After exiting Mayor Irl's office, Asher and the other three exited the Town Hall. And just as they did, they encountered a young dog-eared woman dressed in a butler's outfit, looking like a suave tomboy with short hair.

She was a beastkin, one of the many demihuman races in this world.

"Sir and Madams' Wolf, I presume?" The dog-eared butler asked, stunned as she looked at the trio's beauty.

However, she kept her professionalism, returning to normal in an instant.

"We are, and you are?" Asher replied.

"I am Nettie Chloe Batterbee, head butler of young lady Kate Primrose Spencer, the manager of Coalfell's Whitelily Firm Branch. She heard of what you did, and she would like to reward you handsomely for service rendered. Would it be convenient for you to meet the young lady now?" The dog-eared butler smiled.

"Gladly." Asher smiled back.

He then looked at Price and spoke, "Price, we will go meet Miss Spencer. Where do you usually have drinks around here?"

"Just visit Ol' John's Saloon. I'll be there from 6 to 8," Price said and left.

"Well, Miss Batterbee. Please lead the way." Nidawei smiled and said.

"Please follow me." Nettie nodded.

She then led the trio through the town while chatting.

"Hey, Miss Batterbee, what do you sell?" Sonia curiously asked.

"The Whitelily Trading Firm has many types of trade, but every branch has different specializations. Our branch specializes in coal mining, luxury products, and slaves. But we also dabble in other things, like real estate and item procurement." Nettie explained as she led them to a large house with a garden.

While not as large as the Town Hall, it was certainly among the top ten largest buildings in the town, and likely contended for the spot of the largest house. Under Nettie's lead, they entered the not-too-fancy but still luxurious entryway, where they were greeted by a stacked, beautiful young woman with sharp ears, aged around 18, wearing a fashionable yet functional long dress with a long slit along the left side for maneuverability and perhaps more leg exposure.

She had pristine skin, sharp ocean-blue eyes, a straight nose, and curly platinum hair. On her left eye, she wore a golden-rimmed monocle with a chain, and a tiny, decorated tophat on her head, which looked more for style than function. On her strategically exposed chest slit, she wore a white-gold lily pendant and had several accessories, either for looks or living advertisement, likely both.

When the young woman saw them, she was initially stunned, but quickly recovered her professionalism and made a courtly lady bow, intentionally or not revealing her bountiful cleavage more.

The trio anabashedly glanced at the mountain crevice.

"Nice tits." Asher thought.

"Showoff." Nidawei thought.

"Mine are bigger." Sonia thought.

"I am Kate Primrose Spencer, 11th daughter of the Spencer merchant family, and branch manager of Coalfell's Whitelily branch. I truly thank you for your aid in recovering my guards and merchandise, Mr. and Mrs. Wolf." The sharp-eared woman said with a soft, eloquent voice.

"We just happened to pass by, ma'am," Asher said, glancing at her cleavage.

"We are just happy to help, miss." Nidawei smiled, also glancing at the cleavage.

"So we heard you want to reward us?" Sonia bluntly asked, looking at the cleavage while subconsciously comparing it to her own.

"Yes, of course. But please entrust your rifles and any other inconveniences to my butler before entering my parlor." Kate said.

"Sir and madams, please." Nettie approached them and requested.

Not finding the request excessive, the trio disarmed and then followed Kate to a cozy parlor room.

Sitting on a comfy couch, the trio was served tea by a cat-eared servant while Nettie waited on them.

"Once again, I thank you for your help." Kate smiled and said.

"It is fine. But do you know who might have hired or tipped them on your convoy? They seemed oddly prepared for it to be a casual heist." Asher pointed out.

"I have a few in mind... but if I were to make an educated guess, it would be one of my siblings," Kate explained.

"Sibling Rivalry?" Sonia curiously asked.

"Do they allow such dirty play in your family?" Nidawei asked.

"Of course not... but they can't stop it. And I am a Reincarnated Hell Challenger, making me an unfavored successor. They wouldn't investigate such dirty play." Kate shook her head.

That made the trio raise their eyebrows. It was the first time they met someone else on Hell Mode. Moreover, from the sound of it, she was in a very unfavorable position.

"Is being a Hell Challenger that bad?" Sonia asked.

"That greatly depends on what you achieved in the Nightmare Trial. The higher your score, the more things you can retain from your previous life, and the better your New Game Plus can be... And I scored poorly." Kate said with a helpless look.

"How did that affect you?" Nidawei warily asked.

"To retain my memories and accumulated titles, I needed points... but I sorely lacked them. Without a choice, I let my Unique Title get randomized, let go of my memories, and even sacrificed being spawned with an adult body in exchange for being reincarnated with a longer-living Half High Elf race and being born in a wealthy background. The only thing I remember is my choices, as if to remind me that it wasn't the Great Steam God's choice, but mine. My bet was partially successful... at least I am living better than most, and I was not born into slavery. But being born as a Hell Challenger is precarious in this world, and my siblings dwarf my improvement rate, and I am often bullied. The only reason I am even considered as a successor candidate is because of the what-if scenario that I can turn things around with my Unique Title." Kate bitterly said.

"Would it be rude to ask what your Unique Title is?" Asher asked.

"Very rude... Unless you tell me yours." Kate narrowed her eyes and sipped her tea.

Asher shrugged, and he didn't mind telling her.

