Reaping Money[1]

Raven arrived in the city hall not long...

He entered and saw the inside of the facility. There was a lot of golden furniture, the inside was so wide and everything was flashy.

It was fascinating for Raven...

Not for long though, he immediately got bored looking around and went straight to the reception area.

"Hello sir, how may I help you?"

A woman greeted Raven, who assumed, was the receptionist.

Not beating around the bush, Raven told the reason for him coming there.

"I want to buy some land."

"Oh, is there a problem then?"

The woman asked politely.

"Well, the land is unowned."

"Unowned?"

The woman seems to be a little confused. So Raven specified his words.

"I'm planning to buy land inside <The Sad Mountain>."

When buying land with no owner, you need to buy it from the government. It's because the so-called great cataclysm made a lot of land unlivable.

So livable lands are precious and the government handles unowned lands automatically.

But in Raven's case, he's buying an unlivable one with no single life form living in it.

The woman expressed shock for a brief moment when she heard Raven's words. But she immediately regained her calm.

It was then Raven spoke again.

"I will test some explosives. <The Sad Mountain> is the perfect place for that, right?"

'With this, she will not dig anymore about the topic.'

Raven thought, which did happen as the woman didn't ask any more about it and just nodded her head.

"Please wait a moment, Sir."

The woman said and took out a phone, after that, she called someone with it.

'So phones still exist...'

Raven always uses his V.D to make calls and browse the internet, so he thought it replaced the phones in this world.

'I need to buy one later.'

He thought while deciding what cellphone he should buy.

It was then, the woman spoke...

"Mayor Rancho wants to talk with you."

The woman said and handed the phone to Raven.

Raven took it...

"Hello?"

And spoke.

-Are you the one who wants to buy land in <The Sad Mountain>?

On the other side of the line, a deep manly voice was heard.

Raven secretly swallowed a mouthful amount of saliva out of nervousness.

Mayor Rancho doesn't appear in the novel, so he's not an important character.

But Raven knows about him, he investigated about Zreles City before coming here as a preparation.

And that's how he knows Mayor Rancho.

Mayor Rancho is a <B > rank hero... And a money-hungry bastard.

After calming himself...

"Yes sir."

Raven replied

He didn't immediately receive a reply, but when it came...

-Why would I sell you the land there?

An emotionless deep voice entered his ears.

The question made Raven frown, but he remembered one of Mayor Rancho's traits, a money-hungry bastard.

'He likes money, it doesn't matter if it's a small amount or not. But his greed for it is undeniable.'

So with that information, Raven replied in the same emotionless manner.

"I mean, why not...?"

"That mountain has no value. In fact, I can just test some explosives there and no one will sue me... I'm just buying private land because of courtesy and in case some unexpected accidents happen."

"So selling me land there benefits us both."

"You will receive money, and I'll get my privacy ."

Raven explained in a carefree but confident voice.

His words were met by a total silence. Raven's actually getting a bit nervous, he's just not showing it.

Then after a while...

-How much will you pay?

A reply finally came.

'He's asking for my budget, not the size of land that I'm planning to buy.'

Raven inwardly smiled, the information he had about Mayor Rancho being greedy for money appeared to be accurate after all.

"100,000 Zeals. I'm not planning to buy a big land."

Raven casually said.

-...Give the phone back to the woman.

He then handed the phone back to the receptionist.

Then, they talked on the phone for a while...

After a few moments...

"Please follow me."

Raven was guided into a room.

The room was not that big, but it was comfy. And as Raven predicted before entering, the room has a lot of flashy furniture.

The woman made Raven sit on a sofa, and not long after that...

Riiiing- Riiiiiiing–

A device on the table in front of Raven rang, the woman immediately pressed something on it then a hologram appeared...

The hologram projected a person from their shoulders to their head.

It's displaying a middle-aged man in a proper black suit.

'Looks like I'm not important enough to have the mayor come and meet me in the flesh.'

Raven thought as he calmly stares at the hologram of Mayor Rancho.

Mayor Rancho then opened his mouth.

-How big is the land that you want to buy?

He asked. Then the woman gave Raven a map.

It's the map of <The Sad Mountain>...

After using a pen to encircle a place in the map, Raven looked back at the Mayor and smiled.

