Chapter 45 - 43: Harvest and Distribution

Chapter 45: Chapter 43: Harvest and Distribution

"Leader, what are you thinking about?"

By his side, Bai Ya’s faint voice interrupted Lu Wei’s train of thought.

"Nothing," Lu Wei muttered casually.

"Oh, well, do you want to rest for a bit..."

From behind him, Bai Ya’s voice grew even fainter, almost like the buzzing of a mosquito.

’Hm?’

’Aren’t I resting right now?’

Lu Wei glanced back, confused, and then froze.

Bai Ya was kneeling on the ground, her body leaning forward slightly as she gazed at him, her face bright red.

’Wait, what are you blushing for?’

"What’s wrong with you?"

Seeing her acting so strangely, Lu Wei asked blankly, "Do you have a fever?"

"Ah, no, no..."

Bai Ya quickly lowered her head, shyly patting her thighs.

"Y-you can lie down, it’s more comfortable this way..."

"..."

’Holy shit???’

Lu Wei’s eyes widened slightly. He was a little dumbfounded.

’What does this mean? So suddenly?’

’This must be the legendary "lap pillow," right?’

’But isn’t the real problem that you’re supposed to lift up your skirt?’

’You don’t seem very sincere.’

’Oh well, I’ll let it slide this time.’

"Ahem, alright then."

Unsure if Bai Ya had a crush on him or just wanted him to be more comfortable, Lu Wei operated on the principle that only an idiot passes up a freebie. He prepared to lie back.

But the next second, just as he began to lean back, Bai Ya suddenly put a hand out to stop his back.

’???’

’What’s this supposed to mean???’

"S-Sister Mirana is here..."

Bai Ya’s warm breath was shaky, and she sounded extremely flustered.

Luckily, Lu Wei was far more thick-skinned than her. He calmly sat up straight and looked over at Mirana, who was now approaching them.

"What is it?"

"Can I have a word with you?"

Mirana glanced at the beet-red Bai Ya, then her gaze moved back to him. "I’m not interrupting anything, am I?"

"Honestly, you kind of are."

Lu Wei shot her a glance. "But it’s fine, just say what you need to say."

"Okay... First, I want to express my gratitude. You saved all of us."

Mirana had a serious expression. "If it weren’t for you, I’m afraid my companions and I would have had a hard time escaping."

"No need to thank me, we were just helping each other out."

Lu Wei waved his hand and said casually, "Without you guys, we wouldn’t have survived either."

"Since everyone’s goal was to survive, and we all fought with everything we had, then there’s nothing more to say. We don’t owe each other anything."

"Mm... In that case, can we be considered friends now?"

Mirana suddenly asked a very strange question.

’Friends?’

’Logically, I suppose we are.’

’But why do I get the feeling you’re up to no good?’

"Uh..."

Lu Wei looked at her with a strange expression, and only after a good while did he reluctantly nod.

"I guess so."

"Then, since we’re friends, can I..."

A hint of delight flashed in Mirana’s eyes as she was about to say something.

But just then, Furen’s excited shout suddenly rang out from the woods.

"Come quick! We found a money pouch!!"

...

...

For both new and veteran Adventurers, goblins and Kobolds are everyone’s "favorite" monsters.

Even some high-level adventuring parties will go out of their way to clear out a nest if they happen upon one while on a job.

Besides being relatively easy to deal with, the main reason is that both of these demi-human Species have a peculiar habit—

collecting coins and jewelry.

This is especially true for goblins. Their intelligence is so low that their only reason for attacking humans is to steal their money.

Unlike Kobolds, who might also be motivated by a desire for weapons or by hatred.

In short, if you encounter a horde of goblins and Kobolds, besides the usual loot, you can often scrounge up some coins.

And it was the same this time. On a slightly larger Kobold in the woods, Furen found a bulging money pouch.

"Two Gold Coins, twenty-seven Silver Coins, a Gray Gemstone, and a Golden Pocket Watch!"

Furen’s face was filled with joy as he emptied the pouch onto the ground.

Over the past few years, he’d spent a fortune becoming an Adventurer, buying Equipment and even hiring "tutors."

Now that it was finally paying off, he couldn’t help but be thrilled.

The others were just as excited.

"The standing bounty for a Kobold is 15 Copper Coins, so sixteen of them comes to 2 silver and 40 copper."

"Among the seized Equipment are two Short Swords, one Longsword, and a few Daggers. Although they’re all tattered and a salvager might not take them, even selling them to a blacksmith would probably fetch two or three Silver Coins."

