NOVPUBGenerally speaking,
it’s hard to describe the cost of hiring an eighth-order strongman to fight in Black Fist, even without discussing whether such a national pillar of strength would agree to be hired in the first place.
Because, to be honest, for an eighth-order strongman to hide his strength and bully sixth-orders in such competitions, and to be complacent about it, is truly embarrassing.
"So it seems that it’s getting late, and I doubt any fighter would want to take a ranking match with me tonight,"
said Lanci, estimating the time and feeling it was about time to escort Miss Christina home.
The ranking matches didn’t carry a commission,
because they weren’t associated with business disputes at all; they simply were a means for fighters to increase their value and for employers to gain fame through the competition.
The only way to make money from such matches was through betting.
If one wanted to earn a large commission all at once, it would have to be through an employment fight involving business disputes.
As long as Christina lent Lanci out to win a crucial fight, she could receive a hefty commission.
"Indeed... After the high odds of the first match made a lot of money, the profits dwindled as everyone recognized your ability, and eventually it became a one-sided bet that didn’t pay off."
Christina looked at her nearly twenty thousand pounds in savings and felt as if she was dreaming.
The butler turned out to be more reasonable than she had imagined,
even though he had only allocated two extra hours for her additional duties, he was not nitpicky about the time spent commuting and registering the fighters.
Escorting her home was merely part of his butler’s duties.
In some ways, she now thought the butler was actually a nice person.
And...
If the butler could have pretended a bit and not disposed of his opponents so quickly, hiding some of his ability, perhaps they could have earned some more money.
"That would definitely not be okay. If I went easy, it would be detected as match-fixing, and I would be fined for dragging out the match," 𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑝𝘶𝘣.𝑐𝘰𝘮
Lanci said as if he had seen through Christina’s naively amusing thoughts.
Some fighters, even with certain victory within reach, choose to torment their opponents, which isn’t considered match-fixing but is reprehensible and incurs a heavy fine, known as ’violating the spirit of competition’ or ’prolonging the match.’
Winning decisively and efficiently, as Lanci did, was the proper standard for fighting.
"Uh... "
Christina was speechless,
Nevertheless, she had never imagined that making money could be so easy.
This butler was truly an unimaginable money tree.
If she wanted to make money off him...
Just this one evening could make her financially independent, and she could live luxuriously on her own without the Earl’s House.
"What, are you now reconsidering firing me?"
Lanci asked, his curiosity laced with a smile.
"No, as soon as I save up enough for the penalty, I will fire you immediately!"
Christina hesitated for a moment before staring him down with determination.
"Indeed, even though I received fifty thousand pounds from your brother and will soon take another fifty thousand pounds from you without having to work anymore, which is a really good deal, have you really thought it through? Your family would then be at a net loss of one hundred thousand pounds."
Lanci spread his hands, further enlightening her.
"I’ve thought it over, and I dare not covet your money!"
Christina told him with unwavering determination.
The more she considered the butler to be like a genie, the heavier that money felt to Christina; she feared that taking more from him might mean her family could never get rid of him.
"It seems I underestimated you..."
Lanci was a bit stunned by her response, sizing her up for a moment before a smile crept back onto his face.
"What do you mean?"
Christina asked warily.
"Your quality is quite admirable, shining like gold. If you were my employer, I would indeed be willing to work a bit harder,"
Lanci said, his tone half-joking, half-serious.
"What are you talking about?"
Christina was completely baffled,
The unexpected approval left her unsure of what he was really thinking.
She simply couldn’t grasp the meaning of his words.
"What I’m saying is that I don’t harbor any ill will. If it weren’t for the Duke’s House’s reputation, this huge sum of money wouldn’t have come so easily. Compared to a demon-like trading partner, I’m more like a mutually beneficial collaborator, right?"
Lanci patiently explained,
as if he was once again persuading her to view the money and his job as a butler in a different light.
"But I still won’t take the money because it came too easily without any effort on my part; the more you tempt me to accept it, the more I feel I’ll pay an unforeseen price for it."
Christina pondered for a moment before shaking her head resolutely.
"..."
This time, Lanci fell silent.
He had never been refused so many times,
Indeed, there are people with extraordinary steadfastness in the world, whom he cannot sway with words.
When Lanci was at a loss for words,
"Heh, Lanci, you got turned down,"
the voice of Talia echoed in his mind,
"How adorable,"
she added.
She had been listening to Lanci’s inner voice all along.
She couldn’t help but tease Lanci the moment she got the chance.
"Yeah, it’s just like how a girl like Master would never refuse me,"
Lanci naturally wouldn’t back down,
Struggling against heaven is tedious, against earth is tedious, but sparring with Talia is endless fun.
"..."
Talia’s mental voice went silent,
On reflection,
she had actually wanted to turn Lanci down every time, but in the end, she always agreed to his requests,
Starting from that first time feeding cats, then as a guardian, a teacher, helping him with card making, and so on.
Why couldn’t she just decisively refuse him, like this girl named Christina?
