Chapter 212: Rich!!

While following behind Kana, we walked through a large room that looked very similar to Master's office, the only difference being the layout of the desks and bookshelves, but other than that, it was pretty much the same.

"Here's Master Kurama's office." Said Kana blandly as she opened the door and glanced at Alexander, still greatly saddened at the supposed loss of her glasses.

Nodding at Kana with a smile, I entered Kurama's office and looked around while she closed the door behind me; the inside was much different compared to Master's as there were no beds, but it did remind me of her office back home in the forest.

'Hmm, wonder what this potion is.' Thought Alexander curiously as he closely inspected a beaker filled with a greenish liquid.

While observing the beaker, the door was opened as Kurama entered, prompting me to glance at her as I stood up, though I noticed she was giving me a slightly weird look.

'Hmm, weird.' Mused Alexander with a raised eyebrow as he eyed Kurama, only to shrug his shoulders, ignoring it.

"So… how's, um, life? We didn't really talk much last time, and if you don't mind, I'd like to get to know you." Asked Alexander curiously as he sat down in the chair and looked at Kurama, who raised an eyebrow before faintly smirking.

"Well, I won't oppose speaking with a handsome man such as yourself." Replied Kurama lightly as she set her smoking pipe on the desk before plopping onto the couch opposite the room.

"Isn't that saying supposed to be said by a man?" Muttered Alexander with a faint smirk as he glanced at Kurama, who dismissively waved her hand.

Chuckling, I quietly listened to Kurama as she spoke about her daily life and the stress that came with being an alchemist; of course, she didn't forget to praise herself when she could, which caused me to smile slightly. I would interject every now and then, asking different questions and whatnot, but mainly, I spent most of my time hearing her speak, which wasn't bad; she had a lovely voice; as a matter of fact, she might have the best voice I've heard.

'It's up there with Master's, that's for sure.' Thought Alexander lightly as he glanced at the ceiling before shaking his head.

Surprisingly, there was apparently a lot of stuff going on in Kurama's life, so by the time she finally finished talking, nearly ninety minutes had passed; half of it was probably spent her complaining about unnecessary stress and other similar things, but that was fine, I didn't mind being an ear for her to vent too after she just learned about Master.

"Hehe, sounds very stressful; glad I'm not in your shoes. Not like I wear shoes to begin with." Remarked Alexander with a slight chuckle as he looked at Kurama, who scoffed in annoyance.

"Hmph, yeah, it's fucking annoying. I just wish I had better ways to relieve my stress." Muttered Kurama with a nod as he glanced at the ceiling before looking at Alexander, only to lick her lips, slightly weirding him out.

It may have just been my imagination, but I don't know why I felt that last sentence of hers felt like she was hinting at something; anyway, I trusted my heart and didn't comment on it.

'Haa, I'm probably just overthinking it.' Thought Alexander lightly as he shook his head while standing up and stretching, prompting Kurama to fixedly stare at his butt.

"S-So, what about you, Alex? How's life been treating you this past year?" Asked Kurama curiously as she sat upright and looked at Alexander, who sat back on the chair while sporting a wry expression.

"The past year? Oh dear, I wouldn't say it's nearly as stressful as your life, but my goodness, some crazy shit has happened; I'll tell you what." Replied Alexander with a slight chuckle and a raised eyebrow as he glanced at Kurama, who seemed to smile in interest.

"Ho, you've piqued my interest now, so you best tell." Said Kurama with a faint smile as she gave Alexander a feisty growl, causing him to chuckle while nodding.

"Well then, after arriving at Hyphen with Marlin, Simba, and Lily's help, the first mission I did as an Adventurer in hopes of following in Master's footsteps resulted in me meeting an Orc that tried to rape me…" Remarked Alexander with a smirk as he took a deep breath and began recounting his events ever since he left his home in the forest, causing Kurama to slightly widen her eyes.

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I finished my story when we arrived at Cassandra, which was only a few days ago, but as silence took over the room, I glanced at Kurama, only to see her staring at me with widened eyes, causing me to chuckle.

'To be honest, I probably should've modified my story a little bit to exclude the fact about my Ichor, but eh. Though I have a feeling she'll ask for some of my blood when making potions.' Thought Alexander with a wry expression as he looked at Kurama, who was still silently staring at him in shock.

