Investing In My Four Crippled Yandere Wives Get 1000x Returns
Chapter 13|Prove Them Wrong

Chapter 13: 13|Prove Them Wrong

The demonstration arena sat beneath the Association headquarters, a massive underground facility designed to simulate dungeon conditions for exactly this kind of formal evaluation — reconfigurable terrain, controlled beast summons calibrated to specific rank thresholds, and an elevated observation gallery where the oversight committee now sat, a dozen stern faces peering down at the five of them gathered on the arena floor.

Edward sat among them, technically present in his capacity as junior committee member, golden armor gleaming under the arena lights, an expression of carefully practiced boredom failing to fully mask the tension in his jaw.

"For the record," Halden’s voice carried clearly through the arena’s speaker system, standing at the podium beside the gallery rather than seated among the committee, "this demonstration serves to assess whether Party Fallen Crown, registered under Leader Allen Veton, maintains sufficient combat readiness and safety protocols to retain unrestricted access to standard rift assignments, notwithstanding members’ physical conditions." His gaze flicked briefly, meaningfully, toward Edward. "The committee will observe a live D-rank simulation. Standard evaluation criteria apply equally, regardless of any member’s disability status."

A murmur rippled through the gallery. Allen felt Myria’s wheelchair settle beside him, tablet already displaying the formation plan they’d refined over the past three days.

"Ready?" she asked quietly.

"Ready," Allen confirmed, glancing around at the others — Irene rolling her shoulders, flames already flickering faintly at her fingertips in restless anticipation, Everlyn’s palms pressed lightly against the arena floor as if already sensing the terrain beneath them, Vivian standing just outside the primary combat zone as agreed, head tilted, listening intently despite the restriction still weighing visibly on her.

The simulation began without warning — a burst of light at the arena’s center resolving into a pack of Ironback Boars, D-rank constructs bristling with jagged plating, considerably tougher than anything Allen had faced in his first real dungeon.

He didn’t hesitate. He drew two darts in quick succession, Precision Throw carrying them true even as the boars charged, each strike finding the narrow gaps between armored plates with a consistency that drew a visible ripple of surprise through the watching committee. Irene’s flames roared to life beside him, catching the flank of the charging pack, forcing them to scatter and expose weaker angles. Everlyn’s roots surged up from the arena floor, snaring two boars mid-charge, buying Allen the crucial half-second he needed to finish them off with brutal, efficient throws.

The fight lasted less than four minutes.

By the time the last construct dissolved into fading light, the arena had gone quiet, several committee members exchanging startled, reassessing glances.

"Impressive," Halden said, voice carrying easily over the murmurs, though the faint, satisfied edge to his tone suggested this outcome hadn’t surprised him nearly as much as the rest of the gallery. "Second phase. Simulated ambush scenario, testing coordination under compromised visibility."

The lights dimmed sharply, plunging the arena into near-total darkness — and this time, it was Vivian who moved.

She stepped into the darkness without hesitation, cane discarded, moving with fluid, unerring precision as three shadow-wolf constructs materialized around the party, invisible to normal sight but utterly unable to hide from ears that had spent eight years learning to hunt without eyes at all.

She moved like water, like something between a dance and a killing stroke, striking each construct with brutal, economical precision before they’d even finished materializing, her blindness rendered entirely irrelevant in a fight built on darkness and sound rather than sight.

The lights snapped back on to reveal Vivian standing calmly amid three dissolving constructs, not a hair out of place, expression as composed as ever save for the faint, satisfied curl of her lips.

The gallery had gone dead silent.

Allen glanced up toward Edward, and found his older brother’s carefully practiced boredom entirely gone, replaced by something tight and furious behind his golden lashes.

"Final phase," Halden announced, unable to fully hide the note of approval in his voice now. "Endurance and support evaluation."

This time it was Myria who took center stage, wheeling forward with calm, deliberate precision as a wave of low-rank frost constructs materialized around the arena’s perimeter, testing the party’s ability to handle sustained, prolonged engagement. She didn’t move from her position — didn’t need to. Her hands rose, and the air around the arena’s edge crystallized instantly, ice spreading in intricate, controlled patterns that locked half the incoming constructs in place before they’d taken three steps, freeing Allen, Irene, and Everlyn to methodically dismantle the rest with the practiced efficiency of a team that had spent every day of the past three weeks learning exactly how each other moved.

When the final construct dissolved, the arena fell into a silence that stretched long enough to feel deliberate — the entire oversight committee visibly reassessing everything they thought they’d known about the five people standing on the arena floor.

Halden let the silence linger just long enough before speaking again. "I believe," he said, voice carrying clearly through the gallery, "that Party Fallen Crown has more than adequately demonstrated combat readiness, coordination, and safety protocol compliance, disability status notwithstanding." His gaze swept pointedly across the committee. "Do I hear any continued objection to reinstating unrestricted rift access?"

Silence answered him. Even the administrator who’d originally signed the restriction order shifted uncomfortably in his seat, clearly unwilling to be the lone voice defending a now thoroughly disproven position.

"Then the restriction is lifted, effective immediately," Halden said, satisfaction evident in his tone now. "My apologies for the inconvenience this caused, Party Leader Veton. I trust it won’t happen again."

His gaze lingered, pointed and unmistakable, on Edward as he said it.

Edward said nothing, jaw tight, golden eyes burning with barely restrained fury as he watched Allen and his wives descend from the arena floor to a smattering of surprised, genuinely impressed applause from several committee members.

Allen caught his brother’s gaze on the way out, and for once, didn’t bother hiding the small, satisfied smile tugging at his own mouth.

’Round one,’ he thought. ’Goes to us.’

[Investment Detected: Milestone — "Overcame direct adversarial sabotage through unified party effort."]

[Sincerity: High. Emotional Impact: Very High.]

[Reward Generated: +400 Investment Points.]

[Multiplier Applied: x1 → Total Reward: 400 Investment Points.]

[Total Investment Points: 3,120]

Outside the arena, once the committee had dispersed, Irene threw an arm around Allen’s shoulder, grinning wide enough to split her face. "Did you SEE his stupid face? I could just about hear his ego cracking from across the room!"

"You can’t hear anything," Vivian pointed out dryly, falling into step beside them.

"I could hear THAT," Irene shot back, undeterred, and the whole group dissolved into something that, for the first time since Hegeville, felt entirely, uncomplicatedly like laughter shared between people who trusted each other completely.