A table full of food filled the room with a warm smell. Ronan almost thought he could hear background music.
The dishes he prepared today included a few lighter dishes for the Elves, along with crispy chicken, spicy beef and tofu, garlic mushroom beef, and several simple sauces.
There were also a few side dishes that went well with drinks.
Jeanne, Lorie, and Aura had already been won over by Ronan's cooking. After finishing their drinks, they could not wait to start eating.
After Rose finished her drink and put down her wooden cup, her eyes were full of surprise as she looked at Ronan.
"My, it's rare for a man to cook. I didn't think the Captain would be such a skilled chef."
She served herself a small bowl of soup and took a sip with a spoon. Her eyes lit up, and she praised him sincerely.
Ronan happily took a big bite of the crispy chicken. His mouth was covered in oil. Then he gulped down half a glass of iced ale. He sighed with satisfaction and asked casually:
"A man cooking? That's not rare, is it? At least in my hometown, it's very common. Was it not like that in your hometown, Rose?"
Rose tilted her head and thought for a moment. She gave a light laugh.
"The country I was born in is a theocracy. Most of the citizens are believers, so... they are quite traditional."
Ronan understood. This was common in other worlds.
Jeanne, who was also a believer like Rose, felt a little closer to her.
The meal ended with everyone satisfied.
As usual, everyone finished all the dishes Ronan had cooked.
Because Ronan's cooking was so good, they still seemed to want more. It was clear they had not had enough.
It seemed that no one could resist good food. Since they were all active adventurers or trainees, they could eat as much as they wanted.
After dinner, the housework fell to Rose and Jeanne.
At some point, Jeanne had made a clear housework schedule. According to her plan, they worked in pairs and rotated every day.
Ronan felt lucky about this. Thanks to Jeanne's schedule keeping the housework organized, the house stayed clean without him having to worry about it.
He really didn't have a talent for housework or management.
But no one was perfect, and Ronan was fine with that.
Everyone had things they were good at and things they were not.
He only needed to do his best at what he was good at, like cooking.
Time passed quickly.
The peaceful days went by fast. Before he knew it, almost half a month had passed since Rose joined the Familia.
Compared to when Ronan was alone, the small courtyard had become much livelier.
During this time, everyone lived busily.
Every day was filled with learning about the Dungeon and combat training.
As the instructor, Jeanne's training was very strict. Not only did she train Rose, who was already a fighter, but she also pushed Lorie and Aura until they were exhausted every day.
Besides teaching the younger ones, Rose's arrival gave Jeanne a great sparring partner. Ronan saw Jeanne and Rose having mock battles in the yard almost every day.
He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt the two of them were very similar.
They were both devout believers and preferred wearing priest-style robes. They both had long braided hair that went past their waists.
Even more surprising was that their faces and presence were very similar.
The few differences were their hair and eye colors.
To be honest, if he didn't know the truth, he would have thought they were sisters.
However, after spending these days together, even though they weren't blood sisters, their bond was like that of real sisters.
This strange connection also caught Lorie's attention. During meals, her eyes would often drift toward them.
Besides studying, training, and housework, Ronan took the time to bring Rose, Lorie, and Aura to Tsubaki's workshop. He spent a lot of money to order custom weapons, armor, and combat outfits for them.
Since Rose was already a fighter, her equipment was the same level as Jeanne's. Unlike Jeanne, who used polearms, Rose was skilled in sword and shield techniques.
So, according to her preference, Tsubaki made her a high-quality double-edged one-handed sword and a strong, light kite shield.
For armor, she got custom silver knight armor. It was made of five parts: shoulder guards, chest and neck guards, a skirt plate, gauntlets, and greaves. Each part had fine patterns, making the armor look expensive. When worn with her priest-style combat outfit, it provided great protection.
Lorie and Aura were still trainees, so their equipment was a bit lower in quality, but still very good. As a mage, Aura's dress-style combat outfit was even more expensive. Ronan did not want to cut corners with an Elf mage's equipment.
Besides buying weapons and adventurer gear, Ronan took the new members to the Guild to register their identities.
The Guild clerk, Rose Fannett, wasn't there this time, so Ronan finished the registration for Rose, Aura, and Lorie without trouble.
Aside from attracting some attention because they were Elves and stood out, everything else was handled.
Overall, it went well.
After finishing the shopping trip that day, Ronan went back to his room and began to calculate his accounts.
Buying Rose's equipment cost about 500,000 Valis. Lorie and Aura's equipment cost over 700,000 Valis.
Also, because new people joined, many daily necessities had been added to the house over the last half month.
In less than half a month, nearly 1.5 million Valis had been spent.
Then there were the future costs for food, clothes, housing, and Dungeon exploration.
If he hadn't made some money from Tsubaki and Airmid before, this huge spending would have scared Ronan.
"No, I can't let this go on! Money is only going out and nothing is coming in. Forget about running a Familia. We will be bankrupt soon!"
That night, the living room was brightly lit. All members of the Familia were gathered together, including Ronan.
Lorie sat cross-legged on the sofa, her mind wandering. She hugged the sword Ronan had given her as a reward and unconsciously rubbed the scabbard.
Aura was different. She sat with proper elven manners next to Lorie. The two of them were a sharp contrast.
Jeanne and Rose, who had become very close, sat side by side on the soft carpet. They both looked at Ronan, who was sitting in a single sofa chair.
"Ronan, did something difficult happen? Why is your expression so serious?"
Seeing Ronan's troubled face, Rose asked in her soft voice.
"A problem? I guess so."
Everyone watched him sigh and shrug like a tired man.
"Ladies, I have some bad news."
Ronan looked around at everyone, his voice serious.
"We might need to start making money soon. Otherwise, believe me, we are going to fail before we even really start."
Lorie's eyes suddenly focused. She blinked.
"What do you mean?"
Jeanne's mouth twitched slightly. She translated in simple words:
"It means the Familia is almost out of money. We are going bankrupt."
"Huh?"
Everyone froze.