"This big."

Raven made the area he's buying slightly bigger than the dungeon's entrance so they won't suspect anything.

-In the middle of the mountain?

But the Mayor seems to be doubtful of the location.

Though, Raven didn't lose his composure and immediately replied.

"If I use explosives near the mountain's base, accidents may occur as some facilities are near it. Using explosives on top of a mountain is just plain stupid, it can lead to landslides after all."

He confidently explained as if it were something obvious.

Mayor Rancho squinted his eyes, looking at Raven for a while...

-Then pay 150,000 Zeals.

Then he said.

Raven has that much money, but he doesn't want to overpay more than needed.

Raven also likes money after all.

So he frowned...

"100,000 Zeals. I didn't say you can bargain with me."

And spoke in an indifferent tone.

But then, a chilling sensation was felt all over the room.

Raven looks fine since he has the <Calm Thinker> activated, but his heart was beating rapidly...

He's also starting to have trouble breathing.

'Looks like people can emit aura even if their physical body is not present. It's pretty understandable, but at the same time, it makes no sense.'

Then in the corner of the room.

The woman slightly trembled, then her breathing became rough and she started gasping for air.

Seeing this, Raven's frown became deeper...

He activated <Monarch's Presence> to the max and combined it with his mana.

Then he started spreading it all over the room, especially near himself and the woman...

The aura oppressing them disappeared.

The woman looked at Raven with a surprised expression. But soon she looked at him with grateful eyes.

After making sure the woman was fine, Raven returned his attention back to the Mayor...

He crossed his legs and placed his hands on top of his knees.

Then with a calm, but cold voice...

Raven spoke.

"Don't spread your aura carelessly, your people got affected as well."

Raven didn't notice it, but the woman was slightly blushing in the corner of the room after hearing his words.

At the moment, Raven looks very dominating and majestic...

Mayor Rancho frowned when he felt Raven's aura. Seeing that force wouldn't work on him, the Mayor waved his hand off and his aura disappeared.

Raven retrieved his aura back and deactivated <Monarch's Presence> in response.

-Don't make any trouble in my territory.

The Mayor sounded frustrated, but non-hostile.

After that, the woman approached Raven and handed him a mana contract.

What is written in the mana contract can't be broken and needs to be fulfilled by both parties who agreed to it. If one breaks the contract, they will face consequences and worst case, they die...

Materials used in mana contracts are acquired in dungeons and their effects are said to be absolute.

Anyway...

Raven looked at the contents of the contract, and seeing no unreasonable or unsatisfying contents in them, he signed it

It's a low-level mana contract and Raven decided that he could annul the contract anytime.

'Mayor Rancho is greedy for money, but he doesn't go back to his words. After all, If he did, earning money would be hard for him.'

"I'm happy to do business with you."

Raven said after signing the contract.

-Should I name the land to you?

The Mayor didn't care about formality and just went straight to the business.

Not that Raven minds...

Raven shook his head and opened his mouth.

"I have an alias, name it after it."

In this time, using an alias in official papers is pretty common as mana contracts don't work on names... But souls.

-What's your alias?

With a carefree smile on his face...

"Night."

Raven answered.

***

{Raven's POV}

The talk with the Mayor is done, he said that by tomorrow, the land will officially be mine.

Then as I exited the room...

"Thanks for earlier."

I heard the voice of the receptionist behind me.

I looked back at her and saw that she was embarrassed, her ears were red...

"You're welcome."

I shrugged and briefly replied.

Being humble is nice, but when someone thanks you, you should receive it properly, especially if it's sincere. Thanking someone is hard, especially in this world.

Anyway, I thanked her too.

"I should also thank you for your great hospitality."

This woman never once disrespected me, you might think it's normal, but in this world, it's rare to see someone as respectful and humble as her.

At my words, the woman lowered her head in embarrassment.

'I feel you, receiving thanks is pleasant, but at the same time... Embarrassing.'

I thought and smiled.

Then after a while, she spoke again.

And her next words shocked me...

"Umm... Are you the author of *[Exodus]?" *(Raven's novel)

My steps halted and my eyes widened.

I looked at the woman once again...

