Chapter 50: A Day With My Wife (Part 2)

Reinhard stayed with his head resting in Emily’s lap for a long while. The breeze moved through the garden, carrying the faint scent of flowers, and neither of them spoke. There was something peaceful about simply being together.

Eventually, Reinhard opened his eyes. "Emily."

"Hm?"

"I want to try something."

Before she could ask what he meant, he sat up and carefully lifted her out of the wheelchair. Emily’s eyes went wide, and her arms wrapped around his neck at once. "Reinhard! What are you doing?"

"Taking you somewhere."

"Where?"

"You’ll see."

He adjusted his hold and began walking slowly across the yard, and for a moment, Emily simply watched the garden move past her.

"You know," Reinhard said, "I’d forgotten what it felt like to just walk around outside. No reason. No destination."

Emily looked up at him. "You used to like doing this?"

"I did."

She frowned slightly. "The only walks I remember you taking were to the liquor store."

Reinhard’s mouth twitched. "Before that." He was quiet for a moment. "A long time before that."

Emily studied his face, but she didn’t press.

"It was a good way to clear my head," Reinhard went on. "Sometimes I just needed to think. Other times, life got so heavy that I felt like I was about to break." He gave a small laugh. "But a walk always helped." His eyes drifted toward the woods beyond the fence. "Even better if there were trees."

Emily’s expression softened. "I understand that feeling."

"You had one too? A ritual?"

She nodded. "When I needed to calm down, I’d go to a lake, or even just a pool."

"What would you do?"

"I’d let myself sink all the way to the bottom," Emily said with a faint smile. "It felt like the whole world was disappearing." She laughed softly. "Luckily, Awakeners can hold their breath for a very long time. I could stay down there for more than twenty minutes."

Reinhard stared at her. "Just relaxing? At the bottom of a lake?"

"Just relaxing."

He smiled. "When you’re better, I’ll try it with you."

Emily blinked. "Then we’ll have to sneak out."

"Why?"

"If Maki finds out, she’ll scold us both."

Reinhard laughed. "And Lily?"

Emily’s expression turned completely serious. "She’ll look at us with annoyance."

"And then?"

"Then she’ll start planning ways to sabotage us."

Reinhard raised an eyebrow. "It sounds like my cute wife has a lot of experience with this."

"Growing up with them was a handful," Emily said, and then her expression softened. "And when I can walk again..."

Reinhard looked down at her. "I’d love to walk around the yard with you," she said with a smile. "And through the forest."

Reinhard suddenly found something very interesting to look at on the other side of the garden. "Uh..."

Emily blinked, and then her eyes went wide as a mischievous smile appeared. "Wait." She giggled. "Are you embarrassed?"

Reinhard frowned. "What?"

"You are," she laughed. "The same man who was waving millions around at an auction yesterday in those flashy clothes?"

"I have no idea what you’re talking about."

Emily reached up and gently laid her palm against his cheek. "Your face is warmer than usual."

"It’s the sun."

Emily looked up. A large cloud was sitting directly over the sun. "The sun?"

"Yes."

"The sun is behind a cloud."

"You silly woman," Reinhard said, looking firmly away. "I said it’s the sun."

Emily laughed, and then she leaned her head against his chest. "My husband is so cute."

Reinhard went completely silent. He kept walking with a perfectly calm expression, and the tips of his ears turned bright red.

After a moment, he cleared his throat. "I feel like having a smoothie."

Emily looked up. "A Morning Dawn?"

"Do you want one?"

She nodded. "I’d love one." She hesitated. "I’ll just wait out here while you..."

"Do you want to make it with me?"

Emily blinked. "Me?"

"Yes."

"A-Are you sure?"

"Why wouldn’t I be?"

"Wouldn’t I just get in the way?"

Reinhard smiled. "Does it matter?" He adjusted his hold on her. "I just want you close."

Emily’s cheeks turned red, and a small smile appeared. "Okay." She nodded. "I’ll help put everything in the blender."

"Good."

Reinhard carried her back to the patio and gently set her in her wheelchair, and together they went into the kitchen. Soon they were side by side at the counter, Emily lining up the ingredients while Reinhard set up the blender.

"So how much of this goes in?" she asked.

"That much."

She stared at the amount. "That much?"

"Yes."

"That looks like too much."

"It isn’t."

"Are you sure?"

"Very."

Emily narrowed her eyes. "You’re just trying to make it stronger."

"Maybe."

She looked at the enormous pile of ingredients Reinhard had poured into the blender, and something changed in her expression as a dangerous glint appeared in her eyes. "Your measuring technique is talentless."

Reinhard froze with the spoon halfway to the blender, and then he slowly turned toward her.

Emily blinked innocently. "I was being polite."

Reinhard burst out laughing. "There she is." He pointed at her. "There’s the Deadly Mouth."

"Don’t call me that."

"Too late," he said with a grin. "I’ve seen the compilations."

They kept working on the smoothies, Reinhard teasing her and Emily teasing him right back, and neither of them noticed how quickly the time passed.

WHAM!

The blender lurched, and Emily’s eyes went wide. "Reinhard!"

The blender tipped toward the edge of the counter, and before it could fall, Emily’s hand shot forward.

