The Peace of the Household Is the Dog's Responsibility
"You lot wait here for now."
Ban closed the break room door and stepped out. A short meeting was in order.
The four members of the solution group gathered outside after leaving Cecil and Hana behind. Their expressions were all over the map.
"So what now?"
Ban asked, scratching at his bloodstained shoulder with an annoyed look on his face.
"I'm against it. These are the women who massacred even the guards from their own family. We can't trust them."
Haze pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and spoke with absolute finality.
Yeah. Called it. Classic Ice Witch with zero flexibility.
But the surprise came from an unexpected source.
"Well, they went through their own share of crap inside Olympus. That's probably why they planned it out so aggressively, right? Sis, you hated the Aegis bastards too."
Unlike Haze, Yui was subtly running defense for them.
Probably because of those twenty-thousand-coin accessories from earlier.
This greedy little gremlin.
"I don't mind at all~ And they said they have nowhere else to go. It's kind of sad... Ah, never mind that! We need to wrap up this meeting and treat Master's wounds right now!!"
Eve seemed far more concerned about Ban's shredded shoulder than whether the new girls joined or not. Classic Eve and her blind devotion.
"Haa... If we take them in, those accessories are pure profit. The original job was only worth two thousand coins for cleaning up shit, but adding all that up it's over twenty thousand, right?"
Ban licked his lips.
"We're not exactly starving for cash right now."
Haze shot back coldly. The same woman who used to nag them about needing work was now saying money didn't matter. Big sis clearly didn't like those cheeky young ladies one bit.
"Woof woof woof!"
Right then a yellow furball came barreling toward them from the distance, ears and tail flapping like crazy. And hot on its heels—
"Cute one! Stop right there!"
Jin, all two meters of him, chased after it with a huge grin. A giant bear and a giant dog. Weirdly, they suited each other.
...Cute one? Looks like the bear uncle was completely smitten. Kinda gross, honestly.
Richard dashed straight into the solution group and immediately started rubbing his soft cheeks all over Haze's leg. She was standing there with her arms crossed, cigarette in mouth.
"Whoa... Uh, hello?"
Haze flinched and froze for a second, then looked down at the furball with an embarrassed expression.
In the end she squatted down—cigarette still between her lips—and started scratching under his chin.
"Woof! Woof!"
Richard flipped onto his back in pure bliss, belly exposed. Total chaos.
"What the hell. This dog's such an easy mark..."
"Hey! Stop calling him a son of a bitch! He's a puppy! A puppy!!"
Yui cut Ban off mid-sentence and exploded.
Then she immediately dropped into a squat beside Haze and started kneading Richard's soft belly.
"Huh...? Wait, what is this? Excuse me? Why are you all being nicer to the dog than to me? Eve-chan! Don't you think they're being unfair? I got shot!"
Ban turned to Eve with a genuinely wronged expression.
Wait. Eve had already squatted down too. She was stroking Richard's ears with a dopey grin on her face.
"...Ah. This uncle is sad. Is this what they call it? The pathetic sight of the lowest-ranked breadwinner in the house? The sad dad who only brings home money? That it?"
Ban pinched his forehead and shook his head. A thick hand suddenly landed on his injured shoulder with a heavy pat.
"Can't be helped. He's cute."
What is this bear even saying? He'd gone full maiden-heart mode.
"It hurts, you know, bear uncle. Mind moving your hand? This uncle currently has a gunshot wound on his shoulder and a fatal gunshot wound to his heart, thanks."
"Can't be helped. You're not cute. You give off mad-dog vibes."
Damn. This blunt-ass bear really knew how to hit where it hurt. Ban glared at him.
But... he wasn't exactly wrong.
"So. Who are the ladies in the break room, and what are you planning to do with them?"
When Jin asked, Ban let out a long sigh and gave him the rough summary: the request details, the faction war inside Olympus, the betrayal, and how those noble girls had basically declared themselves freeloaders.
"...So what do you think, leader?"
"Me? Honestly, I don't know. I don't know what their actual abilities are, and I definitely don't know if they're trustworthy. But they don't give me a bad feeling. I'm the god of intuition, after all."
"Then just follow your gut. You're the boss here."
