Leon felt equally relieved.
Just as he was about to get up to begin his daily meditation and study, something came to mind.
He walked over to the coat rack, pulled a few cards printed with "In celebration of our 500th brand anniversary" out from the inner pocket of his cloak, and handed them to Rose with a smile.
"Oh, right. Tsubaki gave me some vouchers yesterday. Before you head down to the Dungeon later, stop by the shop on the upper floors of Babel and have some fire-resistant cloth custom-made. That way you'll have better protection exploring the middle levels."
Hearing Leon bring up custom fireproof gear, Jeanne and Rose exchanged a glance, both lightly furrowing their brows.
Jeanne spoke up.
"True enough, the flames those monsters breathe on those floors are a real pain. Even if Rose and I can handle them without getting burned ourselves, our gear and battle clothes aren't fire-resistant, so they take a lot of damage. If we had fire-resistant cloth for protection, it'd be a huge help."
That issue...
Leon shrugged and spread his hands, an apologetic look on his face.
"This one's on me. Fire-resistant cloth is a middle-level essential. I should've prepared it ahead of time for the last expedition. Thought of everything, prepped so thoroughly, and I still managed to forget it. Since my oversight ended up increasing our equipment maintenance costs, I'll cover part of the money for the cloth this time."
Laurier's little face scrunched up in confusion at the suggestion. She muttered quietly,
"Uh... is there really a need to split it up that carefully?"
Leon waved her off.
"You're still little, you wouldn't get it. When you're older you'll understand why I'm doing this."
"Ugh, whatever~~~~~"
Laurier pulled a face, grabbed Aura, and dashed upstairs.
Clearly going to prep for the dive.
Finishing up with Jeanne and Rose, Leon nodded at them.
"I'll go update Aura and the others' Falna first."
"Okay."
...
Name: Aura Moriel Level: Lv.1 Job: Mage, Adventurer Deepest Floor Reached: Floor 17
Basic Abilities: Strength: I0 → G251 Endurance: I0 → G211 Dexterity: I0 → F355 Agility: I0 → F389 Magic: I0 → E499
...
Name: Laurier Swall Level: Lv.1 Job: Magic Swordsman, Adventurer Deepest Floor Reached: Floor 17
Basic Abilities: Strength: I0 → F301 Endurance: I0 → G288 Dexterity: I0 → F388 Agility: I0 → F397 Magic: I0 → E400
...
Once he had updated Laurier and Aura's Falna and handed each of them the parchment imprinted with their latest status, Leon smiled and said,
"Congratulations, you two. You've grown tremendously during this stretch."
In front of him, Laurier clutched her "report card" and giggled foolishly, letting out a steady stream of "hehe" sounds, her small face flushed with excitement.
Aura, always the clever one, bit down on her lower lip and kept her expression coolly composed on the surface, but deep in her eyes a powerful shock churned, mixed with disbelief.
This kind of growth rate... how is this possible!
How am I improving this fast!?
What happened?
What on earth is going on?
Countless questions flooded Aura's mind in an instant, leaving her utterly lost. No matter how she thought it through or analyzed it, her own abnormal situation, this leap-like growth, made no sense at all. She couldn't wrap her head around it.
Watching the expressions shift across Aura's small face, Leon quietly chuckled inside.
He stood up, gently patted her shoulder, and leaned down to whisper near her pointed ear.
"That's just who you are, Aura. Do you really have so little confidence in yourself?"
With that, he reassuringly patted her thin shoulder one more time, then calmly turned and left the room, shutting the door behind him.
Snapping out of her daze, Aura whipped around to stare at Leon's retreating back as it disappeared through the doorway, and suddenly an incredibly bold suspicion flashed through her mind.
Could it be... the reason Laurier and I have been improving at such a terrifying rate is Leon himself?
Some kind of magical effect?
Aura instinctively clutched the parchment in her hands, lowered her eyes, and began thinking at a rapid pace.
From what I know, Leon has two magics:
One is Heaven and Earth: Fortune's Blessing, which allows him, a mortal, to grant Falna to others.
The other is Leon's Grimoire, which allows him to acquire specific magics through study.
And now he's shown the ability to accelerate his familia members' absorption of experience!
Don't tell me he has a third magic slot like us elves, and he's mastered... a third magic?
But he's... he's human!
At that thought, Aura's eyes widened in astonishment, her small mouth half-open as she sucked in a sharp breath.
Wait, Jeanne and Rose have been growing at a rate that's clearly unreasonable too!
It all connects!
Yes, that has to be it. It must be Leon's magic that's multiplying our growth rate somehow!
