Seeing the shop deed being handed over, Yuuki naturally reached out and accepted it. He then turned his head toward Rebecca, who was still standing there in a daze, and beckoned her over with a gesture.
"Huh?"
Rebecca's turquoise eyes were filled with confusion, but he still hurried over to Yuuki's side.
"The money," Yuuki said with a light smile.
Only then did Rebecca react. She quickly took out the money pouch she carried with her and handed it back to him.
"Business is business. This is the thirty thousand Yul transfer fee we agreed on earlier."
Yuuki took the money from the pouch and handed it over.
"Th-thank you, sir! Thank you!"
The man clearly hadn't expected Yuuki to actually pay. His voice trembled with panic as he spoke in a flustered, fearful tone.
Yuuki had no interest in dealing with him any further. Turning around, he headed back toward the restaurant. Rebecca clasped her slender hands together and followed closely behind him.
Seeing there was no more spectacle to watch, the surrounding onlookers gradually dispersed. The looks of disdain and mockery they had previously cast toward Rebecca were completely gone.
---
Inside the Restaurant
The moment Yuuki stepped inside, Rebecca's younger brothers and sisters swarmed around him, each of them brimming with excitement.
"Yuuki onii-san, that kick just now was so cool!"
"And the way you kept kicking him—so awesome!"
"He deserved it for bullying Rebecca onee-chan!"
"..."
"Yuuki onii-san can tell stories, he's strong, and he even knows people from the Magic Knights. If he became Rebecca onee-chan's boyfriend, that'd be amazing!"
Amid the noisy chatter, a young and excited voice rang out.
"Mar, don't say nonsense!"
Rebecca's face instantly flushed red. She hurriedly covered the mouth of the child named Mar, her expression flustered as her turquoise eyes secretly glanced toward Yuuki.
Yuuki, however, didn't take it to heart.
"All right, enough fooling around," he said calmly. "The restaurant's going to be renovated, so it'll be closed for a while. Everyone needs to help out."
"You can all write, right? Then make a list of everything inside the restaurant. If you do a good job, I'll tell you a new story tonight."
He raised his hand slightly in a calming gesture, smiling as he spoke.
"A new story!"
At those words, the children's attention instantly shifted. Without needing further instruction, they eagerly got to work.
Watching them, Yuuki let out a quiet sigh of relief.
When it came to energetic kids, the best solution was to redirect that energy somewhere else.
---
"Um… I'm sorry."
Rebecca walked over again, her cheeks still faintly red as she spoke apologetically.
"It's nothing. If anyone should apologize, it's me. I left the shop purchase entirely to you, and that led to this situation."
Yuuki waved his hand as he spoke, wearing an embarrassed smile.
"Ah…"
Rebecca froze for a moment.
Yuuki tilted his head in confusion. "What's wrong?"
"N-no, nothing!"
She waved her hands hurriedly, unconsciously tugging at her red hair as the tips of her ears turned bright red.
The "sorry" she'd meant referred to Mar's comment about him being her boyfriend—clearly not what Yuuki had taken it to mean.
---
Yuuki had already turned away, walking over to a nearby table as he laid the shop deed down.
"Sign here. Starting tomorrow, we can merge the two shops and begin renovations."
He stretched lazily, speaking in a relaxed tone.
Seeing that Yuuki hadn't noticed her earlier embarrassment, Rebecca felt a bit relieved—yet also strangely disappointed.
Stepping forward, she handed him a pen and watched as he wrote a name onto the contract.
"Eh? Orsi Orfai?"
Rebecca blinked in confusion. "Whose name is that? That's not yours."
Yuuki finished writing and smiled gently.
"That's the name of the priest from the church that took me in."
"They've taken care of me for many years—it's only right that I repay them. Don't worry, it won't affect the business. I'll still be the one running the tavern."
His tone was calm and gentle.
That was only the explanation on the surface.
Yuuki knew very well that whether it was joining the Eye of the Midnight Sun or his ability to replicate magic and devour grimoires, all of it placed him firmly on the opposite side of the Magic Knights.
No matter how things turned out, it was better to leave the church with a stable source of income in advance. With his name absent from the contract, the tavern would never be directly tied to him.
Of course, that was the worst-case scenario.
If he won, then none of this would matter anyway.
Rebecca looked at Yuuki's gentle expression, something unspoken flickering in her eyes.
---
The Following Days
The next few days passed smoothly.
Yuuki handled most of the preparatory work before renovation for both restaurants, while Rebecca energetically searched for affordable workers.
As she put it, opening a tavern had always been her dream. Now that it was finally within reach, she gave it everything she had.
Even though the money Yuuki had left was more than enough, Rebecca was either haggling—or on her way to haggle—determined to complete the renovations with the smallest possible budget.
Asta and Noelle didn't appear during those days.
Yuuki guessed Asta was injured and needed time to recover. As for Noelle, it was her very first mission—and it had ended like that.
Thinking of Noelle's usual arrogant demeanor compared to her pale, trembling state back then, Yuuki couldn't help but find it amusing.
She didn't end up with psychological trauma, did she?
As for Asta, Yuuki wasn't worried at all. That guy didn't even know what fear was—this would only fuel his fighting spirit even more.
---
At Night
Late at night, Yuuki used spatial magic to travel to remote wilderness areas, testing and adjusting to his suddenly increased magic power. He experimented with different spells, gauging their strength and effects.
At the same time, he contacted members of the Eye of the Midnight Sun stationed in the capital, asking about recent activities and organizing the intelligence he had gathered.
No matter what, as the person responsible for intelligence within the capital, he still had to keep up appearances.
Yuuki discovered that none of the members stationed in the capital knew anything about what had happened in Sosshi Village.
Because of that, he postponed reporting the matter to Licht. He needed to wait until Asta came to see him before passing along the information.
It wasn't that he had to report it.
The four members of the Eye had been completely wiped out, and the magic stone had vanished.
He had to inform Licht that the stone had fallen into the hands of the Black Bulls—otherwise, he didn't want Licht suspecting that it had been taken by some mysterious unknown individual.
(End of Chapter)
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