All the members of the Puppet Knights were left inside the inn.
Going out with these 30cm-tall figures would be too conspicuous, drawing almost everyone's attention.
Crowded areas were not suitable for them.
Alka looked at his teammates, paused, and said, "Let's split up."
"Lucilia, Pororo, the three of us will follow Sofia's proposal to map this area. The rest of you will be free to roam the city and gather intelligence."
"No problem."
"Okay."
Hearing the crowd's response, Alka nodded. Then, struck by something, he paused, looked at Julia, and said, "Julia, it's best for you to stay out of here. Keep yourself hidden."
Julia nodded, understanding Alka's point.
After all, Julia was still a mermaid at heart, even though she had transformed her tail into legs through her own abilities.
But once discovered, problems would still arise.
Even though she no longer believed in life, and had even turned her back on it.
Sometimes, even a loathed enemy wouldn't care; after all, mermaids are practically bound to life.
After their assignments were made, the foursome of Alka and the others left the inn.
"It's so lively," Lucelia remarked, perched on Alka's shoulders, surveying the surroundings.
Preparations for the festival were underway.
Various lanterns and decorations, clearly crafted for the festive atmosphere, were being placed everywhere.
When they reached the large square in front of the city entrance, they could see that a stage still appeared to be under construction.
"It smells strange here, not just fragrant," Pororo said, sniffing.
"There are so many people, it's normal for it to smell strange," Lucelia remarked, perched on Alka's shoulders.
The surrounding shops were also decorating their interiors.
Sofia looked at one of the shops selling clothes.
"How about we change clothes?"
At this suggestion, Alka nodded.
Even though Pororo was following them, even with a change of clothes, they would still be conspicuous in this place.
But it was better than not changing at all.
It was a chance to experience the exotic culture.
Everyone except Pororo entered the shop.
Pororo was the only one who sat helplessly on the stone block at the door.
When Alka and the others emerged...
Pororo was surrounded by children from the city.
"Do you eat people?"
"Yes, I love eating children like you the most," Pororo said to a child who was trying to lie on him.
Then he reluctantly lifted him up and set him aside.
After seeing Alka and the others emerge, he turned and suddenly roared at the children surrounding him.
"Roar!"
"If you don't run, I'm going to eat you!"
"Ahhh, run!"
"They're going to eat us! Run!"
The children surrounding him all screamed and ran away, but judging by their smiles, it was clear they were just running for fun.
After sending the children away, Pororo reluctantly walked over to Alka and the others.
"If you don't come out, I'm going to be so annoyed! Go away!"
"Haha, I didn't expect you to be so popular with these kids," Alka said with a smile.
Hearing this, Pororo rolled his eyes helplessly and waved them off.
"Ah! I want new clothes too!" Lucilia, who hadn't bought any new clothes, said angrily to Alka's shoulder.
This was a ready-to-wear clothing store, and since custom clothing wasn't available, Lucilia was still wearing her old clothes.
She quite liked the island's unique ethnic costumes.
Hearing this, Sofia smiled and said, "Don't worry. I've almost figured out their style. I'll make you one when I get back."
"Really? That's great."
Everyone chatted and laughed.
Admiring the city scenery, they slowly approached the gate.
They exchanged a smile and greeted the soldiers from earlier, then boarded the Flying Swallow and left the small harbor.
Once outside, Sofia immediately went to work.
Silver ripples began to spread around them, though they were practically invisible to the naked eye.
Sofia had now mastered concealing them perfectly.
"Which area do you want to explore?"
Hearing this, Alka pulled out a map of the Land of All Spirits and circled the orange dot and its surroundings.
Since the Land of Fragrance was the core of the Land of All Spirits, a rash exploration there would undoubtedly lead to problems.
So, Alka gave up the idea of including the island.
Furthermore, there were indeed no dots in the Land of Fragrance, not even a single white dot.
Looking at the area Alka had circled, Sofia nodded.
Then, leading Alka and the other two, they drove forward.
…
Jason and Juanlu strolled through the city.
As for Simon, Mathilda, and the others, they decided to stay in the hotel with Julia.
At this point, they were also wearing clothing embellished with flower petals and various floral elements, completely blending in with the city.
"What are you looking for?" Juanlu asked, observing Jason, who seemed to be looking around for something.
Jason didn't even turn his head, continuing his search. He replied, "What else could it be? Looking for a place that sells gems, of course."
Juanlu immediately understood what he meant. He patted Ajie's shoulder and fell silent, though he couldn't hide the gloating smile on his face.
