Orario, Seventh District.
With a bang, Leon pushed open the courtyard gate.
"Rose, we're back."
As his voice fell, a figure stepped leisurely out of the house. It was Rose.
She wore shorts and a sports tank top that allowed easy movement, the outfit tracing the clean, energetic curves of her figure.
Watching the group file in, a bit worn out, a warm smile bloomed on her lovely face.
"Welcome back."
"You've all had a long day."
"Rose!"
Laurier let out a cheer, flung her backpack aside, and launched herself forward like a bird returning to the nest. She threw her arms around Rose, nuzzling her cheek affectionately against her, her voice dripping with sweetness:
"I haven't seen you all day. I missed you so much!"
"Mm, I missed you too."
Rose smiled gently, patting Laurier's back, soothing the clingy little koala.
Then her gaze turned to Leon and Jeanne, questioning.
"How did things go today?"
Leon walked to the stone bench in the courtyard and sat down, letting out a long breath. The tension in his nerves seemed to ease with it.
"Smoothly. We didn't run into any big trouble."
He took the cup of water she handed him, recalling the day's exploration.
"Today we went down for a stroll on Floor 16. The feel of small-party exploration is pretty different from when we were following a large group. The number of monsters and their spawn rate have gone up a tier. Finally got a taste of real pressure from the Dungeon."
Leon's phrasing was on the conservative side.
Saying he'd felt pressure was really only because there were two Lv. 1 juniors on the team. Besides handling offense, he and Jeanne had to keep a constant eye on the two of them in their roles as Supporters.
In that situation, zero pressure wasn't exactly realistic.
Rose nodded in understanding.
Then she clapped her hands and raised her voice a little.
"Everyone, the hot water's ready. Go take a bath and relax first!"
Laurier's eyes lit up. She let go of Rose at once and grabbed Aura beside her.
"Yes, bath time! Every time we come back from the Dungeon I'm drenched in sweat. I hate it!"
Grumbling all the way, she dragged Aura toward the washroom in a whirlwind.
"Laurier, slow down! No one's competing with you!"
Faintly, they could still hear Aura's sighs from a distance.
"Jeanne, you go join them too."
Leon looked at the blonde girl beside him. Spotting the golden strands plastered to her forehead, he smiled.
"I'll count up today's haul first."
"All right."
Jeanne gave a brief reply, set down her gear, and turned into the house.
...
In no time at all, the once-noisy courtyard quieted down, leaving only Leon and Rose.
"How is Kureha doing?"
Leon asked without looking up, pulling Drop Items out of his backpack one after another.
Rose sighed and sat down beside him naturally, helping him sort and organize.
"Same as before. It's been half a month now. Her physical wounds healed long ago, but still..."
A flicker of worry crossed her lovely face.
A suspicion had been quietly forming in Leon's mind.
The reason Kureha hadn't woken, aside from the possibility that her consciousness had instinctively severed its link to her body because the injuries were too severe...
The other possibility lay in the invitation letter.
Could it be... that in the moment she was dying, the invitation letter had done something beyond what he'd anticipated?
Leon turned it over silently, his brow drawing together.
Like... forcibly pouring every darkest, cruelest truth of the Kingdom straight into the depths of her consciousness?
The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.
If that was truly the case, a massive psychological shock on top of grave physical injury was enough to completely break even someone of firm will, to rob her of any meaning in fighting or even in living. A prolonged coma would start to make sense.
After all... it wouldn't be the first time an item produced by his Magic had pulled some unexpected shenanigan.
What was this, then? Tying off loose ends?
Letting Kureha sever her past and start a new life from zero?
The thought made him smile wryly to himself.
...
Before the sun went down, the two of them finally finished the count.
Leon hefted the bulging pouch and said cheerfully to Rose:
"Good haul today. Counting the Magic Stone income, bringing in around five hundred thousand shouldn't be a problem."
Rose straightened up too, gently smoothing the strands of hair that had fallen messy over her forehead. She nodded in agreement.
"By the standards of a four-person party exploring the middle floors, that's about normal income. Over a month, minus rest days, the familia can bring in roughly ten million Valis. That's already pretty good."
"After all, we're only five people."
Leon took a sip of water and grinned as he added:
"And ten million is just the floor. With a little luck, running into rare-type monsters, or an elite like a Minotaur dropping rare materials, the numbers can spike higher."
"And don't forget, Astraea Familia still pays us four million four hundred thousand Valis a month in Monster Hunter Special fees."
Leon's abacus was clicking away so loudly it was practically smacking her in the face.
Rose drew out a coquettish sigh, her eyes sparkling with mischief as she teased him:
"Oh my, the second gold coins come up, somebody's eyes go wide. Here I am, a living, breathing beauty, and I can't even hold a candle to those cold, lifeless gold coins? Boo hoo hoo..."
Leon: "..."
He set down his cup and looked up, taking in Rose from bottom to top in slow, careful detail.
Oh? White main-heroine high heels with open sides, and a decorative choker around her neck...
Plus those shorts tracing the perfect curve of her legs, and that form-fitting, daringly midriff-baring sports tank top...
Leon felt a wave of heat rush through him.
Never mind the others still bathing. He scooped Rose up in his arms and strode off toward his bedroom in long strides, her startled cry ringing out along the way.
"You're right. What's a gold coin next to a beauty like you?"
Rose, cradled in his arms, blushed scarlet, but her arms circled naturally around his neck. She buried her face in the crook of his shoulder, her voice coming out muffled.
"Jeanne's going to be jealous, you know."
"If she's jealous, we could always make it three."
Glancing at the skill effect of the Demon Lord's Crest, Leon's grin went as brazen as could be.
...
At dinner, around the table.
The air felt frozen solid.
Laurier and Aura were like two startled little quails. Heads bowed, not daring to breathe too loud, they poked at the food in their bowls in tiny bites.
But their flickering eyes, sneaking glances at the two women and one man across from them, completely betrayed the roaring flames of curiosity blazing inside.
What on earth did Mr. Leon do to Jeanne and Rose? Why are their faces so red?
Their eyes keep darting around, they don't even dare look at each other! Something super... embarrassing definitely happened!
Laurier's little brain whirred away, racing to figure out the situation.
Aura, for her part, kept her small face tight, fighting to maintain an elf's composure, eyes fixed straight ahead.
As if the man across from her, currently tearing into his meat, downing his drink, wearing a smug, insufferable spring-breeze grin, was just empty air.
Only the faint tremble of her lashes and the matching red flush at the tips of her ears gave her away.
Mr. Leon actually... actually dared to do something so... so shameless!
Recalling those faint sounds that had drifted out of Leon's room during that stretch, the startled cries and stifled noises from Jeanne and Rose, Aura felt a wave of heat shoot straight to the top of her head. Her small face went so red it looked ready to bleed.
"Jeanne, Rose, why aren't you two eating?"
"Eat more. You're both vanguards, you can't have lousy stamina!"
Feeling the arrogant aura radiating off the man, Jeanne and Rose felt their whole bodies burning.
The two of them shot him a vicious glare before finally starting to eat in small bites.
Except... with the two elf girls' gazes fixed on them, they felt like they were sitting on needles. The whole experience was pure torment.
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