Chapter 38: Sophie's Salary

The next morning, the sun was bright. Bing Zhiye stretched a big yawn and sat up from bed. "Huh?" He touched his head and found a fluffy sleeping cap that he didn't know when it appeared.

"You're really lucky, sleeping until broad daylight without having to attend classes," Luo leaned against the bedpost opposite, grinning while drinking water and looking at him.

"Do you not have classes?" Bing Zhiye yawned, rubbed his sleepy eyes, and accidentally touched something hard. He looked down and saw the book he had seen at Teacher Sophie's house yesterday.

Luo said, "I ran into Teacher Sophie outside just now. She asked me to bring her up and left a book for you, along with a sleeping cap."

Bing Zhiye looked at the sleeping cap, which was in the shape of a rabbit. A faint thought crossed his mind, and he understood her meaning. "What time is it now?" Bing Zhiye asked lazily.

Luo put down the water cup and said, "Can't you look at the clock? It's already half past ten. I really don't understand how you can sleep like this every day. How will you wake up when it's time for class?"

"You said you wanted to grow taller and fatter, right? I think sleeping can solve that," Bing Zhiye said. After the promotion exam, since other classes hadn't scheduled the next course, he had to wait for a new term or until there were enough people to form a new class.

Luo said, "I don't think you'll have classes for the next two months. It takes at least one to two months to schedule a class. Oh, right, you still have to take the promotion exam, so you won't have classes for half a year. I envy you! I won't chat with you anymore. I've also applied for the promotion exam this week, so I need to practice hard. Oh, and Teacher Sophie said she feels sorry about what happened yesterday, so she's inviting us to lunch today. Wait in the dorm, don't go out."

Bing Zhiye watched Luo leave the dorm and then looked at the empty room. He slowly climbed down from the bed and went to wash his face with a towel.

The warm sunlight and the rich milk made him feel very comfortable. Lying on a chair outside the balcony, a sun umbrella shaded him, and a small white round table under the umbrella held half a dozen cookies. What a pleasant feeling!

A fire crystal the size of a goose egg slid from his arm and landed in his lap. Bing Zhiye picked it up and looked at it in the sunlight. The smooth, round surface glowed orange, with dark and light patches inside, like uneven liquid. "This should be a fourth-grade fire element crystal. Such a large piece should be worth tens of thousands of gold coins. Is it too much to give me something so valuable?"

"By comparison," Bing Zhiye picked up the book again, "this is priceless! She's so good to me, how can I accept it?" He thought about the purpose of coming here and frowned.

Bing Zhiye picked up the fire crystal again and muttered, "The three-headed fire python isn't a very rare magical beast, but its items are rarely seen on the market. Last time, a one-square-meter piece of fire python skin sold for ten thousand gold coins. Its crystal could easily fetch 100,000 gold coins." He thought about Sophie's clothes, which he could feel were made from a mixture of stone cypress wood fibers and other materials.

Stone cypress is a relatively rare tree, hard and resilient, often growing on the edges of volcanoes or in hot deserts. Its wood can be woven into fibers to make clothes that can withstand extremely high temperatures. However, being heat-resistant and fire-resistant doesn't mean fireproof; the person wearing the clothes can still feel the heat. In contrast, the scales of the three-headed fire python, while not as heat-resistant as stone cypress, make the wearer almost feel no heat from external flames, making it the ideal material for fire-resistant armor.

Bing Zhiye wondered if he should buy a piece of such scales to give back to her.

"Ah, I'm back, so tired," Carol, Wayne, and Luo entered one after another, followed by Conelia and Yilina.

"Sit wherever you like," Luo said to the two girls.

Conelia looked at the room's layout and said, "Wow, it's quite unique. Why are the cabinets and furniture in your dorm different from ours?"

Yilina said, "Is it because some teacher is favoring you and gave them to you? Hmm, hmm!"

"No," Carol said, "Who would be so good to us? If someone gave us such furniture, others would riot. Luo made all of this himself."

"Ah! You made it yourself, Luo, you're so amazing," Yilina said, pulling Luo's arm with an admiring look.

Luo was about to be proud, but Yilina's reaction made him embarrassed, and he just scratched his head and laughed foolishly.

Wayne glanced at them and whispered, "One is a fangirl, the other is a fool, I can't stand it."

Carol thought, "You're one to talk."

Bing Zhiye said from the balcony, "You're back so quickly, what time is it now?"

"Ah~! You're really enjoying yourself," Wayne said, "I feel like you're not here to study but to vacation."

"Wow, what a pleasant balcony, even with beach chairs," Yilina said happily, running to the balcony and lying on another beach chair. "So comfortable! A glass of lemonade would be perfect."

Luo really brought a glass of lemonade and handed it to her.

"Wow, that's great, thank you, Luo," Yilina said, sipping it happily. "It's even cold, so comfortable!"

"Really disgusting," Carol shivered.

