Having pushed his Lv. 2 potential to the standard cap, he slipped into sleep thoroughly satisfied.
Time passed, and the next day arrived.
When Leon got up bright and early to prepare for morning training, he was met, unsurprisingly, with Jeanne giving him the cold shoulder.
It couldn't be helped. Even though she'd officially entered a relationship with Leon, and even though she knew what he was like deep down...
She still hadn't imagined this man would dare to play things so shamelessly!
Oh really? You expect one woman to just share you?
No. Absolutely not.
Once that line was crossed, once there was a first time, there would definitely be a second, and a third!
And it wouldn't stop there!
What if, in the future, it became four? Six?
By then, wouldn't Leon have gone completely off the rails?
Who would be able to stop him?
This wasn't just your run-of-the-mill cheating scumbag. This called for a serious beatdown!
"Over here. Today, your opponent is me."
Jeanne's voice was ice cold. Without another word, she tossed the training sword in her hand at him.
Leon caught it and glanced at Rose, who was lounging against the wall nearby with arms crossed, visibly enjoying the show.
"Jeanne, hear me out..."
"Raise your sword."
He raised it. No point arguing with her in this mood. He'd take the beating and apologize properly later.
...
...
Since the day he'd allocated his stats, nearly half a month had passed.
By his count, Kureha had been summoned to this world for close to a month now.
Leon, Jeanne, and Rose had been operating on a rotation during the daytime work hours. Each day, one of them would stay behind to look after the house and take care of Kureha.
The other two would team up with Aura and Laurier to form a four-person party and head into the Dungeon to explore.
During this period, Leon had also updated everyone's Falna.
Aura and Laurier's progress was visible to the naked eye.
Each of their basic abilities had grown by an average of about 100 points, all now sitting at the 600+ mark.
And if you looked at their standout stat, Magic, both of them had broken past 700+!
At this astonishing rate of growth, it wouldn't be long before they brushed against the ceiling of their current level. After that, all they'd need was to rack up enough "Great Feats," and leveling up would come naturally.
Compared to these two juniors, Leon's wings were growing at an even more absurd pace.
Compared to the two juniors' leaps forward, the growth rate of Leon's "two wings" was honestly terrifying.
In just over a month since leveling up to Lv. 2, their stats had climbed back up to an average of 300+! That lightning-fast surge left Leon quietly impressed.
Thankfully, even though Leon's growth rate couldn't keep pace with theirs, thanks to Scholar's Heart, he was at least making steady progress.
Compared to the "ordinary folk" who could grind forever and still stay stuck in place, Leon had plenty to be content with.
Besides, he was cheating.
Boosting his basic abilities through combat and training alone couldn't possibly reflect Leon's true growth.
Don't forget, he also had the Excelia Pool as his trump card! Every time he killed or defeated an enemy, he earned a precious extra 1 point of Excelia.
Once he had enough Excelia and funds stockpiled, he could just skyrocket in one go, no need to inch forward step by step like everyone else.
Of course, that was all contingent on him having a massive reserve of Excelia and cash on hand.
"The Excelia issue, I'll just have to grind the Dungeon honestly, building it up bit by bit."
Leon sat on the stone bench under the tree shade in the courtyard, fanning himself lazily with a palm-leaf fan to cool off, lost in thought.
"As for funds..."
A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he recalled some rumors that had been circulating around Orario lately.
"Word is... the black market Evilus has been running in partnership with those greedy merchants and various underground factions outside the city, business has been unusually booming lately..."
"Based on that, those smugglers must have snuck quite a bit of good stuff into Orario..."
"Which means... the transit warehouses storing all that good stuff... wouldn't they be..."
At that thought, Leon's eyes drifted to the [Assets] column on the status panel in his mind, and his chest warmed a little.
"No... no, the timing isn't right yet."
He forced down the restless urge and analyzed calmly.
"I have to wait until Evilus gets pulled into some bigger mess, their attention tied up elsewhere. That's when I can fish in troubled waters and pull off the heist from behind!"
"In other words, I need to wait for the next time Orario erupts into large-scale chaos..."
"At that point, the guards at the transit warehouses will definitely be pulled away, the defenses dropped to their weakest. That's my window!"
"In that case..."
Leon snapped his fan shut, a flash of resolve crossing his eyes.
"Then I'll spend this period putting all my effort into preliminary recon!"
Just as Leon was plotting his grand money-making schemes...
Crack.
A sharp, crisp shattering sound reached Leon's ears through the open window without warning.
"Hm?"
Leon's heart jumped and he whipped his head around.
"That was...?"
Realizing what it could be, he shot to his feet and rushed inside, heading straight for the quiet guest room.
...
"Ugh... my head... it hurts..."
A faint groan broke the silence.
"Am I... still alive?"
Her muddled consciousness surfaced slowly from the dark sea, like a sunken ship rising back to the surface.
"Where... is this...?"
The sleeping beauty struggled to pry her heavy eyelids open.
But the sunlight pouring in through the window was far too bright for eyes that hadn't seen light in so long, and instinct forced her to squint them shut again, long lashes fluttering uneasily.
Her throat felt like it had been scraped raw with sandpaper, dry and aching.
Every limb was filled with a soft, boneless weakness that made her furrow her elegant brows.
"Water..."
The intense thirst drove her on. She tried to lift an arm that felt like it had been filled with lead, reaching for the water cup on the bedside table that looked to be within arm's reach...
The result...
...
Creak.
The door to the guest room was gently pushed open from the outside.
For an instant, their eyes met across the room.
Leon's gaze swept quickly over the water cup shattered into pieces on the floor, and then a gentle smile rose to his lips. He walked into the room naturally, heading for the water pitcher to pour a fresh cup as he spoke.
"You're finally awake, Miss Kureha."
"...You, know me?"
Kureha's voice was hoarse and faint, laced with deep confusion.
But the next second, even stronger questions came surging into her gradually clearing mind like a rising tide.
"No, wait..."
She shook her head with difficulty, her golden pupils locking onto Leon, full of wariness and incomprehension.
"Who are you?"
"Shouldn't I be dead?"
"Why am I still alive?"
"This place... where exactly is it?"
Though the time had been brief, Kureha's formidable willpower had already pulled her thoughts free from the haze.
Her body was still frail, but it was more than capable of supporting clear thought.
So the moment she came to her senses, she hurled a string of sharp questions at Leon, questions cutting straight to the heart of her existence and current situation.
Leon finished pouring the water, but didn't answer right away.
Holding the full cup, he walked steadily over to the bedside.
Then he did something that caught Kureha completely off guard.
One hand slid gently beneath her slender neck, while the other slipped under the bend of her knees. With a light application of force, he lifted her slightly off the bed.
"You...!"
Kureha cried out in shock, her pale cheeks instantly flushing with startled color.
Leon paid it no mind. He simply shifted her body up a little, adjusting her position so that her weakened upper body could rest more comfortably against the propped-up, fluffy pillows.
Only once that was done did he hand the cup of water to the beautiful Sword Saint, whose face was now pink and whose eyes had gone blank.
"You... you... you..."
Kureha was stammering, her pale blue eyes wide as saucers. Clearly she still hadn't recovered from that far-too-intimate contact.
"Drink some water first? Your throat's dry, isn't it? It's uncomfortable, right?"
"There's nothing to be done about it. You've been unconscious for a whole month after all, and even with us taking care of you, some discomfort is unavoidable."
"You..."
"Here, drink up!"
"Open your mouth. Ahh..."
"..."
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