Whoa... For all his blunt exterior, Jin really did trust Ban's judgment.
"Alright then... Big sis."
Ban crept over and suddenly shoved his face right over Haze's shoulder while she was still squatting and bonding with Richard.
"Kyaa! W-what are you doing, Mr. Ban?!"
The usually stone-faced Ice Witch was clearly flustered. Her face flushed bright red as she shot upright with a shriek. Kyaa? Adorable.
"Look, I get they might not be your type right now. But they brought stuff worth serious money, and they also brought that son of a— I mean, the puppy you all like. So let's just say yes for now, even if we're getting played."
Ban drove the nail in: they were letting them join.
Haze opened her mouth to argue but couldn't find the words. Money was money, the dog was the dog, and the leader of this hopeless solution group was Claude Ban.
"Sigh... Fine. I'll trust your decision."
And just like that, it was settled.
Ban opened the break room door again, stepped inside, and grinned at Cecil and Hana.
"Okay. Let's head to our place for now. Follow me."
Once outside, he waved at Jin, who was still hovering around Richard like he couldn't bear to leave.
"Oh, and there's one secret we've been keeping from you this whole time. No point hiding it anymore, so you come too, bear guy."
With Jin now in tow, Ban opened the iron door of the tightly sealed main gas station building and stepped inside.
The Blackhead mercenaries had followed the contract to the letter—never peeking or snooping inside the main building, staying strictly outdoors.
Jin had been curious about it but deliberately never showed interest.
And now, as Ban threw the door wide open...
"...What the hell. How have you people been living in here?"
Jin stared at the wide, spotless lobby—completely empty, not a speck of trash in sight—and asked in disbelief.
"Just follow me, bear guy."
Cecil and Hana were also looking around the rundown main building with wide eyes.
For a place the solution group had bragged about as their super-lucky headquarters, there was literally jack shit. To the eyes of Olympus noble ladies it probably looked like one giant dumpster.
Ban walked straight through the lobby without answering. In the corner he yanked away a huge camouflage curtain.
A massive hatch appeared.
"This is..."
Jin's eyes widened in shock.
Ban ignored the reaction, grabbed the familiar handle, and heaved the hatch open.
Krrrrrk—Bang!
Below lay a wide staircase bathed in soft lighting.
Jin, Hana, and Cecil—seeing the hidden bunker entrance beneath the gas station for the first time—stood there stunned.
"Don't be too surprised, everyone! It's even more amazing inside~"
Eve smiled brightly and skipped down the stairs first.
At the bottom waited a sleek lobby of cold metal and a massive elevator.
"Is this... a pre-era bunker?"
Whether from quick wits or because she'd been a secretary to high nobles and knew about old relics, Hana asked in amazement while stroking the wall.
"Bingo. The fox secretary really is sharp."
Ban pressed his thumb firmly against the smooth panel beside the elevator.
User Fingerprint Recognition Complete. Welcome.
Weeeing—
"How did you manage to register your fingerprint..."
Hana asked, puzzled, but Ban found answering every little thing annoying.
"It wasn't registered to me originally. Taking back the part where I called you smart? Ask Yui later. Hurry up and get in."
Ban stepped in first and urged them on. Everyone followed.
The elevator began its long descent into the seemingly endless underground.
One minute. Two minutes...
Jin looked completely dazed. Cecil had both hands over her mouth in disbelief. Hana studied the wall panels and elevator structure with a deeply calculating expression.
Ding-dong.
The elevator doors finally slid open.
Before them stretched an absurdly advanced pre-era high-tech main room. Air so clean it purified the lungs with every breath. Perfect temperature. The deep, majestic hum of the central power core that sustained the entire bunker.
"...No way."
Jin's bear-like mouth hung open and refused to close. Cecil and Hana stood frozen, crushed by the sheer insane scale of the facility.
They didn't know the details, but even the haughty Olympus nobles probably never encountered a bunker like this.
To the solution group trio and Ban, however, it was simply their familiar, comfortable sweet home.
"Ugh, my whole body hurts. This uncle is seriously exhausted."
Ban yawned and flung himself onto the sofa in the center of the main room. He sank deep into the cushions.
