Nancy's Payment
The data Nancy provided as payment for sex brought a satisfied smile to my face. Recalling how the soldiers had fled in terror after seeing the "demon-possessed" bull in the village, I realized the ghost prank had worked perfectly. The soldiers were now long gone, having run far enough that they were no longer visible.
"Dana, you did well." At my words, Dana descended from the air and landed lightly on the ground, offering a faint smile. Her slightly flushed expression suggested she had enjoyed the ghost act herself.
I glanced at the iron cage loaded in the wagon. The middle-aged man inside alternated his gaze between me and Dana, his face slack with astonishment.
"My name is Kang Hyun-woo."
"P-Pasvachio, I am."
"Step back for a moment. I'll get you out."
"Ah, yes……."
Once Pasvachio had retreated, I channeled aura into my dagger and sliced through the bars once horizontally and once vertically. Several bars fell away cleanly. Pasvachio ducked through the opening and emerged safely.
"Thank you for saving me."
"I'm glad we met again."
After a brief handshake with Pasvachio, I gestured toward Dana.
"Thanks to this lady here, everything went smoothly. It would have been difficult without her."
"You helped me escape a great crisis. I am truly grateful."
Pasvachio offered Dana a formal bow of thanks, but she remained expressionless and silent. It was strange to see someone raised in the royal court, where decorum and formality were paramount, ignore basic social courtesy. She could at least have nodded. Was it because he was beneath her station? Pasvachio looked embarrassed, as though he had been speaking to a wall, when Marcus arrived driving the wagon.
"Jane! Peggy!"
"Darling!"
"Father!"
The reunited family embraced one another, weeping with joy.
"It's good that we have more people, but the house is too small. I'm worried."
Climbing down from the driver's seat and approaching with his hands clasped behind his back, Marcus watched the three of them with a warm expression even as he voiced a practical concern.
"We'll just pitch another tent beside the barracks."
"You're buying it?"
"Harry's old one is still in the storage shed."
"You didn't throw it away?"
"I kept it thinking we might need it someday."
"That should be spacious enough for three people. Harry was huge, after all."
Having savored the reunion, Pasvachio left his family and approached me. Determination for a new beginning was evident on his face.
"What should I do from now on? Tell me anything."
"From now on, call me squad leader."
"I will do so."
I placed my hands lightly on his shoulders and smiled. My first personally recruited squad member stood before me.
"I'll speak casually from now on, Pasvachio. You're now the fifteenth squad member of the Elk Bandits."
He nodded slowly.
"Understood, squad leader. I will never forget the debt I owe you for saving me and my family."
***
With Pasvachio's arrival, things became considerably easier. It wasn't just the extra pair of hands; his skill was extraordinary. Having retired from mercenary work right after marrying Jane to become a city blacksmith, he possessed excellent dexterity and keen observation. Whatever task he was given, he completed it flawlessly.
"I should have met Pasvachio sooner. He works so well."
"Thank you for saying so, squad leader."
Thanks to the reliable new member, I was able to step back from half of the fifteenth squad's duties and focus more on Chen. Mana training. Gathering intelligence on Chen. Strategic planning for how to hunt him. While I prepared meticulously, it naturally became necessary to meet Nancy again for a transaction. So I took money and went to find her.
Everything had to be handled alone. The female leader had declared an all-out war against Chen's bandits, but that was merely to appease her enraged subordinates. In reality, she seemed reluctant to engage in open confrontation. After the Ryan Heart unit declared its intent to eradicate bandits and stationed itself in the region, the various bandit groups had each sought their own survival, eventually uniting into a single "team"—an alliance and a community of fate. Attacking Chen's group, which was practically an ally, would provoke backlash from the other bands. That was why the female leader had given me a secret order to bring back Chen's head without the other groups knowing. The alliance mattered, but calming her own angry subordinates came first.
The assassination of Chen was a covert operation known only to the female leader and me.
When I arrived at the eighth squad's barracks, Nancy was outside. She appeared to have just returned from an operation and was sorting gear with her squad members. Spotting me, she approached with a smile, as if wondering what brought me here.
"It's been a while."
"Haven't seen you around lately."
"The fourth squad got wiped out, so the eighth has been busy. We took over some of their work. What brings you here? You wouldn't come just to chat."
She was sharp as always. I glanced past her shoulder before meeting her eyes again.
"Want to move somewhere else for a bit?"
She nodded easily and followed me to a secluded, quiet spot.
"I need information on Chen. The location of their base, the size of their group, any merchants or nobles they trade with, and if you have a floor plan of the base, that would be even better."
After finishing, I held out the money pouch I had been carrying.
"Of course, I'm not asking for it for free."
The pouch contained exactly 500 veni—enough to buy two ordinary horses.
"Hmm."
Nancy crossed her arms and regarded me with interest.
