After Sushang acknowledged Fu Hua as her master and settled down on Mount Taixuan.
Each member of the delegation from the Luofu found something they could do within the Starsea Empire.
"Ah, Miss Sushang has always been warmhearted. It's good for her to gain some experience."
Tingyun wandered about the commercial center of the capital.
Relying on a merchant's intuition, she selected items of value to bring back to the Luofu, ensuring a tidy profit.
"Mm... these magic scrolls are convenient and quick to use. Even if they're only used to seal objects inside for easy carrying, they can function as storage space."
"And these magic tomes from other universes are quite fascinating as well. If I practice diligently, perhaps this humble girl might even manage a spell or two..."
As she calculated the Luofu's situation, whenever she spotted something worthwhile, she would approach an Angeloid to see whether a contract could be negotiated.
Yet their straightforwardness often left Tingyun at a loss.
"Ah, just say whatever you want. If it's not enough, we can file a report with the Commander."
"There's so much of this stuff that the warehouse can't even hold it anymore."
"???"
Tingyun discovered that the concept of "trade" seemed to exist only faintly in the Starsea Empire's vocabulary.
Their goods either came as tribute from vassals or were produced by themselves.
Everyone simply took what they needed. They did not even use local currency, and there was almost no need for material exchange with the outside world.
The few instances of cross-world trade mostly involved exporting strange things like games, movies, and comics to the world of Nyarko.
"No, no. What we signed was a trade contract, not personal requisition."
"We'll be working with the Whistling Flames Guild and the Luofu for a long time to come. How could we simply take things for free?"
The girl argued with the Angeloid for quite a while.
Only under Sophon's mediation were several mutually beneficial trade agreements finally signed.
—Although the Starsea Empire was hundreds of times wealthier than the Luofu and the merchant guild, in the long run it would hardly be proper to exploit loopholes in their system for personal gain.
After browsing the commercial center for some time.
Without realizing it, Tingyun drifted near the workshop of Vill-V and Akashi.
A group of Bulins swung Ultra Rainbow Hammers and wrenches, hammering and clanking against blueprints as they constructed objects she did not recognize.
"Nya? A new guest? What would you like, nya?"
Akashi's ears twitched as she looked over.
"Mm... this humble girl is procuring resources for the Xianzhou Alliance. I wish to see what the Starsea Empire and the Luofu might exchange."
Tingyun answered honestly.
"I've selected quite a few unusual items already. Before departing, General Jing Yuan and General Feixiao entrusted me with seeing whether there might be any divine weapons we could bring back to broaden the horizons of the Artisanship Commission."
Aside from regular trade, studying the Starsea Empire's military technology was naturally one of the delegation's important duties.
If there were advanced weapons and equipment available for sale, it would greatly enhance the Xianzhou's combat strength.
One particular general from the Xianzhou Yaoqing, especially, placed great importance on this matter.
"Hmm..."
Akashi thought for a moment.
"Aren't there tons of weapons and equipment from isekai like Konosuba, Goblin Slayer, and Overlord? Just pick some at random, nya?"
"They farm dungeons every day. The loot's piled up and nobody even uses it, nya."
"This humble girl has indeed selected some."
Tingyun replied.
"However, while those weapons are powerful, each one is unique. If we wished to distribute them widely, it would likely be quite difficult..."
Dungeon and boss drops from magical worlds were hardly mass-produced. Every item had bizarre and unique effects.
Whether the Artisanship Commission could even analyze them was another matter entirely.
"Oh, you want standardized equipment for mass deployment? You should've said so earlier, nya!"
Akashi clapped her hands and pulled Tingyun into the interior of the workshop.
She opened the warehouse doors.
Whoosh—
Several rows of Gundams stood in neat formation upon the ground.
"Here. When the Commander first got the Gundam blueprints, we built a whole bunch. Now they're just sitting here collecting dust, totally unused, nya."
"If you want them, you'd be doing me a favor by clearing out some warehouse space first, nya?"
Akashi began introducing them one by one like precious treasures.
"From the most basic Zaku MS-05, Zaku II, and Zaku variants, to ASW-G-08 Barbatos and Strike Freedom—we've got them all."
"Hiss—"
Tingyun looked up, her mind shaken.
She had once seen Himeko summon one back on the Luofu, but the quantity and variety here were clearly far greater.
"Are these... golden automatons?"
"No, they're called Gundams. Each one requires a pilot. Depending on the configuration, they can support atmospheric combat and near-space operations, nya."
"Some models are classified projects, but these can be used freely, nya~"
Judging by the thick layer of dust accumulated on them, they had been idle for quite some time. Even so, the sheer pressure exuded by an entire Gundam unit at close range was overwhelming.
Tingyun stood stunned for quite a while, imagining that if these were brought back to the Xianzhou, modified, and deployed among the Cloud Knights, the effect would be nothing short of spectacular.
"How impressive..."
"Please calculate the price for this batch of equipment. This humble girl will purchase them in the name of Whistling Flames and arrange transport to the Xianzhou on our next return trip."
She took out her phone to record everything.
"Esteemed customer, you truly have an eye for quality, nya!!"
Akashi had originally felt that giving them away would have been fine. She hadn't expected Tingyun to be so principled, and she was immediately overjoyed.
"Oh right, I've also got some boxes here. Miss Tingyun, could you do me a favor and sell them on the Xianzhou for me, nya?"
