"We made a lot of money selling those monster corpses and the materials we looted, so we'll feel terrible if you won't at least take the smallest portion of it," Nolan said as he handed me a large leather pouch.
Just from the weight of the pouch alone, I could tell that it contains a rather large amount of something. I promptly peeked at its opening, and as it turns out, it was full of nothing but gold coins. There was not a hint of silver or copper inside it.
I can understand why they would give so much to me, but frankly, I don't really have any use for it. With that said, refusing to take it now would be disrespectful. I already told Nolan and the guild multiple times to not reward me, so this must be their last considerate alternative to share a part of my own loot back to me.
I do not have any problems taking the rewards from the quests I complete in the guild, but no one really asked me to take on all of the dark army by myself. In the end, I felt like I have stolen some of the potential loot Nolan's knights and the adventurers could've gotten for themselves.
For that reason, I asked Nolan to share some of the money to those who participated in the defense of the town. I think their determination to lay their lives for the sake of Root and the innocent people living in it warrant them a small amount of compensation.
"It's still too much, but I'll accept it. Either way, you hired me too, so I'm going to get my pay."
"I think you're stupid for not asking any more than this, but at the same time, I admire your kindness to share your loot with us," Nolan said, the expression on his face clearly mocking my decision.
"It's not that I'm kind, I just think you would have a better use for it."
"How can you be so trusting? You know that most of that money would only be exclusively used to increase our military strength, right?"
"That's still better than it rotting away in my storage."
As I said that, I opened up my space magic storage and stored the heavy pouch in it.
"That's a rather convenient magic to have. I only heard stories about it being used by merchants, but I have never met anyone who can actually use it," Nolan comments.
"It is," I nodded, then I decided to keep on with the small talk. "Not just merchants, fighters also use it to store their weapons. You won't expect an unarmed person to suddenly take out a spear out of nowhere."
"I assume you also do the same?"
"Not just my weapons, but it's where I keep pretty much all of my possessions."
To demonstrate, I took out a witch hat and a tall staff from it. After I showed off both items by posing, I immediately stored them back into the magical space.
"Hmm? I can see how you can travel without worries: you simply won't need a home if you can bring all of your possessions along with you all the time."
"Right? Fufu..." I amusingly laugh. "It's convenient, and because of it, the only problem I have while traveling is where I should sleep or take a bath."
Even though a long time has passed, I'm still following my routine of taking a bath once each day. I now have a body that mysteriously doesn't smell, but that doesn't mean I get to be conceited and never clean myself. In fact, my inclination to always stay clean was the reason I invented my own magic, "cleanse".
As for the matter of where I should sleep when I'm travelling alone, I can pretty much set up a camp anywhere that's nowhere near any bandit base or monster lair.
"Hmph..." Nolan smirked.
"Hmm? What is it?" the look on his face tells me he was thinking of something, so I urged him to say it.
"Instead of journeying somewhere else, I just thought that it would be good if you stay here indefinitely," he grumbled. "Say, I could give you a place similar to this mansion if you want. I'm sure my father won't mind it, in fact, I think he'll be the first to recommend it after what you did for his town."
So now he's offering me such a place just to stay?
Fufu! I'm not one to be underestimated. I can trade even the biggest of dicks if it means I can continue on with my adventures. A mere mansion won't convince me of anything.
"I'm sorry, but that's just too much for one person," I excused.
"Aren't you living together with that one beastkin kid?"
"Still, we're only two people—besides, we're only living together temporarily."
And being my student won't warrant Log to live in luxury. In fact, I want him to experience what it's like to live like a proper adventurer, in a way which he would value his future income more. I want him to be more independent and well-grounded.
"I see..." he nodded, but then he continued, "What about your lovers? You can always invite them to live with you."
"Wha-What are you saying!?" I stuttered. "I don't have anyone like that!"
"Hmm?" only a single moan escaped Nolan's mouth as he stared me down, his eyes telling me I can't deny anything.
"Tch!" I clicked my tongue.
Nolan did research my background, so it's not surprising he would know that I sleep a lot with many people. He even knows that I'm sleeping with his brother, Nero. It's not far-fetched to assume he had already figure out that I was also doing the same with Ned, his other brother.
"No, I don't want to have a harem around me. That just sounds troublesome," I said with a guilty look on my face. "But just so you know, while I do sleep around a lot, I do not maintain any kind of relationship with anyone," I admitted.
"Kuhaha! Don't you sound like Nero? You must've been quite the cunning man in your previous life?" he humored, clearly amused.
"Urk..."
"Kuhaha! I don't think that even the whores at night sleep with as much people as you do, and they're doing it for the sake of their livelihood. Yet here you are, tempting both men and women like a succubus."
"Y-You! I'm not...!"
"Are you really going to deny it?"
"You...! You really do keep your eyes on me, don't you...?" I sarcastically said.
"I just happened to have my men planted on every part of this town," he nonchalantly said. "Hmm, now that I think about it, that nice brothel has gotten even more popular lately. I wonder if I should take a visit there soon?" he teased.
"Hmph!" I pouted. "It doesn't matter, do whatever you want."
"Nah, on second thought, I won't," he said as he suddenly stood up.
Then, before I knew it, he was already in front of me, driving me into the corner of the room. His huge frame was blocking me completely and preventing me from escaping. All I could do was look up to him and stare at his predatory eyes.
"Why do I need to go to a cheap brothel, when I have such an attractive elf lady in front of me?" he leaned in close to whisper in my ears.
"Tch!" I once again clicked my tongue in either frustration or embarrassment.
So he had given up on convincing me to stay? Now he's just seducing me...
"Should we do it here or in my room? I'll be the better man and let you decide this time," he tauntingly asked as he suddenly grabbed my backside.
"You're really getting ahead of yourself..." annoyed, I complained.
There's a reason why he's letting me choose between the two. Choosing his office means that we'll only get to do it for a short while, while choosing his room would allow us to do it for as long as we can handle. He's practically asking me how long do I want to get fucked...
Well, I'm just going to go along with it. In any case, I was expecting this kind of outcome from the start, so I'm not going to make a big deal of it...
However, just before I could give an answer, someone knocked on the door and entered right after. As if he owned the place, he barged into the room with no hesitation. Red hair and a tall gait—although appearing much smaller than the buff Nolan, he's his brother, Nero.