Chapter 473: Price and the Druid

Jieron unleashed a silent resonant force.

Shattering the magic ring that had been broadcasting the mercenary group's private gossip.

It absolutely could not keep playing.

Vice-captain Blanche Jones was the other woman who had followed along, and the object of her affair was none other than Jieron's own son.

At the time, he and his wife had just returned from a stroll and opened the door, only to find that bitch tangled up with his son.

Not only that, but in his own bedroom!

He had wanted to chase the bitch away, but his underage son had become completely infatuated with her.

Even willing to die to prove his devotion, that sort of thing.

His wife was also a fool, doting far too much, and after a tangle of entanglements and meddling—

The old father Jieron had no choice but to let this bitch parasite stay within the mercenary group.

So if this audio kept playing, his sterling reputation as captain would be done for.

"Eight hundred thousand, take it or leave it! I've got plenty of brothers in the mercenary group, I have to give them an answer somehow!"

Rod was still unsatisfied.

One million was still too much.

Just as he was about to speak, an unfamiliar woman's voice reached his ear.

It was 【Message Spell】:

【The lowest price we can accept is six hundred thousand.】

Rod was stunned for a moment.

He glanced at the delicate-featured woman who had been silent behind the crocodile-man the whole time.

He saw her expression slightly dazed, a finger placed at her lips, nibbling gently.

Her eyes roamed back and forth over Rod's body and face, looking utterly impatient.

Upon noticing Rod looking at her, she even boldly threw him a flirtatious glance.

Feeling it wasn't enough, she added a flying kiss on top.

"..."

Is your mercenary group really doing alright?

Feels like this young lady has defected to the enemy.

Rod could guess this was the cheating Blanche Jones.

After all, according to the intel Miss Xiao Ke had provided, the Blizzard Mercenary Group only had four seventh-tier members in total—three men and one woman—so it could only be her.

It was the 【White Bull's Charm】 skill—that husband-stealing ability—working its magic again.

Though this time, it had a positive effect.

Six hundred thousand, then.

It was roughly in line with the price he had estimated earlier.

It was only money, after all; the girls' value was far higher than money.

Rod was straightforward.

He said directly: "I'll give you six hundred and fifty thousand. Before we officially slay the dragon, you must take on the duty of guarding Shi Ying town and the forest's safety. If that's acceptable, great; if not, you can leave."

The crocodile-man Jieron frowned deeply.

He had to admit.

That price landed exactly on the minimum he had set in his heart.

Combined with the fact that lately that bastard Lyle had dragged him off to gamble and he'd lost every last coin of his savings—

He thought for a while.

Only then did he finally nod: "Fine. But you must prepay forty percent of the total, and your dragon-slaying must be completed within one year—otherwise it's considered a breach of contract on your end."

The Blizzard Mercenary Group's dragon-slaying commission was considered settled.

When it came time to sign the specific contract, Rod called the witch Dimia and the old gentleman Humbert over from the town hall.

He wasn't very familiar with this sort of thing, so better to leave it to those who dealt with contracts more often.

Dimia was shocked to learn that Rod was paying out of his own pocket to slay the dragon.

The witch young lady had no idea Rod had ways of making money; she only knew he spent every day fooling around with girls in the forest and never acted properly in daily life.

He'd been away on a trip for a week, and now he was pulling out six hundred and fifty thousand Jin Along to slay a dragon.

It was hard not to suspect he'd gone out to rob someone.

Humbert was also greatly shocked.

He had actually contacted dragon-slaying teams before, but Coral Bay's situation was complicated, and the journey was long—either they quoted astronomical prices or they were too weak and came to fish in troubled waters.

He hadn't expected Rod to simply fork out such a huge sum himself to defend the place.

The old gentleman had lived in Shi Ying town his whole life, loving his hometown and land, and was deeply moved, declaring he would sell his house to share half the commission fee with Rod.

Dimia said the same.

But these two had invested heavily on New Lank Street, and only just now were things starting to look up—even if they chipped in, it would be a stretch.

Rod refused them.

He had plenty of spare cash, and besides, a dragon's corpse was good material that could fetch a fine price.

Busy as they were, once the contract was formally signed, night had fallen.

The Blizzard Mercenary Group's people also went back to prepare related matters.

With a dragon-slaying team secured, the witch Dimia couldn't have been happier, and suggested everyone find a restaurant to gather for a small celebration.

Rod had money and a place of his own—going to a restaurant couldn't possibly be as comfortable as going to his own place.

Moreover, several girls in the forest didn't like crowds, so they simply bought a bunch of ingredients in Shi Ying Town and brought people to the farm to hold a barbecue party.

Rod, the beastfolk Amy, and the pony girl Little Little Bangde were all big eaters.

In the end, the ingredients still weren't enough, so they simply caught two more on the spot from the farm's sheep pen.

The old gentleman Humbert had barely taken two bites when his stepdaughter and newlywed wife Tobeika sent someone to urge him home.

That old thing was an iron-blooded turtle-man; after begging off, he left.

Once he left, the barbecue party became thoroughly lopsided toward the women, with only Rod left as the sole man.

Though even when he was there, it was pretty much the same.

Rod and Watching Yuna were both acting as barbecue tool-men.

He watched the girls either gathering in their own little groups to chat.

There was the ghoul Pan Ni, the rabbitfolk Auna, and the witch Witch Di Mi Ya discussing skincare products and trendy elements.

There was the elf Lady Kali, the halfling Lily, and the zombie Selina discussing magic.

There were also the half-deer Miss Xiao Ke and the tree spirit Vivian, who didn't like socializing, hiding in a corner whispering to each other.

He also saw the beastwoman Amy, the pony girl Little Little Bangde, and the giant squirrel Cui Qian waiting around for roast meat everywhere, looking utterly impatient.

There were also outliers like the banshee Chris.

She claimed she was researching a new dish that could make her famous overnight.

But on closer look, it turned out she was just mixing all sorts of weird things together.

Later she was spotted by Rod, who went over and flicked her on the forehead, making her cry on the spot.

All in all, it still felt quite warm and cozy.

When the next round of drinks was delivered to the barbecue party, the tiefling Cyhier had just finished an adventurer's commission and returned.

She was also enthusiastically invited to join.

"Oh right, this morning I saw a druid outside Shi Ying Town. She seemed to be staring at Wind Wall Forest the whole time. I went up to talk to her, and she actually turned the question around and asked me if there was a tree spirit named Vivian in the forest."

Cyhier's words instantly put Rod on guard.

Because of the existence of heaven-defying things like spirit seeds, the location and information of tree spirits were actually rather sensitive.

Precisely for this reason, an organization called the Tree Spirit Protection Association had been formed.

Fortunately, Cyhier understood these things too.

At the time, she didn't answer directly either; instead, a few of her adventurer companions got into a small argument with the druid over her tone.

"That druid gave me a very different feeling. The natural power on her was very strange — not warm and approachable like Miss Vivian's, but rather cold and lonely, like the negative energy on Miss Pan Ni."

Cyhier said.

(End of chapter)