Chapter 61 The Eldest Young Lady is Back Home

At any rate, the minor episode on the tarmac had come to an end. Everyone was satisfied—with the exception of Governor Yamadera, who would likely soon be the former governor—at least on the surface.

Before long, "The Maid of Toulon" became Senior Sister Eleanor’s nickname. Yu Lian thought it sounded pretty cool, but she was profoundly dissatisfied with it.

"Only old spinsters get called that! I still plan on getting married, you know! And I certainly don't want to be burned at the stake!"

Still, one had to admit that having the so-called Maid of Toulon holding down the fort gave everyone a profound sense of security. Order in Toulon, and indeed throughout the entire New Yumen Colony, quickly stabilized.

Over the ensuing week, tens of thousands of refugees poured into the city, yet no major disturbances broke out.

To be fair, besides Senior Sister Eleanor’s formidable reputation, Councilman Jiang Youdong had genuinely put in a tremendous amount of work. His appearance and demeanor truly matched everyone's ideal of an outstanding politician; all it took was a few handshakes and speeches in the refugee camps for people to feel that life still held hope.

Three days after the battle concluded, a fleet from the Fairy Nebula Garrison arrived—a small formation consisting of a destroyer and four assault ships. In a real firefight, they might not necessarily have defeated the three Kantai destroyers that had been lingering stubbornly, but the enemy prudently chose to withdraw anyway.

Consequently, New Yumen's functions as a trade and transport hub resumed at a visible pace. Alongside regular cargo ships, a cruise liner bearing the purple crest of the House of Purple Lettering even entered the port.

That Alliance young miss named Frederika Wilbart was far wealthier than Yu Lian had imagined!

For both public and private reasons, Yu Lian ought to see her off. Naturally, he went.

"Although the process wasn't very pleasant, the ending is a happy one after all. I hope this won't leave you with a bad impression of New Yumen."

"It's fine. Besides, with so many things happening this trip, I suppose I'll be grounded the moment I get back. I won't be leaving Nephie [the Alliance capital] again until I come of age," the young girl said somewhat helplessly.

"Dad is also planning to take us back to settle on Earth. That's probably the most sensible decision that scatterbrain has made all year," Penny chimed in. She and her family were also preparing to leave on her good friend's passenger ship.

"Well, that's not a bad idea. Go back to Earth, find a few historic and traditional restaurants, and introduce their traditional flavors to the entire universe—that's how you make a fortune and gain fame all at once. When it comes to food, Earthlings are definitely number one in the galaxy! As for New Yumen, it only looks stable on the surface; investment requires even greater caution."

The two young girls exchanged glances and instantly burst into laughter.

"Mr. Yu Lian, we've actually already decided to invest," the purple-haired girl said.

"Yes, the expanded spice plantations in Vast Sea Town, the new food processing plant, and the primary spice processing facility have all become Freya's ventures."

Yu Lian noticed she said "Freya's" ventures, not the House of Purple Lettering's.

"Of course, I also convinced my dad to buy in," Penny smiled. "However, the restaurant investment you mentioned is indeed another viable path. I'll keep it in mind."

"Speaking of which, we literally just finished a war..." Yu Lian found the thought process of these two genius girls a bit difficult to follow.

"Precisely because of that, the drought-resistant spices here are bound to shoot up in price. Besides, I trust your ability; you'll definitely be able to protect a legitimate merchant's assets." Freya feigned maturity as she shook hands with Yu Lian, paused thoughtfully, and said, "Well, I'm off then."

"Alright, take care!" Yu Lian said.

Penny rolled her eyes nearby, looking utterly exasperated.

"I say, Warrant Officer, you're about to part ways with a young lady who gave you a token of affection, and you don't have anything else to say? Like, 'Wait for me to grow up,' or 'Wait until my hair grows down to my waist,' or something?" the purple-haired girl retorted petulantly.

"Oh, study hard and make progress every day. Besides, being attracted to older men is a disease, and it needs to be cured! Oh, and let me sincerely thank you for buying my mithril at such a high price—at least it saved me the trouble of running to the black market."

Frederika spat out a light huff, turned with a swish, and strode toward the cruise liner. Penny smiled warmly, bowed to Yu Lian, and hurried after her.

Yu Lian watched the two young girls board the ship, then cast his gaze upward to spot little George leaning over the ship's railing. The boy pointed his fingers and made a rapid-fire "pew-pew-pew" shooting gesture toward Yu Lian. In response, Yu Lian silently mouthed "Ah," twitched a few times, and threw his hands out in a psionic blast gesture.

The boy put on an exaggerated act of being blown backward and ducked behind the railing. Yet a few seconds later, his little head popped up again with a radiant smile, waving goodbye.

They were good kids, all of them!

Yu Lian smiled, then hollered a sharp "Hey!" to stop Asher Stein, who was trying to sneak aboard under the radar.

"Just leaving like this? Not even a word of farewell? That's rather uncultured of you, isn't it?"

