Chapter 65

The square where the lottery was held looked much quieter than before. Back then, there were so many people. In the distance, I could see the artifact workshop, which is practically my love-hate relationship. They only sold a limited number of random boxes. They were worried about my mental health!

But… an artifact workshop…

I held up the terrarium artifact on my wrist and stared at it intently. I also thought about Daisy2, with whom I had just been talking until the link was cut, and the 28th terrarium.

Didn’t you say the 28th terrarium is attributed to my artifact? So, Daisy2, who is inside it, is practically inside my artifact, which means we can talk even if we are far apart. And you also said that if I send the dandelion children to the artifact, they can go to the 28th terrarium.

And that place is an artifact workshop.

Could the artifact furniture that I dismissed as mere room decorations… be moved to the 28th terrarium? Since my terrarium is an artifact, right? Especially houses… houses… If so, I might save some effort in building a house from scratch?

“What are you thinking about?”

Mesquite asked, seeing me silently staring at the artifact workshop, deep in thought.

I casually mentioned my hypothesis, but no dryad could give a clear answer. Even Mesquite, who is knowledgeable, couldn’t answer because she had never been an administrative officer.

If you don’t know, just try it! And the one who welcomed this decision the most was Elder.

Two normal fields and one desert field. I had shopped at the artifact workshop before, but none of the furniture for the newly recruited swamp field close-range Bago was equipped.

I tried to send a child to shop separately, but they wouldn’t leave my side, so I had to take them with me. I hinted at my hypothesis to Daisy2 and bought a normal field bench to test it.

“What a nice bench. It’s much better than sitting on the ground or scrap materials!”

And my hunch was proven right.

What’s important to me is the house. But the house only comes from the random box.

“Hello? What can I help you with?”

“Do you remember me?”

Hello! Nice to see you again! I disappeared for a few days and then reappeared. Is the one-time purchase limit still valid? Please tell me it has been reset!

“I’m sorry, but you have already used up your limited purchase quota for this month. We operate a limited purchase system in our 26th terrarium to prevent gambling addiction. I apologize.”

“This can’t be. I’m not someone who desperately needs money to the point of gambling addiction! I’m just trying to break even! I’m determined to keep going until I get my money back, so I’m far from being addicted to gambling!”

No matter how much I pleaded, they wouldn’t listen. When I asked who made such a rule, they said it was the administrative officer. How can it not work for me, a 4th-class gardener? It doesn’t work? Oh, come on….

Going back to the orchard is too much of a hassle. If I set up a workshop in the 28th terrarium, I won’t impose any purchase limits!

Wait… they said the administrative officer? I’m a 4th-class gardener. That means I have the status to own a certain amount of shares in the 26th terrarium.

I woke up my phone and read the share ownership guide sent by the administrative officer. I found the part I was looking for. It said that I can designate a specific area to own, and the price is determined by the tax generated in that area.

In other words, if the tax generated in the place I want to own is, for example, 1000 diamonds per month… I need to pay 1000 diamonds per month to own it.

By owning shares, I can exercise rights in that area, and the owner’s rights take precedence over the laws of the terrarium. That means, if I buy the shares of the area where the workshop is located….

“The purchase limit set by the administrative officer won’t apply to me, right?”

When I swiped to the next page, a map of the entire 26th terrarium appeared. Can I touch the area to buy it? I touched the workshop area of the commercial district frantically.

This is mine now. The price doesn’t matter.

When I looked at the activated part, I saw that the artifact workshop I wanted to buy, along with a few surrounding commercial buildings, was bundled together.

Unlike my urgency, the purchase window didn’t appear immediately. Instead, a table comparing the recent tax amounts in the area and the timing of my purchase appeared. The graph showed a sharp spike at the time I wanted to buy.

The purchase price is determined by the average tax generated in the area over the past two weeks, and a guide text appeared, suggesting that it’s wise to buy when the diamond value is lowest.

An additional guide said that the surplus revenue is entirely mine, based on the purchase price. In other words, for a typical buyer, it’s beneficial to buy cheaply.

Well, I think I know why the graph spiked. I had cleaned out this commercial district with diamonds within the past two weeks.

Something was wriggling into the guide window. They were dwarves.

