Chapter 142
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 141
Chapter Title: Private Jet to the Margie Fortress
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Money isn't everything, but nothing else comes close.
A cool 150 million credits was too massive a sum to just brush off and turn down.
The endless parade of zeros made his head spin in a way that cold hard cash never could.
But why?
Jin lifted his gaze, fixed on his terminal.
Why give this money to me?
Didn't they need a technician?
His blank expression said the rest.
Of course, if you wanted to get technical, Jin was a technician.
The problem was that his expertise was specialized in brawling.
Unless Eternal East production required a Darth Choke, anyway.
Or could it be... they needed a human battery?
Pikachu-style infinite power?
"That's not it."
"Hm?"
"You look like you're thinking something weird."
Katrina continued.
"I'm not hiring you because of the artifact."
"Then what?"
"Well..."
Jin crossed his arms as her words trailed off like taffy.
It was a pretty serious look, as if to say he'd decide whether to take the job based on her answer.
But that was just for show.
His mind was elsewhere entirely.
Whoa. 150 million.
How should I spend it?
First, change the Manticore's engine oil and air filter...
Right, tires! Gotta replace those too.
The shower pressure's been weak lately—fix that.
What else? Oh yeah, winter blanket. Gotta buy one.
And hey, round up all my buddies for an end-of-year party at Rum Pump Pump? They'd love that.
His thoughts chained together in excessively modest—but utterly earnest—fashion for someone about to pocket over 100 million credits.
That was when Katrina finally broke the long silence.
Her answer?
"...I can't tell you. Not yet."
"Uh?"
"Don't get the wrong idea. It's not anything weird... or is it? Anyway, I swear it's not dangerous."
Jin tilted his head.
His face, snapped from his daydream, took on a suspicious cast.
"Aren't you swearing a bit much? Tsk. This is shady... What exactly are you asking me to do?"
"Sh-shady? I'm Katrina. Katrina Margie. What reason would I have to trick you?"
"Oh, sure."
This was why rich kids were the worst.
Acting like their name was some ironclad guarantee.
Ting. Tsk tsk tsk.
True to form as a young fogey, Jin clicked his tongue first.
But only for a moment.
"So, basically, you want me to tag along?"
"Exactly."
Katrina nodded emphatically at Jin's deliberate emphasis on "tag along," her collar popped fashionably to half-hide her government badge as she added,
"That's all."
"Hm."
Jin scratched his cheek.
No helping it, then.
Hell, it might even be for the best.
Truth be told, he hadn't been keen on sending just Brof and Bagmar off alone.
He wasn't sure they'd even get paid without him there, and honestly... he was a little worried.
A porn-loving geezer with hip implants and a dwarf who'd have to pretend to be a heavily modded android for a while?
Hmm. Better if I go too.
Absolutely not because of the 150 million.
I'd have tagged along anyway if I could.
Yeah. For real.
"Alright. I'll come along then."
Katrina let out a faint sigh at his ready(?) agreement.
[Took the job. Gonna be out of Downtown for a bit. Don't progress the game without me—wait up.]
Jin sent the message to the Jeki-Jenny siblings, pocketed his terminal, and added,
"So, when do we leave?"
How much money do these people have?
That was Jin's thought as he boarded the AI-exclusive jet.
Yeah. A private jet.
A full-on private jet.
Eanna had one before, and now Katrina too.
Seemed like owning a private jet wasn't anything special for them.
This one even had a bedroom.
Of course, being a one-person space, Jin had only admired it from afar.
"See you later."
With that, Katrina vanished into the bedroom.
The door whirred shut, leaving three people behind.
Jin, Brof, and Bagmar.
"......"
Unlike the two technicians standing awkwardly in the unfamiliar space, Jin rummaged through shelves and the fridge like he owned the place, grabbing snacks.
When in Rome, eat Roman food, right?
Law? Oh yeah, Roman law. Anyway.
How could he resist in-flight meals?
The rare delicacy you woke up for even in your sleep.
And so, Jin heated up some oven food, set it out, and started munching away.
"...What kind of eating habits are those?"
"How should I know."
