Chapter 55: Searching for Building Materials (2)
Cerus let out a long sigh. "Actually, we can. But if we use too much wood to build things, we might end up running out of firewood later. And we really can’t afford to cut down any of the living trees that are left."
Maeve nodded. He was right.
This world was slowly dying. Cutting down the few living trees that still remained would be incredibly foolish.
"Alright, then let’s not use the wood from the forest," Maeve said softly. "Let me think about another solution."
"Why think about it alone?" Cerus asked immediately. "We can figure it out together. I don’t have anything to do right now anyway."
Right.
Maeve was actually a little confused about why Cerus seemed so free.
The moment they had returned to the settlement, both Ikarus and Axan had immediately gone off to handle their own responsibilities.
Axan had returned to reinforce the barrier surrounding the Azuryn Settlement, making sure it remained strong enough to protect everyone inside.
Meanwhile, Ikarus had gathered several warriors and headed southwest to search for Clouds.
Compared to them, Cerus looked surprisingly relaxed. He was simply sitting beside her as if he had all the free time in the world.
"Do you really have nothing to do?" Maeve asked.
Cerus shrugged as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "No. Since everyone else is busy, I decided to stay here, look after you, and keep you company."
Before Maeve could respond, he continued, "You told me before that sometimes you get bored sitting in the hut all day."
"Oh."
Maeve immediately remembered that conversation.
During their journey back to the settlement, she had accidentally mentioned that her old world was full of entertainment. There were movies, games, social media, videos, books, music, and countless other things that people could enjoy whenever they wanted.
Compared to that, life here was much quieter. Because of that, there were times when she felt terribly bored.
And when she was missing her phone particularly badly, the boredom became even worse. Sometimes she found herself wishing she could scroll through videos for just a few minutes or check her messages out of habit, only to remember that none of those things existed in this world.
"Do you not like spending time with me?" Cerus asked, his expression turning slightly gloomy.
Maeve blinked several times. When she thought about it, having Cerus around was actually pretty nice. He was fun to talk to, always had something to say, and somehow managed to keep her from thinking about her phone all the time.
In fact, she barely missed it whenever he was nearby.
"No, no, no!" Maeve said quickly. "You’re actually a really great companion!" The sadness on Cerus’s face made her panic a little. She simply couldn’t bear seeing him look upset for too long.
"It’s just..." She hesitated before pointing a finger toward the sky. "I need to communicate with... her."
"The Sky Mother?" Cerus asked immediately, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
Maeve nodded. "You could say that." Then she awkwardly scratched her cheek. "I just feel more comfortable talking to her when I’m alone. So... why don’t you wait outside for a bit? You can come back in after I’m done."
Cerus looked at her with clear reluctance. "Can I talk to the Sky Mother too?"
Maeve almost laughed. "No, unfortunately, you can’t." She deliberately put on a disappointed expression. "But don’t worry. She doesn’t hate you at all."
That seemed like the safest answer she could give.
After all, explaining that the "Sky Mother" was actually a pink ball named Pinky flying around her for 24/7 would be a lot more difficult.
Fortunately, Cerus didn’t insist on staying. After giving her one last doubtful look, he left the hut without any complaints.
A few moments later, Maeve could hear his footsteps outside. True to his word, he was waiting nearby or, more accurately, he was pacing around the hut like a loyal guard protecting an important fortress.
[Pinky isn’t the Sky Mother, Host!] Pinky protested immediately. [Pinky is far superior to the Sky Mother!]
Maeve stared at the floating pink ball in disbelief. "Don’t get so full of yourself."
[Pinky is telling the truth!]
Maeve decided not to argue with it. "Anyway," she said, changing the subject, "does the black market sell wood? We need materials to build the farmhouse and the fence."
As much as she wanted to avoid using the forest’s remaining resources, they still needed a place to keep the Clouds safely. If there was another way to get building materials, she wanted to hear it.
[Opening the Black Market...]
[Searching for material resources...]
[Ding! Ding!]
A translucent screen immediately appeared in front of Maeve.
[Building Materials]
- Premium Wood Plank Bundle (500 pieces): 2,500 Coins
- Farmhouse Construction Blueprint: 1,000 Coins (Guaranteed to successfully build the farmhouse as long as the buyer follows the blueprint.)
Maeve immediately clicked her tongue. "That’s ridiculously expensive."
She stared at the price of the wood for several seconds, hoping it would somehow become cheaper if she looked long enough, but it didn’t.
To make things worse, the regular wood planks were only a hundred coins cheaper than the premium version.
What kind of scam was that?
If she bought the wood bundle alone, she would only have fifty coins left. And if she spent everything on the wood, she definitely wouldn’t be able to afford the blueprint.
Still, did she really need a blueprint? A farmhouse wasn’t exactly a palace. Surely building one couldn’t be that difficult, right?
Or maybe she could save money by asking Elder Vax to build the fence first. Compared to an entire farmhouse, a fence sounded much easier to make.
As Maeve was weighing her options, her gaze suddenly stopped on a small line of text beneath the wood listings.
[Warning: All wood products are harvested from illegal forests. Do not allow them to come into contact with blood. Any resulting consequences will be the owner’s responsibility.]
Maeve blinked, then she blinked again. "Excuse me?"
She leaned closer to the screen. "No, seriously. Excuse me?"
The warning somehow raised more questions than answers. First of all, why was the wood harvested from illegal forests?
Second, why couldn’t it touch blood?
And third, what kind of consequences required a warning like that?
