Raymond's eyes flickered with a hint of astonishment.

  He had just finished speaking when Caius outright refused.

  That decisive? Not even a little tact?

  Couldn’t he at least decline politely?

  Yet in the next moment, Caius spoke.

  "Boss Raymond, you know I'm a mercenary. Mercenaries don't belong to any faction."

  "And what I hate most is someone trying to order me around."

  "So, I won’t work for anyone."

  Then, his tone shifted as he chuckled. "But as long as the commission is right, I’d be more than happy to take care of anything for you."

  "Isn’t that still working for me?" Raymond asked.

  "No, no, no. It’s different. This is a mercenary’s rule—it's for the money, not for you." Caius grinned and raised his glass toward Raymond in a toast.

  "If you were a beautiful Boss Lady, I'd be happy to work for you, but since you're not, I can only be happy to work for the gold in your pockets."

  "What do you say?"

  "Hahaha, that's exactly what I meant!" Raymond burst into laughter, raising his glass to clink against Caius’s, and the two downed their drinks in one go.

  Kiki, on the other hand, took a small sip from her cup, then shrank back and put it down.

  Still prefers milk, Meow…

  "Got any work now?" Caius set down his cup and handed Raymond a cigarette.

  Raymond took it and was about to light it with his Firewatch when he noticed Caius lounging on the sofa. The little Catgirl beside him skillfully pulled out a beautifully crafted lighter, flicked it open with a crisp snap, and lit Caius’s cigarette.

  Caius didn’t even lift a finger.

  Raymond raised an eyebrow slightly.

  Well now, that’s some flair.

  But his attention wasn't on the Catgirl lighting the cigarette—it was on the lighter in her hand.

  "Of course there’s work, but we can talk after the drinks… Where did you buy that Firewatch?" Raymond asked, eyeing the lighter Kiki held.

  "This isn’t a Firewatch. It’s a lighter. I made it myself, but it belongs to the little Catgirl now." Caius took the lighter and toyed with it.

  The sleek lighter twirled dexterously between his fingers, displaying impressive finesse. Then, with a flick, a tiny drop of fuel spattered onto his fingertip. His thumb struck the flint, igniting a spark, and a small flame flared up at his fingertip.

  Three seconds later, the fuel burned out, and the flame extinguished. Caius then returned the lighter to the little Catgirl.

  The little Catgirl’s face was full of admiration, while Raymond was clearly tempted.

  No man who smokes can resist a beautiful lighter.

  So Caius grinned and said, "What do you think? Want one? I can make you one."

  "Of course!" Raymond answered immediately.

  Caius: "What engraving do you want? An angel or a demon?"

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  "Besides those two, what else?" Raymond asked.

  "You can have someone design a pattern, or just tell me what you want," Caius replied.

  Raymond thought for a moment. "A fist imprint, like a punch smashing into steel!"

  Caius nodded. "Got it."

  "How much?"

  "Come on, no need to talk money between us, right?" Caius waved it off.

  Raymond raised an eyebrow.

  Well, aren’t we brothers already?

  But Raymond chuckled and let it slide. "Still, I can't let you do it for nothing."

  "How about this? I’ve got a high-paying job—are you interested?"

  "Hell yes, I am!" Caius laughed.

  Watching the two men grinning at each other, the little Catgirl felt like she was in the presence of two old foxes.

  Good thing she liked big foxes.

  Raymond snapped his fingers, and a beautiful waitress walked in, handing Caius a task slip.

  Caius took one look at it and raised an eyebrow. "This really is a lucrative job."

  "Isn’t it?" Raymond exhaled a puff of smoke and grinned. "The bastards from the Seth Chamber of Commerce stole a shipment from the Wargs Gang. Their boss is livid, so she put out a high-paying commission to get it back."

  "But no one here likes the Seth Chamber of Commerce, nor do they want to mess with them, so the job’s been sitting around."

  "In two days, the shipment will be moved. That gives you two days."

