Chapter 56: A New Investment

The moment Reinhard opened the front door, he saw Lily walking past.

"You’re finally back! We almost ordered food without you."

Reinhard dropped his bag beside the door and smiled. "You almost betrayed me?"

"We were hungry."

"That’s not an excuse."

"It is when I’m the one who’s hungry."

He laughed. "Don’t do that. I have something I want to cook."

"Oh?"

Before Lily could ask what he meant, Reinhard dropped his bag by the door, and the warmth of home immediately settled over him. After spending so much time inside Eclipse, being back here felt different.

Maki was on her laptop, Yuna was sitting nearby with a book, and Lily was already eating something she had probably stolen from the kitchen, while Emily watched the whole thing from her usual place. It was noisy, it was messy, and it was home.

Reinhard smiled.

Then the System appeared at the edge of his vision.

[Investment Opportunity Available.]

[Target: Emily Ashcroft.]

[Current Value: B+]

[Objective: Share Your Gains With Your Family.]

[Difficulty Grade: D.]

[Success Probability: 70%.]

Reinhard stared at the notification for a moment.

Share his gains with his family?

He glanced around the room, where Maki was already arguing with Lily over whatever she had stolen, Yuna turned another page, and Emily looked at him with a small smile.

Reinhard understood.

The System had chosen them as his next investment target, and this time the investment wasn’t about buying something expensive.

It was about sharing what he had gained.

He looked around the room again.

So the System wants me to spend money on my family. A faint smile appeared on his face. I was already planning to do that.

He silently dismissed the notification, deciding to deal with it later. For now, he had a family waiting for him.

Reinhard sat down and relaxed, and for a few moments nobody asked him anything. They simply let him settle in.

Emily waited before finally speaking. "So?"

"It went well," Reinhard said.

Lily tilted her head. "That’s it?"

"I got an office."

Silence followed.

"An office?" Maki asked.

He nodded. "And I became a Special Consultant for Eclipse."

Lily’s eyes widened. "You became a consultant?"

"Apparently."

"How?"

"I showed them the Mirror." He paused. "I also helped with an expedition and evaluated some relics."

"And?"

"They liked the results."

Maki gave him a skeptical look. "How much did they like the results?"

"Enough to give me an office."

Lily leaned forward. "That’s not an answer."

Reinhard laughed. "More importantly, Eclipse has already started looking for the remaining materials."

He paused. "The Lightning Emperor Key is being searched for. The Lightkeeper Dew is being negotiated for." Another pause. "And the Life Gold Water is already being brought over."

Emily went still. "Already..." She looked down for a moment.

"We’re getting closer," Reinhard said.

Emily slowly smiled. "We’re really going to do this."

"We’re going to do it."

Her smile grew slightly, and for a moment she simply looked at him.

Then Maki broke the silence. "What exactly does Eclipse pay you?"

Reinhard leaned back. "Five hundred thousand credits a month."

Everyone stopped.

Lily slowly lowered her pizza. "A month?"

"Yes."

"You mean every month?"

"That’s usually what a monthly salary means."

Lily stared at him. "You’re rich again."

"He never stopped being rich," Maki said, shaking her head.

"And now he’s making half a million a month." Lily pointed at Reinhard. "You need to negotiate."

"I just got the position."

"Exactly. Strike while the iron is hot."

Reinhard stared at Lily for a moment. I’m not sure whether she’s worried about my salary or simply planning what she’s going to spend it on.

He decided not to ask.

Yuna finally looked up from her book. "What else comes with the position?"

Reinhard explained the rest.

Maki nodded slowly. "So you don’t have to go through layers of people just to speak with Lucien."

"Exactly."

Emily looked at him. "And they’re already helping us find the materials."

"That’s the important part," Reinhard said.

Lily leaned back in her chair. "So you’re basically getting paid to look at expensive things."

"That is one way of putting it."

"And they give you an office."

"Yes."

"And half a million credits."

"Yes."

She looked at him suspiciously. "Why do you keep getting better jobs?"

Reinhard smiled. "Because I’m handsome and talented."

Maki sighed. "His ego is getting worse."

"It was already bad," Yuna said quietly.

"Even you?" Reinhard asked with a sigh.

Yuna returned to her book. "I’m just stating a fact."

Lily laughed, and Reinhard shook his head. "Speaking of which, I brought something back."

Everyone looked at him as he reached into his bag and pulled out four bottles.

Lily immediately leaned forward. "What are those?"

"Body Filter Drinks."

Maki looked at the bottles. "What do they do?"

"They remove accumulated impurities and harmful substances from the body while improving overall health."

Yuna’s attention shifted toward them. "That’s useful."

"It was one of the things I received."

