The next day, at noon.
"Cheers!" x6
In a private room at a Tokyo hotel, Nia Honjo and her group of six clinked their glasses together in celebration.
Everyone's face was lit with genuine smiles.
Even Kisara Tendo, the most bitter and vengeful among them, seemed unusually relaxed.
No, it should be said that she was the most relaxed of all.
From the start of the meal until now, the smile on Kisara Tendo face hadn't faded. Perhaps she hadn't smiled this much in the past four years combined.
"Ms. Honjo, she's drinking juice, right?"
Watching Kisara Tendo hug the three little girls Nibelcole, Enju Aihara, and Shiraishi Hina and rub her face against theirs as if she were drunk, Rentaro Satomi couldn't help but ask.
"Burp, it should be juice... unless she secretly mixed my beer into it," Nia Honjo said, swaying her beer glass, looking tipsy.
"I've never seen Kisara like this before. It's... kind of bittersweet."
"Hey, young man, anyone who achieves their dreams in love and career in such a short time would act like this."
As a reward for recovering the Seven Stars relics, the Holy Emperor had transferred the agreed bounty to the company's account early that morning.
A full billion yen.
A poor high school girl who had been worrying about rent would naturally be overwhelmed if 10 billion yen suddenly dropped into her lap overnight.
Even Kisara Tendo wasn't immune to the excitement.
Rentaro Satomi looked at the tipsy woman beside him with mixed feelings.
After all, they owed this moment of joy to her.
If it weren't for Nia Honjo, his relationship with Kisara Tendo wouldn't have improved, they wouldn't have won first place in this commission, and Kisara Tendo revenge would still be a distant dream.
It seemed that ever since he'd become friends with Nia Honjo, everything in his life had taken a turn for the better.
He hoped that everything he encountered in the future would be just as good.
Before Kisara Tendo could accidentally knock over Nibelcole food, she stopped and walked over to Nia Honjo.
"Thank you so much for the information you provided," Kisara Tendo said, her tone slightly calmer but still filled with gratitude. "As for where your information came from, I don't care, and I won't tell anyone that I got it from you."
"It's no big deal. I get half the reward, right?"
"Of course, but honestly, you could take a bit more."
"No need. With 500 million, I can do whatever I want."
"What do you plan to do?" Kisara Tendo and Rentaro Satomi asked in unison, their curiosity piqued.
Their understanding of Nia Honjo was limited to her desire to uproot the Tendo family.
As for her reasons, no one knew.
Nia Honjo didn't hide her intentions and answered frankly, "I plan to build a shelter for cursed children in the outer area."
Hearing this, the two blinked, as if the answer was somewhat unexpected.
After all, even though Nia Honjo usually seemed like a carefree otaku who was always cracking jokes, they felt there was more to her than met the eye.
Not to mention her goal of taking down the Tendo family.
What ordinary person would be foolish enough to go against the Tendo family?
Of course, none.
So, in their minds, Nia Honjo must have had other motives for wanting to overthrow the Tendo family.
They had speculated about her true intentions perhaps she was backed by a political group aiming to establish a new religion in Tokyo, or, more directly, to replace the Tendo family as the new power.
However, after receiving the 500 million bounty, Nia Honjo first reaction wasn't to use the money to amass more capital or gather allies. Instead, she chose to build a shelter for cursed children in the remote outer areas.
Kisara Tendo and Rentaro Satomi exchanged glances.
"Yeah!"
"Really?"
Only Enju Aihara and Shiraishi Hina eyes lit up. Apart from Nibelcole, who was busy eating, they were the only ones who didn't care about Nia Honjo motives.
As cursed children born in the outermost areas of Tokyo, they didn't care why Nia Honjo wanted to build the shelter. They were simply happy about it.
Although Enju Aihara had been noticed by the International Initiator Supervision Organization and incorporated into the ranks of Initiators, many cursed children in the outer areas weren't so lucky. Like Shiraishi Hina, they lived lives of hunger and hardship.
If Nia Honjo was willing to spend money to build a shelter, it was undoubtedly a good thing, and they were thrilled.
"That's right. I'll invest 300 million in the shelter. I plan to use the remaining money to build a church next to it and buy a car for easier travel," Nia Honjo outlined her plan. "The rest will be kept as a reserve fund for other important expenses."
It had been nearly half a month since she arrived in this world.
Now that everything was on track, she needed to focus on completing her side quests as efficiently as possible.
The first side quest was to become the Holy Emperor backer and purge the top officials in the Tokyo government.
Last night, she had seized the opportunity to meet the Holy Emperor and had a meaningful conversation with her.
Nia Honjo believed that once the Holy Emperor gained a deeper understanding of the situation in Tokyo, she would feel isolated and helpless and would inevitably seek Nia Honjo help to achieve her goals.
In this way, the completion of the first side quest was all but guaranteed.
The second side quest was to develop an enterovirus inhibitor.
Rentaro Satomi wariness toward her had gradually decreased. As long as she waited a little longer and gained his trust, Nia Honjo could meet with one of the three sages of the New Human Creation Plan through him and begin researching the enterovirus.
As for the third side quest, it was to build a shelter for cursed children.
While the first two side quests were destined to be completed with time, the third could be accomplished at any moment all it required was funding.
Now that the funds were in hand, there was no need for Nia Honjo to wait.
"Enju-chan, Hina-chan, I'll need your help after the shelter is built," Nia Honjo said to the two girls. "You have influence in the outer areas. I need you to convince your friends to join the shelter voluntarily."
"No problem, leave it to me!" Enju Aihara said, patting her chest.
"They'll be so happy," Shiraishi Hina said, her eyes shining with hope.
"Oh! Thank you both so much!"
Nia Honjo nodded with satisfaction.
"Once the shelter is built, let your former companions live here together!"