’re supposed to return the gesture.
But Lin Sheng knew nothing about noble etiquette, much less the etiquette for ladies.
Was such a dry greeting going to make him seem arrogant?
Lin Sheng looked to Serveyia for help, poking her gently in the lower back with a Fox Tail, hoping she’d help him out.
But Serveyia simply smiled and shook her head.
“Your Highness, there’s no need for formality. As the Princess of St. Laia, you need not trouble yourself with such courtesies. What I want to remind you is that, as a Nine-tailed Celestial Fox who has been missing for so long, your sudden reappearance will undoubtedly attract attention from all sides. Please, take care of yourself, and don’t casually agree to others’ requests, especially those involving personal belongings.”
“Hey! Repressed Saintess, do you even have the nerve to lecture me, nya? Who was it last time that— Meow meow!”
As the daughter of a merchant, Sofia instantly understood that Freya was making a pointed remark at her.
She tried to retaliate, but before she could finish, she was hit by a Mute Spell from who-knows-where, and could only meow and flail, unable to get another word out.
“Your Highness, be careful, and cherish yourself.”
“Okay, uh, got it.”
Alright, seeing Freya’s smiling face, Lin Sheng could easily guess who cast the Mute Spell.
Still, it made him even more curious about the rest of Sofia’s unfinished sentence.
“Since Your Highness now understands the importance of the matter, I have some ‘private business’ to discuss with Miss Sofia. Please excuse us.”
Freya emphasized the words ‘private business’ with special weight.
Lin Sheng had every reason to suspect this wasn’t any private matter, but rather a long-planned act of revenge.
Watching Freya drag the flailing Sofia away like a kitten, Lin Sheng wondered if their relationship was perhaps not as bad as he’d imagined.
“Serveyia, do you know what the rest of Sofia’s unfinished sentence was about?”
Lin Sheng reasoned that if Sofia knew, it probably wasn’t much of a secret, which meant Serveyia might know as well.
His curiosity desperately needed satisfying.
“I know, but you saw the Saintess’s reaction just now, little fox. It seems our Saintess doesn’t want this matter to be public. So…”
“So?”
“So you have to trade for it. Little fox, you’ll need to show the proper sincerity if you want me to share this information.”
Guh!
Damn, he really shouldn’t have expected Serveyia to just tell him outright.
But as for the price, or sincerity, what did he have that Serveyia might want?
“So, what do you want me to do?”
Believing there wasn’t much about himself that Serveyia would care for, Lin Sheng guessed she probably had something she wanted to use his status as Princess for.
So he asked cautiously.
“Nothing much, really. I want to sleep hugging your tail tonight.”
!
Damn, she’s after my body!
More than twenty years of male thinking had made Lin Sheng instinctively overlook the fact that he was now far more appealing than he realized.
As a man, he’d never experienced a woman coveting his body before.
Yet now, just after transforming, someone was already making a move.
“Of course, if little fox doesn’t want to, that’s fine. But then, this secret might be something you’ll have to discover on your own.”
Damn it, Serveyia was clearly human, so why did she feel even more like a scheming cat than Sofia?
Serveyia definitely knew how sensitive his Fox Tail was—this had to be premeditated.
So, was trading a whole night of his tail for a secret he was curious about really worth it?
Honestly, Lin Sheng was certain that even if he refused now, Serveyia would find a chance to torment his tail anyway.
So, he might as well agree.
That way, if the Saintess asked later, he could always claim Serveyia had told him.
“Fine, I agree, Serveyia. Tell me the secret!”
He could only hope that the information he’d get in exchange for his tail would be worth it.
“Seems the little fox has some backbone after all. Alright, then I’ll tell you. Actually, our Saintess is a bona fide fluff enthusiast.”
“That’s it?”
Honestly, Lin Sheng didn’t see how that qualified as a secret.
In fact, he found it completely normal—everyone had their own quirks, didn’t they?
Just as he was about to glare at Serveyia for possibly teasing him, she continued.
“If it were just a fondness, it’d be nothing. But the Saintess actually embarrassed herself because of it. During her Appointing Ceremony, Freya became so distracted by the ears of a neighboring rabbit Beastman that she missed the Pope’s call.”
“In the end, the Pope himself had to go down and bring the dazed Freya up to complete the ceremony. That’s why Freya sees it as a huge stain on her record.”