Ten minutes later, the airship touched down on the roof of the Empire's largest shopping mall.
Scarlet strolled into the royal shopping district. Dozens of beastmen attendants waited on her hand and foot. Scarlet only needed to cast a single glance and someone would immediately fetch exactly what caught her eye, presenting it to her while rambling on about its features and benefits.
If she wanted to try something on, she didn't even have to go through the hassle of moving. The boutique had its own exclusive HD virtual avatars. With just one quick scan of her body, it would instantly generate an identical, perfect clone of her. It would project exactly how the outfit looked on her, letting her view the fit from every possible angle in complete 3D.
Xavier quietly nudged his way over. "Scarlet, didn't you say we were here to buy clothes for me? Why are you just picking things out for yourself?"
He pointed at his own chest, blinking his big eyes, looking like a lost puppy.
Scarlet was completely in her own world, not even batting an eye at him. "Go pick something out. Whatever catches your eye, just leave it at the counter. I'll pay for it altogether later."
"You promised. You're paying, right?" Xavier's face lit up with an excited grin.
After double-checking that she was footing the bill, he dove straight into the menswear section. As Scarlet's beast mate, he didn't get the VIP treatment she did. He barely had any attendants — only two in total — and he had to try the clothes on himself, the old-fashioned way. But he didn't care. Males were naturally lower in status than females anyway. Having anyone wait on him at all was a rare luxury.
Besides, he was going to take full advantage of her sudden stroke of generosity to score some nice outfits. He hadn't bought new clothes in over a year.
In one breath, he scooped up over a hundred pieces and marched into the fitting room. After tearing through them, he decided to keep all hundred. Stepping back out, he shot a guilty glance at Scarlet over in the lounge area, then sneakily, quietly grabbed another hundred pieces to try on.
Scarlet's grand shopping spree was pretty much exactly what Xavier had guessed. Parade her mates around in public to crush those ridiculous rumors flying around the Star Net, and then shop till she dropped.
I mean, come on. She was a princess now, holding the combined bank accounts of eight beast mates. Wouldn't it be a crime not to treat herself?
That's right. In this world, once a male and female got married, all the husband's assets automatically transferred right into the wife's name. Even their paychecks went straight to her. The males had to rely on a monthly allowance handed out by their wife. How much they got was entirely up to her mood.
Right now, Scarlet had hundreds of millions of star coins sitting in her bank, making her quite the little billionaire. Plus, her mates were serious high earners, pulling in nearly ten million a month. Hell, even the unemployed ones like Brian and Xavier — their mothers happily transferred a hefty sum of cash to her every single month.
Scarlet remembered the affection points she'd earned right before heading out. She wanted to see what those hundred or so points could buy her. But the moment she opened the system store, her face completely darkened. She didn't have enough points. She couldn't afford a single thing.
Scarlet took another look at her inventory space. It could be expanded. One hundred points to expand it by one cubic millimeter.
What a total scam. Even worse than those absolute rip-off shopping apps.
But the planting area right next to her storage had unlocked. There was a perfect square of fertile soil. She could grow plants in there. Scarlet glanced over the description. A one hundred percent survival rate for any plant.
For the interstellar world, this was an absolutely massive deal. The soil conditions out here in space were incredibly harsh. They completely lacked the nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium required for plants to actually grow. Trying to build a complete functioning ecosystem was near impossible. Even a superpower like the Orin Rosa Empire only had twenty plant cultivation centers to its name. And even then, the lab-grown plants couldn't even compare to natural ones. They severely lacked nutrients and simply couldn't meet the needs of the human body.
But what about her little patch of land? Could the plants grown here actually meet those standards? Scarlet was super curious.
Conveniently enough, there was a greenhouse up on the 158th floor of the mall. She'd go check if they sold any seeds. After giving a few quick instructions to the beastman serving her, Scarlet hopped on the light elevator and left.
The moment she walked away, Xavier just happened to step out of the fitting room. He stared at the massive shopping area, but Scarlet was nowhere to be found.
His mind went completely blank. He just stood there, totally frozen.
Holy — did Scarlet just ditch me with the bill?
Xavier was in full panic mode now. He knew it. He knew she was a liar. All that garbage about getting along peacefully was a total lie. He had absolutely zero money, and he didn't even know the way back. Finding his way home would be a nightmare. She really was abandoning him. She was leaving him to wander the streets and literally starve to death.
Xavier was furious, absolutely beside himself with anxiety. He didn't even realize he was still clutching the new clothes in his hands. He yanked at the fabric in frustration.
Rip.
With a sickening tearing sound, the shirt worth fifty thousand star coins tore completely in half right in his hands.
He looked down, staring at the ruined clothes. The sheer panic in his eyes quickly turned to pure, unadulterated terror. He broke it. He was going to have to pay for it. But he didn't have a single dime on him. What the hell was he supposed to do?
"I — I didn't do it on purpose. I'm so sorry. I can pay for it. Just wait a second. Let me — let me call my friend."
Xavier scrambled to open his smart terminal, frantically searching through his contacts. He dialed Riley's video line.
"Hey, can you lend me some money? I accidentally ruined a shirt at the mall, and I don't have any money to get home."
Riley seemed busy on the other end. A bunch of chaotic background noise bled through the speaker. After what felt like ages, he finally spoke. "Isn't Scarlet with you?"
Xavier ground his teeth in frustration. "She totally ditched me," he snapped, boiling with anger.
Riley didn't seem surprised by this at all. He let out a cold, cynical laugh. And then the line fell dead silent. After a long pause, he finally admitted, "I don't have any money either."
You see, once a male and a female get married, their bank accounts are merged together. But only the females get to control the money, and Scarlet had never given him a single dime for his daily expenses. He didn't even have a chance to stash away any secret savings.