"Add in these 2 gold and 27 silver, plus this Gold-Plated Pocket Watch that’s worth a Gold Coin, and our total haul is already over six Gold Coins."

"Not to mention this Gray Gemstone..."

[Low Level Spell Amplification Gemstone]

[Species: Gemstone/Inlay]

[Level: High Level (Fragment)]

[Value: 2 gold 7 silver]

[Introduction: A fragment of a Low Level Spell Amplification Gemstone. While it still possesses a weak Spell Amplification ability, it can no longer be inlaid in a standard-issue Magic Staff.]

[Note: Perhaps you can use it to craft a "Child’s Staff" for your son to use for practice.]

’As expected of high-class Mage Equipment!’

’It’s Low Level, and just a fragment, but it’s still worth almost 3 Gold Coins!’

’I can’t even imagine how expensive a complete, large gemstone for a Magic Staff would be!’

"This gemstone..."

Fiddling with the Gray Gemstone, Lu Wei feigned confusion and turned to Mirana. "Do you know what this is?"

"I’m not sure."

She shook her head, and her answer made his heart leap with joy.

But his joy lasted less than a second before the Dwarf next to them announced smugly:

"Hmph hmph, this is a Spell Amplification Gemstone. Although it’s a fragment, it’s worth at least two Gold Coins!"

"..."

’Dammit! Of course *you* had to know!’

Cursing inwardly, Lu Wei saw that someone in the know was present, so he could only resentfully put the gemstone back on the ground.

"Alright, we’ll deal with this after we get back to town and sell it... As for the rest, it’s worth about 6 Gold Coins. My math is right, isn’t it?"

"Mm, about right." The Dwarf nodded.

"Good. Then let’s talk about how to split it."

Lu Wei looked around and said calmly, "I’m the one who killed the Kobold with the money pouch. Therefore, the Gold Coins, Silver Coins, gemstone, and pocket watch inside should all belong to me. Everyone agrees, right?"

"...Huh??"

The moment he finished speaking, everyone’s eyes went wide, including Furen and Bai Ya’s. They couldn’t believe he would suggest such a shameless way to split the loot.

After all, across the entire continent, not even the most selfish bandits and pirates divided their spoils like this.

If it was "killer takes all," who would do the dirty work? The moment a fight broke out, everyone would just rush the "fattest-looking" monster!

A party wouldn’t need support Professions like a Doctor or a Reconnaissance specialist. In fact, why even form a party at all!

Since in the end, the vast majority of the loot would go to just one person!

Staring dumbfounded at Lu Wei, the group fell into a collective silence.

Seeing their reactions, Lu Wei could only sigh to himself. He silently gave up on the idea of taking everything and switched to Plan B.

"Ahem, just kidding. Don’t be so serious."

"Now for real, there were sixteen Kobolds in total. I killed six, and my teammates killed three, for a total of nine."

"You guys killed seven."

"So let’s split it according to a 9-to-7 ratio. No problem with that, right?"

Spreading his hands, Lu Wei wore a magnanimous expression, as if to say, ’No one is more fair and just than I am.’

But the Dwarf wasn’t buying it and immediately poked a hole in his scheme.

"No way! We have four people! And you only have three!"

"And she didn’t even participate in the fight just now!"

Pointing at Bai Ya’s knees, the big-bearded Dwarf said angrily, "So it should be split by a 2-to-1 ratio! We get two parts, you get one!"

"Impossible!"

Faced with such an unequal proposal, Lu Wei didn’t even hesitate before sneering, "If it weren’t for me, you’d all be dead by now! So by all rights, we should get the lion’s share!"

"Bullshit! Without us, you wouldn’t have survived either!"

The Dwarf jumped up and cursed, "It should be split based on the number of people who fought!"

Furen immediately jumped into the fray. "Who are you calling a bullshitter, you gnome!"

"Y-y-you dare insult me by calling me a gnome!"

"That’s right, I’m talking to you!"

"..."

Suddenly, the relatively harmonious atmosphere shattered, leaving Bai Ya stunned.

She wanted to back up Lu Wei and Furen, but she couldn’t think of any cutting insults, so all she could do was fret.

Mirana, on the other hand, silently looked back at the middle-aged man still lying on the ground being fed water by the boy, a flash of urgency and worry in her eyes.

A moment later, she suddenly stopped the Dwarf, who was about to leap up and fight Furen. She turned to Lu Wei.

"You’re right. We’ll split it your way."