Emily looked at him. "You got those from Eclipse?"

Reinhard smiled. "Let’s just say Eclipse gave them to me as a welcome gift."

That explanation was convenient enough.

Lily reached for one of the bottles. "Can I have it?"

He handed it over. "Go ahead. It’s for each of you."

She opened the bottle and drank it without hesitation. Nothing happened for several seconds.

Lily looked at the bottle. "That’s it?"

"Give it a little time," Reinhard smiled.

A strange feeling suddenly spread through Lily’s body, and she froze. "Uh..."

Maki looked at her. "What?"

"I feel weird." Lily’s expression changed. "Wait."

She suddenly stood up. "Something is coming out."

Reinhard covered his mouth, but his shoulders were already shaking.

Lily narrowed her eyes. "What?"

"Nothing."

"Are you laughing?"

"No."

"You’re laughing!"

"I’m trying not to."

Reinhard couldn’t hold it anymore and he burst out laughing.

Lily sniffed the air, her face immediately turning red. "Oh my god!"

Maki covered her nose. "What is that smell?"

Yuna looked toward Lily. "The drink is probably removing impurities from her body."

Lily slowly turned toward Reinhard. "You knew this would happen!"

Reinhard was still laughing. "I knew there might be some side effects."

"You didn’t tell me!"

"You didn’t ask."

"Wait... this looks like what happened to you a month ago–"

"Since we are a family, I shouldn’t be the only one to suffer like this." Reinhard said with a beaming smile.

"REINHARD!"

She grabbed a slipper.

Reinhard immediately leaned away. "Hey, violence isn’t necessary."

"You’re laughing at me!"

"It’s just funny."

Lily’s face became even redder. "I hate you!"

"And I love you too."

She raised the slipper. "Go away!"

Reinhard held up his hands. "Fine, fine. You guys go use the drinks and take a shower." He looked at Maki, Yuna, and Emily. "I’ll make dinner."

Lily stopped. "You?"

"Yes."

"What are you making?"

"A special recipe."

Her expression immediately changed. "What kind?"

Reinhard smiled. "You’ll find out."

The promise of food finally defeated Lily’s desire to attack him, and she grabbed the remaining bottle.

"Fine."

The family slowly dispersed, Lily disappearing toward the bathroom while complaining the entire way, Maki following with her own bottle, and Yuna quietly taking hers.

Emily remained behind for a moment.

She looked at Reinhard. "You knew about the smell."

He grinned."Maybe."

She shook her head.

"You’re terrible."

"But you still like me."

A faint smile appeared on her face. "Unfortunately."

Reinhard laughed and headed toward the kitchen, pulling out the ingredients for one of the recipes from the Family Culinary Collection.

The kitchen quickly became the warmest place in the house.

Reinhard placed the ingredients on the counter. The Body Tempering Dish looked simple enough at first, just vegetables, meat, and several unfamiliar ingredients he had received from the system, but the moment Reinhard began cooking, the atmosphere changed.

A faint golden light seeped from the pot, then blue, then green, then crimson, the lights intertwining above the stove and spreading across the kitchen like ribbons of colored mist.

The aroma that followed was even more ridiculous. The aroma wasn’t merely delicious. It was rich, warm, almost alive.

Emily’s eyes widened as she stared at the shimmering pot in disbelief. "This is..."

She slowly inhaled, her eyes brightening. "I have never smelled anything like this."

Reinhard chuckled. "Looks like the recipe I got is pretty amazing."

Emily smiled. "Pretty amazing?" She shook her head. "Reinhard, this is incredible."

The golden light reflected across her eyes, and for a moment she looked like the Emily everyone used to talk about, the genius Awakener, the girl who once stood at the top of her generation.

Except this time, there was no battlefield in front of her, no opponent, no tournament.

Just a kitchen, and Reinhard.

Reinhard looked at her for a moment before walking over and placing his hands on the handles of her wheelchair. "Come here."

Emily blinked. "Where?"

"You’re helping me."

He gently pulled her closer to the stove.

Emily stared at him. "Me?"

"Who else?"

A smile slowly spread across her face, and she reached toward the spoon. "Fine."

She took it from him.

Reinhard placed his hand over hers for a moment, guiding the movement. "Slowly."

Emily laughed. "You’re asking the former National Champion to stir a pot."

"Exactly."

"You really have no respect for my achievements."

"Not when you’re holding a spoon like that."

Emily lightly elbowed him. "Shut up."

Reinhard laughed.

Together, they stirred the pot, and the moment Emily’s mana touched the dish, the entire kitchen suddenly flashed.

WHOOM.

Golden light erupted from the pot, the colors spiraling upward as a wave of warmth swept through the room.