"I heard a new girl joined your squad recently. She was quite pretty. A slave?"
"None of your business."
"Did you sleep with her?"
"That's not why I'm here."
When I cut her off bluntly, she chuckled and stared at me in silence for a moment.
"You're planning to avenge Phelton and Harry on your own?"
"I have to."
"Do the higher-ups know?"
"Bernhardt doesn't, and even Marcus doesn't. I'll go alone."
Since I had no intention of telling Nancy the truth, I gave a vague answer. I had already roughly explained the conversation with the female leader to Marcus.
"You'll get killed by Chen that way."
"I'll handle it myself. Just prepare what I asked for. You have the materials, right?"
"I do. But to use them, I need the squad leader's permission."
"I don't need the originals. Just copy them."
I shook the money pouch to make it jingle.
"I've included enough for your trouble. If it's not enough, say so. I'll give you more."
"Wow, impressive. You must have money. 'If it's not enough, say so. I'll give you more.'"
She mimicked my words and even my deadpan expression. I didn't laugh. I maintained a strictly businesslike attitude. In my heart, Nancy was not someone I trusted.
"If you're going to do it, bring them quickly. My arm hurts."
"Since this is the first time you've asked me, I'll do it because it feels good."
She grabbed the offered money pouch. As I handed it over, I continued.
"I'm thinking of stopping by Nobern, so make two fake IDs that will let us pass through the city gates. One for a man and one for a woman. I'll pay the rest when I receive them."
"Why two people instead of just one man?"
"You've been asking too many questions. An informant should just take the request and the money without questions."
"You and I are more than just client and informant."
Nancy gave me a playful wink.
"You don't plan on leaving after only talking business, do you? If you do what I want, I might work harder on your request."
She licked her upper lip with her tongue. I didn't hesitate for a moment. Truthfully, I had been starving too. I just didn't show it. I had plenty of sexual desire myself.
We moved to a deserted part of the forest and embraced passionately, kissing while roughly stripping each other's clothes. Once naked, I laid Nancy on the clothes spread on the ground, grabbed her ample breasts, and alternated between sucking and licking her nipples.
"Aah……!"
Nancy trembled with ecstasy from the caresses alone, as though she had been pent up from focusing solely on work these past weeks.
"Are we doing roleplay again today?"
"This time, you're the leader."
"The leader?"
"You're playing the leader. I'm still eighth squad member Nancy."
I paused while sucking on her exposed clitoris and frowned at her.
"The leader is a woman, isn't she?"
"So what?"
"Woman with woman. Doesn't that feel weird?"
"In my imagination, the leader has a dick. Act exactly like her personality and touch me."
"……."
So she had lesbian fantasies. Well, there was no harm in it, so I obliged.
"Nancy. I trusted you with a task, and you failed to handle it properly. I'm extremely disappointed."
"I'm sorry."
"Since you made a mistake, you must be punished. Present your ass."
She turned around and stuck out her plump buttocks. I slapped one cheek with my palm.
"Kyaa!"
"One isn't enough."
I struck the other side.
"Hng!"
In that manner, I maintained a strict, solemn, and serious demeanor while roleplaying as the leader and gradually conquered her. Eventually, when her fluids overflowed uncontrollably from her sex, I changed position, sitting cross-legged, and had her straddle me.
"Haaang……!"
Nancy wrapped her legs around my waist and took my hardened member to the root. We both moaned involuntarily, swaying in dizzying pleasure.
"Ah, the leader's feels so good. Haaaa, haa……!"
"Huk……! Huk……!"
I held Nancy tightly with both arms while she clung to me with her legs. Facing each other in that seated position, we became one and raced toward climax together.
"Ahng! Aaaa!"
"Hup!"
Before long, my violently moving body suddenly stiffened. An overwhelming wave of pleasure crashed over me. As semen spurted out in powerful jets, I shuddered with spine-tingling ecstasy and thrust into Nancy even more relentlessly.
"Aaaaang!"
Nancy seemed to reach her peak as well; her back arched like a bow and her lower body convulsed. At the same time, the walls of her vagina contracted powerfully around me, milking every last drop of my seed.
"Huk, huk."
"Haa……."
Afterward, we lay side by side in the forest before dressing and returning to the mountain stronghold.
"It'll take about a week to copy the materials and make the IDs."
I waited quietly for Nancy to bring what I had requested, spending ordinary days. Exactly one week later, she delivered everything properly.
"I hope you return safely. Finding someone else to enjoy would be troublesome."
"If I do return alive, we'll do it my way next time."
"What is your preference?"
"I'll tell you then."
"I'm looking forward to it for no reason."
After parting with Nancy, I immediately began preparing to leave the stronghold to hunt Chen. First, I had Marcus thoroughly review the materials Nancy had provided. Once he nodded, confirming their credibility, I finally trusted the information she had given me.