Around the time Pandora was hauling Tiamat and Phoenix away, Grin and An were together in one of the rooms assigned to them.
"An-san, I'm sorry if I’m imposing by being here," An said tentatively.
"Not at all. In fact, I couldn't really settle down in such a massive room all by myself. It’s a relief to have you here, An-san," Grin replied.
"It really is an incredible suite. To think that everyone gets one of these to themselves..."
The room was steeped in the kind of luxury one would expect from a high-end cruise ship. For two people who were strictly commoners, it was like stepping into another world. Since neither of them could find any peace of mind alone in such opulence, they had decided to spend the time leading up to the party together in Grin’s room.
"Still, we’ve really ended up somewhere amazing, haven't we? Kaito-san must be extraordinarily wealthy. He’s an otherworlder, right?"
"I don't know the specifics, but I’ve heard rumors that otherworlders who choose to stay are granted titles of nobility... So, maybe Miyama-san is a noble? Even if he isn't, he clearly has incredible pull. We definitely need to stay on his good side! If we do, maybe I’ll finally get some wealthy acquaintances... and enter the high society of my dreams!"
An laughed softly. "You’re quite the tenacious one, Grin-san."
"Well, this is a golden opportunity, so I’d like to take something home with me. I even rented a high-quality dress just for today. It was a painful blow to my wallet, considering my monthly take-home pay is only 3,420R, but I couldn't afford to cut corners when it came to a chance at high society."
Even while intimidated by the luxury surrounding her, Grin hadn't forgotten her goal of networking with the wealthy. In a sense, she was remarkably resilient. Of course, if her goal was simply to meet someone rich, she had already achieved it by befriending Kaito—she just had no way of knowing that Kaito was an outlier whose influence reached the very top of the three worlds.
"You’re a receptionist at an Adventurer Guild, right, Grin-san?" An asked. "Forgive me if this is rude, but I thought a job requiring so much specialized knowledge would pay better."
"That might be true in the capital, but my guild is out in a frontier city. The scale is completely different, so that’s about all I get. Come to think of it, I’ve never asked you about your work in detail. Since you’re of the Cruel race, are you in the Magic Crystal mining business?"
"You’re well-informed. Yes, or rather, the vast majority of the Cruel race works in mining."
"Um... this might be a vulgar question, but does it pay well?"
"It varies quite a bit. Basically, we Cruel form associations of a certain size, and each group handles its own contracts or sells its own hauls. Because of that, your income depends entirely on how much power your association has. The one I belong to—or rather, the one I’m the representative for—is a small-to-medium-sized union. We don't have many connections, so... it fluctuates. In a bad month, it’s about 2,000R, and when things are busy, it might go up to 5,000R."
"I see. That sounds like a struggle. Still, it’s impressive that you’re the representative. You’re the head of an organization, even if it's a small one."
While the Cruel race was vulnerable to sunlight, they excelled at mining and engineering, often building and living in underground cities. Their economy revolved almost entirely around gems and Magic Crystals. An was no exception to this. She was a miner by trade and, despite her modesty, the head of her union.
"Ahaha... if only it were that impressive. My grandfather was the previous leader, so I just took over the role. Honestly, our union is full of talented workers, but they have the temperament of stubborn artisans. They’re terrible at the business side of things... Since we lack connections with major trading companies, we usually have to take jobs at bargain-bin prices just to get by."
"Connections really are everything, aren't they? Wait, I have an idea! An-san, you should try to make some connections at this party too!"
"Hahaha, that’s a lovely thought, but... do you really think I could just happen to meet someone with influence in a trading company? Especially one dealing with Magic Crystals? Kaito-san might know someone, but it would be far too shameless of me to ask for favors when we’ve only just met..."
"Well, dreaming is free, so let's aim high! Who knows? You might even land a deal with the Seditch Magic Tool Trading Company!"
"That’s the biggest company in the world! If I could get our foot in the door there, I could really make life easier for everyone back home... but that might be setting the bar a little too high. I'll just be happy if I can find one decent business lead."
"You really have no greed at all, do you?"
In contrast to Grin, who was driven by dreams and social ambitions, An was more modest and practical. However, in this particular setting, Grin's wild optimism was actually closer to the truth—though neither of them could have possibly guessed it.
Serious-senpai: "Just based on who we know is coming, you've got the Chairman of the Seditch Magic Tool Trading Company, the Special Advisor of the Magic Tool Department, the Special Advisor of the Magic Crystal Department, several Six Kings, and even the Honorary Chairman of multiple major trading companies, including the Seditch group... and that's just the tip of the iceberg."
???: "The modest, practical type is about to get blindsided by the sheer force of human networking."