"Ah! I'm sorry, I just noticed your alias, I know that it might be just a coincidence and you're entirely someone else, but It's just a hunch..."

"Ah... Are you perhaps hiding your identity? I'm sorry!"

The woman exclaimed, she's completely panicking.

Seeing her like that...

I laughed.

"No, it's fine."

I said.

Then without me knowing, I placed my hand on top of her head.

"Oh, sorry for touching you casually, my hand moved on its own when I thought you were cute."

She's so small that I had this urge to pat her ever since, she's also cute being flustered and all.

Looking at her closely, she's really cute. Short brown hair and big blue eyes.

Pearl-like skin and a beautiful figure...

Her looks are on par with the main characters.

'Makes me kinda jealous...'

"N-no it's fine."

The woman replied who still has her head lowered.

"I'm surprised to meet someone who knows my novel."

I said.

Then she finally looked up at me.

And when her eyes met mine, I smiled...

Meeting someone who had read my novel somehow made me happy.

The woman's face became redder after that.

'Is she sick?'

"So... You are the author of [Exodus]?"

She asked again.

"Yes, I am."

And I casually replied.

I'm not really trying to hide that fact.

If I had the opportunity, I would even brag about it to everyone.

Anyway...

Earlier, my first impression of this woman was that she was a serious type.

Who would've thought she was this cute...

"Umm, can we take a picture...?"

The woman then asked.

Though confused...

"Sure."

I agreed with her request.

I don't get why she would want a picture with me, no one will believe her even if she tells everyone that I was [Night]... Well some might, but I'm not even that famous.

So not many will really care.

Well anyway, we took a picture and she looked very satisfied with it, so I didn't pry about it anymore.

"Umm, I'm Keara Scarlett."

She then introduced herself.

And as I was about to introduce myself too, and information entered my head.

"You're not a pure race?"

Then I unconsciously mumbled.

I came to know that the woman in front of me, has elven blood running in her veins...

How did I know? Well, the system informs me about this kind of thing for me to avoid demons pretending to be humans.

Anyway, at my words...

"Ahhh... Y-yes, well, my mother is an elf... But my father is a human... I-I'm a half-elf."

Keara panicked, she looked sad... Scared... And worried.

"Ah..."

It was then, I realized that I made the situation uncomfortable with my words.

When two individuals who aren't in the same race have a child, the child will be often ridiculed, saying they don't belong anywhere and would be called names like halfling.

I created this novel with the protagonist having a harem, and one of his harem members is a half-blood.

I set all the half-bloods to be ridiculed just to strengthen their story and for dramatic effects...

But now that I'm inside the same novel, it's making me feel guilty.

And seeing Keara's reaction, it's apparent that she went through harsh racism...

'I'm sorry...'

I apologized to her in my head.

Then with a bitter smile on my face...

I took Keara's hand.

"So you're half-elf..."

Keara flinched, she was nervous.

It's no surprise if she's traumatized, and just thinking about why made me feel more guilty inside.

I put on the warmest smile I could muster and spoke in a gentle voice.

"No wonder you're so beautiful."

I said with sincerity.

Keara then looked at me with a bewildered face.

Not minding her reaction, I opened my mouth again...

"My name is Raven Obadiah. And if you think you don't belong anywhere..."

After a small pause and looking at Keara warmly, I continued.

"...Then be mine, so you can say you belong to me."

Then I kissed the back of her hand softly.

Her face and hand became as red as a tomato.

I'm not dense enough to not notice her having a small crush on me ever since I helped her earlier back in the room.

Not to brag, but in my past life, I have a lot of experience with these kinds of things.

At first, I thought she was just embarrassed talking to me, but after she asked me for a picture, I became a little sure of it.

Also, her revealing herself being a half-elf to me, made me certain...

I'm a total stranger, so I assumed she was throwing a gamble to see what my reaction would be after knowing that she's a half-blood.

She was trying to test the waters if I was like the others.

She's interested in me but scared at the same time.

I don't know why would she like me though.

"Umm...ahh...emm..."

Keara is panicking again, but she doesn't look stressed anymore, if else, she looks cute.

After a while, she calmed down...

"Umm, can I have your contact... So we can hang out sometimes?"

At her aggressive approach, I smiled.