"Hm?"
Tingyun found this even more curious.
"What are they?"
Akashi had the Angeloids carry out a pile of blue, white, gold, purple, and rainbow-colored boxes, stacking them on the ground.
"Each box can open to reveal items of different rarity levels—aircraft, torpedoes, twin-mounted cannons, and so on. The Commander and the shipgirls aren't falling for it anymore... oh, I mean, they don't need them anymore."
"Why not help me sell them on the Xianzhou, nya? We can split the revenue proportionally."
Even though the Starsea Empire had no need for money, Akashi maintained a peculiar obsession with earning it.
"You wish for this humble girl to sell them on your behalf?"
Tingyun examined the oddly shaped boxes.
The Whistling Flames Guild wielded considerable influence on the Luofu. It was not unusual for people to consign goods for sale under the guild's name. Commercial negotiations were her specialty.
It would not be bad to collaborate with the Starsea Empire in this way. She could even offer Akashi extremely favorable terms.
"May I ask how you intend to price them?"
"That can be discussed slowly, nya. Just set whatever price you think is appropriate!"
Akashi was brimming with enthusiasm.
"Are the items inside random?"
"Of course, nya! You can pull out any kind of equipment! I even stuffed weapons from other worlds into them!"
"And the quality is random as well?"
"Mm, well... if your luck's bad, it's perfectly normal to open a gold box and get white-tier equipment, right, nya?"
The repair girl looked a little guilty, smoothing down her ears.
"Ah???"
"There's no pity system?!"
The more Tingyun listened, the stranger it sounded. With her experience in commerce, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
"If it's completely random... then what if someone paints a purple box gold and sells it at the price of a gold box?"
"I usually repaint white boxes... no, wait, you know too much, nya!!!"
...
Elsewhere.
"Ah, Miss Tingyun truly is capable. That means I can slack off a little longer—"
Inside the Starsea Amusement City, Qingque went back and forth at the card table with several little lolis.
After thoroughly analyzing her opponents' data, she had realized that some players were simply impossible for her to defeat.
But a true card player never admits defeat!
Sparring with experts could improve her skills.
"Sister Qingque, I remember Sister Tingyun and Sister Sushang have both been very busy lately. Is it really okay for you to slack off here?"
"Shouldn't there be plenty of work for the delegation?"
One of the little lolis asked while playing her cards.
"Work isn't about striving for value. It's labor exchanged for compensation. Slacking off during work—that's how you strive for value for yourself."
Qingque answered with utmost seriousness.
She had even set a rule for herself: generally, once she lost her outerwear and skirt, she would stop. Her panties absolutely had to stay.
"By the way, I'm a bit curious. You've won so many of my clothes—where do they all end up?"
"Schwi hands them all over to the Commander, but the Commander doesn't seem very interested."
Schwi replied matter-of-factly.
"Hey?!"
Qingque's face flushed red and pale in turns, completely unable to understand what this Ex-Machina was thinking.
She had thought she was secretly slacking off without anyone noticing, but the ruler of the Starsea Empire was apparently receiving her worn originals every few days. What kind of situation was that?!
If Fu Xuan found out, wouldn't that be disastrous?!
Suddenly.
Bzz—
A communication from Tingyun came through her phone.
"Qingque, at the end of this month, we'll be returning with the merchant vessel to report back to the Xianzhou Luofu."
"Mm... though it may be presumptuous of me, let me remind you not to forget the task assigned by the Master Diviner."
"Huh?!"
Qingque jolted.
"W-We're heading back already?! I thought we were supposed to be stationed long-term in the Starsea Empire?"
"The merchant guild has procured many goods here and needs to transport them back. Additionally, I have important matters to report to the Xianzhou Alliance."
Tingyun replied.
"It's just a routine report. It won't take long. This humble girl rather likes the Starsea Empire."
Like ambassadors dispatched to other nations, they needed to return periodically to report on their work.
Especially since Tingyun felt that many of her experiences in the Starsea Empire could not be fully conveyed through long-distance communication alone.
"Miss Tingyun, you're truly dedicated... Wait a minute!! The Master Diviner's assignment!!"
Qingque turned pale with shock.
Some repetitive calculations could be handed off to Angeloids, but there were still many tasks that required her personal involvement.
For example, comparing and analyzing divination methods from other worlds, researching the Starsea Empire's deduction techniques, and so on.
Her current progress stood at zero.
"Mm... then Miss Qingque, please do your best? Sushang has been training very diligently these days."
Tingyun offered a few words of encouragement.
"Guh..."
Under Tingyun's reminder, Qingque engaged in some profound self-reflection.
Having learned her lesson through pain, she resolved to work properly.
She returned to the delegation's residence, spread open her notebook, and began writing.
"Qingque's Diary."
"July 10th. Starting this new diary to record what I see and hear in the Starsea Empire, and to complete the work assigned by the Diviner."
"July 11th: Played cards."
"July 12th: Played cards."
"July 13th: Played cards."
"July 14th: Qingque, oh Qingque, how could you sink to such depravity? Miss Tingyun and Miss Sushang are both working hard. I can't keep going on like this."
"July 15th: If I play cards again, I'm a dog."
"July 16th: Shiro said she could teach me a new mahjong technique? No, I have to finish my work first."
"July 17th: Woof!"