Rose still didn't know that the secret plan the two of them had cooked up, the one about having fun with Jeanne together, had now turned into a plan involving herself.
By the same token, Jeanne had no idea that she'd unwittingly dodged this brush with social death.
...
"Everyone, bye-bye~~~"
Alise tramped through the snow, towing Kaguya along, and as she walked she turned sideways to wave back at Leon's household.
"Bye-bye~~!"
Leon waved in farewell, watching the two figures gradually melt into the white beneath the warm yellow streetlamps before he slowly drew his gaze back.
With the last two guests gone, the once lively, fervent atmosphere finally returned to calm.
Except, it was a little too calm... which was somewhat out of the ordinary. Especially given that they'd just signed a 100-million order.
Beside him, seeing Leon's placid expression, Laurier's big eyes rolled around, and struck by sudden inspiration, she leaned in to test the waters:
"Congratulations... on the windfall?"
Everyone: "..."
What no one expected was that this little "congratulations" of Laurier's was like flipping some kind of switch, and the mood instantly turned electric!
The corners of Leon's mouth shot up, impossible to hold down, wilder than trying to pin down a recoiling rifle:
"Con-grat-u-la-tions on the windfall!"
"Hahahahaha!"
The guests had all left, so Leon dropped the act and laid his cards on the table...
He just stood at the doorway, hands on his hips, and roared with laughter at the sky!
Even on a snow-strewn winter night, even with snowflakes drifting into his mouth, there was no holding back the excitement and exhilaration surging inside him.
"51.96 million, almost 52 million!"
"Add the 50.4 million from the Monster Hunter Special, and that's a full 102.36 million!"
"Heh heh heh heh heh!"
After swallowing a dozen-odd Soul Hall Elders in one go, Leon, panting in great gulps, swiftly pulled his accounting notebook out of his pocket.
He scanned the various entries and the monthly settlement on it, then looked toward the "wallet" on the panel floating in his vision...
...
[Assets]: Reserve Fund: 4.13 million | Cash: 671.82 million (Fixed monthly income: 102.36 million)
[Excelia]: 0
...
This was the total funds the Familia held after liquidating all the materials previously obtained from the Gray Chamber of Commerce, plus the just-finalized monthly orders for the "Monster Hunter Special" and the "Wild Mixture."
"670 million, rounded off... nearly 700 million!"
"Everyone, with this money, even if we still have to keep pouring some into building the new base, we won't have to worry about funding at all until we reach Lv.5!"
With that, Leon looked toward Jeanne and Rose, his eyes bright:
"Come to my room, I'll level you both up!"
Jeanne and Rose were taken aback for a moment, then the corners of their mouths lifted and they gave a small nod.
"Sounds good!"
...?
Watching the two of them nod in agreement without a single objection, without the slightest hesitation, Laurier, who didn't know what was going on, went blank.
"Huh, huh, huh? Wh-what's all this about?"
"Jeanne and Rose can level up again? N-no, wait... I mean, the two of you have already maxed out your Basic Abilities?"
Rose reached up and ruffled her little head:
"That's right. While you were curled up by the fireplace dozing every day, getting ready to hibernate..."
"Uh..."
Laurier's little face fell, her gaze full of grievance.
Aura delivered the finishing blow with a flat expression:
"Laurier, you've grown slothful."
"..."
Having had their fun teasing the little elf, everyone chatted easily and headed back inside in high spirits.
Because they'd landed the big order, every one of them was buzzing with energy.
Which only stood to reason. With the Familia flush with cash, everyone's allowance and daily spending would rise along with it. That would dramatically improve everyone's standard of living. If they wanted to buy something down the line, for instance, they'd no longer have to pinch pennies.
Likewise, with the burden and pressure of finances lifted, moods would brighten too.
Right now, for example...
Leon gave a sweeping wave of his hand:
"Starting today, everyone's allowance is doubled!"
"Hooray!"
"Long live Leon!"
...
...
The reception task complete and a big order signed, Leon, in a fantastic mood, pulled Rose along on the spot to prepare some more elaborate snacks and treats for everyone.
Then everyone gathered in a circle around the fireplace, happily topping up their dopamine while enthusiastically discussing what to do with their allowances.
Laurier had long had her eye on a set of elf-style hunting attire, except, well, the price...
As everyone knew, "elf-style" was a byword the world over for luxury and expense, prized by countless princes and nobles. With them setting the trend, naturally... anywhere in the world, no matter what the item, as long as it was elf-style, especially when the product was the work of a master elven tailor, the price wasn't so much a matter of being a bit high as it was downright moving to tears...
On Laurier's previous income from Dungeon exploration and her allowance, she'd have to save up for the better part of half a year before she could bring herself to splurge. Now, with the New Year's "lucky money" plus her doubled allowance, there was no need to wait that long at all. Next month she'd be able to claim that hunting outfit as her own.
"Aura, what about you, what about you! How are you going to spend the extra part?"
Aura closed her notebook and elegantly took a small sip of apple-lemon black tea. The refreshing, sweet brew made her narrow her eyes without thinking.
"Me... I'll probably use it to buy books, I suppose. The owner of the bookshop I frequent told me a new batch of foreign books came in after Christmas, and a few of them are works by teachers from the great magic nation 'Altena' and the 'School District.' I'm quite interested."
Laurier: "..."
Spending her whole allowance on magic books...
Laurier didn't understand it, but she respected it.
Iri, Margaret, Lydia, and even Kureha shared their own "splurge plans" one after another, the mood lively.
On the other side, Leon, Jeanne, Rose, and Persephone got to talking about the guests from earlier.
Persephone elegantly crossed her legs, her toes lightly toying with a fluffy slipper, the slender arch of her foot wrapped in tights flickering in and out of view, drawing a certain someone's gaze without her meaning to. A smile at the corner of her mouth, she said softly:
"One got 14 vials, the other 15. Looking at it that way, Loki Familia does seem to come up just a touch short of Freya Familia?"
Rose, gently cleaning the ears of Leon as he enjoyed her lap pillow, which had him narrowing his eyes in comfort like a big cat, answered with a beaming smile while splitting her attention:
"Their rank-and-file and core strength are on even footing. The difference is in the officers, isn't it? Or more precisely, the difference is that one Lv.6."
Jeanne's gaze lingered a moment on Leon's blissful face, then she picked up her teacup as if nothing were amiss and blew on it twice:
"That King Ottar, you mean. He's no ordinary Lv.6."
"Like us, he's a Lv.6 who's trained every one of his Basic Abilities to his own limit. I think he's just one 'Great Feat' short of smoothly advancing to Lv.7."
Lv.7?
Persephone pushed up her glasses without thinking. Just hearing that level made an intangible sense of pressure wash over her.
"Lv.7, the last time I heard that level mentioned, it was from Demeter's lips."
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