  "Retrieve the goods, and thirty thousand gold is yours. I’ll also throw in an extra ten thousand as a hazard pay bonus, given the tight timeframe and the risk. What do you think?"

  "Of course! If it weren’t dangerous, I wouldn’t be interested!" Caius agreed immediately.

  It truly was a lucrative job—a platinum-tier one.

  High-paying jobs came in two types.

  One was easy work with good pay—what most mercenaries preferred.

  The other was tough work with massive payouts—jobs that only a few could handle.

  Typically, platinum-tier commissions ranged from eight to twenty thousand gold.

  This job offered thirty thousand, plus an extra ten thousand in bonuses. A fortune.

  But it was a heavy job.

  The Seth Chamber of Commerce wasn’t a small guild—it was a major force spanning multiple regions.

  Moreover, their main trade was in human trafficking, specifically targeting beastfolk.

  They were ruthless.

  From the task details, it was clear that Caius had a high chance of facing off against the Seth Chamber’s security team.

  The security team consisted of at least thirty men and included mages—one of whom was a platinum-tier, one-star mage.

  And going up against the Seth Chamber of Commerce never ended well. Their wealth ensured a steady stream of bounty hunters and assassins to harass anyone who crossed them.

  That’s why no one wanted the job.

  But Caius took it.

  Because he remembered that the little Catgirl despised the Seth Chamber of Commerce for their involvement in trafficking beastfolk.

  And since he was taking this mission, he had no intention of leaving survivors.

  If no one lived to tell the tale, how would they know who did it?

  As long as Raymond kept his mouth shut, the Seth Chamber of Commerce wouldn’t figure it out quickly.

  By the time they did, Caius would be fully equipped, strong enough to bring them down himself.

  Besides, this was also a test for Raymond.

  If he could keep a secret, Caius would feel safer working with him.

  So Caius crushed his cigarette and stood up. "I’m off to work."

  "So soon? Stay a while. They won’t move the goods for two days, and the route is marked for you." Raymond was surprised but admired Caius’s decisiveness.

  Caius shook his head. "I need to prepare. Their route might not be real, so I’d rather track them from the start."

  "Fair enough." Raymond nodded.

  This job was the true test. The earlier arm-wrestling match was just an appetizer.

  Only if Caius handled this job well would Raymond entrust him with bigger tasks.

  "If you need help, let me know. I can offer some assistance within the mission’s scope," Raymond said.

  "Actually, I do have a small favor to ask," Caius grinned.

  "Do you know a mercenary named Parry? A gold-tier. I’ve got a debt collection job—he owes my employer some money. He’s in the inner city."

  Raymond chuckled and snapped his fingers. The same waitress walked in.

  "Find a mercenary named Parry."

  "Yes, boss." The waitress nodded and left.

  Less than ten minutes later, a scruffy-looking mercenary was brought in.

  "Impressive efficiency," Caius laughed.

  "Eighty percent of the mercenaries who come to the inner city drink at my tavern. A little asking around does the trick," Raymond smirked.

  Caius nodded and turned to Parry. "Alright, pay up or lose an arm—your choice."

  Parry had been feeling uneasy for a while. After all, this was an order directly from Boss Raymond himself. He never imagined that owing just a few thousand gold coins would catch the attention of the Iron Tavern's big boss. So when Caius spoke, he was so terrified that he nearly lost control of his bowels, immediately pulling out every coin he had.

  Only a little over three thousand.

  But the mission required four thousand eight hundred gold coins.

  Since he had accepted the job, Caius had to see it through perfectly.

  Not a single coin less than four thousand eight hundred.

  Of course, the debt collection process itself was of little concern. As long as the employer received the full amount, that was all that mattered.

  Thus, Caius stripped the kid of his longsword and all his equipment. When liquidated in the market, the combined value was enough to make up the remaining debt.

  And just like that, Caius completed his final Gold-ranked mission.