When they returned to the manor, everyone was already waiting in the entrance hall.
Apparently, no patrol group had gone particularly far that afternoon.
Alice had ordered them all back before sunset so they could hear the result together.
Ryu stood near the entrance.
Kaguya leaned against the wall.
Neze sat beside the dining table.
The others had gathered in small groups, whispering nervously.
Astraea sat calmly at the center of the room.
The instant the door opened—
Every gaze turned toward them.
Alice made a heroic attempt to look solemn.
She entered slowly.
Lowered her head.
Then released a long, tragic sigh.
“Everyone…”
Neze’s wolf ears drooped.
Several members visibly braced themselves for bad news.
Kaguya narrowed her eyes.
“If it failed, say so plainly.
There is no need for theatrics.”
“Well…”
Alice raised her head.
A huge grin spread across her face.
“We’re getting twenty-four million Valis a year!”
Silence lasted for exactly one breath.
Then the shouting rattled the windows.
“TWENTY-FOUR MILLION?!”
“EVERY YEAR?!”
“WE CAN BUY MEDICINE!”
“CAN WE REPLACE THE ARMOR?!”
“CAN WE HAVE MORE MEAT FOR DINNER?!”
Neze had asked the final question.
Several members rushed toward Alice and Lyra to see the contract.
Some embraced one another.
Others immediately began listing equipment in need of replacement.
The tall Amazoness grabbed Alice around the waist and lifted her clean off the floor.
“Wait!
I wasn’t the one negotiating!” Alice shouted while being spun around.
“Lelouch did it!”
Every gaze immediately changed targets.
Lelouch instinctively took one step backward.
Too late.
The instant Alice was released, she seized him in the first hug.
“That was amazing, Lelouch!”
“My ribs…”
Neze attacked from the other side.
“We can eat more meat now!”
“That is not the primary objective of the budget…”
The others closed in until he almost disappeared beneath the crowd.
“Give him room to breathe,” Ryu warned.
She tried to pull several people away—
Only for Alice to catch her wrist and drag her into the group hug as well.
“Ryu has to celebrate too!”
“Alice…
let go.”
Kaguya watched the chaos for a moment before turning toward Lyra.
“The numbers are definitely correct?”
“I checked the contract three times.”
Lyra proudly held it up.
“Two million every month starting next month.
The Guild is also reimbursing certified expenses from this month’s missions.”
Kaguya nodded.
Then looked toward Lelouch, who had finally managed to escape.
“I admit you are more useful than I initially estimated.”
Lelouch straightened the collar that had nearly been pulled out of shape.
“Your compliments sound like weapon evaluations.”
“For an adventurer, that is high praise.”
“Then I’ll accept it.”
Ryu stopped in front of him.
“Thank you.”
The words were simple.
Her eyes were not.
“From now on, if several people are injured at once…”
Her expression softened.
“We won’t have to decide who gets medicine first.”
Lelouch went still.
Until that moment, victory had existed primarily as numbers on paper.
That sentence made it real.
“You don’t need to thank only me.”
He answered after a brief pause.
“If all of you had not done those missions, I would have possessed neither data nor leverage.”
“This victory was built from the work everyone here had already done.”
“But you gave that work a voice,” Ryu said.
Lelouch had no immediate answer.
In the end—
He simply nodded.
Astraea rose and approached them.
“You did very well, Lelouch.”
“I only completed what I asked permission to do.”
“And did you keep all of my conditions?”
“I didn’t use Geass.”
He began counting.
“I didn’t use false information.”
“And no one cried.”
Alice raised one hand.
“The Budget Department head almost did.”
“Almost does not constitute a violation.”
Astraea laughed softly.
“Then I have nothing to criticize.”
Lyra raised the contract over her head.
“Something this wonderful requires a celebration!”
Agreement erupted throughout the room.
“Meat!” Neze shouted.
“Wine!”
“Let’s eat outside!
It’s been ages since everyone went together!”
“One moment.”
Lelouch raised a hand.
“The subsidy is designated for public-service operations, not celebrations.”
Every cheer died.
The members stared at him as though he had personally murdered their dreams.
Lyra—
Smiled triumphantly.
“I knew you’d say that.”
She folded her arms.
“So tonight’s celebration comes from reimbursements for missions we’ve already completed this month.”
“The annual subsidy is going into a separate account no one touches.”
“Mission reimbursements should also replenish the reserves you already depleted.”
“I already accounted for that.”
Lyra’s smile widened.
“The celebration will cost less than one-fiftieth of the reimbursement.”
“And maintaining organizational morale is an expenditure that contributes to operational efficiency.”
Lelouch stared at her.
Lyra smiled even more broadly.
She had taken his own reasoning—
And turned it back on him.
“Who taught you to argue like that?”
“You did.”
She pointed at him.
“Half an hour ago.”
