Chapter 211 39.3 Market Economics?

[INV1][INVENTORY 2][INV3]

[EQUIPMENT][AVERAGE ITEM LEVEL: 50]

[WEAPON: Blanc and Noir]

[HEAD: Hidden Circlet iLvL:50]

[BODY: Reinforced Shirt iLvL:50]

[HAND: Wrist Straps iLvL:50]

[LEGS: Fatigues iLvL:50]

[FEET: Combat Boots iLvL:50]

"Huh. You actually look presentable now, Moriya."

I scoffed at Guidance's slight tease as I gave myself a quick lookover. Having finally accessed some kind of market, I took the time and pleasure to upgrade my equipment to something more fitting for my needs. While I almost looked the same, I could feel that I've actually improved in terms of defensive capabilities. For some reason, it just felt... fitting, I suppose?

"Laugh it up, Guidance," I rolled my eyes at the dev, barely managing to get a glimpse of the small blush on her face as she quickly turned around. "Oh? Like what you see then?"

"I just said you look more presentable now," Guidance coolly replied, crossing her arms over her chest as she avoided my gaze. "And I'm sure Shizu will say the same once she sees you."

I shrugged as I put all of my old clothes into my inventory. I could've always just sold them for a small price, but Guidance was quick to point out that it was the last few things I had that were directly from the old world. I then quickly pointed out that she had quickly overridden her own clothes into what they were today, to which she promptly explained that she was still wearing the pajamas she appeared in underneath all the glam...

Apparently, that was how the Glamour System worked. Not that I even had a need for it still.

"We'll see once we rendezvous back then," I scoffed as we pulled out of the store we were just in. "Where are they anyway?"

"Shizu's supposed to be with Shen right now," Guidance shrugged, walking beside me with a look of dismissal on her face. "As for Shade and Maruki, I'm sure they're around, probably making sure that that one stalker isn't bothering us."

After that debacle with the stalker and the police, we as a group finally decided to do some shopping. We split into three groups, and I each gave them around ten Chips to spend on whatever it was that they wanted or needed. Well, I was only going to give Shizu and Shen five since they weren't going to buy anything too important, but with the way they begged for more money, I was left with no choice but to concede. Especially when I was the only one keeping our expenses low.

Walking through the markets was kind of nice once we didn't feel the piercing gaze of a random stalker breathing down our necks. It reminded me of old times back in the old world, of whenever I casually window-shopped with my friends in the nearest mall in our area.

"Are you sure you don't wanna buy anything?" I asked Guidance as we walked side by side. "We have more than enough to splurge a bit."

"Are you sure about that?" Guidance fired back with a dubious look. "I'm not going to be responsible for wasting money that we should be using to buy supplies."

Raising an eyebrow, I decided to take a look at our financing situation.

"[INV3]..."

[INV1][INV2][INVENTORY 3]

[Kattleynan Leafs: 33055]

[Marquean Chips: 16.45]

[Vestygian Obliques: 0]

[INSIGHT: 6]

"Huh, there's still a decent amount here, you know," I promptly replied as soon as I got my statistics. "My new stuff only cost around two Chips, which is kind of weird when compared to some of the old values I'm used to."

It was kind of jarring to see how many Leafs we had compared to Chips, and yet the latter had a whole lot more buying power than the former with two Chips being able to buy a complete set of clothes.

"I guess the Engine decided that Marquean Chips are more valuable right now," Guidance casually answered. "It makes sense, seeing as this place is clearly not ravaged by the war."

"I guess so," I absently replied. "Well, if you don't want me to buy you anything, let's just get some more supplies for ourselves."

With that, Guidance and I began our canvassing for basic fuel and supplies. Our [Rig] ran on solid fuel, namely wood as we promptly bought a few stacks of it on a random stall. We then bought a few crates of dried fish and other nonperishables, all of them being safely tucked into my inventory like they weren't even a problem.

