In the early morning, slivers of sunlight slipped through the gaps in the curtains, and the world awoke from its hazy slumber.

The sun climbed higher and higher, casting out ten thousand rays of golden light.

A few white clouds floating in mid-air were instantly plated with a灿烂 golden edge.

A new day began.

On this new day, the magnificently dignified Principal of St. Freya Academy arose, washed up, ate a rather simple breakfast, and then turned on her computer.

And then—

“WAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!”

A truly startling sound echoed through the Principal’s dormitory.

“What’s wrong?! What is it?!”

Murata Himeko, who lived with the Principal, heard the shriek—a sound akin to witnessing the Chinese men’s national soccer team qualify for the World Cup, or perhaps seeing the Chinese table tennis team suffer a defeat. She instantly tossed aside the beer in her hand and looked toward the certain shorty.

“Grandpa didn’t dock the Far East Branch’s development funds this year! He even sent over the funds he withheld before!!”

Theresa, who had never received sufficient branch funding and was always forced to dip into her own allowance and the captain’s salary for any major matters, stared wide-eyed at the latest allocation notice.

The lonesome old man, Otto, held a deep resentment for the Far East Branch ever since Theresa left his side, and the funds he sent were never the full amount.

But, for some unknown reason, the Archbishop had suddenly sent all the development funds that had been in arrears or cut over the years, all in one go.

“For real?”

The former captain of the Hyperion, whose salary had also been misappropriated in the past, was stunned for a moment before becoming overcome with ecstasy.

If she could get back her salary from her years as captain, she could afford to live at a three-star Michelin restaurant for quite some time.

“And that’s not all.”

Using her authority as the head of the Apocalypse family, Theresa saw that in the coming months, HQ would be sending funds equivalent to that of nearly ten branches. Her eyes began to glaze over.

Although she, as the head of the Apocalypse family, was used to a life of comfort, she had rarely seen such a massive expenditure.

That was the funding of ten branches!!

Looking at the unprecedentedly huge figure, a wave of pure bliss washed over her.

“But, this all seems to be the funding for building Chaldeas, right?”

Himeko vaguely recalled that the fellow who had been air-dropped here to serve as Vice-Commander and Captain of the Hyperion was the one who initiated the Chaldeas project, and she couldn’t help but feel a little suspicious.

“Bomb Girl, did you not notice it says right here that all materials for building Chaldea can be requisitioned directly from the HQ warehouse for free?”

Because Aunt Himeko’s figure was truly a bit too magnificent—a level of grandeur this white-haired shorty would likely never achieve in her lifetime—Theresa spitefully called her “Bomb Girl” as she turned the computer screen towards Murata Himeko.

The brightly lit notice from HQ entered Murata Himeko’s field of vision, causing her to swallow hard.

All materials for building Chaldeas were to be paid for directly by HQ. That fee, ten times that of a normal branch, was just the salary for Chaldea’s members!

What magnificent extravagance.

And any funds Chaldeas didn’t use would naturally go into the treasury of its host, the Far East Branch.

She would no longer have to throw her own pocket money at the Far East Branch and St. Freya Academy.

Maybe… maybe during this period of excessive funding, she could even get back the money she’d previously thrown in.

Theresa could feel the latest HOMU manga and merchandise beckoning to her.

For a moment, she felt the overwhelming urge to cry.

“So, when do we get paid?”

Miss Himeko, rarely seeing the Far East Branch so flush with cash, thought of the balance in her bank account, her gaze growing more and more fervent.

“Payday is tomorrow, but withdrawing it a day early shouldn’t be a big deal.”

Theresa, who was also eager to withdraw her full salary early to buy HOMU manga, licked her lips and delightedly inserted her ID card into the Schicksal Far East Branch’s system, then navigated to the financial system.

Under the expectant gazes of Theresa and Aunt Himeko, a line of text leaped into their eyes.

“You do not have the corresponding permissions.”

The smiles on the faces of the white-haired shorty and Aunt Himeko froze instantly.

They remembered. The administrative authority for the Far East Branch’s financial system…

It seemed… perhaps… it had probably been transferred to the Vice-Commander.

“Forget it. If we can’t take it out early, then we can’t.”

Aunt Himeko patted the shoulder of the shorty, who was dejected about not being able to withdraw her salary in advance, and offered some comfort.

“Payday is tomorrow anyway. What’s one more day?”

“That’s true.”

Completely unaware of what was to come, Theresa sighed, her expression a bit downcast.

For the past two days, someone had been sweeping up limited-edition HOMU merchandise online. Many of the unique items she had her eye on had already been bought.

Now that she couldn’t get her salary early to buy them, even more merchandise would surely be bought up by that upstart.

