The cats outside the window poked their heads in to look inside the room.
Sophia said, “So many cats.”
“They’re Aurina’s cats, right?”
Richard said. “She seems to really like cats.”
The two walked side by side, stepping into the room.
Sophia’s father sat in front of the table, his wooden leg leaning against his own chair.
“Good morning, father-in-law.”
“Don’t call me father-in-law,” Sophia’s father said. “You’re not married yet. Sit.”
Richard sat opposite Sophia’s father, and by the way, pulled out a chair for Sophia, but Sophia didn’t sit next to him; instead, she sat beside her own father.
As soon as they sat down, Sophia’s father got straight to the point: “How much bride price do you plan to give?”
Richard had already planned out the future living expenses with Sophia in advance.
The bride price expenditures: support for the orphanage, a few warhorses for travel, spending on gifts for Sophia…
He said, “466 gold coins.”
This was the highest expenditure in Richard’s plan; the only thing comparable was the magical plate armor forged from eternal steel on his body.
Richard had taken it very seriously, personally finding a master armorer to custom-make it, and the result was very satisfactory.
In total, he gave the master four hundred gold coins; according to Aurina’s appraisal, it was 409 gold and 1 silver.
Sophia’s father’s brows furrowed at once:
Richard, I know you’re no longer the orphan from the orphanage in Haisha City.
I know I once cursed you as a bastard without a mom or dad, and I hope you can forgive that, because my daughter sneaked out at night to find you.
But you can’t hold a grudge until now.
Now you’ve risen to prominence—what dragon-slaying hero, what dragon knight, and even killing the emperor in the capital, supporting the female emperor.
I heard you could even become regent king or something.
“466 gold coins? Are you humiliating me? Humiliating my daughter?”
Richard quickly said, “No, absolutely not. I’m sincere toward Sophia.”
Sophia’s father forcefully exhaled smoke, knocking his pipe on the tabletop: “You got the emperor’s treasury, with treasures piled up like mountains inside, and now you’re only willing to give 466 gold coins?”
“This bride price is what I carefully planned, considering our future life needs, support for the orphanage, warhorses for travel, and gifts for Sophia.”
“Don’t talk so much nonsense.”
Richard struggled to spit out the words: “I can only give that much.”
“Hahahaha.”
Sophia’s father laughed in extreme anger, leaning back against the chair back, patting the shoulder of Sophia, who had been silent all along, with his hand.
“Daughter, daughter, you’ve misjudged the person all along. So many years wasted on a heartless man.”
Richard looked toward Sophia and saw undisguised disappointment on her face.
Sophia said, “Richard, Aurina has so many treasures she can even sleep on them as a bed.”
Richard said, “Dear, there are still many expenses along the way, and I don’t know where she got so many gold coins from either.”
“I believe you won’t lie, because of the oath,” Sophia said.
“But you also said to divide the spoils fairly; perhaps you’ve always favored Aurina without realizing it.”
Richard opened his mouth, wanting to say something. Sophia’s father said, “Enough. Outside, they’re all saying you’re a pedophile. Are you or not? Richard.”
Richard shook his head: “No.”
“Then swear to Tyr.” Sophia’s father took a deep drag from his pipe: “Have you ever had sexual desire for that girl.”
It was too straightforward; Richard was stunned for a moment.
At this time, Sophia was like a father waiting outside the delivery room, gripping her own father’s hand tightly.
Richard opened his mouth again; he recalled when he served as Aurina’s mount, her sitting on his shoulders, her two legs like fox tails dangling on his chest.
In an instant, guilt and shame surged up in his heart. He closed his mouth again, finding it hard to speak.
Sophia’s father said, “Speak!”
Sophia understood what a paladin’s silence meant; when faced with a question they couldn’t answer, paladins would remain silent.
She suddenly covered her face, stood up, let out a sob, and turned to leave.
Richard reached out to hold her back: “Sophia!”
Sophia slapped Richard’s hand away: “Don’t touch me, you evil—” Her eyes reddened; unable to finish her words, she quickened her pace, leaving Richard stunned in place.
Sophia’s father said, “Sit down. I’ll go persuade my daughter later.”
Richard sat down.
“Men… I’ve been young too; I know what’s going on.”
Sophia’s father exhaled a long puff of smoke. Richard hated the smell of tobacco, but he didn’t care now.
Sophia’s father continued: “What can I do? My daughter has followed you for so many years. Accompanied you on adventures, accompanied you to the Doomsday Volcano, accompanied you to the capital. She’s nineteen now; her childhood friends’ children can already walk on the ground, run, and talk. No matter what, I can only advise my daughter to endure it. What else can I do?”
Richard lowered his head and said, “I will definitely try to gather the bride price.”
“What about that dragon?”
Richard sighed: “I will sign a detailed contract with Frostsilver. As for the bride price, what number do you think is good?”
Sophia’s father extended three fingers: “How about this—not too much, thirty thousand gold coins.”
“Thirty thousand gold coins?”
