Heir of a Duchess?

Finally letting go of Ellia's hand, Ruth began to descend with small steps, and Ellia followed right behind her.

"Not a lot of people come here, huh..." Ruth said, noticing not too many people roaming despite her thoughts of it being packed.

"The subway is used to travel between sectors," Ruth explained. "And since lower sector dwellers can't get to higher sectors, they have no business here. But there are a hand full that try."

And just like Ruth said, when Ellia finally arrived on the same level as the rails, she noticed a group of people in front of an open-door train.

But although the door was open, it didn't seem they could get in as an unknown force prevented them from doing so.

"Only people that have access to higher sectors could get on that train," Ruth spoke as they continued down the railway. "But there's always those fools that can't accept it."

KABOOM

Just as she finished talking, a loud explosion was heard behind them. And because of the enclosed space of the subway, the noise was further amplified.

Ellia immediately turned around, alarmed. On the other hand, Ruth let out a deep breath in a sigh.

When she turned around, her eyes were met with a giant puff of smoke that soon dissipated, revealing the same group of people running away from the scene, laughing like maniacs. But of course, the train was still intact.

"Crazy..." Ellia mumbled.

"Well, you can't die for real, so no one cares," Ruth said with a shrug.

After that, they arrived at a door that was situated across from the rails. So it was easy for someone to leave it as a security room or a small storage room.

Although Ellia didn't feel so comfortable opening such a door, Ruth fearlessly opened it revealing a metal door with a tiny door panel in the middle.

Without any hesitation, Ruth went ahead and knocked several times, then waited for a response. And sure enough, a second later, a clank was heard as the square panel opened.

Then peeking an eye out, the man inside looked at Ellia and Ruth. "Sorry ladies, this ain't a club." The man quickly assumed the pretty ladies were here to simply party after getting wasted.

Ruth spoke up just as the man was about to close the square panel, causing him to halt. "We're here for business, not clubbing."

"...Speak."

"We're customers here to buy your products," Ruth said, causing a different reaction from the man.

"Wait here." He said before shutting the square panel. It took him about half a minute to open the metal door.

The door opened with a long squeak coming from the door hinges.

Ruth walked in first and was followed by Ellia.

The place seemed to lack the number of people dwelling, and with the state of the room, it was easy to tell why.

The room was utterly empty and by empty. Void of any furniture or any items. There was grey mold on probably every corner of the room, while the small drops of water made little puddles on the ground.

And because of the clothes Ruth and Ellia wore, it was hard for them to blend into such an environment. Especially the dress Ruth was wearing.

The man then guided Ruth towards the only metal door and opened it, letting them both inside.

Ruth completely ignored the man and stepped inside. It was Ellia who tanked the guy with a nod before walking inside.

The moment they entered, they were greeted by a hoarse voice. "What being you two ladies here?"

He seemed to be in his middle seventies, and his wrinkles started to wrinkle when he gave a rusty smile.

All white hair, black eyes, and a frail body that seemed to be a bit more undermined behind that rusted metal table he was sitting behind.

"We're just here to buy some materials," Ruth answered.

"And that would be?"

"Plutonium-238, U-235, tungsten, neuro attachers, pure all-purpose fabric, and the metal of recreation. You know the good stuff." Ruth laughed.

The old man also laughed as money dialed his pupils. The materials Ellia just listed were definitely on the pricey side. And from what he saw, the clothes Ruth and Ellia wore signaled that they were from the higher sectors.

'Maybe I could dry out these lasses of all their money.' The old man thought as wicked thoughts grew in his mind. 'I'll show you how things are done in the lower sectors!'

"Will that be it?" He asked, rubbing his hands together like a shady dealer.

"Yea." Ruth nodded.

"Great!" The old man expressed as the tips of his lips curled upwards. 'I've been doing this for seventeen years, and this is probably my biggest profit!' He thought.

Then moving his fingers through the air, he brought up a holographic interference. Seeing it, Ellia flinched, but after noticing that it was completely different than the system interference, she calmed down.

"It's something that's normal in the cyber world." Ruth voiced inside Ellia's head. "It's nothing similar to your system interference."

Ellia softly nodded at Ruth's remark.