Alice placed a hand on Lelouch’s shoulder.
This time, she controlled her strength somewhat better.
“You lost, Lelouch.”
“It appears I did.”
“Then we’re going to the Hostess of Fertility!”
The Hostess of Fertility stood on one of the main streets in western Orario.
As the sun disappeared beyond the city walls, lamps were lit outside the tavern.
The smell of roasted meat, fresh bread, and spices drifted into the street strongly enough that the Astraea Familia collectively increased its pace.
Inside, the tavern was already full of laughter.
Almost every table was occupied.
Wooden mugs struck together from time to time.
The establishment had already built a considerable reputation, though it did not yet employ many permanent waitresses.
Syr and a small number of temporary helpers moved constantly between tables.
The instant the door opened, the enormous woman behind the counter looked up.
“Brought the whole Familia tonight, Astraea?”
Her powerful voice crossed the busy tavern without needing to become a shout.
Mia Grand—
Or Mama Mia, as most customers called her—
Folded her arms and looked over the new arrivals.
Astraea smiled.
“My children have something worth celebrating today.
I wanted everyone to enjoy it together.”
“Something worth celebrating enough that you can afford the bill?”
Lyra raised the money pouch.
“We can absolutely pay tonight!”
“Then get inside.
The long tables in the back are still free.”
Mia’s eyes moved over the members one by one.
They stopped on Lelouch.
“So this is the new member everyone’s talking about.”
Lelouch raised an eyebrow.
“News appears to travel too quickly in this city.”
“In a city where adventurers spend half their time drinking and the other half exaggerating stories, nothing travels slowly.”
Then frowned.
“Too skinny.”
“I’ve received that assessment multiple times.”
“Tonight you finish all the meat on your plate.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“If you leave any, I’ll stuff it into your mouth myself.”
“Is that an official customer-service policy?”
“It’s my policy.”
Lelouch considered the woman’s powerful build.
The rational conclusion was immediate.
Arguing would be inefficient.
“Understood.”
Mia nodded approvingly.
“This one’s smart.”
“He just made the Guild chief agree to pay us twenty-four million a year!” Alice announced, with the pride of someone who had personally negotiated the contract.
Mia looked at Lelouch again.
“Then he’s smarter than he looks.”
She jerked her chin toward the tables.
“Sit.
I’ll send food over.”
The Astraea Familia occupied two long tables near the back.
Lelouch reached for the menu.
Neze snatched it away first.
“No calculating today!”
“I only want to know what is available.”
“Your eyes were looking at the prices before the food names,” Lyra said.
“Price is part of the information required to make a decision.”
“Today I make the decisions.
I’ve already allocated the budget.”
“How much?”
“You’re not allowed to ask.”
“If I don’t know the spending ceiling—”
Kaguya slid a cup of tea directly in front of him.
“Drink.”
“You have discussed money all afternoon.”
“But—”
“That is an order from someone of a higher Level.”
“My Geass does not function in reverse.”
“I do not require Geass when I can physically force you.”
Lelouch calmly lifted the cup.
“I’m drinking because I agree, not because I was threatened.”
“Explain it however you like.”
Before long, Syr and several helpers began filling the tables with food.
Large cuts of roasted meat.
Herb-roasted chicken.
Hot stew.
Fresh bread.
Fried potatoes.
Vegetables covered in sauce.
And pitchers containing several different drinks.
The smell was enough to shatter what remained of everyone’s restraint.
Neze reached for the meat first.
Kaguya struck her wrist with the handle of a knife.
“Wait until Lady Astraea speaks.”
“But the meat is getting cold!”
“It left the kitchen five seconds ago.”
Astraea laughed and raised her cup.
“I’ll keep this short before certain children lose control.”
Everyone raised their drinks.
The goddess looked at each of her children in turn.
Then her eyes settled on the newest member—
The young man who had already changed the household in less than two days.
“To everyone who continues choosing what is right even when the world makes that path difficult.”
Her gaze softened.
“And to our newest member, who reminded us that protecting justice does not require neglecting ourselves.”
Every cup rose higher.
Lelouch looked around the table.
Then raised his own.
“To justice that does not need to starve.”
Laughter erupted.
“To justice that gets to eat meat!” Neze added.
The cups struck together.
The celebration truly began.
….
I also have many more novels in my collection that you might be interested in
I upload ten novels a day, with 3 to 4 chapters per title depending on the length.
If you’re following a particular series, please wait your turn a little
If there’s a particular novel you’re enjoying on Patron, please give it a ‘like’ so I know to focus on it
….
I also have many more novels in my collection that you might be interested in I upload ten novels a day, with 3 to 4 chapters per title depending on the length.
If you’re following a particular series, please wait your turn a little If there’s a particular novel you’re enjoying on Patron, please give it a ‘like’ so I know to focus on it