Chapter 193: Cooperation Ends

“Good afternoon, Lady Emma.”

Half an hour later, Lu Wei pushed open the door to the Red Rose Inn, his tone relatively calm as he offered a greeting.

The inn’s front hall was mostly empty. Besides the woman sitting in an armchair sewing, there was only a black cat sleeping on the counter.

In the Octavia Kingdom, black cats are considered pets of the Dark Goddess, symbolizing “good luck” and “guardianship.”

From this perspective, the Hakimi before him was actually from an enemy faction.

After all, Bai Ya had once said that the Dark Goddess and the Moonlight Goddess were mortal enemies.

And the Moonlight Goddess was the Magic Goddess’s “Source God.”

Since Lu Wei had received the Magic Goddess’s [Divine Blessing], it was as if he had joined the Moonlight Goddess’s faction.

Therefore, he should rightfully go on the offensive and challenge this black cat to a duel to the death.

Lu Wei was confident he would be victorious.

“Good afternoon. Perfect timing. Come and help me try on this coat.”

Hearing his voice, Lady Emma looked up, smiling and waving him over.

“I’m sewing it for Warren. You’re about his height, so I want to see if it fits.”

“Winter is coming, so I plan to mail it to him early.”

Warren was Lady Emma’s son. Like many young men from small towns, he had left for Kalin Port after coming of age.

He was supposedly working at a brewery now.

‘Honestly,’ Lu Wei thought, ‘he’d be better off coming back to help run this inn.’

The Red Rose Inn wasn’t large, but it had a dozen or so rooms. Its weekly profits had to be at least four or five gold coins.

That was definitely more than what he was making in Kalin Port.

But there was nothing to be done. It seemed young people just liked living in big cities.

“Lady Emma, the papers all say it’s going to be another long summer. Winter is still far off.”

Lu Wei walked over and grumbled as he put on the coat, “You’d be fine sending this three months from now.”

“I know, but it’s been so long since Warren last sent me a letter.”

Lady Emma tugged at the hem of the coat. “If I mail him the coat, he’ll have to write back. Otherwise, I won’t let him hear the end of it.”

“Is that so? Didn’t he come back for the Festival of Revival?”

“No, he just sent a letter saying he was busy with work… How does the coat feel? Is it comfortable?”

“It’s very comfortable, but the sleeves seem a little short.”

“Alright, I’ll alter it some more. Thank you.”

After looking him over from the front, back, and sides, Lady Emma finally helped Lu Wei take off the coat and remembered to ask why he was here.

“Oh, right. Are you here to see Mirana?”

“Yes. Is she in?”

At the mention of Mirana, Lu Wei’s expression instantly darkened.

However, Lady Emma was still studying the coat’s sleeves and didn’t notice his strange reaction.

“She should be. She went out this morning but came back around noon and hasn’t left since.”

“Good. She’s still in the room at the end of the second-floor hallway, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Okay.”

Learning that Mirana was in the inn, Lu Wei didn’t say another word and stormed up to the second floor, vowing to settle the score with her.

Meanwhile, Lady Emma sat back down in her armchair and carefully began to undo the stitches on the coat’s cuffs, planning to lengthen them.

Her head was bowed, her movements meticulous. She would occasionally hold the fabric up to her eyes to check the measurements. Before each stitch, she would wrap the thread twice around the spool. When she encountered a thick seam, she would slowly push the needle through with a thimble. Finally, she even remembered to tuck the loose thread into the inner lining.

With such attention to detail, it was no wonder the clothes sewn by a mother could never be worn out.

…

…

“You…”

On the second floor of the inn, while Lady Emma was altering the sleeves, Lu Wei had already knocked on the door of the room at the end of the hall.

Seeing it was him, Mirana, who stood behind the door, looked surprised.

But she quickly composed herself and silently stepped aside to let him in.

Lu Wei strode into the room expressionlessly. He glanced around before his gaze finally landed on Mirana’s face.

“You should know why I’m here.”

“…I know.”

Mirana fell silent for a moment before saying softly, “I’m the one who put the Sleep Powder in your tea. I have nothing to say in my defense.”

