[Temporary Mission] — [Eliminate the Suspicion of the Two Legend-Rank Individuals]
[System: "Congratulations, Host. Mission complete. Reward has been delivered to your Inventory."]
[Daily Mission] — [Provide a Plausible Explanation for the Shop's Supply Chain]
[System: "Congratulations, Host. Mission complete. You have received your reward."]
Two mission completion prompts popped up, making Ron pause for a moment.
"The big guys are gone?"
[System: "The two Legend-Rank individuals have left."]
Ron let out a long breath.
Now, he no longer had to live every day in fear—he could finally relax a bit.
The "bug" of the system had been perfectly covered by the identity of God's Chosen of the Harvest Goddess.
With that, he no longer had to worry about where his shop's flowers came from. From now on, he could focus entirely on managing Ron's Wonderful Flower Shop.
Even though he had been living rather leisurely before, there had always been that shadow of fear, worrying someone would uncover the truth behind his shop.
But now, after redeeming the Divine Miracle of the Harvest Goddess, it was a one-and-done fix. He could truly enjoy life as a lazy salted-fish prince.
Spending his days growing plants, teasing his part-time staff, and occasionally playing a round of Legendary Kill—what a dream.
Life as a leisurely prince in the City of Chaos, far away from the power struggles of the Royal Capital, suited him just fine.
With that thought, Ron's mood instantly lightened, and his motivation to study magic soared.
That afternoon, after finishing his lesson with Edith, Ron took a moment to claim his temporary mission reward.
[Rainfall Spell]
[Earth Wave Spell]
[Plant Manipulation Spell]
The first two were prerequisites for the Natural Meditation Technique's key support spell — Plant Growth Spell. With these, his previously dormant Plant Growth Spell could finally be fully utilized.
As for Plant Manipulation Spell...
Ron glanced at the system panel, his mouth twitching slightly.
[Shop]
[Water Control Spell]: 1000 Wealth Points
[Soil Extraction Spell]: 1000 Wealth Points
Having gotten a feel for the system's stingy pricing, Ron didn't even hesitate to close the panel and ignore the newly added items.
He and Edith met up with Mason and Harper, heading as usual to Lyle's BBQ shop for skewers and a round of Legendary Kill.
Harper and Mason had both heard about Ron becoming a God's Chosen and were initially a bit serious and nervous about it. But when they saw Ron acting just like his usual self, they quickly relaxed.
"So those Nether Orchids and Crimson-Gold Chrysanthemums from your flower shop were actually gifts from the Goddess of Harvest?" Harper blurted out. "I used to think the Empire was secretly backing you!"
Ron simply smiled. "All is as the Goddess wills it."
Mason and Edith, more tactful, chose not to continue the topic. The four of them quickly shifted their focus back to the Legendary Kill card game at hand.
Recently, they'd been gathering for BBQ and cards almost daily—Harper in particular had become addicted to the game.
Especially since Ron often introduced new character cards, keeping the gameplay fresh and ever-changing.
With more games played, Harper and the others were now far better players. Ron's old bag of tricks was gradually becoming ineffective.
Although Ron still won more often than he lost, it wasn't unusual for Edith and the others to turn the tables and trap-kill him a few times.
After all, it was a card game—sometimes it came down to luck of the draw, not just tactics.
Ron wasn't a hardcore tabletop gamer himself. Back in his original world, he'd only played during occasional classmate gatherings. Hardly an expert.
If he had the internet here, Ron wouldn't be bothering with Legendary Kill at all.
Why play cards when you could be climbing ranks in LoL or PUBG?
Or chatting in meme-filled Discord groups.
But here in another world, Legendary Kill was the next best thing.
Ron clicked his tongue, then turned to Harper mid-game and asked, "I've got a new plant in my shop—more defense-oriented. I want to test its defensive properties. When would you be free to help with that?"
The moment he mentioned a new plant species, the three others perked up immediately.
Harper asked curiously, "A new plant? I'm in. Just find me tomorrow afternoon, and we'll test it."
Pleased with Harper's cooperation, Ron nodded and pulled out a Scalevine, demonstrating its appearance and explaining its properties.
Given that wood-element mages already had a natural affinity for manipulating plants, none of the three were particularly surprised by what the Scalevine could do.
But its ability to recognize a master after just fifteen days of blood-feeding—even by ordinary people—was shocking.
Upon learning that the Scalevine could absorb mana and battle aura to enhance its defense, Harper grew visibly intrigued.
Eventually, they agreed that Ron would bring a batch of Scalevine to the Magic Academy for testing the next afternoon.
Edith also volunteered to help with the experiment.
With business out of the way, they resumed casual chatter.
Mason brought up some recent academy gossip, inevitably mentioning the elemental cards Ron had gifted him some time ago.
"They're all over the academy now," Mason said. "At first, it was just something we shared in the staff office. Then someone made a few sets of their own and started spreading them among the students."
This world didn't have a clear concept of intellectual property, but Mason still felt uneasy about it. He hesitated, then added, "I'd like to apologize on his behalf. After all, the elemental cards were your creation."
Ron waved his hand with a smile. "It's not a big deal."
Elemental Cards were simple enough to replicate. While Ron didn't like piracy, he understood it was inevitable.
And truth be told, they were just a fun little project he'd thrown together to kill time. Whether they were copied or not didn't matter much to him.
What did interest him was how popular they'd become in the Magic Academy.
"A lot of people are playing with them?" Ron asked.
"That's putting it lightly," Mason chuckled. Seeing Ron wasn't angry, he relaxed and laughed. His thick beard twitched as he spoke. "Some of the assistant instructors have even started using the cards in class to teach magic principles. The students love it—and they're making their own copies on the side too."
"Some students saw us playing in the office and figured out the gameplay themselves. Now you can see groups of them playing all over campus."
Hearing that made Ron's lips curl into a grin.
Something he'd brought from his original world had become a hit here—that gave him a genuine sense of accomplishment.
"This still feels a little off," Edith frowned. "After all, the cards were invented by His Highness. Isn't it… stealing?"
"It's fine. It's just a small thing," Ron replied casually.
After all, his flower shop was generating hundreds to thousands of gold coins in daily net profit. He had more money than he could spend—why fuss over a few playing cards?
"Then why not open a factory to produce them?" Harper asked, tilting his head. "If they're so popular, you could make good money."
"Exactly!" Mason quickly added. "Ron, your flower shop makes plenty of profit, and you barely have any major expenses. You could easily start a factory for Elemental Cards—it'd be a solid business."
"And don't forget Legendary Kill!" Edith chimed in with a grin.
Ron couldn't help laughing. "Opening a factory isn't that simple… I'll think about it."
Honestly, he wasn't too keen on the idea.
Even if he built a factory and started producing official versions, once Elemental Cards went mainstream, copycats would pop up instantly.
That said, if he didn't start this business, someone else from the academy might see the opportunity and run with it.
For him, making and selling Elemental Cards might be trivial. But for others? It could mean big profits.
After the BBQ and card games, Ron returned to Ron's Wonderful Flower Shop, still mulling over the idea.
A factory…
It just sounded like such a pain…