13,

Mr. Cyclone’s hand rested on Sonja's chest; feigning innocence, he chatted with Sonja while allowing his hand to relax and feel at the same time.

"Oh!"

To prolong this dream, Mr. Cyclone tried to divert the conversation.

"By the way, Sonja, your house is massive!"

He finally took a look around the room; it was enormous, four times the size of Mr. Cyclone's house.

But Sonja just shook her head and said,

"This… This isn’t my house. In fact, this is now your new home, Mr. Cyclone."

"What?!"

Startled by Sonja's words, his hand unconsciously withdrew.

Regrettably, by the time Mr. Cyclone realized this, he couldn’t put his hand back on Sonja's chest because she took a couple of steps back.

"Over the past week, most assets stolen by the ex-Chancellor have been recaptured, totaling 50 million gold coins and various other properties that have been returned to the national treasury. We're planning to redistribute them to the citizens."

"Damn, 50 million gold coins? That's a lot!!"

"Yes, but part of the secret funds are still missing. Although we haven't been able to recover all, now is not the time to keep searching. Other countries have set their sights on Arlen City after hearing of the Chancellor's death."

Sonja suddenly held her mouth as if she had said too much and her eyes shrank slightly in order to stop herself from talking.

Closing her eyes and pondering, Sonja continued.

"And this mansion… is one of the ex-Chancellor’s old properties…"

"…What? Say that again?"

"This… This used to be the Chancellor’s house, but since he passed away, it’s been confiscated. The king decided to gift this to you, Mr. Cyclone, as a token of gratitude because it would be a waste to demolish it."

"Oh, wait! There won't be any risk… right?"

"Rest assured, Mr. Cyclone. I've inspected this place, and all of the Chancellor's former servants have been dismissed. The new ones are handpicked by my Wind Knights, they're completely safe."

"Huh, that does sound reassuring~ But after confiscation, doesn’t this place just become an abandoned property?"

Almost instantly Sonja realized the same thing.

"I… I should take my leave now to let Mr. Cyclone get some rest."

Just as she finished speaking, she turned and fled before Mr. Cyclone could stop her.

"She ran away just like that?!"

Lying in bed with nothing to do and Sonja gone, Mr. Cyclone decided to get up and explore the mansion.

Walking out into the hallway, Mr. Cyclone looked around and saw no one. Although there was no one around, Mr. Cyclone noticed something else, something quite eerie.

It was the Chancellor's portrait.

"Damn it!!! This house has a new owner, why would you keep that freak's portrait?"

Angrily, Mr. Cyclone pulled down the portrait and stomped on it a couple of times.

"What are you staring at? Here, take this!"

Turning around, at first glance Mr. Cyclone didn't notice anything. However, upon a second look, he discovered something astonishing.

Behind the wall where the Chancellor's portrait was hanging, there was a large hole.

Staring at the mysterious hole that seemed to lead to an unknown tunnel below, he said,

"Heh, any true man would explore such a hole!"

With a triumphant grin, Mr. Cyclone strode eagerly towards the tunnel.

After a while, he reached the end, and the spectacle before him left him speechless.

"My god... Is… is this a sea of gold coins?"

While chortling evilly, Mr. Cyclone disregarded everything else, and dived into the sea of gold coins.

***