"Ahh... many apologies, but it looked like were in lack Plutonium-238 and U-235." The old man spoke with an apologetic look, but Ruth didn't miss his sly smile.

"But if you pay extra, I will immediately give it to you when the next stock arrives." The old man continued.

"And how much is extra?" Ellia asked.

"65 million credits should do." The old man spoke, causing Ellia to widen her eyes in stupefaction. "So it would be a total of 445 million credits."

'445 million!' Ellia shouted inwardly while bringing her palm to her mouth in pure shock. Ruth only sighed.

"Old man, you think you're slick, huh." Ruth scoffed as she walked forward and lanced her hand on the metal table.

"Slick?" What are you talking about?" The old man threw his hands in the air, looking offended.

"Don't act with me. I know you've got more Plutonium-238 and U-235 in stock, and you shouldn't be raising prices like that in front of me, you scammer."

But despite Ruth's words, the old man's face stayed neutral.

"Haaa..." Ruth exhaled a breath, then stared at the old man. "Do you want me to spell it out for you?"

"I really don't know what you mean."

Ellia leaned forward and whispered in his ears. And the words that left Ruth's mouth scared the shit out of the old man.

'What did she say?' Ellia thought while watching the horrified expression on the old man's face.

"Y-you..." The old man stuttered as his body trembled. "How did you find my goddamn address?"

"That's none of your business." Ruth smiled innocently. "Just sell your products at the right price, and there won't be any problems."

The old man gave a grown before being back the holographic interference and showed Ellia. 'Damn this high sector bitch! But either way, it will still be a major profit at regular prices.'

Reading the new price, Ruth smiled in satisfaction, but it wasn't the same for Ellia.

'330 million... that still a lot!' Ellia shouted.

"330 million is a pretty good deal for what we're getting," Ruth spoke.

'But 330 million isn't a small amount, you know.'

"Ian, you realize that the standard you are at now, 330 million, should be nothing. A lot more will come in the future."

Ellia started to think about it. If a single pill was bought for 2.2 billion, the 330 million should be nothing. Ruth was right. She wasn't of the same social status as in her previous life. But now she shouted about it carefully. What noble rank was she?

'Come to think of it. Everyone just called me a noble, is it cuz I'm a lower rank? Maybe a....'

"Heir of a duchess." Ruth's voice echoed inside Ellia's head, causing her to furrow her eyes.

'A-avery is a duchess?' Ellia stuttered in doubt. 'And I'm the heir?'

"The Empress didn't take your death lightly."

'B-but that doesn't make sense. The empress could have just made me a knight, but why did she make Avery a whole duchess?'

"I don't know the exact reason, but as I said before, it was the least she could do."

'That's a bit too much... but that aside if I was the heir of a duchess, why didn't people seem to recognize me?'

The people back at ever white didn't seem to recognize Ellia or her name. They just seemed to know she was a noble.

"The military gives every noble the title of a noble high ranked or low ranked so they can hand out benefits to those are nobles," Ruth explained. "The military likes to keep things as confidential as possible, but of course, if one wants to reveal their ranks, they're welcome to do so."

'Okay, so I'm the heir of a duchess, so why is there only 350 million in my account? If my memory serves me correctly, then I should have way more than this.'

"Heh! Now you're complaining about not having enough?" Ruth giggled at the thought. "It's because you're wife is overprotective. She doesn't want to give her only grandfather so much money. 350 million is just the bare minimum of what an heir of a duchess should have!"

'Okay, okay, thank you for answering, but here's the big question. Why the hell are you telling me now?' Ellia asked.

"Ughhh... I forgot, teehee."

'...'

"Argh, let's just get this over with," Ellia said to the old man. "I'm paying."

The old man simply waved his hand and sent his holographic interference floating towards Ellia.

[2 pounds of Plutonium-238 - 50 million credits. 2 pounds of U-235 - 80 million credits. 2 tons of tungsten - 1 million credits. 50 pounds of neuro attachers - 20 million credits. 35 sheets of Pure all-purpose fabric - 30 million credits. 5 pounds of metal of recreation - 149 million credits. Total: 330 million credits.]

[Would you like to accept a transaction for 330 million credits?]

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