Second Step to Riches

I walk into our room to find Lohikaarmi standing diligently beside Faye and Astra's beds.

I completely forgot about her. Did she just stand there and not move for the entire night?

"Welcome back, Master," she says as I close the door behind me.

"Hi, um, sorry it took so long," I say.

"There is no need to apologize, Master."

"Right… do you need any sleep?"

"No. For dragons, staying still is the equivalent of sleeping."

Huh? I wish I could say that.

"Okay then. I am a little tired," I say with a yawn, "so I am going to take a short nap. Don't tell anyone about my absence, alright?"

"Yes, Master."

"Thanks."

I collapse onto my bed and wait for the fatigue to catch up.

…

It's another free day. After breakfast and the morning prayers, Owen, the girls, and I headed for the shrine again. Mia had been avoiding me the whole morning, which caught Abigail's attention. She asked me if anything had happened between me and her. I told her there was nothing that I was aware of.

Faye asked to drive the carriage this time. She said she would like to do something to help the group. Inside the moving cabin with Owen and the other two, I decided to advance to the next step of my plan.

"Owen, what are you thinking of doing today?" I ask, raising my volume over the turning wheels.

"Haven't thought about it yet. I will have to see what's on the board," he says.

"Well, in that case, I have a favor to ask of you."

"A favor? Me? Sure. What can I do for you?"

"Do you know that prairie yam mission?" I ask.

"The one on the D board?"

"That's the one."

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Yeah, what about it?" Astra repeats Owen's words, but in a more suspicious tone as she squints at me.

I ignore her look.

"You are in rank D+, right?" I ask.

"That's right," Owen says.

"I want you to accept that mission and report failure twice to raise it to rank C-," I say.

A look of puzzlement crosses Owen's face.

"What? Why?" He asks.

"Just do it. I will give you the money to pay for the fines," I say.

"That's not going to be cheap."

"I know."

"If people see a task that easy in rank C-, it will be gone in no time, and your money will just go to some random guy," he says.

"I know, but you don't need to worry about any of that. Are you going to do this favor for me?"

"Well, it's your money. It doesn't affect me much. So, sure?"

"Great. How much will the fines be?" I ask.

"I don't know, around eight silver coins?"

I reach into my money pouch to take something out.

"Here, a silver slab," I say as I flick it with my thumb across the cabin at Owen, "Keep the rest. That's for your efforts."

Owen catches it between his palms.

"You are giving me two silver coins?" He looks at me with wide eyes.

"Think of it as your paycheck," I say.

"Oh damn. Thanks, man. That's so much more than what I can make from the missions."

"You are welcome. Let's meet at the shrine at noon, alright?"

"Of course."

He has not the slightest idea how much money he is going to make me if this works, and I don't have the intention of letting him in on it.

"Krissy, what are you up to?" Astra says.

All I give her is a sideways smile.

We soon arrive at the shrine. The prairie yam mission is still on the board. No one has completed it yet. I find that a lot of the foraging missions stayed untouched. I guess they are just not interesting enough when compared to hunting squirrels, among other things, plus, their rewards are on the lower side, even for rank D missions.

Owen has gone to do what I told him to do, and the girls and I are standing in front of the boards, deciding what mission to pick.

"How about that one," Faye says and points to the C- board, "One live wild lynx wanted."

"What's a lynx?" I ask.

"They are like wild cats."

"Cats? I don't like cats," I say.

"Oh, is that so? Then which one do you want to do?" Faye asks.

"Let's do the prairie yam one." I point to the D board.

Astra turns her head toward me with a cynical look.

"But we picked yams yesterday," Faye says.

"And it went well, right? So why not do it again?"

Faye looks a little disappointed at the fact that we are not going to catch some wild cat.

"Well, if you really want to. Sure," she looks at me and wipes her disappointment off with a smile.

"Thanks, Faye. We can do your lynx mission next time if it's still there," I say and lead them into the line in front of the reception desks.

"I will be looking forward to it."

Sometimes her sweetness makes me feel bad about hiding things from her.

Astra tugs on my sleeve. I look over to her, and she gestures with her hand to tell me to bring my face closer. I bend down beside her.

"Krissy, you are up to something again, aren't you?" She whispers.

"Again? What do you mean again? When was the last time I was 'up to something'?"

"Don't think that I am clueless to how that financier's carriage was magically reduced to ashes, Kris. You are not as sneaky as you think."

Ah crap, she knew about that? I scratch my cheek. "Have you heard of the saying "You don't need hard work if you can exploit other people's hard work?"

Astra facepalms. "You are making me regret my blessing the day after I gave it to you."

Yeah, that didn't sound too good hearing it myself, either, but it's the principle of what I do. It's the backbone of capitalism.

"Just… It's all for the greater good, alright?" I say.

"And what is that?" Astra asks.

"Me… getting money?"

"Kris, you are unbelievable."

"Hey, if you got a better plan, I am all ears."

"I have not a single idea what your plan is."

"You will see soon."

Even though this is a devout theocracy, class division and capitalist ideals are everywhere. If I want to gain a position of power in this world that allows me to move to the next step of colonization, money is an irreplaceable factor. Plus, this is a victimless crime… more or less.

"Hi, how may I help you?"

It's our turn at the reception desk.

"We would like to accept the rank D prairie yam mission," I say.