"That'll be 250 gold coins in total. Thank you for your business."
Nora took the payment slip from the customer, carefully verifying its authenticity before flashing her sweet, signature sweet smile.
The customer was from the Chaos City Magic Academy.
Ever since the shop's reputation had spread throughout the academy, many had begun keeping an eye on its latest offerings. When the shop recently released a new plant species, faculty and students alike had been trickling in to purchase Scalevine.
This particular visitor was an assistant to one of the academy professors, sent specifically to buy Scalevine for laboratory research.
Besides the academy, the Radiant Mercenary Corps had also purchased a symbolic amount of Scalevine—not a large quantity, and they hadn't requested a long-term supply.
It was clear they intended to take it back for testing before making any larger commitments.
Even so, in just the past few days, Scalevine sales had already brought in nearly two thousand gold coins.
This was the power of reputation.
That said, if Ron wanted to fulfill the mission of selling 5,000 Scalevine plants, it would depend on the plant's actual effects.
If it turned out to be unimpressive, without return customers or large-scale buyers, completing the mission might take months.
But Ron wasn't too worried about that.
Even if no one bought it, he wasn't in a rush.
There was no time limit on the mission, and he wasn't short on funds. There was no need to aggressively push sales.
The 40,000+ gold coins sitting in the Gold Reserve Bank were more than enough to support his investment into mass-producing Elemental Cards.
Around noon, Ron returned from his dimensional space and had lunch with Nora at the shop.
Just then, Guy arrived, wiping a bit of sweat from his forehead.
"Your Highness Ron, the factory on the outskirts has been secured. As for farmland, I've looked at several options, but I'll need your input to finalize the decision."
Ron had just finished eating and was resting on the sofa.
Upon hearing this, he stood up and said, "Alright, take me to see them."
He gave Nora—who was washing dishes in the kitchen—a few instructions, then followed Guy to the suburbs.
They boarded a carriage and rode out through the city gates.
Chaos City was divided by its city walls into the inner city and the suburbs. The suburbs weren't sparsely populated—quite the opposite. They were lively with a constant flow of people and goods.
Usually, only caravans without prearranged clients would enter the city to lease shop space or seek buyers directly.
Most well-established merchant caravans conducted pre-planned transactions and didn't need to enter the city at all. They simply made their trades in the suburbs.
As a result, there were many cheap inns and warehouses in the area, catering specifically to traveling merchants.
Their carriage stopped in the southeastern suburbs.
Ron and Guy got off in front of a factory, where a goblin was already waiting by the entrance.
Upon seeing them, the goblin quickly scampered over with a wide, fawning grin.
"Your Highness Ron! Hello, hello! I'm Bill, Guy's former colleague," the goblin said, rubbing his hands together eagerly.
Ron had already heard about the place from Guy.
The factory had originally been used for garment manufacturing, but the business had failed and left behind a large debt to the Gold Reserve Bank.
The property was eventually seized by the bank and now needs a new buyer.
Guy, being intimately familiar with the bank's projects, had immediately thought of this factory once he learned about Ron's needs.
"Lead the way. Let's take a look." Ron gave a slight nod.
Bill produced a key and unlocked the main gate.
Sunlight poured into the dim factory, stirring up layers of dust.
Rows of crude workbenches stood haphazardly across the space. The weaving machines had long since been sold off.
"This place can accommodate over 500 workers at once. The location is great—close to the main road, with several restaurants nearby, making meals convenient for the workers."
Bill gave them a tour, enthusiastically describing the surroundings.
Guy, on the other hand, bluntly pointed out the factory's flaws—showing no mercy to his former employer. He haggled hard.
In the end, Ron made the call and bought the factory on the spot.
It would be used as the assembly site for Elemental Cards—where workers would sort the 54 cards into complete decks and package them.
It was simple but repetitive labor—far too boring to ask the adorable sisters from the convent to handle.
After sealing the deal, Ron and Guy hopped back into the carriage and headed farther out—toward the sparsely populated outer fringes of the suburbs.
By now, they saw almost no buildings at all. Even the road had turned into a rough trail, formed only by long-term travel on foot and wagon.
They were now nearing the foothills of the Manchester Mountains, where the land began to rise and fall, dotted with forest and thicket.
Their carriage veered off the main path and followed a narrow side road, finally stopping at a grassy field near a river.
"This is the place?" Ron stepped off the carriage and took a slow look around.
"Yes, Your Highness," Guy said, standing beside him. "I checked thoroughly. This is the only stretch of land near Chaos City that still has river access and hasn't been claimed."
"The Daller River flows down from the Manchester Mountains and leads toward the Dwarven Kingdom. Since this area is a bit far from the city, no one's been interested in it."
Ron walked to the riverbank and nodded while gazing upstream.
In the distance, he could faintly see the river tumbling down from the mountain range.
"All of this, from here… to over there—it's all unclaimed?" he asked.
"Yes."
"And if I wanted to buy all of it, how much would it cost?"
"…Huh?" Guy was briefly stunned, then quickly recovered. "If Your Highness only wants this nearby section, it'd be about 50 gold coins. But from here all the way to the mountain base, it'd be two to three hundred gold coins."
That answer caught Ron off guard. "Why is it so cheap? A single shop on Aikley Street costs way more than that."
"They're completely different, Your Highness," Guy chuckled awkwardly. "Aikley Street is the most prosperous commercial street in all of Chaos City. A shop there going for over a hundred gold is normal."
"But this land has no strategic value. It's remote and has sat unused for years—so naturally, it's dirt cheap."
"Also, because you are the buyer—being a member of the royal family—you get a massive discount. If a regular noble wanted to buy it, even just this small section would cost over a hundred gold."
Ron nodded in understanding. He hadn't expected his status as the Seventh Prince to come with perks like this.
With a wave of his hand, he made the call:
"Then buy it all."
"Er…" Guy hadn't expected Ron to be this decisive. But since His Highness had spoken, there was no point in arguing.
"…Understood."