The Girls' Morning

"..."

Rovey's lips twitched slightly. He felt that this was the most important reason why Aozaki Touko had approached him.

Although he said he would allocate some funds to Aoko, after all, Magus are the most expensive profession, and the cost of materials is astronomical in the secular world, there is a limit to how much funding they can receive.

The Crowley Family wasn't exactly a financial tycoon. Even though Alchemy was very lucrative, there were limits, especially during the weakened period following the deaths of the previous two family heads. They could afford a few million, and even tens of millions, but anything more was truly beyond their means. It was probably because Aozaki Touko knew this that she explained the situation to him.

Otherwise, no matter how terrifying the Rail Zeppelin is, she has nothing to fear on her own. Whether she can defeat it or not is another matter, but she is certain she won't die. With the funding chain secured, the last thing she lacks now is the materials to create her body.

So, she actually wanted Rovey to help her borrow money from Kenneth the Lemon Head and Barthomeloi and his Aristocratic Faction, and then she would use her Rune patent and research results on Puppet Magecraft to make up for it.

Rovey immediately understood this.

"You..."

He glanced at Aozaki Touko, who was smiling in front of him, and his expression was somewhat helpless.

Although she really wanted to ask why she didn't sell the Mana Reactor, she couldn't help but think that the Clock Tower mark on it couldn't be erased, and even if she wanted to sell it, no one would dare to buy it. After all, she couldn't expect the Clock Tower to pay for something she had lent out, could she?

So I gave up on that idea.

Similarly, as mentioned before, having Mystic Eyes is a hallmark of a top-tier Magus.

Furthermore, most Magus in the world who possess Mystic Eyes today still rely on artificial Mystic Eyes, as the stability and safety of their spells cannot be guaranteed.

Even so, it can still fetch an unimaginably high price, so there's no need to elaborate on the value of the innate Mystic Eyes.

Not to mention stability, its safety and effectiveness far surpass those of other products.

Furthermore, to evaluate the merits of these naturally born Mystic Eyes, the Clock Tower divided them into several levels, from low to high.

The lowest level is unnamed. Once it exceeds that limit, it will be named "noble color," meaning a noble color. The lowest level of items in the Rail Zeppelin is also of this level. Above that is "gold." It would not be surprising if Mystic Eyes that has reached this level were Sealing Designation.

If you don't have a powerful backer, or if you refuse to be courted by the corresponding faction, then you will definitely be Sealing Designation.

In their view, such things are a waste even if you keep them; it's better to hand them over to the right people to realize their value and purpose, or to preserve them by soaking them in formalin. It's like forcibly taking a child's treasure into a museum. Currently, beneath the British Museum, in Barthomeloi's secret base, there are many collected Mystic Eyes, the vast majority of which originated from those Sealing Designation.

If you cooperate, they will give you a pair of ordinary eyes and take your life for a price far below their value. If you don't cooperate, then you will also be put into the formaldehyde liquid today.

Given Aoko's style and discerning eye, the Mystic Eyes she sets her sights on must be a high-level item of [Gold] or above. If Rovey were to buy this for her, it would be giving his assets too much credit.

Suddenly, Rovey understood the wish Marisbury Animusphere had made.

Money isn't everything in this world, but you can't do anything without it.

Golden Mystic Eyes are rare in the mystical world, but on the Rail Zeppelin, they are at best commonplace, just high-grade items, not even worthy of being the grand finale.

Rovey easily remembered that the Yulifis family had bought a pair of gold-grade Necromancer Mystic Eyes at an underground auction in London.

At that time, the prices were really fierce, with all the major families chasing each other, and they managed to drive the price up to 150 million pounds. He couldn't help but exclaim that these guys were too rich.

Do you know what era we live in?

In the era before the economy fully took off, a few million pounds was considered a fortune in London and even the world, so 150 million pounds was an absolutely unimaginable amount.

Unless he sells Rovey, he really can't come up with that amount of money.

"You..."

He glanced at Aozaki Touko, who was rubbing her little hands together with a hopeful expression, and sighed helplessly.

Fine, fine, I'll make an exception and buy it for her this once. Anyway, Aoko's talent can't be measured by money at all, and her future value will definitely far exceed this. Let's just consider it as indulging her in her foolishness one more time.

Rovey shook his head, then said helplessly, "Only this once."

"Yay! I absolutely love you, Crowley!!"

Upon seeing Rovey agree, Aoko jumped up and happily hugged his neck. If Rovey hadn't dodged away, she would have kissed him.

"Alright, alright, tell me, how much money do you want?"

Rovey hurriedly pushed the woman, who had no sense of boundaries, away and then asked her a question.

"Hehe, I need..."

As she softly uttered her words, a subtle change visibly occurred in Rovey's expression.

Chapter 128 The Girls' Morning

The next morning, around eight o'clock.

"Big brother, wake up!"

In the study, Rovey, with one foot dangling over the edge of the bed, felt a heavy weight on his chest. He slowly opened his eyes, blinked in confusion, and then looked at Reines was already dressed and lying on top of him.

