This commission totals 2,500 gold.
Five hundred gold is from Kiki’s six brass-ranked tasks.
Receiving the five hundred gold, Kiki’s eyes lit up as she held the coins, happily jumping up and down, as if the weakness from the poison had completely disappeared.
“So much money, meow!”
“Being a mercenary is actually this profitable, meow!”
In the escort squad, a single escort mission only guaranteed fifty gold at best. With the cargo value commission, it usually amounted to just a little over a hundred gold. To buy that beloved little short sword, she had been saving up for over a month.
“Heh heh, this is just the beginning.” Caius chuckled.
Mercenary work was indeed lucrative.
But it was also highly dangerous.
If an average silver-ranked mercenary were to take on Caius’ tasks, it would take them several days at least, and they might even get injured.
After all, the forest wasn’t a place for a picnic—it was teeming with magic beasts.
On their way, Caius and Kiki had already encountered several silver-ranked magic beasts, but after receiving a hammer strike from Caius, they all squealed and ran away.
“Stop giggling and go take a nap after eating. Adjust your internal clock—we're heading out tonight.” Caius said.
An excellent mercenary could adjust their schedule at any time. After two consecutive days of being active at night, Caius also needed to realign his schedule.
The next two tasks were rather troublesome; they required him to travel far to gather medicinal herbs, meaning he would still need to sleep at night.
However, Caius had plenty of stamina. Even after a whole night of missions, he was still full of energy. He could always catch up on sleep in the carriage tonight, but Kiki clearly wasn’t used to it yet.
Hearing this, Kiki obediently nodded, finished her meal, and went off to sleep.
After eating, Caius sat at the bar, frowning at the task descriptions while sipping his drink.
“What’s wrong? Encountered a problem?” Now fully sober, Yvlan leaned in and asked.
She was standing a little too close. Caius could smell the perfume on her.
She leaned against the bar, her upper body tilting slightly. If Caius looked up at this moment, he would see the deep cleavage peeking through her V-neck.
Unfortunately, Caius didn’t look up.
Instead, he kept his eyes on the task list and said, “Not really. It’s just that, if I remember correctly, the white peach blossoms from the high mountains grow on Aronas Mountain, west of Grilla City, right?”
He had already memorized the maps of this region, including all the towns and areas nearby.
“Mm-hmm.” Yvlan nodded. “Only thirty-six miles from Grilla City. What about it?”
“I just feel like this trip takes up too much time. I need to make good use of it, so I plan to complete the task at the Mercenary Tavern in Grilla City instead…” Caius began to explain, but before he could finish, Yvlan grabbed the collar of his shirt, her voice rising with excitement.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
“What?! You’re not coming back to submit the task?!”
Caius blinked, looking at Yvlan, who was staring at him with wide eyes, before explaining further.
“Making a round trip is too troublesome. The last silver-ranked task is forty miles south of Grilla City. The two task locations are more than 150 kilometers apart. If I come back to Ocean City just to submit the task and then return, I’d waste another whole day.”
“Completing both tasks will take at least three days.”
“Remember, I only have one month.”
“So turning in the task directly at the Mercenary Tavern in Grilla City is the most efficient option. Since it’s a guild task, not a commissioned one, I can submit it at any tavern.”
Guild tasks, as the name suggested, were issued by the guild itself and usually involved gathering various materials the guild needed.
Commissioned tasks, however, had to be submitted at the location they were taken from because the materials needed to be delivered to the client via the tavern.
Grinning, Caius suddenly flashed a mischievous smile.
“The gold-ranked task I took here will also be completed here. It won’t be counted under another tavern. Why are you getting so worked up? Afraid I’ll run away?”
Yvlan was momentarily stunned, realizing that she had overreacted. The surrounding mercenaries were already giving her knowing, amused looks.
Hurriedly, she let go of Caius’ collar, but her gaze still lingered on his now-exposed, well-built chest muscles.
Her cheeks heated up, but she retorted, “Afraid you’ll run away? Hah. I just… don’t want you to go too far and forget your way home.”
“Oh?” Caius’ grin widened. Leaning on the bar with one elbow, he rested his chin on his palm. “Home? Are you asking me to treat this tavern as my home?”
“Boss Lady, should I take that as a hint for something?”
The mercenaries’ eyes instantly widened.
Damn, this guy actually dared to flirt with the Boss Lady?!
Everyone immediately prepared to enjoy the show.
Sure enough, as soon as Yvlan heard this, her brows shot up, and she ground her teeth. From beneath the bar, she pulled out a frying pan the size of a washbasin.
Seeing this, Caius downed the rest of his drink in one gulp, then bolted out of the tavern like the wind.
Yvlan chased him to the door, frying pan in hand. “You brat! If you’ve got guts, don’t run!”
Caius’ laughter echoed from afar, leaving Yvlan both frustrated and amused. In the end, she simply shook her head and returned inside.
All the mercenaries were staring at her.
She snorted and slung the frying pan over her shoulder. “What are you looking at? Never seen a beautiful woman hit someone before?”
The mercenaries quickly averted their gazes, though a few stifled laughs could still be heard.
Not many people had ever seen the Boss Lady get flustered like this.
What Yvlan hadn’t expected, however, was that just as she put the frying pan away and settled back behind the bar, Caius strode right back in.
The mercenaries stared at him in admiration.
This guy was truly fearless—he ran away after flirting with the Boss Lady, and now he was back before even finishing a drink.
Yvlan’s eyelid twitched. Her hand instinctively reached under the bar again. “You really don’t take me seriously, do you…?”
But before she could do anything, Caius suddenly looked serious and asked urgently, “Boss Lady, do you remember what my second task submission was?”
Yvlan was caught off guard. Something had happened?
She quickly recalled. “I think… it was collecting thirty Mona Redblooms. Why? What happened?”
Caius glanced around mysteriously, as if he had some secret to share.
Curious, Yvlan leaned in closer to listen, but before she could hear anything, Caius suddenly took out a Mona Redbloom and gently tucked it behind her ear.
Yvlan froze. The entire tavern went silent.
Grinning, Caius said, “I thought I had under-collected by one, but turns out I had an extra.”
“Boss Lady, the Mona Redbloom really suits you~”
With that, he bolted away again, grabbing a few more task sheets on his way out.
“Ohhh~~~”
The mercenaries whistled and jeered.
Yvlan’s face turned bright red.
The mercenaries had already covered their ears, bracing themselves for the Boss Lady’s signature roar.
But to their surprise, it never came. Nor did she charge out with her frying pan in hand. Instead, she quietly wiped down the tables, collected the dishes Caius had left behind, and retreated into the kitchen.
What?
The mercenaries exchanged glances, swallowing nervously.
In the kitchen, a female employee watched in confusion as Yvlan repeatedly splashed cold water onto her face.
At that moment, Yvlan could feel the heat creeping up her cheeks. Twice. She had been teased by the same man twice in such a short span of time!
In the past, anyone who dared flirt with her would have been sent flying by her frying pan.
But this time… she felt more embarrassed than angry.
"That damn brat…" she muttered through clenched teeth. Yet, as she removed the Mona Redbloom from her temple and looked at its vivid red petals—then down at her own crimson dress—a small, uncontrollable smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
It did… sort of suit her, didn’t it?
