Desperate Hearts Come Cheap - 2
"It was a more serious problem than I thought."
Wi Sunna bit her lip hard.
"It's an individual. Hard to believe, but... an individual capable of all that."
"Is that even possible?"
The workshop was too massive an organization to attribute to a single 'individual.'
"To make artifacts, you have to gather special materials from dungeons, process them, and craft finished products..."
"Exactly. That's why it makes even less sense."
An individual capable of producing over a hundred artifacts, not just one or two. Even if that pistol was nothing special, it wasn't someone to take lightly.
"Lee Seoyeonn called the man directly to get his permission. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I probably wouldn't have believed it."
Disassembling and inspecting artifacts owned by a major guild wasn't all that remarkable, truthfully. It was illegal, of course, but they had the power to brush off such illegality without consequence.
Yet Lee Seoyeonn had sought permission personally. If he were affiliated with her guild or the associated workshop, she wouldn't have needed to.
"That call itself might have been a warning. Sharing something so trivial at this timing."
"A warning to whom?"
"Us. It could have been her way of letting us know he's far more formidable than we imagined."
Lee Seoyeonn was the guild master. Given her intelligence network and connections, it wouldn't be surprising if she knew 'Jeong Isu was summoned to the Academy today.'
And fully aware that all her calls could be 'casually' wiretapped, she'd emphasized that she could resolve the issue with her influence.
"Even if it causes 'some friction' with the Academy, protecting his convenience matters more to her... That's the message she sent us."
Of course, nothing had happened yet. Jeong Isu had understood the Academy's position and raised no objections to changing the rules.
"What he said fits too. Thanking us for calling him right after the exam ended... Which can be read as a hint that summoning him now could lead to trouble."
It might even have been a threat.
"Anyway, I'll handle it from here. You don't need to worry."
Too many variables. For now, confirming he was more extraordinary than expected—and that nothing went wrong today—was enough.
"Later... we should have a meal together sometime."
Wi Sunna let out a deep sigh.
"No issues there, right?"
"Yes, yes! Thanks to the supplies you sent, everything's fine! We're always so grateful!"
I marveled anew at Lisa's competence as we continued our usual pleasant conversation.
Water was a resource. With near-infinite water, expanding influence in [Wasteland 2] was straightforward.
But securing and managing it was another matter entirely. Vast resources attract covetous eyes.
Slack off even briefly on 'bolstering forces with those resources,' or let the balance slip, and disaster could strike anytime.
Lisa handled all of it flawlessly.
"Around here, the Gremlin Pistol has become a sort of currency. It's inadvertently created jobs."
"Not bad at all."
I just received the Gremlin Pistols they offered, but for them, it meant battling gremlins, collecting pistols, and sorting the usable ones—a labor-intensive process.
In peacetime, wasting labor on such pointless work would be a loss, but trading it for water made it a win.
That 'reserve force ready for emergencies' bolstered the settlement's safety even more.
"Guess I can't refuse the pistols anymore."
"D-does that mean you don't need them anymore?"
"We've got some circumstances here too. But don't worry—I'll keep the water coming steadily."
"No, actually, we're glad. It means we can offer a new gift in return."
"A new gift?"
"Yes. I doubt it'll mean much to someone who sends water so casually, but... we prepared this."
She showed me chunks of ore packed into a crude steel box. Yellowish glow, oddly rough-looking.
"Lumikite?"
"You knew, of course. One of our allied settlements with the Rangers has a Lumikite mine."
This was a rare metal in [Wasteland 2]. Players needed it to add options to weapons or gear.
...Hold on. In my world, this is—
I trembled slightly with excitement.
'Artifact crafting material?'
"I knew you'd like it!"
"Yeah... thank you so much. Must've been hard to obtain."
I hadn't thought of Lumikite for two reasons.
'It's not something you can just gather in this quantity casually.'
Lumikite was precious. In this world, special guns or protective gear were as valuable as life itself.
There was a risk of junk options, but discarding dozens or hundreds of trash items for a gun with accuracy, range, or firepower boosts could turn the tide of battle single-handedly.
"For our benefactor, it's worth no sacrifice."
"...The settlement's okay?"
"We took down all the raiders threatening us. We'll be fine for a while. They value water over minerals like this."
Gathering this much Lumikite without a mine would require abandoning either safety or growth. For me, stable trading was pure profit—I hadn't considered it.
'But in [Wasteland 2]...'
This world had severe resource imbalances even within dimensions. Some places overflowed with food, others wool, oil, gunpowder.
Only desert-crossing merchants could balance it, inevitably burning their most precious resource: water.
'So...'
Rare, but settlements rich in 'valuable Lumikite' made sense. Water was the only universally scarce resource here.
"You don't need to give me all of it. I need to verify if this is what I require."
Second reason: uncertainty if Lumikite would be useful.
'Random options. Processing methods vary...'
Earth's standards were high. Calling a 'Gremlin Pistol' an artifact was laughable.
'And where to apply Lumikite isn't straightforward...'
In [Wasteland 2], people enhanced ordinary guns or coats. Mass-produced, low-value items.
But a hunter using 'Lumikite-infused' gear would equip swords, staves, or special artifacts—already mana-infused valuables.
'Still, worth a shot.'
I had ample Lumikite. Ignoring it would be a waste.
"I'll gladly accept."
"Yes!"
Beaming for some reason, Lisa sent the items. I gazed at the Lumikite ore now before me.
Rough, yet brimming with clear mystery.
"N-no way!"
"The principal's already decided, so it's not changing. Besides, your 'oppa' agreed."
"Th-this is tyranny by those in power! I'll protest!"
"When you say it, it doesn't sound like a joke, so tone it down, okay?"
"Doesn't sound like a joke? I'm serious! I'll make picket signs and everything!"
Yuha thrashed about, unable to accept the bolt-from-the-blue news.
'It's stuff oppa's selling...'
The Academy had banned pistols below a certain caliber for expulsion exams.
Everyone knew. The pistols available through Roje—hot topic underground—were now forbidden.
'O-oppa's ruined? If he prepped a ton for this...'
Yuha didn't know exactly how those pistols reached him.
'Even cheap ones cost over 800,000 won to produce. If oppa has hundreds stockpiled at home...!'
One person's life could be ruined. At least, that's what Yuha thought.
'E-even outside exams, I need to make sure oppa can sell them. Somehow—'
Isu himself saw it as no big deal, but oblivious Yuha trembled.
"And you know about the group field training next, right? Prep thoroughly, no dangerous mishaps."
'Group field training?'
Yuha's eyes widened.
The Academy emphasized practical training far more than other schools. It trained hunters for the front lines—they had to temper in real combat.
Group field training mobilized many cadets into weak gates to hunt monsters together.
'...Can I use it in real combat?'
She had a theoretical basis ready. Problem was, it ignored realism—just cobbled together 'to convince Mom.'
'No, I have to.'
Yuha bit her lip.
'Sword or gun hunters using this? No way.'
She loved Isu, but love didn't blind her. Objectively, the pistol's power was pathetic. Most monsters would swat bullets aside sneering.
'Mage-type hunters like me... cadets... if I sell to them, oppa gets a market!'
But for mage hunters—needing 'supplemental firepower' at crucial moments, unable to spam attacks endlessly.
'I can do it! Use this pistol super cool, make every other mage cadet crave it!'
Yuha gritted her teeth. For the business success of the man she loved.