Chapter 49: Full House

Today's raid brought a bunch of good results, for starters, Licia and Claire hit the level cap for the second floor. The three members who joined us also got to level 5 and might get to level 6 soon. I would've never imagined that by skipping a floor we would be able to achieve such a pace.

Aside from levels, we also made some money. Thanks to sharing [Increased Drop Chance] with everyone, we had quite a few items to sell.

Just from monster cores, we made $82, and by adding the mana orb from the Superior/Noble Hobgoblin we ended up with $157 after everything was evaluated.

Thinking back to the amount we were getting when we first started, it's a far cry. But I still have to pay attention to the finances since the number of people under my care has risen, and will probably continue to rise in the future.

I thought the day would end without any problems, but a bit of a situation arose when the secretary that we sold our items to warned us against going so deep inside the dungeon when we were in a party of only three.

Before leaving the dungeon completely, I had everyone but Licia and Claire go back to the Kingdom so that they could bathe and rest. I also didn't want to bring any attention to us, which would be a bit difficult while walking with a wolf girl and an elf.

Though there are excuses I could create for them, I figured it's best to just avoid any such situation altogether.

Alas, that was a fruitless effort since after warning us, the secretary actually tried to get us signed into a contract with the government. He said that for us to have not only survived an encounter with a level-capped Noble/Superior monster but also beat it was an achievement and proof of our potential as adventurers.

When I heard everything he had to say, I couldn't help but find it funny, almost laughing at how far from reality his ideas were. The monster that he made out to be such a challenge was actually picked on by six people and barely could fight back.

This went on for a bit longer than I would've wanted to, even after declining his offer, the secretary kept insisting that we might not have such luck again and should consider the contract. By that point, I was already tired of listening to the guy, so we just left without paying attention to him any longer.

Thankfully it seems like this guy is notorious for being overly excited about young adventurers, as on our way out I could hear people commenting on his fifth attempt this week to get someone to sign a contract.

After that, we finally arrived back home, and I called everyone out so they could hang around while Licia and I made dinner. I was hoping this would help them familiarize themselves with my world. And sure enough, I found everyone surrounding the TV that Claire seemed to have monopolized.

Beatrice seems to be pretty confused about the whole thing since she isn't feeling any mana coming from the TV at all.

Beatrice: "I thought it was like a crystal ball, but... how does that thing work?"

Claire: "It's complicated..."

Mia: "So you don't know either."

Claire: "I do, actually. You just press the buttons here to change what the TV shows."

Anna: "Eh ?! Then... pretty please...?"

That might be a bit too much for my heart. But I must resist.

Miwen: "You already did that, so it's not gonna work again. You're also setting a bad example. But here, you can watch on my phone alright?"

Claire. "Fine."

To prevent things from getting ugly I had to take the most dangerous path... If Claire becomes used to a smartphone I fear we might never see her work again.

By the time I finished dealing with this, dinner was pretty much ready.

Ellie: "Sorry that I didn't do much..."

Miwen: "It's fine, really. You can help tomorrow if you want to."

To be fair she's already done more than Claire ever did, but there's no way I can say that out loud without being burned to a crisp. Also, I wouldn't really mind cooking by myself, but it's actually quite fun having them help me, so even if she didn't do much, I appreciate it.

Ellie: "Also if you can..."

Miwen: "Hm?"

She's giving me a strong "pretty please" vibe...

Licia: "You should put less on her plate. Elves usually don't eat as much as humans. Since she ate earlier I doubt she'll be able to eat the same portion as us."

Miwen: "Is that so? I didn't know, sorry."

Ellie: "It's fine, I didn't want to impose much, so... Ah, but you're very mindful, thanks."

Licia: "No worries."

It's such a cute scene seeing the two of them getting along so well. I wish it would also be the same with the others but I guess it's going to take a little longer for them.