Chapter 14
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Mine and Real Estate
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A massive steel door stood in my way, but surprisingly, it swung open easily.
"Come on in! You're a late arrival, I see!"
As soon as I pushed the door open and stepped inside, a bearded man waved at me enthusiastically.
The bearded man greeted me with a warm, friendly smile.
Sua had told me the mine operated from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
After sleeping in at the inn, grabbing some food, checking out, and finally arriving here at 1 p.m., yeah, I was definitely late.
"Ah... yes. I'm here to register for the mine."
"If you register now, you can get a solid five hours of work out of them. Alright, which Valkyrie are you registering?"
"Do I need to specify the Valkyrie type?"
I hadn't brought Lussera along to avoid drawing attention, but putting an SR-grade Valkyrie into the mine would stir up its own kind of buzz.
"Keh heh heh! This guy's a total newbie, huh? First time at the guild today?"
The bearded man let out a hearty laugh at my question.
"Yes, that's right."
"Then let me introduce myself first. I'm Gurpu, the master of the Mining Guild."
'Ah! So this is Gurpu.'
It was a face I'd seen every time I registered at the Mining Guild over those five years, but only now did it click. I hadn't bothered remembering the ugly mug of some bearded guy.
Still, I knew the name at least.
"I'm Kai."
"Got it. Follow me. Gotta explain things nicely to a newbie like you."
Gurpu led me into the room next door.
There were dozens of partitioned booths.
"This is where you pick the Valkyries for the mine. Each door has a kiosk inside. Just bring up your status and hold it there—it'll recognize it automatically. Give it a try."
Mornings must bring crowds to the Mining Guild, so it made sense to have this many kiosks.
I opened one of the partitions and stepped in. Sure enough, there was the kiosk, just as he said.
I glanced back, wondering if I should close the door.
"Keh heh heh! Careful one, aren't ya? I can explain with the door closed if you want. Your call."
He boomed with laughter.
I bowed my head politely in thanks, then shut the door.
Holding my status device up to the kiosk...
『Connecting to Mine Kiosk...』
A brief connection message flashed, and the screen lit up on the monitor in front of me.
It was just like in the game.
At the top was the current mine's attribute, followed by six empty slots below it. And in the bottom right, the mining yield was displayed at zero.
"Open your owned Valkyries list on the right, drag 'em into the empty slots, and hit save. Easy, right? Just note that once you register Valkyries for the mine, you can't take them into battle until they return."
After doing this over a thousand times in five years, it was a breeze.
I opened the owned Valkyries panel on the right and hit sort by rank. My Valkyries neatly organized by grade.
Sua, already summoned, was grayed out and unavailable for registration.
At the top was Lije, then Lussera, Jaira, Heiji, and so on.
I slotted in Jaira, Heiji, Garujan, Holla, and Elastra first. Checked that this week's attribute was Fire, and set the filter to Celestials and Fire.
Then I grabbed the top one from the list at random. Since they were sorted by rank, it was just a B-grade Valkyrie.
Gurpu probably didn't explain the filter because he figured a total newbie like me wouldn't have over a thousand Valkyries.
If I really were a beginner, it'd have taken forever to register them one by one.
Once all slots were filled, I hit save, and a warning popped up.
『Valkyries registered to the mine cannot be summoned again until they return to the Mining Guild.』
『Without a lair, you can only unregister them after 6 p.m. once they return.』
『At midnight, registered Valkyries are automatically unregistered.』
『Really save? Y, N』
I mashed Y on the warning, and a save confirmation appeared.
I opened the door and stepped out—Gurpu was waiting.
"Out quick as a flash, huh? Not too tough, was it?"
"No, it was fine."
"Keh heh heh! You can claim your diamonds daily, or hold 'em for a month or more if you want. For payouts, head to the opposite door—staff there will handle it."
The Mining Guild felt less like an actual mine and more like a bank.
Registered Valkyries weren't mining in some local pit—they were off in another world altogether, digging away until the gamer cashed them out.
You could do it all from your phone back home, but here, you had to hoof it in person. Annoying, but unavoidable.
"Thanks. See you tomorrow."
"Keh heh heh! You got it. Come early tomorrow. We're open 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. They don't start mining right at 6, but show up late and it gets crowded. Better to beat the rush—and same goes for picking your Valkyries."
"Got it. See you tomorrow."
I bowed to Gurpu again for his kind guidance and left the Mining Guild.
"Now, time for some real estate."
.
.
.
Following Sua's directions, I headed to the real estate district. Since listings varied by agency, I figured the biggest one would have the best options.
Sua had pointed me to an area packed with agencies. I picked the flashiest, most impressive one and stepped inside.
"Welcome! What can I do for you?"
A sleek beauty greeted me with a bright smile as I entered.
Heavy makeup accentuated her voluptuous figure.
"I'm looking for a lair."
"Oh my! A Pilot! You look so young—impressive!"
Pilots could start at twenty, but only if their status reacted to their aptitude. Among locals, being a Pilot was a born gift, so they got baseline respect right off the bat.
"Got any good listings?"
"Good ones? What's your budget? Wait—no, rank matters more than price for lairs, right? Hmm... How many Valkyries do you need to house?"
"Twenty."
"Wha—twenty!?"
The agent stared at me in shock.
"For twenty, you'd need a top-grade lair... Let me check current listings... Ah! There's a nice one."
She rifled through her pamphlets, pulled one out, and showed it to me.
It featured a map marking the location, packed with exterior shots and detailed floor plans.
"This lair's a fire sale. Owner's transferring out and needs to dump it fast, but the price is keeping buyers away."
"Transferring... so the owner's a Pilot too?"
"Yep. Folks buying places like this usually are. Heard it's someone from the Hainelrune Knights heading out of the capital."
Hainelrune—I remembered Jenellu mentioning it. The Hainel Kingdom's elite knight order.
I pored over the pamphlet carefully.
It was a mansion. Looked seriously luxurious.
Garden out front, three stories tall, basement included—and a pool to boot. Screamed "I'm loaded."
"What's the price?"
"Normally 3 billion gold, but the owner's desperate—listed at 2.2 billion. A steal!"
She stressed "steal," but with my measly 3 million gold, it sounded absurd.
As I stood there stunned, Sua whispered in my ear.
"2.2 billion? With Lije, you just need 220 million upfront."
I shook my head.
Lije's existence needed to stay hidden if possible. Sure, 90% loans were a thing, but not worth exposing her for.
"When do I need the funds by?"
"You'd have to ask the owner. They're in a rush, apparently."
"Then let's view the place and meet them."
"Sounds good! Oh, here's my card."
She handed me a gleaming gold business card.
Read: "Prime Properties. Team Leader Serena."
I pocketed it. Good to stay on good terms with realtors—could help down the line.
"Give me a sec to call the owner."
Serena dialed on her phone, spoke briefly, then nodded at me.
"They say come now. Lucky—they're home."
"Great. Let's head out."