Just as Tingyun blurted out the words "Benefactor," the system promptly responded:
--+--
[Target: Tingyun]
[Favorability: 75 (Friendly and Curious)]
[Relationship: Benefactor]
['Seems she's mistaken you for a Galaxy Ranger too. Anyway, her favorability shot up just like that. Pretty lucky, huh.']
[Reward: Green Card Draw × 1]
--+--
A Green Card Draw, of all things.
Sylvia was taken aback for a moment when she saw the reward. Was it because of the favorability?
She had assumed she'd only get the lowest-tier draw.
Who knew if shifting relationships would bring more chances to draw cards later?
Take Acheron's favorability, for instance. It had been steadily climbing all this time, recently hitting 85.
--+--
[Target: Acheron]
[Favorability: 85 (Trust and Preferential Treatment)]
[Relationship: Nominal Spouses]
['Just keep deceiving her. Go on. The higher that favorability climbs, the harder you'll crash when it all falls apart.']
[Reward: New rewards will be granted only after the relationship stabilizes.]
--+--
So with Acheron, even as her favorability kept rising, no new card draws came. Judging by the system's description, it probably still had something to do with her cutting corners.
As for Tingyun here, it was unclear whether changes in the relationship would bring new draws—that remained to be seen.
--+--
"Benefactor, Benefactor~ Staring at this humble one's tail like that… Even for you, Benefactor, it's enough to make a lady blush."
A soft tail gave Sylvia's hand a light tap, snapping her out of her thoughts.
She glanced at Tingyun, slightly startled, only to find her face adorned with a smile and just the right touch of shyness.
By then, Acheron had already moved to Sylvia's side, her gaze as calm and unreadable as ever.
"See something you like?"
The unexpected question from Acheron nearly made Sylvia choke.
"It's lovely, ahem… but not as lovely as you."
Acheron's expression shifted almost imperceptibly, but she still said, "So this is why you wanted to visit the Xianzhou? Curious about the Foxians, were you?"
"Not that curious…"
For some reason, Sylvia couldn't shake the feeling that Acheron seemed… a little jealous?
The thought made her pause. Had she grown overconfident, watching Acheron's favorability points climb day by day?
But despite her inner musings, Sylvia stepped closer to Acheron, standing right by her side.
Tingyun watched the interaction between Sylvia and Acheron with keen interest, already forming some guesses about the nature of their relationship.
"Esteemed Benefactors, why not accompany this humble one to our merchant guild's local outpost? Allow me to host you and offer a place to rest. This starskiff isn't exactly the most suitable spot for conversation."
Noting that the members of the Whistling Flames Merchant Guild had already gathered their belongings and tended to their wounds, Tingyun invited Sylvia and Acheron to disembark with her.
Acheron, of course, had no objections. And Sylvia, driven by her desire to get closer to the little fox, naturally agreed.
"Sounds good."
Walking alongside Tingyun, Sylvia and Acheron followed the group through a series of twists and turns, finally stepping off the starskiff.
They found themselves in a desolate, ravaged valley.
The valley was barren, and the air quality was poor.
Sylvia immediately struggled to adjust, breaking into a cough.
Just then, a pair of delicate fingers gently brushed against her neck, and a life-sustaining device activated, bringing her some relief.
Then, a warm, mellifluous voice whispered by her ear, "It's a life-sustaining device, Benefactor. Feeling better now? While it can purify the outside air, it's still best to head into the city as soon as possible."
Sylvia turned to see Tingyun smiling, bent slightly at the waist with one hand raised playfully beside her mouth as if sharing a secret.
It was utterly captivating.
"Ahem… thank you. Much better."
Sylvia coughed twice, straightened up, and put a little distance between herself and Tingyun, leaning instead against Acheron's arm.
Internally, she wondered—wasn't Tingyun supposed to be exceptionally poised and polished? Why did it feel like she was enjoying the show?
'Just you wait—one of these days, I'm going to pinch those ears of yours and give them a proper rubbing!'
Sylvia mentally added this to her little black book, then let her gaze drift into the distance.
The planet's atmosphere was a spectacle of vibrant, interwoven colors, quite breathtaking in its beauty.
It was just a shame—the barren wilderness and the hulking warehouses looming in the distance rather ruined the natural splendor.
Earlier, when looking down from orbit, Acheron had told Sylvia this wasn't a habitable planet.
Only the artificially maintained cities and starports served as hubs of life.
Most of the remaining land was used as sprawling storage facilities.
In the direction of the city, they could already see the belated arrival of a patrol craft.
Perhaps noticing that the situation here had been resolved, the patrol ship picked up speed and soon landed right in front of the group.
While Tingyun stepped forward to speak with the crew, Sylvia rose slightly on her toes, leaning against Acheron, and murmured, "So, how'd I do earlier? Do I at least get a passing grade?"
"Earlier?"
Acheron blinked, tilting her head to study Sylvia's face up close.
After a moment's thought, she replied, "Miss Tingyun seems to have taken a liking to you. And she's probably recognized me. Since you introduced yourself as my companion, she likely assumes you're a Galaxy Ranger. I expect she'll invite you to visit the Xianzhou Luofu as her guest."
Acheron laid it all out so logically that Sylvia was left speechless.
Puzzled, she turned to face Acheron directly, staring straight into those gem-like eyes.
Compared to when they first met—whether because Sylvia had grown used to Acheron's gaze or for some other reason—she felt there was now a little more humanity reflected in them.
"What is it?"
Sylvia's confused expression gave Acheron pause. Had she said something wrong?
Given how things were unfolding, wouldn't it be perfectly natural for Tingyun to invite Sylvia to the Xianzhou Luofu?
Sylvia sighed in mild exasperation.
"I was asking about my performance in the fight. Who was talking about that just now…"
"…"
This time, it was Acheron who fell silent for a beat.
She averted her eyes, looking toward Tingyun, and said,
"Not bad. Your strikes were clean, and you left room to adapt. It seems those days you spent gaming on the starship weren't entirely wasted."
"Mmh… how did you know I was playing games all that time?"
Suddenly called out for secretly gaming for days on end, Sylvia couldn't help but blush. Acheron, however, didn't seem to mind.
"I came looking for you a few times during the journey. You didn't answer when I knocked, so I went in and saw you playing."
"Eh? If you were looking for me, you could've just woken me up."
"You went through quite a bit on that last planet—over ten days of hard work. It's normal to want to unwind. I didn't want to disturb you."
Hearing that, Sylvia felt a twinge of guilt—a subtle sense that she'd been so caught up in her own fun, she'd neglected the person beside her.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.