Chapter 8: Who’s the Real MVP?
“Good morning, Student Xia.”
“…Morning.”
Xia staggered into the first floor of the inn and collapsed into a chair with a loud thud, looking completely drained in both body and soul.
“Student Xia?”
Who’s calling him?
“Student Xia?”
“…Ah! Dailina, what is it?”
“Did Student Xia not sleep well last night?”
Seeing Xia looking half-dead, Dailina asked worriedly.
“Mmm… let me sleep a little longer…”
Xia felt like his eyelids weighed a thousand pounds.
He couldn’t open them at all.
Last night wasn’t just a case of poor sleep.
He hadn’t slept whatsoever.
After escaping from Philly’s terrifying playgirl claws, he had literally waited around town for two whole hours before daring to return.
By the time he climbed back into his room and transformed back, the sky was almost bright already.
Sleep his ass.
His original body was already weak to begin with.
After getting injured all over during the day and then staying awake the entire night, half his soul felt like it had already left his body.
Thankfully, Dolores’s mana exhaustion state didn’t carry over.
Otherwise, he’d already be on his way to meet the Supreme Goddess Venus.
“Haaah~”
Philly yawned as she walked down the stairs, clearly not fully awake either.
“Eh?”
“Student Philly didn’t sleep well either?”
“I was too excited last night, so I couldn’t fall asleep.”
Philly rubbed her eyes.
When she noticed Xia sprawled across the chair, confusion appeared on her face.
“Oh?”
“What happened to you, Student Xia?”
Xia instantly woke up from hearing Philly’s voice.
This culprit actually dares ask him what happened?
Who was the one responsible for him staying awake all night?
And she still had the nerve to ask?
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
At this point, he no longer cared about Philly’s attitude toward him yesterday.
He absolutely had to vent this frustration.
“Last night, I don’t know who it was, but someone came knocking on my door just to tell me ghost stories, making it impossible for me to sleep for ages.”
“And after I finally started drifting off in the middle of the night, some lunatic started making all kinds of crashing noises like they were demolishing a house.”
“Back when I lived in the slums, I’d never even seen anyone this insane.”
Originally, Xia wanted to add one more sentence.
‘That lunatic was even grinning like she was in heat afterward.’
But after thinking about it, he decided against it.
If Philly hadn’t actually been grinning afterward and caught onto that slip-up, she might directly explode him on the spot.
“Is that so? Then I really am sorry about that~”
Philly’s voice sounded slightly shaky.
Oh?
She’s actually apologizing?
So she’s admitting it was her?
Xia rubbed his temples and deliberately put on a resentful expression.
When you had logic on your side, your words naturally carried confidence.
What could Philly even do to him now?
Could she chop him down or something?
The air remained silent for half a minute.
Xia suddenly sensed something wrong and cracked one eye open.
Philly still wore a kind smile.
But it looked like a giant throbbing vein mark was practically about to pop out on her forehead.
As she walked past Xia, she deliberately revealed a section of her sword hilt.
Her right hand was already prepared to grab it.
Xia instantly closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair, pretending to sleep on the spot without the slightest hesitation.
He surrendered immediately.
Already pretending to sleep.
No one can wake me.
“Student Xia can’t keep sleeping anymore~”
“We need to meet the lord.”
“You guys go ahead… let me sleep a little longer…”
He was genuinely sleepy right now.
“That won’t do~”
Xia heard the sound of a sword leaving its sheath and instantly sprang upright without even a second of hesitation.
“Okay, let’s go.”
“So Student Xia actually isn’t sleepy anymore~”
“Yeah.”
“Not sure why, but I suddenly became energetic.”
Watching the two whose atmosphere was completely different from yesterday, Dailina felt slightly confused.
Did something happen between Student Xia and Student Philly?
After finishing breakfast in the lord’s manor dining hall, the three of them arrived at the meeting chamber.
Breakfast here was fairly simple.
Mostly toast and bread with very average taste.
But for someone like Xia, who grew up in the slums, even bad food was infinitely better than starving half the time while surviving on watery porridge.
Although right now, he was too sleepy to have much appetite anyway.
Still, after filling his stomach, he felt slightly more awake.
“Is everyone here…?”
“Hmm? Why isn’t the guard captain present?”
The lord scanned the chamber and noticed the guard captain’s seat was empty.