The mercenary forced a smile. Seeing Yu Lian walk toward him, unable to advance or retreat, he couldn't help but wail, "B-B-B-Big Brother, Big Boss, Excellency... Yes, Your Excellency! I've been utterly obedient. I did everything you asked, fought the war, cut down people—what more do you want?"

"You make it sound like I did something unspeakable to you. A person has to speak with a clear conscience; did I short you a single coin of what you were owed? If I hadn't argued forcefully, the garrison headquarters wouldn't have approved your bounty so quickly, you know. Besides, the colony is even planning to confer upon you the titles of 'Friend of Yumen' and 'Honorary Citizen of Toulon.'"

You can't pay taxes with those damn things! Asher roared inwardly, though he maintained his smile on the outside. "Yes, yes! Lord Yu Lian is a man of honor, Lord Yu Lian is a man of class, so please don't lower yourself to bickering with a war-dog like me who's just out here earning blood money. Well, I'm rather busy... Right, I've already accepted Lady Frederika's employment to escort her all the way back to the Alliance."

And then I'm never coming back to Toulon! No, never coming back to New Yumen! No, never coming back to the "New World" ever again!

"What, you're just going to drop the treasure map you got in Vast Sea Town like that?"

Asher's smile began to stiffen bit by bit. His corners of his mouth twitched, wanting to say something but unable to utter a word. His mind went completely blank; he felt like a mosquito caught in a spider's web, struggling for days only to remain trapped, with nothing left in him save the strength of pure terror.

"Wait for my message," Yu Lian dropped those words, let out a hearty "Ah-ha-ha-ha" laugh, and swaggered away with an insouciant stride.

For the next hour, Asher had no recollection of how he even boarded the ship.

It wasn't until the cruise liner had launched and cleared New Yumen's atmospheric boundary that he suddenly remembered: the fellow hadn't even left any contact information, so where was this so-called "wait for my message" supposed to come from?

"Hmph, I'll just hide! Yes, I'll hide in the underground city of Malasa; let's see where you'll find me then!"

Just as this thought crossed his mind, he heard a notification chime from his comm-terminal. It was the sound of a new message in his stellar-net inbox.

Asher trembled even more violently. His stellar-net inbox was encrypted; aside from the guerrilla camp instructors and the St. Corregis Corporation liaison, not even his parents knew about it. How on earth did that guy find it?

Trembling, he opened the inbox and saw a single sentence: "If I told you I acquired the other two parts of the treasure map, and that these maps are relics of the Enlightened Ones which resonate with those of the same specification... would you believe me?"

"Mother of God, I believe it—I believe your Tzeentchian sheep-dung!"

The mercenary curled himself into a ball on the chair, his whole body trembling uncontrollably, looking just like a tiger prawn trapped in a wine jar.

Naturally, he had no idea that all his actions were being observed clearly by the ship's administrator, though even if he knew, he wouldn't have the bandwidth to care right now.

"My Lady, this mercenary you hired... does he perhaps suffer from some sort of... hidden affliction?" In the ship's most luxurious VIP suite, the captain asked Frederika with a puzzled look.

"Heh, as long as he can step up when it counts, it doesn't matter if he's a freak. He's a star of potential highly regarded by both the Guerrilla Master Association and St. Corregis Corporation; building a good relationship now isn't a bad idea."

The captain gave a noncommittal "Oh," then added, "Shall I patch through Madam's communication?"

The purple-haired girl nodded, and the crystal-smooth wall immediately projected the image of a beautiful matron.

"Hi, darling, I'm so glad to see you're doing well," the matron said with a smile.

The captain silently exited the room, leaving the private space to the mother and daughter.

"Although there were a few minor hitlets, everything went smoothly anyway. Selecting a reliable factory site is just a minor matter that they can handle well enough. Once the factory is built, we just sit back and collect the profits. No matter what kind of turmoil this planet experiences, it won't affect our business."

"Indeed. No matter the future of this planet, no one will dare disrespect an enterprise invested in by Alliance conglomerates. Or rather, a bit of turmoil makes it even better." The matron's tone was flat, as if she were stating an objective truth.

"However, darling, you look so happy; surely it's not just because of that?"

"Eh, happy? Is it really that obvious?" The young girl toyed with a small yellow crystal pendant—clearly forming a matching pair with the one she had given someone else.

"I am your mother, my genius young lady."

"Alright then, Mother, let's just say it's a little secret that a girl of my age is bound to have." Frederika smiled warmly, seeming identical to any young maiden in the bloom of first love.

Her mother shook her head helplessly and continued, "Then let's talk about something even more worth celebrating! Mother is about to become the Commonwealth's Ambassador to the Alliance. At the latest by the second half of next year, our family of three can be reunited in the Alliance capital!"

The young girl paused slightly, then with flawless timing, let out a welling tide of joy and anticipation: "Really? That's simply wonderful, Mother!"