Greed | Norton Campell

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Later that night, Norton decided to visit the man who's been his caretaker for as long as he can remember, Benny. Benny stayed at a local retirement home in a poverty-stricken town near the mine. it was a 5 minute walk for people who were in the mine. He walked over to where Benny stayed, excited to tell him the news.

"There you are, son. You went a whole day without visitin' me! You had me worried sick!" Norton walked over, slouching in a nearby table with the pink little pouch in his hand. "Sorry.. things have been so eventful lately. Everything is finally going my way!" Benny raised an eyebrow, glancing over at him. "What's that little pink thing you're holdin'..."

"It's a long story. I met this girl. She's not just any girl. The daughter of the man that owns all the mines. Y/N.. is her name." Benny sat up in bed, looking at Norton in shock. "What was she doing in Swanson Copper? Nevermind that, Campbell, this is an opportunity. You could use her to get more information on the mines." The idea has just occurred to Norton. Benny had already given him a rough outline on the mines. The mines were his last hope to get out of the situation. He could use you. He didn't want to, though. He knew it'd be easy as well. It would be...

So easy.

She's naive. As easy as it would be, I would never want to do that to her, he thought. After all, you had already given him a step forward to being successful. This was his opportunity. "No, I don't want to. Benny, she's a good person. She's the opposite of her father. This pouch right here proves it.'' Benny was skeptical, but regardless took the pouch once Norton walked over and handed it to him. He sat at the edge of the bed, watching as Benny's jaw dropped.

"Campbell..-" Benny was interrupted. Norton demeanor seemed almost mellow, something he had never seen or Norton had experienced since getting a gold coin from him. "That's not what I came to talk about, though. I got promoted to Wowdoole. I'm leaving in the next six months." Benny's expression seemed to have faded into a proud, yet sad one. "Would ya look at that... Your hard work payed off. It really did."

Benny was proud, more than he could show. Norton pondered for a moment. "I don't think I'll be able to visit that much anymore. Better yet, I don't think I'll be able to visit at all." Silence filled the room for a moment. "I understand, son. No need to worry.

Say... What's this girl like?"

Norton expression softened at every mention of her. He had quite literally never had never looked, felt or acted this way. "She's all a miner could ask for. She's... Pretty, I guess you could say." Norton didn't admit to it. You really were pretty. Super pretty infact. Anyone would call her out of his league. She was. "Y/N's also..generous. The most gentle girl you'll ever meet would be her." Benny sighed, loudly.

"You know, I've heard awful things about her. People 'round here say she's a money loving monopoly owner. Daddy's money, ya know. Mocks us poor folk." Norton's eyebrows furrowed. "You know how the lower class are. The ones that accept the situation they're in and the envious. They don't know a thing about her." He defended you. This was the only time he defended someone besides himself. Before Benny could say anything, Norton remembered something.

"Benny... I gotta go. The bar needs me today." Norton got up, feeling the soreness of the labor his body has been through rise up. He had actually never told you about the multiple jobs he had. "Don't over work yourself, son." Norton sighed, walking towards the door. He twisted the door knob. "Overworking is worth it if I get to see her again." He took his leave. The door slammed shut behind him. Benny stared at the door for quite a long time after Norton had left. He had no idea what was possibly running through his mind.

～⁠>⁠'⁠)⁠～⁠～⁠～

That night, you were ready to just absolutely knock out. Going to the mines wasn't what you wanted to do every day. It was pretty exhausting. Even so, to the 2 mines you had been to, nothing was special. There was this nagging feeling. Out of all the people you'd ever met, Norton has stood out the most. It was his demeanor, the determination he had, everything.

Tomorrow was another day, another mine.

The higher the rank the closer the mine was, so it would get less and less hectic each time. That was all that kept you going, besides Norton.

...⁠ᘛ⁠⁐̤⁠ᕐ⁠ᐷ

Light suddenly flooded into your room, the sun peered down, beaming brightly as the birds chirped outside. Clara had walked into to wake you up. "Good morning, Y/N. I know it's early and you barely got any sleep, but you need to leave now for your next stop. Your father wants you out of here in an hour."

The young woman she was sent to wake up reluctantly threw her bed sheets off of her body, shivering. "Autumn already huh..." Clara smiled lightly. "I know. Time flies by quickly." Clara glanced over at you. She was sitting at the edge of her bed, pondering. "You seem to be lost in thought. Did something happen, Y/N?" Your gaze drifted up at her. "No. Nothing happened. But, can you keep a secret for me?"

"Of course, what is it?"

"I need you to hide this from my father."

(⁠◠⁠‿⁠・⁠)⁠—⁠☆

Norton had barely gotten any sleep this morning. The bar had completely worn him out. He'd gotten a maximum of 3 hours of sleep. Even so, he still decided to wake up that early. It was the same routine as usual. His sprained wrist had improved thoroughly. Good stuff was happening all the time. The little pouch you gave him was still tied to his belt loop.

It was like this until around 1 PM when lunch was called in early. He finished eating relatively early as well. He decided to go to a small building where letters would typically be organized. Each miner had his own mailbox if you could call it that, where they would rarely receive mail other than their paychecks. Norton hadn't been there in a couple of days. The first thing he says were 3 paychecks stacked up, and a letter with blue wax seal on it. The distribution address was oddly from the L/N household itself. Huh?

He took a moment to think if he was dreaming. He had never opened a letter so quickly in his entire life. He recognized the handwriting immediately. He wasn't dreaming.

Dear Norton,

How's it going? Just checking in on you. I would've left a letter for you sooner but, I didn't want my father to catch me. My housekeeper took it up on herself to help me send this to you. I'm going to send you letters every day. I want to keep in touch. This was just to let you know. Today I'm heading to Orestock! Tell me how it's going at Swanson!

He smiled at the letter, laughing under his breath. "She really does come through.." Their friendship was something you'd never expect. People this different of a social class should hate eachother. Not even a difference between wealth and labor could break it apart. Together they were the biggest...

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