The limousine hovercar, piloted by the tiny AI chibi black dragon that perched on the dashboard like an oversized hood ornament with attitude, descended on its designated platform.

Neville stepped out first, extending his hand out of habit to escort Gloria.

The moment his feet touched the marble-like flooring, Neville felt like he had stepped into an entirely different dimension.

This wasn’t the entrance of Xylos’s Shopping Center that he and Liam had gone into. It was more crowded and had a bustling gateway filled with families and couples window-shopping on their days off.

But this entrance? It was completely different.

It was not completely empty by any means, but it was so unnecessarily spacious that people just landed on whichever place was the most empty. He couldn’t see a single person in his line of sight, but could still see a few hovercars here and there.

He had a suspicion that this was what those old money and exclusive membership places back on Earth felt like.

Gloria stepped out beside him, removing her coat and draping it over her arm elegantly.

Neville’s internal alarm bells started ringing.

Gone was the casual mother-figure image from Grayson’s penthouse. In her place stood a woman who could have graced the cover of any high-society magazine in the Imperial Galaxy.

The light brown dress she wore was clearly designer-made. It was one of those timeless, off-the-shoulder pieces with long sleeves. The hem fell just past her knees, modest yet undeniably sophisticated.

Around her waist sat a thin belt that made Neville’s heart skip a beat, not from attraction, but from the terrifying realization that the mixed gold and silver design, studded with small white gems, was definitely not some cheap jewelry.

He would bet his entire mission on those being real diamonds. Or whatever the interstellar equivalent was.

Her simple gold necklace featured an unknown brown stone at its center, catching the ambient light, simple yet eye-catching. The matching golden earrings completed the look.

Her hair was styled in a deliberately messy chignon. It somehow made her look even younger. She could pass as someone celebrating their eighteenth birthday rather than a woman in her sixties and mother of a grown man.

Then, Neville unconsciously glanced down at himself.

Simple shirt. Jeans that were clean but clearly mass-produced. A coat that was "barely passable" by any standard passed because Grayson owned it.

He looked around at the few other passing people in the area. Every single one of them was dressed like they were attending a gallery opening or a charity gala.

Elegant casual dresses, semi-formal outfits for men, jewelry, and accessories that matched them.

Panic began to claw at his throat.

"Mrs—Auntie," Neville said, almost stuttering as he tried to hide the cold sweat forming on his palms. "Are you sure it’s... appropriate for me to be here? I—"

He made a subtle gesture toward the other shoppers, hoping she would understand without him having to spell it out loud.

Gloria followed his gaze, her perfectly shaped eyebrows rose in genuine confusion. She looked back at him over from head to toe with eyes so similar to Grayson’s that it was almost eerie.

She paused and stared back at him, quiet, for a while.

Then she tilted her head, as if silently asking: What’s wrong?

"There seems to be a dress code," Neville whispered, the words barely audible. "And my clothes..."

But then Neville heard her laugh. She laughed so hard that it crinkled the corners of her eyes and made several nearby patrons turn their heads with curiosity as it somehow echoed through the place.

"Oh, sweetie," she said, her voice filled with amusement. "If we didn’t take every opportunity to show off these few fancy clothes, we would never be able to use them in our entire lives.

She continued to tease him and winked, "Do you think we dress like this because there’s a dress code? We dress like this because we can."

Neville blinked.

He blinked again.

Neville tried to process her words in his brain. He rearranged themselves several times before finally settling into something more understandable than before.

’The rich really do think differently.’

[Host, your face right now is absolutely priceless. I’m saving this moment to my permanent memory banks. (≧◡≦) ♡]

’You even have those?’

When he snapped back, Gloria was already moving. Her one-inch heeled sandals clicked against the marble, and she walked confidently, like she could go around this place blindfolded.

The tiny AI chibi dragon had fluttered from the hovercar to rest on her arm, its digital scales shimmering as it nuzzled against her sleeve.

Neville had no choice but to follow.

