28 The Rewards (2/2)

This branch had only one M rank job.

\”D-did you complete the job successfully?\” Vei Dal asked word by word.

Rose pretended to calm down a bit and attempted to dig some dirt on them as she had planned. \”Mmm? Those funny faces... so you knew Arnold Alch was the culprit?\”

The brothers once again exchanged glances, this time horror could be seen in their eyes. They had let a princess take a dangerous job already, they couldn't afford to let her know that they had an idea about who the culprit was.

Feeling cold sweat on his back, Arger Dal did not dare to delay his explanation: \”No, no. We couldn't be more shocked by the news, Arnold? Of all the people… How could have we known? It's just that it has been years and nobody has completed that M rank job, that's why we got so surprised earlier…\”

\”Oh… is that so?\” Rose looked at them intently, making the brothers even more nervous.

Seeing their reactions, Rose understood the truth. A trace of an evil smile then appeared on her face. \”Ah, whatever. I won't delve deeper into it, of course, as long as the complete reward is properly delivered.\” It was with great emphasis that Rose said the last sentence, not giving any room for negotiation.

\”*Sigh*…\”

\”*Sigh*…\”

Arger Dal and Vei Dal couldn't help but sigh ruefully and shake their heads at the same time.

Branch Head slowly got up, went in front of Rose, and solemnly bent the knee. \”I'm sorry.\”

\”What are you apologizing for?\” Asked Rose.

\”Even the Guild Master can't break the rules of the Mercenary's Guild arbitrarily. I'm so sorry.\”

A vein popped out on Rose's forehead. \”If you are really that sorry, then why not just give me the money from your pocket?\” Her voice was so calm and cold it sent shivers through Arger Dal's spine.

Cursing inwardly, Arger Dal wondered how could a Second Level Basic Awaken cultivator make a mighty Fourth Level Basic Build cultivator like himself feel like passing out just with words. However, to his misfortune, he had no choice but to plaster an ingratiating smile on his face and meekly say: \”I'd like very much to do so but the accumulated reward isn't something my measly personal income can compare to…\”

(This shameless old fox! He prefers to lose face rather than money!) Burning anger surging within, Rose began to plan a suitable counterattack.

But before she could even open her mouth, Branch Head's eyes flashed with craftiness. \”However, there are other things that I can do to make it up to you. Although M rank jobs have incredible rewards and are jobs that we desperately want to complete to raise the reputation of our guild; we don't allow just any mercenary to take them. Obviously, we don't want them to die pointlessly. But seeing that you got the ability to make an M rank job seem like nothing special, I can give you a recommendation letter for another M rank job that surely will bring you immense wealth once you complete it.\”

One of Rose's eyebrows rose slightly. But she remained silent, not completely convinced that the compensation was good enough.

Understanding Rose's silence, Arger Dal added: \”And of course, I'll give you a one-star veteran party license!\”

Only now did Rose nod in agreement. \”Mmph! You can feel proud of yourself for you'll witness the foundation of Rose's Mercenary Party!\”

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Rose and her party walked through the streets of Lurep Village.

\”Hehehe…\” Holding in front of her a golden card with 'Party leader: Rose' written on it, she could not stop giggling.

\”What's so special about it anyway?\” Thorn lazily asked.

Cure Song: \”You don't know?! Have you been living under a rock your entire life?\”

\”Yeah, you can say that.\” Thorn sounded even lazier.

Putting the golden card away, Rose said: \”It'll be very useful to our purposes later.\”

\”Humm… If you say so.\” Glancing sideways at Rose, Thorn continued: \”By the way, there's something that has been bugging me the entire time. Since Arnold had at his disposal those knights, Cley Alch must have been backing him up, correct?\”

Rose: \”Correct.\”

\”But you ordered us to hide the knights' corpses, which means that there's no evidence of Cley Alch's involvement in the kidnapping now. Won't that let him off the hook and allow him to retaliate against us later on?\”

\”Yeah, but it's more important for us to keep our real strength hidden. Besides, he won't be able to retaliate openly, so he will be forced to use the Assassin's Guild.\” Rose's voice was extremely calm, as though there was nothing to be afraid of.

\”Oh, so that's how we'll deal with Cley Alch! Rose, you definitely are the smartest person I had ever met! Hahaha…\” Cure Song couldn't help but laugh heartily.

\”*Sigh*…\” Thorn looked at them irritated. (What the hell are they talking about?! Won't it be too dangerous to have the Assassin's Guild trying to kill us?!)

\”Don't worry about it, Thorn. We'll be alright.\” Rose then proceeded to explain in detail the situation to Thorn.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Later that night, Lurep Village Mercenary's Guild Branch released the news about what happened to Arnold Alch and the M rank job.

Since nobody obtained the accumulated rewards from the Mercenary's Guild or the Adventurer's Guild, the money was returned to the people who had given it.

One of those people was Derek Niun!

At the lobby of the Mercenary's Guild, he stood unmoving facing a board where the notice was announced.

There was a big pouch on his hand filled with the coins that had been reimbursed to him.

His expression was unreadable as memories of his little sister came back to him. Slowly a tear formed in the corner of his eye.

\”At long last… you have been avenged. I hope… you can rest in peace now…\” He whispered.