Here is the fourteenth chapter in this story released when I wanted it to be released based of my release process for this series. The initial missions are over, reports are in, so it's time for Asta and Noelle to debrief a little after what they saw in Saussy Village and then get ready for what is next but at least they got a good lesson in Saussy that should help them going forward. First though it's another big moment for them, it's their payday and day off. Lastly, small spoiler warning for this chapter as at one point I mention two characters who were introduced in the current, and final, arc of Black Clover so you've been warned. That is all I have for the administrative stuff I have for y'all and there are no guest reviews that need a response or questions to answer so I will end this here. Do keep them coming as your support is the best motivation for me to keep producing chapters at this kind of rate. That is it for this pre-chapter note so it is time to sit back and enjoy the fourteenth chapter in Akame ga Clover.

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to these two great animes.

Chapter 14: Wages

"Sounds like that mission was a lot more than you expected." Yami said with a laugh as Magna, Asta, and Noelle reported in after their first mission, well the latter two's first mission. "That's just how they go at times but that was more than usual."

"Captain, is this the time to be laughing?" Asta asked his tone morose. "Someone died."

"What, is being sad going to bring Seihi back?" Yami asked. "Death is part of the job and sometimes it is unavoidable as was the case on this mission. No one saw that attack coming and it came before you arrived. You still did your duty and prevented any more fatalities when you saved the village, it's what Seihi would have wanted."

"Right Captain Yami sir." Magna said loudly. "Seihi wouldn't want our sorrow, he was a man who enjoyed a good laugh so let's honor him and laugh for his memory."

Magna started to laugh though it clearly felt forced, and he got Asta to laugh as well. Even Noelle got into it a little though to Tatsumi and Akame this was nothing as they sat together on one of the sofas elsewhere in the room but paid attention to the debrief of Asta and Noelle's first mission that had occurred while they were on their own mission to secure evidence against the Highballs.

As such they heard about the mission the new members had been on in Saussy Village and it was certainly a doozy of a first mission but to the couple it was probably the best mission the recruits could have been on even if there had been tragedy on it. It should have been a normal, standard, mission that Magic Knights often undertake for the sake of the citizenry as is their duty, but that duty got really tested and gave them a taste of the dark side of the kingdom right from the start of their Magic Knight careers.

The mission itself came as part of a bet with Seihi, the village chief of Saussy Village who had a long history with Magna due to Magna constantly trying to take over Saussy Village during his more delinquent days after he got his grimoire. Magna had failed in all of those attempts because of Seihi, who despite being a commoner had more than enough magic to make it as a Magic Knight but never did due to his duties.

Still, Magna had impressed Seihi and as such he'd been the one to persuade Magna to try for the Magic Knights which had led Magna to the Black Bulls. He had even gifted Magna his grimoire bag when Magna told him he'd made it into a Magic Knight Squad.

As such Magna had always remained on good terms with Seihi and over time Yami too had gotten to know the man. That led them to partaking in regular gambling sessions with Seihi which had been where the bet that led to this mission had occurred, during a card game Seihi had had with Magna and Yami.

That had been the important mission for the two the morning before, a gambling session against Seihi where he completely cleaned them out right down to their underwear. All they had left, apparently, were their grimoires and Yami even tried to bet his grimoire to keep playing.

That was the one bet that Seihi wouldn't take, but he gave them one more hand in the game, all of their stuff back if they won and any one thing he asked of them if he won. Yami took the bet and Seihi proceeded to pull a royal flush in the game of poker they were playing, the best possible hand in the variant they were playing, to win. Seihi did have the decency to give Yami and Magna their Black Bull robes back afterwards, though not their loincloths which caused Noelle to see things she never wanted to see, and flew off after telling Yami what he wanted done with his request.

Seihi was going to use the winnings, all of them including the single thing Yami had to do for him, to help his village out. He was a great chief from what the couple had heard and apparently there was a magic boar herd that had been causing problems near the village, so he used his last win to have Yami, and therefore Asta and Noelle as the newest members, get rid of said herd for him.