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥

The interior of Xylos’s Shopping Center—or at least this part of it—was unlike anything Neville had ever imagined. If the entrance he had used with Liam had been a glimpse into the future of malls, this was a glimpse into the future of obscene wealth.

Imagine Singapore’s Changi Airport, but if every terminal had been replaced with luxury boutiques and the gardens had been substituted for designer showrooms. That was the closest comparison Neville’s earth-born mind could come up with.

The central dome stretched impossibly high above them, and its glass ceiling revealed the sky above. There were bioluminescent vines that crawled up support columns with a soft, sophisticated glow. Anti-gravity water features floated between levels, defying physics in ways that still made Neville’s head spin.

And the shops?

They weren’t cramped little stores fighting for attention. Each boutique was its own architectural and interior design.

Some resembled ancient Grecian temples, but the interstellar version, others mimicked futuristic starship command centers. One appeared to be made entirely of crystallized light, its walls changing colors as patrons moved within.

But Neville didn’t have time to immerse himself in his surroundings properly.

[Synchronization Complete], the chibi AI robot dragon announced.

Neville’s attention turned to the AI chibi dragon, which had begun emitting a soft blue glow.

Before he could think of what this robot meant by saying that, the AI dragon floated from Gloria’s arm and flew ahead of them. It hovered at eye level, and a pale light scanned both of them from head to toe—a process that felt uncomfortably thorough.

Then, with a soft hum, a floating platform that came out of nowhere approached them.

It was elegant, roughly the size of a small coffee table, hovering about knee-height off the ground. The surface was covered in what appeared to be velvet, and small golden rails lined its edges.

Neville’s smile became slightly strained.

’So that’s why this area is different. Normal people can’t afford shopping with a personal hovering butler.’

[This is VIP treatment at its finest, Host. Feel the power of wealth! (ノ◕ヮ◕)ノ*:・゚✧]

’I’m sorry for being poor.’

Gloria stepped onto a moving walkway that hadn’t been there a second ago and gestured for Neville to join her. The AI chibi dragon and the floating platform followed dutifully, like well-trained pets attending their masters.

"Now then," Gloria said, her eyes sparkling with an excitement that looked almost childish. "Shall we begin?"

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥

The first store Gloria led him to was a dress boutique.

Not just any dress boutique, but one of those places where the garments were displayed like museum exhibits. Each piece was illuminated with its own spotlight, arranged carefully on minimalist pedestals.

It was just that there were no price tags anywhere in sight.

Neville took it as a bad sign.

If there was no price tag, it meant one of two things: either the establishment was so confident in their products that prices were meaningless and people would just buy it anyway, or the prices were so astronomically high that displaying them would cause an average customer to faint on the spot.

Given the location, Neville suspected it was both.

Gloria moved through the store like a queen surveying her kingdom. She would pause before a display, look at the dress for exactly three seconds, then either give a slight nod or shake her head.

When she actually nodded, something amazing happened. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

A small service robot would glide over out of nowhere and scan the display. Then it would turn toward their floating platform.

The AI chibi dragon waiting there would respond with a chirp. The robot would bow—actually bow—before retreating.

Neville just understood these turn of events as the purchase had just been completed.

No fitting.

No payment process.

No exchange of credits or cards.

Just a nod, and somehow the transaction was done.

After the fifth dress, Neville couldn’t contain his curiosity and murmured out loud before he could stop himself, "... how exactly are we paying for all of this?"

Gloria paused mid-step, turning to look at him with a surprised expression. It was as if she heard someone say they didn’t know how to breathe.

"Paying?" she repeated.

Neville scratched his cheek awkwardly and said, "Uh, uhm, yeah. I didn’t see you use a light brain for transactions, so I was wondering..."

He paused, realizing that judging from her expression, he must’ve been asking for something obvious or foolish.

"Never mind," he said quickly, heat rising to his cheeks. "Forget I asked."

But Gloria was already smiling.

"This shopping center is owned by your uncle-in-law," she said lightly, and winked playfully at him. "We have... a tiny bit extra privilege."

Neville’s brain tried hard to process this information.