Chapter 117: We’re Not Leaving Yet

The restaurant was far more extravagant than Reinhard had expected.

The entrance alone looked like it belonged to a place where ordinary people would need to check their bank accounts before walking through the door.

The dining hall was quiet and elegant, with polished floors, soft lighting, and private tables separated by decorative partitions. Even the staff moved with a level of composure that made it obvious they were accustomed to serving wealthy Awakeners and important figures.

Reinhard looked around the restaurant before glancing at the ticket in his hand. "I think this might be the most expensive meal I’ve ever gotten for free."

Lily’s eyes immediately brightened. "Does that mean we can order anything?"

"Anything," Reinhard confirmed.

Rhea leaned forward. "Anything?"

Reinhard looked at her suspiciously. "Within reason."

Rhea sat back with a disappointed expression. "You ruined it."

Maki quietly looked through the menu while trying not to smile. Emily, meanwhile, simply closed hers after looking through it for a few seconds. "Everyone should order whatever they want. We’ve earned it."

That was all the permission Rhea needed.

The next few minutes became considerably louder as everyone began deciding what they wanted. Even the members of Nephilim, who had initially seemed somewhat hesitant about the restaurant, gradually relaxed when they realized Reinhard was serious about treating the entire group.

The Grand Meal Ticket had apparently been worth far more than Reinhard had initially expected.

The staff had recognized it immediately, and the manager himself had personally escorted them into the private dining area. There was no question that this was a privilege normally reserved for the most prestigious Awakener teams in Elyndor.

Tonight, however, the entire group was going to enjoy it.

Their food arrived one dish at a time, and for the first few minutes, everyone simply ate.

Then Rhea reached across the table and stole a piece of Lily’s food.

Lily stopped eating and stared at her.

"That’s mine."

Rhea calmly put the food into her mouth. "It looked good."

Lily stared at her for another second before reaching over and taking something from Rhea’s plate.

Rhea immediately looked offended. "Hey."

"It looked good," Lily replied.

Reinhard lowered his head slightly, already realizing that this was probably going to become a problem.

Rhea and Lily stared at each other for a moment before both started eating again as if nothing had happened.

A few minutes later, Kael silently pushed part of his food toward Lily.

Lily looked at him and smiled. "Thank you."

Rhea immediately reached over and took some from Kael’s plate as well.

Kael looked at her.

Rhea continued eating.

Kael continued staring.

Neither of them said anything.

Across the table, Adrian watched the entire exchange with growing concern before quietly moving his plate farther away from Rhea.

Rhea noticed almost immediately. "Are you hiding your food from me?"

Adrian looked at her honestly. "Yes."

Rhea looked genuinely offended. "I wasn’t going to take it."

Everyone at the table looked at her.

Rhea paused with her fork halfway to her mouth before quietly adding, "Probably."

Lily started laughing.

Even Emily couldn’t completely hide her smile, while Maki lowered her head and tried to continue eating without getting involved.

Adrian looked at Kael as though silently asking whether this was normal.

Kael nodded once. "Yes."

Adrian quietly accepted his fate.

Reinhard watched the exchange with amusement, but as the meal continued, his attention slowly shifted toward something else.

When they had first entered the restaurant, he had expected the seating arrangement to be obvious. The Ashcroft Family would sit together, while Nephilim would sit together on the other side of the table.

That was how things had started.

Somehow, it had lasted less than five minutes.

Rhea was sitting beside Lily. Seraphine had ended up beside Maki, while Rika was sitting close to Emily. Mara was speaking with Yuna, and Kael and Adrian had gradually mixed themselves into the rest of the group without anyone consciously deciding to do it.

Nobody had told them to change seats.

Nobody had suggested that they should become closer.

They had simply done it.

Reinhard looked around the table for a moment before smiling quietly.

A few weeks ago, they had been two completely separate teams.

Now, even their seating arrangement had stopped making that distinction.

Rhea was the first to bring the conversation back to the recent mission when she turned toward Lily. "So, what did you think about Black Veil?"

Lily swallowed her food before answering. "It was scary."

Rhea nodded. "Good."

Lily blinked. "Good?"

"It means you understood that it was dangerous."

Lily thought about that before nodding. "I was nervous at first."

"You still did well," Rhea said. "You waited for your opening instead of rushing in."

Lily smiled slightly. "You really think so?"

"Obviously. You actually waited for your opening this time."

Lily’s smile grew.

Then Rhea reached over and stole another piece of her food.

Lily’s expression immediately flattened. "You just ruined the compliment."

Rhea shrugged. "I can compliment you and steal your food at the same time."

"That’s not how compliments work."

"It is for me."

A few seats away, Maki was having a more serious conversation with Seraphine.

"So, what’s the difference between Top 30 and Top 20?" Maki asked.

Seraphine thought for a moment before answering. "Strength is part of it, but it isn’t the biggest difference."

"Then what is?"

"Specialization."

Maki looked at her curiously.

Seraphine continued while calmly eating. "Top 30 teams are generally strong enough to handle difficult missions. They can deal with a wide range of situations, and most of them have enough experience to avoid falling apart when something unexpected happens."

Maki nodded slowly.

"Top 20 is different," Seraphine continued. "Most of those teams have something they’re exceptionally good at."

"Like what?"

