Once the doors were shut and we were making our way upwards, Emily unlinked her arm from mine and proceeded to apologize for the other customer's rude behavior.
“It's not a problem at all, He has always been that way, even back in school. He just needs to be shut up sometimes.”
Giving her a warming smile after I say this seems to calm her mind and she returns to a neutral position beside me.
Upon entering the middle D-Ranked floor I saw the carpet's color changed once again to a deep blue this time. It seems the decor changes every time we go up a rank. Emily had never been up to the D-Ranked floors as she was only allowed access to the E-Ranked floors by herself. Despite this she still managed to guide me around like a pro.
The accessories here were an upgrade from the previous floors but I had little interest. Instead I grabbed the ring we came here for before swiping my license and heading to the top floor to look for a weapon.
My balance after the little shopping spree was a little over 800,000 credits so i should have enough to buy myself a weapon but i need to remember to keep enough for what else i want to buy after.
The weapon selection on this floor was the biggest so far. Staves and wands everywhere, even a few daggers with mage boosting stats. Maybe I should get a dagger or something that I can hide in my robe, that wouldn't be too bad of an idea.
Looking at the few daggers causes Emily to rush to pull out her tablet again. Really, where does she keep that thing?
“Sorry I'm not familiar with the items on this floor so let me have a look at what they all do.”
She takes a moment before seemingly finding the selection of items here. This dagger gives boosts to intelligence and strength, pretty good but not worth the price.
“Oh this shouldn't be here… It seems that while we were on our way up a dagger was moved down from the C-Ranked floors. It had been there a while apparently because instead of dropping to the top D-Ranked floor they moved it all the way to the middle on.”
“And what makes this dagger so special that you would point it out? It can't be that good if no one else wants it.”
Emily had unlocked the weapons case and allowed me to reach in to grab the dagger. Inspecting it reveals the initials J.C. carved into the blade.
“I thought they only made jewelry, but now they also make weapons?”
“It's possible that J.C. is not an individual but a company. They very rarely sell weapons it seems but they have a few. A long sword they produced is on the top B-ranked floor but it was slowly dropping before it landed there so after that failed to sell despite being so high ranked they probably stopped creating weapons. Not many people need a luck based weapon afterall.”
“So what boost does the sword give?”
“I'm afraid that information isn't available to me unless i were to go to the actual floor.”
“I see no worries then. What about this dagger then, what does it give?”
“It offers a +150 boost to luck and has a rune carved into it that should repair the blade if it gets any scratches on it.”
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That's not half bad. In fact, that's amazing.
“How much for it?”
She taps on her tablet a few more times before returning a sheepish voice
“350,000.”
Thinking over it for a moment and turning it back and forth in my hand, I can feel the weight is great. I need this dagger.
“I will take it. That will be all, no need for a staff or anything. I can always buy one next time.”
Emily nearly jumps in her sudden joy and runs over to the counter to finalize the purchase. Some of the other attendants were giving us dirty looks but when I met their gaze they quickly looked away.
When we returned to the elevator I pressed the button to return to the ground floor.
“Thank you so much for buying so many things. With this I should easily be able to access the D-Ranked floors!”
“Oh please i didn't do anything, i only asked for you as my attendant since you did such a good job last time. You work hard so you deserve these things.”
Her eyes were full of admiration. I felt I was just shopping and didn't give it too much thought but it seems to have meant the world to her.
“Oh I need one last thing.”
I turn to Emily before continuing.
“I understand that on the ground floor there is a small area for real estate, are you able to help me with searching for a new home?”
She was stunned silent for a moment. The ground floor did work somewhat as a market and sold things for those who are unawakened. While they didn't sell your everyday needs, they sold more expensive things like real estate or you could even ask them to custom order some more niche items.
“Of course I can help. Could I ask for your budget so I know what kind of place we can offer?”
“I have about 450,000 credits left. I can make more but I wouldn't mind making the first payment on a house now as I need to move my family somewhere closer to the System Association building for their safety.”
Emily thinks for a moment, a little confused about why i thought my family was unsafe but decided not to push the issue.
When we returned to the ground floor instead of the exit, we turned to the side and made our way to a small office where we could discuss things.
The tablet emerged from nowhere yet again as she sat at a small table. I sat opposite and waited to hear what she found.
“We have a few places I think you might like. This first one is only a 5 minute walk away from the Association headquarters. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and comes fully furnished.”
The place she shows me seems nice. The building is standing on its own, not connected to any other building and is painted a nice white. The furniture seems a bit old but I'm sure it would be fine.
“This next one costs a little more and is about all of your budget for the initial deposit but it could also be good if you like it. It has 3 bedrooms too, same deal as the last. It is located a 3 minute walk from the Association but also is located on the top of a small bakery. The bakery is closed and no one runs it for now as it's packaged in with the home. Would be perfect if your family plans to run the business.”
Now that one is perfect. There's no furniture inside but that's alright, we can buy more or just move our old stuff. The bakery is the main selling point though, with that my parents could open one of their own instead of working at someone else's so I'm sure that will help convince them to move.
“That one sounds perfect. How much is it?”
“It costs 3 million credits. You can pay 10% as an initial purchase that would allow you to move it, then you would have to pay monthly until it's all paid off. Doing it this way would make it cost 3.4 million credits total. Would that be alright?”
“That's perfect. I assume I will pay now?”
“Of course. Let me just get the documents ready, it should only be a moment.”
After paying the 300,000 I was given the keys for the house. This was much easier than I thought. Using the final 150 thousand credits paid for the next 6 months worth of payments on the house so i could leave without giving my family any debt to worry about. At least not for 6 months.
Emily gives another big thanks as this would give her another big boost, almost pushing her to gain access to the C-Ranked floors. I'm glad I could help her as she is extremely kind and seems to be working hard. As a final gift I pulled out the first ring I bought, it wouldn't be worth it to sell so I think it would be a kind gesture. I can only wear 2 rings at a time since the third wouldn't give any stat boost so it's no use to me anyway.
“Here Miss Emily, a gift as thanks for all the help you’ve given me. I hope you can continue to assist me in the future.”
I hand the ring to her which she accepts but her face shows her surprise. Her mouth hangs open slightly before she shakes her head to regain her senses. With a crimson blush flushing over her cheeks she bows deeply, holding the ring close to her chest.
“Th-thank you for the gift and for your kind patronage. I promise to cherish the gift so please choose me again when you return.”
She spat out the words as fast as possible. Her face was hard to see with how deep she was bowing to me but I could see that the blush on her cheeks had spread to her ears.
Without thinking much more about it, I left.
******
[Emily pov]
I really hope he didnt see how much I was blushing… He definitely did…
A big sigh escaped my lips. After he left I looked at the ring in my hands. What a kind gesture. I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it but I will still cherish such a kind gift.
I hope he comes back soon…
END OF CHAPTER 18