"Then I, then I… I'll take this one."
Under Little Brother Icarus's hint, Luna immediately reached for the last secret manual after Stone finished choosing his.
"Alright, now that you've packed up, you can head back. The other mission rewards can be collected at the Pokémon Center."
Investigator Depp didn't say anything about Luna joining, either genuinely unaware or simply not caring.
In fact, Brother Teng and another person had also noticed Luna's free-rider behavior. That person had already started to speak, but upon hearing Depp's words, his eyes flickered twice, and he ultimately remained silent, nodding in agreement.
"Well then, until we meet again, everyone."
After everything was settled, Investigator Depp retrieved his communicator, then flipped onto his Dodrio and left without a trace of reluctance.
"Then shouldn't we properly distribute the spoils of war now?"
Seeing that the Investigator had already left, Brother Teng gathered everyone and said this.
"Brother Teng, what do you mean by that?"
Hearing his words, Icarus's heart skipped a beat, and he discreetly gestured to his Weepinbell.
Always wary of how unpredictable people could be, he thought Brother Teng might try to force them to hand over their extra rewards.
"Haha~ Little Brother Icarus, you've misunderstood. We're civil servants—we wouldn't do such underhanded things.
What I mean is, those of us who chose secret manuals can exchange them for the price difference. I have a portable printer, so I can copy them directly. What do you say?"
Seeing Icarus's expression change, Brother Teng laughed and explained.
"I have no objection."
The Trainer of the Arbok, the man in black, nodded calmly.
Exchanging knowledge-based spoils within a team was a win-win situation. Knowledge might be priceless, but it could also be copied infinitely, making it effectively cheap.
This was quite common in his Trainer career, so his reaction was completely calm.
"Oh, oh, I see… It seems I misunderstood. This is the first time I've heard of such a transaction, so I was a bit… haha, please excuse my ignorance."
Realizing his mistake, Icarus quickly explained.
"It's fine. You've been a Trainer for less than a year and had no one guiding you—it's normal not to know. But if you ever make it big, don't forget your Brother Teng!"
Brother Teng waved it off.
"You've been a Trainer for less than a year?"
The man in black looked shocked. Before Icarus could respond, he removed his mask and introduced himself.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Henry, 22 years old—a seasoned mid-stage Trainer."
"Hello, hello. My name is Icarus, and I only have two mid-stage Pokémon."
Icarus paused briefly, then returned the greeting. He hadn't expected the previously cold and even hostile man to suddenly become friendly.
"Little Brother Icarus,
don't be surprised. Our commoner world is more realistic. You've got talent, so I want to be friends. I'm just a very direct person."
Henry spoke bluntly.
"Icarus, although Henry is a bit blunt, he's not wrong. This is how our commoner Trainer circle works.
He's just more direct than most," Brother Teng added with a laugh.
"Oh, no problem at all. I like straightforward people. Brother Henry is strong too—I'm glad to make a friend like you."
Icarus accepted this "fair-weather" friend.
He understood clearly: Henry was the kind of person who'd help with small things, but when huge profit was involved, he would absolutely turn hostile.
"Alright, now that introductions are done, let's talk about distribution."
Brother Teng clapped his hands.
"First, value. My set of high-level cultivation manuals is worth about 600 merit points…"
He explained briefly, then gestured to Henry.
Henry coughed lightly.
"My manual is Technique. It's a movement technique—good for travel and evasion. Some parts can be used even without 'qi,' but it's far more effective with it.
Without 'qi,' you definitely can't move like that fugitive earlier."
"I value it at 450 merit points."
After speaking, both turned toward Icarus and Stone.
"Brother Icarus, you decide. I don't understand any of this."
Stone scratched his head helplessly.
"Alright. On my side, I have three manuals—for Houndoom, Sandslash, and Beedrill.
I value them at 250, 180, and 120 merit points—550 total. Reasonable?"
"Reasonable." Brother Teng nodded, then looked serious.
"But can you really decide for all three?"
"Yes. We'll handle internal distribution ourselves."
Icarus kept things vague.
"Then how about this—give me that fallen Trainer's belongings. I'll handle the funeral. In exchange, just give me copies of your manuals. No need to cover the price difference."
"I agree." Henry immediately nodded.
Handling a teammate's funeral was troublesome, both emotionally and practically.
"I have no objection either," Icarus said.
"Good. I'll take care of it." Brother Teng smiled.
Soon, Henry added a high-grade Rock-type energy crystal to balance the deal.
"That works," Icarus nodded.
The exchange was completed using Brother Teng's portable printer.
Afterward, the group separated.
Back at the Pokémon Center, Icarus turned in the mission and received:
160 merit points
140,000 alliance currency
"Let's go home. Too many eyes here—we'll divide everything there."
The group quickly left.
Meanwhile, Luna watched them go.
"So that's where Icarus lives… I need to prepare."
Using her authority, she checked his registration info and followed toward the commercial street.
Inside the house, Icarus sat with Airi and Stone.
"For these three missions, we earned 200 merit points and about 220,000 alliance currency."
"That much?!" Airi exclaimed.
Stone nodded excitedly.
Icarus smirked slightly.
"Don't get too excited yet… the real profit is in these secret manuals."