Brof chuckled dryly to himself, and Jin replied,
Want a bite?
No thanks. Pass.
It's a seven-hour flight.
I know.
Want me to heat one up now? Salmon? Omelet?
Hmm. Omelet, then...
And just like that, Brof joined the in-flight meal expedition.
"Man. Renewed the shop not long ago, and now a long business trip."
"Worried?"
"Nah. Wonder and Sylvia can handle it."
Brof scooped up some omelet and glanced sideways.
There sat a brass dwarf plastered to the window.
"Cloey..."
He murmured his girlfriend's name wistfully.
"Shoulda brought Cloey?"
"Nah, no. He's gotta pretend to be an android as is—adding Cloey would just raise suspicions. Wonder said they're implanting AI into her soon anyway."
"It's what she wanted."
Brof glanced again, eyeing Bagmar's head and speaking up.
"Surprising, though. Didn't expect Margie's daughter to bring you along."
"Me neither."
"What reason'd she give?"
"Dunno. Said she'd tell me later."
Jin shoveled mashed potatoes into his mouth.
Mm. Tasty as ever.
With a satisfied look, he added,
"Just think of it as bodyguard duty for the two of them. Whatever."
"Not bad for a Level 5 Solo's protection."
Brof smirked and resumed eating.
"So..."
Bagmar had sidled up next to them and asked,
"We're headed to Margie territory?"
"Yeah."
"The Seven Families..."
Bagmar's eyelids drooped slightly.
His narrowed gaze turned to the sealed bedroom door.
"To think they've kept their lineage alive all this time."
Jin shrugged at the murmur.
Bagmar, whose self had awakened just decades ago, knew nothing of the surface world—but every so often, certain keywords from the Age of Light and Roses would draw out those ancient mutterings like an old man reminiscing.
Not so strange, considering his soul was a fragment of Apophis.
Likely, tangled experiences from thousands of dwarves surfaced in his mind like faint tattoos.
So Jin tossed out a casual question.
"Hey, do you remember what Eternal East artifact is, by any chance?"
Bagmar paused, choosing his words, eyes narrowed as if dredging up memories.
Brof's gaze naturally shifted to the dwarf too.
The true nature of Eternal East was a huge interest for him as well.
Forty years ago, the finest arms manufacturers had collaborated on Eternal East—a staff-shaped artifact, they said.
To create gear that would share the curse of mana ice eating away at the caster's body over time, the technicians had dared to engrave mana circuits into equipment—a theoretical impossibility back then.
A staff form was most advantageous for stable circuit engraving.
The result was a success.
The problem? The family head of that era snapped the staff in half upon receiving it.
Rumor had it one participating technician said:
How could the head even grasp the design's implications, and by what standard judge our work?
Brof had always wondered about that.
Implications in the world's most intuitive blueprint?
What the hell?
That must've been when it started.
The blood boiling at the mere thought of Eternal East.
Can I do it?
Replicating the legendary artifact.
A grand dream any technician harbored once...
"Gah!"
Brof snapped to.
If he heard even a trivial detail from Bagmar now, it might plant an irreversible bias in his thinking.
Cheat key?
Me? Luger?
Impossible!
He waved his hands frantically.
"D-don't say it!"
Bagmar opened his mouth at the same time.
"No clue?"
"......? You don't know?"
"C'mon, Brof. I'm a dwarf, sure, but I don't remember every little thing. Sometimes unfamiliar memories pop up out of nowhere, though."
Bagmar shrugged nonchalantly and returned to his window seat.
Brof stared at the dwarf in a daze.
Jin snickered at Brof.
What a funny old man.
This trip won't be boring.
With that, he got up to hunt for more in-flight meals.
Just as Anarion had hosted the rotations, the Margie family—as befitting one of the great Seven Families—had coiled itself in the heart of Lost City: the Primus Zone.
"Coiled" was the apt word.
Anyone would think the same.
Seeing that massive castle at the center of a frozen lake.
"Whoa. Insane..."
Jin gawked at the view outside the window. Katrina, appearing beside him, lifted her chin slightly.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
Her haughty air made him want to retort with some childish nuh-uh, not pretty,
but his body was honest, unlike his contrarian mind.
