Lukewarm customers or not, Ves still owed the Clarke Clan and the rest of the Pentahull Coalition a lot of gratitude for embracing the Pacifier mech line. He was more than happy to see his existing products serving their intended purposes. It always brought a smile to his face to see his own work getting used in the ways that he envisioned during the design process. He did not come here for a meet-and-greet with his customers, though. He satisfied his curiosity concerning the Clarke Clan's use of the Pacifier mech line and proceeded to direct his attention back to what mattered the most to his family at the moment. Shopping. Everyone except Ves quickly turned into shopaholics as soon as they stepped inside an upscale mall that catered to the more monied clientele of Pentahall Station. The entire place exuded both class and energy. Much of the architecture blended modern aesthetics including the use of bare metal panels with classical features such as columns and pediments. It gave the impression that the mall was an exclusive bastion for the new aristocrats that rose to success after establishing themselves in the Red Ocean. The amount of traffic in the mall was much lower than elsewhere on the Armidia because of one important reason. The prices were too damn high! "Papa. Papa. Papa." Aurelia tugged at her father's pants. "I want to buy a present for Clixie. Will you buy this cat bed for me? It's so cute!" "Errr, let's not be too hasty, my dear. That cat bed costs 279 MTA credits. Do you know how much money that is? Our clan can produce nearly the same amount of Pacifier mechs for that money! If you compare the value of a small mech battalion and this fluffy pink bed for pets, which one do you think is worth more?" "The pink cat bed!" Ves wanted to palm his face. "Wow! Mama, look at this!" Andraste excitedly ran in front of a toy store that featured a display where autonomous mech figures battled it out against each other on a miniature battlefield. "That's Cristine Oxton's Dark Witch mech from the latest episode! Can I buy it, please?" Gloriana bent down and stared at the mech figurine that was clearly set up to be the protagonist of the mock battle taking place in the display area. The mech figurines were all based on fictional mechs that featured prominently in a popular mech action franchise that was called the Hopewell Cinematic Universe. The HCU was over 2000 years old and was created by an ancient clan of the Greater Terran United Confederation, which meant that it actually came into existence before mechs even existed on a wide scale! While humanity had created many popular and successful media franchises over its long and storied history, few of them had the ability to maintain a degree of popularity and profitability that was as consistent as the HCU. The owners of the HCU had always managed to keep their franchise alive by sticking to a tried-and-true formula of bringing out new shows, games and merchandise that revolved around the same kind of stories. The tone of its main shows were always positive, humorous, optimistic and generally exciting without displaying an excessive amount of violence. Of course, the HCU also received a lot of criticism due to its frequent habit of recycling plots, its heavy use of cliches and its unwillingness to enact any major permanent changes to its setting. However, that commitment to stability was also the main reason why the HCU managed to remain one of the successful media franchises for 2000 straight years! Children especially loved the HCU due to its focus on presenting plenty of cool and heroic characters. Gloriana had also spent a lot of time admiring the most perfect characters and mechs of HCU when she was younger. She fell off after she started to study mech design and work with mechs in reality, but she always retained a soft spot for the HCU. It was not a coincidence that Andraste became a fan of Cristine Oxtin, the protagonist of an actively running kid's show called the Terra Guardians. Cristine in the show came across as a sassy and wise-cracking mech champion who had a heart of gold. She was a typical example of a female lead of the HCU, and many critics faulted her for being too perfect. That was just the way that Gloriana liked it. Even the protagonist's mechs were just a bit too powerful and beautiful compared to the mechs piloted by the other characters of the same show. "Okay, pumpkin." The young mother said as she barely threw a glance at the projected price tag hovering above the active toy. "I will only allow you to buy a single toy from this store. Are you sure you want to buy this Dark Witch figurine?" "This is enough!" "Alright, then. Let us head inside so we can secure your little treat!" Gloriana soon paid 9999 MTA credits to secure the overpriced Dark Witch Prestige Edition mech figurine! Ves grew more and more exasperated with the exaggerated spending of his family. His wife and children wanted to buy luxury products that did not do anything to boost their capabilities or enhance the strength of the Larkinson Clan. It was one thing if they spent thousands of MTA credits on a powerful new implant or secured an exclusive masterclass with one of the foremost experts in human space. Yet instead of spending the clan's hard-earned money on productive goods and services, they instead splurged on unnecessary luxuries that only mildly enriched their lives! Ves felt sick at the huge amount of money flowing out of his bank account. The Larkinson Clan's earning power might be a lot greater than in the past, but he still couldn't stomach how much the shops charged for all of these so-called exclusive and limited edition products! They weren't even masterworks, but that didn't seem to matter to his spendthrift wife. The few times Ves mustered up the courage to approach Gloriana and encourage her to rein in her impulses, she threw him a sour look. "Do not interrupt my fun." She quietly hissed at him. "You were the one who insisted on dragging our family to Pentahull Station. The least you can do is compensate me for the enormous risks you have taken with your willful decisions!" "Uhm, Gloriana?