Chapter 60: Speaking from the Heart

"Meow-growl, don't you think the items on this list are way too few?"

"Still too few?"

"Meow! Of course it's too few, meow! If someone else were footing the bill, I'd definitely write every application ten times, meow-growl!"

"Um..."

"The most important thing is, you want too many things and request to expense too few! How can that work, meow-growl? Cats never ask for a budget based on how much they actually need; as long as there's a chance for reimbursement, we max out the reimbursement and budget limits first, and figure out the rest later, meow-growl! Meow, she's coming! Put on a good show!"

...

Melina watched a clockwork cat hold a large can of carbonated beverage and leap off the table, only to be blown away amidst meow-growling screeches caused by the carbonated spray. Sonia, who had just come down from upstairs, saw this scene, widened her large, deeply mysterious purple eyes, puffed out her entirely flat chest, and paused for a moment before continuing downward.

"What's wrong with this cat?"

Sonia felt like she was turning into a professional cat-keeper. Louisa was a Siamese with a delicate temperament; Katarina was a Scottish Fold, sensitive and harboring an inexplicable sense of competition; and Melina gathered the shortcomings of a hundred cats. Speaking of which, G was also a high-maintenance, cat-tempered banshee. The banshee race seemed to produce this type of woman in abundance. Oh, not to mention the clockwork cats; clockwork cats had distinct personalities, and thanks to their adorable round dumpling attributes, they were very popular, yet they were also extremely troublesome creatures.

Look, hadn't this clockwork cat just been pranked by the carbonated drink, and now, out of sheer temper, it had started binge-drinking in a reckless bid for revenge?

Melina puffed out her cheeks.

Seeing this expression, Sonia was already used to the other's sudden mood swings and asked casually,

"What is it?"

"..." A bit shy.

"Hmm, something you want to tell me? Let's talk as we walk."

"Okay." Melina thought to herself that she shouldn't always be the passive one, yet she always ended up choosing the passive role.

...

The town that the banshee Sonia had come to—Hamlet—was clearly bringing something different from the past, and that thing was called [Hope].

In this impoverished and backward village, all kinds of magical land plots were being connected for the first time.

Factories were operating.

Tons of stone and timber were hauled into processing plants, produced into qualified building materials, and shipped back out.

People wore smiles on their faces.

At the street corner, a little girl waved at Melina, and Melina smiled and waved back, watching the little girl named Johanna scamper away.

Johanna was Aunt Maru's daughter, the woman who had processed Melina's paperwork, possessing a past lost within the capital. She had brought her daughter back to her hometown and settled down here. Her daughter liked Melina very much. Although she was only seven years old this year, she was already able to say things like, "When I grow up, I want to become a mechanic, so I can repair you whenever you malfunction and fall in love."

Whenever Melina thought of it, she couldn't help but smile.

Then she realized that if Sonia hadn't changed this history, this girl would probably have died in Hamlet? Not necessarily, because there were relief ships. At the same time, she thought of Georgia, the tiny mayor who possessed an infinitely bright future, but whose period was drawn to a close right here, on the Weeping Peninsula.

Could she really, as Maria had suggested, treat these people as mere passersby?

Could she stand from a completely objective perspective and maintain calm judgment?

It was difficult.

This was extremely difficult.

She turned her head to look at Sonia, whose face wore a smug smile just like a clockwork cat's. Passing by a construction site, Sonia high-fived a worker despite the man's dirty hands.

She was proud from the bottom of her heart.

Melina thought.

Stepping out of the town gate, a dragon-turtle carriage was already prepared.

Sonia never spared any expense, spending money purely for comfort. Inside this carriage, the two sat facing each other with a movable table in between. However, this wasn't the capital; no matter how luxurious, practicality was the main focus.

"Now you can tell me what's on your mind, right?"

Melina felt a bit hesitant to speak.

She wanted to expense her equipment modification costs. But she couldn't shake the feeling that doing this... wasn't all that different from being kept by a sugar mommy! It wasn't like she couldn't make her own money... She mustered up her courage and whispered, "I need to upgrade my weaponry recently and get two elemental guns..."

Before she could finish her sentence.

She saw Sonia wave her hand, whether out of consideration or sheer casualness, saying:

"Then just hand the bill over to Cat-generoth. She'll say, 'Meow-growl! So much?' Just ignore the cat and give her the bill. She'll apply for the funds from me to pay it. It's just a routine procedure, you'll get used to it."

Whether intentional or not, interacting with the clockwork cat always relieved Melina's pressure.

Looking at Sonia, she could only manage a "Thank you." As for anything else, she would simply have to work harder during hunts.

"Doesn't the Weeping Peninsula have a construction crew?"

"No."

"...An answer given with unimaginable speed, and an unimaginable answer as well. Really none?"

Construction was a very simple affair in this world; load-bearing walls and the like could be handled entirely with magic factors. The houses built in this world often reached a level that would make civil engineering bros throw down their buckets and run away, yet it was the norm, completely problem-free and absolutely reliable. Basically, one banshee plus five or six ordinary people, along with about twenty clockwork cats, could form a reliable construction team.

If the Weeping Peninsula didn't even have that, it would be truly terrifying.

"What kind of place do you think the Weeping Peninsula is?"

"A desolate land?"

"Then what do you think desolation means? Buildings are extremely unreliable. Before I arrived, there wasn't even a decent pathway within the town, let alone a granary to store various grains, mushrooms, and onions gathered from the wilderness. Even the cooking pots for stocking up had to be ordered from Haven. This is Hamlet, and Hamlet is already the best town in the entire Weeping Peninsula."

"I see."

Melina thought of Raccoon Town, which was still in a primitive state with multiple settlements. Brightfall Town was similar. Calling these places towns was more like calling them slightly populous small villages; they were hardly pleasant places.