But the moment he lay down, Eve came storming over with a first-aid kit.
"Master! Is this the time to sprawl on the sofa?! We have to treat you first, why are you like this for reeeal~!!"
Her massive chest bounced wildly as she grabbed Ban's arm and tried to drag him up.
"Hey, come on! Just five minutes! I'm seriously tired! Ah! Blood! It's bleeding, Eve-chan!"
"No! If bacteria gets in you might lose the arm! We're going to the medical wing right now!"
"Liar! You already did emergency treatment!"
"Be quiet~!"
Ban screamed "Uwaaah!! My arm!" even as he was helplessly dragged away by Eve.
"Hey, shortstack and ice witch. You two give them a rough explanation. I'm off for some cozy medical treatment... Ack! That hurts!"
Ban waved as he was hauled toward the medical wing.
Crash!
"I hate anesthesia! It feels weird!"
"Are you insane?! You need anesthesia, you idiot Master!!"
The whining complaints and sharp scolding echoed down the corridor into the main room.
"......"
The remaining trio—Cecil, Hana, and Jin—stared blankly at the hallway Ban had been dragged down.
"Right then."
Yui clapped her hands to reset the mood. Haze leaned back on the sofa, cigarette in hand.
"So this... was the source of all your capital?"
Jin spoke carefully.
"Pretty much?"
"You said you got it from the Unchained. They just handed over something like this?"
"No. We took the place over first. Then that idiot Ban stumbled across it by pure chance. It's embarrassing, but... exactly what the name says. Super lucky."
Yui still looked embarrassed every time she had to say "super lucky."
Hana looked around in open admiration.
"A pre-era high-tech bunker... I've only heard stories. First time seeing one. How is the central power maintained? Just the air filtration alone would require enormous energy."
"Beats me. There's definitely a large power source in the central control room, but the security clearance is too high. I couldn't break into the mainframe core data."
Yui pouted.
"You're... a hacker?"
Cecil looked at Yui with genuine curiosity.
"Yeah. Former Intelli."
Oh. For once she didn't hammer home the "master" title.
"Anyway, since you're all with us now, there are a few rules you need to remember."
Haze, still seated on the sofa and exhaling smoke, finally spoke.
"First. You must log everything when entering the supply warehouse. We have plenty of food, but there's no harm in being frugal."
"Second. When Mr. Ban does something stupid—which he does often—do not encourage him. That man attracts trouble even when left alone. He's basically a walking incident bomb."
"Third."
Haze's cold cross-shaped pupils locked onto Cecil and Hana.
"There are no free rides in this bunker. You mentioned your abilities earlier. Prove them right here, right now."
As expected of big sis. Zero mercy.
Hana didn't shrink back. If anything, she looked even more confident.
"I served as a direct secretary to an Olympus senator. I'm specialized in flawless schedule management, negotiation, and—most importantly—financial operations."
"Financial operations?"
Yui's eyes sparkled at the word "money."
"It means I can handle not only stopping the solution group's pointless coin waste but also external negotiations. That is my value."
"Hmm."
Haze exhaled a stream of smoke, clearly intrigued.
It was a perfect appeal that struck right at the group's chronic weakness.
"Then what about you, miss?"
Haze's gaze shifted to Cecil.
Could a delicate greenhouse flower like an Olympus noble daughter really contribute anything in this rough bunker?
Cecil stepped forward quietly and offered her signature beautiful smile.
"I can handle cooking, as well as overall internal management."
"...What?"
Yui dug at her ear, wondering if she'd heard wrong. Haze's eyebrows rose slightly.
Cooking?
"The upper class in Olympus have extremely sensitive palates. I learned directly from the finest chefs in my family home. As long as ingredients are available, I can guarantee meals on an entirely different level."
At Cecil's words, Haze's cigarette ash dropped with an audible plop.
In truth, the only person in the solution group who could cook at all was Ban. He'd always taken over to avoid Haze's hellfire cuisine and Eve's bizarre experiments. Lately even he'd gotten too lazy and they'd been surviving on canned food most days.
"C-cooking? A noble lady?"
Like Pavlov's dogs, saliva instantly flooded both Yui's and Haze's mouths.
Cooking... A real cook had finally appeared!!!