After returning to the inn, Li Xiuman opened the borrowed books and studied them meticulously.
After studying like this for three days, Li Xiuman returned the books to the library.
Then, he checked out, headed to the Red Dwarf Blacksmith, and collected the repaired magic tools.
Afterward, he walked to the city gates.
There, he saw a wanted poster plastered on the wall.
Unsurprisingly, it featured Lumina's portrait.
As for what the girl had done...
Theft.
She had absconded after stealing from a Count of Iron River City.
Tsk tsk. If nothing went wrong, the wanted poster in White Bear City would likely be for the same theft.
To some extent, this thief was now famous.
“Damn it. Even when I posted a request at that middle-of-nowhere Adventurer's Association, they charged me a fee.”
“Yet this girl gets to have her poster put up at such a prominent spot by the city gates for free.”
“I feel a bit of an imbalance in my heart.”
Li Xiuman continued reading down.
And then he saw:
“Bounty: 1,000 gold coins.”
“...”
Li Xiuman dropped his bony jaw, standing there dazed for a long time without saying a word.
O-One, ten, one hundred... one thousand gold coins!
Damn it, what on earth did I miss out on last night!
That was a walking ten million!
I mean, one thousand gold coins.
Right now, Li Xiuman just wanted to travel back in time, put on his friendliest act, and lure that walking ten million into his room.
I mean, one thousand gold coins.
And then that ten million would be all his!
I mean, one thousand gold coins.
“...”
Probably because Li Xiuman had been standing there for a long time, several guards walked over.
“Sir, do you know the person on this poster?”
Damn it, the ten million was too tempting; it had actually caught the attention of the guards.
I mean, one thousand gold coins.
“No, I'm just committing the portrait to memory.”
“After all, this is ten million.”
The guard looked at the portrait, then back at Li Xiuman.
“It's one thousand gold coins.”
...
Once out of the city, he headed toward White Bear City.
This time, Li Xiuman didn't plan on hiding his whereabouts.
He gripped the Crystal Orchid.
Then, he loosened his grip slightly; it wouldn't do to pinch the Crystal Orchid too hard.
Having defeated the floor boss, the Troll, and now in possession of the Crystal Orchid, Li Xiuman felt a strong sense of confidence.
“A mere Lucia is utterly laughable.”
...
After going through immense hardship, Li Xiuman finally fled back to White Bear City.
His body beneath his cloak was broken in several places due to a beatdown by a crowd of succubi.
If his newly acquired [Hyper-Regeneration] hadn't granted him amazing self-healing power, he might have met his end.
Even so, in the end, he had been forced to use the Crystal Orchid to summon the Red Dragon and escape the encirclement of the succubi with the help of the [Blessing of Sleep].
“Damn it, that shameless Lucia has no bottom line.”
“Actually ganging up on me... Otherwise, a mere Lucia wouldn't stand a chance!”
At that moment, a sudden rustling sound came from the nearby bushes, startling Li Xiuman.
Looking closely, he realized it was just the sound of the wind blowing through.
“So it was just the wind.”
Li Xiuman breathed a sigh of relief. Without delaying any further, he entered White Bear City.
Once inside White Bear City and surrounded by the secure city walls, Li Xiuman finally felt completely at ease.
Although he had been a bit pathetic this time...
...he had managed to break through Lucia's encirclement. This was already a huge step forward on his path.
He could already envision a bright future where he trampled Lucia underfoot.
Then, as expected, he also saw Lumina's wanted poster on the city walls of White Bear City.
Skipping past the irrelevant descriptions, Li Xiuman looked directly at the last line.
Then, he sucked in a deep breath.
“Three thousand!!”
Three times that of Iron River City.
As expected, Count Wit has much more style.
Li Xiuman forced his gaze away from the wanted poster and took a deep breath.
Master Lu, if we meet again next time, I'm sorry.
Although we share a profound friendship, having leaned on each other to overcome crises...
...that's three thousand gold coins!
He followed the path back to his small cabin.
He took off his armor and leather gear piece by piece, hanging them on the equipment rack.
He didn't see the vampires; it seemed they had all gone to the dungeon to hit their performance targets and earn their names.
One mustn't underestimate these vampires.
After all, there was strength in numbers. Having not seen them for so long, they had surely gathered a substantial amount of magic stones.
Their usual experience-gain pop-up windows from killing monsters had been blocked by Li Xiuman because they were too annoying.
Meaning...
...they could be sold...
...for a lot of money!
His not-so-abundant coffers could finally get a nice replenishment.
Li Xiuman went up to the second floor.
Shino, the snow-white owl, was perched on the windowsill, dozing off.
After all, according to Ilu's orders, if Shino couldn't get a reply from him, it had to keep waiting.
Therefore, it must have had a hard time catching mice to fill its belly during this period.
If the neighbors around here recently noticed that the mice in their homes had disappeared, they mustn't forget to thank him.
“Here's some dried fish.”
Li Xiuman pulled a small piece of dried fish from his storage space and threw it to Shino.
Shino immediately opened its eyes, catching the thrown dried fish in its beak with one swift bite.
Seeing how happily it ate, it looked like the dried fish hadn't expired yet.
Li Xiuman sat back down at his desk, pulled out a sheet of letter paper, picked up the quill next to him, and dipped it in ink.
“My dear Ilu Mantield,
I apologize for the late reply.
I assume you have already crossed the snowy mountains and reached further north by now.
I have received the Snow Wolf God's Fang you sent. To forge this wolf fang, I made a trip to Iron River City to the east.
Many interesting things happened on the way. I met a donkey-headed goblin thief, a hypocritical red dragon, and a laughable little succubus.
There was also a highly skilled blacksmith who forged the wolf fang you sent into a very beautiful blade.
I named her (crossed out) it Crystal Orchid, and I really want you to see it too.
The Snow Wolf God's Fang is truly too precious.
I spent a long time choosing a return gift, and ultimately synthesized this piece of Red Dragon Alloy in Iron River City.
It is a beautiful and deep purple, just like your hair and eyes. I am sending it to you along with this letter.
I hope you like it.
Xiuman Pound Li.”
He folded the letter.
Then, he retrieved the purple Red Dragon Alloy.
He looked at the paper envelope nearby, then weighed the heavy Red Dragon Alloy in his hand.
It would probably...
...rip.
It seemed a regular envelope wouldn't do.
Li Xiuman retrieved a piece of leather from his storage space, stuffed the letter and the Red Dragon Alloy inside, sealed it, and then inscribed on the seal: "To Ilu Mantield."
No matter how one looked at it, this was practically a parcel!
But with Ilu's carefree personality, she probably wouldn't mind.
It was just that...
Li Xiuman looked at Shino and handed over the leather-sealed envelope.
Holding the rest of the dried fish in its beak, Shino stared at Li Xiuman for a full three seconds.
Then, it tilted its head.
You want me, a mere owl, to fly over the snowy mountains carrying something this big!?
When I came here, it was clearly just a thin single sheet of paper!
Rate on N.U.