Wayne thought, "That juice was bought by me, you know." But he didn't dare say it, or he would face Yilina's scolding.

Conelia asked Bing Zhiye, "Although you've finished your exam and have no regular classes, you can still attend other classes. Is it really okay to rest every day?"

"Relax," Carol said, "He's going to take the green robe promotion exam. Intermediate magic classes are a piece of cake for him."

Conelia thought about it and said, "I was worrying for nothing." She noticed a book under Bing Zhiye's hand and became interested. "What book are you reading? Can I see it? I want to see what geniuses read."

"No," Bing Zhiye answered simply and directly, without any hesitation.

Conelia was taken aback by his quick and direct refusal, feeling a bit awkward.

"Really impolite," Carol said unhappily, "No manners at all. What's so special about a book?"

"Is everyone here?" The door was open, and Sophie entered. "Good, let's go."

Everyone was happy to leave the school's cafeteria for a big meal and rushed out.

At the dormitory entrance, Bing Zhiye recognized the red-haired woman he had seen at Sophie's house yesterday.

Sophie smiled, "Let's go, Blanch, the kids are all here."

"Who is this beautiful aunt? Is she a teacher at the school?" Everyone asked.

Being praised makes anyone happy, especially teenagers. Blanch was also delighted and said, "What cute kids! I'm not a teacher, but a good friend of your Teacher Sophie."

"Aunt Blanch," everyone called out, including Bing Zhiye.

At a high-end hotel, the group eagerly ordered luxurious dishes, choosing the most expensive and delicious ones, making Blanch sweat and whisper to Sophie, "Is it really okay?"

"Yes," Sophie whispered back, "Although I'm a bit tight on money lately, I can afford one meal."

Bing Zhiye also joined in the frenzy, ordering lobster, crab, abalone, and seafood, which were not easy to transport to Tiberias, a city far from the sea, and were several times more expensive in the capital.

After ordering, Wayne thought for a moment and asked, "Teacher Sophie, is this really okay?"

Carol and Yilina, sitting next to Wayne, punched him on the head and said, "You only ask after ordering? No sincerity at all!"

Sophie smiled, "It's fine, enjoy your meal. You were scared yesterday, so consider this as compensation."

After the dishes arrived, everyone started eating. Conelia and Yilina were more reserved, while Wayne and Luo were like beasts, competing to see who could eat the most, making it look like a fight.

Yilina praised Luo for being manly while scolding Wayne for being rude. Carol watched coldly, mentally cursing them as idiots, gluttons, fangirls, and brain-dead.

'Clang!' When it was time to pay, six teenagers and two adults had eaten 94 gold coins, without the tip.

"Full~!" Wayne patted his bulging stomach and was shocked when he heard the bill. "9...94 gold coins? Did I hear that right?!"

Luo was even more shocked, jumping up. Eight people eating nearly 100 gold coins, "Are you kidding? Did they get the bill wrong?"

It's no wonder they were shocked. A common person's monthly income was around 50 to 60 gold coins, and even a government official's salary was around 100 gold coins, like Yilina's father, the secretary of the Silver Leaf mayor, who earned only that much. Eating a meal that cost an official's monthly salary was hard to believe.

The waiter said it was correct and listed the prices. Luo and Wayne glared at Bing Zhiye, their eyes almost on fire.

It turned out that Bing Zhiye's orders alone cost 47 gold coins, with a single abalone costing 17 gold coins. No wonder they were angry.

Carol sweat-dropped, thinking, "This guy, his ordering skills are really something."

Yilina thought, "God, I'm glad he's not my brother..."

Luo was even more shocked, "So brutal, how could he be so ruthless!"

"Was he a noble before? Why did he order the most expensive things?" Conelia wondered.

Blanch thought, "Sophie, are you embarrassed? Did you not bring enough money?"

Sophie took out a 100-gold coin voucher from her bag, "Thank you, we'd like to sit a bit longer. Could you bring us some more juice?"

Seeing the teacher pay, everyone felt a weight lifted off their shoulders.

Sophie saw their expressions and smiled, "What's wrong? Did you think I couldn't afford it?"

"Heh, heh..." Everyone laughed nervously.

Sophie smiled, "Don't worry, your teacher has enough money for this."

Blanch thought, "Of course, your underwear alone costs hundreds of gold coins, even on sale. I bet you spend all your money on that."

"Really?" Yilina asked in surprise, "Kulandine Academy's salary isn't that high, is it?"

"Teacher Sophie, how much do you earn per month?" Carol also asked.

"Do you really want to know your teacher's salary?" Sophie said, "Alright, I'll tell you. Teachers at the academy have different ranks and salaries. My salary is 324 gold coins, plus 100 gold coins for being an outstanding teacher this year. The Magic Guild pays 72 gold coins monthly, and I have a government position in the empire that pays 241 gold coins. I occasionally do mercenary tasks and earn bonuses... so I earn over 1,000 gold coins a month."

The students were stunned, thinking, "Spending money like water."

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