Chapter 62: Sourcing Channels

Relaying Maria's demands to Sonia, the latter burst into a fit of laughter, slapping her thigh.

"Fish dying and the net splitting if we don't give in? Leaving tonight? Hahaha, old Maria is truly an interesting person!"

Melina's gaze was involuntarily drawn to Sonia's fair, plump thighs.

Despite Sonia being rather flat-chested, her overall physique was quite impressive. Her pelvis tilted slightly forward, and her thighs were wonderfully fleshy, resembling the standard body type of an anime beauty. Come to think of it, Melina believed that the greatest progress in anime after the year 2000 was the gradual phasing out of the painfully thin, pale aesthetic, ushering in an era where even pint-sized lolis had delightfully meaty thighs.

Thank heavens, thank plump thighs, and thank Ryza.

Thanks to the modern, ancient, Roman, and otherworldly creators of hot pants.

Because the daytime temperature in the Weeping Peninsula was very high, it was entirely natural for a girl like Sonia—whose affinity for magical factors was unremarkable—to dress coolly. Thus, clad in hot pants, her pale, soft thighs exposed, a light slap would produce a subtle wave of flesh that felt both illusory and vividly real.

Absolute bliss...

Melina drew a breath and nodded. "Yes, that's exactly what Maria said."

"Ah, I get it, I get it."

Sonia nodded, faning herself with her hand. Her lips, naturally moist enough to look like she wore adult-grade lip gloss even without any, pouted as if demanding a kiss.

"In that case, have Meowgnaroth come over here later. When it comes to spending money, we still have to rely on that cat."

"Mhm."

"And another thing, you'll need to make a trip to Dunwich shortly. The only decent commodity currently marketable in the Weeping Peninsula—ice crystal powder—is produced in two mines near the Black Mountains close to Dunwich. However, both were abandoned because of that radiant-species marsh dragon. The routes to the mines were frequently ravaged by hordes of marsh dragons. Now that we've dealt with the radiant-species marsh dragon, the mines on that mountain ought to be reopened."

"Huh?"

Melina was somewhat puzzled. Why send her? She lacked the superior banshee's ability to shrink entire mining plots and carry them around to generate resource factors, subsequently converting those factors into tangible resources.

"You'll go there just to notify the mine owner and finalize the transport routes. Meowgnaroth will accompany you. Please, I don't have anyone else... uh, anyone capable of helping right now!"

Strange. Melina had a lingering suspicion that Sonia's true goal wasn't "making me go," but rather "having someone accompany me there." Still, feeling that this assignment posed no harm to her, she simply nodded.

"I'm only responsible for the notification?"

"Only for the notification, then leave the rest to Meowgnaroth. By the way, go change your clothes while I have a quick word with Meowgnaroth."

Melina nodded, stepped outside, and found Meowgnaroth. This chubby clockwork cat was far too conspicuous, standing at the boundary of the banshees' territory and loudly demanding that the gathering-type clockwork cats not lose to human gatherers...

To put it generally.

Given the stingy nature of clockwork cats, they naturally resented the prospect of human gatherers collecting the factor resources influenced by the banshees' territory. Yet the law had no jurisdiction here, nor was it explicitly prohibited, and the banshees themselves felt that having people around to help gather added a bit more vibrancy to the place. Therefore, if the feline furball wanted a monopoly, it had to win through sheer speed.

It was said that a distant relative of the clockwork cats—a creature known as a cat-lamp—was far lazier than they were. But clockwork cats were much greedier than cat-lamps, and across the entire world, money-grubbing anecdotes about clockwork cats were endless.

Melina walked over and called out:

"Meow-g!"

"Meow?"

That chubby feline face turned around at a cozy forty-five-degree angle, but seeing no one there, she rotated her plump body and looked down at Melina.

This cat was inexplicably annoying.

Melina opened her parasol and twirled it.

"Sonia wants you to come over."

"Meow! W-What is it about?" The cat wore a guilty expression. Melina knew she had been secretly eating the cream cakes Sonia kept in storage—Sonia adored sweets and had spent a fortune continuously shipping cakes and similar treats from the capital. Since she couldn't eat many herself, she maintained a tolerant attitude toward the clockwork cats pilfering them.

The clockwork cats, however, were oblivious to this.

Melina curled her lips into a smile and said sweetly:

"Who knows? Perhaps... your secret has come to light?"

"Meow-ow!"

Meowgnaroth's whiskers trembled. Wearing the expression of someone marching to their execution, she trudged heavily toward the room.

Melina covered her mouth and giggled for a moment. Noticing Louisa, who was busy gathering herbs, looking at her, she cast a flirtatious wink at the other girl, giggled behind her hand once more, and turned around, pushing out her chest as she trotted back to her room with a sway of her hips.

...

Thud, thud.

The heavy knock sounded unmistakably like cat paws. Sonia rubbed her temples, deeply feeling that the dormitory was no longer suitable as a workspace, and that she should start outfitting the three sisters with banshee workshops (colloquially dubbed little banshee townhouses). Yet, she felt a lingering reluctance.

"Come in!"

Though her face remained solemn, her thoughts were still consumed by the girls' dormitory issue.

Once they moved out, even if they were still in the same courtyard, would she still get to see little Mei go to the bathroom every day? Would she still be able to observe the daily elevation of little Mei's Mount G from a commanding height every morning? No longer!