"Hanging out will be hard as I'm currently attending the Lunar Academy."

I said with a disappointed face. Keara was surprised at what I just said.

"You're a student?"

She asked.

"Yes."

And without batting an eye, I replied.

"Tertiary?"

Keara asked. I shook my head.

"Sophomore?"

I shook my head again.

"I'm a freshman, I'm 17 years old."

Then I declared that.

"Ah..."

Keara was shocked.

"But... I thought you were older than me..."

She muttered.

And before I could even say something, she opened her mouth again...

"Ah! I didn't mean that you look old! I really think you're very handsome! It's just that you give off a mature vibe!"

'Is that so?'

Do I look mature?

I was about to say something, but Keara talked again...

"Ah! I didn't mean you act like an old man, I mean that you seem very confident and reliable, it also makes you very attractive!"

She said as her face became redder.

Keara was feeling more shame as she said that maybe smoke would come out from her head like in the cartoons soon enough.

She's panicking so badly.

"My age doesn't matter."

I said.

Keara then calmed down. Then she looked at me.

With a mischievous smile, I spoke again.

"You see, I find older women attractive."

"..."

My words made Keara look away in embarrassment.

'Teasing her is really fun.'

I thought.

After that, we exchanged contact information.

"Hanging out will be hard, but not impossible."

I said.

Keara is still looking away from me.

I'm taller than her, Keara's height only reaches up to my shoulders. She's even wearing heels...

So I slouched down and placed my lips near Keara's ear.

She got startled and flinched. Her whole face started to be red again.

Not minding that, I softly whispered in her ears...

"But if you really want to hang out..."

Ping-

A message was sent to Keara's phone.

"... Here's the hotel I'm currently in, I'll be there until Sunday."

I straightened my body and started to walk away.

Keara didn't move to her place and just watched me leave, then she checked the message she received from me.

"If you want you can visit me tonight."

I said to her and left the city hall.

'Teasing her was real fun.'

I thought as I started to head back to the hotel that I was staying at.

But later that night... Something unexpected happened...

***

The next day.

I woke up at [5:28 A.M.].

I had the best sleep in a while after getting transferred to this world.

I looked at my body, I was naked.

Then I turned my head to the side.

Beside me is Keara, sleeping...

And also naked.

"Haaaaa..."

I recalled what happened last night.

Keara really did come last night and we drank some alcohol.

Keara talked about herself and I listened to her, after all, I'm also interested in her.

And just as I expected...

Like other half-bloods, Keara also got discriminated against, and so on, her family is away at the moment as they work in a different place, so she's all alone here.

Keara is a second child, she has an older brother.

Keara is 23 years old, by the way...

Anyway, after Keara finished telling about her experience so far in being a half-blood.

She got silent, she looked sad as she remembered all the discrimination she went through.

So I patted her head and comforted her...

Keara then went and hugged me.

After that, she looked at me with enticing eyes... And being swept by the mood, and maybe because of the alcohol...

I kissed her on the lips.

Keara didn't push me away, instead, she used her tongue. I was surprised, but I didn't let her steal the lead.

The kiss got deeper and continued for a long time.

We got carried away by the atmosphere and went with the flow...

Soon, we lost our clothes.

And after that... I lost my virginity in this life.

I have had experiences in my past life, though, all of my relationships didn't work.

I was single for 3 years before being transferred to this world.

Anyway... I let out a sigh and stood up.

Then I wore a sleeveless top and comfy pants.

I washed my face and prepared breakfast.

After that, I returned to where Keara was sleeping...

I then shook her body gently.

Keara opened her eyes, then she saw me.

She looked around for a while, confused...

And after remembering what happened last night...

Her eyes widened and she sprung up off the bed.

Keara's face got as red as tomato again and she lowered her head in embarrassment.

"Umm... I'm sorry."

She said in a small voice.

I placed my hand on her shoulder and smiled.

"You have nothing to be sorry about, we're both adults here."

I said and patted Keara's head.

"I just finished cooking, let's go eat breakfast ."

I then diverted my eyes away from her.

"But wear something first and wash your face."

And after saying that...

Keara started to move shyly.

I already cleaned her clothes and placed them on the side of the bed.