“I want to… I want…”
“Heh, then our little Princess had better not forget about me again.”
As she spoke, Aili took out a Magic Hairpin from the bag she carried with her and placed it solemnly into Lin Sheng’s hand.
“This is a hairpin made from the branch of a magic tree unique to the Northern Forest. Princess, you can treat this hairpin as a token of our family.”
“As long as you carry it, you can freely enter the Northern Forest, and all living things within will protect you. At the same time, this hairpin can also enhance your magical resonance ability.”
It was just a simple sentence, but Lin Sheng could still feel the value of this item.
To be honest, Lin Sheng wasn’t even sure if he should accept something so precious.
“Little fox, since it’s a gift, you should accept it with gratitude, right?”
While still hesitating, Serveyia’s voice came from behind.
With Serveyia’s approval, Lin Sheng felt a little more at ease, but honestly, he didn’t understand much about noble etiquette.
He had heard that nobles valued reciprocity in gift-giving, but Lin Sheng himself didn’t have anything valuable enough to return.
The only thing on him that could be considered rare was maybe a pair of stockings.
But giving someone stockings… he just couldn’t get over that mental hurdle.
“Um, thank you, Aili.”
Even though Serveyia said to be grateful, Lin Sheng still felt a tinge of guilt and unease in his gratitude, knowing he had nothing suitable to give in return.
“It’s fine, Princess. You need to try accepting things too. As the center of attention at school, there will be many people who want to give you gifts. All you have to do is accept them.”
“But… I still feel like it’s not quite right—”
“Aiya, what’s not right about it? If you keep worrying about things like this, how will you handle it when the gifts start piling up like mountains?”
“M-Mountains?”
Lin Sheng had seen protagonists in various anime receive similar treatment, but he never imagined it would happen to him.
“Of course. After all, the Nine-tailed Celestial Fox is the Creator’s treasure. Many people want to see it for themselves and get closer to it. Naturally, giving gifts is the best way to do that.”
Aili smiled at Lin Sheng’s dumbfounded expression and explained.
“But how should I put it? Personally, I don’t really want the Princess to return every gift.”
“Eh?”
“Not everyone approaches you with friendly intentions, Princess. If you can’t figure out their true motives, my advice is to keep a certain distance from everyone.”
“It shouldn’t be that serious, right?”
“Princess, don’t forget. You’re a Nine-tailed Celestial Fox now, not who you used to be. Many people will approach you because of your current appearance. No matter what, you have to be careful.”
Ugh, since Aili warned him so seriously, maybe he really should be more careful.
But come to think of it, up to now, everyone he knew was introduced through Serveyia.
In other words, he hadn’t really met any ordinary students on his own.
Serveyia had protected him very well (or perhaps “possessively” was a better word).
“By the way, Dora, didn’t you say you also had a gift for the Princess?”
“Ah, right, right! Princess, this is for you.”
Prompted by Aili, Dora suddenly remembered and took out a palm-sized Ruby from her pocket.
“This Ruby is from our tribe. It’s beautiful, isn’t it? I thought about giving you a protective charm or something, but you probably don’t need a bodyguard. Since you like games, how about a set of premium figures instead? Princess, have you played Ming XX Ark?”
“Uh, I have.”
“What about Bi XX Line?”
“Also played.”
“Star XX Road?”
“Played…”
“Ming X?”
“Mm.”
“Original X?”
“Played them all. Dora, stop asking, I’ve played almost every mobile game on the market.”
With every question Dora asked, Lin Sheng’s tail behind him fluffed and curled even more.
In the end, unable to withstand Dora’s barrage of questions, Lin Sheng decided to confess early.
If this continued, he’d turn into a furball again.
“Wow, looks like the Princess is even deeper into it than I am. That makes things tricky. Do you have a favorite character, Princess?”
“How should I put it… Actually, just this Ruby alone is precious enough, so you really don’t have to prepare any more gifts.”
“That won’t do! If people find out the granddaughter of the Great Elder of the Red Dragon Tribe only gave a Ruby as a gift, they’ll laugh their heads off! Don’t worry, Princess. Give me a week, and I’ll make sure to prepare a gift you’ll love!”