Chapter 170 - To The New Year

We continued playing for a few more hours, unfortunately only getting the win one time. But! It was fun, and that’s all that mattered, right? Well, and trolling Rumi, but, I’ll keep that thought to myself. Hehe.

Anyways, the next few days were calm and chill. Luna and I spent a couple of hours each day unpacking and organizing everything.

We could have probably got it done in a day if we only focused on only doing that, but, neither of us wanted to. It isn’t like we needed to rush it anyways. After all, we’ll be repacking it all again anyways.

Other than that though, nothing really interesting had happened…Oh! Well, except for the fact that mama and papa’s gate was cleared. So! They were finally home!

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get them the bouncy potion and bouncy ball in time. Since the…bouncy-geddon was still all over the internet, they already knew what would happen if they tried it.

A shame, really.

But! They were planning to spend new years with us! So, that was exciting! Maybe I can trick them or something? I don’t know, I’ll find out tomorrow.

…

Luna and I cuddled as we watched some cartoons. It was an older cartoon—one that I used to watch as a kid. It’s nice to see that it’s still getting episodes to this day. It’s actually even older than me!

“Pfft.” I chuckled watching the little yellow fry cook continue his shenanigans.

“You like this show a lot, huh?” Luna commented, “We’re already up to season 14.”

“It’s just nostalgic and fun. I know a lot of people have said that it’s gotten boring or the jokes don’t land the same anymore, but, I still like it.” I said.

“Fair,” She nodded, “There’s this movie I like but everyone else hates, people just don’t get it.”

“To each their own.” I shrugged.

As we were casually chatting, my phone buzzed. Someone had sent me a message.

[PA Ashley: Date is set for purchase; January 1st. Comes out to $850,000 flat. I’ve properly hidden the details that ‘Raccoon, the Little Bomber’ is going to be buying land, so, unless people know your government name, it’ll be under the radar.]

“Oh!” I let out with a smile, “We’re finally gonna be landowners!” I said.

Luna was also reading the message at the same time. I could see the smile on her face.

“I can’t believe it.” She said, “I never imagined that this day would come.”

“Hehe, me neither.” I leaned my head against her shoulder, “It feels a little surreal that we’re going to have our own house soon too.”

“Yeah…” She said, leaning against me, “Thank you.”

“For what?” I chuckled.

“For loving me, I guess. This is the happiest time in my life.”

“Pfft, then, I should thank you for loving me too.” I smiled, “I’m also happier than I’ve ever been…Or should I say ‘Bin’? Hehe.”

“…Really?” She said, deadpan.

That only made me laugh. It seems like my laugh is contagious, since, she also started to chuckle just a few moments later.

Luna adjusted the blanket around us as I sent Ashley a reply

[Me: Thank you as always, Ashley! And 850 flat? Such a clean number?! That’s so aesthetically pleasing!]

[PA Ashley: Just doing my job.]

[PA Ashley: I negotiated it down to that.]

[Me: Good work! (saluting raccoon icon)

[PA Ashley: The construction company I’ve been talking to has also finished version one of the blueprints for the house. Need yours and Ms. Luna’s input on it.]

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[Me: Perfect! Do we need to go anywhere to see? Or are there pictures?]

[PA Ashley: I took pictures of them and will send them now.]

[PA Ashley: (blueprints1.jpg), (blueprints2.jpg), (blueprints3.jpg)]

[PA Ashley: There are two options. One, you can share your input directly to me and I can relay the information to the construction company—this will keep yours and Ms. Luna’s identity hidden. However, it may result in taking longer to get your desired house design. Or, option number two: You can meet with the designer directly and give him the inputs yourself.]

After reading her last message, I stared at the screen in thought. I tapped my finger against my cheek in a rhythmic pattern as I pondered.

“What’re you thinking?” Luna asked.

“I’m thinking about the possible ripple effect.” I said, “If we go meet this guy, and he just yaps to everyone telling them that Raccoon bought land is getting a house built, the prime real estate around us will be bought up by other people.”

“Oh! That’s a more realistic worry than I thought you’d have.” She sounded genuinely surprised.

“…” I stared at her incredulously, “…What? Did you think I’d be worried about if he wanted an autograph or something?”

“No, no,” She shook her head, “I just thought you’d be worried that anyone we meet could have been a victim of your bouncy potion.”

“…”

Ah, I forgot about that.

“You forgot about it completely, didn’t you?”

“…No, I remembered.” I said.

“Pfft, sure.” She rolled her eyes.

“Anyways, I guess it depends on how loose this construction company’s lips are.”

[Me: How reliable are these guys? Like, will they go blabbering about me if I go in person?]

[PA Ashley: Very reliable. They’re pricey, but, they keep secrets well and do good work. They’ve worked on projects for the government and various rankers before.]

[Me: Hm…For sure?]

[PA Ashley: They can always sign an NDA or even a mana-bound contract, if you desire. That’s a part of their company policy.]

[Me: Who’s the most famous person they’ve worked with?]

[PA Ashley: I don’t know. Whoever that is, they’ve probably signed an NDA with. However, the most famous public cooperation was with Richard Miller himself.]

Ah, the association president or whoever. I still remember that guy’s letter to me. Hm…I don’t really care for the guy, but, I wonder if I should get it printed and hanged. It’d be a cool flex to show others.

[Me: What’s the company’s name?]

[PA Ashley: Garnet Construction.]

[Me: One sec, let me ask someone something.]

After I sent that message, Luna looked at me with a tilted head,

“Who and what’re you asking?”

