Chapter 8: Money

The sound of crickets in the darkness filled the silence of the night. The Flint family’s house, with its wide-open door, was visible from the end of the street.

Inside, Rendy sat on the sofa, visible from outside the house. He sat while being bandaged by Mrs. Fiana, the bandage encircling his stomach, covering the scratches from his recent battle.

After successfully bandaging him, Mrs. Fiana gently patted Rendy’s stomach, causing him to tremble slightly.

“You’re a brave child to fight off a thief on your own.”

Upon hearing that, Rendy merely smiled faintly, although what Rendy had fought was not a human or a thief but a goblin. Nevertheless, Rendy pretended to agree.

Because no one else could see the creature like Rendy could. If Rendy told the truth, he might be considered insane.

So, Rendy just smiled faintly. Seeing his wife bandaging Rendy, Mr. Flint interjected.

“Why does he need such a big bandage? A plaster over the wound would suffice.”

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Fiana furrowed her brow and cast a sardonic glance at her husband.

“He’s our responsibility; we promised to take care of him like our own child.”

Upon hearing that, Mr. Flint grimaced; it seemed there was something between them. Something like animosity that could be felt by anyone between them.

According to Rendy, this might be because of the goblin earlier. Rendy remembered hearing Mr. Flint and Mrs. Fiana arguing inside the house before Mr. Flint left 15 minutes later.

Feeling the tension around them escalate, Rendy immediately inquired about the stolen goods scattered by the goblin earlier to alleviate the tension.

“What about the stolen goods from that thief? Are you going to take it to the police?”

Mr. Flint stroked his chin and began to think. Mrs. Fiana suggested that the stolen goods be handed over to the police immediately; otherwise, they could be accused.

It would be unfortunate if they were accused of theft when they hadn’t done it.

After a few minutes of thinking, Mr. Flint removed his hand from his chin and looked at Rendy.

“You said you needed money earlier, right?”

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Rendy nodded in response to Mr. Flint. Seeing this, Mrs. Fiana immediately commented.

“Wait! Wait!”

Mrs. Fiana stood up from her sofa and looked at her husband wide-eyed, as if understanding what her husband was about to do.

She gazed at him but Mr. Flint only looked at Rendy. Then, Mr. Flint asked Rendy,

“Do you need money?”

“I’ll give you the money from the stolen goods, but you must keep this a secret from everyone,” Mr. Flint added.

Upon hearing that, Mrs. Fiana’s tone of voice escalated.

“Are you kidding? Do you want this child to be accused of theft? What nonsense! Quickly give this money to the police.”

Mr. Flint looked at his wife.

“This child needs money to pay for his daily expenses at home.”

“But! This is stolen money!” Mrs. Fiana insisted.

The atmosphere in the house grew tenser. Rendy, who was standing near them, felt somewhat uncomfortable.

“Didn’t we promise to his mother?,” Mr. Flint asked.

Mrs. Fiana shook her head.

“Yes, but not like this!”

“Then why were you reluctant when I wanted to give him our money?”

Upon hearing that, Rendy immediately understood the origin of their earlier argument. Finally, everything was answered. It turned out Mrs. Fiana didn’t want to give Rendy the money, which led to their argument.

Mr. Flint looked at his wife.

“We promised his mother; why are you stingy with him?”

Mrs. Fiana, unable to answer, remained silent and then glanced at Rendy, quickly taking his hand.

“Forgive me, it’s not that I don’t want to give you money, but this is our savings. Mr. Flint has been showing signs of serious illness lately.”

Mrs. Fiana held Rendy’s hand gently, her old woman’s hand making Rendy nostalgic for his mother.

“Even so, I don’t want you to use this dirty money. I still regard you as a child!” Mrs. Fiana added.

Feeling uneasy about the money matter, Rendy hesitated to continue asking for money. Rendy thought he already received 200 Ren from Vanessa, which seemed enough. Rendy shouldn’t be greedy. He now looked like a goblin wanting more wealth.

“Mr. Flint and Mrs. Fiana, you don’t need to give me any money... I’ll find a job to earn it,” said Rendy.

Upon hearing that, Mr. Flint facepalmed himself. Then he said,

“Still, take this money.”

“But!”

“No buts. Let me handle the police.”

Mr. Flint insisted on giving Rendy the money from the stolen goods. Rendy and Mrs. Fiana, who initially tried to refuse, couldn’t resist Mr. Flint’s stubbornness. Eventually, they reached an agreement.

To split the stolen goods 50:50 between Rendy and the Flint family. Actually, this was Mrs. Fiana’s idea. Although she seemed unwilling for Rendy to have the stolen money, it appeared that Mrs. Fiana also wanted the money for herself. From this, Rendy concluded that Mrs. Fiana was greedy. She wouldn’t give the money to others, even though she had promised to take care of that person.

Unlike her husband, who enjoyed making jokes but still wanted to help anyone.

Rendy received a total of 3000 Ren and some jewelry like a gold ring and gold bars, while the Flint family received 4000 Ren and several pieces of jewelry.

Rendy put the money and jewelry he received into a box. Mr. Flint instructed,

“Don’t ever show this money. Use it only for your daily needs.”

Rendy nodded, accepting Mr. Flint’s order. Then he looked at Mrs. Fiana.

Mrs. Fiana smiled broadly at Rendy, then approached and hugged him tightly. She hugged him so tightly that Rendy couldn’t breathe, as if she was overjoyed to hit the jackpot.

Rendy knew she was delighted to get a lot of money and jewelry, not because she had reached a conclusion. Even so, Rendy let it go. Without him and Mr. Flint, Rendy and Reina might not have survived.

Mrs. Fiana kissed Rendy’s forehead.

“Go home, and don’t forget to come again tomorrow; I’ll make breakfast for you and Reina.”

Rendy nodded and said,

“Thank you.”

After that, Rendy went back home carrying the box. When he arrived home, Rendy immediately locked his house and brought the box into his room. Rendy intended to place the box under his bed.

Rendy walked with joy at having money. 3000 Ren plus the 200 Ren he already had were enough to survive for several months.

Upon reaching his room, Rendy opened the door knob and entered.

Creak

After entering, he closed his room and Placed the box under the bed.

But as he entered the room, his feelings suddenly changed again. This was only a little money. In a few months, Rendy would struggle again. He needed to find a job to have a steady income every month.

He pushed the box under the bed with his foot, into a cold and safe place where no one could see it, according to Rendy. This place was safe enough to hide the box.

Feeling it might be easily discovered, Rendy pushed the box deeper under the bed with his foot until it couldn’t be seen anymore.

After doing that, Rendy took off his jacket and placed it behind the wardrobe.

He also took off his shoes and looked at the bed. The desire to sleep overwhelmed him, but before that, he needed to check on Reina.

Rendy left his room and headed to Reina’s room. From outside, he peeped at Reina sleeping soundly on her bed.Next to her bed was her wheelchair.

Rendy smiled faintly, seeing his younger sister sleeping peacefully.