Chapter 611

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Chapter 611: An Unusual Customer (1)

A planetary ship.

Also known as a wonder of the cosmos, only ten such vessels were known to exist in the entire history of space.

In other words, throughout Toma’s entire business career, there had never been a single case where a planetary ship owner had visited one of their sales offices as a customer.

—Ah, I understand. Then…

As Mantero finally wrote “planetary ship” under Special Notes, following Yeongwoo’s instructions, the survey screen suddenly flashed.

Flash!

—Huh? I haven’t even pressed the submit button yet?

Startled, Mantero hurried to press Submit, but before he could, the screen rapidly changed.

「Please wait for a moment.」

“Huh? What’s this—did it auto-submit?”

As Yeongwoo tilted his head, Jiseon spoke up.

—It probably reacted to the word planetary ship. Some keywords are likely set to trigger separate alerts.

“Planetary ship is registered as a special keyword?”

—Of course. Whether for good or bad, it’s undeniably a big customer.

Right on cue, a new communication request came in through Earth.

『Toma is requesting a direct communication link.』

“What? Weren’t we already connected to them?”

『That was a forced connection because we entered the sales office’s jurisdiction. This one’s more like… an unofficial greeting.』

In other words, they were only now coming to pay proper respects after seeing “planetary ship” listed under special notes.

“An unofficial greeting? Accept it.”

At Yeongwoo’s nod, Earth approved the Toma-side connection.

Almost simultaneously, a new face was projected onto the cockpit’s front window.

Fwaaash!

Filling one side of the window was a three-eyed toad, its entire body clad in heavy armor.

“Who…?”

Faced with a far more menacing appearance than expected, Yeongwoo widened his eyes.

The creature blinked its three eyes in turn and greeted him.

「Greetings. My name is Unsaek. I am the Branch Director of Toma’s Yueta Galaxy Branch.」

“A branch director?”

「Yes. I will be the representative in charge of providing you with your purchasing experience at the Yueta Branch. I look forward to working with you!」

A representative assigned through a survey.

That was what had just concluded.

And not just any representative—

the branch director himself had been assigned.

“A branch director… that’s the highest-ranking official here, isn’t it?”

As Yeongwoo muttered, Jiseon stepped closer and lightly tapped his back.

—Director or not, it’s still all about the customer’s scale. At the end of the day, they’re all salespeople.

She glanced at the toad on the screen and added,

—If the branch director himself came out to do sales, it means they’re taking this very seriously.

Just then, Unsaek spoke again, his voice unexpectedly smooth and polite for his appearance.

「You’re here to purchase ship cannons… correct?」

He was confirming—once more—that the planetary ship hadn’t come to fire upon the Yueta Branch.

Yeongwoo nodded at the screen.

“Yes. This is a place that sells cannons, right? I want to install some usable secondary guns. There are also a few other parts that need adjustments.”

「Ah…」

Though Unsaek tried to appear composed, his pupils wavered left and right.

He was clearly shaken by the fact that the planetary ship didn’t even have secondary guns installed.

Why were planetary ships considered wonders of the cosmos?

Because they were widely believed to be capable of engaging entire fleets on their own.

And yet, the planetary ship before him—

「You… wish to replace the secondary guns?」

Unsaek asked while double-checking the planetary ship’s size on his radar.

The authenticity of a customer bold enough to write “planetary ship” under special notes had already been confirmed.

After all, Yueta Branch’s wide-area radar had detected an entire celestial body appearing in space.

There was no doubt—a planetary ship owner had truly arrived.

“No. Not replacing them. There aren’t any secondary guns at all. I’m here to install the first ones.”

「Ah… I see.」

It was now undeniable.

The planetary ship truly had no secondary armaments whatsoever.

「Then, first…」

Branch Director Unsaek swallowed.

「I would like to personally escort you, Shipmaster. If it’s acceptable, may I come to greet you in person?」

“Sure. If that’s more convenient for you.”

As Yeongwoo nodded, Unsaek gave instructions to someone off-screen.

「Then I’ll depart immediately.」

The connection ended, and shortly after, Earth lifted its head.

『Looks like he really left right away. A ship just launched from Toma’s commercial planet.』

“That must be the branch director.”

『I should open a docking channel in advance.』

Then Earth asked,

『Going alone? It doesn’t seem like anything dangerous will happen this time, even if you go down there.』

“Still, wouldn’t it be better to bring someone who knows about cannons?”

The acting captain couldn’t leave his post, so Mantero had to stay behind.

Naturally, Yeongwoo’s gaze landed on—

—…Why are you looking at me?

Weapon dealer Koatu.

“Hey. I safely finished exchanging your hidden funds, and Earth Ship is going to be where you live from now on anyway.”

