While some were busy training, and some were busy dreaming about a one-night stand, a lot of the others were basically on vacation mode after earning so much money.
It was early in the day but they had sold out already. At this time, they were just counting money!
The arrangement was like some sort of Co-op shop located in the Terran Mercenary Team's commercial area, except the mercenary team has the final say should there be disagreements between the 'members'.
This was located on the ground floor rooms abutting the streets. Basically, it was like a shophouse located on their own grounds, but accessible to guests.
The whole commercial area was around 300 square meters which could accommodate a few small shops. It was on a first-come-first-serve basis, and they limited the slots for the civilian caravans to avoid conflicts.
However, based on the turnover, it seemed they could add a few more citizens on the next trip, so they could sell in batches or when the first batch sold out.
The renovation had actually just been completed a few days before their arrival, and they had the honor of being the first 'shop owners'.
And it was an 'honor' indeed!
Bull was among these people and he counted his earnings (for the nth time that day) with a smile. Combined with the profits from his boat business back home, he was really rich! He ought to propose soon! His Lulu was so nice and pretty, who knew who would sweep her away if he didn't tie her down!
While he was daydreaming, the others had also begun to pack up, and a few of them were dealing with the bitter aborigines who had missed the last stock.
"We will come back for sure. Well, maybe not us, but our brethren!" Nina said with a smile. Her smile faltered when she saw a little boy among them, looking very disappointed.
"No more toys?" A little boy mumbled, looking at his dad who was shaking his head.
Nina blinked and took a toy house from her space. "Here," she said, handing him a detachable wooden toy from her space.
It was a 3D puzzle toy where pieces would slide together to build a simple house with a hip roof and a chimney. She, a first-year architecture student, made the model herself. It was not for sale and something she just made as a hobby, but who knew it'd be useful?
"How much is it?" The boy's father asked. He was wearing typical commoner clothes with rough fabric, and then she looked at the young boy who also had simple clothes, but obviously new ones.
She wanted to say it was a gift, but she knew men liked a sense of accomplishment. "It's an experimental product, so I'm asking 1 silver."
"Just 1 silver?" The man and the others looked surprised. They also wanted one, but they knew there was no more.
She nodded. "You have to tell me how it is after though. Customer feedback."
The man blinked while the young child happily took the toy. He watched as Nina taught the boy how to detach and reattach it, fascinating him.
The boy's eyes were wide and cheeks flushed in happiness. The father's eyes teared up a bit.
"It's… it's his birthday today," he said, "We are celebrating for the first time. Thank you for making it a happy memory for him."
For a while, the citizens were busy comforting the future customers. This was especially true for the Terran Mercenary Team members who were acquainted with a few people.
Turbo and Jake sighed and looked at each other, elbowing the other to go to the girl who had been looking around shyly. "You go tell her."
Somehow Turbo was the one pushed forward. He approached the Aborigine girl and cleared his throat.
"Uh… Plaridel's not here," he said, watching the girl's shoulder slump in disappointment before lifting her head to look at him. "Uhm. Can you tell me where he is?"
Other than Nida, there were also plenty of Aborigines who had wanted more of the products after they bought them. Sadly, stocks ran out too quickly! They weren't fast enough!
No, they hadn't been packing enough!
Hearing the conversation made them even more curious. "Where did you go?"
"It's a village a few days away. You can come if you want."
"Village, eh?" Then someone's mouth made an 'o' at a realization, recalling the name of their stall. "AH! Altera, right?"
They continued to sell the territory, planting seeds after seeds of curiosity in the hearts of the aborigines.
Of course, as people who were comfortable in towns, it might take them a while to actually take the step and go out to a small village. However, the idea was brewing and it was only a matter of time before it bloomed.
When everything was done and they finally saw the last of their guests off, the Alteran salespeople looked at each other with bright smiles.
"Shall we go take a look?" Bull asked, referring to taking a closer look at the territory. The idea excited everyone.
"I wanna see how our home fared in towns in this crazy world."
A group of a dozen or so then gestured to go out with excited faces. However, their path was blocked by Turbo.
"This isn't Altera. Fighting isn't prohibited here."
"We're already here! How can we not—"
"I'll come with you," Turbo interrupted him, tone as if giving in, "But you have to sponsor my shopping."
As such, the group went out to study the territory, hoping they could learn more things, and perhaps help Altera integrate better.
They looked around interested, hoping to learn more, and they did.
To be honest, Altera was still really amazing even compared to a town! Of course, the buildings were smaller and there were plenty of interesting new buildings in towns—but the lifestyle, the products, and the cost of living were really inferior.
Even hygiene! It was a good road compared to the horror stories they heard but there was still an occasional poop, especially when right outside a residential unit!
The legends were true! This was really similar to Terran Medieval period! But maybe even more gross because people's physiques here are different! Or were their noses stronger?
Either way, it was all very gross!
They happily roamed the town for about an hour, taking note of what they saw, until they encountered their first bump.
It was no other than people from the Goliath Mercenary Team!