The Astral Express needed to do another of their usual supply runs. This time, it was Lucine's turn to do it.
"Are you absolutely sure you don't need someone to come with you?"
"It's just a supply run. I have a list, I just have to show that list to the merchant, get everything we need, and then return."
Dubious looks silently converged onto the duelist.
"Look, I know I don't have the best track record but I've been getting better at this, I swear. Himeko can vouch for me."
"Let's just let him try," Himeko conceded, "he did manage to do a supply run perfectly the last time he was in charge of it. Part of trailblazing is to have the courage to face your weakness and attempt to overcome it."
"Remember to bring your phone, pom!" The conductor reminded sternly and only let the duelist go after it was absolutely certain that Lucine had his phone with him and that it wouldn't be running out of battery anytime soon. Lucine soon departed and drove the small ship that the crew usually uses for their supply runs towards the nearest merchant ship their radar had picked up. The merchant ship had been advertising its presence to the nearby passing ships of the boundless universe and the presence of the merchant ship was even why the crew had taken a temporary pause on their seafaring journey and decided to stock up on some essential supplies. In truth, it will still take a while for their supplies to be emptied but nobody could say for certain if such an opportunity to restock will come by again so it's always better to be safe than sorry, to be over prepared than underprepared.
"Another Xianzhou ship?" Lucine mumbled under his breath when he finally saw what the merchant ship looked like after getting close. He had been running into Xianzhou ships or people a little too frequently recently. Nevertheless, he parked his own ship next to the merchant ship and the merchants very helpfully assisted him in docking his ship to their larger one. Lucine disembarked and was soon warmly greeted by the merchants looking to wipe him clean of his credits.
Unfortunately for them, he's not born yesterday.
"Welcome, welcome! My name is Tingyun~ Welcome to the Whistling Flame merchant guild! Take your time to look through our wares, customers are always welcome!"
A foxian with a silver tongue and soothing voice was the first to greet him. His eyes lingered on those ears a little longer than appropriate. He didn't feel that way when he first met the Fei-something general, but for some reason seeing this foxian reminded him of… a cat-eared girl?
"... cian? Lucian. Did I do it correctly?"
"No, you should correct your grip or you will risk hurting your wrist. Like this," he patiently adjusted the girl's grip on the sword. "Try again?"
He shook his head. Another flash of memory had hit him but it eluded him before he could even retain that memory. What did he just recall?
No matter. He should get back to the matter at hand.
"Do you have these?" Lucine simply showed the foxian the very long list of supplies that he collated from the crew. He's a man of efficiency. Why take time to look through the endless variety of wares when he could just get the merchant to gather what he needs for him?
"Hmm… That's a very long list," the foxian patiently scanned through the list. "One moment please, dear customer. Have a seat. We shall be back shortly~"
Lucine wasn't kept waiting for long as the foxian merchant had promised, but he didn't hide the disapproving frown when he was presented with the bill. The total amount of credits racked up had far exceeded the Express' budget for this supply run. Pom-Pom will be having a fit if the bill were to be presented to it.
"Too expensive," he emotionlessly intoned and began filtering out the unnecessary from the essential in order to adhere to the conductor's budget. Lipstick, blushers, ten different pillows, snacks, pancake flour… why were all of these from March's list? What else was there? Teddy bears, more clothes, ribbons… Why were these all from March's list again?
"Dear customer, what's wrong? Are the products not to your liking?" Tingyun approached with a worried look on her face. It's not good for business if a customer starts to reject their goods like this while there are other customers present.
"No, it's just that I have exceeded my budget and I found out that one of my companions' needlessly long wishlist was the cause. Some of your goods are a little on the pricey side too," Lucine answered without turning his head or batting his eyes.
"Now, now, customer, there's no need to fret and definitely no need to reject our products like that. Allow me to first cool you down with a fan. It works wonders~" The foxian merchant fanned Lucine with her scented fan. "Our customer's concern is also our concern! Would you let me know which items you think had exceeded your budget? Tingyun will do her best to find a solution for you that can meet your companion's expectations while not exceeding your budget."
"These items," Lucine pointed to the filtered pile he had segregated from the essential supplies. Over ninety percent of those were from March's list. He will have to get Pom-Pom to give her some lessons on financial literacy the moment he's back.
"I see, I see," Tingyun nodded her head professionally. "I picked the best we had because our customers' satisfaction is of our utmost priority, but if price is a concern for you I can always suggest other alternatives. Dear customer, if you would?"
Tingyun held out her arm in a gesture for him to follow after her, which he did. The merchant began to suggest other alternatives as she brought him to another section of their ship where the merchant guild had their goods on display and introduced other alternatives to him.
"These pillows are made from hundred percent duck fur. Soft and fluffy, yet also full and firm. The best thing is that we have a buy two get one free offer right now!... These snacks are the trend that's raging across the Luofu these days. I'm sure your companions would love it! … There are a variety of brands of filmrolls that we have but if price is your foremost concern this would be my recommendation… Why don't you consider buying these in bulk? Yes, it might be a little expensive in the short term but you save more in the long run! And once your purchase exceeds five hundred thousand credits in a single receipt you will be entitled to a two year free membership with the Whistling Flame merchant guild!... What are the benefits of the membership? You asked a very good question, dear customer, allow me to list out the benefits for you…"
It was obvious that the foxian that went by the name of Tingyun had picked the priciest items on the first run before he mentioned that it was too pricey, but she's simply adhering to her nature as a businesswoman to maximise profits so he won't find fault with that. Furthermore, he could also tell that the pricier ones were indeed of better quality but he simply could not afford them all considering his current budget. Tingyun had immediately tailored her suggestions to suit his needs once she understood that price was an issue and her service was admittedly perfect. Many items that were on the pricier side were being replaced with cheaper alternatives upon her suggestion without compromising too much on the quality and by the time they were finally done, he actually managed to get everything on the list in one single supply run.
