While he was still critiquing the Status Thief, Aura picked up a long, bundle-wrapped item from the pile of goods on the floor. The moment she touched it, her expression stiffened, and then this normally composed girl, ever mindful of elven decorum, showed a rare flash of excitement on her face.
"This… this is…"
Even through the cloth, Aura could clearly feel the warm resonance emanating from within.
Leon glanced over and chuckled:
"If I had to guess, that should be Great Sacred Tree Branch."
Then he looked at everyone, twirling the Status Thief vial in his fingers, his tone playful:
"Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever told you the full story behind my Scholar's Staff, have I?"
"Think about it. Back then I was just a Level 1 nobody. How could I have afforded a staff that expensive? Aren't you curious?"
At his prompt, everyone except Kureha, who was still in the dark, was instantly intrigued.
Especially Laurier and Aura. They had suspected something all along.
Why would Leon, a human with no connection to elves whatsoever, possess a staff whose main material was Great Sacred Tree Branch?
"Huh? Oh, right!"
Laurier chimed in right on cue, playing the perfect straight man:
"Why could Leon afford a staff that costs at least ten million?"
Leon cocked a smug eyebrow:
"Heh, the reason… well, it's connected to how this little raid unfolded."
He then launched into the story of how, on his way home, he'd run into those Evilus flunkies and how sloppy they'd been.
When he finished, Laurier and Aura wore nearly identical looks of indignation.
"Those damned Evilus!"
Laurier gnashed her teeth, pumping her little fists.
"Causing riots and slaughter in the city isn't enough? They want to spread their flames across the whole world? They deserve to die a thousand deaths!"
Beside her, Rose was quietly explaining to Kureha the basic positions of Orario, the Order Faction, and Evilus, along with the origins of the Dark Era that had dragged on for eight years now.
When Rose finished, Kureha drew in a sharp breath:
"Orario is actually this chaotic now? But walking through the city day to day, you can't tell at all on the surface…"
Rose hugged her arm affectionately, pressing her cheek lightly against Kureha's:
"In a head-on war, Evilus is no match for the Order side in terms of combat power or numbers. Everyone knows that."
"That's why they've taken a different approach, hiding in the shadows and striking at the city."
"The enemy is in the dark, we're in the light. The Order Faction is at a natural disadvantage. With no intel, unable to predict the enemy's moves, we can only play defense. The city is here, and protecting Orario is the Order Faction's one soft spot. That's what lets Evilus act so brazenly."
Kureha nodded thoughtfully:
"Protecting Orario… at its core, it's about not letting them destroy Babel, which would unleash the Dungeon…"
"Exactly. That's the crux of the whole struggle between the two sides."
Rose confirmed.
Jeanne took a sip of water and let out a soft sigh.
"It seems that Evilus has more collaborators than we imagined. Beyond the merchants, gray-market operators, and assassination groups, there's surely a lot more."
"Beyond the core members and elite soldiers inside the city, they have a lot of tendrils reaching out beyond the walls too."
"If I'm not mistaken, those outer forces spread themselves through proselytizing. To those mired in despair, those whose lives have failed them, those harboring darkness in their hearts, these evil gods' doctrines are like rain on parched earth. Preaching chaos, overturning order, unleashing the madness within."
As a devout follower, Jeanne understood the seductive tricks of cults better than anyone.
Sensing the topic was getting heavy, Leon hurriedly chimed in with a light tone of reassurance:
"Well, no point fretting about it here. If the Order Faction has kept Evilus in check this long, they must have measures for outside the city too."
"Take the Hermes Familia and the Artemis Familia, who operate outside the city long-term gathering intelligence."
"The Poseidon Familia, who guard the sea trade routes and clear out aquatic monsters. The Thor Familia and Athena Familia, who hold down the northern continent."
"And… the Academy District, which travels the world."
"With them around, Evilus's tendrils reaching outside will get cut off one by one, sooner or later."
"So there's no need to worry too much."
After Leon's addendum, everyone's hanging hearts settled down a little.
"So there are that many famous familias active outside Orario?!"
Laurier exclaimed, eyes bright.
This time, even the others felt their horizons had broadened, nodding in agreement:
"Yeah. Opening your eyes to see the world really does matter."
…
Thoughts about Evilus's activities outside the city were soon pushed aside.
Everyone's attention returned to the spoils spread across the floor.
"Holy shit, Renewal Potion."
"Nice. Status Thief, Renewal Potion, the whole lineup in one sweep."
Now they were crouching or kneeling in a circle, each with a copy of Dungeon Materials and Drop Items handbook, cross-referencing and sorting through everything.
Exclamations of awe, surprise, and disappointment kept rising from the small courtyard.
Leon watched the bustling scene with a smile, his face glowing with the satisfaction of an old landlord taking stock of his estate.
Eventually, feeling the pace was lagging, he even pulled Kureha, who still wasn't familiar with "the business," into the work, having Jeanne and Rose guide her.
He dressed it up as "hands-on training," effectively conscripting her as free labor.
In the end, Rose and Jeanne could only grab Kureha with resigned expressions and start teaching her.
And… Kureha didn't seem to mind this interesting lesson at all. Leon even thought he spotted a hint of excitement on her delicate little face.
…
As Leon had said:
What kind of Adventurer only knows how to fight but can't identify various materials?
If you nearly died taking down a monster of equal strength only to get fleeced by a shady buyer because you couldn't recognize the goods, that would be the biggest joke in the world.
Not just a massive financial loss, but a total loss of face.
And so everyone took this kind of learning unusually seriously.
Even Jeanne, who had no interest in worldly wealth, made leaps and bounds under Leon's prodding. Compared to when she first joined the Familia, she was practically a different person.
Leon was delighted by this. The sense of accomplishment from watching them grow left him thoroughly satisfied.
…
After an afternoon of everyone's hard work, they finally finished tallying up the spoils Leon had brought home by evening.
Rose held a small notebook, writing down the final figure.
Looking at the total she'd calculated, she smiled at everyone.
"Oh my, this amount is a little scary."
Leon gripped his water cup. If not for the sliver of reason still left in him, the fragile cup might have already been crushed in his hand.
"Right, all of you had better steady yourselves. Don't let it shock you too much."
Everyone stared at Rose with burning eyes. She let her gaze drift across them, then parted her lips:
"Five hundred million Valis!"
"…"
Silence.
And then…
"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhh?!"
…
"Huff… huff… huff…!"
Leon was panting heavily, his whole body trembling, his eyes bloodshot.
The instant Rose's words landed, his face had gone crimson!
"Unreal!!!!!!!!!!!"
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