Emily froze.

Reinhard looked at the pot, then at Emily.

Emily looked back at him, her eyes shining. "Did I do that?"

Reinhard smiled. "Looks like it."

Emily’s smile became even wider. "Then let’s make it better."

She stirred again, and another wave of light spread through the kitchen. For once, Emily wasn’t being treated like someone who needed to be protected. She wasn’t being carried, she wasn’t being healed, she wasn’t being told to rest.

She was simply there, cooking with her husband, and she loved it.

...

By the time everyone returned, the dining table was filled with food.

Lily sat down first, having clearly recovered from the earlier incident, although she still gave Reinhard an irritated look.

"You better not try anything funny this time."

"I won’t."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

She narrowed her eyes. "I don’t trust that smile."

Maki sat down beside her. Yuna looked at the food curiously. Emily took her usual place at the table, and Reinhard served everyone.

Everyone took their first bite and for several seconds, nobody spoke. Then Lily suddenly shivered. "Ah."

She stared at her hand, her fingers tightening around the fork.

Clink.

The metal bent.

Lily froze.

Everyone looked at her.

"..."

She slowly raised the fork. "I didn’t do that."

Reinhard raised an eyebrow. "You just bent a metal fork."

"I know!" Lily stared at it in disbelief. "When did I get this strong?"

Maki swallowed another bite, then her body trembled, her hand suddenly jerking. The juice cup beside her tipped over, and before it could fall, her hand shot forward and caught it.

Silence.

Maki stared at the cup in her hand. She hadn’t even thought about moving. She had simply reacted. "...My reflexes."

Yuna was already sitting completely still, a faint orange glow appearing in her eyes. She closed them, then opened them again. "I can feel it."

Reinhard looked toward her. "Feel what?"

"My mana is moving differently now." Yuna placed a hand against her chest. Her expression slowly changed. "And I seem to have more of it."

Lily immediately leaned toward her. "How much?"

"I don’t know." Yuna looked down at her hands. "But... It feels like my body is finally keeping up."

Maki looked toward Reinhard. "So this dinner..."

Reinhard leaned back in his chair. "Apparently, it’s pretty good."

Lily stared at him. "Pretty good?! I just bent steel!"

Reinhard shrugged. "That’s one way to measure it."

Emily laughed, and everyone else followed. For the first time in a long time, the Ashcroft family wasn’t eating simply because they needed food. They were eating because they were together, getting stronger, together.

Reinhard looked around the table.

Emily was smiling, Lily was still staring at her bent fork, Maki was testing her reflexes, and Yuna was quietly feeling the mana moving through her body.

This was what he wanted.

Not simply to make Emily stronger, not simply to make himself stronger. He wanted everyone in this house to become stronger. He wanted them to reach the future together. And somehow, sitting around that table, Reinhard realized something.

This wasn’t an investment anymore.

It was a family.

"Reinhard."

"Hmm?"

"Thank you."

He looked at her. "For what?"

Emily glanced around the table. "This." She smiled. "I thought you were only trying to save me." Her eyes softened. "But you’re saving all of us."

"Of course. We’re a family."

Reinhard’s words made her beam at him.

Before he could say anything else, he glanced around at the others, who were already laughing and eating. This was the part of his gains that mattered most. The money was useful, the Eclipse position was useful, the rare materials were important, but none of it meant much if he had no one to share it with.

The System quietly appeared at the edge of his vision.

[Investment Objective Completed.]

Reinhard’s eyes shifted slightly.

[D-Rank Investment Successful.]

[Target: Emily.]

[Reward Calculation Complete.]

[Legendary Returns Granted.]

He silently read the next notification.

[Additional Reward Granted: Family Bond]

[Effect: When together with one of the user family member, their strength and training speed increases by 25%]

[Additional Effect: Any damage or pain will be shared between family members when there bond is strong enough.]

Reinhard’s eyes narrowed slightly. The reward would strengthen the family’s ability to coordinate their mana and support one another during training, treatment, and combat.

That was useful.

Very useful.

Then another notification appeared.

[Additional Reward Granted: Family Vitality Elixir ×5.]

After everyone settled down, Reinhard eventually returned to his room.

A few minutes later, his phone vibrated.

Not the System.

An Eclipse communication.

He opened it and a short message appeared.

Life Gold Water acquisition confirmed but will take a bit to be delivered to us.

Reinhard’s expression changed and then another message appeared.

Lightkeeper Dew — Possible Location Identified. Need more information.

He slowly smiled. Eclipse was moving faster than he expected. Emily’s recovery was no longer something he was chasing alone. He had an organization behind him now. Reinhard stared at the message for a few seconds.

He then checked on his previous missions.