October 4th, Hops arrived in Glimmerstone City.
Without even stopping to rest, he headed straight for the mining hall beside City Hall the moment he stepped out of the carriage.
Though it was still early, he felt that checking in sooner could never be a bad thing.
The mining hall's official name was the "Northwest Republic Ministry of Mining." It was located in Glimmerstone City rather than Void City because the Northwest Republic's mining operations were mainly concentrated in Glimmerstone City, Gold Panning City, and several nearby small towns.
Being closer naturally made work more efficient. As for communication with Void City, unurgent matters could be entrusted to messengers, while magic could be used in emergencies.
The three-story building was not especially tall, but it was square and solid, like a block of stone carved into a cube. Hops entered through the main doors, showed his identification and transfer order to the receptionist, and asked how he was supposed to complete the check-in procedures.
"Second door on the left, second floor," said the middle-aged woman, smiling kindly. "There's no sign on the door, but it should be open all day and night."
Hops thanked her, went upstairs, and arrived at the room.
There were two people inside. One was a young man with long black hair and a somewhat androgynous appearance, who looked at him warily. The other was an elderly man whose hair had already turned half-white, smiling at him.
"Reporting! I'm exploration worker Hops. I received a transfer order to take part in a cooperative prospecting project in the Gold Coin Federation."
"Oh, so that's what this is." The old man nodded with a smile, and the young man's gaze swiftly softened as well.
After examining his identification and transfer order, the old man took out a document