"Reconnaissance. Suppression. Rescue. Abnormality control. High-speed elimination. Defensive operations. Relic recovery. Spatial environments. Anti-Awakener combat."

Maki considered the list.

"So they specialize."

"Exactly."

Maki looked around the table.

The Ashcroft Family was strong in almost every area.

That should have been an advantage.

Yet the more she thought about it, the more she realized that they didn’t have anything they could point to and say, This is what we’re known for.

They were simply strong.

They had Reinhard’s overwhelming power, Emily and Rika’s combat ability, Yuna and Mara’s leadership, Maki and Seraphine’s analysis, Lily and Rhea’s mobility, and several other strengths that could cover different situations.

But what were they the best at?

Maki frowned slightly.

Seraphine noticed. "That’s something you need to figure out."

Maki looked at her.

Seraphine smiled faintly. "I can’t tell you what your team’s identity should be. That’s something the team has to discover."

Maki nodded.

Across the table, Emily was having a similar conversation with Rika.

"Do you think we’re ready for Top 20?" Rika asked.

Emily thought about it.

"Strength-wise? Probably."

Rika waited.

"And professionally?"

Emily’s expression became more thoughtful.

"Not yet."

Rika nodded as if she had expected that answer.

Emily looked toward the rest of the table. "We’ve become much stronger in a short amount of time. But being strong isn’t the same thing as being a Top 20 team."

"You understand that better than most," Rika said.

Emily smiled faintly. "I’ve been around long enough to know that the strongest team isn’t always the one that gets the mission."

"Because the Association needs to know what a team can do."

"Exactly."

Emily looked at Maki, Lily, Yuna, and the others. "I think I’ve been looking at everyone individually. Their strengths, their weaknesses, how much they’ve improved."

Rika nodded.

"But a team is different."

"It is."

Emily leaned back slightly. "We need to figure out what all of those strengths become when they’re put together."

At another part of the table, Mara was speaking with Yuna.

"You handled the Black Veil mission well," Mara said.

Yuna shook her head. "I still relied heavily on everyone’s individual strengths."

"That’s normal."

"I don’t think that’s enough for Top 20."

Mara smiled slightly. "It isn’t."

Yuna looked at her. "Then what is?"

"Systems."

Yuna frowned.

Mara continued, "Top 20 teams don’t simply have six strong people fighting together. They build their entire operation around those people."

Yuna thought about it.

"You shouldn’t have six strong people fighting together," Mara said. "You should have one team where each person’s strength makes everyone else stronger."

Yuna looked around the table.

That was the difference.

They had spent the last several missions learning how to fight beside one another.

They had learned when to move, when to wait, when to trust someone else, and when to take command.

But they hadn’t yet reached the point where every member’s strength naturally formed part of the same structure.

It was something they would need to learn.

A short distance away, Adrian looked toward Kael.

"You don’t talk much, do you?"

Kael continued eating. "Not really."

Adrian nodded. "Good. I was worried I was being too quiet."

Kael finally looked at him.

"You’re fine."

Adrian relaxed.

Neither of them said anything after that, but somehow the silence felt comfortable.

Reinhard noticed that too.

He had expected the conversations tonight to remain divided along team lines.

Instead, everyone was slowly finding their own place.

Eventually, the different conversations merged into one.

Reinhard leaned back in his chair and looked around the table. "So what exactly separates Top 20 from Top 30?"

Mara answered first. "Consistency."

Seraphine added, "Specialization."

Rika said, "Experience."

Yuna followed, "Team coordination."

Emily looked at Reinhard. "Knowing what your team is."

Reinhard paused and he looked around the table again. They were all describing different things, but they were really talking about the same problem. A Top 30 team could be strong. A Top 20 team needed to know exactly how it was strong.

Mara explained it more clearly. "Top 30 teams are strong. Top 20 teams are specialists." She paused before continuing. "Being Top 30 means you’re strong enough to handle difficult missions. Being Top 20 means the Association knows exactly what kind of mission to send you into."

Reinhard listened carefully.

"If there’s a dangerous relic recovery mission, they know which team to send. If there’s an Abnormality outbreak, they know which team to call. If there’s a rescue operation in unstable territory, they know which team has the best chance of succeeding."

Seraphine nodded. "The higher you go, the more specific those expectations become."

"So a Top 20 team isn’t necessarily stronger in every area," Maki said.

"No," Mara replied. "They’re reliable in the areas that matter to them."

Reinhard looked around the table again.

Emily was speaking quietly with Rika. Maki and Seraphine were already discussing the different types of missions they might encounter. Yuna and Mara were comparing their approaches to leadership. Lily was laughing at something Rhea had said, while Adrian was still carefully guarding his food from her.

Reinhard smiled.

Rhea eventually broke the silence. "So what are we supposed to specialize in?"

Nobody answered immediately.

Reinhard thought about it for a moment before saying, "Eating?"

Lily immediately nodded. "We’re already very good at that."

Rhea raised her hand slightly. "Especially me."

Adrian immediately pulled his plate closer.

Rhea noticed. "You’re still hiding your food from me?"

Adrian nodded. "Yes."

Rhea looked at him with disbelief. "I thought we were becoming friends."

"We are."

"Then trust me."

Adrian looked at her plate, then at his own. "No."

The entire table broke into laughter.