Sure, he definitely had exceeded their budget to do so but the margin wasn't unacceptable to the point that Pom-Pom will be raising hell about it. Tingyun had very generously given him a bulk discount and it would feel like a crime to refuse it given how patiently and outstanding her service was. He also actually felt that he got the better end of the deal at the end of everything and once he understood that this merchant ship will be sticking around this sector of the galaxy where the Astral Express will also be loitering around for the foreseeable future, he felt that the Astral Express could come back again for their future supply runs since they now have a two year free membership with the merchant guild and enjoy the perks that come with it.
"Pleasure doing business with you!" Tingyun thanked him with a sweet smile once the exchange was concluded. "We hope to see you again, and if you are satisfied with our products and services be sure to leave a five star review~"
"Your service is good. It left quite an impression on me," Lucine replied as two staff from the merchant guild took the concept of service to the next level by carrying all of his purchased goods to his ship for him.
"Haha, you flattered me, dear customer. Trustworthiness and excellence are paramount in my line of work, I'm simply doing my job."
"How do I leave a five star review?" Lucine asked as he brought out his phone. The foxian leaned in closer and was able to guide him through the process with her never ending patience and service excellence. After experiencing the outstanding customer service experience today he's starting to feel that he would find the service from other merchants lacking in the future. Tingyun simply made him feel that he would want to come back and revisit her merchant guild out of the other countless ones out there.
"Thank you~ Have a safe return trip, dear customer~"
"Wishing you and your guild a booming business ahead," he replied in kind. The two staff had already finished loading his purchases into his ship and he was about to step into it to pilot it back to the Express when he felt it again.
The disgusting presence of Destruction.
"Hmm, dear customer? Is there anything else that you might need?"
"I think your ship might be under attack soon," Lucine stated matter-of-factly. He was certain that he was not imagining it, he felt the approaching presences of the Antimatter Legion converging onto the ship's location as they speak.
"Oh dear," Tingyun frowned but to her credit, she was not flustered in the slightest. The ship's alarms started to blare a few seconds later, adding credence to Lucine's words.
"Dear customer, please take refuge in our ship's bomb shelter. We have guards dedicated to protecting our ship and customers in the event of an emergency–"
"No need. I can deal with it on my own. You should stand back," Lucine politely declined and called upon his Temporal Sword. He closed his eyes to focus and pick out the presences of the Antimatter Legion in detail before opening them again. Voidrangers had started to board and breach the merchant ship but were promptly cut down even before the ship's guards could reach them.
The assault didn't last a grand total of ten seconds before Lucine annihilated them in entirety. Nothing was touched, nothing was damaged, the only thing that was exterminated with extreme prejudice were the Antimatter Legion.
"I'm amazed, dear customer! Thank you so much! You are really incredible!" The foxian's sweet silver tongue wasted no time in buttering him up but also giving him her sincere thanks. Lucine mulled over for a short while before making his reply.
"Will there be any other discounts since I helped to save your ship?"
"Ah, I'm afraid I exceeded my authorised daily limit in giving discretionary discounts to customers. Will vouchers do?"
Lucine left the merchant ship with a full load of purchased goods, a big discount, and a wad of vouchers that he or his crew would be able to use during their next visit to the Whistling Flame merchant guild. He looked out of the windscreen of his small little spaceship and stared at a specific direction for a brief moment halfway through his journey.
Was it his imagination, or did he sense the presence of Destruction again?
He lingered around for a little while more and finally left when he really sensed nothing. It must be his imagination. He must be getting a little paranoid from the frequent run-ins the Astral Express had with the followers of Destruction and whatever had happened earlier.
"Hmm… an interesting figure. Well, you foiled my plans once, but you cannot foil it twice," an unknown female voice spoke to herself as she watched the small ship leave, concealed and disguised by the power of Destruction. Her plans to destroy the Xianzhou from within will not be set back by a small inconsequential hiccup like this.
Phantylia's gaze turned back to the merchant ship.
Tingyun? That's a good name.
Now it's hers.
"Wow, are you really still the same Lucine we know? You not only got everything we needed, you actually had an eye for quality too?"
"I came across a very helpful foxian," Lucine ignored March's jab and then took out the fat wad of discount vouchers. "She even offered me a two year free membership with her merchant guild and some discount vouchers on our next purchase. Her merchant ship will be around the area in the foreseeable future so if we have to do any future supply runs we can consider going back there, since we will be in the area too."
"That's good to know," Himeko agreed and accepted the vouchers Lucine handed over to her for safekeeping, since the forgetful duelist was admittedly not the best candidate to hold onto important objects due to his forgetful nature. She took a small whiff at the bag of coffee beans that Lucine just bought. Hmm, not bad. The foxian merchant that Lucine talked about wasn't cutting corners or outright scamming him with treacherous schemes. It's rare to find a forthcoming merchant these days.
"Uwaah… the pillows are so fluffy!" March jumped about in joy while hugging one of the ten pillows he had bought in bulk for her. That reminded him.
"March, we need to talk about your excessive spending habits."
"Lucine's right, pom! Seventy percent of our expenditure comes from you!" Pom-Pom pointed out after looking through the receipt that Lucine showed the conductor who had compared it to the list of supplies that the conductor had given to Lucine before he left for the supply run.
"W-Wha? Hey, don't judge! A girl has her own needs! How else can I build a pillow fort if I don't have enough pillows?!"