"..."
Did I mishear that?
"Gold mine?"
"A diamond mine could work too, but smelting gold should be much easier for me if I use the Law of Fire. Smelt the gold, make jewelry, sell it to rich people. After that, we split the profits 50/50, and we can both do whatever we want," she replied before adding:
"I also cast several EMPs on the house, destroying all the spyware, excluding our laptops, which might have some too. But we’ll get rid of those once we have money."
Yeah. His perception of her had done a complete 180.
He had thought she was the composed and calculating type with a very high moral ground. Yet here she was, suggesting they rob a gold mine.
Though...
As if he’d say no to that.
"Roger that, Captain."
He picked up the nearby laptop and began searching for gold mines near them. Of course, most of the results were honey-trap strip clubs, but there were a few gold mines slightly outside of Vivum. He figured most of the closer ones had already been heavily excavated, considering they’d been around for hundreds of years.
As it turned out, however, there were also a few mines that had been discovered less than fifty years ago. Those were the ones Arthur focused on. After narrowing his search down to one, he gave Victoria the coordinates.
"Hmm. I see."
You do?
"There’s a lot of gold beneath that mine, and it hasn’t been touched yet. Give me a second. Oh, and prepare to heal me like yesterday," she added.
Then, she closed her eyes and extended her hands forward.
Getting a bad feeling, Arthur moved out of the way and stepped behind her.
He was glad he did.
In the next instant, a stream of raw gold ore covered in mud and silt burst from her hands, flooding the kitchen and shattering the tiles. She had fucked up the microwave earlier, but now the entire kitchen was being wiped out.
On the bright side, once she stopped spewing gold from her hands, Arthur realized that she had just brought home at least three tons of it.
With that much gold, they were millionaires. Maybe even billionaires once they finished refining everything.
Before he could begin celebrating, however, Victoria stumbled.
He caught her immediately and noticed that she was choking on her own blood. Blood was also flowing from both her eyes and her nose.
Only now did Arthur realize that this woman was willing to do whatever it took to achieve her goal of returning home. It didn’t matter if she got hurt in the process.
He didn’t agree with that way of thinking, and he decided right away that he wasn’t going to let her be that reckless again.
Ignoring the massive pile of gold in their kitchen, he carried her to her bedroom and began healing her.
Her injuries this time were much more serious.
[-200 MP | 610 / 810 MP (x2 Healing Touch)
[Healing Touch successful!]
[Target recovered 400 HP.]
[Target HP: 330 / 330]
[Warning!]
[Target is suffering from Severe Internal Damage in the Spine and Heart regions.]
"..."
"You idiot. If I wasn’t here, you’d be dead."
[-200 MP | 410 / 810 MP (x2 Healing Touch)
[Healing Touch successful!]
[Healing Area Selected: Heart Region]
[Healing Area Selected: Spine Region]
[Single Area Healing Bonus: x2 Heal Power and Healing Efficiency]
[Target recovered 800 HP.]
[Target HP: 330 / 330]
Her complexion immediately improved, but from how parched her lips were and how much skinnier she looked compared to a few minutes ago, she had definitely done something she wasn’t supposed to.
"Idiot."
Arthur made sure she could breathe properly. Then, he placed a few towels beneath her, covered her with a blanket, and quietly left the room.
He wanted to make some food for her, but after she had literally destroyed the kitchen, he had no choice but to ask for help.
He stepped outside and went to the house opposite theirs. It was where Loren and his gang now lived.
He knocked on the front door, and one of Loren’s lackeys answered. Arthur couldn’t remember his name.
"Hey, mind if I borrow your kitchen?"
The lackey raised a brow. "I need to ask Loren."
"Then go ask."
The lackey walked away with a slightly pissed-off look. A few minutes later, Loren came over.
"What’s up? Sylas mentioned you wanted to use our kitchen. Is something wrong with yours?"
"Eh, yeah. You could say we don’t really have a kitchen anymore. But enough about me. I’ll pay you back if you let me use your kitchen and some of your ingredients," Arthur replied.
Loren shrugged. "Payback between friends? I’d only ask you to pay me back if you borrowed money, not food. Come in and make whatever you need. I take it it’s for your wife?"
"Yep, haha. We’re a bit hungry."
"I’m sure... I saw her last night. She was sitting on your roof. I didn’t want to say anything, but be careful." He leaned in slightly and whispered, "I-I think she might be a witch."
Dude?
Which era did this guy think they were living in?
***
Since he didn’t want to leave her unattended for too long, Arthur made a variety of salads and high-protein meals. Once he was done, he set off back home, carrying several trays of food with his five minutes of waiter experience.
Yes, he might have dropped 300 dollars’ worth of dishes on his first day, but experience was experience. Since he didn’t fuck up this time, he felt like his experience had finally paid off.
He placed the several trays of food all over her table, doing it as quietly as possible so he wouldn’t wake her. The food really was mouthwatering, so he was a little jealous that he hadn’t made more for himself.
But then again, he now had a goal and the right equipment.
The weights in his personal gym were starting to prove ineffective, so he decided he was going to carry the several tons of gold to his garage and use it for weightlifting.
That is, until Victoria woke up.