Obviously, I wouldn't have dared to mention my Ichor to Kurama if I hadn't trusted her, and although we don't really know each other, [Heroes Gaze] is incredibly helpful in that regard; besides, she was one of Master's friends, one she mentioned quite a lot. Still, telling an alchemist about the mythical ichor that circulated through my veins probably wasn't the smartest thing.

"That is… Quite the story." Muttered Kurama lightly as she blankly stared at Alexander, who chuckled in amusement.

After a few more moments, Kurama finally regained her composure, though surprisingly, she never once mentioned the fact about ichor, well, other than obviously giving me a very stern warning, which was a little intimidating given the way her nine tails swayed behind her; however, other than that, she didn't mention my ichor again.

"So, you've got a lover and a mistress now? What were their names again?" Asked Kurama with a raised eyebrow as she gazed at Alexander, who happily smiled.

"My lover and future wife is Yuki Ama; she's a large Oni of pure muscle and quite stoic, though she's very bashful whenever I compliment her appearance, and she turns into a little kid pretty much. It's so incredibly adorable, not to mention how much of a fucking woman she is. All I know is that I need to profusely thank her mother for giving birth to such an amazing woman." Remarked Alexander with a lovely smile as he passionately spoke about Yuki, his every word containing the pure, unadulterated love he had for her, causing Kurama to smile.

"My mistress, Michelle, I don't actually know her last name, though she might not even have one. She's pretty freaking sexy and is very bashful by nature; I don't know why, but I've got a feeling you and her would get along quite well." Added Alexander with a smile as he thought about Michelle, only to furrow his brows while looking at Kurama, who nodded.

"Hehe, that's quite funny since I was thinking the exact same thing." Said Kurama with a faint chuckle as she looked at Alexander, who slightly nodded.

"Anyways, I see you've taken Lavender's passing rather well if you've found a lover and a mistress so soon." Added Kurama lightly as she glanced at Alexander, who wryly shook his head.

"I… Wouldn't quite say that, even now, my heart still aches in pain for her, but Yuki and Michelle help with greatly offsetting the pain. Besides, it has been a year since then; I can't collapse onto my knees and cry every time I think about her; that'd be rather shameful." Remarked Alexander with a wry expression, his words causing Kurama to nod softly as she descended into silence.

"Yeah, I suppose you're correct. I meant to give you this earlier, but here you go, the money you've received from your potions." Said Kurama as she reached into her clothes and tossed Alexander a small sack of coins, prompting his eyes to widen when he opened it.

'4-42 gold coins!?' Thought Alexander in shock as he stared at the coins in the sack, his expression causing Kurama to faintly chuckle.

"You would've gotten 56 gold coins, but I did drink one of your potions. Sorry about that." Said Kurama softly as she awkwardly coughed, though Alexander didn't seem to hear her.

"Oh, this is more than enough. Thank you so much, Kurama!" Stated Alexander with a large smile as he ran forward and tightly embraced Kurama in a hug, lifting her off the couch, to which she chuckled.

"You're welcome, though I didn't do much." Remarked Kurama lightly as she began secretly sniffing Alexander with a perverted expression, one he couldn't see.

After a little bit of hugging, I set Kurama back on the couch while rubbing the back of my head; despite how happy I was, I stayed for a few more hours just to speak with Kurama since, although she was a little weird at times, she was good company. Only when afternoon arrived did I finally leave.

"Bye, Kurama, and thanks for everything; I'll be visiting a lot, if you don't mind, of course." Said Alexander with a faint smile as he stood up and exited the office, heading towards the teleportation office while Kurama leaned against the doorframe.

"I'd never say no to a handsome man such as yourself visiting me; just be careful from now on." Said Kurama with a slight smile as she hungrily licked her lips while staring at Alexander's butt.

"See you later as well, Kana, and it was nice meeting you." Remarked Alexander as he entered the teleportation room, only for a flash of light to appear a few moments later.

"Here you go, Kana. Don't enter the office; I'll be doing something private." Stated Kurama as she displaced the illusion around her face and tossed Kana her glasses, only to lock the door to her office.

"I can't believe you, Master Kurama!" Remarked Kana in anger, relief, and disbelief as she grabbed the glasses and glared at the locked door, only for moans to echo throughout the entire room.