Mahariku-san returned to Suriado, and soon it was the next day.
It seemed Pen-pen had used one Delicious Steak to chip away at her debt repayment.
She mentioned it fetched a pretty penny... though the specific numbers and units were drowned out by the Mystery Filter.
"I definitely made a profit, ssu!"
"So you actually came out ahead, huh?"
"The profit margin is... quite something, isn't it?"
It surely exceeded the cost of five convenience store rice balls by a wide margin.
Money... I really wondered how the economy of this world functioned.
Or perhaps the developers were ranch owners themselves, allowing them to source steaks at a bargain.
"I'm going to put my back into earning SP, ssu. My goal is one steak a day, ssu."
"O-Oh. Good luck with that, I guess?"
"I'm really sorry, but I’m going to keep going until the meat stops arriving in the real world, ssu!"
Was Pen-pen planning to become some kind of steak dealer?
"I had my doubts about turning assassin techniques into a sideshow, but... I’m going to go do that Circus Request, Gin-chan!"
"Understood. Please leave everything to me, Pen-pen-sama."
I wasn't a fan of reselling, but Pen-pen seemed to have some rather desperate circumstances. Well, if she was just selling a surplus item that came as a bonus with something she earned in-game, I suppose it wasn't exactly 'reselling' in the traditional sense.
"By the way, did you look into the Terms of Service for this game the other day? RMT wasn't specifically prohibited, was it?"
"Seriously? Most online games ban it because it causes so much trouble."
"Well, it's mostly because transferring items to a specific player is so difficult in the first place, you see?"
Now that she mentioned it, that made sense. Because of the Mystery Filter, most personal information was obscured, so even if we wanted to send money to Pen-pen right now, it would be impossible.
Even if we tried to meet up after registering each other on our Friend Lists, it would take a massive amount of time to actually rendezvous. Unless someone was handing over an incredibly rare item, the effort involved made it a losing proposition.
"I’m leaving the defense of the ranch to Pochi, ssu."
"Hm? Pochi?"
That was the first time I'd heard that name. Don't tell me, Pen-pen... you got a Third Character...?!
"Ah, it's the Fossil Golem I finished the other day, ssu."
"Oh. So they did have Golem Magic in Suriado after all?"
"No, they didn't, ssu. The Merchant-san sourced it for me!"
Apparently, the usual Merchant-san had gone around asking everywhere to track it down for her.
"Heh. That Merchant really is top-tier."
"He’s always looking out for us, so if I get my hands on a huge stash of Delicious Steaks, I might give him one as a thank-you, ssu."
"Giving a rare item to an NPC... wait, since Delicious Steak is an affection-boosting item, would that mean the NPC's Affection Level goes up too?"
I wondered if increasing the Merchant’s Affection Level would make him give us a permanent ten-percent discount or something. Some games worked like that.
Then, she showed me Pochi right away.
There, snapping the powerful teeth of a Large Carnivorous Dinosaur, was a Fossil Golem that looked exactly like an undead creature, sunbathing like a common dog.
Incredible—it was actually moving! It was moving while remaining a fossil, just like the ones displayed in a museum! Its tail went thump, thump against the ground!
I see, Pochi was the perfect name for it.
"It's impressive that it moves without any muscles."
"That's the power of magic, ssu."
"Does it have any maintenance costs?"
"While it's on standby, it's negligible, ssu. It only uses MP if I make it move violently in combat or if it needs to recover after taking damage."
It would keep moving until the MP pre-stocked in Pochi ran out, and it could also use that MP to heal itself. Since Pen-pen was a back-row class, she had MP to spare, so as long as she was around, replenishing it wouldn't be an issue.
Furthermore, it seemed the amount of MP a golem could store varied by material, and fossils were classified as materials capable of storing an extraordinarily large amount of MP.
In other words, it was a far superior golem compared to one made from ordinary stone or dirt.
Man, that was cool. Now I wanted a Fossil too.
"Ah. Since this little guy was born thanks to the Merchant-san, I really should introduce him, shouldn't I, ssu?"
"True, it's only polite."
"It would be a bit much to call the Merchant-san all the way out here, so we should probably take Pochi to him. Just don't forget to put a collar on him."
According to the Adventurer's Guild regulations, Tamed Monsters and golems were required to wear collars or similar identifiers in town to prove they were under control.
Since Pochi was technically a Large Carnivorous Dinosaur Fossil Golem, it shouldn't be a problem to bring him along as long as he had a collar.
"I can whip up a collar in no time, ssu. My Crafting Lv. has gone up, so I can do it instantly!"
With that, Pen-pen pulled out some materials and used a skill to turn them into a collar in the blink of an eye. It even had a lead attached.
Pen-pen immediately climbed up Pochi and fastened the collar. It dangled loosely, catching on the uneven ridges of the neck bones.
"...Hey, do you think you could ride on top of Pochi?"
"A Riding Golem... that's definitely an option!"
"Oh, it's probably faster than a mediocre horse, ssu! Maybe I should try making a Saddle? ...Actually, if I build a seat inside the ribcage, wouldn't it basically be a cockpit?"
She was totally right. That sounded awesome! Man, I really want a Fossil now!