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Chapter 104: Fiona’s Request

Martina planted her hands on her hips and looked at Reiner with the smug grin of a villain who had just pulled off a scheme.

After pondering for a few seconds, she smiled and said, “You’re my man; I can’t bear to hit you.”

Reiner dispelled Lightning Armor Forging, patted the dust from his clothes, and said, “At least you’ve got some sense.”

Nora muttered at the side, “Martina is so lame; she’s actually doing something that cheesy… she mocked me just for getting my ear touched before, and now she’s even bolder than I was.”

Martina put her hands on her hips, rolled her eyes, and said, “That was then, this is now.”

Junice and Elyanna opened their eyes, saw how harmonious the two were, and asked, “Looks like we missed something exciting.”

Reiner nodded and said, “Yeah, she took a bite out of me, so I lost.”

Although he had expected to lose before coming, he hadn’t thought he would lose that badly.

After mastering Lightning Armor Forging, Martina’s power had skyrocketed to a terrifying level.

At this point she could probably wipe out an entire orc tribe by herself.

Luckily the Minotaur chieftain had died county; otherwise he would have questioned his very existence if he had run into Martina.

Martina spread her arms and hugged Reiner, saying, “I’m your woman; my strength is your strength.”

Reiner narrowed his eyes and looked her over.

This girl was getting slicker by the day.

“You bullied me just now, so tonight when we rest it’ll be my turn to bully you,” Reiner said, raising an eyebrow.

Martina’s lips curved slightly as she replied indifferently, “Do as you like; I’ve been holding back for days anyway.”

While the two flirted, Nora’s inner voice reached him.

(An orc is coming.)

Nora walked over, patted Reiner on the shoulder, and said, “Master, your orc friend is hiding in the bushes; want me to drag her out?”

Reiner looked toward the direction she pointed.

Fiona suddenly stepped out and asked in confusion, “Reiner, my lord, were you sparring?”

“Yes, she learned a powerful spell and I was helping her practice,” Reiner answered, then paused and added, “Just call me Reiner; tacking ‘my lord’ on the end sounds awkward.”

Fiona nodded without speaking, as if she were brewing something in her mind.

Reiner studied her for a moment and said softly, “Speak your mind.”

“I’ve been trying to unite the orcs lately, traveling among the clans to persuade them, but last night a warlike clan raided us under cover of darkness and we suffered heavy losses,” Fiona said, lowering her head, “Reiner, please help me; I’m willing to sign a contract with you and place myself under your supervision.”

Reiner pushed back the hair the cold wind had thrown into his face and asked, “So how exactly do you need my help?”

Fiona pulled a map from her cloak, pointed to an area west of the forest, and said after a brief silence, “The Lion Claw Clan flies a banner with a tawny lion and is fairly strong. According to the spies I planted there, their chieftain likes to hunt at dawn and usually brings four elite guards.”

“If you already have intel like that, ambushing him shouldn’t be too hard, right?”

Fiona shook her head and sighed softly, “It’s difficult; they’re powerful. Too many people and we’ll be spotted, too few and he might escape. We only get one shot… if we fail, he’ll be on guard and it will be even harder next time.”

“How strong are we talking? You’ve seen the Black Wolf Clan’s chieftain… between the two, who is stronger?” Reiner leaned against a pine tree and yawned sleepily.

Fiona answered decisively, “The Black Wolf Clan chieftain is much stronger than he is.”

Then it’s no problem.

Martina could probably kill him more easily than squashing an ant.

“Deal. I’ll take out the orc chieftain. Besides the contract and lessons in dark magic, what payment will you offer?”

Fiona narrowed her eyes and countered, “You still haven’t given up? I thought you were joking. Recently our laborers uncovered an abandoned ancient gold mine in a hidden place, and I’m willing to pay you in gold.”

Reiner’s eyes lit up the moment he heard the word ‘gold.’

He coughed lightly and asked, “How much can you give?”

Fiona thought for a moment and answered, “I’ve seen your coins. If we mint them in the same style, I can provide about 100 of them.”

Reiner swallowed hard.

This really was a great place to make money.

“I’ve heard humans like to wear gold jewelry. If you’d like, I can have a craftsman make you a set,” she offered.

As long as it provided no bonus effects, such trinkets were nothing but flashy baubles in Reiner’s eyes.

Besides, wearing too much jewelry was an invitation to thieves.

That was why Junice had previously wrapped the gem atop her staff in black cloth.

“Forget the jewelry. Give me 70 pieces of gold the size of Barnite coins, and the rest will serve as the fee for hiring you as my dark magic instructor,” Reiner said, holding up two fingers.

Fiona sighed softly, “Still not giving up? If you can’t learn it, don’t blame me; a human learning dark magic is unheard of. Besides, I’m quite busy and might not have that much time to teach you. How about my father instructs you? He’s an even better priest than I am.”

Reiner replied with complete seriousness, “I prefer beautiful women as my teachers.”

The main thing was that some orc customs differed greatly from those of humans.

Reiner felt especially comfortable around Fiona, but that wasn’t necessarily true with other orcs…

Fiona scratched her cheek awkwardly and said, “Please stop teasing me.”

“Let’s leave it at that. Go take care of your own affairs,” he said.

“One more thing… if possible, I’d rather he simply vanish without a sound.” Fiona gave a slight bow, slipped back into the bushes, and called, “I’m counting on you, Reiner.”

Reiner yawned; this would be far too easy for him.

Martina came closer and asked curiously, “What were you two talking about?”

“She plans to hire us to deal with a political rival.”

“We get to kill orcs again?” Martina’s eyes gleamed with excitement.

It was clear she couldn’t wait to test Lightning Armor Forging in real combat.

“Let’s head back and rest first. We’ll move tomorrow morning,” he said.

Martina answered a little dejectedly, “All right.”

She suddenly grabbed Reiner’s shoulder and stared at him earnestly.

“What is it?”

Martina spoke slowly, “Darling, if you get too fickle, Nora and I won’t feel good about it.”

She was referring to Fiona.

Martina went on, “Junice feels the same, but she’s shy so she won’t say it aloud…”

Junice cut in directly, “I admit Reiner is outstanding… witty, humorous, and talented… but we were just acting back then…”

“You’re just being stubborn; my intuition is sharp and you can’t fool me.” Martina stepped in front of Junice, stared her down, and said, “Repeat what you just said.”

Junice opened her mouth slightly, but her guilty eyes kept darting elsewhere.

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