Losing a battle against a powerful opponent was one thing, but to end up having to rely on trivial chores to make money to repair the equipment that had been obliterated in the aforementioned duel? Now that was a reason to be freaking salty! Sighing in annoyance the purple-haired girl twirled the broken hilt of her blade in her hands while thinking back to her next course of action. After her meeting with Kon the young lass understood she needed to figure out a way to deal with the disadvantage of her equipment. It was understandable, simple weaponry from your everyday blacksmith might had worked well against common thugs and hoodlums, but a trained and experienced combatant was an entirely different story!

No, if Lycoris desired to get closer to her ambitions she would need to be properly armed for it, and unfortunately for her those type of things didn't come for free. No, she would need to get enough riches to deal with that, and with the current state of her funds she had no choice but to accept whatever decently paid job she could find.

Fortunately for her Fernando had been quite pleased with her work so far, and had offered that if she ever desired to get more work, that she would merely need to visit him.

Of course that was an offer Lycoris couldn't refuse in her current state, and as a result she made her way back to Fernando's boutique. As usual the man was hard at work, in fact he was currently looking through the various crates of fabric she had brought back from the market on her previous assignment, yet the sound of her iron boots quickly alerted the man of her presence, a smile appearing on his lips while he walked over to her.

"Lycoris! Your timing is most fortunous~ Are you here for work?" Of course, Fernando was more than eager to see her, to the point that if she didn't know better he might have run over to her and tackle her in a hug, something he fortunately enough didn't do...

"Indeed, I recall your offer for more work? Well, here I am."

The man clearly was delighted at those words, nodding his head repeatedly while marching over to the back of the counter and soon he came back with what appeared to be a large pouch filled with jewels.

"Another shopping trip?" Fernando grinned at her, a hand petting her shoulder lightly while he explained in amusement. "Exactly, I need you to travel to the markets and find a rare magic tool called a Golden Scissor, according to my sources a merchant from abroad has arrived today with the intention to sell the scissor, but consider its rarity it's possible you'll be competing with others, so please try to convince the merchant to sell the magic tool to you."

So she would need to convince a merchant to sell her a rare item? That didn't seem too much of a challenge! "Fine, I'll go ahead and get you that tool."

Now hopefully she would get there early...

WC: 518

It seemed that Fernando was not exaggerating when he mentioned that the magic tool was rare and popular, for several individuals were already crowded around the market stall as they tried to put forth their arguments about why the merchant, a young man should sell the tool to them. Some offered higher prices than the others, and it appeared the merchant was clearly hesitant to make a decision when Lycoris stepped among the crowd and declared in a confident tone. "If it's money you desire, then you should sell it to whoever offers the most."

The merchant looked at her curiously while the other merchants started to look in their pouches, as if a bidding war was about to happen, but it was then she struck with a strategy of her own. "But what if you desire something else? Something that brings more profit than a single sale could do?"

She could see it, the spark of interest in the young man's eyes, as if she had placed some tempting bait before his eyes, and now she just needed to dangle the lure. "I represent Fernando Milano, one of Baska's most talented Fashion Designers." Oh gods, Fernando would better be grateful for her going the extra mile for him! "Fernando is a name well-known in Baska and surrounding areas, even the rich and wealthy flock to him. And you understand what that means, right?"

The merchant gulped lightly as she leaned over the table and spoke with a more tempting tone. "If you were to sell this tool to him I can put forth your name, you could become one of Baska's fashion designer's primary supply source. Imagine the amount of sales you'd make, on top of the fame that would await you."

And then it was already in the pocket, the man was clearly convinced as he put the tool in a box and offered it to her at a standard price. "Don't worry, Fernando never forgets a favor, I'll let him know your name. Jack Atlas, was it?"

After excusing herself and shooting a final victorious glimpse at the dejected customers Lycoris made her way back to the boutique, and as expected Frenando was practically bouncing up and down in excitement at the sight of the young lady's return with the box. "You can thank Jack Atlas for the Golden Scissor. He's also pretty interested in becoming a reliable source of supplies for you."

Fernando clapped his hands together in a joyous motion while he opened the box to peek inside and after a moment told her with a grin. "Excellent, perfectly done Lycoris. I'll make sure to contact Jack later this week, let me go and get your payment."

Watching Fernando return moments later with a pouch filled with jewels made her grin at him as she thanked him for the money and upon excusing herself she prepared to leave the store. It seemed she had almost enough money to get to the next phase of her plan... Just a bit more...

WC: 505