Chapter 80: Family Time

The lake was quieter than Reinhard expected. Then a notification appeared.

[Investment Opportunity Available.]

[Target: Emily Ashcroft.]

[Current Value: A+.]

[Objective: Enjoy yourself at the lake and grow together as a family.]

[Difficulty Grade: D.]

[Success Probability: 35%.]

Why is it so low? Unless "grow together" means... Reinhard’s lips twitched as he imagined the uncomfortable conversations that might be waiting for him.

The others had already moved toward the water, with Lily practically bouncing in excitement. "We’re swimming, right?"

Reinhard looked at her, then at the bags they had brought. "That was the plan."

Lily immediately grabbed Emily’s hands. "Come on, Mom."

Emily laughed softly. "You don’t have to pull me."

"I know. I’m just excited."

A few minutes later, everyone had changed, and Lily ran straight into the lake. Maki followed with considerably more dignity, while Yuna carefully stepped into the water and adjusted to the temperature.

Reinhard looked toward Emily. "Ready?"

"I am."

He helped her toward the shallow water, and she laughed when Lily suddenly splashed them. "Got you!"

Reinhard wiped the water from his face. "Oh, you’ve made a mistake."

Lily’s eyes widened. "Wait."

Reinhard splashed her.

"REINHARD!"

She immediately retaliated, and within seconds the peaceful lake became a battlefield. Maki tried to stay out of it and failed, and Yuna eventually joined as well.

Emily laughed when another wave reached her. "You all planned this."

Lily grinned. "Family teamwork."

"That doesn’t sound like teamwork."

"It is if we’re all attacking Reinhard."

Reinhard looked around at them. "Interesting. I’ve created a conspiracy."

"You deserve it," Maki said.

"After everything I’ve done for this family?"

"You splashed Lily first."

"Self-defense."

"You attacked first."

"Preemptive self-defense. I saw the intent in her eyes."

"There was no intent, I was just standing there."

"You were standing there menacingly."

"I don’t know how to stand menacingly!"

"You’re a natural."

Emily laughed again.

For the next few hours, there was no training and no discussion about treatment. They swam, raced across the lake, and argued over who was fastest. Reinhard won every race until Lily accused him of being unfair, so he deliberately slowed down for the final one and still won.

"This is unfair!" Lily complained.

"You wanted another race."

"You were supposed to let me win!"

"I thought you wanted to win honestly."

"Not anymore."

"That’s a very convenient change of heart."

"I contain multitudes too, apparently."

Yuna laughed. "At least she’s honest."

Maki shook her head. "You two are exhausting."

Emily simply smiled as she watched them. For once, she wasn’t watching her family from a distance. She was part of it, and Reinhard noticed. He didn’t say anything. He simply smiled.

As the sun began descending, everyone eventually left the water and gathered beneath the trees. Lily collapsed onto the blanket while Maki and Yuna dried off.

Emily walked toward Reinhard near the shore. "Beautiful, isn’t it?"

"Very."

Reinhard looked at her for a moment before gently lifting her and carrying her back toward the blanket.

"Reinhard..."

"You were standing too long."

"I was fine."

"I know."

He settled her onto his lap beneath the tree, and Emily leaned back against his chest. After a few quiet moments, she asked, "Do you ever get tired of this?"

"Of what?"

"Taking care of me."

Reinhard looked toward the sunset. "No."

"Even when I’m difficult?"

"Especially then."

Emily laughed softly. "I don’t know whether that’s sweet or insulting."

"I’m choosing sweet."

"Of course you are."

The conversation gradually turned toward their lives before Reinhard had changed. Emily talked about the things she used to enjoy, reading late at night, walking through forests, visiting unfamiliar cities, and finding quiet places where she could watch the stars.

Maki admitted that she enjoyed cooking more than anyone realized, while Yuna liked studying magic theory and collecting strange information. Lily liked swimming, exploring, eating, and borrowing Maki’s clothes for far longer than Maki considered reasonable.

"That last one isn’t a hobby, it’s theft with extra steps," Maki said.