“Hehe, just gonna message my great friend.”

[Raccoon: Yo! Best bud, you ever work with Garnet Construction before?]

I waited a few moments, and, surprisingly, I actually got a reply.

[Anonymous: Garnet Construction? Yes, they’ve built a training arena for me.]

[Raccoon: Training arena? Where’s that located?]

[Anonymous: West Virginia. The training difficultly might be a little out of a production class’ level though.]

[Raccoon: ???]

[Raccoon: Do you even know who I am?]

[Raccoon: I am the training god, I would one-shot your training without even breaking a sweat!]

[Anonymous: Says the person still on the fifth floor.]

[Raccoon: …]

[Raccoon: Low blow, man. Low blow.]

[Anonymous: Sorry.]

[Raccoon: Anyway, thanks, best bud.]

[Anonymous: Np.]

Huh…Me and him might actually be best buds?

I internally chuckled at the thought. Honestly, I sent the message as a joke, but, it turned out to be more useful than I thought. If this company worked with someone as high profile as Anonymous and still hadn’t leaked the information, then, I could probably trust them.

Oh! And, it turns out stalker mister was right! Well, at least almost right. I remember him having listed Virginia as an option when I tested him back then.

But, wow, I can’t believe Anonymous lives in West Virginia. No wonder no one can find him!

“Who’d you ask?” Luna asked.

“Oh, just my best bud.” I replied.

“Am I not your best bud?”

“You’re my girlfriend and best friend, that ranks above best bud.”

“Oh, I like that.” She smiled, “So, was it Bryson? Cassian? Colby?”

“Those guys are basically family. Which is also above best bud.”

“…Okay, then who’s the best bud? You love talking in circles, don’t you?”

“Hehe,” I giggled, “It’s-”

Before I had the chance to reveal it, Luna suddenly let out a noise,

“Wait!” She exclaimed, “Best bud? Don’t tell me…Is it…”

“Yep! Just my good friend and best bud, Anonymous.” I said, exaggerating a yawn, “He answered instantly cause we’re super close like that.”

“…I’m beginning to think that you two actually are friends at this point.” She said.

“We are.” I nodded, “Great friends.”

“Right…” She rolled her eyes.

[Me: Alright! We’ll meet with the designer, when?]

[PA Ashley: Whenever is best for you.]

[Me: Hm…Well, might as well do it the same day we buy the land. January 1st work?]

[PA Ashley: That’ll be fine. I’ll schedule it to be after the land purchase.]

[Me: Thanks as always, Ashley!]

[PA Ashley: Just doing my job.]

Instead of turning off my phone, I clicked on the blueprints to get a good look at them. After a moment, I thought of a brilliant idea.

“Wait!” I said, “Don’t look at the blueprints just yet.”

“Okay?” Luna turned off her phone, “Why not?”

“Just wait here a moment!”

I got up and left the room.

A few minutes later, I returned holding three pieces of paper. That’s right, I printed these out to make it feel more official! The only downside is that the paper isn’t blue.

But, these will have to do.

“Pfft,” Luna chuckled as she picked up a piece of paper, “We might as well head to a table to check these out then.”

“Oh! Good idea. Let’s go!”

We headed to the dining table and turned on the lights.

“Hm…” I stared at the blueprints in thought.

From these alone, I knew that whoever designed it was a professional. The layout looked great and they incorporated all our wants and needs into the design. But! Although it seemed great, it wasn’t perfect. And that’s where Luna and I come in, we needed to give it our personal touch to get it completely right.

“What’re you thinking?” I asked.

“It’d be nicer to have a larger driveway,” She said, “And, I think the back door should be a little more central.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I nodded, “I think so too. Say, do you think If I just layout a whole bunch of plans to the designer, that’d be better?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like, everything. From the house to the small farm and then the other buildings we plan on getting?”

“Oh, like ‘everything’ everything?” She emphasized.

“Yeah, everything everything. Cause, if we tell them one-by-one then, the future designs might look a little scuffed, right?”

“I know what you mean. Um…I mean, that’ll probably be very expensive, no?”

“Probably,” I shrugged, “But, it’s better to have everything mapped out beforehand so the cohesion is better.”

“You also have to think about if someone else buys the land before we can. The whole design could be useless if don’t manage to get it.”

“I did think about it,” I nodded, “But, I was checking the records and all the land we’ve looked at has been vacant for ten plus years. The last time someone actually purchased land in Ever Springs was five years ago, and they made it into a DVD store.”

“Wow…I knew it wasn’t popular, but, I didn’t know it was that unpopular.” Luna said, “Really? Five years?”

“Mhm,” I shrugged, “It is a very isolated city though. No major guilds, buildings, or even grocery chains are there. Plus, the fear of if another outbreak happens. There’s just a culmination of things, I don’t really blame people for looking elsewhere.”

“True, true.” Luna nodded, “Alright then, yeah, I think that’s a good idea. Let’s just dump it all onto the designer as soon as we meet him!”

“Pfft!” I laughed, “You sound like me!”

“I was trying to mimic you.” She chuckled, “Was that good?”

“Absolutely perfect. Cause, that’s exactly what I’m gonna do. No greetings, no small talk, just immediately info dumping him.” I joked.

“I think he’ll appreciate that a lot.”

“Alright,” I smiled, “Shall we get back to watching cartoons?”

“You read my mind.” Luna smiled.

We headed back to the gaming room and snuggled closely together on the couch as we watched a silly yellow fry cook on the TV.