"Reality Merchant. I have spatial powers." Asher said.

"Temporal Speed Goddess. I am a time-based speedster." Nidawei said.

"Energy Black Hole. I can absorb all forms of energy, purify them, and emit them back." Sonia said.

"Now I feel envious. My Unique Title is Oblivion Witch... which allows me to use Oblivion Magic, a higher form of Destruction Magic... It is strong enough to protect me, but it doesn't help my growth..." The platinum-haired half-elf beauty said with a sulky look.

"Tough luck..." Asher sighed and shook his head.

Kate soon recovered and asked.

"By the way... I heard you are otherworlders. May I ask about your experience and how you became strong enough to take out 12 professional bandits alone?"

"We arrived in this world about 90 days ago and leveled up our skills until now in a village," Nidawei revealed. It wasn't a secret.

Kate frowned.

"That's it? I thought you would do more to get this strong..." 

"We were significantly weakened, but we have high Comprehension thanks to our race." Sonia casually said.

Kate's frown deepened in suspicion, a foreboding feeling welling up in her heart.

"How high was your Comprehension when you started? 30? 50? 100?" She testily asked, picking up her cup of tea to sip.

"1,000." Asher smiled.

Clatter* Spill*

Both Kate and Nettie looked at the trio in horror, ignoring the fallen cup and spilled tea on the expensive carpet.

"You absolute freaks! Cheaters! Beautiful Monsters!" Kate exclaimed after a long pause.

"Is it that exaggerated? I thought Demigods could reach an average of over 10,000 stat points even without skills. You were also technically one." Nidawei raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, shouldn't Demigods at least have a comprehension of several thousands?" Sonia pointed out.

"Of course not! Do you think everyone has the time, energy, and resources to level 10 Comprehension skills to lvl 1,000?! Only the top-most Demigods have it! Most of us rely on rare Comprehension-enhancement equipment and items and powerful mentors for faster skill learning!" Kate retorted, a layer of cold sweat forming on her forehead.

And then it clicked.

"Wait, how high are your skills?!" She exclaimed.

Asher thought for a moment and spoke.

"Oh, we have-"

"STOP! Please, don't say it! My poor heart can't take it!" Kate raised a hand, hurriedly stopping him, her face pale.

"..." Asher pursed his lips and didn't add more.

"Young Miss, you are sweating..." Nettie recovered, bringing an embroidered handkerchief and wiping the sweat off Kate's forehead.

"Huff... Thanks, Nettie." Kate sighed, the color returning to her face.

She adjusted her hair and cast a white spell on herself that removed the sweat.

"Oh, cool! Is that cleaning magic?" Sonia curiously asked.

"Basic Purification magic, to be exact. And yes." Kate said, having adjusted herself, forcing herself to remain calm.

She then looked at the trio and spoke.

"So, let's talk about your reward," Kate said, forcefully changing the subject.

"Ah, right. How are you going to reward us?" Sonia curiously asked.

Kate reached to her side, a dark space opening in the air, and she took out a weird-looking calculator.

"You have a Spatial Storage?" Asher curiously asked.

"It is a bit expensive, but 200 pounds can get you a 1 cubic foot storage ring. Of course, those with less money wouldn't invest in something like this." Kate said.

And then, she began typing on the calculator.

"First of all, the value of the returned goods. They contained six trained saddle horses, two oxen, 55 slaves, a covered wagon, and the cargo inside, which had travel supplies. For the horses, 72 pounds. The oxen, 40 pounds. The wagon, 20 pounds. The cargo is worth 25, but I will round it to 28. As for the slaves... I will go with the market wholesale value for a healthy unskilled lvl 1 laborer, so 5,500 pounds, for a total of 5,660." Kate calculated.

"Hah? I thought slaves were much cheaper in this world. The mayor bought those criminals from us for 5 pounds each. That's barely a 20th..." Sonia frowned.

"Obviously. They are untrustworthy trash and have no growth potential. If they dare try raising their level past 5, they will get gunned down to lvl 1 again. And they are bound to be lazier than regular slaves, and would try to make trouble. What they do would barely cover their consumption, and even the paperwork to enslave them is barely worth it. This is also the price the Machine Cult buys them for Servitors. They are just not worth more." Kate explained.

"Yikes... Talk about a waste of air." Sonia cringed.

"So, what percentage will you give us?" Nidawei asked.

Kate tapped her chin in thought and spoke.

"Hm... The accepted finder's fee is usually 5%, or 10% if it was just a few thieves.  Considering the ones who acted this time were professional criminal mercenaries, and you acted promptly, you deserve a 20% cut. So 1,132 Pounds... but I will round it to 1,140."

"Oh, wow. We already have 1,300 pounds from a casual town trip." Sonia smiled.

"Is it all right to give us that much?" Asher curiously asked.

"Certainly! I would have lost all the slaves if you hadn't acted in time. By then, I wouldn't know where to cry." Kate warily said.

"By the way, we heard you are in the real estate business?" Asher asked.

Hearing this, Kate's eyes lit up.

"Certainly! Would you like to rent one of our houses? Do you have a budget?" She asked.

"Yes, we want to rent the best furnished house you have. But we also want to purchase a plot and build our own. Money isn't an issue." Asher said.

Kate's smile widened, knowing she obtained a high-end customer.