Time passed quietly. Twilight fell, wrapping the small base in warm light.
Ronan gathered his stack of study books.
With a heavy thud, he placed them on Jeanne's empty desk.
"Here. This will be your 'food for thought' for a while."
He picked up the thickest book from the top. It was as heavy as a brick. He showed the cover to Jeanne, who was busy making her bed.
"Basic Reading and Writing: 3,000 Common Words Even a Kobold Can Learn."
"Trust me. Once you finish this book, daily communication won't be a problem."
"The rest..."
He patted the pile of books.
"These cover geography, history, math, and an overview of gods and Familias. There are hero stories too."
"And most importantly: Adventurer Survival Guide I and Introduction to Dungeon Basics I."
"You need to learn all of them."
"Of course, once your foundation is solid..."
Ronan smiled, and a mischievous look appeared in his eyes.
"There are advanced books too, like the Dungeon Monster and Drop Item Encyclopedia and the Dungeon Resource Manual."
"Those won't just help us stay alive in the Dungeon. They'll also make our pockets a lot heavier."
Jeanne had grown up in the countryside near Orléans. Looking at the mountain of books, she suddenly felt a crushing weight on her shoulders. It was hard to breathe.
"I... I understand. You don't have to keep talking."
Her face had gone stiff. Her eyes showed confusion and a little fear as she looked at that ocean of knowledge.
Ronan noticed the look on her face and laughed to himself.
"Oh? So even the 'Holy Maiden' has things she's bad at."
The moment he teased her, a chill ran down his back. Jeanne was staring at him sharply. Ronan immediately shut his mouth.
He had clearly stepped on a landmine.
"When you finish cleaning your room, come downstairs for dinner. We don't have time today, but tomorrow night we'll go out and celebrate."
After reminding her, he quickly slipped out of the room.
His instincts told him that if he stayed any longer, she would probably start ignoring him.
In the kitchen on the first floor, the smell of food was everywhere.
Ronan wore an apron and moved his knife across the cutting board with steady rhythm.
A thick beef steak sizzled in the pan.
The smell of butter, black pepper, and seared meat filled the small kitchen.
Since they had a new member now, Ronan made extra food. The meal was much better than what he used to make when he lived alone.
Tonight's dinner was fancier than usual, partly to celebrate Jeanne joining, and partly because he actually had money now.
He had just made a small fortune. There was no point in earning money if he was not going to treat himself and his family well.
Deep down, Ronan genuinely loved good food.
Even when he had been poor, he hated eating badly. Now that he had money, he bought ingredients he used to only dream about.
"Jeanne, dinner is ready!"
Jeanne was sitting on a stone bench in the yard, using the last of the sunlight to struggle through the book 3,000 Common Words Even a Kobold Can Learn.
"Coming," she answered.
She was still wearing her dark blue linen dress and soft leather boots.
Ronan served the food and glanced at what she was wearing. Once they sat down at the table, he spoke.
"Get some proper rest tonight. Tomorrow, I'll take you shopping so you can start over properly."
"Daily clothes, training gear, weapons, armor, potions, and other everyday things... we need to get everything."
"I'll also show you around the Labyrinth City so you can get used to it."
He paused, clearly looking forward to it.
"Seeing it with your own eyes is much better than listening to me explain it."
A new world? Jeanne thought to herself as she lowered her head and took small bites.
She buried the memories of betrayal and fire deep in her heart. Then she looked up and gave him a small but genuine smile.
"As long as... you don't find it troublesome."
"Troublesome?"
Ronan raised an eyebrow and laughed.
"I wish I had this kind of 'trouble' every day. That would mean we were really rich."
"Money? Gold coins?"
Jeanne looked puzzled.
In her mind, money was both familiar and distant.
"Is... is Ronan short on money?"
She looked at him with clear blue eyes, genuinely confused.
Ronan looked back at those innocent eyes and felt his mouth twitch.
He stayed silent for a few seconds before sighing.
"My dear Jeanne, who in this world isn't short on money?"
"There's a saying: money isn't everything, but you can't do anything without it."