The crystal dragon was almost out of gems. Yesterday, he was furious because of his empty gem bag.
Today, because of his size and unusually conspicuous appearance, he couldn't enter the city and could only wander the periphery, which made him even more angry.
If Jason couldn't produce any gems to please the crystal dragon when he went out,
Urulius would definitely be furious with him.
"You're like raising a daughter."
Hearing this, Jason turned and looked at him. "Is that what raising a daughter is like?"
Juanlu shrugged. "How would I know? I don't even have a fiancée. I was just saying it."
"By the way, where did you get the money?"
"I borrowed it from Julia."
"Yeah, a good choice," Juanlu nodded in agreement.
Julia was indeed a good candidate to borrow money from.
Like Porolo, they were mostly indolent.
Of the three people from the ocean, only Matresa seemed to spend a lot. And Matresa's purchases were usually for various experimental materials and medicinal herbs.
She also bought all sorts of bizarre and inexplicable things.
"Where's the jewelry store...? Couldn't anyone wear jewelry here?" Jason asked helplessly after searching for a long time.
However, no one answered him.
Turning around, he saw Juanlu had fallen far behind, pausing at a stall selling food.
Then he hurried back.
The stall was selling a variety of incomprehensible ingredients.
However, there were some they had used before.
For example, the bighead carp.
Most of the items were petals, plant roots, and dried whole flowers.
"Are these edible?" Jason whispered in Juanlu's ear.
"Of course they are. They make a great seasoning."
"Have you tried them?"
"No, I'm just going to give them a try," Juanlu said nonchalantly.
Then he picked up some of the ingredients in the corner of the stall that looked extremely unappealing, like insects.
Seeing this, Jason's face turned a little green.
But it was impossible to stop him.
He decided to be careful around Juanlu for the time being. If he saw him with a plate, it would be best to hide.
Before he thought, Juanlu had already grabbed most of the ingredients on the stall.
"Would you like some money?" Juanlu asked, holding out his silver sail and motioning to the owner.
Looking at the outsider before him, the owner looked helpless.
"We're just xenophobic, not savages, my friend."
"Haha, sorry, boss, let's do the math," Juanlu said with an awkward smile.
He stuffed the packaged ingredients into his pocket ring.
Then he and Jason left.
"How did he know we were outsiders?"
After all, they were now dressed in the same local attire, and they were all human. There were no differences in skin color or race, so it should be difficult to tell them apart based on appearance alone. Hearing this, Jason gave him a strange look.
"You don't think we speak the common language of the Sea of Spirits very well, do you? There's bound to be a difference in accent. We might not notice it, but it's very obvious to the locals."
After hearing Jason's explanation, Juanlu nodded in understanding; he hadn't really noticed.
If Julia or Lucelia had spoken, it might have been possible to pass for the real thing.
Julia was fine, but Lucelia was instantly recognizable.
Finally, after Jason's inquiries, the two found the place where jewelry and gemstones were sold in the Land of Fragrance.
It was a strange flower house.
Because the flower was a deep purple, it looked particularly strange in a place where most flowers were pale.
The flower's surface sparkled, like a diamond, or like dewdrops hanging on petals.
The two walked in. A middle-aged man, dressed in local attire but appearing somewhat refined, stood behind the counter.
Even just standing there, he seemed polite and courteous, lending him an intangible aura of goodwill.
He also had a rather attractive middle-aged face.
Just that face alone was a surefire killer for middle-aged women.
The moment Jason and Juanlu laid eyes on him, they narrowed their eyes slightly.
They both simultaneously became more alert.
Because he gave them a dangerous vibe.
A powerful figure.
The owner, standing straight, adjusted his silver-rimmed glasses.
The ends of the temples were decorated with flowers.
"Outside customers? How unusual! How can I help you two?"
Jason glanced at the jewelry on the counter.
It's truly worthy of its name: almost 80% of the jewelry is embellished with various floral designs.
This place truly makes the most of flowers.
The rest of the items are also somewhat floral-related.
In response to the shopkeeper's question, Jason directly replied, "Do you have any precious rough stones? Only gemstones."
Jason's question left the shopkeeper slightly stunned.
Buying rough gemstones in a jewelry store? What kind of business is that?
Seeing the shopkeeper's slightly confused expression, Jason felt a pang of embarrassment.
It was mainly because they were unfamiliar with the place and weren't sure how long they would be here.
