Chapter 99: Five People, Five Futures

A week passed.

By then, the Ashcroft residence had finally reached the point where it could be considered complete.

The last sections of the training wing had been finished, the research facilities had been connected to the Mana Nexus, and the defensive systems surrounding the property had been fully integrated.

And he already set up the Barrier Ward and Barrier Signal. Then had the Home Portal Storage inside of the basement. Then the teleportation array he got from Akasha was already connected the Ashcroft mansion and their house on Leyline street together.

Now the family can teleport between the other in case of emergency. He tried using Ego and it didn’t work on them but mana lines surged through them. This made him even more curious but he left it alone.

Reinhard stood in the main hall and checked his finances on his phone.

[Current Balance : 119,930,000 Credits.]

He stared at the number for a moment.

A week ago, he had 149,990,000 credits.

The construction had cost a little more than expected, but Reinhard wasn’t particularly bothered by it. Thirty million credits had gone into building a residence capable of supporting his entire family for years to come.

Thirty million for all of this isn’t exactly a bad investment.

He put his phone away and looked around the hall.

The house was finished.

Now came the part he had been looking forward to.

The rooms.

A notification suddenly appeared in front of him.

[Investment Opportunity Available.]

[Target: Emily Ashcroft.]

[Current Rank: D-Rank.]

[Current Value: E+.]

[Objective: Help your family decorate their room.]

[Difficulty Grade: D.]

[Success Probability: 70%.]

Reinhard raised an eyebrow. So that’s the investment this time.

He smiled and accepted it immediately. A few minutes later, everyone gathered on the second floor.

Emily looked at Reinhard suspiciously. "Why did you call everyone here?"

Reinhard looked at the four women standing in front of him. "Because I have something for all of you."

Lily’s eyes immediately lit up. "Is it food?"

"No."

"Then I’m less interested."

Maki sighed. "Let him finish."

Reinhard took out his phone and transferred the money.

Emily’s phone vibrated.

Then Maki’s.

Then Yuna’s.

Then Lily’s.

They all looked down at their screens.

Emily blinked. "One million credits?"

Reinhard nodded.

Yuna frowned slightly. "Why did you give us this much?"

"It’s for your rooms."

Maki looked at him. "You expect us to spend a million credits decorating a bedroom?"

"Not necessarily."

Reinhard smiled. "Spend it however you want. It’s your room."

Lily stared at him for several seconds and then she grinned. "Go crazy?"

Reinhard nodded. "Go crazy."

Lily immediately turned around. "I’m going shopping."

Maki grabbed the back of her shirt before she could leave. "We’re planning first."

"Planning is slower."

"That’s the point."

Reinhard laughed quietly as the four of them began discussing what they wanted. Emily was the first one who seemed uncertain. When they entered her room, she looked around at the empty space and then back at Reinhard.

"It’s already nice."

"I know."

"So I don’t really need anything."

Reinhard walked over to the window. "What do you want?"

Emily hesitated.

"I don’t know."

He looked at her for a moment.

Then he pulled a chair toward the balcony. "How about this?"

Emily sat down and looked outside.

"I like it."

"Then we’ll keep it."

He pointed toward another section of the room. "What about a bookshelf there?"

She thought about it.

"Maybe."

"Maybe?"

She smiled slightly. "Yes."

They continued like that.

A larger reading chair. A small table beside the balcony. New curtains. Several plants. A comfortable vanity.

A few pieces of artwork.

This time, Reinhard didn’t choose them for her. He simply asked what she thought, and whenever Emily hesitated, he waited.

Little by little, the answers changed.

"I don’t mind this." Soon it became, "I like this."

And eventually, "I want that one."

Reinhard smiled when he heard it.

Near the wall, he placed an empty display case.

Emily looked at it curiously. "What’s that for?"

"Your next legendary relic."

She looked at him. "You really think I’ll get another one?"

Reinhard smiled. "I think you’ll need another case."

Emily laughed softly. "I hope you’re right."

"I’m sure I am."

They moved on to Maki’s room next. Maki looked at the million credits in her account and frowned. "I don’t need this much."

"Then spend it on something useful."

She looked at him. "Can I?"

"That’s what it’s for."

Maki didn’t hesitate after that.

Within an hour, she had ordered several specialized books, artifact storage equipment, Mana analysis tools, enchanted writing materials, additional shelves, and a custom research desk.

Reinhard watched the total climb.

120,000 credits.

Then 230,000.

Then 410,000.

He looked at her.

"You’re actually going to spend the whole million."

Maki didn’t even look up from the list in her hand. "You told me to."

Reinhard smiled. "Fair enough."

Maki paused before adding another item. "What?"

"Nothing."

She looked at him suspiciously. "You were about to say something."

"I was just thinking that you’re taking this seriously."

"Of course I am." She glanced around the room. "I’ve spent too much time working wherever I could find space. Now I finally have somewhere designed for it." Her voice softened slightly. "I’m going to make good use of it."

Reinhard nodded. "I know you will."

Yuna’s room was different.

She didn’t care much about decorations either. She wanted better emergency equipment, additional medical supplies, defensive manuals, phones, barrier controls, field equipment, and several high-quality storage systems.

Reinhard watched her organize everything with the same efficiency she used when planning an operation.

After a while, he looked around. "Are you decorating your room or building another operations center?"

