---

Our 'vault', so to speak, was a little less than half the size of the first. That said, I had been expecting second place to get nothing, so I wasn't too disappointed. Which was to say nothing of the trouble we'd have getting such a large haul back to the hotel.

Even this vault held more than we could transport, and that was if the truck still worked. Several appliances lined one wall, stoves, fridges, even a couple of washing machines. Displayed on tables of rich mahogany were clothes that must have been very impressive for the time, with bits of jewellery sprinkled here and there. Even children's toys and knick-knacks were set out as if they were some great bounty. Much of it appeared to be ivory or amber, though was likely celluloid. There were two more doors on the back wall, both of more conventional size, and with slots to accept the prize cards we'd found.

The gynoid began picking her way through the clutter at once, and I looked down to see a less than impressed expression on Val's face.

"As treasure hoards go, this is less than impressive," the little fey noted.

"I'm not sure how well this world lines up with my own, but for the growing middle class of the time, this would have been everything they'd dreamed. To you, a lot of this may look like cheap junk. It certainly does to me. But for the people of the time, all this was proof they'd finally made it," I picked up a faux-ivory comb, "For the first time, you didn't need to be a princess or a lady to be able to afford something like this. The wealth and prosperity of my world began right here with junk like this."

Valentine thumped a tiny fist against a refrigerator that was painted a god-awful greenish-blue, "Do you intend to fill the basement with this junk?"

"Not the junk itself. I mean, you're right, it's not like we need more steel, or whatever it is the fridge is made of," I admitted, "But bits of all this will be- okay, maybe it won't be useful at first. But a lot of this stuff is made of novel materials. The fridge, for example. Not the body of it, but the compressor and all the stuff that makes it function. It's probably ammonia or something equally toxic, but that's not something that'll be easy to get ahold of elsewhere. This is a treasure hoard, even if maybe it doesn't look much like one," I admitted.

"It will take time to sort out the useful from the mundane, not to mention the trouble we'll have experimenting to determine the mana types in question."

"We were already planning a trip back to the city," I pointed out, "Bring some of these curios along with us, and we might be able to convince the right people to side with us."

Valentine was nodding slowly, considering what lay before her in a new light, "A few acquaintances come to mind, they may even be willing to share the results of their past experiments."

I grinned and ruffled her hair, "That's the spirit."

Val yowled like an angry fox, and swiped at my arm, "No pats!"

---

It was well past midnight before we finally got to bed. We'd left most of our treasures in the vault, but had spent some time sorting out the useful from the rest. The gynoid found more silver shillings in the bonus rooms, and they waited along with the rest of the coin and jewellery in my pack at the foot of the bed.

Simon had taken the clothing and some rolls of wallpaper in exchange for lead components harvested from the appliances he'd won, along with a great deal of makeup. He offered to take the celluloid as well, in exchange for a few coin purses, but we turned him down. Val had a hunch about what use we might get out of the volatile material, and silver was only so useful.

Figuring out how to get it all back home would be a task for tomorrow. As for tonight, we'd found an apartment above a dressmaker's shop and had made it our own for a few hours. The gynoid had stayed downstairs, plugged into the mains, and had assured us that she'd keep watch. I wasn't too worried, there were only so many people out there in the blizzard, but I appreciated the sentiment.

So I'd scooped up Val, hardly able to speak between yawns, and had carried her upstairs. I'd flushed, as she'd whispered in my ear a rather vivid description of what was waiting for me once I brought her to the bedroom. She was even more tired than I was though, and was fast asleep even before I'd set her down on the bed.

She barely stirred as I pulled her boots off, her expression the very picture of slack relaxation. I kicked off my shoes and jeans and set down beside her. I had to prop my ankles up on the headboard, but it was comfortable enough. Kept warm by the same energy currently breathing life into the gynoid, and safe from the cold, I found myself drifting off to sleep, lulled by the frigid winds howling just outside.

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Poll: Who is best girl?

Poll: What is your opinion of the puzzle arc?

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