Nighttime, Radiant Mercenary Corps Office.
Administrative officer Jasper finished his tasks for the day and rubbed his sore wrist.
At that moment, someone knocked on the door.
"Come in," he said.
The door opened, and trainee mercenary Holt stepped inside and respectfully approached the desk.
"I'm here to report on the matter you instructed me about."
Jasper looked up, recalling the task he had assigned.
"Prince Ron's shop, huh… How's it doing this week? Still half-dead?" Jasper asked casually.
As per the commander's orders, he had arranged a storefront on Aikley Street's Ruby District for Ron.
If rented out, the shop could've brought in over a dozen gold coins per month. But now, it was practically being given away for free.
Technically, Ron had used a villa as collateral, but that villa was already owned by the mercenary corps and was meant to be gifted to Ron as a residence anyway.
So when all was said and done, Jasper felt the arrangement was a bit of a loss.
Previously, the commander had hinted that giving Ron a store on Aikley Street was really just to let the prince "see reality"—that he wasn't cut out for business, and should just live out his days as a carefree noble.
Because of that, Jasper had people secretly observe the store's operation.
Last week, Holt had watched for a few days and reported back: it was a flower shop, selling only one kind of flower, and for days, not a single customer walked in.
The flower, called Nether Orchid, was selling for a whopping 20 gold coins per stem, with claims that it could enhance elemental concentration and improve meditation.
Jasper had laughed out loud upon hearing that, already forming his conclusions.
"So Prince Ron really doesn't know the first thing about business, huh? Opening a flower shop on Aikley Street of all places? At 20 gold coins per flower? What a joke.
And as for the flower's supposed effects? Pure nonsense.
He figured Ron must've lost a few screws somewhere.
But Holt's next words left Jasper absolutely stunned.
"Prince Ron's shop suddenly started getting a lot of customers this week, mostly mages from the Magic Academy. As of today, more than 20 people have already bought flowers from him." Holt reported, forcing the words out.
Honestly, even he couldn't believe it. But he'd seen it with his own eyes.
Watching Ron pocket fistfuls of gold coins, Holt's face must've looked exactly like Jasper's did now.
"What did you say?" Jasper thought he'd misheard. "More than 20 people?"
If it were a normal flower shop, 20 customers in a week would barely cover costs.
But this was different—each Nether Orchid cost 20 gold coins!
Were those mages crazy? Or just stupidly rich?
Over 20 customers meant at least 400 gold coins in revenue…
Jasper felt a sudden toothache.
Not that he was jealous or anything—after all, the Radiant Mercenary Corps handled far more gold each week. But for a flower shop, this was pure profit!
Jasper took a deep breath to calm himself, then sank into thought.
Was there something he'd overlooked?
Could the Nether Orchid actually have real effects?
But if that was true—where did the flower come from?
Was the royal family supplying it in secret? Then why had the commander only ever hinted that the shop was just a "practice run" for Prince Ron?
And if there wasn't anyone backing him, how could Prince Ron possibly get his hands on something so rare?
Jasper shook his head—he couldn't make sense of it.
So, rather than speculate, he took out a reimbursement form and wrote down 20 gold coins, handing it to Holt.
"Go to Prince Ron's shop tomorrow and buy one Nether Orchid. You can get reimbursed at Finance."
"Understood." Holt accepted the form with both hands and left.
Jasper leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temples.
He reached for pen and paper, thinking of writing a report to Commander Webster—but paused.
Better to wait.
Once they had the Nether Orchid in hand, he could have a mage from the corps test its effects first.
If the flower was really that good, then it would be worth reporting to the commander.
As that thought crossed his mind, another knock came at the door.
"Come in."
A guard entered and reported, "Um... someone from the patrol unit came by. Said three thugs tried to break into Prince Ron's shop to steal something. They were caught and taken into custody. The case is now with the local court."
"What did you say? Thugs broke into Prince Ron's shop?" Jasper's brow furrowed.
"Seems they were sent by someone, but the details are unclear," the guard added. "Should we get involved?"
Jasper hesitated for a moment, then stood, grabbing his coat.
"Come with me to the courthouse."
No matter what, Prince Ron was still the seventh prince of the Empire. The Radiant Mercenary Corps, being directly under André III, had a duty to safeguard his rights.
Business was one thing.
But security? That was another matter entirely—and Jasper knew the difference.
[System Notification: "Daily Quest Triggered."]
[Daily Quest]— As a healthy man, it's necessary to occasionally attend to one's physical needs:
[Objective: After finishing the elven illustration book, do one unspeakable thing you enjoy.]
[Reward: Something all men understand.]
Ron stared at the quest pop-up, his face turning black.
"This system just keeps getting worse…"
[Shop]
[Satisfy yourself without lifting a finger]: 10 Wealth Points (Limited item – will disappear in 10 minutes)
"You really have no shame when it comes to squeezing wealth points out of me, huh..." Ron muttered, facepalming as he closed the system window, not even sure what to say anymore.
System: "[This is merely to meet the host's physical needs.]"
"Look at the floor." Ron pointed at the spotless, polished floor. "Your dignity is scattered all over it. At least pick some of it back up, will you?"
System: "[Please actively complete the task.]"
"Heh." Ron rolled his eyes. "These crap quests you keep sending me—when have I ever completed one? Try being a little more useful, would you?"
The system stayed silent.
Another failed quest, it seemed.
Ron shook his head and stopped paying attention. With a helpless expression, he closed the illustration book in his hands and picked up a copy of "Essentials of Battle Aura" to study instead.
He read until about 10 p.m., then finally closed the book, stretched, took a bath, and returned to his room to begin meditating.
At this point, he still had no idea that Jasper had already started planning countermeasures for his flower shop.