"I..." Holan lowered her head, not daring to meet Caius' eyes, her small hands clenched slightly.

  Caius sighed and said, "So, in that situation, she simply couldn't leave the orphanage peacefully to study at Hydis Magic Academy."

  "Why didn't she resist?" Holan bit her lip and asked.

  "Because the ones bullying her could easily wipe the orphanage off the map," Caius replied.

  "Then... what about Ocean City Academy? Don't the instructors care?"

  "As I said before, not every cultivator of knowledge possesses both responsibility and wisdom." Caius continued, "Those people wouldn't bully her in front of the instructors. In fact, they might even act friendly, draping their arms around her shoulders as if they were the best of friends."

  "She's not good at expressing herself, nor does she resist, so the instructors never realized she was being bullied."

  "And even if someone did notice... would an instructor really risk offending a high-ranking official of Ocean City for the sake of a single student?"

  "I would!" Holan gritted her teeth and said firmly.

  "Mm, that's why I said your students are lucky. But she... was unfortunate." Caius took a sip of tea as he spoke.

  Holan fell silent. Just listening to Caius' words, she could sense the immense hardship and suffering involved.

  Caius didn't interrupt her, allowing her time to process everything.

  "So... what happened next? You said you resolved it..." After a while, Holan finally lifted her head, hope flickering in her eyes.

  She wanted to believe that Caius had truly solved the problem.

  And Caius did not disappoint her.

  "Yes, I solved it." Caius grinned.

  "Before those people could do something even worse, I stopped them."

  "How?" Holan asked eagerly.

  Caius then briefly explained his course of action.

  "First, I infiltrated Ocean City Academy... Then... after that... they just..."

  "..."

  "..."

  "That's how it happened."

  "I also resolved the orphanage issue—I bought it. Now, the elderly caretaker and the children can continue living there, and I'll ensure their lives improve, eliminating their suffering at the root."

  "As for those who bullied her, I imagine that if that high-ranking official has any sense at all, she won't let her daughter stay in that academy any longer."

  At this point, Caius turned to Holan and asked, "Instructor Holan, do you think I was too ruthless?"

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Holan looked at him and suddenly smiled.

  "No, you did a wonderful job!"

  "Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely wonderful!"

  "Haha, I knew it." Caius snapped his fingers and grinned.

  "Thank you for telling me all this, and for everything you've done for her. Thank you," Holan exhaled and looked at Caius sincerely.

  "It was my duty." Caius smiled.

  "Really?" Holan gazed at Caius curiously. "As far as I know, mercenaries don’t usually take on thankless tasks like this. After all, you don’t gain anything from them."

  "Who says that? I gained a lot!" Caius countered.

  "Oh? Do tell?" Now that she knew Belle was safe, Holan relaxed considerably, smiling as she spoke.

  "Happiness, pride, the bright future of a talented magical research scholar, the gratitude of a beautiful instructor, and, of course, the delicious dinner she'll treat me to."

  "Hmm... she will treat me to dinner, right?" Caius looked at Holan expectantly.

  Holan couldn't help but laugh out loud.

  This guy really had the thickest skin.

  And yet, she didn't dislike it—nor could she refuse him.

  Compared to a single meal, what Caius had done for Belle was the real gift. In comparison, her little show of gratitude felt utterly insignificant.

  Thus, she smiled and nodded. "Yes, she will."

  Caius: "See? I've gained so much."

  Holan: "Haha, no doubt about it."

  Kiki: "???"

  The little catgirl tilted her head as she watched the two exchange smiles.

  She found their conversation incredibly complicated.

  Was this how smart people communicated?

  A jealous meow.

  "But not tonight," Holan said. "Hearing all this, I feel like I’ve been an irresponsible instructor. So, I’m setting off for Ocean City tonight."

  "So, outstanding mercenary, would you accept an escort request from your instructor?"

  "Of course!" Caius snapped his fingers.

  "Then I'll go prepare. We'll leave at noon!" Holan said eagerly.

  "No problem!" Caius nodded.

  There were still a few hours before noon, and Caius planned to complete a Gold-ranked mission in the meantime.

  The mission site: Nemo Forest.

  Two tasks—one was to help Eli find Hops Flower.

  The other was to hunt down a Gold-ranked Magic Beast—an Unicorn Bison and retrieve its horn.

  Of course, if he could obtain the horn without killing the beast, that would be fine too. But that would be a much harder challenge.

  Traveling from Grilla City to Nemo Forest was closer than from Ocean City—only 80 kilometers away. At Caius’ speed, he could make the round trip in less than an hour.

  That left him with nearly three hours to complete the mission.

  Once he finished the two Gold-ranked tasks, he would escort Holan to Ocean City, then head to the docks to deliver the final payment for the rum shipment to Nick. That meant three Gold-ranked missions completed in one go.

  Then only one Gold-ranked promotion mission—Debt Collection—would remain.

  Thinking about it, Caius sighed in satisfaction.

  As expected of me—so efficient!

  "Go ahead and get ready. I'm going to complete two Gold-ranked missions in the meantime. Let’s meet at the academy gate at noon." Caius stood up and said.

  "Alright." Holan nodded.

  Though she was a bit surprised by Caius’ "by the way" attitude toward the missions, she didn’t doubt that he could finish two Gold-ranked tasks in such a short time.

  After spending time with him, she had come to understand this burly mercenary quite well.

  A reliable big guy.

  Bidding farewell to Instructor Holan, Caius left his carriage and final payment in the unloading area of Hydis Magic Academy. It was safe there—no need to worry about thieves.

  After all, students who could attend Hydis Magic Academy wouldn't stoop to petty theft.

  Then, with Kiki in tow, Caius took off at full speed.

  Poor little catgirl—she had just finished a cup of milk, and it nearly came back up from all the bouncing.

  Arriving at Nemo Forest, Caius glanced at the miserable-looking Kiki and gave her an apologetic smile.

  Some people get carsick. She got Caius-sick. No one else could relate.

  After letting her recover for a bit, Caius led Kiki into Nemo Forest.

  The Unicorn Bison was a massive Magic Beast, making it easy to track.

  Standing three to four meters tall and five to six meters long, they resembled rhinos but were even more massive and aggressive. Their heavy footfalls left tremors in the ground and wide, deep footprints.

  Soon, Caius found a set of fresh tracks.

  In his previous life, mercenaries in the wasteland were called Wasteland Hounds, not just because they were as ruthless and cunning as hunting dogs, but because those who could survive there possessed exceptional tracking skills.

  Caius was one of the best among them.

  With tracks this obvious, along with other telltale signs, it would be harder not to find the Unicorn Bison.

  Before long, he spotted his target—

  A Gold Three-Star Unicorn Bison.