"Huh, is it already morning? By the way, what time did I go to sleep yesterday?"

Rovey glanced at the dimly lit room, then scratched his head before slowly sitting up.

He remembered that last night, after putting Gray to sleep, he went to talk to Aozaki Touko, that woman who always seemed to be giving him trouble, to find out what difficulties she was facing that required his help. And initially, he was actually in a pretty good mood, and out of consideration for their friendship, he decided to go with her again. But when that woman mentioned an amount that he might not be able to cover even if he sold all his family's assets, his ever-present poker face finally crumbled.

In a fit of anger, he retorted, "Do you think I'm worth that much money?" He then threw Aozaki Touko out the window and told her not to come looking for him again for a while, as he was annoyed.

Despite being kicked and falling from the third-floor window, Aozaki Touko showed no anger. Instead, she maintained a carefree and cheerful demeanor, and even bid farewell to Rovey before leaving.

Because she knew that since Rovey had said so, it meant that things were definitely going to work out. Now, all she needed to do was happily find a place far away to stay for the time being, and then come back here once Rovey had calmed down.

She knew all too well that Crowley was all bark and no bite.

So Aozaki Touko left happily, leaving Rovey alone to continue thinking of a solution.

"..."

Now, recalling what happened last night, Rovey feels a stomachache.

Shouldn't it have been just Weber, who was always working overtime, who had stomach aches? How did he end up getting stomach aches too?

Moreover, Rovey felt that his moral compass was already quite strong, and he could remain calm no matter how outrageous the situation. Even when he faced the golden rain of light covering the entire sky with Scáthach, he had never been as vulnerable as he was now. Only Aozaki Touko always managed to pull something unexpected off him.

'... Aozaki Touko, did he pay to find himself a father figure? Ugh, what a nemesis.'

Rovey couldn't help but reflect.

However, after careful consideration, he realized that many subsequent plans and research on special ceremonial costumes were inseparable from Aozaki Touko, the technical advisor, so he had no choice but to swallow his anger.

It's alright, it's alright, it's just worldly money at most.

Anyway, it wasn't his money that was being spent; it was Kenneth's and a few other Aristocratic Faction families' money that had nothing to do with him, so there was no need to care too much.

Moreover, there will definitely be plenty of places where she can return this money in other ways, so she will definitely not lose money.

At times like this, this is the only way Rovey can console himself.

So last night, after not having a proper night's sleep in his own room for who knows how many months, Rovey once again started working overtime, much like Weber.

He even wrote down one-third of the theoretical part of his research results and, under the cover of dawn, entrusted his butler to mail it to Yulifis and Archibald, two powerful families with whom he had a very good relationship. He also told them that his theory was about to be completed and that he was in dire need of a very large sum of money. Therefore, he wanted to ask them to invest some of his funds and that he could sell them the first-hand experimental data in the future.

Then, a clause was added to Aozaki Touko's contract, stating that Aozaki Touko was willing to become an external advisor to the Crowley Family, agreeing to stand in the camp of Aristocratic Faction and accepting the purchase of research results from other schools of thought.

However, each Aristocratic Faction family needs to spend 50 million pounds to purchase a spot.

These two strategies are employed simultaneously.

One option is to invest in him, the newly Grand Magus who is already within reach; the other is to invest in Aozaki Touko, the veteran Grand Magus. Both options are quite a challenge for Aristocratic Faction wallets.

This undoubtedly worsened the already strained finances of Kenneth and his Archibald Family.

However, after much consideration, Kenneth could only grit his teeth and happily pay the expense.

Rovey Crowley, no matter how much this brat annoyed him, was still his student, a future Grand Magus, who had shown his research findings to his teacher without reservation. This showed that Rovey cared about him and valued him highly as an elder.

It's said that a teacher is like a father, and since his parents have passed away, he's practically his father in a way. If he doesn't protect him, who will? Besides, he'll be his successor in the future anyway, so spending money on him now is only natural. Other prestigious departments haven't had this opportunity yet. In short, as long as he completely succeeds, this matter is more important than anything else. As for Aozaki Touko's 50 million, he really didn't want to spend it.

However, Rovey specifically revealed that Aozaki Touko now has an extremely groundbreaking research result, and you can get a head start by paying money. It's first come, first served, and it's worth the money.

Trusting Rovey, Kenneth gritted his teeth and reluctantly allocated £200 million to him, ordering him to go ahead and do it without hesitation, and to make sure he succeeded.

This even made Rovey feel a little guilty; he felt he had perhaps gone a bit too far in tricking Professor Kenneth. He planned to write a few drafts of the Primordial Runes and send them to Kenneth as compensation.

On the other hand, after confirming that Rovey's theoretical knowledge about the Hallcraft was genuine, Yulifis's advisor readily agreed and allocated 100 million pounds as investment support, including the amount owed to Aozaki Touko.

