Chapter 336: The Marketplace Hustle
[Arena.]
Mirabella looked up at the heavily fortified, Dragon Empire Royal Room, a slight frown crossing her face. She had flawlessly picked up the immense wave of Hayatobi’s killing intent bleeding through the structure. It was perfectly controlled, but to her, it was as loud as a thunderclap.
’What would make the Master teacher so angry that he will release his killing intent inside the royal quarters?’ She mused, her expression remaining entirely flat to the outside world.
Before she could delve deeper into the undercurrents of the empire, Davy’s amplified voice snapped the crowd back to reality.
"Ahem! Okay, it seems the Dragon team won this round... The ones who passed will be moved to the fourth round... I am sure the students are all tired, so you all have today, tomorrow, the fourth round will begin, so you all should be here by 8am!" He yelled with a charismatic smile, waving his hands to dismiss the bewildered, shell-shocked audience.
____
[Galaxy City.]
Galaxy Town, the sprawling merchant hub nestled at the center of Galaxy City, was bustling with its usual traffic. Fighters from various worlds traversed the paved streets, browsing exotic armor smithies and potion stalls.
"I don’t understand, Big Sister... Why let only twenty of us advance to the fourth round?" Carl asked, walking briskly beside Mirabella, casually licking a candy. After surviving the literal apocalypse on Earth, the pressures of Galaxy Fall felt immensely relaxing.
Mirabella continued walking on the stone pavement, completely unbothered by the grand architecture around them, calmly licking her own sweet. Her sharp blue gaze moved methodically around the crowded place, scanning the storefronts.
"Big Sister?" Carl called again, trying to break through her deep focus.
"Oh." Mirabella turned her head slightly to him, her voice casual:
"You don’t have to worry about that, just know the fourth round will also eliminate points, the fewer people, the better." She said, stating the rules of the upcoming battle royale format, and calmly continued licking her sweet.
"Really, then it’s a good idea taking only twenty." Carl nodded in understanding, entirely trusting her foresight. He turned his gaze back to Mirabella, who was already busy moving her eyes around the various trading stores again.
"What are you searching for, Big Sister?" He asked in genuine confusion.
"I am searching for Grace, she asked us to meet her in the marketplace. I haven’t seen her." She answered smoothly. A second later, she spotted a familiar figure standing in front of a brightly decorated confectionery store.
"There she is!" She pointed a single finger.
Carl nodded, as he followed beside her. The two seamlessly navigated through the crowd of merchants until they reached Grace, who was waiting eagerly by the storefront.
"Senior! I promised to get you a pack of sweet! Today, everything is on me!" Grace said with a brilliant, proud smile.
"That’s good. You’re efficient." Mirabella said, her eyes practically sparkling as she walked inside the large candy store without another word.
"Hey, are you sure about what you just said?" Carl asked in genuine surprise, stopping Grace by the shoulder and staring at her with a look of profound pity.
"Yeah, what’s the issue?" Grace asked in confusion, entirely unlearned in the true terrors of her senior’s casual habits.
"Big Sister goes crazy whenever she sees sweets, and this is a candy store." Carl warned, his voice deadpan.
"I will take everything here! And everything here! Including all the sweets in this glass case, yes! And this too."
"...?!"
Grace and Carl instantly froze on the threshold, hearing Mirabella’s calm, authoritative command echoing from inside the shop. The two slowly turned around and pushed the door open, and their jaws dropped as they stood there, completely flabbergasted.
Mirabella stood directly at the center of the store like a conquering general mapping out a new territory, pointing her fingers at the glittering showcases. The store workers were frantically rushing back and forth, sweating profusely as they packed every single item she pointed.
"I also need all these Skittles too, pack them all."
"But, they’re 100 packs here." The saleslady said in utter shock, her hands trembling.
"Take the whole 100 packs, there is someone here who will pay everything! Keep packing, I also need that one too." Mirabella said, completely ruthless, pointing at another massive display of premium sugar crystals.
"Um... My sweet Carl, do you have money on you?" Grace said in an incredibly sweet, desperate tone, turning her wide, pleading eyes toward the young man.
"Huh?" Carl raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms as his worst fears manifested.
"Umm... I don’t have that much money in my hand, please... Pretty please." Grace pleaded, her hands clasped together as she looked at the rapidly multiplying towers of packed sweets.
"Jeez, I shouldn’t have come here." Carl muttered to himself, deeply regretting his life choices as he reluctantly pulled out his purse.
__
[Half an hour later.]
The chaotic spending spree had finally concluded.
"I... I am broke." Carl said, holding his completely deflated, empty pockets out in the open air, looking hollowed out.
"Same." Grace added, staring blankly at Mirabella, who was currently sorting through the thousands of premium packs floating into her inventory. The legendary commander turned around and smiled innocently at them:
"Come on, let’s go back." She said, casually walking out of the store with a bounce in her step.
"She did it on purpose." Carl said in absolute disbelief, watching her blue hair sway in the wind. He turned fiercely to his companion: "This is all your fault!" Carl snapped at her.
Grace pouted, rubbing her temples, and turned her head back toward the counter, watching the ecstatic store owner meticulously counting her mountain of newly acquired gold coins.
"Come on... You owe me a favor now." Carl sighed, leaving his empty pockets hanging as he walked out of the store.
"I can’t believe Senior used a whole five hundred thousand gold coins just to get sweets." Grace muttered in sheer disbelief, her soul weeping as she walked out into the street:
"I am so broke, I should try to earn money again." She added, quickly shuffling her feet to follow closely behind Carl and Mirabella as they left the main marketplace.
_
As they walked down the bustling thoroughfare, the whispers of the city inhabitants began to shift drastically around them.
"Wow, isn’t that the Captain of the dragon team?" A store owner asked, pointing a trembling finger at Mirabella, who walked past them with absolute nonchalance.
"Yes, she is the genius from the dragon academy! Those two are Carl and Grace." Another merchant said in surprise, leaning over his counter to catch a glimpse of the history-makers.
"Because of her, the Dragon Empire will take the position as the strongest on the ranking board... I wonder if there is someone who can challenge them from that spot." A third elder added, staring intently at the three young cultivators.
"It seems we are now famous." Grace muttered in surprise, her ears turning slightly pink as she moved her gaze nervously around the whispering crowd.
"Get used to it." Carl said proudly, instantly shaking off his financial despair. He puffed out his chest, raising it high into the air as he walked behind Mirabella, thoroughly enjoying the supreme reverence of the world.