Aura was all but certain she had glimpsed the truth.
If Leon had known about her line of reasoning, he would have given her a thumbs up.
The conclusion was right, but the specific mechanism she had guessed wrong.
In fact, if Aura had just examined the parchment a little more closely in that moment, she might have noticed...
In the section where her and Laurier's Falna information was recorded, there was a barely perceptible abnormal blank space, as if some crucial piece of information had been quietly erased.
Reception Room.
By the time Leon saw Jeanne and Rose again, the two had already changed out of their loose, comfortable loungewear and put on their battle clothes and armor.
"All done? How are those two?"
Jeanne asked casually while adjusting her gear.
"Absolutely thrilled, obviously. That kind of growth rate would do that to anyone."
Leon grinned and winked at them both.
Jeanne and Rose's eyes met Leon's, and all three of them broke into the same knowing smile.
The synergy between Beloved's Blessing and Beloved's Crest was still a secret known only to the three of them.
Knowing full well how valuable it was, they naturally kept that information under wraps with a tacit understanding.
As for Aura and Laurier...
When the time was right, they'd be told.
After saying his goodbyes, Leon put on his apron, turned, and headed into the kitchen to get busy.
He wasn't going to the Dungeon with the team today, which meant he had other things to take care of.
"Tsk tsk, a steady monthly income of 4.4 million valis... I'd better make sure to take good care of this patron."
He mused internally as he prepped the ingredients, the corner of his mouth tugging up unconsciously.
"Mr. Leon, we're heading out."
With that bright voice, the elf girls came down from the second floor, fully geared up.
Seeing Leon busy in the kitchen, Aura stopped and gave a small bow.
"Ah, stay safe out there."
Leon called out without looking up.
As the four of them left, the sprawling house was left with just Leon alone.
"Left by myself again."
He sighed, hands still working, though his heart was itching a little.
"I really want to go hunt monsters in the Dungeon! I'm already Lv.2 and I haven't even had a chance to test out my new strength."
But the moment he thought about the 4.4 million valis the Astraea Familia paid every month like clockwork, that restless urge was squashed flat.
"Making money comes first, making money comes first... what can I do, Lady Astraea is just paying too much."
After a full morning of bustling around the kitchen, Leon finally finished preparing the first batch of carefully crafted Monster Hunter Special.
He found a brand-new woven basket, neatly arranged the still-fragrant dishes inside, and finally covered them with a clean cloth.
Once everything was in order, he glanced at the magic-stone clock on the wall, picked up the basket, and hurried out the door, heading for District 1.
It was a promised engagement, after all, and the first time they were working together. He had to make a good impression.
At the very least, punctuality was non-negotiable. That was the most basic show of sincerity.
...
District 1, Court of Stars.
Compared to the grand headquarters of the Loki Familia or Freya Familia, the Astraea Familia's base wasn't all that large in terms of land area.
As a small-to-mid-sized familia with only eleven members, or twelve counting the patron goddess, they didn't really need an especially huge space.
But precisely because every member was female, the Astraea Familia's base was remarkably meticulous and tasteful in its interior and exterior decor and overall aesthetic.
The Court of Stars was a villa that blended perfectly with nature.
Flowers clustered everywhere, greenery wrapped around the building, and vines curled gracefully up the walls and pillars. Life spilled out from every corner.
Just taking a moment to look around, one could feel the love the girls of the Order Faction had poured into this home through every thoughtfully arranged detail.
The sight stirred a quiet pang of envy in Leon.
Lady Demeter had lent him a place that was already far better than what the average citizen had to live in, and at least he no longer had to stay at an inn.
But compared to this building in front of him, which looked like it had grown straight out of the forest, his own place paled by comparison.
Make money! Then buy land, build a castle!
Pushing down the envy, Leon silently set that goal for himself.
"Coming!"
It took a while after he knocked before anyone came to the door.
Seemed like not many people were home. All out on patrol? Made sense. Evilus had just pulled a big one on Orario, the Order Faction must be running around with their hair on fire. Not a lot of people left at base, which was to be expected.
Just as he was thinking about this, a familiar red ponytail came bouncing into view, the figure bursting with energy.
Alise Lovell.
"Huh, Captain Alise?"
Leon was a bit surprised to see her.
But he quickly caught on.
"Oh... I see. You're here as Lady Astraea's bodyguard?"
"Mm-hm!"
Alise nodded with a radiant smile.
"We did agree to a transaction, after all, so I'll be the one accompanying the goddess!"
As she spoke, she opened the door wide for Leon and stepped aside to clear the way.
"Come in, please."
"Lady Astraea is waiting for you."
"Got it."
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