[304] Zel

Before long, despite the brawl, business at the tavern continued as usual.

Though Meidri didn't spare Stunk any friendly glances, she still served the drinks he ordered.

Stunk sipped his beer, feeling a bit better after getting hit twice as soon as he walked in. However, he didn't let it bother him too much. He was an easygoing person, not one to hold grudges.

"By the way, Stunk, where's Zel? It's getting late, and I haven't seen him," August asked.

"Zel? I don't know. Haven't seen him either."

At the mention of Zel, Stunk suddenly realized his good friend was missing.

As the saying goes, there are four pillars of male friendship: sitting in the same classroom, carrying guns together, splitting loot, and visiting brothels.

For Stunk and Zel, aside from the first one, they'd covered the other three thoroughly.

The two of them were a team of adventurers and had even done some robbing together. They were also regulars at the succubus houses, visiting every day and always going together.

If Stunk had been an elf and grown up with Zel, they'd have checked all four boxes.

Just as they were talking about him, Zel appeared, carrying a hefty bag. Upon seeing August, he broke into a wide grin.

With a thud, Zel dropped the bag in front of August, then pulled out a check-like document.

"There's ten thousand gold coins in here, and this slip is worth a withdrawal of two thousand. As for the ancient coins you found, each one is worth over twenty thousand gold, but because of the large number, they pushed the price down to twenty thousand. Altogether, that's six million, two hundred and sixty thousand gold coins."

Everyone at the table froze in shock. Especially Kanchal, who had just met August.

Even Stunk stared at August in disbelief. Ancient coins worth that much? He had found old coins before, but they were worth nothing more than a handful of change.

"Hey, Zel, what's going on? How can there be so much money involved?" Stunk couldn't hold back his curiosity and asked.

"The ancient coins August brought in have never been seen before, which makes them incredibly valuable for both collectors and researchers. That's why they're worth so much. But those guys sure are greedy, pushing the price down just because there's a lot of them—it's ridiculous," Zel explained, clearly frustrated.

His words made August feel a wave of gratitude. Zel must have spent the whole morning helping him sort out the coins.

"This is way beyond what I expected. Zel, thank you so much," August said earnestly.

"Don't mention it. I just ran a few errands," Zel replied casually, sitting down and immediately downing Stunk's beer.

One beer didn't mean much. After all, Zel and Stunk were practically brothers after all these years.

Here's a professional English translation of the chapter with the protagonist's name changed from Kong Yang to August:

"Last night, Stunk treated me since I was new to town. But tonight, I've come into a bit of fortune myself. So, all of your drinks and meals tonight—put them on my tab," August declared.

He didn't mention paying Zel a direct reward because that would change the meaning of his gesture. Instead, treating everyone to a round of drinks was a better way to show his gratitude to Zel while strengthening the camaraderie among the group. After all, between men, sometimes all it takes to forge a bond is to visit a brothel together, and then, like that, you're brothers.

"Alright then, I'll be ordering three tonight!" Stunk said with a grin.

"No problem. Go ahead, get three, or even seven or eight, if you'd like. I can't speak for everything, but I can certainly cover one night of fun," August responded with a laugh.

Zel's face lit up with satisfaction at August's words. It was clear he was pleased.

"Hey, August, if you add me to the list, I won't hold a grudge over what happened earlier," Stunk chimed in from the side. Yesterday he'd spent some of his own money, but now he saw a chance to enjoy himself for free.

"Of course, Stunk. And you too, my halfling friend," August added, turning to Kanchal.

"Huh? Me too?" Kanchal asked, surprised. He had only just met August, and didn't expect to be included in such generosity.

"Of course. If you're friends with Stunk and Zel, then you're a friend of mine. Come along," August said, nodding warmly.

"Well, thank you then. My coins are running low, and I was actually planning to do some work with Stunk and Zel today to earn a little extra before heading out again," Kanchal replied with a grateful smile, already growing fond of August's generous nature.

The four of them sat together, eating the tavern's dishes and sipping their drinks as time slipped by.

August and Kanchal got to know each other a bit better during their conversation. Despite his unassuming appearance, Kanchal revealed a more mischievous side. Especially when teamed up with Stunk and Zel, who were both notorious for their love of visiting succubus houses, the three of them seemed like they were holding a roundtable discussion.

These three didn't just frequent the local succubus houses—they made it a habit to visit new ones wherever their adventures took them. This made August reflect once again on how normalized succubus houses were in this world.

Suddenly, August remembered the four bear paws he'd cut off earlier in the day. Seeing Meidri nearby, having just served drinks to another table, he called out to her.

"Meidri!"

At the sound of his voice, Meidri's attention was drawn to August.

Not only Meidri—Stunk, Zel, and Kanchal all turned to look as well.

"What do you want?" Meidri asked, eyeing the three men sitting with August. Her expression was far from pleased.

These three were infamous for their lecherous behavior, and even though Kanchal appeared to be innocent, he was no exception. Now that August was sitting with them, Meidri had already marked him as part of their kind. To make matters worse, she knew August had visited a succubus house the night before.

"Well, Meidri, I've got four bear paws here. I was wondering if you could cook them up for me?" August said, pulling out the blood-soaked bear paws he had severed from the gray bear beast earlier that morning.

"Wait, are those from the frenzied gray bear?" Meidri asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Frenzied gray bear?"

"It's a massive bear beast. I've heard of quite a few people running into trouble because of it."

"I'm not sure if it was that specific one, but I ran into it in the forest," August replied casually.

Meidri gave August another look, one mixed with surprise. He wasn't just handsome—he was clearly strong as well.

"Beast meat isn't easy to cook, and even when prepared correctly, it doesn't always taste good. Are you sure you want to eat this?" she asked.

"Let's give it a shot. If it turns out bad, no harm done. I'm just curious," August said.

"Alright, but it'll cost you 100 gold coins for the preparation," Meidri responded without hesitation.

"No problem," August agreed without batting an eye. With over six million gold coins in his possession, 100 gold was a mere drop in the ocean.

Taking the bear paws, Meidri turned and walked away to start the cooking.

___

If you're interested in reading more, feel free to visit my patreon which already contains 30+ chapters: 

https://www.patreon.com/XElenea