NOVEL NEXT Chapter 944: Sometimes Money Can't Buy What You Want
"Good work, Mistress," Katsuki praised me, handing me the wrapper of my toast that she had kept warm for me while I was busy healing everyone.
No, not like that, she was using her Pyromancy magic to heat it up, damnit.
Anyway, I have to say that the healing session got a little bit weird and it's not just because they were asking to heal them for nonsensical stuff like having emotional damage and stating the way for me to heal them was to step on them…
Like even at the start where the guys kept asking if I was single or available wasn't really that weird since I was kind of expecting it anyway.
All I had to do was to tell them that I was not single and I wasn't interested in guys and they would just give up while looking a little disappointed.
There were girls that were also asking the same questions and those I had to tell them that I wasn't looking for hookups that night.
Unfortunately the girls were more persistent than the guys and I had to keep repeating that excuse over and over again for quite a bit every time someone new came up to me.
I think they thought they might be the one that would convince me to actually hook up with the for some reason.
No, those weren't weren't the reason why I said it got weird.
It got weird when they would come up to me looking all happy and enthusiastic, then take a look in my direction and suddenly become all sullen and downcast.
The next few would also look the same but then a few more patients later, the next one would look happy again before suddenly looking glum once more.
At first I thought they saw something behind me but when I looked behind, it was just Katsuki standing there so I don't know why they would look like that.
There were a few who had no changes but those patients had pretty serious injuries and really needed healing so I thought there might be some kind of weird condition going on with the others.
Anyway, at least it was done so that's that.
I didn't charge anything for my healing but it seems like most of them shared the idea that simply receiving healing without paying anything did not sit well with them.
So I just let them pay me with whatever they wanted aside from sex.
Some gave me Creas, a few gave me Mana Crystals and others gave me Mana potions as payment.
I ended up with quite a sizable amount of stuff after the entire thing was over and I had the thought that even if things didn't work out for me, I could always just survive as a travelling healer or something.
Well, that's how I ended up with all this stuff which I stuffed into my Pack of Folding to sort through later.
But since I'm done, I can finally enjoy this toast that I bought earlier!
"Thank you, Katsuki~ Where is yours?" I asked, taking the wrapper from her.
"Please allow me to have mine later, Mistress."
"Are you not hungry?"
"Not especially, Mistress."
Hmm… I guess maybe she's just feeling a little shy about eating something like that in front of others.
I took a bite out of the bread and felt the cheese fill my mouth.
Mmmm! So thick! So creamy! I can also taste the meat too! So good!
Crunch crunch~
The toast itself is also nicely toasted too and it wasn't too soft or hard either! Hard to imagine that this was literally made at a literal roadside stall~
I continued enjoying the toast as the two of us made our way back to our camp.
By the time I got there, I had already wolfed down most of it and was only left with a few bites more.
"Ara, ara? What does my little one have there?"
I looked up to see Mother smiling at me, still seated at the same spot that I had left her.
"Mmm… Meat and cheese toast, Mommy~"
"Ufufufu~ Is it nice?"
I went over to her and offered the remainder of the toast, "Have a try, Mommy!"
"Ara, ara? Having a bite out of my little one's leftovers? How indulgent~ Don't mind if Mama does~"
Err… It's not exactly leftovers and I don't know what's so indulgent about it?
She tucked hair behind her ear before leaning forward to take a small bite out of the toast.
"Mmmm~ I can taste my little one on the toast~ Ufufufu~"
Errr… I don't think I should comment on that but ok?
I took back the toast and was about to ask Mother what she thought about it when I felt the ground rumble for a moment.
Suddenly, something landed in front of me and shook the earth.
I thought it was a monster or something at first until a familiar face appeared in front of me showing me a puppy eyed look.
"Aster!! Let me taste it too!" Unerolia begged, all her dignity as the Marchioness nowhere to be found.
Good thing that we were behind our carriages so we were currently out of sight from the others in the clearing… Otherwise, I think a new rumour would be spreading around here after today…
But seriously, if you wanted to try this out, the stall is… Oh wait, I don't think they have continued their business after that raid… In fact, I'm pretty sure no one else is selling anything tonight.
I guess the only way she could try this was by having mine.
I handed the rest of the toast to her, "Here, do you want the rest?"
"Eh? Of course not? I only want to taste that part where you had eaten~"
Err… Why? I don't get it? But if that's what you want…
I was about to tell her that she could just eat however she wanted when a hand suddenly reached out to grab onto my wrist to stop me from doing so.
Looking to the side, I realised it was Mother holding my wrist and she did a circular motion with her finger.
Half of my remaining toast got sliced off and floated up into the air while the other half went towards Unerolia.
Incidentally, the half that floated to me was the part that I had already been munching on.
Oh~ As expected of Mother! This way, we wouldn't need to worry about hygiene issues! She can have the half that I haven't touched with my mouth yet!
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"Ufufufu~ There you go, little Une~ Enjoy~"
Unerolia looked down at her half of the toast before looking back at Mother, "This isn't--"
"Ara? Is little Une unsatisfied with something that I've given her? That can't be it, right?" Mother interrupted.
"Ngghh… So unfair…" She cried before she brought the toast to her mouth to nibble on it.
I wonder what's with her reaction?
Oh well~
I went ahead to just finish the rest of the toast and Katsuki immediately came up to wipe my mouth with a handkerchief.
As reliable as always~
"So envious… Is that handkerchief for sale?" Unerolia asked, pointing at the piece of cloth that was in Katsuki's hands.
She immediately put it away before answering simply, "No."
"Oh come now! I'll pay one Small… No! One Large Gold coin for it!"
What? That's like… A hundred thousand Creas! That handkerchief isn't worth that much, Unerolia!
I know it looks nice and all but there's really nothing special about it! Did she think it was some kind of designer or luxury branded handkerchief or something?
"Umm, if sister Rolia would like one of the same design, I believe we can just get one from the mansion," I suggested.
"Ughhh… I want--"
"Ahem…" Mother cleared her throat.
"Nevermind… Forget I said anything."
Why is everyone acting weird tonight? Was there something weird with the food or something?
Unerolia then straightened herself before turning to Mother, "On to less serious matters… It seems like the bandits around here really are getting unusually bold."
Mother reached out and Mary appeared to present her with a folder which she plucked casually.
"Ufufufu~ If little Une wishes to ask something, you should just ask the question properly instead~ There's no need to resort to such theatrics in front of me~"
Unerolia sighed, "Very well then… How much do I need to pay for the information about why there is a sudden increase in the number of bandits around this area?"
Mother opened the folder to read its contents before humming, "Hmm… This doesn't seem like much so… How about twenty thousand Creas?"
"Twenty thousand? Ugh… Alright, I'll take it…"
The Marchioness pulled out two Small Gold Coins from her coin pouch at her waist before handing it over to Mother and receiving the folder from her.
There was only one thing that I was thinking about when seeing that exchange.
She was really prepared to pay five times the amount for the handkerchief just now?
She's really extreme, huh?