Chapter 83: Chapter 83

Sokram gathered the team, and together they began to examine the contents of the spatial rings.

He examined the ring in his hands, expression unreadable.

“Heh, these thieves have been busy,” Sokram mused, his voice a little above a whisper. “Probably heading back to their den before stumbling on us.”

He let the words hang, carefully chosen to gauge Kazzah and Timothy’s reactions, as he kept a subtle watch on their next moves.

Kan's ears perked, and his brows arched with the realization, “So they were truly following us, hm?”

Sokram nodded, then looked at Kiana with a warm smile. “Nice nose, Kiana.”

Kiana blushed slightly at his praise, her tail giving a shy, almost imperceptible wag. “It was luck, just a whiff on the wind.”

“You said they were coming from the east, so they must be returning from either Frozen River or Icewall City. Either way, finders-keepers is the law of the wild,” Sokram stated nonchalantly as he inspected ring after ring.

“Are we going to split it evenly?” Nora asked, but realizing how the question might sound, she quickly clarified, “I mean, since you, Lucy, and Amber contributed the most, you should get a bigger cut.”

“There’s no such thing. We’re a team. It was teamwork; some defended the cattle while others hunted the thieves. So, yes, we’ll split evenly, and I don’t want any complaints about it, got it?” Sokram’s voice carried a firm authority.

“Yes, boss,” Savannah replied with a mocking tone, flashing her captain’s armband playfully.

“Haha, I mean, if our beautiful team captain agrees, of course,” Sokram quickly backtracked, a charming grin spreading over his lips.

The sudden flattery made Savannah blush slightly, but even if he hadn’t backtracked, they all knew no one would dare contest his decision.

Out of the twenty-one thieves, excluding the porter and the team leader, Sokram's thorough search of each body revealed only a single ring on five of the thieves.

The leader yielded four rings, but the real jackpot lay with the porter; he carried only an ordinary leather pouch, but inside it, Sokram found an astonishing twenty-seven spatial rings.

“Well, there’s a total of fifty crowns, 260 gold coins, and 590 silver coins,” Sokram explained, his team’s eyes widening in stunned silence.

He continued, “There’s also jewelry, elegant female clothes, books, and some other miscellaneous items, including some luxury furniture. They were really aiming for merchants, hm?”

“Any food?” Timothy asked shyly, his stomach rumbling faintly.

“Yes, there is a lot of fruit, meat, and ingredients for cooking, enough to fill ten stalls in the market streets.”

Sokram explained honestly, tossing one of the rings to Timothy for him to inspect. “Take something if you’re hungry.”

This unexpected action surprised Timothy and Kazzah.

As far as they could tell, Sokram wasn’t suspecting them or holding a grudge; aside from delegating their roles during the hunt and outlining the ambush plan, he had barely acknowledged their presence.

However, Sokram had kept them under his watchful radar the entire time.

The most basic rule of hunting, after all, is to never be seen by the prey until the right time.

After agreeing on a division of the spoils, Sokram proposed giving each teammate three rings.

Out of the thirty-six rings gained, twenty boasted enormous subspaces, large enough to house his entire estate twice over, and how they were ornamented with encrusted gems clearly indicated they had belonged to merchants or even nobles.

The remaining rings varied in size from medium to small.

Sokram decided that the larger rings, once emptied, would be given to his teammates, while he would keep the smaller ones for himself, as he didn’t truly need more rings thanks to his Void Glove. Thɪs chapter is updated by NoveI-Fire.ɴet

When it came to the physical spoils, Timothy, Kan, and Lara received the majority of the food, dividing it equally among themselves, save for a few specific spices that Sokram requested.

The clothes were divided equally among the girls, and the furniture, except for a few pieces they selected for themselves, they decided to sell and split the resulting money.

But then came the books.

Sokram wanted all of them and offered to forfeit his share of everything else, including the gold, to acquire them.

To his surprise, everyone looked at him as if he were mad.

While they understood the importance of knowledge, none of them desired those books, so they readily let him have them; not even Kazzah attempted to get in his way.

This left Sokram conflicted: he was happy because there were enough books to fill two of the academy’s libraries.

Yet, he felt a pang of sadness and disappointment to see how much disregard his teammates, besides Amber, Lucy, and Savannah, showed for knowledge.

Nonetheless, he was content with his spoils, hopeful he could find some knowledge that would justify improving his techniques, spells, and alchemy.

After that, they resumed their ride back home, making only small, necessary stops for their mounts and the cattle to rest.

Still, they only arrived in Eversnow by sunrise the next day.

The only notable event from that journey was circling the city's exterior to reach the south gates, which felt less like a travel inconvenience and more like a triumphant parade.

Hooves clattered against earthly road, echoing far across the farmhouses, while the low bellow of the Taurinos mixed with curious murmurs from the farmers as they paused their work in the fields.

Watching Sokram’s team herd the cattle around the city’s massive walls, their faces alight with curiosity.

Some farm owners even inquired which stable the Taurinos would be going to.