As a side note, banshees grew rather uniquely.

They tended to develop all the way until the age of thirty.

Therefore, little Mei still had room for growth!

Sonia's heart surged with excitement, then she glanced down at herself and sighed.

And as for me, I have no room left to descend...

"Meow-ow! Big Boss Sonia, meow-ow, did you call me here for, uh, something?"

Meowgnaroth rested her paws on her furry belly, her meow sounding uncharacteristically cautious.

She must have been given a scare by little Mei.

Sonia identified the culprit within half a second and shook her head with amusement.

"Meow-g, it's not about that. It has nothing to do with my food storage. I brought you here primarily to assign you a task: go to Dunwich, acquire shares in the mines, and initiate local recruitment. I don't care whether you use clockwork cats or locals, just get those two mines operational immediately."

Midsummer this year was going to be exceedingly long.

A massive climate shift caused by a powerful dragon had driven up the price of all ice crystals! The hire fees for powerful banshees had also gone up... With a strong banshee equipped with her own built-in air conditioning unit around, would I be able to cuddle little Mei to sleep?

Hiss.

I suspect it won't cool things down at all.

Instead, things will be "right at the boiling point," hehe.

Sonia thought with rather degenerate anticipation.

"Meow-ow, what is my budget?"

"Two thousand gold lei. The true reserves of those two mines haven't been exposed yet, so don't let on that we know about them. Just pretend to be, uh, well..."

Meowgnaroth's feline eyes rolled as she came up with an idea:

"How about this: Sonia, a wealthy heiress eager to win a smile from a beauty, specially commissions a mine just to supply the young maidens with iced lychees. How does that sound?"

"Hiss!"

Sonia slapped her thigh. "That's the one! No one looks down on a prodigal heiress throwing money around. Good cat, you can pick up an extra box of cakes later!"

"Meow!"

"Ah, one more thing."

"Meow?"

"Take little Mei with you on the road. Both old Maria and I have things to handle this afternoon, and there'll be no one to watch her..."

"Meow..."

Meowgnaroth was powerless to resist the boss's demand and could only droop her head in despair.

To be honest, among the eccentric-tempered clockwork cats, little Mei was easily top-tier—you could say she gathered the shortcomings of a hundred cats into one.

...

What does a clockwork cat bring when going out?

The answer is a large cat backpack containing various precious items beloved by felines, along with a collection of wondrous tools. Moreover, this cat backpack could be placed on the ground and deployed as an effective base structure for defense.

Meowgnaroth was fully equipped and ready.

Melina, meanwhile, came trotting out in her usual dainty manner, holding her little parasol.

They had also recruited another clockwork cat to accompany them.

A clockwork cat wielding twin axes, whose hiring fee was a mere six silver lei—very cheap.

And the misfortune Meowgnaroth dreaded began to manifest right along the road.

"...This mushroom looks like it might be delicious."

Melina was in high spirits. At the sight of a mushroom, she immediately wanted to fetch her little stew pot and prepare a fresh batch of mushroom soup on the spot.

"Meow-meow-meow-ow!" Meowgnaroth stopped her just in time. "I-I think we'd better eat it when we get back? We have a mission to fulfill, and messing around won't be as fun, meow-ow!"

"Hmm, you're right."

Melina allowed herself to be persuaded.

Puffing out her cheeks, she accepted the reasoning, barely.

Meowgnaroth wiped the sweat from her brow with a paw.

It was only then, all along the journey, that she realized just how troublesome of a woman Melina truly was.

Catching sight of a picturesque view, Melina wanted to stop and take a stroll—the only problem was that a searing-clawed alligator dragon, a Tier-7 dragon, happened to reside near the scenery. Never mind that Melina hadn't emerged wearing armor; even if she had donned that full brass set, she would still have been swallowed whole in a single bite... Far too thrilling.

Meowgnaroth wasn't overly worried about Melina getting swallowed whole, though; she was more afraid that after Melina toyed with the searing-clawed alligator dragon, this crazed and violent breed of dragon would take its fury out on the cat...

Besides, what was Melina's status?

In Meowgnaroth's mind, she was the [prospective boss's wife]. If you let her go play in an alligator-infested pool, even if she had the skill to tear alligators apart bare-handed or swim leisurely among them, just imagine what the boss would think if she found out?

At the very least, it definitely wouldn't be "this cat is quite reliable"...

Halfway there, Melina suddenly took it into her head to provoke two ferocious dragons—Meowgnaroth had to lift Melina up with both paws and sprint wildly all the way to dismiss that notion.

Clearly, being lifted high up by the chubby cat was slightly more entertaining than provoking dragons.

...

By the time they reached Dunwich, Meowgnaroth felt as though she had lost ten pounds.

Still, after much pleading and reasoning, they finally arrived at their destination.

Meowgnaroth communicated in feline terms with the clockwork cat accompanying them, who was already beginning to look at Melina with a trace of dread. The essence of her message was basically: 'Keep a sharp eye on this cat... no, this person.'

Then, using the most efficient method of her life, the chubby cat successfully negotiated the partnership.

At last, the task of "keeping an eye on Melina" was barely fulfilled.

...

Upon returning to Hamlet, Melina ran into Miss G, who was discussing with Sonia how to rebuild the Hamlet estate and transform it into Banshee Street.