When Akame heard that this was the mission they'd been sent on she was annoyed that she'd not been around when the mission had been given out. She would have taken it in a heartbeat and done it nice and fast to get all that succulent and tasty magic boar meat, minus what she'd give the town of course. Thankfully she got to enjoy some of said meat as the report was given thanks to Asta being nice enough to bring a few dead boars back for their food stores thus earning him her friendship, and she would have slaughtered the monsters who'd attacked while they were dealing with the boars. That had been the twist to the mission.

For whatever reason, that was still unknown but being followed up on at that very moment, some classist sociopath had attacked the village with three subordinates while Magna, Asta, and Noelle were killing the boars. Seihi had tried to defend the village and been killed by the leader for it and then the remaining villagers had been gathered up so that they could be murdered simply because they were low born trash in the man's eyes, which was a heinous act against humanity.

For that alone Akame and Tatsumi would have killed him, but the trio showed their skills by protecting the villagers, Noelle did that with a new spell she learned that she had control over showing that she'd already begun to control her magic, while Magna and Asta took the fight to the monsters attacking the village. It was from all accounts a brutal fight but in the end Asta and Magna got the drop on the leader and rendered him unconscious and caught his subordinates to save the village. They were then bound with a binding spell that Magna knew to make sure they didn't go anywhere or use magic.

From there the plan had been to take the quartet of attackers to the Magic Knight's headquarters for interrogation but the monster regained consciousness before then and showed that he was some kind of extremist by committing suicide with some magic tool alongside two of his subordinates. The final one escaped in the chaos leaving behind only a single, fancy, pocket watch that the man had been using to keep his plan on schedule, something the villagers had reported he'd been especially anal about.

That had ended the mission there and somehow no buildings had been damaged in the process, a rarity for the Black Bulls, but it had been a sad victory with Seihi's death. Akame and Tatsumi had never met the man, but they knew how much Magna looked up to him and how he'd been a mentor to their teammate, who did what he could to make his village better, so he didn't deserve to die the way he did. The trio had remained to lay Seihi to rest, give words of support to his family, and spend the night in Saussy Village before returning and reporting in. They'd even gotten some strange stone as part of it that had belonged to Seihi that an anti-bird had taken with it.

All that had occurred a few hours ago and Finral and Vanessa had headed to HQ to give the report and hand in the pocket watch for examination as it was the only clue they had to the man's identity. That had been when they'd run into Akame and Tatsumi who had spent the night there after giving their own report directly to the Wizard King and Mushroom Head the moment they could, via Mushroom Head's magic to confirm what Akame had seen, so they'd been sent back while the other report was given hence why they'd heard what had happened in Saussy Village.

All in all, it sounded like a good first mission for Asta and Noelle. They'd faced a serious challenge, overcome it without serious injury though Asta had been battered a bit it seemed, and seen the darker side of the job.

They'd seen death now, both in Seihi's senseless one which showed the cruelty towards commoners that they were fighting to end, and the extreme suicide of the monster who'd attacked him showing the lengths some would go to protect their ideals which meant that the man was likely some fanatic working for someone that needed to be found as soon as possible. That said that was new even to Akame and Tatsumi as their targets often chose to fight to the death, but they didn't take their own lives though admittedly Akame and Tatsumi usually took them for them before suicide was an option.

Still, it was going to help Asta and Noelle in the long run and as soon they'd see the full extent of what the Black Bulls did with Akame and Tatsumi's role in the Squad they would be better prepared for it. It would lessen the shock of what was no doubt about to come but given what Akame had seen they were still in for a big shock when the mission to take down the Highballs was officially sanctioned.

"Alright that is enough of that." Yami said getting serious as he ended the laughing and Akame and Tatsumi listened in on the conversation from where they were. "It is a real shame what happened to Seihi, he was a great man who strove to do what was best for his village, but you honored him by protecting the rest of the village as Magic Knights should. You can hold your heads high on that front, you did a good job out there so be proud of yourself for what you accomplished."

"Sir." Asta and Magna said in unison with Magna doing the Magic Knight salute.