The other Aristocratic Faction, lacking firsthand information on Rovey, felt the price of Aozaki Touko's purchase slot was a bit too high. However, seeing Archibald and Yulifis pay directly, they figured there was no point in haggling and simply joined in. After all, fifty million pounds wasn't a huge sum; buying a Grand Magus's position, while expensive, wouldn't be a huge loss.

So, in just one night, Rovey mobilized all the connections he could.

From Barthomeloi to El- El-Melloi, as well as Yulifis, Animusphere, Caules Forvedge, he fleeced all the wealthy schools of thought, amassing a staggering sum of nearly 500 million in a short period of time—enough to buy up his entire family's (public assets).

He now feels that's about enough.

The Gem Mystic Eyes are priceless and cannot be measured in money, so they will not be included for now. As for the Golden Mystic Eyes, the amount is enough to buy three pairs.

As for Rainbow-level Mystic Eyes, forget about it. Even if someone dared to give them to him, Rovey wouldn't dare take them. After all, those things are definitely not something a human can possess or control. Currently, he only knows that the Moon Cell, Crimson Moon, has a pair of Moon Mystic Eyes, and the Celtic God of Destruction, Balor, has a pair of original versions of the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception. He really doesn't know much about the others. He's not even sure if Shiki Ryougi and Shiki Tohno's pairs of Mystic Eyes of Death Perception are Rainbow-level Mystic Eyes, since he doesn't have the disgusting thought of harming others for Mystic Eyes.

In short, the matter was resolved, the funds were raised, and after a little preparation, we can set off.

My thoughts returned to the present.

"... Hmm, it's already morning... So what time is it now?"

Sitting on the folding bed, Rovey touched his head, sorting out what had happened from last night until now, and then asked Reines in front of him.

"Brother, no... it should be my future husband..."

"Stop! You can continue calling him elder brother."

Startled by what Reines was about to say, Lowe involuntarily shuddered, and his eyes suddenly became much clearer. Rovey wasn't afraid of anything else now, except that Gray and Aoko would hear these words, otherwise his label would be completely indelible today.

So he quickly raised his hand, signaling Reines to switch back to her previous form of address.

"Hmm... it seems I still have many things that displease my elder brother. However, please don't worry, I will try my best to correct them and will definitely make you completely satisfied."

Although Reines was a little disappointed, she quickly recovered and smiled slightly. Then, when she saw Rovey get up, she obediently climbed off him and took out her pocket watch to show Rovey the time.

"Brother, it's almost nine o'clock in the morning now. When Sakura and I returned late last night, we didn't come in because we were afraid of disturbing you."

"I see... You're really thoughtful, thank you, Reines."

Rovey ruffled her little head, then stood up, barefoot on the floor without slippers. He personally opened the blinds in the study to let the sunlight stream in again. Considering the many strange little girls now in his house, he reluctantly put on his fluffy pajama bottoms and straightened his clothes. However, in Reines's eyes, Rovey's appearance was still too casual, completely lacking the elegance befitting an aristocrat. But this did make his elder brother seem even more free-spirited and unpretentious.

She liked it no matter what it looked like.

"Have you had breakfast yet, Reines?"

Rovey stretched and asked as he did so.

No.

"Huh? Not yet? What are the arrangements, butler? What time is it? I'll have someone prepare breakfast for you right away. Just wait a moment."

"Yes, thank you, elder brother."

Reines smiled and replied, adding, "Actually, the butler had already arranged breakfast, but I just wanted to have breakfast with my brother."

"I see..."

Rovey nodded helplessly, then bent down and pinched her cheek, saying, "Although your actions touched me, you are still growing, so you can't do that. Don't do it again."

"I understand, elder brother."

Reines, whose cheeks were being pinched by Rovey, gave a sly smile, and then Rovey let go.

"Speaking of which, have you seen Gray get up?" Rovey asked.

"... Gray? Are you that strange girl with gray hair?"

Reines asked thoughtfully.

"Yes, it's her. She's the girl I met on this trip, and also the first disciple I formally accepted. It seems you've already met..."

"Oh, I see. I was wondering why there was such a lovely girl in the manor all of a sudden. I thought she was a guest who had come to visit. But her clothes were really not in line with the aristocracy, and she seemed to be wearing clothes that smelled like her brother. It made me misunderstand for a long time."

"Ah, after all, she's actually a girl from the countryside, oh my..."

Hearing this, Rovey's expression suddenly changed slightly, as if he had thought of something. He remembered that the old clothes Gray had taken off last night had been given to the maid to be washed, and they shouldn't be dry yet. Moreover, Gray didn't have any spare clothes besides Kay, so...

Is she still wearing her oversized clothes?

"So... elder brother, what exactly is going on? Could it be...?"

Seeing Reines's increasingly cunning expression, which even held a hint of suspicion, Rovey sighed and covered his forehead. He then pinched Reines's head and explained, "Honestly, why do kids have such vivid imaginations?"

"Gray, she came in a hurry and didn't have a change of clothes, so last night I gave her the robe I wore when I was doing research, so don't overthink it."

"...Really?"

Reines remained somewhat suspicious.