"Not bad, you have quite a talent for tea art. Ever thought about becoming a tea master?"

  Holan chuckled as she spoke.

  Caius kept a straight face. "Not necessary, thanks."

  Seeing his expression, Holan laughed so hard that her shoulders trembled.

  "Alright, the deal is done. If there's nothing else, I'll be on my way."

  Saying this, Caius stood up.

  Holan was a bit surprised. She had thought he would take the chance to chat a little longer, especially since their conversation had been rather enjoyable—at least, she was having a good time.

  But as soon as the deal was completed, Caius simply got up, patted himself off, and prepared to leave.

  "Hey, tell me, all those compliments you just gave me… you weren’t just being polite, were you?"

  Holan rested her chin on her palm, sounding a little displeased.

  Caius turned his head slightly and flashed a sincere smile. "Every word was the truth. But you know, I only have a month."

  "I just registered as a mercenary yesterday. Right now, I’m still a lowly Brass rank, so I need to work hard on my promotion."

  "Of course, chatting with a beautiful mentor isn’t a waste of time. But I doubt you'd want to lose a capable personal mercenary over it, would you?"

  "Heh, fair enough."

  Holan smiled again. Then, with a flick of her fingers, a bundle of envelopes flew toward Caius.

  He caught them, looking puzzled. "What’s this?"

  "My personal commission," Holan said. "Aren’t you heading back to Ocean City? I need you to deliver some letters for me."

  "The top two envelopes contain the letters you need to deliver. The recipients and addresses are written on the back."

  "The third envelope is your recommendation letter. Keep it safe. Write your name on it, and when you reach Gold rank, bring it back to me for my seal."

  "So, what do you say? Take the job?"

  Hearing this, Caius let out a hearty laugh. "Of course!"

  "Your payment?" Holan raised an eyebrow.

  Caius pulled out the last envelope. "This right here."

  With the recommendation letter in hand, even though it wasn’t sealed yet, it was as good as his. He loved this feeling.

  Holan nodded with a smile.

  She realized she had been smiling a lot in front of this big guy. Quickly regaining her composure, she put on a serious face and said, "It takes a day to get back to Ocean City. You have three days."

  "No problem. I’m off!"

  Caius turned, waved his hand, and strode away with Kiki following behind.

  Watching Caius’s departing figure, then looking at the steaming floral tea in her hands, Holan’s previously restrained smile reappeared.

  "Interesting big guy."

  ……

  As they stepped out of the library, Caius stretched lazily, feeling rather pleased.

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  "Big guy, does this mean you’ll get into Hydis Academy soon, meow?"

  Kiki asked excitedly.

  Though she didn’t fully grasp the conversation between Caius and Holan, she had understood one thing—Caius had secured a chance to enter Hydis Magic Academy.

  Right now, Kiki’s eyes were filled with admiration. She thought Caius was a smart big guy.

  Indeed, selling the Wolf Demon cheaply had paid off!

  However, Caius shook his head. "Not yet. We still have to compete for the other external admission slots."

  "Why, meow?" Kiki tilted her head in confusion. "Isn't the recommendation letter enough?"

  Caius chuckled, ruffling the little catgirl’s head. "Did you forget about yourself?"

  "There’s only one recommendation letter. I still need to secure a spot for you too."

  "Oh!" Kiki suddenly realized. Then, looking at Caius with sparkling eyes, she said emotionally, "Big guy, you’re so kind…"

  "Call me Caius. Stop with the ‘big guy’ thing."

  "Got it, meow~"

  "Caius, meow~"

  After retrieving his beloved warhammer, Caius left the academy. Outside, Geoffrey and the others were already waiting.

  They didn’t ask about his conversation with Holan. Without much delay, the group mounted their beast-drawn carriage and set off on their return journey.

  With no cargo, the carriage moved much faster. What was originally a two-day trip would now only take a day and a night.

  Ironically, they hadn’t encountered bandits on their way there, but they did on their way back.

  A full gang of eighteen bandits.

  As a result, Caius now had twelve curved blades, six sets of bows and arrows to sell, plus an extra two hundred gold coins and fifty silver coins in his pouch, along with some miscellaneous copper coins.

  Honestly, he often felt that the world was full of kind people.

  The group didn’t stop to rest that night, taking turns to keep watch as they traveled straight through. By the time they arrived in Ocean City, the sun was shining brightly—it was around ten in the morning.

  "Little kitty, time to wake up."

  Caius sighed, looking helplessly at Kiki, who was curled up in his arms.

  She had taken the last night watch shift, so she’d slept all the way here.

  But why had she ended up climbing onto him in her sleep again?

  Upon entering the city, they parted ways.

  Kiki needed to go with Geoffrey to the magic potion shop to terminate her employment contract before rejoining Caius.

  Before leaving, Geoffrey handed Caius a task token—a wooden token issued by the Mercenary Guild to quest clients. Once a mercenary completed a task, they had to return the token as proof of completion.

  If a token was lost, the client would have to provide an alternative confirmation or appear in person.

  And if the client was gone… well, then tough luck on completing the quest.

  With the token in hand, Caius bid farewell to Kiki and headed straight for the mercenary tavern—Hailan No. 11.

  The moment he pushed open the door, the familiar weight of gazes fell upon him.

  But this time, most people only glanced at him before looking away. Coincidentally, the burly, bearded man who had chatted with him before was also there.

  "Well, kid, where the hell have you been these past few days? I thought you were dead!"

  The big man bellowed, drawing laughter from the nearby mercenaries.

  His words were crude, but there was no malice in them.

  Caius grinned. "If I die, it’ll only be after I become Legendary!"

  The laughter grew louder.

  Ignoring the banter, Caius strode to the bar and flicked his fingers. The task token landed neatly in Yvlan’s empty cup.

  Yvlan poured it out, glanced at it, then nodded. "Task complete. Payment settled."

  "So you were off on a mission, huh?" The bearded man mused.

  "You didn’t just help some old lady find her dentures, did you?"

  A lanky mercenary joked, triggering another round of chuckles.

  Caius merely smiled, saying nothing. He knew that earning these veterans’ respect required strength, not words.

  Then, a dull thud echoed through the tavern, accompanied by the clinking of metal.

  The laughter gradually died down as the mercenaries stared at the pouch Yvlan had placed on the counter.

  It was full of gold coins.

  They were all seasoned mercenaries. Just from the weight, they could tell—there was at least a thousand gold inside.

  Caius picked it up and casually weighed it in his palm, letting the coins clink melodiously.

  "You wouldn’t believe it, but that old lady’s dentures were gold-plated and encrusted with gems. Paid handsomely."

  His voice dripped with sarcasm.

  The lanky mercenary’s face turned red as the tavern erupted into laughter once more.

  Caius grinned and placed the pouch back on the counter. He looked at Yvlan and tilted his chin. "Remember what I said?"

  Yvlan raised a brow. "You’re serious?"

  "Of course. And if I’m buying, I’m buying the best—rum sounds perfect."

  Yvlan blinked. "You do know the price, right?"

  Caius smirked. "I love jokes, but not right now. Do it."

  Yvlan burst into laughter. "Rejoice, lads!"

  "This big fool is treating everyone to rum!"

  The tavern roared with cheers.

  Caius leaned back, savoring the moment.

  This was exactly why he loved being a mercenary.