°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
"Life without music is a life without soul, a life without adventure is a life without music, a life without excitement is a life without adventure- I honestly didn't know where I was going with that but try not to think of it- just feel~ (๑>•̀๑)" - Elduin Ravaslor
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
As Ryuta exited the church, he was met with Edward who gave him a "wtf" look as he stood before a huge crate.
"Oh, so it arrived?"
"Yeah, just now"
"..." (•_•)
"..." (•_•)
The two silently stared at each other before Edward let out a sigh as he asked.
"What the hell's in this? The guy from Hephaestus familia said that the other two were on their way but… what kind of deal did you make with Hephaestus anyway?"
Edward, curious about why such a huge package, containing something he couldn't really see had been delivered to them this early.
He knew that Ryuta had been here for just a bit over two days and yet here he was, doing one big thing after another.
It was crazy and a normal result of having extreme cheats but-
"Just a bunch of iron ingots, a few special metals, copper, oil, monster materials and magic stones"
Hearing Ryuta's response, Edward could only look on speechless at the man who basically asked for an entire warehouse of materials.
The worst part was that Ryuta probably got it on a loan since he shouldn't really have anything-
"Are you Trump?"
"Huh?"
"Did you ask for a "small loan of a million dollars?" from daddy Heph?"
Edward's words didn't really hit Ryuta immediately, he had after all, lived in Japan for more than two decades before coming to this world. His recollections of his first life were still there but not as clear as those of Edward's.
It took him a while to understand the inside joke which he replied to with-
"Nope, I'm not pauper, it was just a tiny loan that should amount to a billion dollars"
"..."
"By the way, this church and a large piece of land here came with the deal"
"...."
"Basically, majority of these ruins belong to the Hestia Familia now"
"..."
"Though we should get a few more deliveries over the next couple of weeks. They won't come everyday but some of the materials I requested are quite rare you know."
"..."
(* °ヮ° *)
Everytime Ryuta spoke, Edward got more and more stupid, his mind just can't process what the man was saying-
He even thought that he was delusional but-
"Are you playing with me?"
"Nope"
"How?"
"Hm?"
"HOW THE FUCK DID YOU GET HEPHAESTUS TO COUGH UP HER ENTIRE LIFE SAVINGS?!" (# `Д ')
Edward exploded, unable to contain his annoyance at the nonchalance Ryuta was showing.
But, the response he got was, once again, the same blank expression that had an "obviously" air to it followed by words that seemed to have not a care in the world-
"Talent, Ability and a knack for business my friend"
The answer which did not really explain anything at all which further prompted Edward to reply, his voice tinged with annoyance.
"HOW THE HELL DOES THAT EXPLAIN ANYTHING? IT'S LIKE SAYING TRUST ME BRO"
"Yeah, just trust me bro"
⁽⁽(੭ꐦ •̀Д•́ )੭*⁾⁾
Edward was about to explode, he had just about had it with Ryuta but the crimson eyed man snickered as he followed up-
"Honestly, this is a long agreement, I'm now contracted to only make items for Hephaestus familia, without a commission fee, the Hestia familia is also forbidden from selling any items "I" make. Which means that we don't have a source of revenue for the next 20 years. At the same time, we still have to pay back the loan which is on a 24 month installment plan, there's no interest but, we really need to find a way to make money"
His words were spoken with a calm tone, his face sported a bright smile but the words he said-
"THE FUCK?"
Left Edward dumbstruck, Ryuta's words made him believe all his words about the land ownership and the materials. But the problem was-
"Is she stupid? On what basis does she believe you are capable of paying her back? Yo- Our source of income was cut off, she basically profits of your creations freely! How could you accept such a deal?"
"That was the only way she would give me the land AND the materials"
"What are the materials for anyway?!"
Ryuta did not respond to Edward's words verbally, instead he walked to a crate and opened it up.
A pile of shiny black rocks enveloped Edward's sight. He could see nothing else aside from the black rocks-
"Coal?"
"Specifically Anthracite, top quality coal used by the Hephaestus familia in their forging. I have access to 10% of their monthly supply."
"The hell's this for?"
"You'll know later, for now I need to go on an errand."
Without saying anything, Ryuta left, leaving Edward to stare blankly at the pile of black rocks.
Later, more crates arrived and all of them were filled to the brim with Anthracite.
Edward carefully checked the rocks as Ryuta returned but he waved Edward off as he headed into the church carrying bags filled with clothes.
"Tsk- the harem protagonist taking care of his harem first… classic MC move"
Edward said as he sat there staring at the rocks, his mind wandering, cursing at Ryuta.
He was annoyed-
Why is it Ryuta?
Why not him?
What did Ryuta have that he didn't?
They were both from the same world- why did the crimson eyed bastard get the "MC treatment" and while he had the "MC's friend who should have been the MC but wasn't" treatment.
'Is it the eyes? It's the eyes isn't it! Yeah, I'm blonde with blue eyes and he has red eyes. Maybe his hair turns white, oh, let's see, he's also gonna get an injury someday or make a prosthetic which forces him to wear an eyepatch…'
He continued to curse internally until Ryuta finally came up to him and asked-
"Edward, you said you're a registered chemist right?"
Annoyed, Edward glared at Ryuta as he replied, his voice tinged with hate.
"What of it?"
Ryuta only smiled at his response as he started explaining, Edward could only respond with short one word questions and shock.
After he spoke to Edward, Ryuta then turned around, he smiled as he said-
"I'm heading to Hephaestus' workshop to prepare for a meeting with the Loki familia later this afternoon. I'll do some prep to hide my appearance, can't have them knowing about me and my connection to the Hestia familia just yet."
Hearing his words, Edward looked at the crates left in front of the church.
Seeing the direction of his gaze, Ryuta laughed as he said-
"Officially, all the packages sent by Hephaestus were piles upon piles of coal. If anyone investigates, they'd only learn of a smithing God playing a prank on her poor friend. The land titles are also still under Hephaestus. Of course, all members of the Hephaestus familia were informed that we could do whatever we wanted on the land. It's not like they have any use for it anyways"
Leaving those words, Ryuta did his classic- "vanishing into thin air" as Edward stood there stunned.
Edward was not a genius, but he was someone who had lived in adult society for sometime.
'Damn…'
For the first time- no, the second time, Edward found himself showing respect to Ryuta.
'What a chad'
He thought before shaking his head, he then used alchemy to arrange and move all the materials.
The five women who had just received their falna on the other hand were forced to rest inside as Hestia fed them.
Apparently, they were not in "good condition" but Edward could see that they were already in much better shape than him-
But he didn't say anything as he quietly slaved away.
'Someday… even I will have my own harem…'
He thought as he stacked the coal in the stone storehouse he built beside the church.
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[email protected]/lonelymountainsage