Investing in My Crippled Wife: Every Return Makes Me Stronger

The middle-aged man closed the floating holographic document with a brief wave of his hand and stood up from behind the massive mahogany desk. Despite his high rank, he didn’t project an overbearing pressure; his movements were smooth, deliberate, and perfectly composed.

Coming around the desk, he extended a hand toward the young hunter, a polite, welcoming smile touching his lips. ”Hunter Soren, it is a pleasure to meet you.”

Soren recovered from his internal surprise within a fraction of a second, his expression remaining perfectly calm and natural. He reached out, firmly shaking the man’s hand.

”No, the pleasure is all mine, Mr...” Soren let his voice trail off slightly, perfectly executing the act of a low-ranking hunter meeting a high-level bureau official for the first time.

”Craig. Craig Marron,” the man supplied smoothly, his sharp eyes evaluating Soren with a look of quiet interest.

”Right, Mr. Craig.” Soren nodded in appreciation.

”Please, have a seat,” Craig said, gesturing toward the comfortable leather armchairs positioned in front of his desk. He turned his attention toward the administrator. ”Administrator Veyra, would you mind telling the secretary to bring us some coffee or tea?”

”Of course, Director,” Veyra replied with a professional nod, turning back toward the double doors to convey the request.

While she stepped out of the office for a brief moment, an easy silence settled between the two men. Craig walked back over to his side of the desk, leaning against the edge in a relaxed posture.

”You’ve been making quite a name for yourself recently, Hunter Soren,” Craig remarked conversationally, his tone casual yet attentive. ”An E-rank solo hunter managing to handle complex situations efficiently is a rare sight in Kalmira.”

”I simply do my best to complete my assignments safely, Mr. Craig,” Soren replied smoothly, keeping his posture relaxed. ”Meticulous preparation usually saves a lot of trouble.”

Craig let out a soft chuckle. ”A wise philosophy. Too many young hunters rely entirely on brute strength and realize their mistake far too late.”

The door clicked open again, and Veyra returned, sliding effortlessly back into her position beside the desk. The brief moment of casual small talk concluded instantly, shifting back into a focused, professional atmosphere.

”Now, down to business,” Craig said, straightening up and looking directly at Soren. ”I am sure you have already been notified, but our research team finished analyzing the monolith ahead of schedule. We have successfully determined its primary effects and exact grade. The good news is that the anomaly is completely stable and poses absolutely no threat to the city or people. However, because of its unique nature, I would still like to negotiate its official ownership and rights with you.”

Soren nodded slowly. ”What exactly is it that you want to discuss regarding the ownership?”

”Well, first let me explain what we discovered about its identity and capabilities,” Craig explained, folding his arms. ”Once we establish that, we can move on to the specific proposal we prepared for you.”

”I am ready to listen,” Soren replied, keeping his expression neutral.

”Good. Administrator Veyra, show him the documents.”

Veyra nodded, pulling out a sleek, high-grade data tablet and handing it over to Soren.

Soren took the device and tapped the screen, scrolling through the comprehensive breakdown.

As he read the bureau’s analytical findings, he noted how closely they aligned with what his Investor’s Insight had originally revealed to him.

The report classified the monolith as a unique utility artifact. Its primary function is to draw raw, unfiltered energy directly from the surrounding atmosphere and compress it into a highly refined state. By doing so, it generates a localized high-density mana zone, effectively tripling the cultivation speed of anyone training within its active radius. The report also listed a few minor secondary effects, such as stabilizing ambient mana fluctuations and gently cleansing impurities from the immediate air supply.

After reviewing the full technical readout, Soren powered down the screen, handed the tablet back to Veyra, and turned his attention back to the director.

”Oh? You don’t seem particularly surprised by the findings,” Craig observed, a small, knowing smile playing on his lips as he noticed the young hunter’s lack of a dramatic reaction.

Soren, already anticipating the question, gave a casual shrug. ”Well, I already had my doubts and theories about its nature after being in close contact with it. Seeing your report simply confirmed those initial suspicions, though I actually managed to learn a few more technical details than I originally anticipated. Your research team truly did an exceptional job.”

”Yeah, they did,” Craig said, a genuine smile breaking through his professional demeanor. ”Those fools actually managed to do something useful for once.”

He walked back around his desk and took his seat, leaning forward slightly as the mood in the room grew serious. ”Anyway, should we get to the main topic now?”

”Mm,” Soren nodded, settling back into his chair.

”Good. Then here is our offer,” Craig began, tapping a finger on the desk to emphasize his words. ”The bureau would like to buy the full ownership of the monolith from you. In exchange, we will provide you with—”

”No,” Soren interrupted decisively, his voice cutting through the director’s sentence with absolute finality. ”I won’t sell it.”

Craig paused, his extended hand freezing mid-air. The office went incredibly quiet for a moment.

”Well...” Craig breathed out, a look of unexpected amusement flashing across his sharp features as he lowered his hand. ”That was quite a blunt rejection.”

”I apologize for that, Mr. Craig,” Soren said, maintaining his polite composure despite the decisive refusal.

Craig let out a low chuckle, leaning back in his leather chair. ”You certainly don’t look like you do, Hunter Soren.”

Soren chose to remain silent, offering no verbal defense as a slight wave of inward embarrassment washed over him. He knew he had broken professional etiquette, but protecting the monolith was a boundary he couldn’t afford to compromise on.

”Well, we expected this outcome anyway,” Craig continued smoothly, completely unbothered by the rejection. ”I simply asked in case you would happen to agree and save us a bit of paperwork. Since that is out of the question, let me give you our real offer.”