"For adventurers, everything costs money. Food, housing, travel, weapons, gear, potions... all of it needs gold."
"Honestly," he said seriously, "you need to change the way you think about this fast. Otherwise, someone might sell you off one day, and you'd still be helping them count the money and thanking them for it."
Jeanne's face turned red after being teased. She raised her voice to hide her embarrassment.
"S-Stop talking nonsense! Who... who would be that stupid?!"
Her reaction only made it even clearer how little she understood about money.
"Alright, alright. Let's eat."
Ronan stopped teasing her. Smiling, he poured her a glass of sweet plum wine.
Jeanne said nothing else. She focused on her food and tried to swallow her embarrassment along with it.
"It's delicious..."
Jeanne tasted the meal and looked very satisfied.
While they ate, they talked about the city.
"Ronan," Jeanne asked after swallowing a bite of food, "are there many... 'special' people like us in this city?"
She wanted to know more about the different Familias and the people who stood at the top.
"Special people? You mean the top adventurers."
Ronan understood and began explaining.
"Almost all of the strongest adventurers in the world are gathered in this city."
"In Orario, as far as I know..."
His tone became serious.
"There are probably only a few people, no more than five, who had potential on your level when they first received their Falna."
He raised one hand and showed her five fingers.
"Oh? That's still quite a few."
Jeanne now had a rough idea of how unusual her own talent was.
Hearing there were others like that, her eyes lit up. She put down her fork and asked:
"Who are they? If they're strong, they must be famous."
Ronan thought for a moment before answering slowly.
"For example, the captain of the Loki Familia, Finn Deimne. He's a Pallum. Rumor says he started with one Magic and three Skills."
"Then there's the High Elf of the Loki Familia, Riveria Ljos Alf. She's even more ridiculous. She supposedly started with three Magics and two Skills. On top of that, she can link her chants and create nine different variations of magic."
"They're both first-class adventurers at Level 5. Their names are known all over the lower world."
There are many others who started out ordinary and only became monsters later, Ronan added inwardly.
After listening, Jeanne suddenly looked straight into Ronan's eyes and asked:
"You said personal Status information is usually a top secret within a Familia. Then how do you know all of this?"
"..."
Ronan froze.
"Cough. Well... I have my ways. Everyone has some connections, right? You know what I mean."
He gave a vague answer and tried to gloss over it.
Jeanne looked him up and down suspiciously. Then she nodded and let it go.
After dinner, Jeanne took over the job of washing the dishes.
Ronan leaned back on the sofa in the living room and watched her working at the kitchen sink.
The golden light of sunset came through the window, falling across the girl's blonde braid and slim waist.
Ronan gradually drifted into thought.
Jeanne's Status was even more valuable than he had told her.
Having two Magics and five Skills was not merely "overpowered."
Since she had come to this world through the invitation, her famous Noble Phantasms had been transformed into Magic.
Luminosité Eternelle was a wide-range Barrier Magic. It gave protection, healing, and defense.
With that alone, exploring unknown areas of the Dungeon would become much safer. Even if they ran into terrible luck, they would still have a way to survive.
La Pucelle was a destruction-type Magic. Its power was difficult to predict because of all the stat bonuses. She could only use it once a day, but it was the perfect trump card for turning around a losing battle.
And beyond her Magics, Jeanne's Skills were also extremely balanced.
They focused mainly on "defense" and "utility," which suited her perfectly.
Five Skills: detection, protection, weakening enemies, stat boosts, and a group aura.
As a front-line fighter, she had nearly perfect defense and utility.
But the effect of her Holy Maiden Skill was the most outrageous of all.
The Skill said: "Massively increases [All Abilities]," not "[All Ability Values]."
That single word changed everything.
"All Abilities" meant it strengthened everything: base stats, magic power, Development Ability effects, Skill effects, stamina, Mind, combat techniques, and even potential. It was a complete upgrade.
"All Ability Values" would only refer to the five base stats: Strength, Endurance, Dexterity, Agility, and Magic.
That meant Jeanne basically had a top-tier Beastification-type boost active at all times.
It had no activation requirement and no side effects. It was simply always on.
Its value was impossible to measure.