[Vol. 7] Chapter 67: He Gave Too Much
Seizing the perfect moment when their opponents were intimidated, the priestess quickly delivered her prepared explanation.
"General, I am not a [Holy Arts] practitioner, just an ordinary traveling priest with no official affiliation. While this ship does belong to me, it is currently leased by the Spirit Veil Merchant Guild to transport their goods and personnel. Everyone here… they are either key members of the association or my friends, there’s nothing suspicious about them."
"Hmph! I don’t care what group you belong to…! Wait, did you just say Spirit Veil Merchant Guild?"
As expected, the name Violet deliberately mentioned had an immediate effect. The middle-aged officer in uniform furrowed his brows slightly, glancing at the unlucky [Graeme], who had been punched away by a certain blonde girl and was now scrambling to get back on his feet. A flash of understanding and seriousness flickered in the officer’s eyes.
He raised his hand, signaling the surrounding soldiers, who were already on high alert, to hold their positions. Surprisingly, he didn’t even question the missing identification documents or their attack on military equipment. Instead, he shifted his doubts to another matter.
"You’re with the Spirit Veil Merchant Guild? Why would the Spirit Veil Merchant Guild need to rent a ship from outsiders? I’ve been to the Spirit Veil branch in the coastal city of Layla multiple times, yet I’ve never seen any of you there before."
"Ahem! Actually, General, here’s what happened..."
As an experienced and skilled negotiator, Ming Lan knew this was the right moment to step in. Taking a step forward at just the right time, he picked up where Violet had left off, speaking with a cheerful and confident tone as the official representative of the association.
"We are part of the association’s branches in other regions. Recently, we learned that a remote island out at sea had unearthed a valuable mineral deposit, so we rushed there to negotiate with the local residents and purchase the resources. However, the island is incredibly far from the mainland, and unfortunately, we ran into a storm on the way. By the time our ship finally arrived at the destination from another port, it had suffered severe damage from the accident and was no longer seaworthy for long-distance transport."
"Luckily, Miss Violet happened to be passing by with her ship. Since we already had some prior cooperation and a good relationship, we asked for her help in transporting our cargo…"
"Oh! I haven’t introduced myself yet. I am Ming Lan, Vice President of the Spirit Veil Merchant Guild. Here is my business card and identification record. Please take a look, General."
The young man with fox ears smiled as he handed over a gold-embossed card and a small booklet, both items he had prepared in advance. As the highly capable External Affairs Director of the Spirit Veil Immortal Island, Ming Lan had carefully planned this negotiation the moment he understood his young lady’s intentions.
“...?”
The stern officer briefly examined the business card. However, when he flipped through the booklet and reached a particular page, his usually serious eyes suddenly narrowed, showing a barely noticeable hint of satisfaction. He discreetly pulled something out from between the pages.
The green-haired girl beside him, sharp-eyed as she was, noticed this detail right away. A faint trace of helplessness flashed in her gaze, but she didn’t call him out on it. Instead, she continued observing the little dragon girl and Violet with mild curiosity, clearly intrigued by Xiao Guang’s simple yet highly effective punch from earlier.
The middle-aged officer quickly slipped both the business card and the hidden piece of paper, making sure to keep it out of sight from the red-haired mage, into his inner pocket before returning the identification booklet to Ming Lan. His previously rigid expression softened into a polite, businesslike smile.
"Haha! So it’s Vice President Ming Lan. What an honor! It seems this was just a misunderstanding. Using such a massive ship for cargo transport… only the Spirit Veil Merchant Guild would have the means to pull off something like this. I imagine your association is making quite a fortune again this time, truly enviable, hahaha!"
"Oh, I suppose I haven’t introduced myself yet. I am Cassio Gallier, Admiral of the Second Naval Fleet of the Austre Empire. I oversee the defense of Layla City, the coastal city, and its surrounding waters. My apologies for the earlier misunderstanding. I hope you won’t take offense, Vice President Ming Lan."
Now that Cassio’s tone had softened, the fox-eared man immediately let out a hearty laugh, shaking his head as if reuniting with an old friend.
"Admiral, you’re too kind! As merchants, we understand that it’s only natural to go through official inspections when transporting goods. If anything, it was our guards who acted too hastily earlier. That was a failure on our part in managing the situation."
After a brief moment of thought, Ming Lan made a generous gesture with a wave of his hand.
"How about this, our association will cover double the repair costs for any damage caused to [Graeme] during the fight. On top of that, Admiral, whenever you visit the Spirit Veil Merchant Guild in Layla City, no matter how much you buy, you’ll always get a 10% discount. What do you say?"
Cassio’s eyes immediately lit up.
"Oh! Well, thanks for your generosity, Brother Ming Lan! But let’s forget about the repair costs. We soldiers bond through combat, after all! That little lady really gave me a good scare just now, truly impressive! As expected of the Spirit Veil Merchant Guild, full of talented people! Hahaha!"
"Haha, it’s just some basic self-defense techniques for merchants. Compared to the Austre Empire’s massive warships and siege giants, it’s nothing worth mentioning. But Admiral Cassio, as a key figure in the government, I do hope you’ll continue to look after our association in the future so we can deepen our cooperation!"
"Hahaha! Of course, of course!"
After sharing a few more laughs and brotherly shoulder pats with Ming Lan, Cassio, still grinning from ear to ear, decisively led his men off the [Noah’s Ark]. He didn’t conduct any inspections or ask for any permits. On the contrary, before leaving, he even enthusiastically offered to have the Imperial Navy escort them for protection.
Naturally, he directed this offer to the esteemed Vice President Ming Lan, as it was clear from their previous negotiations that he now saw Violet as merely one of Ming Lan’s subordinates. To Cassio, it was Ming Lan who truly held authority on this ship.
Of course, Ming Lan had no intention of letting the Imperial forces continue trailing them. He politely declined with a suitable excuse, and though Cassio looked slightly disappointed, he didn’t press the matter, ultimately leading his fleet back to the flagship.
Still, before leaving, Cassio even made sure his son, the same young officer who had nearly been scared out of his wits by Xiao Guang’s mere glance, personally apologized to the priestess. Compared to his earlier arrogance, his attitude now was a stark contrast, making it clear just how much Cassio valued his relationship with the Spirit Veil Merchant Guild.
And so, the unexpected crisis was finally resolved.
As the Imperial Navy’s ships sailed past them, continuing toward the mainland, Violet stood on the deck, watching them disappear into the distance. Once the others had dispersed to handle the aftermath, she turned to Ming Lan, the man who had played the biggest role in resolving the situation, and patted his shoulder with a smile.
"You did well this time."
Receiving such praise directly from his lady, the fox-eared youth was momentarily caught off guard. He quickly dropped to one knee in a respectful bow.
"You flatter me, my lady. I merely relied on the strength of our association. The Empire values power above all else, without Her Diviness Xiao Guang’s well-timed display of force, this wouldn’t have been settled so easily. And, to smooth things over, the association did have to part with quite a bit of money..."