"Thank you." Noelle simply said in a low voice with a slight blush at the praise from her Captain, the whole mission had been her first true success though why she now seemed to have Asta on her mind more than he should be was confusing to her.

"Akame, Tatsumi, what are your thoughts on this?" Yami said while laughing as Magna explained the salute to Asta who tried it out to mixed results. "This is the kind of mission you two might be needed to follow up on what with your talents and all. Sounds like these people who attacked Saussy Village have no problems killing, best to meet them at their level if that's the case."

"You guys did your best out there from what it sounds like." Tatsumi said with a smile as they turned to him though he didn't get up from his seat. "It is a shame about Seihi but that kinda shit happens in our line of work, we can't be there all the time, but you made sure that his death wasn't in vain by beating them and ensuring that no citizen of Saussy Village died which is what he would have wanted. The suicide, that was unexpected."

"Clearly you're dealing with extremists who'd rather die to protect whoever they are working for than be taken into custody." Akame said as she ate her meat. "Annoying as we could have used their intel to find out more but oh well, a group like that will strike again, that attack sounded too organized to be a random act of senseless violence against commoners. The important thing is that you came back alive from your first mission, a tough one by all accounts where death was a real possibility, and even brought back some meat so well done."

At that Akame gave them a genuine smile which shocked Asta and Noelle. They hadn't known the Squad long, but they'd gathered that Tatsumi was a bit like Asta in his upbringing and attitude only less loud while Akame was some reserved girl they couldn't get a read on, though she had welcomed them like the others, and yet here she was smiling at them and their success. She'd said she'd wait for their first mission, and she'd done so.

"There is still one more test for you to face but you've already shown a lot of mettle by facing death already and coming back alive." Akame continued as a portal appeared in the room. "And that test should be coming soon."

"We're back." Finral said as he and Vanessa stepped out of the portal before it closed again. "Report has been given and we've received more orders."

"We heard about the good work you three did in Saussy Village." Vanessa said smiling. "Well done out there, that's not an easy first mission."

"Thank you, it was tough, but we did our best to protect them." Asta said. "It is just unfortunate that we couldn't save them all and that those criminals won't face justice."

"Yes, it is but we visited the Magic Investigation Department while we were giving the report." Finral said addressing Yami. "They're the people who will try to find out more."

"That's good, did you learn anything about why what went down in Saussy Village happened?" Yami asked.

"Or who the hell that guy who murdered Seihi was?" Magna asked angrily. "Because I'll find his hideout and tear it apart for what he did to Seihi. Same thing for the bastard who got away. Hey, Akame, Tatsumi, you with me? I could use your particular skills in this endeavor."

"Of course." Tatsumi said his voice cooler that Asta had expected. "A crime like that must be punished and we can't show them any mercy. If we learn where those bastards are we're in."

"They remind me of the monsters who I was sold to only with an actual agenda rather than greedy profit and petty power struggles which makes them more dangerous." Akame said her voice dark and with a chill that shivered Asta and Noelle. "I'll make sure they see the error in their ways for trying to kill innocent civilians just because of their birth status."

"Unfortunately, we don't know much about the leader guy." Vanessa said giving the news she'd gotten from the investigation department. "The investigators checked the area to see if they could find anything and checked the things he left behind, which was just that pocket watch, and so far, they've got nothing on him or his subordinates."

"Urg, what good are they then?" Magna said fire now in his hand. "At least with the stuff Akame and Tatsumi do we get solid intel to act on, well mostly they do but still they actual take down bastards like that."

"That's because what those two do is off the books and sanctioned from the very top." Yami reminded them as Magna let out a yell and threw the fireball at the wall which caused Yami to get annoyed and his left arm glowed with reinforcement magic. "That's enough, what have I told you about breaking everything."

Yami emphasized his point by punching the wall and blowing out a hole in it thus breaking even more things in the process and completely voiding his own point. That was too be expected though coming from Yami.

"Sorry Captain Yami, sir." Magna said as dust filled the common room.

"The one thing we do have to go on is that that pocket watch you recovered was pretty nice, not something just anyone would own." Finral said not phased at all by the destruction around him. "It's certainly not something you'd find outside of the Noble Realm or maybe a wealthy town in the Common Realm, so the man had to have means."