Yuna looked at the equipment around her. "Both."

Reinhard laughed and saw her smile. But then Reinhard noticed something, she was still holding back.

"Yuna."

"What?"

"Buy something you don’t need."

She frowned. "Why?"

"Because it’s your money."

Yuna stared at him for a moment and then she looked toward the window. After thinking for a while, she ordered a comfortable chair and a small wooden cabinet for personal belongings.

Reinhard smiled. "Good choice."

Yuna sat down in the chair after it arrived. "It’s comfortable."

"See?"

She nodded. "I suppose I can get used to this."

Finally, they reached Lily’s room.

Lily had apparently understood the phrase go crazy better than anyone else.

She had chosen a massive bed, a large snack cabinet, several shelves, a private refrigerator, combat equipment, hidden storage compartments, and enough decorations to make Reinhard question whether this was still a bedroom.

He stared at the purchase list. "Lily."

"Yes?"

"Why do you need three refrigerators?"

"They’re different."

Maki looked over.

"How?"

Lily paused.

"I haven’t decided yet."

Before anyone could respond, a loud bang came from the other side of the room.

Everyone turned.

Lily slowly raised both hands. "Wasn’t me."

Reinhard stared at her. "You haven’t even moved."

Lily smiled. "Exactly."

Emily burst out laughing, and even Yuna couldn’t hide her smile.

Maki shook her head. "I don’t know how you managed to spend nearly a million credits on one room."

Lily looked pleased with herself. "I still have money left."

"That’s the part I’m worried about."

Once the four rooms were finished, Reinhard finally returned to his own.

The others followed him.

Emily looked around and then she frowned. "Yours is smaller."

Reinhard shrugged. "It doesn’t need to be bigger."

Maki looked at the simple room. "You should have over a million credit as well."

"I know."

Yuna looked at him. "Then why didn’t you spend it?"

Reinhard thought about the question for a moment. Then he looked through the open doorway toward the rest of the house.

"The training wing."

He looked toward Maki.

"The research facilities."

Then Yuna.

"The defensive systems."

Then Emily and Lily.

"Your rooms."

He smiled.

"I already spent it."

Nobody answered immediately.

Emily walked closer. "You wanted all of this?"

Reinhard nodded. "Of course."

He looked around the house. "I wanted somewhere Emily could recover and grow. Somewhere Maki could work. Somewhere Yuna could protect everyone. Somewhere Lily could train." He paused before smiling. "And somewhere all of us could live together."

Emily’s expression softened.

She reached for his hand. "You really don’t want anything for yourself?"

"I already have what I wanted."

Emily squeezed his hand. "Thank you..."

Reinhard smiled before another notification appeared.

[Investment Objective Completed.]

[D-Grade Investment Successful.]

[Calculating Returns...]

Reinhard’s eyes brightened.

The reward appeared a moment later.

[Legendary Reward Granted: Ashcroft Family Feast.]

[Description: A legendary cooking recipe designed to create a celebratory meal capable of strengthening bonds between those who share it.]

[Effect: When prepared with sufficient-quality ingredients, the meal will temporarily enhance Mana recovery, physical vitality, and mental clarity.]

[Special Effect: The meal becomes more effective when prepared and consumed by people with a strong familial bond.]

Reinhard blinked and opened the recipe and immediately understood why the system had considered it a reward.

The ingredients were absurd.

Fortunately, another notification appeared.

[Additional Reward Granted: Advanced-Grade Ingredients ×10.]

[Description: High-quality ingredients containing concentrated Mana suitable for advanced cooking and Awakener consumption.]

Reinhard looked at the list of ingredients and then he smiled. So we’re having a proper celebration.

He hadn’t cooked anything particularly complicated in a long time. His cooking ability had always been good enough to prepare ordinary meals, but there was a clear difference between being able to cook and being able to create something worthy of a legendary recipe.

As if the system had heard the thought, another notification appeared.

[Additional Reward Granted: Cooking Skill: Master → Grandmaster.]

Reinhard stared at it.

Then he slowly smiled and then another notification came.

[Legendary Additional Reward Granted: Family Resonance.]

[Effect: The Ashcroft Residence will gradually adapt to the needs and habits of its inhabitants.]

[Additional Effect: Living together, training together, and sharing experiences within the residence will gradually strengthen compatibility between family members.]

Reinhard stared at the notification.

His gaze slowly moved across the house.

Emily was already talking about adding another plant to her balcony. Maki was checking the delivery schedule for her research equipment. Yuna was reorganizing the emergency supplies she had purchased. Lily was apparently calculating how many snacks she could buy with the remaining credits.

Reinhard smiled. For the first time, the mansion didn’t feel like something he had built for them. It felt like something they were building together.

Then another notification appeared.

[Additional Effect Detected.]

[Family members residing within the Ashcroft Residence have reached sufficient compatibility.]

[Family Training Array is ready for its first activation.]

Reinhard’s smile slowly disappeared.

He looked toward the training wing.

Lily was already standing there and she waved enthusiastically. "Reinhard!"

He sighed. "I knew this was coming."

"Can we test it?"

Reinhard looked at the others.

Emily was smiling.

Maki was already curious.

Yuna looked ready to supervise.

Reinhard shook his head with a helpless smile. "Fine."

Lily cheered.

The new Ashcroft residence had finally become a home. Now it was time to see what the five of them could build together.