"It's weird being able to carry crates upon crates of stuff in my proverbial back pocket," I chuckled as I pushed yet another crate of fruits into my inventory, much to the surprise of the people around us. "This is pretty handy."

"You do realize that you still have a limit on how much you can carry," Guidance warily pointed out. "Then again, if you can still move, then I guess you haven't reached your cap yet."

"Well, how do I check for weight then?"

[INVENTORY 1][INV2][INV3]

[Wolf Glove iLvL: 5]

[Room Six Key]

[Cotton Shirt iLvL:1]

[Wolf Glove iLvL:5]

[Cargo Shorts iLvL:2]

[Slippers iLvL:2]

[Crate of Assorted Fruits 3X]

[Crate of Dried Fish 5X]

[Stack of Wood 7X]

I almost let out a small laugh as the dev's silence told me that she had no idea how to do such a thing. Well, assuming that all these things had weight, I had no way of seeing them anyway.

"Well?" I chuckled.

"I... I forgot to put it in, okay?" Guidance sighed. "But it's still there. It's just a hidden value... Maybe I can fix that if I had the time."

"Along with all the other stuff you plan on fixing, huh," I couldn't help but tease a bit.

"It's not my fault you're all stopping me from doing so in the first place," she whined. "I want to start fixing things, but, well, you know..."

I sighed. Absently, I placed my hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring pat. Shizu's constant sickness whenever the world changed was the biggest thing stopping us from going wild with the changes. That, and she still needed the princess's eyes to even see the code she wanted to change.

"Yeah..." I shrugged. "But I'm sure you'll get to fix some of the other stuff that needs fixing."

"I still haven't even gotten to giving Shen the growth spurt she's missing," she sighed. "There's just so much going on, and yet there's also too much time?"

"I get that," I chuckled. "I think I still have a few other stuff I haven't even shared yet."

"Like what? About the other part of the cutscene you saw?"

"Oh right..." I awkwardly chuckled. "It's not that relevant yet, thankfully, but it's more along the lines of Vestyge having a bit of an unrest among their citizens."

"I can see that happening," Guidance nodded. "I made the government structure there to be much more controlling than Marquee or Kattleyna. Ironically, being a republic meant having an authoritarian president."

For a second there, I saw a hint of sadism color the dev's cheeks before she reverted back to her usual demeanor. We were already in the middle of the entire market square, and we were just absently just looking around as we walked together. At some point, I felt like we were walking in circles, but I chalked that up to us being in unfamiliar territory.

"So I guess we'll just have to wait for the others," I shrugged as I leaned on the fountain in the middle of the market square. "Unless you want us to do something else?"

"Nah," she quickly denied, taking her seat on the bench beside me in a slouch. "I'd rather not have us waste any more money. I'm sure you've spent a lot on the supplies already."

"I can always just convert a few more Leafs, you know," I scoffed. "Don't be shy. I actually wanna buy you something."

Looking up at the dark sky, I closed my eyes for a brief moment as I took in the ambiance. The sound of the market's hustle and bustle was like a balm of familiarity after days of being out at sea. The ground was as steady as the earth, far from the usual rolling of the waves that the Deep provided. Somehow, there was silence in the chaos, the port market's noise blending into the environment and reminding me of city life.

"....Fine then. Buy me something to eat."

Opening my eyes, I turned to Guidance, the blush on her cheeks only making me smile as I offered her a hand.

"You're really trying to woo me, huh," she weakly whispered.

"Hey, we both said we'll try to make this work, so I'm doing my part," I chuckled. "And with how cute you look right now, I'm pretty sure you're doing your part as well."

"Don't patronize me, Moriya," Guidance pouted. "If you want me to do my part, then I'll do so."

Before I could respond, the dev had already stood up, ignoring my offered hand in favor of holding onto my arm as an actual girlfriend would. I couldn't help the blush that formed on my cheeks as she looked up at me, her beautiful eyes sparkling with embarrassment even as she pushed through.

"L-Let's go before I lose my nerve..." she stuttered.

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