"Then there are the remarks you reported him making about commoners, it makes me think that we're looking for someone of fairly high rank." Vanessa said thoughtfully. "Or who wants to be at that rank at least."

"Royalty or nobility at the very least." Magna said darkly.

Noelle thought on that and couldn't deny that it was likely the case based on the evidence. She had her issues of course but already her views were starting to slowly change now that she was a member of the Black Bulls, had seen the power a commoner could have in Asta, and what they went through now that she'd been on a proper mission and seen a Forsaken Realm village.

It didn't make her feel good about how she'd acted in the past, but she'd never stoop to what that monster had planned. She'd had her doubts during the mission, especially when she was being protected by two commoners, but the look that little girl gave her when she asked for help had given her the strength that she needed to remember why she was there and allowed her to learn her new spell to protect them. Her doubts were gone, and she embraced her position as a Magic Knight for the Black Bulls.

Noelle's spell had allowed Asta and Magna to focus on the would-be murderers and beat them. It had been impressive and Asta had shown that he was kinda amazing not that Noelle would ever tell him that.

Thankfully, before Noelle could go down that road anymore, the anti-bird that they'd encountered in Saussy Village chose that moment to reveal that it had followed them back by popping up from Asta's head and getting the expected reactions from Vanessa and Noelle who found it adorable, but Asta found it to be a pest as it pecked him before flying off, so he drew his sword to deal with it. Noelle wanted the bird to rest on her head, completely missing the fact that an anti-bird shouldn't be able to fly near her given her mana levels, but it didn't much to her chagrin.

Asta noticed none of this as he didn't like the bird and declared that he'd have the bird for dinner, which Akame was all for, but Noelle was determined to protect him at all costs and producing water to do so. She'd presumed the bird's gender, a mistake that would persist for months for the Black Bulls, as she'd not realizing said bird was actually female though that wasn't something they could easily check.

Naturally that devolved into Asta swinging and missing the bird, Noelle trying to attack him and missing but blowing out a window with her water in the process and Yami's usual over the top response about them destroying the building by causing even more destruction than the new members combined. The rest just ignored this as they waited for it to cool down and Asta and Noelle to apologize to the Captain even though he was the one doing most of the damage.

"Good." Yami said. "Finral, you said you had new orders. I take it that that is from Akame and Tatsumi's mission."

"Correct sir." Finral said pulling out a sealed envelope and handing it to Yami, the instructions on it were that it was for him only. "Marx caught me before I left and told me to give it to you. He looked tired but said that the review of what Akame saw was quick as the evidence was damning."

"Well, it was a late night for them." Yami said as he opened it and pulled out the decree from the Wizard King inside it and read it before looking over the accompanying letters from Julius with one addressed to him explaining the situation and one to Akame and Tatsumi explaining what he wanted from them as well. "Hmm, seems like the investigation was fruitful. Akame, Tatsumi, you've been given the go order to proceed with the next stage but hold off for 48 hours as Julius needs to discuss something with Charlotte. That and he wants our new members present for the mission."

"She's a Blue Rose Knight." Tatsumi said. "It makes sense that he would talk to her Captain beforehand."

"And she was wearing her robe when I saw her crimes." Akame added which really confused Asta and Noelle. "She disgraced it."

"I know, she has the full order against her." Yami said as he returned everything by the note to himself to the envelope and held it out so that Tatsumi could come and collect it. "You are to do it in front of our new members. He's very explicit about that, they need to know, and this is the test."

"Understood sir." Tatsumi said as he got up and accepted the letter and put it away for later as Asta and Noelle got even more confused. "We'll make sure that everything is in place for those two to join us on it."

"Good." Yami said before looking at the new members. "Asta, Noelle, the day after tomorrow, at night, you will join Tatsumi and Akame on their next mission. That's all the info you will get about it until the time comes. Keep an open mind about it and brace yourselves for what you are about to see."

"Yes sir." Asta said though he was unsure what that meant.

