Time to Grab Some Money

"We can discuss whether there's a problem in a moment. Now, please tell me your second point, and we'll settle both at once!" Rukta said, shaking his head.

Guligus paused, clearly unable to understand why Rukta could still be so relaxed and let him keep talking at a time like this.

"As for the second point, removing me from my position—pardon my bluntness, but who do you think you are, Rukta, to dare remove me? Have you lost your mind? Surely you know who stands behind me?" Guligus said, raising an eyebrow. There was no way Rukta had failed to consider that.

Besides, Guligus had received no unfavorable news, which meant nothing had happened to his backer. That alone was enough for him to sleep soundly without a care.

"I know. I know everything I should know, and I have my own channels for learning what I shouldn't know, too. You, however, seem to have missed the heart of the matter." Rukta pulled over a chair and settled comfortably into it. He was the only one in the entire hall to sit down.

Apart from those already seated at their work, no one dared sit, whether Guligus, Kana's Squad, or Yue Sisi.

He had thought the news was merely a little late today, only a few hours later than usual. It occasionally arrived a few hours late anyway. The daily reports usually concerned trivial matters that had practically nothing to do with Guligus, so he had never minded reading the confidential reports a little later.

"Yesterday... something major happened in Giant Python City. It happened so suddenly that even I had trouble digesting it," Rukta said. "Oh, right, right. That lad who delivered your messages is finished. I killed him myself, too. Rest assured! I'm not in the habit of leaving survivors!"

Guligus took a step back, his grip on his golden cane seeming to falter. His face had already turned a little pale. Although this aging man was not all that old, he was only a few years away from retirement, and the terror on his face was still plain to see.

"Do you know who that boy was? You've stretched your hand a little too far. Watch out, or disaster might fall from the sky," Guligus said viciously.

"That lad... seemed to have quite a background. He actually had over a dozen magic talismans on him, though they were all low-level ones," Rukta said with a peculiar expression. He had been far too wealthy. That lad was only level one, yet he had been that rich.

Off to the side, Dean nearly started drooling when he heard about the dozen or so magic talismans. As a mage, he alone knew just how valuable magic talismans were—and they were no ordinary valuables.

"Dean, what's a magic talisman? Do you know?" Kana asked. When Dean failed to answer, she turned her head in confusion, only to find his eyes practically shining.

It couldn't be helped. Blue Town was a small place, far too small to have anything like magic talismans, let alone anyone willing to bring them there.

As for Kana, although her background was far from ordinary, she had stayed with Dean and the other two ever since entering the world of adventurers. What she knew was little different from what they knew.

Thus, since valuable things like magic talismans were not traded on Blue Town's market, they knew nothing about them. Dean only knew they existed because he was a mage.

"Magic talismans really burn through money. Only mages of level three or higher have the ability to make them. But do you know what their most basic raw material is?" Dean asked, sounding pained at the expense.

"You need magic beast hide as the raw material. It has to hold an enormous amount of magical power to be made into a magic talisman. And there are special requirements for the hide, too. How could something like that possibly be cheap?" Dean had only briefly explained the requirements, but that alone was staggering. Any magic beast was difficult to deal with, after all, and killing one of the same level was especially hard.

That was why higher-level magic beast hides were worth more. A complete level two magic beast hide was worth close to one gold coin. And that was only one of the raw materials; there were other requirements as well.

"Then wouldn't those dozen or so magic talismans be worth dozens of gold coins?" Kana's little heart began pounding. How had she not known that someone so valuable had been running around? If she had known sooner, she would have robbed him of a few. No, not just a few—she wouldn't have left him a single one.

"Ordinary minor spells aren't worth turning into Magic Talismans, so even basic Magic Talismans are made from rare, precious spells. According to my teacher, even the very cheapest Magic Talisman sells for at least ten Gold Coins on the market," Dean said wistfully.

"Of course, if the maker wants to, they can turn minor spells like Small Fireball or Basic Illumination into Magic Talismans, too. But they'd lose a fortune doing that. Some people just have money to burn." Dean delivered another blow to everyone with those words. It truly was a blow.

Meanwhile, Guligus was practically ready to burst into wild laughter. Rukta's apparently brainless way of handling things truly suited a Berserker.

"Let me tell you, that boy was the nephew of Giant Python City's City Lord! Although he wasn't favored and was sent here to serve as the liaison between Blue Town and Giant Python City, he was still the City Lord's nephew. Hahahaha!" Guligus was almost mad with delight.

All he had to do was report this to his superiors. Although he bore some responsibility too, his part was minor, while Rukta would be in serious trouble. Giant Python City was nothing like this wretched little place called Blue Town.

Giant Python City's strongest fighters could reach level five or even level six. As for Blue Town? Finding even a few level-three fighters was difficult.

"That isn't something you need to concern yourself with. The heavens over Giant Python City have already changed. Your backer must be one of the City Lord's wives, then!" Rukta had initially thought the backer might be someone significant. Now that he knew, it amounted to nothing more than that.

"You... what are you saying?" Guligus could hardly believe it. No intelligence had reached his hands, and he simply did not believe information coming from Rukta. He refused to believe it.

"All right, that question no longer matters. Let's discuss the first issue now: how much of their mission Kana's Squad completed." Rukta smiled easily. The only uncertainty from before—the identity of the wealthy lad he had already slaughtered—had now been resolved. His background was nothing special.

Once their own affairs came up, all four members of Kana's party turned their attention toward him. After the goblin invasion, they were desperate for a fair assessment rather than Guligus's arbitrary judgment.

"I object! Without proof, I won't hand over a single copper coin! These lazy, gluttonous mercenaries, these greedy adventurers! Without proof, I'll never acknowledge it. Dream on, Kana's party! Hmph!" Naturally, the profiteer did not dare address Rukta that way, so his last few remarks were directed at Kana's party.

None of the four paid the fat middle-aged man any attention. Rukta had the final say now, so no amount of unreasonable pestering from the profiteer would help.

Rukta seemed to remember something. He gave the profiteer an amused look and said, "Merchant, you seem to have forgotten something. Didn't you hear the Bounty Mission I announced myself?" Just then, the Bounty Mission was posted, bearing exactly the terms Guild Master Rukta had announced earlier.

"What mission? It has nothing to do with me. Esteemed Guild Master, I demand fairness!" The profiteer had long since forgotten the Bounty Mission the Guild Master had mentioned. Or rather, he had never listened to it at all.

"Ah, you poor merchant. I suggest you hurry back and check your fields. Perhaps you can still salvage something." With that, Rukta stopped paying him any attention.

"Kana's party, why aren't you hurrying off to wipe out the goblins? This is a major Guild bounty that only comes once every ten years. In other words, grabbing goblins means grabbing money, so get moving! Once this is over, the Guild will have rewards for you as well. Don't forget!" Rukta said with a smile.

(End of chapter)