"Where's your boss?" Holt looked around the shop, then turned to Mason and asked curiously, "Are you the new employee here?"
Mason shook his head. "I'm a friend of the owner. He's upstairs discussing something with a guest. I'm just watching the shop for him."
"Oh, I see." Holt nodded thoughtfully, wondering who Ron might be negotiating with upstairs.
"You here to see him for something?" Mason asked, a bit puzzled.
"No, no, just asking casually." Holt scratched his head, then took out 20 gold coins and said, "I'm here to buy a Nether Orchid."
Mason didn't think much of it. He took the 20 gold coins and picked a Nether Orchid off the shelf to hand to Holt.
At that moment, footsteps echoed from the stairs. Two people came down chatting and laughing, walking right into Holt's line of sight.
Holt, who had studied the profiles of all the big names in the City of Chaos, instantly recognized the man in the luxurious mage robe—it was none other than Professor Hicks from the Magic Academy!
"He actually came here in person…" Holt was shocked, and when he looked down at the Nether Orchid in his hand, his thoughts turned serious. "Looks like this plant really does work…"
Seeing Ron and Professor Hicks walk toward the door, Holt instinctively slowed his steps, trying to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"Someone from the Academy will come tomorrow to sign the contract with you."
"You can cash the deposit receipt at the Gold Reserve anytime."
"As for the 100 Nether Orchids today, just hand them over when the representative arrives tomorrow."
"Pleasure doing business with you."
Contract… receipt… pleasure doing business…
These phrases echoed in Holt's mind, and a sudden realization struck him.
Does His Highness Ron have the backing of the Chaos City Magic Academy?
Was this flower shop actually supported by the Academy all along?
Ron was the Seventh Prince… What was the Academy playing at?
Holt licked his lips nervously. This was getting way beyond his expectations.
Outside, Mason followed Professor Hicks out of the shop, while Ron stood at the entrance to see them off.
Both Ron and Hicks were all smiles—it was clear they were pleased with how things had turned out.
Just then, a carriage pulled up outside the shop, followed closely by a city patrol unit.
Jasper stepped down from the carriage. When he saw Professor Hicks and the others, he froze for a second, his eyes flickering with uncertainty.
"Jasper?" Ron looked surprised to see him.
"Your Highness Ron." Jasper quickly composed himself, offered a polite smile, and said, "Those three punks who tried to steal your flowers confessed in court. Turns out they were put up to it by a magic apprentice from the Academy. The patrol team is about to make an arrest—would you like to come along?"
"I'll pass." Ron shook his head, not wanting the hassle. He still had to watch the store. But he did ask, "Will I need to show up in court?"
Jasper could tell Ron wasn't interested in getting involved, so he replied considerately, "If you'd prefer not to, I can handle everything for you."
"Then I'll leave it to you."
"It's my duty, Your Highness."
Professor Hicks, who had been about to leave, stopped in his tracks at the exchange. Frowning slightly, he asked, "Pardon me, but did I hear correctly? You're saying a student from our Academy ordered someone to steal flowers?"
"Greetings, Professor Hicks. I'm Jasper, a liaison officer of the Radiant Mercenary Corps," Jasper introduced himself politely, then explained, "The three thieves have already confessed and named an Academy apprentice as the one who instigated them. But we'll need that student's cooperation to get to the bottom of it."
"Your Highness Ron, allow me to apologize on behalf of the Academy." Hicks hadn't expected something like this. He immediately offered Ron a formal apology. Then he turned to Jasper and said, "I'll come with you. That way you won't need to request entry."
"That would be most helpful." Jasper smiled and gestured toward the carriage. "Please, after you."
Professor Hicks and Mason boarded the carriage. Jasper, after saying his goodbyes to Ron, led the patrol team toward the Magic Academy.
As for Holt, because Professor Hicks and Mason were present, he didn't speak with Jasper. Instead, he quietly left the shop and planned to report what he had seen once Jasper returned to the office.
Once the commotion passed, the shop returned to its usual calm.
Ron didn't think much about the thugs. With Jasper handling the matter, there was nothing to worry about.
And with the supplier badge from the Magic Academy, there'd be far fewer people daring to cause trouble in the future.
At least within the City of Chaos, almost no one would dare go against the Academy's authority.
After all, they had three Legendary-tier Mages—a power that commanded serious respect.
Ron settled into a reclining chair and opened his system panel, only to find that his main quest still hadn't been marked complete.
[Quest Progress: 32/100]
The extra progress probably came from the sales Mason had made earlier.
Ron counted the extra gold coins in the drawer and confirmed the amount.
[Wealth Points: 541]
"Hmm? Doesn't the deposit receipt count as money? I mean, I already took the payment, so that 100 Nether Orchids should count as sold, right?" Ron took out the 2,000-gold deposit slip from his pocket and asked in confusion.
System: "[First, the 100 Nether Orchids have not yet been delivered, so the transaction is not yet complete.
Second, the deposit slip represents funds that still officially belong to the Magic Academy. The Host must open a personal account at the Gold Reserve and transfer the funds to activate the corresponding wealth points.]"
"Wow, you're strict." Ron closed the system panel, not in a rush.
Once the contract was signed with the Academy tomorrow, he'd receive payment for another 200 Nether Orchids—a total of 4,000 gold coins. Combined with today's 2,000, that was 6,000 Wealth Points waiting to be claimed.
Basically, an overnight fortune.
Even the 500-point skills like Dewdrop Art and Soil Turning Spell would be easy to afford.
But Ron had already made up his mind: he'd learn magic personally. Unless necessary, he wasn't going to spend Wealth Points at the system shop anymore.
Especially for beginner spells like those two—they weren't worth wasting points on.
Just look at the names—they were clearly basic spells. Why waste precious system enlightenment when he could just learn it himself?
It's not like he was some trash protagonist who had to rely on a system to slap faces and prove everyone wrong.
This system was just trying to bleed him dry of his Wealth Points—Ron had totally seen through its tricks.
Later, Ron sold a few more Nether Orchids, bringing his quest progress to 36/100 and his Wealth Points to 621.
During this time, he also pulled out a pen and paper, jotting down some notes for something else he planned to do.
At 5 p.m., he closed the shop and headed into a nearby alley.