Chapter 303: Coming to Lumina Again
After emerging curiously from the Teleportation Array, Shawn Lawler and Laura Summers peered out the second-floor window. The scene outside wasn’t bustling, but the clean and tidy environment, coupled with the smiles on the faces of the occasional passersby, made them feel an overwhelming urge to cry.
Laura Summers was already fifty-five. As an expert embroiderer, she had been among the second batch to enter the "sea survival," but even before that, the environment on Aquaria had been gradually deteriorating, making life difficult.
Now, suddenly finding herself back in a civilized world, she was truly overcome with a mix of emotions.
The thirty-seven-year-old negotiation expert, Shawn Lawler, felt much the same.
Before heading downstairs, Faye Yardley called out, "Let’s go downstairs first. There’s a sales robot named Eliza Yardley down there. I need to input your data so she doesn’t mistake you for customers."
’That ten-square-meter room on the second floor... I was originally going to use that as my own place. But now that I have employees, and it looks like they’ll be staying long-term, I’ll have to provide two rooms for them upstairs. The whole floor is only fifty square meters. Squeezing in two more rooms... Ugh. Well, alright. It’s not like I was using the second floor for much anyway. Maybe I could add another High Level reception room?’
’Maybe I can partition the room with the teleportation array into three separate areas: a kitchen, a bathroom, and a teleportation chamber?’
’I’ll figure it out later. For now, the first floor needs some simple furniture. We at least need a place to sit and talk.’
When Faye Yardley got downstairs, she was immediately met with Eliza Yardley’s enthusiasm—an enthusiastic hug from the simple-minded robot.
After Faye input some commands and data, Eliza Yardley flashed a polite smile at Shawn Lawler and Laura Summers, who had followed Faye downstairs. From now on, these two were her colleagues and superiors.
The styles and furniture from the designer weren’t ready yet, but Faye Yardley had purchased some wood-carved furniture with distinct Veridian characteristics and some soft furnishings from the trading market.
She used curio shelves and folding screens to partition the area into three independent reception spaces.
Then, at the very back of the shop, she set up a glass cabinet against the wall, filling it with all sorts of teas. There were also some Blood Replenishing Potions, Bandages, and Hemostatic Pills, all clearly marked with a fixed price of 50 silver coins each.
As for when the players outside might discover her shop, or whether they could even afford her wares, she couldn’t care less.
Aside from the five square meters sectioned off for a restroom and the stairwell, the rest of the fifty-square-meter ground floor was quickly divided up by the various pieces of furniture.
After a flurry of activity, the shop was finally starting to look presentable.
But she couldn’t just open for business yet. To do so officially, she had to go to the Lumina municipal affairs hall to get a business license.
"Auntie Summers, Mr. Kyle, feel free to look around the neighborhood later. Like I said before you came, don’t panic if you run into players from other worlds. It’s fine to just ignore them; it’s safe inside the city. But if you do interact with other players, you absolutely must not reveal where you’re from."
Laura Summers smiled warmly. "I know. I just have to pretend I’m an elderly NPC who has no idea what a ’player’ is."
The more serious-looking Shawn Lawler, who was standing to the side, said bluntly, "Don’t worry, Boss. We will remember our roles as NPCs."
Faye Yardley nodded. "Alright. For now, you two will come with me to the City Lord’s Manor. Eliza, you watch the shop. We’re not officially open yet, so nothing is for sale. If anyone tries to rob the place, report it to the guards immediately."
Just as they were about to leave, Faye Yardley remembered they were going to the City Lord’s Manor. She told the others to wait a moment, then went upstairs and came back down wearing a gorgeous dress.
She had provided outfits for the other two as well.
The newly outfitted trio arrived at the City Lord’s Manor and met with Lilia without any trouble. But when faced with the exquisite design sketches, Lilia was struck with indecision.
Since she couldn’t make up her mind, Faye Yardley contacted Juno. He appeared so quickly that Faye suspected he hadn’t left Lumina at all recently.
He and his assistants arrived carrying bolts of magnificent cloth.
Seeing the cloth, Faye Yardley had to admit it was beautiful. It even had a subtle, woven-in pattern. The problem was, while this type of cloth was gorgeous, it wasn’t very durable.
Moreover, the subtle pattern would actually interfere with a designer’s creative freedom.
It was also ill-suited for embroidery.
However, Laura Summers said she could give it a try. Faye Yardley, speaking as a complete layperson, offered a suggestion. "What if we try embroidering on a layer of thin gauze placed underneath the cloth? Wouldn’t that, in a way, also improve the fabric’s quality?"
Double-sided embroidery was labor-intensive and time-consuming, but not out of the question.
Faye Yardley shook her head. "It’s just the inner lining. As long as it isn’t uncomfortable to wear, it’s fine. Of course, comfortable would be even better. Nobody’s going to flip their wedding dress inside out for others to see, right?"
As for the negotiations, Faye Yardley left them entirely in Shawn Lawler’s hands.
She also told him that the cost for a single wedding dress was extremely high; anything less than twenty thousand Gold Coins would be a loss.
This was because Juno had stated that the cheapest bolt of cloth was priced at ten thousand Gold. Both Shawn Lawler and Laura Summers found this price normal; the only one who found it abnormal was Faye Yardley herself.
’She had lived well during peacetime, so why did they seem more accepting of such high prices than she was?’
’Perhaps they didn’t have a good grasp of the purchasing power of Gold Coins yet.’
After delegating authority to the two of them, Faye Yardley felt much more relaxed. ’In any case, we’re going for high-end couture. A small profit is as good as a loss.’
Juno then emerged as well. The two of them went to the garden of the City Lord’s Manor and sat down. Only then did Faye Yardley hand him the letter she had fished up.
"Where did this come from?"
Faye Yardley shrugged. "An accidental find. Since Island Master No. 1157 made my acquaintance, I couldn’t very well just let it sit around."
"Couldn’t you have just found a universal post office and mailed the letter yourself?" Juno was clearly displeased.
"Heh. And why would I do that? What does it have to do with me? If you’re so ungrateful, just give the letter back. I can wait until the next Island Master of No. 1157 takes office and give it to them then."
"You... you... Isn’t that a bit too rude?"
"As if you’re a model of politeness yourself."
"You called me ’uncle’ before!"
Faye Yardley’s brow furrowed slightly. "That was merely me being polite. You can’t turn my courtesy into a weapon to use against me. That would only make you look ill-mannered."
Juno nearly had a heart attack from her retort.
He decided he’d better just focus on the letter.
He summoned a servant to bring Faye Yardley some refreshments, then said, "Niece Faye, I need to step away for a moment. Please, make yourself comfortable."
"Please do."
Faye Yardley felt no discomfort at all being left alone in the garden with her tea and pastries. Compared to dealing with people, she much preferred being by herself like this.
"Hey! I saw you from upstairs a moment ago and thought I was mistaken. I can’t believe it’s really you!"
"You haven’t left yet? I thought the engagement party was over."
Faye Yardley was genuinely surprised to see Diana Quinn still here. After all, the last time they met, she had mentioned that the "little couple" was planning a trip to other planets.
"It’s only been a few days! Why would you think I’d be gone already? There’s still so much to do. Are you making a wedding gown for Lilia, too?"