190 million!
Just the cash and the Goblin Bank deposits added up to a full 190 million valis!
This sum was enough for Leon to completely max out both the potential and Basic Abilities across two levels, not maxed at 999, but at 1599! In other words... factoring in the Familia's savings, he wouldn't have to worry about the funds needed for stat points all the way up until he hit Lv.7 or Lv.8. By then... as long as his "experience points" were in place, he could just spam the "+" button and call it a day...
Of course, for a Development Ability that cost 100 million valis per tier of upgrade, this little bit of "pocket change" was still a drop in the bucket, to say nothing of the future cost of re-equipping everyone in the Familia with a full set of First-Class Adventurer gear.
So... this windfall, while it looked like a lot, really wasn't all that much in the end.
"Throw in Lydia's bounty and that boss's generous donation, and the grand total comes to 260 million, huh..."
Leon muttered to himself, his gaze shifting to the small mountain of luxury goods, a trace of undisguised distaste crossing his eyes.
"Damn, all of it's pretty vases that look good and do nothing. Tsk tsk... Blood Coral, white crystal, and what the hell is this? A ceremonial scepter? Hss... this many gemstones?"
He toyed with the scepter studded with gems of every color for a while, and after failing to sense any magic resonance from it, Leon knew this thing really was just for show.
"Decent craftsmanship, but that's about it... not bad as a collectible."
"Keep it."
After rummaging through the small mountain for ages, picking and choosing, the only thing that caught his eye in the end was that one scepter. As for the rest... not a single item that boosted strength or had any practical use, all of it decorations that nobles and big merchants loved to collect.
"These flashy, useless trinkets might not turn any heads in Orario, but if we hauled them off to another country, they'd fetch at least 40 million, right?"
"By that math... we cleared somewhere around 300 million on this run?"
"Tsk... like the old saying goes, there's gold to be made in murder and arson. Riding a tailwind sure isn't as quick as having it land right in your lap."
Rose, Jeanne, Persephone, and Kureha were taking small sips of ice water while watching Leon mutter to himself as he sorted through the pile. Then they heard him let out that remark.
The next second...
"Pfff...!"
None of them could hold it together, and they all spat out the water in their mouths in unison.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Rose wiped the water from the corner of her mouth and shot him an exasperated eye-roll.
"What's all this about gold from murder and arson... you make us sound like a band of mountain bandits."
Kureha straightened her face, as if she hadn't been the one who'd just lost her composure a moment ago, and said seriously.
"What we do should be called Familia First. The core principle is that the Familia's interests come above all else. And it's not like we're taking ill-gotten gains, these are spoils that belong to us!"
"Besides, do you really think those human traffickers and the gray chambers of commerce running smuggling operations... even count as people?"
Leon: "..."
It wasn't just him. Even Jeanne and Persephone stared dumbfounded at the expressionless Kureha, feeling that this girl's logic was more than a little extreme.
"Cough... Kureha, I've got no objections about the traffickers, they really don't count as people. But there are so many of these gray chambers of commerce... it's probably best to... well, not paint them all with the same brush."
"We're not exactly demons here..."
Persephone looked at the man before her, all righteous and high-minded on the surface yet more ruthless than anyone when it came to action, and the corner of her mouth twitched a couple of times despite herself...
Just then, Rose heard movement from upstairs, so she clapped her hands to pull everyone's attention back to reality.
"All right, it's been a long day. That's it for work today."
"Long story short, let's eat first!"
...
...
As evening fell, dusk settled in on all sides.
Outside the window, fine snow had begun to drift down again.
In the living room, the fire in the fireplace burned bright, the firewood crackling softly, casting its warm glow on the windowpanes laced with thin frost, walling off the quiet snowy night outside into two separate worlds.
The room was decorated all around with wreaths woven from holly and pine sprigs, a few candles burning quietly on the windowsill and in the center of the long dining table, the air drifting with the aroma of food and a faint scent of candle wax. The Christmas tree in the corner was hung with all sorts of little ornaments, and the magic stone light strings wound through it streamed soft, colorful light. But the most eye-catching of all was the small mountain of differently wrapped gift boxes piled beneath the tree.
Here, under a roof wrapped in holiday warmth, the preparations for the evening banquet had reached their final stage.
A Christmas table was always especially lavish.
Today, to prepare this one Christmas dinner, the entire household had pitched in.
"Aura, Laurier, take these up first, and be careful!"
"Got it, Rose!"
In the kitchen, everyone was bustling about with smiles on their faces.
Dish after dish was brought out to the long table one after another: there were the fresh fruits and vegetables the elves favored, the delicate desserts the ladies loved, and of course, no shortage of the various meat dishes that were Leon's favorite.
Creamy corn chowder, tomato meat sauce cheese potato cakes, spicy mala tofu beef hotpot, lemon crispy roast chicken, a yakitori platter, secret-recipe honey-glazed ribs, a colorful fruit and vegetable salad... at a glance, the long table, big enough to seat ten, was already laid out with more than a dozen dishes.
And Laurier and Aura were still carrying out more heaping plates from the kitchen, trip after trip.
Persephone, who had just retrieved the chilled juice and drinks set out in the snowbank in the yard and walked in carrying the basket, looked at this brimming, fragrant scene and couldn't help sighing softly.
"If Lady Demeter hadn't been invited to attend the Banquet of the Gods... she'd definitely have come over to join the fun too."
Leon stacked the split firewood neatly to one side, straightened up, and breathed out a puff of white mist.
"Well, this year's situation is a bit special, isn't it. Evilus just pulled their little stunt, so the gods up top have to sit down and hash out a plan. The Banquet of the Gods, that's a ready-made excuse, business and the holiday both handled at once."
He patted the wood shavings off his hands and joked with a grin.
"No idea which genius god came up with that one."
"Hey, Leon! Persephone! What are you two still spacing out in the yard for? Hurry up and come in, we're about to eat!"
Just then, a teasing, cheerful call came from inside the house.
"After you, my lovely lady."
Persephone shot him a charming eye-roll, hooked the basket full of drinks over her arm, and turned to head inside first without a hint of ceremony.
"Coming!"
Leon called out, raised a hand to brush the snow off his shoulder, then turned to follow, pulling the door shut behind him.
"Bang...!"
The door swung gently closed, tenderly shutting the silence of the winter night outside. Only the bell beneath the holly wreath on the door was still swaying lightly, giving off a fine, crisp "jingle," as if whispering of the peace of the snowy night.
Inside, warm light overflowed, and laughter and chatter filled the air.
Beside the long table, everyone raised the colorful cups in their hands.
"Everyone, Merry Christmas!"
"Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
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