And Sokram always replied with his practiced businessman’s smile, a glint of shrewdness in his eyes, “The Southern Gates Stable, talk with Mr. Oliver. I’m sure he will offer you a good deal!”

After half an hour or so, they finally met Oliver to leave the tamed Taurino bulls and cows with him.

While his team guided the cattle into the South stables, Sokram, accompanied by Savannah, went to deliver the surviving thief they’d captured to the guards.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Savannah received a token to exchange for his bounty, which the guard explained would grant them a significant profit since porters usually knew most hideouts from their bandit groups.

After that, they returned to meet the team back in the stables, and the first thing Oliver exclaimed upon seeing Sokram was, “Whoa, boy! I know I said at least twenty, but, damn…”

Oliver gazed at the cattle, now safely housed in his stables, a toothy grin spreading across his face as he tapped Sokram’s shoulder, praising him, “Talk about being an overachiever, hehe.”

“Well, your profit is my profit, so doing this much is a must,” Sokram responded, a hint of his greedy smile playing on his lips as he looked at the old man.

“But I’ve got to ask you, how much would you normally pay for each captured cow? I’m asking because I have to pay them.” Sokram gestured toward his team.

Oliver glanced at the group by the stable entrance, mentally calculating...

“Well… Usually, captured monsters come badly hurt, and some even come with missing limbs. It’s rare to have such clean work done, so I usually pay five to ten silver per beast, but since it’s your team and the Taurinos came so clean and healthy, fifty silvers each would be fair.”

“So, forty gold, hm?” Sokram scratched his chin, a thoughtful expression creasing his brow.

“Alright, thanks, old man. If you need anything else, contact me; the blank contracts are in the ring.”

“Hey, shouldn’t I at least pay for half the commission?” Oliver asked, a slight frown of genuine concern on his face.

But Sokram shook his head as he walked away, a confident stride carrying him. “No need. You can pay me back with the profits. See you soon.”

A few minutes later, Sokram and his team were entering the Hunter's Hall to deliver the commission.

There was a long line, but a certain private, clearly wanting to curry favor, allowed Sokram to skip the line.

Sokram grinned at the private, reading his intentions clearly. “Aren’t you going to get into trouble for showing favoritism, Private Damis?”

“Nope. Especially if I say…” Damis’ voice carried across the hall, oily with false cheer. “…It’s for Lieutenant Karini’s favorite hunter!”

The nearby complaining grumbles died down, hearing Karini's name.

Sokram’s grin sharpened, ‘playing politics already, hm?’

Damis winked at him, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Sokram nodded, accepting the soldier’s goodwill, and quickly explained the situation.

After hearing everything in detail, Damis, while placing the head of the bandit leader in a sack, began explaining, “The full payment for the commission is two gold coins. For the bandit leader, we will need to check if he matches any bounties with the Extermination Hall. For the porter, the compensation will depend on what information we manage to extract from him, but that whole process would take at least a few days. However, you or your team captain should be contacted via courier.”

“Alright, thanks for the help, Damis. I’ll be sure to sing your praises to Aunt Karini.” Sokram waved him goodbye and joined his team.

Despite being somewhat let down that the reward for the bandit leader would take a while, Sokram wasn’t worried.

This was mainly because, after selling the meat, with Figos now having five shops in the city, they would make at least thirty gold coins of profit per Taurino.

He instructed his team to wait for him in their meeting room, as he would return with their payment shortly.

Sokram went straight to Figos’s new house.

The scent of seared meat and woodsmoke clung to Figos’ doorstep.

The Feline-kin woman who answered yawned, her tail flicking irritably as sunlight stabbed her slit-pupiled eyes.

Her light brown skin contrasted with yellowish feline eyes, and messy, green wavy hair framed a face with beautiful features, complemented by a pair of cat-like black-furred ears and a curvaceous body that was hard not to stare at, all finished with a sleek black tail.

Dressed in a light, comfortable-looking dress that seemed too 'light' for the streets, she clearly appeared to have just woken up, despite the sun being already high in the sky.

She looked at Sokram lazily, then her eyes squinted, a hint of recognition dawning. “A dragon…” Her eyes then widened. “Oh, Sokram, right?”

“Yes, you must be Mrs. Figos, right?” Sokram smiled politely.

“Haha, you know that’s not his surname, right? We are… were too poor for that. Anyway, call me Shana. Come on in, Figos is training some new butchers.” Shana said with a polite smile, gesturing for Sokram to come inside.

She led Sokram to the slaughterhouse and quickly bid her farewells, rushing back upstairs.

Sokram approached Figos, quietly observing the old Werecat teaching the new butchers the same lessons he had learned in his previous timeline.

When the Figos saw Sokram, he perked up, a broad smile spreading across his face. “Oh! There you are! How was the hunt?”

Sokram didn’t answer verbally; he merely passed the spatial ring to the old cat.

After inspecting the ring, Figos looked at Sokram wide-eyed in astonishment. But he quickly recomposed himself and asked, “Are you sure you can cover the cost with your team? Shouldn’t I pitch in too? Also, do you want some of this meat?”

