Chapter 38: Time to Wake Up and Make Money! (Part 2)

The other person who got beaten up by Samimi at the baron promotion banquet—none other than the Pure White Knight, Fabiana—was wandering around the royal capital at the crack of dawn, lugging a chest full of gold coins.

Her grandfather, the Knight King Shaya, and the Giant Whale Knight Order had already left the capital the night before.

Now that he’d become a baron, Knight King Shaya had a mountain of responsibilities to deal with.

He needed to rush back to his family territory and the knight academy, handle various matters, and go drinking with old friends to celebrate.

Honestly, being too well-known isn’t always a good thing. He couldn’t afford to skip out on meeting even one old buddy—otherwise, he’d be seen as disrespectful.

But Knight King Shaya hadn’t forgotten about his newly sworn little friend, Samimi. This chest of gold coins had been entrusted to Fabiana as payment for Samimi’s services.

It was certainly a generous reward—one that wouldn’t disappoint Samimi. Unfortunately, Fabiana had… confiscated it.

Well, you could say Samimi tripped over her own rules this time. She told Fabiana to stay out of her business, and now that Fabiana held her payment, she felt too awkward to deliver it. So, the money wouldn’t be getting to Samimi anytime soon.

“Haha! You didn’t see this coming, did you, lazybones? Your money’s gone!”

She said it with mock arrogance, but her face showed only sorrow, tears long dried.

Before anyone was awake, Fabiana made her way to a private villa in the central district of the capital.

Knock knock knock! BAM BAM BAM!

Her face was swollen from the beating, so much so that she couldn’t even wear her helmet. She looked miserable as she knocked on the door with her elbow—venting frustration while knocking.

“Who is it? Oh, it’s you! You’ve finally decided to show your face? Where were you yesterday? I looked everywhere for you at the banquet!”

The one who answered the door was the Hero, Laigaiyas, wearing casual clothes and her gray-and-white tousled hair tied back.

“Move. Outta the way.”

Fabiana pushed inside first, dragging the chest of gold with her.

This villa was the secret base of their Hero Party: a first-floor hall, a second-floor lounge, kitchen, bathroom, five bedrooms.

But none for Samimi. The extra room was just storage.

The house had been quietly purchased by the other four members—it was “secret” because it was kept secret from Samimi.

The Hero, the Witch, and the Elf all lived here long-term.

Fabiana had her own residence elsewhere in the capital and only came to the villa for private team meetings.

“Anna, I didn’t get the chance to congratulate you yesterday—you’re a baron now,” Laigaiyas said with a light smile.

“Hero, don’t mock me right now.” Fabiana wasn’t in the mood for jokes.

“Right, how did that task I gave you go? And what happened to your face? Someone in the capital dared to hit you?” Laigaiyas asked.

“She did. The persuasion failed. I couldn’t convince her to come back—and then she beat me up.” Fabiana said bluntly.

“She what?” Laigaiya’s head spun. “You’re kidding, right? Samimi’s a cleric. How could she beat you?”

“I’m serious,” Fabiana replied, seated on the couch, face earnest—though her swollen cheek made it hard to take her seriously.

“What the hell happened?” Laigaiyas was bewildered.

Fabiana gave a quick rundown of recent events, conveniently glossing over the more embarrassing parts—claiming she had “held back.”

She also kept her complicated feelings of jealousy, resentment, and admiration hidden, trying to maintain a cool and aloof image.

“Well, thanks for the effort. We don’t have any urgent tasks right now anyway, so let’s put the idea of bringing Samimi back on hold. It was our mistake for misjudging her,” Laigaiyas said with a sigh.

“I’m feeling fired up now. Hey, Hero, are you free? Let’s spar. I’m not satisfied. Next time I see Samimi, I will beat her.” Fabiana said, voice low and determined.

“Whoa, what’s with you? I haven’t even had my morning nap yet—spar later.” Laigaiyas yawned.

But inwardly, Laigaiyas was surprised. This wasn’t the Fabiana she knew—she seemed like a different person.

She’d expected Fabiana to slack off and enjoy her new noble status for a while. Instead, her first move back was to challenge her to a duel?

The old Fabiana would’ve never done this—she was too prideful. She’d never voluntarily spar with the Hero, knowing she couldn’t win.

“Fine, let’s spar later. Where are the others?” Fabiana asked.

“Cross is still asleep. Bēmó’ěr went back to the [Continental Magic Academy] for some kind of assessment. So no magic support for now.”

“I’ll move in and stay with you guys. Hero, go pick up some easy hunting quests from the Adventurer’s Guild. I need to get my body moving again.”

With that, Fabiana picked up the gold chest and walked to her room.

“Got it…” Laigaiyas watched her leave, her figure filled with grim determination. Her back seemed unfamiliar now.

To be blunt, in the old party, Samimi was Crybaby No. 1 and Fabiana was Crybaby No. 2. Both were spoiled noble brats with fiery tempers.

Fabiana used to scoff at basic quests. If a mission didn’t offer fame, forget about convincing her to go.

But now she wanted to take minor jobs?

What on earth had changed the Pure White Knight so drastically?

“A cleric beating up a knight… am I still dreaming?”

Laigaiyas scratched her head, lost in thought, then decided to crawl back into bed.

Sunny skies over Melon Town.

If she didn’t have work, Samimi would sleep until noon every day.

Niubao was up before dawn, sweeping the courtyard leaves with a broom, jogging a few laps around the low wall to warm up, then practicing sword techniques in the backyard—diligent and disciplined.

After sword training, it was about time for the Sister to wake up.

Niubao fetched a bucket of water from the well, washed up, wiped off her sweat, and headed to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

“So poor! No money!”

The moment she stepped out, she heard Samimi wailing, but she didn’t even flinch—totally used to it.

This was Samimi’s signature wake-up line. She shouted it nearly every morning.

Though truth be told, Samimi had already figured out a way to earn money—brewing healing potions, a hugely profitable business.

“Stupid old man! Damn Anna! Where’s my reward money? Where is everyone?!”

But having a way to make money and actually receiving the money were two different things—grumbling was still necessary.

Of course, she had just beaten up the Pure White Knight and even snatched her golden sword. Kind of hard to go ask for money now…

Wait, no! She won that sword fair and square in a bet!

“I, the one and only Samimi, never steal from anyone!”