A translucent shield formed beneath it in an instant, stopping it in midair, and at the same moment, Emily reinforced her arms. Her hands became a blur as she caught the lid and slammed it back into place before a single drop escaped.

Reinhard looked at the blender, then at Emily, and a slow smile spread across his face. "I told you I needed your help."

Emily laughed, a little breathless. "I guess you did."

"Also," Reinhard said, pointing at her, "Yuna said no training today. She underlined it three times."

"That wasn’t training," Emily said, lifting her chin. "That was an emergency."

"I’m telling her."

"You will not."

Together, they finished the smoothies, and Reinhard poured two glasses and carried them back outside, where they sat side by side in the sunlight. Emily took a sip, and her eyes brightened. "It’s good."

"I know."

She smiled. "You sound very proud."

"I am," he said, taking a sip. "It’s the right amount."

"It’s too much."

"The right amount."

Emily shook her head, laughing.

Reinhard suddenly sat up straight. "Oh, right." He stood. "Wait here."

A moment later, he came back holding a small carved wooden bunny and set it on the table between them. "I picked this up in Marvello yesterday."

Emily’s eyes lit up. "A bunny?"

"It’s a relic," he said, pointing at it. "It creates an invisible field around the area. If someone enters without permission, it alerts us."

Emily carefully picked it up. "That’s amazing." She smiled. "And I love that it’s a bunny." Then she narrowed her eyes. "Wait." She looked at Reinhard. "Did you ask Yuna what my favorite animal is?"

"No."

"You didn’t?"

"Nope."

"Then how did you know?"

"I didn’t," he said with a shrug. "It was the one on the shelf. I just picked it."

Emily looked down at the little bunny, and then she smiled. "But you got it right."

"I have excellent instincts."

"You got lucky."

"Luck is just instincts that don’t explain themselves." He smiled. "I’m glad you like it, though."

Emily laughed. "So am I." She looked around the patio. "Where should we put it?"

She thought for a moment, then carefully set the bunny on an empty chair facing the yard. "There." She nodded. "It’s our little watchdog."

Reinhard’s lips twitched. "A very cute watchdog."

"Exactly."

He reached over and gently rubbed her arm, and they went back to their smoothies.

After a while, Emily spoke softly. "Thank you for today." Reinhard looked at her. "I haven’t had this much fun in a long time."

He smiled. "Me neither." He leaned back. "It felt good to just relax." Then he looked at her. "And I could only do that because my wife was here."

Emily’s smile grew brighter. For a moment, she simply looked at him, and then she leaned against his shoulder. Reinhard didn’t say anything. He simply stayed there.

A familiar notification appeared in front of him.

[Investment Objective Completed.]

[C-Grade Investment Successful.]

[Reward Calculation Complete.]

[Legendary Returns Granted.]

Reinhard’s eyes sharpened as the first reward appeared in his inventory as a wooden bunny.

[Legendary Reward Granted: Legendary Barrier Ward.]

[A legendary defensive relic.]

[When placed on the rooftop of a residence, it creates a powerful invisible barrier around the protected area.]

[The barrier can withstand thirty attacks from B-Rank Awakeners.]

[The barrier can withstand one thousand attacks from C-Rank Awakeners.]

[D-Rank Awakeners cannot break through the barrier with conventional attacks.]

Reinhard’s eyes widened slightly. The little bunny could warn them when someone approached, but this could actually stop them. Very, very useful.

Another notification appeared.

[Additional Reward Granted: Returning Rings ×5.]

[The wearer can set a coordinate and teleport back to that designated location.]

Reinhard thought of his family immediately. Five rings. Perfect. Everyone would have a way home if something ever went wrong.

Another notification appeared.

[Additional Reward Granted: Repair Talismans ×10.]

[Each Repair Talisman can restore one damaged object to its original condition.]

Reinhard thought about the lawn, with the two long gouges Yuna’s heels had carved through it, the dented garden shed, and the crack running across the patio stones. He could practically hear Maki. Add it to the list. He smiled. Perfect.

Another notification appeared.

[Additional Reward Granted: Iron Mind Enhanced.]

[The user can ignore illusions created by weaker enemies.]

Reinhard nodded. That’ll make me much harder to fool. Considering what he did to other people, that seemed only fair.

Another notification appeared.

[Additional Reward Granted: Enhanced Cognitive Processing.]

The world suddenly felt even easier to understand.

Reinhard thoughts moved faster. Information connected more naturally, allowing him to analyze and dissect situations with greater speed.

Ahhh that feels good.

Then came the final reward.

[Additional Legendary Reward Granted: Eyes of Domination Enhanced.]

[The ability can instantly crush targets vastly weaker than the user.]

[Effective range expanded.]

[The effect can now reach targets within a small area behind the user.]

A slow smile spread across Reinhard’s face as he looked at the little wooden bunny sitting on its chair.

A barrier for the house, rings to bring his family home, talismans to finally fix everything he had broken, and two abilities that made him even harder to threaten.

His gaze moved to Emily, who was still leaning against his shoulder, still smiling. The house was becoming safer, his family was growing closer, and Emily was sitting beside him, happily admiring a wooden bunny.

Maybe this is what an investment is supposed to feel like. Not just gaining something, and not just getting stronger, but watching something precious become better because he had chosen to put himself into it.

He smiled.

For once, Reinhard didn’t want anything more. He simply stayed beside his wife.