"Er ok…" Noelle said now a little worried at what that mission was going to be as she had no clue what was going on other than apparently the Blue Rose Knights had some disgraced member involved which only added to her confusion.

"Captain, what of the others?" Tatsumi asked. "What are the orders with them?"

"It's in the decree but Julius has made it clear that those complicit share guilt though as he wants more info so only the one Akame saw has the direct order." Yami said. "Standard rules apply with one exception who must be brought in alive."

"Understood." Tatsumi said with a nod as both Asta and Noelle blanched at the last word and Tatsumi's complete acceptance of it.

"Good, already everyone it's time to listen up." Yami said as Tatsumi backed up to pay attention and moving on before Asta or Noelle could ask any questions. "First up, the investigation into what happened in Saussy will be left to the pros so we will leave it to them as we await the report. We know that his status doesn't matter and if we are needed then we will be called upon to do what we do best, but this feels different."

"Yes sir." Magna said as the others just nodded.

"Alright now that all of that is settled, I have some good news for you." Yami said with a smile.

"About what?" Noelle asked.

"Tell us Captain." Asta said eager for the good news.

"Believe it or not the Wizard King himself has recognized your efforts in Saussy Village." Yami said surprising them and getting the expected reaction. "How he knew about it given everything else I'm not sure, but he is the Wizard King, he's strange like that."

"The Wizard King!" Asta said stars in his eyes.

"Alright!" Magna roared.

"It was to be expected." Noelle said with a flick of her pigtail and a slight frown on her face but internally she was gushing over the recognition.

"And for your work you've been awarded a star for your efforts." Yami said holding up a gold star he'd been sent by Julius after the first report on Saussy Village was given, he'd just been waiting for this moment to tell them.

"Alright." Magna roared again.

"We got a star!" Asta yelled.

"Congrats you three, usually it's only when Tatsumi and Akame don't do special missions that we get a star." Finral said. "Well, a normal star that is, the stars we usually get are special."

"So, what does the star mean?" Asta asked. "Is it good?"

"You're celebrating when you don't know what it means?" Magna asked annoyed. "That's so like you little Rasta."

"It's a symbol that the Wizard King gives to Magic Knights who perform great deeds." Vanessa explained with a smile at them. "It's actually a pretty big deal."

"Oh, wow that's awesome." Asta said with a grin. "So, what are they good for?"

"Well, it's not really going to get us anything special but it's an honor, a recognition of our hard work." Vanessa said as she tried to explain it. "The goal is to get as many as possible."

"Oh, ok that's awesome." Asta said still grinning as Noelle just sighed at how he was dealing with the news.

"Yup it's a real medal for us real men." Manga said throwing an arm around Asta. "We showed that in Saussy Village."

"And woman." Noelle reminded them.

"For us real men and woman." Magna corrected.

"You make no sense half of the time." Noelle said with a sigh.

"It's most of the time." Akame said helpfully. "Been like that since I joined."

"Hey, I make total sense." Magna said.

"To yourself." Tatsumi said with a grin as Magna growled.

"Star count is also a competition as the Squads aim to see who can get the most in a given year." Vanessa said. "And there's a big celebration when the totals are announced, always a good time with plenty of high-end booze to enjoy."

"It shows what a Squad achieves in a given year." Finral said. "The more stars the be better at your job you are, simple as. It lets the kingdom know which Squads are doing the best in a given year."

"Not really." Tatsumi reminded them. "Akame and I have an extremely high success rate, but we never get stars."

"Of the books wet work that leaves a trail of bodies in its wake is not star worthy." Magna said to them. "Even if they deserve it."

"Er…" Noelle said unsure what to make of that statement as everything being said about the couple seemed to imply that the work they did involved death somehow and Noelle was still unsure if the whole Akame being an assassin before joining the Black Bulls was actually real or not.

"I don't care about stars." Akame said. "We know we are doing the best work and that's all that matters."

"That and we can't have our work recognized." Tatsumi admitted. "It would defeat the purpose of it and tip off those we've not yet brought to justice that we might come for them."

