On their way out of the zone, they saw the agent and Miss Heather making their way in with worried and troubled faces.
When they both saw the approaching final years, they heaved heavy sighs of relief.
——
A few moments later…
"The only way the school won't take this up is if we receive all the mana crystals. DSB can keep the parts," Miss Heather said to Agent Jim.
"All of them?!" Jim exclaimed with a frustrated look on his face. "How could I possibly do that without my higher-ups finding out? Belsorth didn't even purchase rights to these zones in the first place."
"Our students could've been hurt or worse, dead. It's that or nothing, Mr. Agent. I'm sure you can figure that out," Miss Heather insisted.
Agent Jim shook his head and sighed. Then he nodded in agreement and said, "Okay."
"I'll be in touch," Miss Heather said, before turning over to the final year students who simply just stared as they haggled through some bribe or compensation.
"Let's go," she said to them. And with that, they all left.
Jim muttered lots of inaudible curses at Miss Heather as he watched her go.
"Hm…" Ethan thought quietly to himself as they walked behind Miss Heather.
Mana crystals, amongst other things, were part of the many materials Stark Industries purchased from guilds at really expensive rates.
But right then he thought to himself, what if they didn't have to anymore? What if Stark Industries had its own dedicated guild just for that?
That was definitely something he'd have to look into once he assumed his role as CEO later on that week.
——
A few hours later…
The gates leading into the Stark estate opened up automatically as Eduardo drove the vintage car into the compound with Ethan in the back.
After the events of today, the tutoring class he was to have with Bettie was pushed to the next day.
As they got out of the vehicle, Eduardo immediately said, "Welcome home, Master Ethan."
"Thank you, Eduardo," Ethan said before making his way upstairs. He desperately needed to check in with the system rewards he received after the zone cleanup.
"One more thing, Master Ethan," Eduardo said, which made Ethan halt and turn back towards Eduardo.
"I have given Victor notice of your intention to return and take back the position as CEO," Eduardo said.
"Very good," Ethan said, then asked, "What about the other thing?"
Eduardo nodded and said, "I have some of the best guys on the search for the Hemilton you need, Master Ethan. Expect results really soon."
Ethan nodded, and without saying another word, he turned and made his way into the mansion.
Francesca was a delight as usual, but right before she and Eduardo got into it again, their voices faded away as Ethan walked into his room and shut the door.
"Display my rewards," he said, referring to the system as he sat on his bed.
"Who are you talking to?" the voice of Albedo rang in his head. He never bothered to undo her summoning since the dungeon.
Although she remained in Stealth mode.
"Albedo, love, go do something else," Ethan said, as he didn't need the demon summon being a bother.
Albedo got excited, and suddenly the door to his room opened up.
This immediately made him add, "In this room…"
"Urghhh!" she expressed her dissatisfaction as the door closed back up. "Can I at least come out of Stealth now?"
"Sure," Ethan said, and Albedo's form returned to normal as she went away to another corner of the room while saying different irrelevant things Ethan was barely paying attention to.
His focus was totally on the screens now laid out before him.
[You completed different self-imposed objectives:
-You invited Lucy and Elizabeth into the team: +800xp
-You protected yourself against the vampire, Wilson: +2000xp
-You killed a total of six monsters in the breach zone: +2000xp x6]
[Bonus reward for completing dungeon objective: +2000xp]
[Total Experience Points: +19,400]
[Albedo has gained +600xp]
[Current Experience Points: 600/1000 to reach Elite Class Potential]
He nodded approvingly at the amount of experience points he had racked up so far. He also realized Albedo likely gained experience points due to her active involvement in the zone.
And frankly, he liked the fact that his summons could level up on their own. But this prompted a question in his mind, one he was going to throw to his summon.
"Hey, Albedo…" he began, while raising his head towards her direction.
But the sight of what he saw made him open his mouth slightly in shock. "How did you change into that and why exactly are you taking a shower? What the fuck?"
The assassin summon, who currently looked almost naked in panties and a bra, turned her gaze towards Ethan with a puzzled expression and said, "I'm a girl, summoner. Should I not keep clean?"
She sounded genuinely confused.
The bra and undies she wore clung so perfectly to the curves of her breast and the frame of her body, it was hard not to look at least twice.
"Since when did spirits need to take showers?" Ethan asked, slamming his hand on his face and shaking his head.
"You asked me to do what I wanted in this room, and I'm doing just that," she said, motioning both hands to the side. "But what is it you called me for, summoner? Be quick. I still need to scrub my lady parts."
"Bloody hell," Ethan shook his head, trying to rid himself of the images the demon had planted there.
Albedo's expression suddenly shifted into a devious one, and her lips curled into a sly grin when she realized.
"You know, all you need to do is ask, summoner, and I can show them to you," she said in a teasing tone, while walking towards him with a seductive sway of her hips and tail swinging behind her.
The Bond skill was still active, and so she could share in his thoughts.
Ethan immediately deactivated the skill and said bluntly, "You've got nothing I haven't seen plenty of, demon."
"Ouch, that hurts, summoner," she feigned a pained expression, placing a hand dramatically over her chest.
"Now to the reason I called. Would you say you're at the same level of strength as you were before your death?"
She nodded. "Yes, I am. Being a spirit didn't change that."
"Hm… I see," Ethan said with a nod. This only meant one thing. The system was leveling up his summons, and that put a smile on his face.
"There you go being weird again. Why are you smiling?" Albedo asked with a puzzled expression.
Ethan sighed and said, "Finish up, demon."
Albedo rolled her eyes and turned back towards the shower, her tail wiggling behind her as she moved.
"Perhaps she hasn't even noticed she's leveling up," Ethan thought to himself as he watched her go.
His attention returned back to the screens before him as he said, "Show me everything that requires leveling up."
The system responded:
[1000xp required for Summoner Level 2]
[1500xp required to raise Guardian talent from E to D]
[2500xp required to raise Ranger talent from D to C]
[2500xp required to raise Warrior talent from D to C]
[3500xp required to raise Magi-engineer talent from C to B]
[4500xp required to raise Saber talent from B to A]
[6500xp required to raise Caster talent from S to SS]