—…That’s true, but…

“So contributing to Earth Ship’s future development is good for you too. Come along and help evaluate the cannons.”

Was Koatu just an ordinary weapon dealer?

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He was someone who had sold weapons during inter-family wars and ended up imprisoned after choosing the wrong side.

In other words, he had experience dealing with fleet-grade weaponry.

“Our budget isn’t infinite… we won’t be buying a lot. So your input would really help.”

After Yeongwoo put it that way, Koatu had no room left to refuse.

—Fine. It’s not a difficult task anyway.

Just as Koatu crossed his arms and agreed to accompany him, a massive portal opened on one side of the cockpit.

『They’ve already sent a docking request. If you go through there, you’ll transfer to a Toma ship.』

They would soon board Toma’s vessel with the branch director and head to the Yueta Galaxy sales office.

『Have fun shopping. Looks like you’ll be treated very well.』

Earth waved in farewell, and Yeongwoo stepped through the docking portal with Koatu.

* * *

Shhhhhh—!

On the other side of the portal was a long, straight corridor made entirely of massive glass panels.

Standing at the far end was the large-bodied Branch Director Unsaek.

—Oh!

Unsaek, who had been quietly gazing outside the glass with an unexpectedly modest posture, hurried over when he saw them.

—Welcome, Shipmaster!

“Ah, Director.”

As Yeongwoo raised his hand in an awkward greeting, Unsaek bowed deeply, then turned his gaze back outside.

—That… is the planetary ship. Truly wondrous.

Floating in the dark void was a blue planet—Earth.

Except for the bizarre sight of a massive gun port drilled straight through the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

—But that… isn’t that one of our company’s products?

As expected of a branch director—he instantly recognized the Planet Hunter.

“Yes. We’ve been using Toma products well, which is why I specifically sought out a Toma sales office.”

At Yeongwoo’s polite remark, Unsaek cautiously added,

—Then… you already possess a main cannon, but lack secondary guns. But why come here instead of headquarters…?

“Without secondary guns, fleet combat is still difficult. And there are quite a few fleets currently chasing me.”

Unsaek nodded, understanding.

—In that case, you came to exactly the right place. All Toma sales offices are fully prepared for war, and we guarantee the safety of our customers no matter which faction’s fleet arrives.

“…Yes. That’s what I thought.”

—Then, shall I show you the cannon list while we head to the office?

As Unsaek cheerfully opened a catalog—quite mismatched with his appearance—Yeongwoo quickly raised a hand.

“Wait. There’s one more thing.”

—…Oh? What would that be?

Unsaek’s expression darkened.

A chance to personally work on a planetary ship was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

He feared the shipmaster might suddenly change his mind and leave.

Yeongwoo, however, also wanted to finish everything here if possible.

“Selulite.”

—Excuse me…?

“Can you process Selulite here? I heard only sales offices with headquarters technicians can handle it.”

Unsaek’s massive mouth fell open, then he quickly regained his composure.

—Selulite. Yes, of course. We handle it.

“You can modify ships using Selulite here?”

—I myself am a former headquarters technician.

Unsaek puffed out his chest proudly.

At that moment, Koatu, who had been listening quietly, asked in a low voice,

—You’re the only headquarters technician here, aren’t you?

—Ah… yes, that is correct.

—Then you won’t be able to handle every type of modification.

At those words, Yeongwoo’s eyes widened.

“What do you mean—not everything?”

—There are countless things you can do with Selulite. Enhancing cannons is one, but you can also modify shields or drastically upgrade propulsion systems.

However, according to Koatu, shields and engines required multiple high-level technicians working together.

Meaning: Selulite could be used here, but with limited options.

“Oh… then—”

Yeongwoo reflexively glanced toward the exit.

Seeing this, Branch Director Unsaek awkwardly pointed outside.

—I-I can request additional technicians from headquarters. They’ll arrive quickly. If you wish, I can do it immediately—

“But that still delays things. And headquarters would learn our location, wouldn’t they?”

Unsaek’s face darkened further.

—I-It would be a confidential request! Using branch director authority, I can request technicians without disclosing the reason!

He was willing to spend his authority just for a chance to work on a planetary ship.

But Yeongwoo had no reason to waste time here.

“In that case, I might as well make a surprise visit to headquarters… or go to another company—”

The moment Yeongwoo said “another company,” Unsaek suddenly raised two fingers.

—Twenty percent!

“…What?”

—If you trade with our branch, we’ll give you a 20% discount on the total purchase. Just give us a little time. I can have the technicians here within one hour.

“Oh.”

As if he had been waiting for this, Yeongwoo raised three fingers.

“Thirty.”

—…Excuse me?

“Let’s make it a 30% discount. Honestly, you can do it, can’t you?”

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