Chapter 93: Labor of Love

Words : 1224 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

Chapter 93: Labor of Love This was the first time everyone watched Luca update the shop, and they felt a giant pang of guilt. A labor of love, Ollie thought this as he learned how Luca had to do it all, from harvesting, packing, and unloading. All these people got to eat something that his brother worked too hard to prepare. And they had the gall to complain?! How could they want more stock when Luca had to do all of it by himself? But actually, it wasn’t just Luca. If only the people of the Empire knew how several sons of the elite were packing and repacking fruits into small containers. Someone out there would even be able to eat food prepared by the Imperial Crown Prince. This time, it was a fruit cup. The cups were dainty, but they contained chopped apples, something called mandarin orange, strawberry slices, and adorable blueberries. Ollie sounded knowledgeable and cultured now, but he knew only apples and oranges. He was used to much larger oranges, albeit drier and too artificially sweet. On the other hand, as expected of an adjutant, Kyle suggested bringing smart boards next time so that no one would have to keep referring to their terminals for the counts. Meanwhile, Jax looked at each cup with relish. As if each one was a child that he was ready to send off to the world. It was gratifying to work on something like this. Although he usually really enjoyed fighting, who knew putting cut fruits into small containers would be this satisfying? Xavier watched everyone’s meticulous effort and saw how Luca seemed to enjoy himself. Last time, there were 500 cut fruits, and he couldn’t imagine how long and how much effort Luca had to spend preparing everything. But Luca didn’t mind. As someone from a less technologically advanced world, he was used to working with his hands. It was just that the rest of them had been using robots for nearly everything! In fact, Luca would be shocked by how bare the Academy was compared to all the mechanized houses outside. The goal was to keep it as simple as possible. This would avoid introducing the students and future soldiers to a life of luxury and convenience that they wouldn’t have once on the battlefield. And Luca was used to this; in fact, his life was so convenient that he didn’t think it could get better! But eventually, he would be proven wrong. Maybe, just not right now. For now, they toiled, ensuring that the slicer was in order as the rest of the items were being packed. This time around, there were 3,000 cups. It sounded like a lot, but the cups were really tiny for these hulking figures. But no one would complain or should complain (unless they have a death wish) because every little piece packed a punch of spiritual energy. Xavier figured that bite-size pieces would be ideal for sharing their spoils. Videos of people further cutting up their purchases were all over Star Net, just so they could share them with their family and friends. Although the fruit cups were small, the number of tiny fruits in them meant that several more people were likely to benefit from them. Also, any naysayer could shut it until they could even discuss what a strawberry was. But just as they were about to finish preparing, Luca asked if they wanted to make a few more for the military. He was worried they would suffer if they could not buy this round and wanted some backup. The three guys stopped their work, hands shaking a bit as Luca looked at them with his big golden eyes like he did not just drop the winning lottery numbers. "You’re saying you want to make fruit cups for the military?" Xavier asked, stunned at the sudden offer. He figured they would just contend like regular citizens until they could broker a proper deal with the military, but Luca remembered them. "Yes, we still have a few fruits left over from what we initially allotted, so we can probably squeeze in a few more!" Luca grinned like the saint that he probably once was. Kyle figured he was going to have to imprint this in his mind as a way to cleanse evil. This was what a kind boss would look like. Jax obviously thought that life was about to get easier with someone so nice around! Now, all they needed to do was to ensure that their new saint could be protected from their sardonic captain’s influence. Ollie looked at everything they had prepared and vowed to milk all the rich people for money once the auctions started. Luca was practically starting a charity here that was sponsored by Xavier, but he couldn’t accept such a fate for his brother. The masses needed their fill as much as the next rich person, but Ollie would not blink at taking in as much money as he could to compensate for all these goods. Luca left the distribution of the military goods to the three guys, who now had to figure out how to lie through their teeth. They knew that most people in the military were good and upstanding guys, but this was not their secret to tell, and in the face of such temptation, it might be impossible to resist. "Captain, how are we going to deal with this? The store has purchase limits, and we can’t exactly claim that we magically got this many." Kyle was right. They set purchase limits at one per person because the goal was to reach as many people as possible. "We’re telling no one about this." "Captain, what about telling them we made a bulk advance order? Like we sent the store a message, not expecting a response, but miraculously got a chance to buy." Jax shrugged as he thought about a simple way that could easily be explained. Right. That could work, and he could even pay the chipmunk like this. After leaving the space, the three approached Luca, saying it would be best to create an online transaction to legitimize their claim. Such a thing was luckily possible, and Luca was surprised to see a deposit of 30 million in his account for 500 fruit cups! "Huh?!" The little money grubber was happy but, at the same time, felt very guilty about receiving money in return for helping those in need! He really wanted to just give those out, since he had seen how the military worked hard for the Empire. "I don’t think you need to pay me like this for the military’s share! This is too much. Even just the cost of packaging would be good enough!" Luca thought so after remembering all his crimes and figured this was not enough repayment for the mecha and the mine! "Don’t fret too much about this. It’s kept within the family, so there’s not a single loss." "Huh?" Luca wasn’t sure about what Xavier meant, but he already moved away before he could even ask. But over to the side was Kyle, who overheard the short conversation. He was probably having a mini-heart attack. Then he saw Luca’s fingers as he took off his gloves. Yeah, no. This was a full-blown heart attack.

Chapter 93: Labor of Love

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