—" "?—SHUT. UP." "...Okay." Their children took no notice of the tension between their parents and happily ran from one colorful store to another while getting immersed in all kinds of toys and gadgets. The family proceeded to buy an increasing amount of expensive goods. An increasing amount of floating bags began to accompany them. Each of them contained carefully packaged toys, clothes, accessories and other knick knacks. "Ves! Doesn't this smell great to you?" Gloriana grinned as she stood before a rack of women's perfumes. "I usually stick to the tried-and-true Hexer brands, but the scents from Selber have always received amazing reviews. I never knew how good they were because Selber is too small and exclusive of a company to expand in the regions where I have resided. I am not letting go of this opportunity to expand my perfume reserves! Now tell me which one attracts you the most." Ves looked reluctant. "I already love the way you smell, honey. I don't see the need for you to buy more scents." "You don't understand." Gloriana shook her head. "Let me do this, then." She turned around and requested a number of samples from the smart display case. Soon enough, she picked up a stick and waved it in front of her husband's face. Ves immediately became entranced. His head couldn't help but chase after the cool and breezy scent. His wife did not look too impressed, though. "Hmm. Not good enough. Let me try this other formula." This time, she waved a stick that exuded a stronger scent that reminded Ves of a blooming flower bed that was frequented by insects looking for nectar. "Now that is better. What do you think about this, Ves?" The third stick almost excited him as the scent drifting to his nose stimulated his passion and desire! He imagined that he had turned into a barbarian that had just broken open the gates of a city that was already starting to burn! Gloriana looked satisfied with the reaction induced by one of Selber's scents. "This is it, then. Selber definitely deserves its reputation!" That was another 3499 MTA credits down the drain. It did not surprise Ves at all that his wife chose to end their shopping trip at her favorite type of store. It was the store where renowned luxury brands sold their handbags among other products! While the children made admiring noises as they browsed the luxury goods placed in the kids section, Gloriana headed straight towards the place where all women liked to be. The exclusive stands and displays showing off a small but highly exclusive collection of bags instantly captured her attention. Gloriana soon began to chat with the saleswoman while also inspecting the numerous bags available at this store branch. Ves, who stood forgotten at the side, felt increasingly more queasy at the escalating price tags of the bags that his wife was considering. "Honey." He said as he gently tapped her arm. "There is a Hoenbach store next door that offers bags that look just as good as these ones. Why don't we go there instead so that I can treat you with a new addition to your collection?" Both Gloriana and the saleswoman looked scandalized at him after they heard his request. His wife quickly snorted in disgust. "I am already over Hoenbach. Don't mention this mediocre brand to me again. Hoenbach is too cheap for me these days. Now that our clan has grown wealthier, I need to step up my game and show that I am an even stronger woman of means. Pop Cult is my latest home now! Look at how cute this mini handbag looks! It only costs 14,999 MTA credits, so it's a bargain!" Ves almost passed out after he heard how much the store charged for a bag that was smaller than his hand! How could these bloodsucking companies have the courage to charge so much for a product that was not even practical enough to serve as an adequate container for items?! He briefly recalled all of the handbags that Gloriana had bought over the past five years. She started out her collection of high-end bags by purchasing the Hoenbach Hoenbach Hand-stitched Two-Toned Lavender-and-White Puelmer Leather Giarna Handbag for 'just' 120 MTA credits. She came back to the mall in Davute the next year and treated herself to the Hoenbach Seamless Quilted Off-Black Carminae Leather Sutele Briefcase that sold for 999 MTA credits. Ves had succeeded in restraining her for a couple of years, but last year he failed and allowed Gloriana to buy an exclusive First Issue of the Isolde Zhu Adagio Oiled Puelmer Leather Versailles Handbag for 4999 MTA credits! Anyone who possessed a modicum of logic could clearly deduce the pattern of this brief history of purchases. His wife kept spending more and more money to feed her bag addiction! "Look, Ves. I've decided! This soft and velvety tote bag must be mine. I will not miss the opportunity to purchase the Founder Edition of this adorable bag. This is the only one this store has received. There are only three of them in the entire Krakatoa Middle Zone!" Ves practically blanked out by the time that Gloriana confirmed the purchase of the Pop Cult Ten Star Radiance Nunser Suede Tote Bag. His wallet shrunk by as much as 29,999 MTA credits at this time! As the beast finally sated her desires, Ves was too afraid to look at his bank account. Though his clan had enormous sums of money at its disposal, much of it was reserved for upkeep and infrastructural investments. Ves did not have that much of a personal allowance that he could spend freely on whatever he wished! "I hope it hasn't gone in the red…"