Chapter 104: The Broke Assassin Who Agreed to Teach Me
"I want to ask you for a favor. Can you teach me about blood arts?" I say, my voice sounding serious.
"I can. However, what do I get in return?" she asks casually.
I look at her. A vampire wouldn’t care much about money since that’s probably the least of an average vampire’s worries. What could she possibly want?
"Okay, how about I make you cum?"
"Hey! Don’t think that just because you’re of royal descent, I can’t beat you into a pulp. I’m still way stronger than you. I’d only spread my legs for someone who can beat the crap out of me," she says with a sneer, rolling her eyes.
Damn. Is she some kind of masochist?
I wonder what she might want. Then it suddenly dawns on me. If this is her apartment, it kind of sucks, which probably means she doesn’t even have enough money to buy a proper bed or rent a decent place.
A smirk forms on my face.
The next moment, two gold coins materialize in my hand, and I toss them toward Beatrix.
She leaps up like an excited puppy and catches the coins midair. Her eyes sparkle as she stares at them, and she even licks one to make sure it’s real.
How shameless.
"That’s your upfront payment. Are you going to teach me now?" I ask again.
"Of course, hehe. Just start whenever you want. Are you leaving now? I want to buy a few things from the market and finally fix up this run-down apartment," she says impatiently while rummaging through her drawers.
"Kicking me out already? If I may ask, why are you staying here? Someone of your caliber shouldn’t be broke. How did you end up like this?" I ask while getting off the futon, putting on my shirt, and picking up my bloody daggers before storing them in my inventory.
"Sigh. Since you seem trustworthy, I’ll tell you the truth. I’m an assassin. Five years ago, I took a job and completed it perfectly. Somehow, a rare Intel Class exposed my identity afterward, and a bounty was placed on my head. I’ve been hiding here ever since, waiting for the issue to settle down. I’m mostly stuck indoors and can’t take any jobs, which is why I’m broke," Beatrix says with a sigh.
The next moment, she wraps a scarf around her face until only her eyes remain visible and puts on a pair of glasses.
"That kind of sucks. Couldn’t you just outpay the bounty and change identities? Once you do that, your old identity gets discarded. They’d have to discover your new identity before placing another bounty on you," I suggest.
Beatrix gives me a strange look.
"Dummy. If I could afford to outpay my bounty, do you seriously think I’d be living in this shabby house and making zero progress for five fucking years?" she says in a playfully annoyed tone as we both walk out of her apartment.
Once outside, I realize Beatrix’s house isn’t far from the town’s main gate.
Looking ahead, I see the outskirts littered with goblin corpses, while the thick smell of blood hangs heavily in the air.
Soldiers from the capital are cleaning up the remaining goblins and even hunting down those that managed to escape, leaving none alive. At the same time, groups of people dressed in white protective suits move among the bodies, collecting valuable monster parts with sharp tools.
A monster horde is almost a blessing in disguise for the kingdom because monster cores and body parts sell for a fortune and are used to craft weapons, armor, and artifacts. That’s one of the reasons adventurers make so much money.
However, since the military intervened this time, they’ll reap all the rewards from the monster cores and materials despite many locals risking their lives to fight the horde. Some even died defending the town.
Still, nobody could simply sit back and watch. Monsters are vicious creatures. No one wants to watch their families get slaughtered or their women dragged away by goblins. If the town had dealt with the horde alone, the rewards would’ve belonged to them.
I watch as Beatrix disappears into the crowd, blending in so completely that I lose sight of her.
Turning around, I’m surprised to see Pico and Maya.
They look just as surprised to see me.
"Master!"
Pico is the first to rush over, slamming into me and wrapping her arms around my body. Tears stream down her face.
"Master, I was worried. I was so worried something happened to you. It’s my fault for not watching your back properly. Please punish me," she sobs into my chest while clinging to me like a koala.
"Silly girl, it’s not your fault. I was the one who was supposed to protect you. Don’t blame yourself. Besides, I’m perfectly fine," I say, gently rubbing her head while Pico continues acting cute.
I glance at Maya, who stands nearby rubbing her hands together nervously.
Then she steps forward and grabs my hands.
This girl...
"Brother-in-law, are you okay now?" she asks softly, though I hear her loud and clear.
"Yeah, I’m fine now. It was only a small injury," I reply with a smile.
"Brother-in-law, your skull was literally smashed open," Maya says expressionlessly.
Damn...
Getting my skull cracked open by a goblin.
How many aura points did I lose because of that?
"Where’s your mom? I can’t find her anywhere," I ask, quickly changing the subject.
"Well, Mom rushed home earlier. I tried talking to her, but she wouldn’t answer me. Did something happen?" Maya asks curiously.
"No. Nothing happened. I didn’t even see her after waking up. Beatrix was the one who told me she’d been waiting by my side for hours," I lie through my teeth.
"Let me buy you girls something after everything we’ve been through, and then we’ll head home. Sound good?" I ask, changing the subject again.
"Yeah!"
The girls beam simultaneously, their eyes practically glowing with excitement.
The next moment, I take them on a shopping spree, buying new clothes and expensive necklaces for both of them.
After all, I’m practically rich now after receiving those two hundred and fifty thousand gold coins from Lasawani, and I haven’t even touched the money yet. My videos are also earning me income every day, and my profits keep rising steadily.
At this rate, I’ll accumulate the amount I need much sooner than expected.