"Alright so they are a really big deal then." Asta said as all he got out of it was that stars were an award given by the Wizard King and they'd gotten one for what they did in Saussy Village. "So cool. Who's leading the count?"

"The Golden Dawn." Vanessa said. "They've been the top for a few years in a row now and they already have 70 this year so they're well on track to break the record they set last year, might even become the first Squad to earn more than 100 in a single year."

"70! That's insane." Asta said his eyes wide at how well Yuno's Squad was doing as he turned to Yami. "What about us Captain? How many do we have? I know that we can't be that far behind the Golden Dawn."

"How many?" Yami said with a smirk as he let go of the star and it floated up to a board filled with black stars on the common room wall and replaced it leaving a blank spot. "Well, we have a record all our own after achieving negative 40 last year, Tatsumi joining prevented us from getting lower as I was aiming for negative 50. We're better this year, we're only at negative 10 at the moment. Finally, an even 80 away from catching Goldie Guts and his Dawn."

"Wait what?" Noelle asked. "How do you even get negative stars?"

"Negative?" Asta asked. "And 80 away?"

"Would be worse, Tatsumi and Akame actually keep collateral damage down when they go on normal missions, so we don't lose stars when they're around but that's often enough to prevent negative stars from accruing." Yami said as Asta freaked out over being so far from Yuno's Squad and Noelle questioned how this even happened and her place here again though after the recent mission she was really warming to the Squad and one of them in particular not that she was anywhere near admitting that to herself. "Helps when Akame's magic is so precise and surgical and Tatsumi's helps protect things. Shame they can't get stars for the good work they do; we'd be up there with the Royals if they did."

"What we do can't be recognized, Akame and I were already used to that." Tatsumi said. "We're just glad that justice can be served on those who deserve it, and that their crimes brought to light."

"True." Yami said as he turned to the Squad and smiled as the whole Squad gathered up as all, the ones not present had appeared during the talk about stars, but Asta and Noelle knew what day it was. "Now, there is one last thing to deal with tonight, payday. Your wages for this month have come in."

As Yami spoke the Squad had lined up in the traditional kneeling fashion in front of him other than Asta and Noelle. Yami then produced the bags that contained their pay, 200,000 yul each, and handed them out to the Squad. Instantly Asta's eyes were stars when he got his bag of coins.

"No way there's so much money here!" Asta exclaimed happily. "I've never seen so much in my life!"

"Thank you, Captain, I needed this." Magna said bowing down to the ground.

"Yeah, thank you Captain Yami, this is going to get me so many tasty treats." Charmy said drooling as her Sheep Cooks appeared behind them and got to work on some more of the boar meat as she was enjoying it as much as Akame had been. "It's going to be so yummy, that chef won't know what hit him."

"Sure, eat up Charmy, we got plenty of boar for a while." Yami said.

"Captain, how about a deal?" Luck asked getting in Yami's face as his hand sparked with lightning. "How much to fight you? Name your price?"

"Not happening." Yami said.

"Now that I have it, I'd like to buy my angelic Marie some clothes." Gauche said his nose bleeding and thrusting the image of his sister in Yami's face. "What do you think would suit her Captain?"

"Like I'd know anything about that." Yami said. "I don't know what little girls like."

That was only partially true as he didn't know what a girl in the Clover Kingdom who didn't grow up as his own sister had back in his homeland liked. They had a very different upbringing that went beyond the cultural differences that existed between his homeland and his adoptive land.

Still, Yami had always had a soft spot for Gauche's sister as she was now at roughly the same age as Ichika had been when he'd left after what their bastard of a father had made her do. He knew he'd done the right thing, that he and Ryuya had made the right call to protect Ichika even if she'd grow up and spend the rest of her life hating the brother she'd once looked up to.

It was all for her sake and that of her sanity that she never learned the truth of that day and that Yami bore it instead as he left his homeland to live in exile wherever he ended up, which turned out to be the Clover Kingdom. That way she could have the life she never could have dreamed if their clan had continued as they were and Ryuya could achieve his goals with her aid as her benefactor.

