After the bandit incident, the caravan’s journey proceeded surprisingly smoothly.

  In just three days, they reached their destination—Duper, the capital of Count Leicester’s territory.

  At the city gate checkpoint,

  Chandel and the other merchant leaders took the initiative to approach the guards, reporting their defeat of the bandit gang.

  “What? You’re saying you wiped out a bandit gang and captured many prisoners?! ”

  “That’s right, Sir Knight. Look—those in the back of the caravan are the captives.”

  The guard followed Chandel’s pointing finger and saw several people locked in makeshift prison carts, their hands and feet bound with ropes.

  “Very well. Wait here! Don’t enter the city yet—I’ll notify my superior immediately!”

  With that, the guard hurried off to deliver the message, while the remaining guards stayed to watch the gate.

  Many guards looked at Chandel and the others with envy. One of them said: “You’re really lucky! Defeating such a bandit gang will earn you a huge reward!”

  “Oh, it’s nothing~! We almost lost everything on this trip. As for the reward, we’ll be grateful if it just covers our losses!”

  Though Chandel pretended to complain, the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth couldn’t be hidden.

  “That’s right! Breaking even is enough!”“We barely made any profit this time......”

  The other merchant leaders echoed his fake grievances.

  The guards rolled their eyes silently, cursing the shrewd merchants for being too stingy to even share a drink.

  After all, eliminating a bandit gang in the empire was extremely profitable.

  First, there was a large reward for defeating the gang as a whole. Then, an additional bounty per bandit—with a higher payout for live captives.

  Captured bandits were usually reduced to slavery and sent to the most dangerous places for hard labor, creating secondary value. That’s why Chandel and the others had gone to the trouble of bringing the captives all the way to Duper.

  Additionally, if any of the bandits had active bounties on their heads, the rewards would go to the caravan.

  All in all, it would be an astonishing sum.

  Before long, several officials arrived at the gate with dozens of guards.

  They carefully verified the bandit gang’s identity, confirming they were the same group that had been active in the region.

  They then counted the number of bandits.

  With the official verification complete,

  the merchants would need to confirm any individual bounties themselves later to claim the rewards.

  The handover was quick.

  The guards took over the prison carts, though they had to wait for the authorities to send beasts of burden—since the caravan’s Shield-Horned Beasts belonged to the merchants.

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  After receiving the official stamped documents and verifying their contents, Chandel happily gathered everyone.

  “Everyone, on behalf of all the merchant groups, I want to sincerely thank you for your help on this trip. Please don’t leave the city in a hurry after entering. Once we collect the bandit reward, we’ll distribute it according to your contributions!”

  Those who had participated in the bandit battle broke into satisfied smiles.

  After giving everyone the address of their residence, Chandel and the others drove their carts into the city. The caravan’s passengers and adventurers scattered their separate ways.

  “Alec! We’re going to make a killing this time—let’s drink tonight!”

  “Sure thing!”

  After laughing and responding to the invitation from another adventurer team, Alec found Hulim.

  “Hulim, this is what I promised you. Count it.”

  Alec handed her the guard fee he had just collected from Chandel.

  Hulim weighed the money pouch, then looked up at him.

  “Mr. Alec, if you give me all your money, are you planning to let someone else treat you to drinks tonight?”

  “Pahaha~!”“Haha~!”

  Hulim’s words made the other members of Hunting Fangs burst out laughing.

  Anjie slapped Alec’s shoulder heartily.

  “Alec, if you beg me, I might treat you to a drink~!”

  York chimed in:

  “Yes, that’s right. If you sincerely ask me, I can lend you money—interest-free.”

  “You, you guys......”

  Alec’s face turned red. He wanted to punch his teasing teammates on the spot,

  but held back in the end.

  With a twitching smile, he said to Hulim:

  “Hulim, I’m not the kind of adventurer who spends all his money before taking a mission. Don’t worry about me. Believe it or not, I have quite a bit of savings—”

  “Pahahaha...... He said he has quite a bit of savings~! Hahaha......”

  Hulim: “......”

  “......An—jie—”

  “Ah, sorry sorry~! I just thought of something funny and couldn’t help it~! Hehe~!”

  Alec: “......”

  “......Cough! Hulim, don’t listen to her nonsense. As an adult, it would be embarrassing if I had to worry a kid like you!”

  “Hm......”

  Hulim thought for a moment, then nodded.

  “Alright, Mr. Alec.”

  Seeing Hulim put away the money pouch, Alec smiled.

  But soon, his expression turned serious.

  “Hulim, I remember you’re on your way to Manacos Magic Academy, right?”

  “That’s correct.”

  Hulim replied.

  “Make way, make way—!”

  The guards escorting the bandits passed by, and Hulim and the others quickly stepped aside.

  Alec continued:

  “Manacos Magic Academy is in the royal capital, which means you still have more than half the journey ahead. But our mission ends here...... We can’t accompany you any further.”

  “You must be careful on your own.”

  Hulim held up her wand.

  “Don’t worry, Mr. Alec. I’ll be fine.”

  Hearing this, Alec couldn’t help but smile.

  “I almost forgot—you’re much stronger than you look. If you really run into trouble, I’m sure the other side will be the one suffering?”

  “In that case, we can leave with peace of mind......”

  “Hulim, see you someday~!”“......Goodbye.”

  Behind Alec, the members of Hunting Fangs waved their goodbyes.

  “See you in the future, Hulim!”

  Alec said the same.

  “See you, everyone.”

  Hulim waved back.

  Alec smiled faintly, then turned to chase after his teammates who had already left.

  “Wait for me!”

  “......York, were you serious about lending me money?”

  “Huh? Well...... it depends on your attitude.”

  “Really! Then I beg you!”

  “Wait, Alec—why not beg me? I promised to treat you to drinks!”

  “......”“What’s that look for? Don’t you believe me?! Wait, get back here and explain......”

  Hunting Fangs’ figures faded into the distance. Hulim looked away.

  “Next, I need to find an inn. I remember Alec said the area with the most inns is......”

  “Is it that way?”

  After confirming the direction, Hulim took steps and merged into the bustling crowd flowing through the city.

  ......

  Ps：This is today’s last chapter! Starting tomorrow, I’ll begin building up some backstock—updates might not be as frequent as before, since I’m starting a new job on Monday. First off, I need to take care of my livelihood. Thanks for your understanding!