Ron teased himself a little, then set the Goddess of Harvest card aside.
After that, he picked a few well-known Tier 7 legends from the continent's history and began turning them into character cards as well.
In his previous world, 'Three Kingdoms Kill' had been a massively popular tabletop game for years. Though he couldn't use those historical generals directly here, the core mechanics and skill systems could be adapted with a little creativity.
It was all just for fun, after all—maybe something to play casually with a few friends later. He wasn't too worried about things like "respecting legends" or "offending the gods."
"Should I call it 'Legend Kill'?" Ron muttered, then cringed at his own idea. "Ugh… it just reeks of knockoff energy."
He kept tinkering with the cards until well past ten o'clock.
Aside from the Goddess of Harvest, he didn't draw any other deities.
Blasphemy was still something he needed to be careful about—especially since he did intend to eventually play this with others. Imagine if someone saw a god on a card and got too scared to join in.
This world had a far deeper reverence for gods than his old world ever did.
So, for now, he only selected Tier 7 legends from various races and drawn them as card characters. He tried to keep their portraits faithful to historical depictions, and for the female characters, he was very proper, beautiful, and refined, but never revealing.
After drawing a dozen or so characters and a few basic action cards, Ron stretched his neck—right as he heard footsteps coming from the stairs.
Then came a knock on the study door.
"Come in."
Nora peeked her head through the crack, her voice soft. "Manager, it's ten o'clock. I should head home."
Ron glanced at the time and realized it was late. He nodded and reminded her, "Didn't even notice. Starting tomorrow, you can close the shop by nine. No need to stay this late. Be careful on your way home—just come in around eight tomorrow morning."
"Mhm." Nora nodded obediently, then hesitated. "Manager… can I use the bathroom? I want to change clothes and wash the work uniform."
"Sure," Ron replied casually. "Once it's clean, just hang it on the balcony. No need to carry it home."
"Okay, thank you, Manager." Nora smiled, gently closing the door behind her.
Ron, now interrupted, put away his card-making supplies and tidied up the table. He picked up a book titled 'The Rise and Fall of the Goblin Trade Federation' and started flipping through it.
More than thirty minutes passed before there was another knock at the door.
"Come in," Ron said.
Nora poked her head in again. She was once more wearing her patched-up robe and had her familiar burlap cap on.
If Ron had looked closely, he might've noticed her cheeks were slightly flushed.
"I'm heading out now, Manager."
"Alright. Take care and be safe."
"Thanks, Manager. See you tomorrow!"
The door closed softly behind her.
A few seconds later, the sound of footsteps echoed down the stairs.
Ron shut his book, stepped into the living room, and poured himself a glass of water, planning to wind down before bed.
That's when something on the balcony caught his eye.
Clothes were hanging out to dry—his eyes narrowed.
Wait a second…
Something felt… off.
He turned his head and looked again, realizing that in addition to Nora's uniform, there were other clothes out there as well.
Clothes that looked a lot like his.
Actually, they were his.
The same clothes he'd tossed aside after his shower, planning to wash them the next morning…
Ron stepped onto the balcony for a closer look—and yep, she'd washed them for him.
"…You're making it hard for me to act like the boss here," he muttered, scratching his head awkwardly.
Still, he noticed something—Nora had only washed his shirts and trousers. None of his undergarments.
Sure enough, when he checked the bathroom, his underclothes were still sitting in the laundry basket.
"She could've just washed those too…" Ron mumbled, "I wouldn't have minded…"
Standing outside the bathroom, he suddenly noticed something else—the glass cover over the hallway lamp looked cleaner.
He walked through the living room, then took a look around the kitchen. Eventually, Ron concluded:
Nora hadn't just washed his clothes—she'd cleaned the entire second floor.
He flopped onto the couch and let out a quiet laugh. "Did I hire an assistant or a housekeeper?"
Shaking his head, he finished his water and headed off to bed.
Upon entering his bedroom, he found it still somewhat messy. That made him like Nora even more.
She hadn't stepped into his room without permission, nor had she touched any of his private belongings. That meant she knew her boundaries—what could and couldn't be done.
Ron didn't think too much more of it. He sat cross-legged on the soft bed, took a few Nether Orchid fruits from his Backpack, and consumed them before entering a meditative state using the Natural Meditation Technique.
Meanwhile, after closing the shop, Nora didn't immediately go home. Instead, she slipped into a nearby alleyway.
She rubbed her hands on the wall, smearing dirt onto her palms, then dabbed it onto her clean face.
Only once her face was thoroughly smudged did she step out of the alley and head toward her little shack.
Back in her cramped, few-square-meter home, Nora pulled a few black flowers from the corner, crushed them in her palm, then tilted her head back and squeezed the dark juice into her eyes.
The inky-black flower sap trickled through her fingers and into her eyes.
A stinging sensation followed.
Nora winced and blinked rapidly, tears mixing with the black sap and streaming down her cheeks.
It took over ten minutes for the pain to subside. She then pulled out a cracked mirror from beneath her straw bed.
Looking into it, she saw her eyes had turned from light reddish-black to a slightly deeper black.
This was the effect of the Ink-Dye Flower.
As a half-beastkin, Nora had inherited the beastkin's distinctive red eyes—a trait that made them easy to identify.
To hide her identity, she used the Ink-Dye Flower every week to darken her irises and mask the red.
Even though she now worked at Ron's Wonderful Flower Shop, and her boss, Ron, didn't seem to discriminate against half-beastkin...
Nora still preferred to stay cautious. She had to maintain her human appearance and keep her true heritage hidden.
Because in this world, prejudice against beastkin ran deep.
If people found out Ron's shop had a beastkin employee, what would they think of the shop itself?
If it hurt the business, then everything she was trying to protect would be for nothing.
Of course, Nora didn't know that Ron didn't care about any of that.
With plants like the Nether Orchid and Crimson-Gold Chrysanthemum as the shop's banner products, Ron wasn't worried about business at all.
But Nora didn't understand warriors or mages—she had no way of knowing how valuable those plants were.
And she didn't care, either.
All she wanted was to be a good employee, earn her 10 silver coins a week...
...so she could buy herself a thicker blanket and a proper bed, and maybe even a sturdy long coat.
If she could afford it, maybe a durable pair of shoes.
Nora lay down on her straw mat, clutching her dagger tightly in her hand.
Eyes closed, she quietly imagined her little dreams for the future.