Richard recalled Aurina’s appraisal of that big ship of Frostsilver’s; it seemed that even with a bunch of things inside the ship added together, it was only twenty-eight thousand gold coins.
He couldn’t help but blurt out: “Frostsilver’s ship docked at the pier isn’t even that much.”
Sophia’s father’s three fingers tapped on the tabletop: “I don’t care what you spent all the money on—gambling, sponsoring people, doing charity, whatever; it’s all your own business.”
Richard said softly: “All for justice.”
“I don’t care.”
Sophia’s father tapped the tabletop with his three fingers: “Thirty thousand gold coins!”
After a difficult round of bargaining, Sophia’s father generously relented, reducing the bride price to fifteen thousand gold coins, payable in installments.
Sophia’s father took out paper and had Richard write the contract.
“If not paid in full, you can’t leave the area; add this clause.”
Finally, Richard held Tyr’s holy symbol and swore to abide by this contract.
Sophia’s father picked up the contract, propped himself up on his wooden leg, and said: “The bride price is ultimately used for the marriage. Man, only by shouldering responsibility can one be a man; the more bride price, the heavier the responsibility. As a big man, you have to shoulder big responsibility. Right? Hmm? Right?”
Richard felt very tired and reluctantly said: “Yes.”
Sophia’s father laughed out loud: “Don’t be so stiff; call me father-in-law. From now on, we’re one…
…family.”
Richard forced a smile: “Yes, father-in-law.”
Sophia’s father patted Richard’s shoulder and subconsciously said: “Just like that, deal.”
He walked out the door with big strides on his wooden leg, like a merchant who had signed a deal taking full advantage—oh, he was originally a merchant, limping on his wooden leg but striding meteorically out the door.
Richard watched his back; he sighed in relief. But the room was filled with the smell of tobacco; sighing was just sighing, and a pressure of unknown origin weighed on his heart, with no lightness at all inside.
He stood up, yet felt his shoulders heavy, almost about to fall down.
Richard looked at the cats outside the window, looked at the sky outside the window, thought of those battles of iron and blood; his eyes gradually brightened, yet dimmed again, lowering his eyelids. What was usually always erect now hung limp.
Is this my life?
He muttered to himself: “What else?”
Now, should he wait here for Sophia to be persuaded back, or…
The room was filled with the smell of tobacco; Richard felt uncomfortable smelling it, so he walked out of the room, his shoulders and feet heavy.
He subconsciously patted his chest; clearly, he wasn’t wearing the magical full plate armor.
He returned to the room.
There was no sign of Aurina in the room, but her small desk was still there, with those three thick books padding the chair.
Richard walked toward his own wardrobe and opened it; there weren’t many clothes in his wardrobe.
One somewhat old formal suit; after the elbow got a hole, a not-so-good-looking patch was sewn on, and it had been idle as backup ever since.
He used the magical full plate armor to double as formal wear.
…..?
One armed tunic, with a few conspicuous patches on it.
He had two armed tunics; the second one was on him.
Besides that, one set of shirt, two underpants, and four pairs of socks, one towel.
Below, there was also a pair of leather shoes, with two patches sewn on the soles.
Besides that, no other clothing.
He used to be proud of his simplicity; they were always just enough and cheap enough, with unbeatable cost-effectiveness.
But now he had no such pride.
He reached into the shirt pocket, grabbing.
He remembered there were a few coins inside.
Memory didn’t fail; Richard grabbed out two copper coins.
He placed them on the bed and then poured out the money pouch from his own dimensional space bag.
The money pouch had paper stuck on it, with the number of coins inside written on the paper.
Added together, a total of 548 gold and 9 silver.
Unwilling to accept it, he poured the coins from the money pouch onto the bed, counted them carefully, stroking each coin with his fingers.
After counting, he found that, sure enough, he had miscalculated.
It should be 547 gold and 9 silver; missing one gold coin.
The gold coins were stacked neatly, yet that made them seem even smaller, especially tiny in front of fifteen thousand gold coins.
An absurd thought bubbled up in his heart: Could he write a letter to send to the Grand Cathedral of Light in the capital, asking if there was any leftover from the fifteen hundred gold coins he donated to everyone at the time?
He urgently needed money.
Richard silently put them all away, including the two copper coins; there were quite a few copper coins mixed in.
Now he couldn’t care about whether mixing copper coins in the bride price was appropriate or not.
As long as he piled the numbers up to fifteen thousand gold coins as much as possible, it would be fine.
After putting away the coins, Richard looked up and saw Aurina’s head placed on the windowsill watching him.
“Richard.” Aurina’s tone was heavy, not matching her childish appearance at all: “Ten thousand gold coins—ah no, ten thousand and one gold coins as bride price, is that enough?”
Aurina was very nervous.
The strongest little bug had suddenly inventoried his own treasures; could it be that he discovered she had stolen one gold coin from him?
Richard smiled and said: “Not enough.”
“Gah, this king knew it.”
Aurina said, and her head disappeared from the windowsill.
She came down from standing on tiptoe on the ten thousand and one gold coins, bent down, and swallowed them all into her belly.