"Whoa—"
He kept marveling.
Gray stone walls straight out of the medieval era, but with skyscrapers inside? Four of them, no less, towering straight up.
Medieval walls with skyscrapers.
A combo that shouldn't mesh, yet somehow looked mysteriously packaged—likely thanks to their position in the lake's center.
Frozen solid, to boot. Nailed it.
Approved!
Jin hung a completely subjective medal on House Margie.
The transport glided over the walls and softly landed in a vast open space.
"Shall we?"
Katrina stepped out the opened door, down the automatically extending stairs.
"Don't forget. You're Brof's android from now on. Assistant and technician made by Brof, who always admired dwarves."
Bagmar's brow twitched at Jin's ventriloquism.
"......Damn it."
Grumbling irritably, he exited the transport.
Still, two months of socialization had done some good.
He wasn't screaming Why do I have to pretend to be a machine? Hate it!
What progress.
Cheers to Wonder for schooling the hyperactive dwarf on surface reality!
Clapping alone, Jin stepped down.
What met his eyes:
A group welcoming Katrina.
The eldest, a silver-haired gentleman, bowed before her.
"You've arrived."
Katrina nodded lightly. No awkwardness in her reception.
Showing true heir poise, she gestured to her group with a fingertip.
"These are the guests I mentioned. Mother's guests too, so take care of them."
"Of course."
The old man's gaze skimmed Brof and Bagmar, landing on Jin.
"Then, that gentleman is..."
"How's Father?"
Jin, unflinching from the wrinkled eyes, quirked a brow at Katrina.
Hey, didn't she just dodge?
How'd she introduce me?
Ignoring Katrina's back, Jin stared hard at the old man.
Hint, hint, gramps.
But the man's attention had returned to the heir.
"No different from usual."
"...I see."
Katrina murmured softly, then spoke again.
"It's late today, so I'll visit Father tomorrow. Mother too."
"Very well."
"See you tomorrow. Rest well tonight."
Like on the jet, she left with curt words.
The old man and others followed.
Jin blankly watched Katrina recede when an unfamiliar voice reached his ear.
"Please follow me, the three of you."
A woman appeared with a formal smile and led the way.
The trio exchanged glances and hurried to match her pace.
A landscape like a small city.
Crossing the interior where four towering buildings claimed east, west, south, north.
Jin felt cold stares prickling his skin.
Beyond mere vigilance.
Edging into outright hostility.
People from the factions Katrina mentioned?
He could stare them down, but no need for a pissing contest.
Just the first day, after all.
No point stirring trouble.
Honestly,
their infighting had zero to do with him.
And so, to the guest quarters!
A luxurious suite rivaling a five-star hotel. Jin flopped onto the king-size bed, flailing his limbs.
You really had to splurge on beds and blankets.
His eyes were already drooping sweetly.
No counting sheep tonight.
That was when Jin happily surrendered to encroaching sleep.
Knock knock knock.
The rapping jolted him. Still lying down, he slapped his forehead.
"Ugh."
Right when he was about to drift off. Perfect timing.
Sighing inevitably, he sat up and called to the door knocking again.
"Who is it?"
"Could you open the door?"
"Pardon?"
Shouldn't you say who you are first?
Swallowing his rising gripe, Jin strode to the door and turned the knob, pushing it open.
A stranger's face beamed through the crack.
"Ah. Mind if I come in?"
"Uh? No. Who are you? Seriously."
"Then, pardon the intrusion."
"Wait. Hold on. Huh?"
No chance to stop him—the man slipped inside.
Regaining his wits, Jin blinked at the guy now facing him.
Crazy?
A very rational judgment. The man still wore a faint smile.
Early thirties, maybe.
His starkly bleached white hair was striking. He thrust out a hand.
"Nice to meet you!"
In the bewildering situation, Jin shook it reflexively—and flinched.
What the—?
Ice-cold chill through his skin. Jin checked the man's face again.
The handsome face—handsome didn't do it justice—curved into a gentle smile.
"You're the one who's to be my daughter's mate, I hear."