“…”

‘?’

‘Well, I’ll be damned. So this is your attitude?’

‘So brazen about it?’

He frowned. Although Lu Wei no longer considered Mirana a companion, he still felt a surge of anger.

“That’s between you and Furen. It has nothing to do with me.”

He scoffed, in no mood for pleasantries, and questioned her directly, “I just came to ask you, did you come to my house the night before last and leave five gold coins?”

“Yes, I did.”

Mirana nodded. “It’s for the pair of giant’s eyeballs, as we agreed.”

“Then I don’t get it. If you’d already decided to betray me, why put on a show and pay me back?”

Lu Wei eyed her scornfully. “And if you’re going to put on a show, at least see it through. Didn’t taking that bag of ears make the whole charade pointless?”

“A show? What show?”

Mirana looked completely baffled. She didn’t understand what “show” he was talking about, nor did she grasp the meaning of his two questions.

Judging by her expression, she seemed genuinely innocent.

This made Lu Wei start to wonder if he had “wrongly accused” Mirana.

‘Did she not steal it?’

“You didn’t take that bag of goblin and kobold ears?”

Hesitating for a moment, Lu Wei frowned, deciding to confirm it one more time.

Of course, even if Mirana wasn’t the one who stole it, she was still a “traitor” and remained unforgivable.

But it would mean the thief was someone else.

It could have been Anna or Zovir!

If that were the case, he would have to investigate immediately and find the thief in his own house.

‘A traitor in our midst is far more terrifying than an ordinary thief.’

As this thought crossed his mind, Lu Wei couldn’t help but feel a little worried.

But to his surprise, in the next second, Mirana nodded with a hint of confusion.

“I took them.”

“…”

‘Damn it! Then what was that act just now?!’

“Fine, fine. At least you’re owning up to it. In that case, I won’t waste any more words.”

“I don’t care how much money you got for those ears. I calculated they were worth about 4 gold coins in bounty.”

“Give me the money now, and I’ll leave without another word.”

“If you don’t, then I’ll have to take it myself.”

“I’ll give you five seconds. Either fork over the money, or I’ll knock you out and take it myself. Choose.”

Lu Wei stared at Mirana coldly, his tone frigid as he delivered the ultimatum without any hesitation.

He wasn’t bluffing.

If she remained stubborn, he would absolutely make a move.

A five-fold Force Field could basically offset Mirana’s advantage in Power. With the added agility from [Long Stride] and his [Light-guided Arrow], he was certain he wouldn’t lose.

More importantly, Mirana’s [Judge’s Sword] was currently on the table behind him.

‘An armed man against an unarmed woman. The advantage is all mine.’

His left hand rested on the hilt of his sword. Lu Wei was poised to strike, ready to activate his [Force Field] at any moment.

At this point, Mirana finally seemed to understand the situation.

‘Did he lose it?’

‘No, that can’t be. When I ran into Bai Ya last night, she mentioned she had already taken them to the Adventurer Association and exchanged them for the bounty.’

‘So, Bai Ya just didn’t tell Lu Wei about it?’

“I…”

Mirana opened her mouth, just about to explain.

But she was cut off by Lu Wei’s icy countdown.

“Five!”

“Wait—”

“Four!”

“I didn’t—”

“Three!”

“…”

Seemingly unwilling to hear any of Mirana’s “excuses,” Lu Wei gave her no chance to speak.

Of course, if she had really insisted on explaining, she could have.

If it had been Bai Ya, at least, she would have definitely shouted it out by now, ending this bizarre misunderstanding.

But Mirana was not Bai Ya. So after being repeatedly interrupted, she simply closed her mouth with a helpless sigh.

Then she lowered her head, untied her coin pouch, counted out 4 gold coins, and silently handed them to Lu Wei without a word.

“Hmph. It would have been easier if you’d just done this from the start.”

Lu Wei took the gold coins, snorted coldly, and then pushed the door open and left without looking back.

“We’re even now. Our partnership is officially over.”

“I sincerely hope that Kairos’s leg recovers one day.”

“But when it does, you won’t need to fulfill that promise.”