Theresa thought, a sour taste in her mouth.

“By the way, if the Far East Branch’s reserve funds are increasing, our salaries should go up too, right?”

Murata Himeko looked at the computer screen as this suddenly occurred to her.

“Yes.”

Remembering that the salaries of branch members were tied to the branch’s funding, Theresa pondered for a moment before replying with great certainty.

“Well, can you check our current salaries in advance?”

Sensing the possibility of a raise, Murata Himeko grew excited once more.

“I’ll try.”

Theresa, whose authority was actually frighteningly high, thought for a moment and began to query the salary changes for branch members.

Then, she froze.

On the list, next to Murata Himeko’s name, was a green indicator showing an increase of eighty percent.

Next to Theresa’s name was a red indicator showing a decrease of eighty percent.

The former meant a salary increase, the latter…

“WHERE’S MY SALARY?!”

A heart-wrenching, soul-tearing scream echoed through the Principal’s dormitory, lingering for a long, long time.

Meanwhile, on the other side of St. Freya Academy, in the dormitory corresponding to the Vice-Commander.

A young man with crimson eyes hummed a German nursery rhyme (“Naughty Little Crocodile”) that sounded particularly punchable to the people of Shenzhou, pushing a handcart piled high with packages toward his residence.

“Bronya, come give me a hand.”

When he reached his door, he took out his key, opened it, and spoke to the girl who was sitting on his sofa playing a game. She looked up at the guy, whose face was half-hidden by the tall stack of packages, her expression one of surprise.

“Boss, what… are you doing?”

The girl, whom Li Zihan had summoned to his dorm by saying he had some treasures to show her, stood up from the sofa and floated over.

“Online shopping.”

The young man, now the de facto head of the Far East Branch’s finances and firmly in control of the entire branch’s financial power, sounded exceptionally pleased.

He had already received the construction funds for Chaldeas from Schicksal, successfully logged into the financial system, and docked Theresa’s salary.

Because both his and Theresa’s salaries were so high, he barely needed to look at prices when buying things. He just bought, bought, and bought some more.

And because he exercised absolutely no restraint, he had bought quite a lot of things.

“Boss, you should control your desire to consume.”

The petite girl summoned her Stand User, ahem, Project Bunny, to help move the packages, all while voicing her complaint.

“Many things look good, but the experience of using them is very average. In the end, they just become clutter that wastes space.”

“These things aren’t for me.”

The young man, whose most desired items were largely unobtainable, moved a pile of packages into the living room, turned back, and spoke to the girl named Bronya.

Not for him?

The girl, who was also carrying a package toward the living room, wore a puzzled expression.

“Then, boss, why did you buy all this?”

Li Zihan didn’t answer the question. He simply picked up Jizo Mitama, using it like a Swiss Army knife to slice open the boxes.

Then, complete sets of HOMU manga and various limited-edition HOMU dolls were revealed.

“They’re presents.”

The young man, who had clearly bought entire sets of HOMU manga and merchandise, shrugged his shoulders. “It shouldn’t be strange to give some gifts to a girlfriend, right?”

“This… is for Bronya?”

Bronya, who had never imagined that the first gift she’d receive after they started dating would be a handcart full of HOMU merchandise, was stunned.

“Mhm. It cost me two-thirds of my salary for this month,” the young man said, pursing his lips after his cheerful shopping spree. “Do you like it?”

“Bronya likes it, but… isn’t this too wasteful?”

Because Cocolia’s Orphanage had been financially strapped, the normally frugal girl’s delicate brows furrowed slightly.

“Besides, Bronya is not the one who will walk down the aisle with you. Boss, if you have money, it would be better to spend more of it on Seele.”

“I bought gifts for Seele, too. No less than what I bought for you.”

Li Zihan, who already held a great deal of affection for Seele and had also received Bronya’s request, was clearly trying to curry favor with her.

In addition, he had also bought some jewelry for Miss Mei and a large number of snack gift packages for Kiana.

“So, boss, did you use your savings from other places?” the girl asked, casually guessing, vaguely remembering that Li Zihan also held high-ranking positions in other organizations.

Given Li Zihan’s status, getting money should be a simple matter.

“No. In this world, the only one who has ever paid me a salary is Schicksal. Besides that, what I carry with me are precious metals and gems, and those aren’t easy to sell.”

?????

Bronya’s expression immediately clouded with confusion.

Didn’t the boss just say he spent two-thirds of his monthly salary on her gifts alone?

So how did he afford to buy gifts for Seele?

“Boss, then where did your money come from?” Bronya asked curiously.

The young man, who had helped himself to the white-haired shorty’s salary after spending his own, just laughed.

“That’s a secret for now.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep