After a round of hustle, the time had already arrived at evening.
The setting sun was fiery red, and the twilight sky was brilliant.
Outside the door, Colin was bidding farewell to Mod and Qu Laidun.
The two exchanged pleasantries, and then Qu Laidun looked directly at Colin and said in a deep voice,
"Mr. Colin, this matter is not yet over. I will urge Ellis and the Haiya Merchants to give you an explanation as soon as possible."
Colin responded with a noncommittal smile and then bid farewell to Qu Laidun.
Walking on the road, the red-orange glow tinted his face with a layer of reddish-gold.
After a while,
Mod, who was nearby, suddenly stopped and bowed deeply to Colin, saying with genuine sincerity,
"Thank you, Mr. Colin."
"If it had not been for your initiative, the Golden Four-leaf Clover would probably have been out of my reach once again."
After saying this, a hint of hesitation flashed across his face, and then he added,
"Regarding the purchase of a ship for ocean voyages, there might be better options."
"I know the manager of the De Lan shipyard. A few years ago, I introduced a major client to him. To thank me, he gave me a privilege voucher for an eight percent discount on the purchase of ships under 30,000 Magic Stones."
"Perhaps you, Sir, could make use of it."
"Oh," Colin's face momentarily lit up with surprise, "then I shall gladly accept."
Having dealt with the Haiya Chamber of Commerce issue, the next thing he undoubtedly wanted to do was to buy a ship.
Colin pondered to himself.
He had earned a total of 12,580 Magic Stones from selling the Golden Four-leaf Clover. The Sea Swallow's original price was 16,000 Magic Stones, and the salesperson had offered a discounted price of 14,999 Magic Stones at the time... Calculating this, if he could get an eight percent discount, perhaps he wouldn't need to consider buying a second-hand ship.
However... it was unclear whether this eight percent discount applied to the original price or the discounted price...
The two continued walking forward, as, over their shoulders, an orange-yellow sunset gradually sank into the distance.
The next day.
Early in the morning, the sun had just risen.
Outside the De Lan shipyard.
"Sir."
Mod greeted the just-arrived Colin respectfully at the entrance.
"Let's go," Colin nodded and led him straight into the De Lan shipyard.
They had agreed to buy the ship today after they parted ways yesterday.
After all, the matter should be expedited.
It was best to finish it sooner rather than later to avoid unnecessary dreams and entanglements that would consume too much energy.
Upon entering the De Lan shipyard, the person who received Colin and Mod was the same salesperson with a goatee who had attended to Colin the last time he came alone.
Seeing Colin, the salesperson's eyes brightened, and he hurriedly stepped forward, saying,
"Sir, nice to see you again."
"Have you decided to buy the Sea Swallow this time?"
"Yes," Colin nodded without concealment.
The salesperson's smile grew even brighter with Colin's confirmation.
"Sir, this way, please."
He led Colin into the reception room.
Since Colin had decided to purchase the Sea Swallow, he didn't hesitate anymore and immediately began discussing the various customizations for the Sea Swallow with the goatee-bearded salesperson.
So, about two hours passed before Colin squared away all the details.
Then came the time to pay.
"Sir, the price I gave you last time was 14,999 Magic Stones, but that was the standard price for the standard configuration.
Based on your specific personal requirements this time, the price will change slightly," the goatee-bearded salesperson explained.
"Alright, so what's the final specific price?"
"I've done a rough calculation, and it's about an increase of 1,000 Magic Stones from the original standard, which is 15,999 Magic Stones. I can authorize a discount for you, bringing it down to 15,666 Magic Stones."
Colin nodded and, without rushing to respond, turned to look at Mod.
Sensing his gaze, Mod stepped forward, understandingly pulling out a brass ship-shaped emblem that he had already prepared.
"Is this... our emblem?" the goatee-bearded man asked in surprise, taking the emblem.
"Yes, that was given to me three years ago by your manager Finn, saying that it could be used to enjoy an eight percent discount on ships under 30,000 Magic Stones."
"I see... I'll have to ask the manager," the goatee-bearded salesperson's expression showed some hesitation.
He had never heard of such a thing before, nor had he seen other clients use a similar emblem.
Mod's heart sank.
Could it be that the De Lan shipyard's manager had just been leading him on?
"What's the matter, is this emblem not valid?" Seeing this, Colin inquired in a calm, deep voice.
With a thought, the aura of an Official Wizard began to emanate from him.
As if being choked, the mustachioed salesman's face turned pale instantly, and he said tremblingly,
"Sir... I just need to ask the manager."
"Go ahead," Colin withdrew his spiritual oppression.
He knew the salesman was just confused; he intentionally made things difficult to showcase the strength of the Official Wizard he was imitating, to prevent any unnecessary trouble that might occur later.
After that.
Perhaps the effect of Manager Finn's badge was truly significant, or maybe it was because of the strength he had demonstrated.
In any case, the process went smoothly.
Even the discount promised by the badge, 20% off, was applied to the discounted price of 15,666 Magic Stones given by the mustachioed salesman.
That meant he ultimately secured the Sea Swallow for only 12,533 Magic Stones.
After paying the Magic Stones, Colin ran his fingers over the pattern of his Storage Ring and felt a wave of regret.
Thinking of how his assets had shrunk once again to less than a thousand Magic Stones, it was hard not to feel a bit of heartache.
However, once he reached the Siya Continent, he would be able to sell the Sea Swallow and convert it into cash.
The mustachioed man spoke to him respectfully,
"Sir, according to your requirements, your Sea Swallow will be completed in about half a month. Please leave an address, and someone will come to notify you when it's ready."
"Mhm," Colin lightly exhaled, returned to his senses, left the address of the inn, and then left with Mod.
As they stepped out of the Deblue shipyard, it was nearly noon.
Looking around, the streets outside bustled just as the days before.
Having settled a significant matter, although his feelings were complex, overall, he felt relieved.
He turned to say goodbye to Mod and return to the inn.
"Sir."
But Mod spoke up first.
"Now that you have bought the Sea Swallow, may I ask when you plan to head to the Siya Continent?"
Colin gazed at him but didn't answer.
"It's like this, Sir,"
Mod began to explain on his own initiative.
"I'd like to take your ship to the Siya Continent... Of course, I will pay for my ticket in Magic Stones—how about 1,500 Magic Stones?"
Colin pondered for a long while before slowly nodding,
"That's fine. I plan to leave as soon as I get the ship. Leave me an address, and I'll have my maid inform you when it's time."
Now that he had bought the ship and was short on Magic Stones... Mod seemed to understand the situation well; it was a fair-weather voyage, an opportunity to make an easy profit without fail.
"Thank you, Sir Colin!" Mod seemed relieved as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, a grateful smile appearing on his face.
Afterward, Mod shared his residence address with Colin, then said goodbye and departed.
Colin also turned and continued towards the nearby inn.
As he walked, noticing the stream of people bustling around him, he couldn't help but reflect.
Regardless, now that he was walking alone on the street, at least he didn't need to keep up his disguise, sparing him some time.
Time flew, and a week passed in the blink of an eye.
This day, after breakfast, Colin prepared to go out with the sisters Renee to buy some necessary supplies for the sea voyage.
But just as they were leaving the inn, they faced a Steel-armored Guard head-on.
"Excuse me, are you Sir Colin?" the Guard respectfully asked, stopping him.
Colin nodded, assessing the Guard in front of him, whose body was covered in shiny silver Steel Armor.
He suddenly remembered the patrolling Guards he had seen at night before.
However, different from the patrolling Guards seen previously at night, this Guard's Steel Armor was more refined, its structure seeming more streamlined and slender.
Overall, it looked more advanced.
All of a sudden, with a mechanism triggered by the Guard, a small slit suddenly opened around the neck of his tightly sealed helmet.
The Guard then took off his helmet with both hands and rested it on his left arm.
"The thing is, Sir, the Law Enforcement Team, to express their apologies, has specifically sent you some token compensation. Additionally, the Haiya Chamber of Commerce has also entrusted me to deliver their compensation to you."
The Guard pressed his hand to his chest and bowed slightly as a sign of respect, then explained as he took out two palm-sized wooden boxes from the bag on his back.
"Oh," Colin raised an eyebrow.
While Qu Laidun had informed him that he would indeed get a response, Colin had never taken it seriously.
After all, this was Bananka Island, and the full name of the Law Enforcement Team was Bananka Law Enforcement Team.
For him, a foreign Wizard, to receive comparatively fair treatment was already no small feat.
He had never anticipated any compensation and felt something must have happened behind the scenes that he was unaware of.
But there was no reason to hesitate; he accepted the wooden boxes.
He beckoned to the sisters Renee, found a corner to sit down in the inn's ground floor hall, and gently opened the wooden boxes.