The truth was right in front of them—whether the patrol squad leader wanted to believe it or not, he had no choice.
Besides, Ron had no reason to lie.
After explaining everything, Ron left the scene with Nora. He had no intention of sticking around.
As for how the patrol team would deal with the tree afterward, that wasn't Ron's concern.
That street was already uneven and rarely saw carriages, so at most, the tree would block a bit of foot traffic. Nothing serious.
The only issue was the terrifying face etched into the bark—it looked pretty creepy. But the tree itself was fine.
Since the tree was born of the Goddess of Harvest's divine power, the patrol members didn't dare act recklessly. They had no choice but to leave it there and report the incident to their superiors immediately.
Again, this had nothing to do with Ron.
Ron and Nora walked down the street, hand in hand.
Nora's face was bright red, but she let the Boss hold her hand without pulling away—if anything, she wished this road would go on forever.
Ron, on the other hand, was still immersed in the powerful vitality he had just experienced and didn't notice for a moment.
When he came to his senses, he quickly let go in embarrassment and coughed twice to cover it up.
"Um... where do you live? I'll walk you home."
Nora pulled her hand back, a bit disappointed. Hearing Ron's words, she panicked a little and looked around nervously.
"N-No need! My house is in the opposite direction from the shop anyway. No need to trouble you, Boss."
Ron gave her a teasing smile. "You really don't want me to visit your place that badly?"
"No! That's not it!" Nora got flustered. "I-It's just… my place is really messy. There's nowhere for guests to sit. You already gave me the bedding and clothes—I can go back on my own…"
Ron sighed and handed her the bedding and other supplies as he spoke.
"You know, you could just stay at the shop. You already know there are empty rooms on the second and third floors. If you live there, you won't have to run back and forth every day."
Nora took the items, hiding her blushing face behind the blankets. Her soft voice came from behind the stack, "No need… Thank you, Boss."
"Be careful on your way, then. Can you carry all that by yourself?"
"Yep, no problem! Goodbye, Boss!"
Ron watched Nora's small figure walk off into the distance. He shrugged and turned back toward the shop.
He could understand why Nora didn't want him following her home.
After all, what kind of place could a street kid afford to live in?
And Nora was a proud girl—Ron knew better than to insist.
He had already told her when she first started working that she could live at the shop.
Back then, she probably refused because she didn't feel comfortable staying at a stranger's place.
Even if that person seemed like a good guy.
This time, she was probably just shy.
…Or maybe she didn't want the blanket and sheets she'd just bought to go to waste?
After all, if she moved into the shop, those things would be pointless.
Of course, Ron's offer to let her move in again definitely wasn't because of some ulterior motive.
He was just concerned about her safety.
His identity as a divine chosen was too unusual—who knew when the next group of assassins would show up?
If someone tried to use Nora against him, that'd be a serious problem.
But as he walked back to the shop, Ron thought again and figured it probably wouldn't come to that.
To outsiders, he and Nora were nothing more than employer and employee.
No one should think of using her as leverage.
Back at the shop, Ron went straight to the study.
He excitedly opened his system panel and tapped on [Inventory], absorbing the [Cultivation Method of the Chameleon Radish] before checking the [Chameleon Radish Seed].
[Chameleon Radish Seed]:
["Chameleon Radish, a large evergreen vine. Prefers shade, loose, fertile soil, slightly acidic, and rich in humus.
Once mature, it is highly resilient and can maintain vitality as long as it has adequate water.
The Chameleon Radish can imitate the appearance of other objects.
When planted together with an item, its leaves will grow to visually resemble that item.
Objects that are too large will only be partially replicated by the leaves."]
After reading the description, Ron fell into thought.
This thing… seemed kinda useless?
Then a thought struck him. He pulled out the Chameleon Radish seed and a gold coin from his inventory.
Could I… plant gold?
With a mix of curiosity and excitement, he placed the two items on the floor—seed above the coin—and cast the Seed Acceleration Spell and Plant Manipulation Spell.
Whoosh—!
In less than a second, a thick vine shot up from the ground. Tiny branches spread out, and the entire plant glittered golden, nearly blinding Ron.
"It really works?!"
He leaned in excitedly to look at the now-person-sized Chameleon Radish. Dozens of lifelike gold coins were hanging from its branches—indistinguishable from the real thing!
Thrilled, Ron plucked one of the "coins" and tossed it in his hand. His excitement faded as a puzzled expression appeared.
"…It's so light."
Real gold coins definitely didn't feel like this.
He squeezed the "coin" hard, and his face immediately darkened.
The "coin" warped under his fingers.
Though it quickly bounced back to its original shape after he let go, it was obvious: this thing wasn't real gold.
"This is just… counterfeit money! Ugh!"
Ron rolled his eyes and reread the Chameleon Radish description, his gaze landing on one line in particular:
"…its leaves will grow to visually resemble the item."
Visually.
In other words, they were still just leaves—just disguised to look like coins.
Witchcraft!
Ron slumped back into his chair, annoyed.
He thought he'd found a path to riches…
But it turned out to be garbage.
Still holding the fake "coin," he fiddled with it while thinking of possible uses.
The texture was oddly satisfying—firm, but flexible. You could squeeze it, and it'd bounce right back.
Maybe it could be used as a stress-relief toy?
Aside from that… what else?
Plant a pen?
Nope. Can't actually write with it.
Plant a bar of soap?
Same deal—looks nice, but totally useless.
So he needed to pick things that only looked good but didn't need to function.
For example…
As Ron thought, he scanned the study.
When his eyes landed on the bookshelf, inspiration struck.
"I could plant books!"
But as soon as he said it, he slumped again.
What's the point of planting books?
Sell them?
How much would that even make?
Besides, the Chameleon Radish's leaf material wasn't suitable for flipping through like normal paper.
Maybe some kind of novelty picture books?
His eyes drifted toward a few unnamed books on the shelf, and he was strangely tempted.
In the end, he shook his head, deciding to keep brainstorming.
Then his gaze fell on a stack of 'Legendary Kill' magazines on the shelf.