Yami wished he could see Ryuya again one day, wished that he could learn of whether or not his old friend had succeeded in his lofty goals, he was just like Julius in that sense, but Yami knew that he could never go back, not after what happened that fateful day. It was for the best and here in Clover he'd found another man like Ryuya in Julius, so he was still able to help achieve Ryuya's dream only here it was Julius's dream. It was just a shame that he'd never see his homeland again, or learn of what had become of Ryuya and Ichika, but it was for the best and Yami knew it.

"Alright this will go to a good cause." Tatsumi said with a grin interrupting Yami from his thoughts.

"Yup, the pot will increase for sure." Akame said. "After last month it has to and more will come, they always do."

"Alright, you lot have the day off tomorrow." Yami said. "Don't blow through all your wages in one day because it will be another month before the next payday."

"Time to fit in as many dates as possible." Finral said with a smile.

"So, none." Akame said without any expression.

"Why do you have to cut me like that." Finral complained.

"I can cut you for real if you'd like." Akame said looking at him.

"Tomorrow will be a good day indeed then." Tatsumi said as Finral grumbled at the disrespect he was getting from the only girl in the Squad with a boyfriend though he didn't say anything as he really didn't want Akame to make good on that cut for real statement. "Pits again Akame?"

"You do know how to treat a girl just right." Akame said with a smile at her boyfriend. "And it will be a good workout for the upcoming mission."

"I take it you two are entering and increasing the pot in Kikka tomorrow." Yami said to them.

"Of course." Tatsumi said with a nod as Noelle complained that it was barely pocket change which got to Asta as he'd never had this much money before and how they could buy a decade's worth of pop-potatoes easily. "I expect the group tomorrow to have even more people. They've given up on skill and are trying numbers these days."

"Alright, Vanessa." Yami said looking over to the witch who hadn't left like some of the others had as she was going to invite the rookies to come with her to Kikka tomorrow for their day off as the rookies discussed what pop-potatoes were. "Send a message to our two little peahens to put our usual bets, standard cuts for their services apply."

"Of course Captain, I was going to do the same myself." Vanessa said with a nod before looking at them. "You two better go get some rest for it, we want to be rolling in the coin tomorrow."

"Naturally." Akame said as she and Tatsumi left to plan their day off in Kikka together.

"They sound disgusting." Noelle said as Asta finished describing what pop-potatoes were to her. "I'd never eat something like that."

"Well, they're not at all, they're what I grew up on." Asta said as Vanessa went to a corner to contact the peahens they knew about tomorrow, they would come in handy more than just for the bets given what one of them used to focus her magic. "Everything that Sister Lily cooks with them comes out great, she's a master at making pop-potatoes good."

"And who would that be?" Noelle asked with a side glance at Asta as she felt her cheeks flush and her heart pound a little in her chest in a way that she didn't understand at how Asta had mentioned another woman's name.

"The beautiful woman that I've decided I'm going to one day marry." Asta said with stars in his eyes.

"What?" Noelle spluttered out as she felt a huge surge of a feeling she didn't know and had never felt before towards this Sister Lily person but thankfully the title helped calm those feelings down somewhat not that Noelle knew what was going on with her. "Sister means that she's a woman of the cloth who's sworn herself to the church which means that she can't ever get married. That is one of the vows they take when they join."

"Well, I'll make it work somehow, I know it." Asta said defiantly. "It's all about surpassing my limits."

"Are you insane Dorksta." Noelle said getting annoyed more than she thought she would at that and coming up with a new nickname for Asta to use when he was being an idiot. "You can't marry her."

"Congratulations on your first pay day rookies." Vanessa said as she approached them having sorted out the nice little windfall, she and the Captain would be getting the next day through their intermediaries as they couldn't bet directly. "So, what are you going to spend it on?"

As she spoke, she threw an arm around Asta's shoulders which got him very nervous and made Noelle grumble. Vanessa didn't change her expression but internally she was smirking, she'd seen the reaction Noelle had had when Asta had mentioned marrying that Sister Lily person and as a woman with a crush herself, and a teammate in a relationship who had a love rival that she'd beaten, she knew that look well. It seemed their little Noelle was getting a soft spot for their magicless commoner and one that would only grow, Vanessa was sure of it.