The dwarves were tapping the guide text with their pickaxes….

[Master! Why buy when the diamond value is low?]

…as if they were shocked by the incomprehensible text. People with limited capital naturally aim for the lowest payment, right? This guide is useless for people like us with unlimited capital.

[Master! Buy when you have to pay more diamonds!]

[Master! Do you need more diamonds?]

A guide also appeared, saying that the purchase price would be lower if I waited a few more days. The dwarves, however, urged me to buy quickly, which would be quite ironic if seen from others’ perspectives.

After a few more touches, a window appeared, confirming that I had acquired the shares of the area. The land area was the smallest among the zones I could choose, but the price was the highest. It felt like I had bought prime land in Gangnam. Since I bought it at the highest price, there won’t be any surplus revenue.

I showed my phone screen to the employee at the random box corner, pointing to the name “Owner: Jay” with my finger.

Now this place is mine. I didn’t buy the items but the land. The employee’s eyes widened.

“Wow! Now you have to pay taxes based on the revenue of this place!”

“Say it louder. There are people who need to hear it.”

I held my phone so the dwarves could hear clearly. Did you hear that? Now, in addition to the 28th terrarium, which is a diamond-sucking world tree branch, there’s another place that will consistently drain money. The dwarves cheered, suggesting they should modify the cart even more.

“What did you do? You bought this place?”

Elder, with a face as pale as a sheet, ran over. I made a mistake. I should have spoken loudly but made sure he didn’t hear. Before he could start his useless nagging, I turned his large body and pointed from one end of the store to the other.

“Elder, look at this. It’s all yours. You can take whatever you want and decorate your artifact area. There are so many shiny things here and there. I’ll close the store for the day, so take your time. You won’t have enough time to get everything, so hurry.”

He forgot his purpose for running over and disappeared with a happy face.

“Of course, the cost will be….”

“Yes! It will come out of my wallet. I already knew that. A straw was already stuck in it, so I expected it.”

And the revenue will return to my wallet, and next month, it will go out as taxes. The cycle of diamonds.

“Since I bought this place, the per-person purchase limit for the random box… I’ll remove it!”

The employee looked at me as if I couldn’t possibly have bought the area for that reason. You never know what people will do.

Now all I have left is simple labor. I asked for the box with the house, but they didn’t know which one it was, so I had to open them all.

With no one to watch, I plopped down on the spot. Bago sat next to me.

“I have two dryads with good luck. I wonder how you are. Want to try one? Go ahead and open as many as you want. This is a fence box. It only contains fences, but sometimes other things come out.”

The feel of my hands. I know a fence will come out, but the thrill of possibly getting something else, the tingling in my hands.

Bago opened a series of fence boxes and realized his luck was no different from mine. Bago didn’t know that fence boxes were duds. He was just amazed at the cute and adorable items that came out of the boxes.

“We seem to have a lot in common. Look at this. I only get fences too. It’s exactly the same, right? Even the white fence from the box I opened is the same as the one you opened.”

The situation was so funny that I couldn’t help but giggle, and a small smile appeared on Bago’s face. His usually gloomy cheeks flushed red. The child was happy.

“I wasn’t that happy when I got fences from the limited boxes.”

Bago’s expression changed.

“When I was just decorating my artifact! I didn’t need that many fences. But the 28th terrarium is in a situation where even a little material is precious. It has been destroyed a lot. If you look at the 26th terrarium, you can see that there are many fences and walls built around the perimeter.”

I held the box of fences that Bago was holding.

“These fences you found are very, very needed in the 28th terrarium! You’re doing a great job right now. You’re helping me get the things we need. I’m so grateful for your help!”

Lots of praise. Essential interaction to improve intimacy with Bago. This situation isn’t awkward for me to shower him with praise, right? The child will understand. Bago’s cheeks flushed red again.

When I put a bunch of fences into the artifact, Daisy2 groaned.

“There’s no more space!”

When we had almost used up all the boxes, a cute cottage popped out. This was more due to the overwhelming quantity than luck. An artifact furniture that increases the recovery speed of normal field dryads and provides a sense of stability.

By the time Daisy2 handed over the cottage, she had already stopped accepting more artifact furniture, saying that the 28th terrarium’s recovery level was too low.