CHAPTER 5

Chapter 5: BUILD

The whole thing took a little turn into modern times. 

Currencies were once again introduced to humanity, thanks to a certain someone. From Dollars, Peso, Yen, and Euros that we have if the past, now to Dragos, the new and exclusive currency that was developed by the newly established Ryusui Corp. 

Money is something that those who had lived in the technological world knew the importance of. It cannot be taken lightly. Without money, you are nothing.

The other day, Ryusui had asked her to build him a pump for sipping out the oil when a possible reservoir was found.

"I'll pay you ten million Dragos." He bluntly stated, raising one of his eyebrows as he watched her movements. "Try harder." She commented while focusing all of her attention looking at her fingernails.

"20."

"I don't know..."

"30 million."

"50 million Dragos."

"This isn't going anywhere...."

"Last call, Rikicchi. 60 Million."

Rika stood up and slowly walked towards the entrance of the room while yawning. "I'm going back, Nanami-san."

"W-wait, FINE! 100 million!" He frustratedly sighed in defeat. Quirkily, Rika made her way back to her seat backward. "That's more like it." She smiled at him.

"You know this is basically impossible." She truthfully told him as she sips the tea he prepared solely for her. Ryusui on the other hand straightly looked at him with a confused expression on her face. "We don't have the right types of equipment and raw materials for this."

Oh no, he knows where this going.

"Say, pay me 100 million, plus the scavenging of materials and manpower, and I will not complain about anything." She put her hands on her chest. "I promise!"

There isn't much to negotiate with it. Ryusui had no choice but to comply or else there is nothing for him in return. 

For Rika, Money is 'Evaughrythang'. Of course, placing only second to her invented babies. 

And don't give me crap about sayings like, 'Money can't buy you happiness. because it would most certainly do. Unlike Ryusui who was born with the leisure of having so much money, she on the other hand chose to keep every penny she acquired, at least spend less than what she can actually earn.

She walked out of her tent and tried to close the small entrance of the tent with a small hook to keep the bugs and mosquitos from going inside. 

Her feet mindlessly walked towards the place where the construction of the ship is being held, not that she was actually needed for that specific day, since it was her day off, but because she grew accustomed to looking for possible problems and mishaps that could take place in building a ship.

Guess you could say that she is a raging workaholic. 

At 10 in the morning or she just speculated, people of the Ishigami Village, mostly men, were gathered as construction workers for the ship in return they would be paid in Dragos.

"Good day, Rika-san." Mikurosop, one of the villagers greeted her while a pile of wood was on his back. She gracefully swayed the corners of her lips upwards to create a beautiful smile as a greeting in return. "Indeed a good day."

"Please don't strain yourself too much, MIkurosop-san. Tell the others to rest when they are exhausted. Food is on the way." She informed him.

"Will do, Rika-san! Thank you." He responded back.

At the top of the hill where she can see everything there is under her, she watches everything like a predator on standby, waiting for a single moment of weakness for their prey.

 Along the way, she stretches her limbs and bows carefully to reach her toes.

Building a ship is already a hard-ass job, cause you gotta do the hard work. But overseeing one's construction? It's different. RIKA is a very hands-on worker when it comes to her projects. She wants perfection and the quality of her work must achieve the utmost level it can be.

That's why she cared most about her colleagues and those who work under her. But why?

People are one of the most important things in a project. One person may be gifted with exceptional intelligence and logical skills but one could never make it out on their own.

No man is an island, is what they say. A plan will only be a plan if there isn't anyone who is willing to put a start on it. 

In simpler terms, No person could live without the help of others. 

Listening to their problems, asking for their welfare, offering assistance when they are in need, being kind to them at all times, manipulating them into thinking that they had gained a trusted friend, and obtaining valuable information about themselves that can be for all sorts of bribery and blackmailing.

And in order to live her life of lazying, Rika has to cherish the people around them. Bonds are what make people connected with each other. Be it with love, friendship, or debt and guilt. It doesn't matter. 

It's the small things that count, right?

"Love dawdling around the sun, huh, Rika-chan?" A voice was heard coming from behind her. She turned to her back only to find a dual-haired man looking all smiley at her.

"Hi, Gen." She greeted him back and then proceeded to stretch her elbows and neck. "You finished shittin' around the people while they work?"

"That's what you call conversing, Rika-chan." He corrected. "What chu doin'?"

"Not that it concerns you. Can you go away now? You're contaminating the air around here, and I'm busy breathing." She bluntly told him off, not sparing him a single glance.

Gen suddenly acted like he was hurt, holding both of his hands to his chest. "That went straight to mah' heart, Rika-chan. So ad-bay! "

At a single look, the girl doesn't like Gen and she's not afraid to say it out loud.

He loves to run his little mouth off to everyone. He is without a doubt good at socializing and talking, just like her. 

He thinks differently. He may look like a man who loves to fool around, but she knows, that's just a ploy. It's as if his being is a complete fake. All of his movements were calculated and that bothers her.

Sure he doesn't look like the man who can kill a fly, but still. she can't put her guard down around him. 

And she doesn't like it.

Gen is like her. At a point where a normal person can mistake them as siblings or whatever. 

"I'm actually here to inspect the construction of the ship and report it back to Senku." That's the moment where the ship engineer took a glance at the man. He was smiling gently at her, but she knows that he was completely grinning at her right now. "Are you still chasing me away now?"

In return, she presents him with one of the fakest smiles she could make, straightening her posture at the process as she was pointing her hands to where the ship was being built. "Of course not. I'll lead the way for you."

Think good times, Rika. It is just another day for you and the Stone World. 

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Unedited.