"Nothing special." Noelle said as she calmed down, she didn't really feel threatened by Vanessa not that she knew why she should feel that way in the first place. "It's barely pocket change to me."

"That's royalty for you, and you Asta?" Vanessa asked with a slight frown as she poked his cheek.

"Oh, I'm going to send it back to the church." Asta said. "You know, in Hage where I'm from. It will help out a lot."

"That's what a real man does." Magna said as he sat at the bar that he'd gone to after getting paid to enjoy a drink. "Helps out his family. Tatsumi will be doing that when he's done with what he's doing tomorrow."

"Yeah, I'm pumped about it." Asta said looking to Magna. "Are you doing the same Magna? I figured Tatsumi would though."

"You bet, well kinda at least as Tatsumi has the right idea." Magna said with a grin.

"What do you mean?" Asta asked.

"I'll do it after I've got 100 times more." Magna said as he struck a pose on the chair while Noelle sighed at his stupidity, it seemed he'd learned absolutely nothing after his last gambling failure led to their mission in Saussy Village though in that case it at least turned out well seeing as they were able to save said village. "Go big or go home, that's what a real man does. Tatsumi and I are going to increase our money and then help our villages."

"Only a stupid man does that." Noelle said.

"That applies to Magna but not Tatsumi." Vanessa said. "What Tatsumi does to increase his coin is something he's actually good at."

"What did you say, witch?" Magna roared.

"Shut it you virgin street punk." Vanessa said.

"I'm not a virgin street punk." Magna yelled with emphasis on the word virgin, but Vanessa ignored them as she turned to the rookies.

"Magna will blow it, but Tatsumi will increase his amount." Vanessa said. "Then he'll take Akame out on a nice date, she'll pick up the tab for the meat with her own winnings as that's a tab few can cover, and then he'll send a good portion of it back home. He does it right and his village is really prospering because of him."

"What do you mean?" Asta asked.

"You'll see tomorrow." Vanessa said. "I'll show you. It's good to help out back home but don't send it all, you should keep a little to use on yourself."

"Ok I guess I can do that." Asta said looking at the coin bag in his hand. "But I don't actually know how to spend a little on myself."

"That's easy, we'll go shopping in the Castle Town of Kikka tomorrow, I'll show you the ropes there." Vanessa said. "It will be so much fun and there's going to be some good entertainment to enjoy as well, providing that we time it right."

"Shopping?" Both Asta and Noelle asked confused.

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of you." Vanessa said with a wink. "I did that for Akame, well our first attempt got interrupted but I got her through it in the end, and Tatsumi with Akame when he joined as well. I know all the good date spots for when you need them, better than Finral does, as well as where to get the best deals and items. Stick with me and you won't have an issue."

"Er sure." Asta said.

"Fine, whatever." Noelle said.

"Good now head to bed, it's going to be a busy day tomorrow and you'll need to enjoy it." Vanessa said before she got serious. "Because after that you have a special mission with Akame and Tatsumi and those are something you're going to want to be mentally prepared for."

That was a bit ominous, but Asta and Noelle figured that they'd learn more about that in time. First though they would be going to Kikka, and they were actually looking forward to it, so they retired for the night, Asta had a letter to write home and send part of his wages back, and then it was time to enjoy their day off in Kikka.

Initially I had planned on making this one whole chapter for the day off but it's pretty much two events, the debrief and pay followed by the trip to Kikka the next day so I split it up into two chapters and that works better as there is a clear break between events otherwise the draft alone would have been around 13k words so a long chapter when all is said and done so it's easier as two chapters. Next up is the day in Kikka for Asta and Noelle with some extra things thrown in to account for what Akame and Tatsumi do on their days off, other than cute dates, and then it is onto their mission so there is plenty to look forward to. That is all I have for this chapter, however, so I will leave it off here. If you like my story then please follow, favorite, review, PM, etc. it is all appreciated and helps me get better and stay motivated to keep producing more content and any questions asked I will do my best to answer both privately and at the start of the next chapter. Until next time.

Stringdog