Early morning.
Nora woke up early in her little shed, got dressed neatly, and made her way to the flower shop.
Her mood wasn't great.
She was clearly weighed down by thoughts.
Faint dark circles under her eyes revealed she hadn't slept well the night before.
What bothered her the most was how the two elf sisters had stayed over at the shop late into the night. She wasn't quite sure how she felt about it.
And she had no idea when they'd even left…
Nora made her way to the shop entrance, unlocked the door, and slowly walked upstairs.
Edith's figure really is amazing…
Nora recalled the hotpot dinner from last night. Whenever Edith got tired, she'd lean her upper body onto the table—causing Harper next to her to drool like a fool.
That image popped into Nora's mind, and she instinctively glanced down at her own feet… and sighed.
Even though Illya had a similar "size" to her, the elf's tall, elegant build and long, shapely legs gave her the air of a graceful model.
As Nora climbed the stairs, she glanced at her own short legs and immediately grew a little gloomy.
"I feel so useless…"
With her head hanging low, she reached the second-floor living room—just in time to see the shop boss coming out of the kitchen, holding breakfast.
"Good morning, Boss!" Nora greeted with a bright smile, still trying to appear full of energy.
"Morning," Ron replied with a smile and a nod, placing breakfast on the table. "Go take a shower and change, then come eat."
Nora nodded obediently and headed toward the bathroom.
As she passed the table, she noticed there were four servings of bread and milk laid out. She blinked in confusion.
Still, she didn't dwell on it and went straight to the shower.
Drip drip drip…
The sound of water echoed softly from the bathroom.
A while later—
Click.
Creak~
A door opened somewhere in the small hallway.
"Mmm… smells so good~"
A soft, lazy voice echoed in the hallway.
At the same time, the sound of running water from the bathroom came to a stop.
Nora, now dressed in her clean work uniform, stepped out of the bathroom—only to bump straight into someone in the hallway.
"Ah!"
She froze in place, staring blankly at the woman in front of her.
Loose clothing slid off one shoulder, revealing smooth, fair skin. Long, messy pale-green hair hung down in soft waves.
Still clearly groggy from sleep, the woman had a dazed expression as she blinked at Nora.
"E-Edith… Sister Edith?!"
Nora's face filled with shock. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.
And then, another figure stepped out of the room behind Edith.
"Illya… Sister Illya…"
Nora's eyes widened as she looked from one to the other, her brain still trying to catch up.
In just a few seconds, her mind had spun a full-blown, blush-inducing scenario that had her completely thrown off.
"Ah? Oh—it's Nora."
Edith shook off the last of her drowsiness, smiled brightly once she recognized the girl, and waved. "Good morning~."
Illya, passing by, gave Nora a faint nod as she walked into the bathroom—a silent greeting.
Nora nodded stiffly, tugging at her cap to hide her awkward expression and… a hint of jealousy.
"M-Morning…"
She stood frozen for a moment longer.
Then her eyes shifted to the room the two elves had come out of—and suddenly she understood.
They had emerged from the guest bedroom, not the boss's private room.
So… they were just staying over for the night?
For some reason, Nora let out a deep sigh of relief.
She had overthought it.
The elves were famously reluctant to marry outside their own kind…
Nora gently tapped her own forehead, feeling guilty over the scenes she had imagined earlier.
She returned to the living room and sat silently beside Ron to eat breakfast.
"Did you like the hotpot last night?" Ron asked between bites.
Since Nora had left halfway through to watch the store, and didn't participate in much of the dinner conversation, Ron wasn't sure how she felt about it.
Of course, he was confident in the hotpot—he was just making conversation.
"Mhm!" Nora nodded quickly. "I've never had anything that tasty before!"
Ron grinned teasingly. "So my regular cooking isn't good anymore, huh?"
"N-No! That's not what I meant!" Nora panicked. "Your regular cooking is really good too! The hotpot was just... really good too—just, everything you make is delicious!"
Ron chuckled. He hadn't expected such a strong reaction.
"Relax, I was just joking."
"Oh…"
Nora lowered her head, embarrassed. But when she saw the boss still eating, curiosity got the better of her. She whispered,
"Boss… why did Sister Edith and Illya stay over last night?"
"Oh, that."
Ron kept a straight face as he explained,
"I was asking Illya about magic arrays last night, and we got a bit carried away. Before I knew it, it was already past midnight."
"I saw how late it was, and Edith had already fallen asleep on the couch, so I just let them stay for the night."
Nora finally felt completely at ease. Her mood brightened again.
Ron continued his breakfast, outwardly calm—but inwardly…
He couldn't help mentally roasting the system:
[Daily Quest] – [Peep on Elf Sisters Taking a Bath] (FAILED)
[Daily Quest] – [Spy on Elf Sisters Sleeping] (FAILED)
No words.
Absolutely no words.
Was this really a quest based on his subconscious desires?
Or was the system just being a total creep?
He didn't remember ever being this much of a perv.
He was a proper gentleman, wasn't he?
Who would go around doing such indecent things?
Clearly, this was the system misusing its power for personal gain!
Ron silently grumbled in his heart.
—
At that moment, Edith and Illya returned to the living room, fresh from washing up.
Ron invited them to sit and have breakfast.
Three girls gathered around the table, each with their own charm—a true feast for the eyes.
Sadly, good moments never last long.
After breakfast, Edith and Illya said their goodbyes and returned to the Chaos City Magic Academy.
Nora obediently cleaned the table, washed the dishes, tidied the living room, and went downstairs to open the shop.
Ron, as usual, entered his dimensional storage space and began his usual production routine. He replenished his stock of Nether Orchid and Crimson-Gold Chrysanthemum, and also harvested over a hundred vines of Scalevine.
By noon, Ron exited the pocket dimension and transplanted the freshly harvested Scalevine to the shop's first floor, officially putting them on sale.
The shop's price list is updated in real time—
[Nether Orchid: 20 gold coins per plant]
[Crimson-Gold Chrysanthemum: 30 gold coins per plant]
[Scalevine: 5 gold coins per plant]