For Mu Yang, this was not a particularly difficult task.
After all, he now mostly presented himself as a merchant.
What puzzled him was why Mualani, who already had the profession of a guide, still needed to run such a store.
She didn't look like someone short on money.
Was it necessary to hold two jobs at once?
Moreover, Mualani still had to participate in the Pilgrimage of the Return of the Sacred Flame.
Mualani didn't hide anything, because both things were her hobbies.
She really enjoyed receiving tourists from other places.
She liked listening to tourists share stories about their hometowns along the way.
Those strange tales and unusual events were a rare spiritual journey for her.
Because of Natlan's rather special circumstances, the tribespeople rarely got to travel outside.
So, they could only learn about the outside world from the mouths of tourists.
As for running the store, Mualani herself had quite a few water-related hobbies.
Swimming, diving, waterskiing, surfing, water parasailing, beach volleyball, rowing, scuba diving, water polo, and underwater breath-holding...
The number of activities she liked was more than she could count on her fingers using a porpoise ball.
She even had the experience of lying on her shark surfboard and sleeping while drifting with the sea currents.
More than once...
With such hobbies, it was actually very normal for her to open a water sports equipment store.
However, the most important reason behind it was that Mualani's parents were merchants.
This was somewhat unexpected for Mu Yang.
He had originally thought that, according to her character setting, Mualani's parents would be renowned guides of the People of the Springs or something similar.
He didn't expect them to be merchants—and quite accomplished trading merchants at that.
They had not only built trade networks across Natlan but had also established cooperative relationships with merchants from abroad.
However, because of this, they often left home for ten days or even half a month at a time.
So Mu Yang did not get the chance to meet them.
Otherwise, the connections in Natlan would have been settled.
Because of such busy parents, when she was little, Mualani could only walk the streets with her family's little dog.
Or challenge other children in the tribe to various water sports.
Only during holidays did the whole family have time to properly decorate the house, celebrate festivals, and reunite.
During one family dinner, Mualani suggested that she wanted to help her parents share some of the work.
That way, there could be more warm moments between family members.
That was what the little girl thought. She even brought up what the neighbors said: "They all say my personality is very suited for doing business."
Her parents did not agree immediately.
Both of them were very open-minded.
Her mother believed that Mualani should try many different things, experience different scenery, and then decide what she truly wanted to do.
"If by then you really decide to go into business, it won't be too late to take over the family business," her father said with a smile on the side.
"If you find something you're more interested in, we will fully support you."
Mualani was very obedient. She really did go to many different places.
She was like a flying bird, gently skimming over every mountain peak and every valley in Natlan.
But in the end, Mualani was still a bird from the seaside.
After flying for a long time, she often missed the salty sea breeze.
So she returned home, played all kinds of water sports, and began researching equipment.
She was not satisfied with existing finished products and learned to modify their performance herself.
In the end, she painted them with colors that brought good luck and added highly personality patterns.
Because of the cool equipment and superb skills, Mualani's style quickly became a trend on the beach.
Everyone came to ask her where to buy the equipment.
And with Mualani's personality, she naturally never refused anyone who asked for help.
One thing led to another, and she became an equipment merchant, earning quite a lot of Mora.
She used that money to open her own shop, named [The Leisurely Puffer].
"That's the whole story behind the shop and why I'm holding multiple jobs."
"That's really nice, Mualani. You found something you like to do."
Kachina felt a bit envious of Mualani's current state.
Mualani had indeed tasted the joy that came from doing business.
The smiles on people's faces when they received something they cherished were even more dazzling than shiny Mora.
But life was long, and there was no need to say things so absolutely.
What if one day Natlan finally ended its war with the Abyss?
She would also be interested in traveling outside and becoming a Teyvat guide.
That way she wouldn't only hear those stories from other people's mouths.
"In short, I'll leave the shop to you two. With Mu Yang here, there shouldn't be any problem, right!"
"Don't put a high hat on someone at a time like this."
Even though he said that, Mu Yang did not refuse.
Along the way, he had received quite a lot of care from Mualani and had also gathered more intelligence than he had originally expected.
All of this was thanks to this "chatterbox" girl.
The word here was definitely not meant in a derogatory sense.
Mu Yang needed this kind of intelligence too much. The more she talked, the better—he loved listening.
The next day, Mualani, who had already set off with her client, suddenly thought of something.
She had been busy introducing products to Mu Yang and explaining the origin of the shop, and had completely forgotten to ask whether Mu Yang could even handle water activities!
Since [The Leisurely Puffer] opened, it had always been a gathering place for water sports enthusiasts.
There were hardcore enthusiasts as well as another type of hardcore enthusiast who specialized in collecting equipment...
Could Mu Yang handle it?
"What's wrong, Mualani?"
Her client saw her standing dazed in place and thought something had happened.
"Uh… hahaha, it should be fine, right? After all, Mu Yang is so strong…" (guilty)
In reality, Mualani had no need to worry at all.
At this moment in [The Leisurely Puffer].
Continuing from the previous chapter, the Inazuma novelist Sanbashi Takashi arrived here with anticipation for a beautiful girl guide.
Instead, he saw a cold-faced big shark, and his mood instantly hit rock bottom.
The tribe member who had brought him over shrugged. Since Mualani wasn't there, there was nothing to be done.
Just when Sanbashi felt utterly devastated, Kachina appeared carrying equipment.
The small girl had a surfboard with her, fully geared up and ready to go!
"Why do I have to change into these flashy clothes too? Did Mualani really say that?"
Big Sister Atea (Auntie) was also wearing cool and light clothing. She was no longer as old-fashioned as before.
However, she still insisted on not hiding her scars, and she definitely had to carry her weapon.
As a warrior who had long dealt with the Abyss, Mu Yang respected her choice.
Of course, this was not any marketing strategy from Mualani.
It was Mu Yang's.
Even if it was only for one day as store manager, he had to run it properly.
Mu Yang waved his hand in front of the dazed Sanbashi. "Would the customer like to try as well? Our prices are fair to all, young and old."
"Yes!"
"Thank you for your patronage. Welcome back anytime."
Novelist Sanbashi Takashi spent 100,000 Mora...
Perhaps he could get some good inspiration to use in a swimsuit fanservice episode.
Thinking about it this way, maybe it wasn't a loss after all?