"Then let's work hard to develop the Weeping Peninsula."

Melina said.

"Hmm? Could it be that you... have developed a slight attachment to the Weeping Peninsula?"

"No," Melina retorted. "It's just that if this is going to be a long-term residence, naturally I'd hope it could be a bit more convenient, wouldn't you? I want an alchemy shop. Only with an alchemy shop can it be very convenient to buy various potions—though I can make many potions myself, it's such a hassle."

Alchemy was a troublesome discipline; sometimes one had to wear specific clothing and stake out specific spaces just to complete alchemy.

Melina didn't like that; it was too bothersome.

Brewing medicine suited her better, and even then, it had to be medicine that could be whipped up quickly. She didn't have the patience for anything that took longer than a day.

"I want a clothing store too."

Although it sounded strange to say, Melina hoped to live a life of saving the world wrapped in a layer of cunning—meaning that saving the world was great and all, but if it required painful sacrifices, that would be a bit...

To some extent, this was indeed the mindset of a profoundly selfish person.

Sonia completely understood.

This woman with lofty goals accepted all of Melina's thoughts:

"No problem, I'll see what I can do to handle your requests. By the way, there's something you can help me with."

"Hunting?"

"Oh my, can't you occasionally think about whether you can make use of your girl-ly functions?"

"..." Melina straightened her back, widened her eyes, and pulled an expression resembling the startled Cheshire from Azur Lane, as if to say, "What kind of filthy things are you thinking about?" She swallowed hard, placed her hand over her chest, and instinctively pressed her arms against her assets.

Such massive assets.

Sonia felt that keeping a straight face was already an impressive feat of hers.

The Melina she knew in her first playthrough was a woman distorted to a certain degree, filled with a morbid hatred for the world. The reason Maria had been able to unlock her route, it was said, was because old Maria's mental state was already completely abnormal at the time. Therefore, Sonia had no idea what Melina's personality had been like before she went mad, and now every single action of Melina's caught her by surprise.

Sonia rubbed her chin in thought.

So little Mei was the kind of woman who would crack dirty jokes after getting close? She was actually quite cute.

"Not that."

Sonia shook her head. "I want you to ask old Maria for me—find out what she likes and what she wants."

"Hmm?"

Melina bit her lip, wondering if she had somehow stepped into a worldline of "I like your best friend, could you help me fish for information about her?"

"You know, old Maria is a quirky person. She's always preaching this philosophy of 'the greater the power, the greater the responsibility'—wait, no, 'the greater the authority, the greater the responsibility.' She believes that saving the world is a job for those who enjoy the most benefits from this world, not her. But at the same time, she respects me a lot."

"Sounds good."

"She has this doomsday-prepper personality, you know, likes hoarding things at home. But considering that 'Girls' Dormitory' is reaching its final season, everyone should have it a bit easier afterwards."

Before Melina could carefully digest her words, Sonia continued:

"Therefore, she doesn't like causing trouble for me. Whatever she wants, she won't come right out and tell me 'I want a clothing and alchemy shop' like you did. So, I'm asking you to use your skills to find out what old Maria likes. Shops opened according to your shared hobbies should attract other banshees with common ground, right? That would be great, wouldn't it? You'll also make more friends, eh."

Put that way.

Melina could only nod:

"Then I'll give it a try? If old Maria ignores me, I won't be able to do anything about it, though."

"Don't worry, don't worry, old Maria is just a little bit quirky. There's nothing you... uh, I mean, there's nothing you can't handle! That's that!"

Melina remained half-skeptical.

...

Things went extremely smoothly in Innsmouth.

Although that tall, housewife-type banshee wearing a small yellow hat had said, "Engineering is in its off-season right now...", she was knocked down by Sonia's unreasonable approach of "Work for me and you get at least 10% more."

She immediately brought out the engineering clockwork cats for Sonia to inspect.

That crew was a crew with a real "cat-titude"; to put it simply, they only recognized money.

Wasn't that a coincidence? Suosuo was so poor she only had money left, and she immediately signed a 40,000 gold ley contract with this team. She was going to build bridges and roads for the Weeping Peninsula, and by the way, renovate all her own properties in Hamlet Town.

Melina listened with curiosity as the engineer banshee asked her:

"Properties and territory? What is the approximate range of your deed?"

"Probably about 90% of East Hamlet, I suppose."

The engineer almost fainted on the spot.

Melina nearly jumped out of her skin in fright.

Although land prices in Hamlet weren't high, it was huge! And all those decent-looking houses throughout Hamlet Town turned out to be Sonia's territory... No wonder she always felt that Hamlet Town was slightly more prosperous compared to Raccoon Town and Brightfall Town (even among poor brothers, there are tiers).

...

Returning to the manor,

Melina found Maria, who was busy writing an article for *Kingdom Geography*.

Wearing a sexy camisole nightgown and chewing on the end of a pen, Maria was intently writing up the research results on the rare geology of the Weeping Peninsula. Beside her lay another manuscript addressed to *Financial and Monetary Circulation Monthly*, titled *On the Principles of Economic Exchange in Primitive Regions and the Weakening and Strengthening of Currency Purchasing Power Symbols*.

Upon seeing Melina, she instinctively pulled up the shoulder strap that had slipped down, revealing a flushed, pretty face.

Meanwhile, Melina flashed a rare, seductive-mode smile, tapped her lips with her finger, and sat down in the seat beside Maria. While the other woman wore a puzzled expression, Melina unassumingly took out the manuscript she was working on and placed it on the desk, out of the corner of her eye catching Maria's look of relief mixed with a hint of disappointment.

A woman like this was just too easy to handle!