“Only ten kilos of rump steak; the rest is for the shops. And don’t worry, I have their payment in hand,” Sokram assured him.

He smiled, seeing Figos finally free of worries about money, a complete contrast from his previous timeline, where the old cat barely scraped by.

"Alright, I’ll have the meat ready by tomorrow,” Mr. Figos answered with a contented smile.

After exchanging a few more words and Figos introducing him to the new hires as one of the bosses, Sokram went to meet his team.

Sokram stepped into the meeting room, seeing that everyone was already there waiting.

He took out a few spatial rings and began, “Alright, guys, here it is: for the cows we captured, the team gained forty gold coins.”

A loud gasp escaped from the girls while Timothy’s eyes went wide in shock.

But Sokram continued, “For the commission to the hall, we only gained two gold coins, but the butcher I have a deal with bought everything for sixty gold coins.”

Lucy, Amber, and Savannah exchanged a knowing glance, as they knew Sokram was paying for the meat that went to the butchery out of his own pocket.

Everyone else, including Kazzah and Timothy, froze for a few seconds, which was enough for Sokram to finish his calculations aloud.

“So, 100 gold coins divided by nine, plus 200 silver from the Hunters Hall's commission, that’s 11 gold and 311 silver from the hunt for each of you. Plus five gold crowns, twenty-six gold coins, and fifty-nine silver coins from the bandits. So, each of you made five gold crowns, thirty-five gold coins, and fifty-nine silver coins, alright?”

Sokram’s smile froze as he looked at his team.

He quickly recalculated everything in his mind again and was sure he hadn’t made any mistake.

“Why are you guys looking at me like that?”

Kan was the first to snap out of his stupor. “Damn, little bro. If every hunt with you turns out this profitable, I’ll retire by the time I finish this mandatory service.”

Kiana, not hiding her excitement, her tail wagging wildly, added, “We just made in one hunt what most top guild members don’t even make in a whole month of hard work.”

But Sokram, wanting them to be prepared for possible occasional failures, said firmly, “Guys, don’t expect it to always be . Of course, we will always aim to profit the most, and even if we end up facing thief groups again, it’s not guaranteed they will be so loaded next time. Or that they will be so weak.”

But Savannah corrected him gently, “No, Sokram, we are not counting the bandits’ money; that was luck, sure. But making over eleven gold in a single hunt is a lot.”

“Oh,” Sokram scratched the back of his head, a sheepish grin spreading across his face, as he almost forgot that most hunters didn’t know how easy it was to make money, which in his first timeline, he hadn’t known either.

“Well, then if it’s that, then yep, we’ll be rich, haha.”

"RICH!” Lara’s shout brought her sister and Kiana to their feet. Kiana howled like a wolf in triumph, while Nora spun in a dizzy circle, their loose hair fluttering in the air.

Even Kazzah’s stern facade cracked, a flicker of greed lighting his eyes.

Lara, Kiana, and Nora linked arms, their voices rising in unison as they began to sing a famous bard song from the Red Moon tavern, their joy uncontainable: “Rich like a dragon or a mining dwarf! Rich like a king or a whore in the court! Lala-Lala!”

“Alright, alright! You fools, go rest, and drink, but don’t waste all your money on booze!” Sokram joked, paying them one by one as they flashed the most satisfied smiles he had seen in a while.

Sokram dismissed the rest of the team; only Amber, Lucy, and Savannah stayed behind with him.

But once they left the hall, Kazzah and Timothy were waiting outside, seemingly wanting to talk with Lucy and Savannah.

“Go deal with it, make sure it doesn’t affect the team,” Sokram told Savannah, who looked visibly uncomfortable and doubtful.

Savannah turned to him, her brow furrowed. “What do you think I should do?”

“End things as amicably as possible. It will spare me the trouble of having to steal you from him in the future,” Sokram replied, flashing his usual teasing grin. But something in his eyes told Savannah he was serious about it.

Savannah nodded with a newfound resolve in her gaze. “Alright, I’ll see you at your estate later.”

She then walked over to Kazzah, said something to him, and they left together toward the market district.

Lucy chuckled, seeing Savannah’s directness. “So I’ll have some competition, haha.”

Sokram smirked, hearing that. “Well, you too have something to end, don’t you?”

Lucy sighed, tired of the charade and relationship drama. “But I already did. He doesn’t want to understand it’s over.”

Sokram looked at him.

Timothy’s fingers twitched toward the hilt of his sheathed sword, his lips peeling back in a silent snarl every time Lucy touched Sokram’s arm.

Seeing them standing so closely, so intimately, his boot scuffed the cobblestones hard enough to spark.

Then, Sokram told Lucy, “Tell him about your Devotion. Tell him the only way it will break is if I die.”

Lucy looked at Sokram wide-eyed, waiting for him to tell her he was kidding, but all he said in return was, “Trust me.”

Lucy nodded obediently, a flicker of understanding in her expression, and went once again to definitively end things with Timothy.