He turned toward the assistant beside him.
“The guard captain… has some back discomfort today.”
“I see.”
“He’s worked hard during this period.”
“Let him rest properly.”
Hearing this below, Xia froze for a moment.
Back discomfort?
Just discomfort?
Judging from the sound he heard last night, even if someone informed him today that he needed to attend the captain’s funeral, he honestly wouldn’t find it strange.
Still, that captain was pretty impressive.
His body was truly sturdy.
No wonder he became captain.
Xia secretly glanced at Philly.
Philly sat there fiddling casually with the buttons on her uniform like nothing had happened.
And she still has the nerve to sit there playing around?
Does she realize she nearly crippled one of the lord’s most important subordinates?!
“Many thanks to the three students from Thorn Academy for assisting us in clearing the monsters from the ruins.”
“Those monsters repeatedly attacked the town and caused us heavy losses.”
“Your timely assistance removed a major threat hanging over the town.”
“I will truthfully report your excellent performance back to the academy.”
The lord accepted the academy commission form from his assistant and stamped it.
“Additionally, I have prepared a small token of gratitude.”
“I hope the three of you will accept it.”
Originally, Xia had been listening sleepily.
But the moment he heard this, he instantly became alert.
Money?
Then he definitely wasn’t sleepy anymore.
“Lord, you are too kind.”
Dailina hurriedly waved her hands.
“Clearing monsters was originally an assignment issued by the academy.”
“We merely completed the mission to earn academic credits.”
“There’s no need for additional rewards.”
Don’t refuse it!
Xia screamed internally.
He was desperately short on money.
From clawing his way out of the slums to studying in the royal capital, both his tuition and living expenses relied entirely on financial aid.
And judging from the sound those money pouches made when placed on the table, there was definitely a hefty amount inside.
At minimum, it should cover three months of living expenses, right?
He looked toward Philly.
Surely Philly wouldn’t want to refuse either.
She also came from a commoner background…
Then he saw Philly waving her hands too.
Wait.
Xia suddenly remembered.
Philly had already been adopted by Count Granwell.
Like other nobles, she lived in the count’s manor, wore custom academy uniforms, and traveled in horse-drawn carriages.
So after all this…
Was he the only actual poor person here?
“Miss Dailina, you think too highly of us.”
“The academy’s commission belongs to the academy.”
“But the town’s gratitude belongs to the town.”
“You risked your lives to help us.”
“If I can’t even offer this small token of appreciation, how could I continue facing people as lord?”
The lord smiled and shook his head before pushing the three money pouches toward them.
Dailina still hesitated.
But Philly had already reached out and picked up her pouch, casually weighing it in her hand as the corners of her lips curved upward slightly.
“Then thank you very much, Lord.”
Inside his heart, Xia immediately kowtowed to Philly.
As expected of a reborn person.
You truly understand how to accept money.
Seeing Philly accept it, Dailina found it awkward to continue refusing.
Xia also unceremoniously accepted his pouch.
The heavy weight in his hand filled his heart with satisfaction.
Then he weighed it slightly and realized all three pouches contained the exact same amount.
Tsk~
Why did he suddenly feel a little guilty taking this much?
Xia started recalling his “achievements” over the past two days and realized he seemed to be the biggest freeloader among them.
Entered the ruins.
Got injured by monsters.
Received healing from Dailina.
Went deeper into the ruins.
Got injured by stronger monsters.
Received healing from Dailina again…
He had repeated this cycle over and over.
In the end, he even fell and suffered heavy injuries before coming back up to receive another round of healing from Dailina.
Good lord.
This wasn’t merely freeloading anymore.
Wasn’t he just pure deadweight?
How does he even have the face to accept this much money?
Xia was practically the definition of getting carried to victory!
But then again…
The three of them only cleared the upper-level monsters inside the ruins.
Yesterday, after transforming, he had completely cleaned out the ruins from top to bottom.
He even eliminated the massive hidden danger posed by those demonic insects.
And the true culprit behind the monster outbreaks, the Demon God itself, had also been taken away by him.
Without him, this town would genuinely have been doomed.
The grip around Xia’s money pouch tightened more and more.
His gaze gradually became firm and resolute.
Who was the real MVP?
Him.
Xia contributed the most.
He was the real MVP!
Thinking about it that way…
Didn’t that mean he was actually underpaid?