In the following week, Mr. Laine bought many things needed for exploring the mine, including but not limited to tents, dry food, and candles.
For this reason, Laine specifically consulted some professionals, and their answers left him both amused and helpless.
This expert was a devout follower of Gargali, the Mine God, and he taught Laine a method of tying a Gargali prayer note to a sparrow's leg before entering a new mine shaft. Then, they would keep the sparrow in a cage on their backs. If the sparrow died during the excavation, the miners would believe they were close to a new vein.
Laine thought this method didn't sound very practical...
Speaking of which, I've never heard that mines have deities.
Laine also spent money to purchase mercury bullets and some magic scrolls.
Amidst preparations and investigation, a week passed quickly.
Early January, Marinburg, Amber Avenue 53, nightfall.
For a Dark Elf, this was already her twentieth day in the house. After a period of recovery, Ollica's body had somewhat improved, but due to the High Elf's wicked spells and the slave contract, the Dark Elf's soul remained extremely weak.
What surprised her was that the human seemed genuinely indifferent towards her, as in the twenty days he never asked her to do anything, only let the maid who had been there previously train her.
The Dark Elf wore a black and white maid outfit, her long black hair tied simply with a white ribbon. With the windburn and scars on her face gone, her astonishing beauty was fully revealed to everyone in the house. It was a beauty mixed with wildness and pride, accentuated by her high chest and the elegant legs beneath the maid skirt, ordered from Kunisberry Tailor Shop, paired with white stockings and short black boots.
The most ironic thing for her was that being a slave to this human brought her the best life she had ever known since birth. She had never eaten such good food or worn such good clothes. Dark Elves are constantly in short supply and at war with each other, only to please the God of War and Murder, Cain.
However, it seemed that because she was already a prisoner, she could feel Cain had abandoned her. The rightful source is novèlfire.net
It was snowing again outside. Ollica stood dazedly in the house, holding a broom, looking at the world of falling snow through the glazed window.
"Ollica? What are you looking at? What's so interesting about snow?" A man's voice sounded behind her, and the Dark Elf instinctively pretended she was doing nothing, focusing on her sweeping.
Laine felt a bit self-deprecating, but he didn't mind and continued: "You must be curious why I haven't done anything like that to you?"
The Dark Elf refused to answer. According to Amelia, she almost never spoke.
"That's because you were unplanned; I actually never intended to buy a Dark Elf maid." Laine talked to himself, not caring whether the Dark Elf heard: "I've always heard that the skin of Dark Elves is as black as ink and that they stink as if they've come from the underground..."
"Ignorant… human!" This time Ollica couldn't maintain her calm, looking disdainfully at Laine: "You know nothing about the Duruzi."
Seeing this, Laine chuckled to himself. He wasn't afraid of her crying or laughing; he was only afraid of no reaction at all.
He knew Dark Elves weren't black. Most lower-class Dark Elves have pale skin due to lack of sunlight, and only the higher status Dark Elves have the chance to see the sun. Ollica's skin was not black at all. She was quite pale, with skin a light wheat color resembling the healthy complexion admired in both the East and West in Laine's previous life.
This indicated that Ollica's social class was not low; she was likely a noble among Dark Elves. However, Laine had already guessed this; if she wasn't a noble, she probably wouldn't have had the chance to be captured by the High Elves.
The Dark Elf realized she had shown too much emotion and stopped talking. Laine also didn't bother her further. He had lunch with the Genetic Primarch and his three maids, then turned to Amelia, who was washing dishes, and said, "Amelia? Come upstairs for a moment, they can handle the dishes."
"Okay!" Amelia wiped her hands and followed Laine upstairs.
Opening the study door, Laine sat behind the desk, signaling Amelia to sit beside him. The young maid blushed at the sight but pulled her skirt and sat next to him, "Mr. Laine?"
"Starting tomorrow, I'm going to explore the Secret Silver Vein of the Luigi Commerce Association to find out the real reason why so many miners have gone mad. I'll be entrusting you with the house." Laine said, holding Amelia's small hand.
"Alright." Amelia also knew about this matter, and the young maid seriously agreed: "Mr. Laine, please be careful."
"Hmm." Laine didn't say anything more, knowing that the young girl before him was very smart.
So, early the following morning, fully dressed, Laine gave Amelia a big hug under Miranda's envious gaze and then left the house alone.
Following the heavy stone-paved road, he passed through the Temple University District and the Citizen District all the way to the South City Gate, where the president of the Luigi Commerce Association, Hadrian, the Paladin Alfred, and the Half-Elf Ranger Estelle had all arrived.