Chapter 412

“Ah… th-thank you…” I had two bags of gold, totaling about 1000 gold coins.

Compared to before, I was definitely back to being wealthy. However, it was still nothing when compared to the combined wealth needed to run Chalm. Every Lord had to find his own sources of income by taxing the residents, exporting and importing goods, and various other exercises. In my case, that turned out to be dungeon diving.

The siren didn’t just hand us some of her gold, but also various pieces of equipment. I took the magic items that looked good, but eventually I started pulling back when she kept trying to hand me things. It was her own hard-earned wealth. From what I understood, sirens were a lot like dragons. Wealth mattered to them. Although she wanted to impress me as her new master, she would be miserable if she didn’t possess any treasure. In the end, we took far more than we would have obtained from any normal boss fight anyway.

After putting everything away, I patted her head. “If a group of Knights come, please delay them as long as possible. If it comes to wiping them out, don’t hesitate.”

That felt a little cold ordering her to kill, but she was a monster and those Knights weren’t good people. I guess I was really changing. Baby steps.

As far as taking her with us, I felt a little awkward doing so. Although many of her movements had seemed human, she really wasn’t. In line with a monster tamer ability, she really was just a creature. She had the intelligence of about a dog. She could handle simple commands, but if I spoke too complicatedly, she’d cock her head.

In fact, it took a while to even get my simple orders across. In the end, she didn’t feel like she’d be a fit for my party. I was thankful she got me the Monster Tamer job, but I decided I’d probably cut her loose. I could sever the bond since level five of Monster Tamer had given me the Release ability.  Therefore, I could break it off once we finished the dungeon. I’m not even sure what would happen to her once we completed the dungeon.

As she noticed us leaving, her expression falls, and she puts her hands together as she gazes at me lovingly.

“Maybe…”

“You can’t keep her, Master.” Lydia explained. “She’s a temptress. Even if you’re her Master, she’ll definitely manipulate you and make you do her bidding.”

“That’s… I won’t be manipulated.” I responded, watching her as her lower lip quivers.

“Master, she’s a high-level monster. You’re not powerful enough to handle her! Your Monster Tamer leveled quickly because of her high level, but it’s not high enough to handle a monster like that.” Miki pleaded, grabbing my arm.

“Ah… We’ll be going then.” I responded as the girls pulled me away.

Gah… why did it feel like a scene from one of those movies where I had to let the dog go. She was even looking at me with teary eyes.

“Let’s go, Master…” The girls were all pushing me or I wouldn’t be moving.

“Y-yeah…”

Did her eyes get bigger? They are definitely getting bigger. That slow, sad violin music was also tugging at my soul. Wait, isn’t she making that music on purpose? Ah! She took a step forward and twisted her ankle! Now, she’s on the floor, reaching out for me, tears in her eyes as I walk away. I can’t say goodbye now!

“I can’t! Siren girl, let’s be tog-guh!”

I turned around to reach for her, only for a foot to kick me in the chest. I fly out the door as my girls callously slam the boss door shut. The last thing I saw was the siren making an annoyed tsk as she crossed her arms unhappily.

“So? We’re moving on?” I pretended nothing had happened, even though there were four girls sitting on top of me.