He had other things to do, like gathering intelligence, so he didn't have much time to waste searching for gemstones.
Although a little strange, the shopkeeper smiled and said, "Although your request is a bit strange, as long as the price is right, we will sell it."
"That would be great."
The shopkeeper nodded slightly, bowed slightly, and said, "Please wait a moment, sirs."
He pushed open the door behind him and walked into the inner room.
As for whether he was worried about someone outside stealing...
Hehe.
Jason and the others waited outside for about a minute.
The shopkeeper came out holding a wooden box with flowers growing on it.
"Sorry to have kept you waiting."
He placed the box on the counter and opened it.
"These are the unprocessed rough stones we have currently. See if there's anything you need."
Jason walked over and looked at the box's contents.
Gemstones of various colors and sizes filled the entire small box.
The smallest ones were probably no bigger than the nail of a pinky finger, while the largest ones were the size of a palm.
"Can you handle them?"
The owner nodded. "Of course, please."
Jason nodded.
Then he reached out and began to pick up the gems from the treasure chest.
Most of these gems were irregular in shape, with some having strange angles.
They had barely been polished.
You could even see bits of stone clinging to some of the gems, not completely peeled off.
Just as the owner had said, these were truly rough stones that had barely been polished.
They looked as if they had just been dug out of the mine.
The owner looked at Jason's selection.
Almost none of them were smaller than a finger. This customer didn't seem to be drawn to the smaller, more beautiful gems.
Prefer larger ones?
After taking out the gems of the right size—at least not the ones Urulius wouldn't feel like eating—Jason began to carefully select them.
After discarding a few, he looked at the remaining gems.
He nodded in satisfaction, "That's all.
Boss, please name your price.
" Seeing Jason's unusual generosity, the owner looked up slightly.
But he still warned, "Sir, I must warn you.
This is the land of spirits. You must understand that the gems here may not be as easy to come by as outside. There may be a slight price difference compared to outside prices."
Although the owner's words were a bit euphemistic, the meaning was clear.
Don't even think about buying these gems at outside prices. Jason nodded, "Don't worry."
He had already prepared himself for a rip-off by daring to buy here.
It was his fault for not having prepared well.
He had underestimated Urulius's growth rate and the time it would take them to sail.
As long as the boss didn't push too far, he could accept it.
After all, he had indeed used up all his gems and urgently needed a replenishment.
Hearing Jason didn't mind, the boss nodded.
Then he looked at the gems Jason had selected on the counter.
He couldn't help but exclaim, "I didn't expect you to have such good taste. Do you have some knowledge of gems? I bet you're a gem lover."
He nodded at this.
He loved them dearly, at least for now.
As for his taste
, entirely ground from the time it's fed.
Simply put, the better the gemstone, the more the Crystal Dragon enjoys it.
It's like a human enjoying delicious food.
With more feedings, it naturally learns to distinguish between good and bad.
Of course, he couldn't tell anyone that he relied on taste to distinguish quality.
It was primarily due to the contract he'd signed with the Crystal Dragon. He always had a certain innate affinity for these unique gemstones.
Simply distinguishing between good and bad, and purity, was almost like instinct.
Then the boss began to calculate.
"Total 356 gold sails, 350. Is that acceptable, sir?"
Hearing the price, Jason glanced at the gems on the table and nodded.
It was reasonable. While it was definitely more expensive than the Gemini Islands, it was only about 30% more.
In this place, this was already within his acceptable range.
Jason's limit was actually 50%.
He counted out 350 gold sails from his pocket ring, placed them in a small box, and handed it to the owner.
Then he waited for the owner to sort it out again.
After all, a gold sail was roughly half the size of a palm. And it wasn't very thin.
The 350 pieces neatly placed in the small box looked quite substantial.
After a careful count, the owner nodded with satisfaction.
He also took out a box, placed the gems on a soft silk cushion, and carefully placed them.
He handed it to Jason.
"Thank you for your patronage. Is there anything else you need?"
"No, I'll take my leave now."
"Come back next time."
Jason took the box and put it into his pocket ring. After a brief goodbye to the boss, he left the shop with Juanlu.
Juanlu, who had been wearing glasses for some time, sat quietly in a corner, watching the two men's conversation.
Watching the two men leave,
The boss wondered what he was thinking.
"I didn't expect the biggest deal would come from raw trading... Should I change my career?"
After leaving, the two men exchanged words.
"What's your approximate strength?"
"Fourth stage perfection."
"Quite strong."