「There's an important matter I want to discuss with the both of you.」Hikaru said as he approached the table.

They were in a room of a small but neat hotel in Vireocean's capital, Ville Zentra. Lavia stared at him blankly, while Paula gulped, wondering what he was about to say.

「We're out of money!」he exclaimed, eyes opened wide.

「I'm aware.」Lavia said.

「Ah, yes. That makes sense.」Paula added.

「What? You knew?」

「Of course. You bought food for thousands of people, helped them move, gave them money for daily necessities… I was surprised you managed to accommodate all of them.」

「Yeah, same here. If anything, I want to give myself a pat on the back for pulling it off.」

Hikaru had a lot of savings—including the hundred million gilans he hustled from Senkun, a member of the rank A party Sweet Pleasure. One hundred million gilans would be around a billion j.a.panese yen. But all that vanished for the construction of a city for a few thousand people.

「D-Did you not ask for the money back?」Paula asked.

「I will have them pay me back of course. But after they return to Grand Dream.」

They could have accepted donations from Vireocean or Quinbland, but completely relying on others would only create a hierarchical relations.h.i.+p. Hikaru thought counting on someone else outright was a bad idea, and depending on a specific country would be dangerous. Right now, however, the people of Dream Maker obtained a.s.sistance in exchange for knowledge.

「It was an investment, so to speak. Once business is a success, I can get my money back with some interest.」

「Investment…?」

「That also means I have the right to speak. I plan to join in the battle to reclaim that continent.」

If they didn't reclaim Grand Dream, this continent might be in danger too. It would be better to nip the bud of evil as soon as possible. It was more than just a bud, though—it had already grown into a huge forest.

「We need money for the time being. So yes, that's our current problem.」

「Yeah, and we can't really go back to a frugal lifestyle now!」Lavia said.

「Did you really just proudly declare to keep living a lavish lifestyle?」Paula asked.

「Ehehe.」Lavia wore a triumphant look, though Paula wasn't exactly complimenting her.

「Let's go to the Adventurers Guild and look for commissions that'll net us some good cash. I'll go get ready.」

Hikaru was actually surprised at how calm they were. Of course, it was better than them looking grim or worried.

「He's still the same Hikaru-sama.」

「Yeah. He doesn't look all that dispirited.」

「I thought Drake suddenly leaving would affect him the most.」

Drake the young white drakon was not here. After opening the Drakon Pa.s.sage and returning to Vireocean, he was not feeling well. Even with the holy mana he had from eating huge dragon stones, the task was still too much for him.

Hikaru seemed to blame himself for asking Drake to do it. The girls were surprised to see that he actually cared more than expected.

「I wonder how he's doing.」

「He's in his birthplace. Going home to rest is best for him.」

『I made up my mind. I'm going home.』Drake said all of a sudden a few days ago.

His hometown, a place where drakons lived, was located in a parallel dimension. Since it was filled with holy mana, it should help in Drake's recovery.

『There's still a lot of things I wanna do here, of course! I can't get french fries back home! Kebab, hotdogs, and meat buns too!』

He didn't want to trouble Hikaru and the girls by staying here. There was also the matter of Grand Dream. For some reason, the drakons back in his home barely knew about the continent. If they did, they would've killed whatever evil lurked there sooner. Drake said he needed to inform the elders about Grand Dream. This was more than just the problem of humans.

「Well, he held out for three months and ate a lot. I'm sure he'll be fine.」

Paula chuckled.「Yes. He's had an incredible appet.i.te lately.」

「Anyway, I think we can't just rely on Hikaru for everything.」

「I think so too! I'll do my best!」

「If it's earning some money…」Lavia smiled.「We can use you…」

「Wh-What?!」

「I'm saying we use your body that's been a little too lax from doing nothing… Ehehe.」

「Th-That's not true! Did I gain weight?! Did I?!」

「Just kidding.」

「Shees.h.!.+」Paula looked quite serious.

「What I mean is we use your healing magic.」

「Ah!」

Her abilities could heal even those in horrible conditions. They could demand huge money for grave injuries.

「You're right! With my magic, we can rake it in in no time—」

「Sorry to burst your bubble, but no side jobs using your healing magic please.」Hikaru said as he returned.

「Wh-What?! Why not?! I-Is it because I'm not skilled enough—」

「No. You helped during the revolt in Dream Maker, right? And before that, you healed ex-soldiers who could no longer work.」

「Y-Yes.」

「I've been thinking about it. It's dangerous.」

「Dangerous…?」

Hikaru nodded.「Your ability is far more incredible than my Stealth. I let you use it in Dream Maker as sort of an experiment since it's a small country anyway. But if you do that here, Flower Face will be way more famous than Silver Face.」

Paula turned pale, her mouth gaping open and shut.

「I'm not trying to scare you or anything. You can use your magic when absolutely necessary. But using it for a short-term goal like making money is too risky.」

「I understand… Now that I think about those men… You're right.」

The Flower Masked G.o.ddess' Bodyguards, a group of ex-soldiers that Paula healed, still had not disbanded. They spent their days training in Ville Dream.

「I will call for you on the next mission.」Paula said to her followers.「I promise. So please, can you please give me some s.p.a.ce?」

She was like a girl who wanted to be apart from her overbearing boyfriend. It was only after she said that that they left her side. Of course, they would be needed in the fight to reclaim Grand Dream.

「You don't want their group to get bigger, right? Neither do I. Or maybe you do? Do you want to a.s.semble an army of muscular men?」

「I don't! Not in the slightest, okay?!」Paula denied vehemently.

「Okay, I get it. All right, are you two ready? I wonder what the Vireocean Adventurers Guild is like.」