“Catch.”
Selim’s Soul Tentacle gave a gentle toss, and the Money Pouch traced an arc through the air.
Sophia reacted swiftly, catching it firmly in her hand.
Ding ling…
Her fingertips brushed over the bulging Money Pouch. Just from its heavy weight and the faint clink of metal inside, Sophia could quickly estimate the rough amount.
In absolute terms, it might not be a huge sum, but to Sophia, it was a rather decent amount.
“All of this… is for me?” Sophia looked up, a hint of uncertainty in her eyes as she gazed at Selim.
“That’s right, it’s all yours.” Selim nodded. “Consider it compensation from Bart for your emotional distress.”
Meanwhile, as he tended to his wounds, Bart addressed the two of them, “Miss Sophia, this is a small token of apology for my earlier rudeness to you both. Please, you must accept it.”
Selim’s smile deepened as she added, “Or, you could also see it as advance payment from Bart for a future Demon Order.”
“In any case, it’s not free,” she emphasized, her gaze fixed on Sophia’s reaction. “As long as you’re happy, I’m willing to give you all of it.”
Yet, Selim’s words poured over Sophia like a bucket of cold water, dousing most of the excitement in her eyes.
Her fingers tightened and relaxed around the Money Pouch, her teeth biting her lower lip. In the end, she shook her head. “But this… goes against the Demon Hunter’s code.”
“Take no money for your life, seize no property with an owner, accept no reward without effort.”
She recited the creed in a low voice, her gaze sweeping over Bart, who was breaking out in a cold sweat on the ground. “Aren’t we… just robbing him under threat right now?”
“Is that what’s bothering you?” Selim asked, nibbling her finger as she continued. “So you’re choosing not to take a single coin this time?”
“In that case, could you do it for free for me next time?” Her tone held a playful note of probing.
Selim was somewhat surprised that the first thing Sophia thought of, upon receiving the money, was the Demon Hunter’s code—not how to keep it for herself.
“Impossible!” Sophia immediately glared back.
She took a deep breath and opened Bart’s Money Pouch. The glint of gold and silver coins dazzled before her eyes.
“One, two, three…”
Suppressing the greedy urge welling up inside, she focused intently on counting.
After a while, she carefully separated about twenty percent of the coins, clutching them tightly in her palm. The rest she put back into the pouch, tying the cord shut with a firm pull.
“According to Demon Order rules, I should only take a tenth of your total assets.”
She turned to Bart and said, “But considering the value of your equipment, this time I’ll take an extra ten percent—so two-tenths total—as payment for the Demon Order.”
Sophia pushed the Money Pouch with the remaining eighty percent of the coins in front of Selim. “The rest is between you and Selim. It has nothing to do with me.”
The Money Pouch was still tightly gripped in Sophia’s hand, but she no longer looked at it, as if it were a devil tempting her to fall.
Selim tried to take the pouch, but Sophia’s grip was so tight that it took her quite a bit of effort to pull it free.
The moment the Money Pouch was taken away, there was even a trace of pain on Sophia’s face.
It was clear that Sophia wanted to keep it all for herself, but to uphold the Demon Hunter’s code, she restrained her own greed.
Sophia had already fallen into a battle of wills, her mind split in two.
“Oh~ I see.” A sly light flashed in Selim’s eyes. She decided to end this mental struggle in her own way.
“Miss Sophia is truly generous, willing to give me the lion’s share of your future reward.”
“You’re talking nonsense! When did I ever say that?” Sophia bristled instantly, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
Sophia couldn’t tolerate anyone reaching into her reward. What was hers was always hers—no one else could ever take it.
“Isn’t it so?” Selim turned to Bart, her tone lilting. “Mr. Bart, you gave us this money as compensation of your own free will, didn’t you?”
Bart nodded hurriedly. “Yes, yes. Thank you both so much for bringing me news of my wife. My rashness does deserve consequences—this money is sincerely offered from my heart.”
“Hear that?” Selim said to Sophia. “He voluntarily gave all the money as our reward.”
“But…” Sophia was caught in a dilemma. “Even if he’s willing to give all his money, according to the code, I can’t take all of it.”
“Otherwise, how would we Demon Hunters be any different from mercenaries who work only for money—or even bandits?”
“It seems you had a very good mentor. But…” Selim watched her get tangled up and smiled. “Doesn’t this mean you’ll always take only ten to twenty percent as payment?”
“It’s not a fixed amount, it’s ten to twenty percent of the total assets!” Sophia anxiously defended herself.
“Fine, fine, let’s say you’re right.” Selim shook the Money Pouch in her hand and said, “But the fact now is: I take eighty percent, you only take twenty, right?”
Sophia opened her mouth, but in the end, all she managed was a weak, “S…suit yourself. I don’t care anyway…”
Seeing her try so hard to pretend not to care, even though she clearly did, Selim’s lips curled in a victorious smile.
Very good, the fish has bitten the hook again.
(*￣︶￣)
“Really has nothing to do with you?” Selim lazily hugged the Money Pouch to her chest, her tone languid.
“Then what if… I now decide to only take twenty percent of Mr. Bart’s assets as payment?”
“Does that mean that, out of the reward you just took, eighty percent actually belongs to me?”
“So as long as I want, you have to hand over the money right now, isn’t that so?”
Selim was deliberately muddying the waters, blurring the line between the Demon Order payment and the compensation. If Sophia could stop to think, she’d see right through the flaw in Selim’s words.
But Sophia, already stuck in a loop, was too overwhelmed by anxiety. The moment she heard Selim trying to snatch her “legally” earned money, she panicked even more, unable to tell right from wrong.
Her eyes turned red at once. Like a mother beast protecting her cub, she whipped her coin-filled hand behind her back.
When it came to mischief, people have unlimited energy, and Selim hardly cared about this little bit of petty cash.
If she wished, she could just fetch a stack of gold coins from her item warehouse—the sheer number would scare the two people before her.
But if it was a matter of snatching food from Sophia’s mouth—even if she had to pay extra—she was more than willing.
Bullying Sophia a little, watching her panic, was just too much fun, wasn’t it?
“You, you, you…” Sophia stammered, at a complete loss for words.
Bart watched the two at odds, growing more anxious, but could only stare helplessly. He didn’t want any more surprises while searching for his wife.
“Please, ladies, don’t be like this. If it’s not enough, when I get back to the tribe…”
“Shh!” Selim gracefully pressed her slender finger to her lips, signaling him to be quiet.
“Now, do you see the problem with the Demon Hunter’s code?” She turned to Sophia, her gaze tinged with pity. “Its original intention may be good, but it makes our kind-hearted Miss Sophia suffer unnecessary losses. What a pity.”
“I… What can I do? I promised my teacher…” Sophia, full of unwillingness and grievance, stretched out her hand, trembling as she showed a few coins, extremely slowly and reluctantly offering them to Selim.
The coins were squeezed almost out of shape between her fingers.
“What if I told you…” Selim leaned forward, her voice oozing devilish temptation.
“I know a way for you to earn much more without breaking the code…”
“Would you like to hear it?”