Both small robots were programmed to manage the potatoes, and since they seemed to be handling the task well, William felt reassured and walked into the lounge.
As soon as he entered, he saw Nissa sitting on a chair, holding a pair of tweezers, carefully picking out rubies one by one from a pile of gemstone ore.
Each time she extracted one, her face lit up with joy and excitement. She would then wipe it clean with a damp cloth, examine it under the light, classify it, and place it into a box arranged neatly on the table.
Selene, on the other hand, was holding a walnut-sized ruby in her hand, watching Nissa with amusement, making no effort to help at all.
Seeing this, how could William not understand? One of them had already picked out her favorite gem and stopped hesitating, showing her decisiveness and determination.
The other, however, was indulging in the joy of examining the gemstones, planning to sort through everything before selecting her favorite. It was easy to tell that Nissa had never experienced real hardship—her thinking was still a bit naive.
But that was perfectly normal. After all, Selene had been fighting and killing for centuries, while Nissa, despite being two hundred years old, had been raised like a princess. The fact that she didn't have a princess complex was already fortunate enough.
As for gemstones, when they were scarce, people would go to great lengths to obtain them. But for someone as wealthy as William, who still had dozens of chests filled with all kinds of gemstones locked away in his treasury, these gems were nothing more than shiny stones used to please his mother and the women in his life.
Sitting down next to Selene and wrapping an arm around her, William said to the engrossed Nissa,
"Alright, Nissa, we still have thirty-three hours of flight back to London. You'll have plenty of time to sort these gems.
Otherwise, if you finish everything now, do you really want to spend the entire flight keeping me company while I work out?"
"For the Blood God's sake, darling, can't you see I'm busy? Don't distract me," Nissa rolled her eyes at him in annoyance and muttered as she turned back to her gemstones, "Besides, I don't believe you'll have the patience to stay on the ship the whole time.
You'll definitely use a portal to return to London and then just teleport back to the ship when it arrives. If I actually listened to you, these gems wouldn't even get into my hands—they'd all end up with Lady Lena."
"I..."
Seeing that Nissa was so mesmerized by the gemstones that she dared to ignore him, William's expression darkened. He flicked his fingers in the air.
With a sharp snap, Nissa immediately clutched her forehead and cried out in pain, "Ouch!"
Before she could glare at him, William waved his hand, and the pile of gemstones and ore on the table vanished, leaving only a single, fingernail-sized gem sitting there alone.
"No! My rubies!"
Nissa instantly forgot about her forehead and rushed around the table, clinging to William's arm and acting coquettishly.
"I was wrong, darling! Really, I was wrong!"
But William merely crossed his legs and smiled at her without saying a word.
"This isn't fair, darling! At least give me that diamond-shaped ruby as long as a finger, please?"
"Sure, no problem. If you can find it, it's yours."
Just as Nissa's face brightened with hope, she heard William continue,
"But I'm not in a good mood right now, so when I give it to you depends on when I feel better."
"You—you—you bastard—"
Before she could finish calling him that, she saw William frown, and her heart panicked. She quickly hugged his waist, rested her head on his shoulder, and muttered softly,
"Then please remember to save that diamond-shaped ruby for me."
William chuckled and nodded. "Alright."
Hearing this, Nissa's mood improved instantly. She kissed his neck lightly and grumbled, "You're such a bully."
"Alright, we'll be taking off for London in an hour. If you two have anything to prepare, hurry up."
"Wait, darling," Nissa hesitated and said, "Can't we stay on Mars for a few more days? I still want to visit Olympus Mons."
"Visit a volcano? Ha, I think you're just hoping to find more gemstone deposits, aren't you?"
"Hehe," Nissa giggled, not feeling embarrassed at all. "It's not just me—Abby and Jessie are interested too, and even Lady Lena mentioned wanting to search for gems at Olympus Mons."
Hearing that even his mother was interested, William wasn't surprised. After all, women, no matter their age, were like dragons when it came to treasures.
But Lena, Abby, and Jessie were ordinary humans. Olympus Mons was 27 kilometers high—just for the sake of some gemstones, William had no intention of letting them take such a risk.
"If it's about finding gemstones, let's forget about Mom and the others. If you two are interested, you can take the spaceship there next time."
"No need for all that trouble," Selene interjected. "It's easy for us to come here—you just need to open a portal straight to Olympus Mons.
If you're worried, we can let this ship, which is staying on Mars, follow along.
As for Lady Lena and the others, it's better to be cautious. They don't have the physical endurance that Nissa and I do. Even if they wear space armor, it's hard to say whether they'd adapt to Olympus Mons' conditions.
If something happens, they can't recover as quickly as we can by just taking some healing serum."
"Hmm."
Nissa thought for a moment and quickly nodded, secretly admiring Selene's cleverness.
This way, the two of them could monopolize the family's gemstone supply.
They wouldn't have to worry that after returning to London, William, no longer needing their combat skills, would let their status in the household decline.
Moreover, Nissa had another thought—William's ability to use magic wasn't something he wanted the rest of the family to know about, which would be even more beneficial for her and Selene.
She gave Selene a nod. "Alright, I'll listen to you."
Watching Nissa kiss him on the cheek and then cheerfully go pack her things, William wondered, What exactly is she thinking?
Puzzled, he looked at Selene.
But Selene just smiled and joined Nissa in packing.
Since they weren't telling him, he didn't bother prying.
When he saw Selene about to lift the cryogenic storage container holding the Xenomorph leg bone, he immediately waved his hand. The box bypassed her and floated into the air.
Originally, he had planned to store it directly in his spatial inventory, but seeing Selene and Nissa's puzzled expressions, he worried that they might misunderstand and think he didn't trust them.
With a serious expression, William warned, "This box contains a Xenomorph leg bone. Be careful when handling it—if it gets damaged, the acid inside could corrode the spaceship."
Nissa's face paled in alarm. "And you just left it lying around on the floor?"
William rolled his eyes. If I didn't care about your feelings, would I even bother explaining?
With a wave of his hand, the container vanished into thin air.
He then closed his eyes and used his mental power to locate all the things he had gathered on Mars.
"Just pack up everything on this table. Leave the rest.
I'm going to top off the energy supply for the ship that's staying behind.
We're taking off in an hour."
(End of Chapter)
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