"It’s borrowing."

"You’ve had my blue jacket for eight months."

"It’s on an extended loan."

"There is no loan agreement."

"There’s an unspoken loan agreement."

"You unspoke it into existence."

"What about you?" Lily eventually asked Reinhard.

He thought for a moment. "Money."

Maki sighed. "That’s not a hobby."

"Fine. Clothes, food, traveling, and spending time with my wife."

Emily smiled. "That last one is becoming your answer to everything."

"Because it’s a good answer."

"You said it about a sandwich yesterday."

"The sandwich reminded me of you."

"How does a sandwich remind you of me?"

"It was well put together and I enjoyed spending time with it."

"That is not a compliment."

"I’m choosing to believe it is."

They continued talking until the laughter gradually became quieter. Then the old Reinhard came up. Not because anyone wanted to remember him. Because, for the first time, nobody was afraid to.

Reinhard looked around at his family. "I’ve been wondering about something. Do you remember when we got used to seeing Emily spill her water?"

The mood changed immediately. Lily’s smile faded, Yuna lowered her eyes, and Maki became very still.

Emily looked down at her hands.

"I mean the glass by the table," Reinhard continued gently. "She would reach for it, knock it over, and nobody would move. I remember seeing it when I first woke up. What I don’t understand is how everyone got used to it."

Maki looked toward the lake. "Because it happened every day." She explained that at first they had helped Emily every time, but eventually Emily insisted she could handle things herself, because she hated being treated as helpless.

"Then we stopped asking," Maki said.

Yuna lowered her head. "She stopped asking too."

Lily’s voice became quieter. "We all knew she hated feeling helpless."

Emily finally spoke. "I didn’t want everyone constantly treating me like I was broken."

Reinhard nodded. "So you all tried to respect that."

"And eventually, we went too far," Maki admitted.

Nobody defended themselves. Nobody blamed Emily.

Emily looked down. "I hated needing help."

Maki moved closer and placed a hand over hers. "We should have helped anyway."

"I should have asked."

"You shouldn’t have needed to."

Emily’s eyes became slightly red. "But I didn’t know how to say it."

Lily rubbed the back of her neck. "I think we were all pretending things were normal. We knew they weren’t. We just didn’t want to say it."

Emily gave her a small smile. "You’re right."

Lily hesitated before continuing. "I hated seeing you like that. I hated seeing you throw away your old trophies too."

Emily went quiet. "I burned some of them," she admitted.

Reinhard looked at her. "Why?"

"Because every time I saw them, I remembered who I used to be. The champion. The strongest. The person everyone expected to become something amazing." She stared toward the lake. "I thought if I destroyed those things, I could stop remembering."

Yuna quietly said, "We thought you hated your past."

"I didn’t hate it." Emily took a slow breath. "I missed it."

Nobody spoke.

"I missed who I was," she admitted. "And I hated myself for missing her."

Reinhard gently squeezed her hand. "You don’t have to burn anything anymore."

Emily looked at him. "Why?"

"Because your past isn’t your enemy. It’s proof of what you’ve already done." He smiled. "And if you become stronger than you were before, you can make new memories."

Emily’s expression softened. "You’re really good at saying things like that."

"I’ve had excellent practice."

She laughed quietly.

After that, the conversation became easier. They talked about the things they had avoided for years, how meals had grown quieter, how Maki had started carrying the family alone, how Yuna stopped sharing what she learned because she didn’t want to burden anyone, and how Lily became louder because silence made her uncomfortable.

None of those problems disappeared simply because they talked about them. But they could talk about them now. That was the difference.

Reinhard looked at them and smiled. "You know what I think?"

Lily glanced at him. "What?"

"The old Reinhard was terrible."

Maki stared at him. "That’s putting it mildly."

"I know."

Yuna smiled. "He was."

Emily looked down before quietly saying, "The new Reinhard is better."

Reinhard raised an eyebrow. "Better?"

"Much better."

Lily nodded. "Way better."

Maki sighed. "Unfortunately."

Reinhard placed a hand over his heart. "That sounds like praise."

"It isn’t."

"I’ll accept it anyway."

Lily’s expression softened. "You were the spark."

Reinhard’s smile faded slightly. "What?"

"You were the first thing that changed. Before you, we were all just surviving. Then you started doing ridiculous things. You cooked terrible food, dragged Mom outside, bought her that wheelchair, and kept telling her she could recover even when nobody else believed it." She rubbed her eyes. "You made us start believing again too."

Reinhard didn’t joke. "Thank you," Lily said.

He looked at his family. "You’re welcome."

The moment lasted only a few seconds before Lily added, "But your cooking is still terrible."

Reinhard sighed. "I knew there was a catch."

Everyone laughed.

...

Later that evening, while the others rested, Reinhard prepared the training equipment. He brought out the Substitute Dummies and filled one with mana while Maki watched.

"What are those?"

"Insurance."

He explained how they could take a fatal attack in the user’s place, and Maki’s expression became serious. "You’re preparing for the treatment."

"Yes."

"The way you’ve been talking... tell me honestly. This is going to be extremely dangerous, isn’t it?"

Reinhard smiled faintly. "Unfortunately."

He continued filling the dummy. "That’s why I pushed for you and Lily to become Awakeners. It’s also why I’ve been pushing your mana control."

Maki nodded. "Then we’ll do our part."

"Exactly."

The next morning, Reinhard brought out the High-Grade Mana Fusion Grapes. The family gathered around as he explained how the Immortal Emperor Body could absorb concentrated mana directly into their cells instead of forcing everything into their Gnosis.

Maki immediately understood the importance, and the others began practicing.

"This feels different," Emily said as she carefully guided the mana through her body.

"It is," Reinhard replied. "You’re strengthening the body carrying your Gnosis, not just the Gnosis itself."

Lily flexed her arm. "Does that mean I’m going to become incredibly muscular?"

Reinhard looked at her. "No."

"Good."

"Your face would still be cute, though."

"Reinhard!"

Emily laughed while Maki shook her head and Yuna covered her mouth.

The training continued throughout the day.

Maki’s control improved, Lily became more efficient, Yuna continued refining her new A-Rank power, and Emily trained alongside them instead of being the person everyone simply protected.

She was learning. She was becoming stronger. She was growing with them.

That evening, Emily noticed Reinhard’s shoulders were tense again. "You’re tired."

"A little."

She gently pulled him closer, allowing his head to rest against her, and Reinhard immediately relaxed. "Oh, I have found heaven."

Emily laughed. "You don’t need to be so dramatic."

"You aren’t the one lying against the best pillow in the world."

"You dummy."

Her fingers moved through his hair before settling on his shoulders. "Your Mana Sovereignty still has a problem."

Reinhard opened one eye. "Again?"

"You keep trying to control everything."

"I thought I fixed that."

"You improved." She smiled. "But you’re still forcing your mana to obey you."

Reinhard became quiet.

"Think of your mana like another part of your body," Emily continued. "You don’t consciously control every muscle when you move your arm. You simply decide to move, and your body understands."

Reinhard closed his eyes and circulated his mana again, and this time he didn’t force every strand into position. He gave it direction, and the mana responded naturally. His control became smoother and more precise.

His eyes opened. "That was a breakthrough."

"I know."

He looked up at her. "You really are a good teacher."

"And you’re finally learning to listen."

"I listen to my wife."

"Sometimes."

"Most of the time."

"Whenever it’s convenient."

"That’s a very specific kind of listening, and I think it counts."

Emily laughed. "Good enough."

Reinhard closed his eyes again and relaxed against her. For a while, neither of them spoke. The family was stronger now, but not simply because their ranks had increased. They were closer, more honest, and finally willing to speak about the past without allowing it to control them.

They had two weeks before Emily’s treatment, and for the first time, Reinhard believed they were truly preparing for it together.

[Investment Objective Completed.]

[D-Grade Investment Successful.]

[Target Value Increased.]

[Emily Ashcroft: A+ → S.]

[Calculating Returns...]