Ron handed the grilled meat over to Nora, then copied down a new seasoning recipe for Lyle.
As for further assistance, Ron didn't offer much—mostly because he didn't have a better solution.
Sure, they could introduce new seasoning types, launch new barbecue combos or discounts, but those measures wouldn't do much.
After all, the competitor clearly had far deeper pockets than Lyle.
Unless Ron was willing to invest himself, there was no way Lyle could recapture the lost customer base.
For ordinary customers, if a new barbecue shop opened up nearby that offered the same taste and style, why would they go out of their way to visit Lyle's?
Just for the sake of so-called "authenticity"?
Only loyal customers would care about that.
Of course, there were still some options.
For instance, they could switch the shop's barbecue model to something more like the DIY grill style from Ron's original world.
Each table could be outfitted with its own grill, and customers could cook for themselves and eat as much as they wanted.
But whether this popular model from Ron's world would succeed in this one… that was still unknown.
Besides, Lyle's Barbecue was Lyle's business. Ron wasn't about to interfere to the point of taking over the direction of the entire shop.
Lyle had said it himself:
Though business had dropped off compared to the past few days, it was still far better than it had been before Ron provided the seasoning recipes.
Lyle was someone who knew how to be content.
The current business was more than enough for him to live well.
With that in mind, Ron didn't dwell on it any further.
The Next Morning
Guy and Kiel arrived at Ron's study.
After giving a quick update on their work, Guy headed out to continue his duties for the day, while Kiel stayed behind.
"You've got something to say?" Ron asked curiously.
"Hehe, yes, Your Highness Ron," Kiel said with a cheeky grin, rubbing his hands. "I've got a question. The elemental card game that was circulating in the academy before… it seems a bit different from the official version you gave me the other day?"
Ron blinked, then chuckled in realization. "Ah, the one in the academy was a version I specifically designed for the mage crowd. The rules are different."
"Your Highness, if I may be blunt," Kiel said after a short pause, "the elemental cards I had my eye on were actually that academy version."
"But I spent the last couple of days studying the official version you gave me. I got some people together to play it…"
"And I found that the official version is also really fun—but it's clearly more appealing to regular folks."
"At the Magic Academy, though, the older version is still more popular."
Ron frowned slightly. He hadn't considered that. "So you're suggesting I should sell the Magic Academy version instead? But only people with some magical knowledge can play that one. Normal folks wouldn't even understand it, right?"
Kiel blinked, confused. "Your Highness, are you planning to sell the cards to the general public?"
"Of course."
"If that's the case, you'll have to bring production costs down to below 10 copper coins per deck, or there's no profit to be made," Kiel shook his head. "The empire's main consumers are the nobles. Commoners spend barely anything on entertainment."
"If we can't profit through mass sales with low margins, we're just throwing money away."
"But if we target nobles, even if the cards cost dozens of silver coins or a few gold coins, as long as they're appealing enough, nobles will gladly pay."
"That would let us recover our costs quickly."
"And if we aim too low with the pricing, nobles might see the product as beneath them, and the commoners still wouldn't have the buying power."
"In the end, we'd lose both groups."
Ron rubbed his chin in thought.
As for the production cost of the cards, he wasn't particularly worried.
After all, Chameleon Radish (the plant he used to produce the card material) was free. Once planted, it produced seeds that could be replanted to generate even more, with no need to buy anything from the system.
Thanks to the growth space, the crops could mature rapidly.
As for harvesting and post-processing? He could just have the sisters from the church help out for free.
Upfront, his only real expenses were land, factory setup, and hiring workers.
Among those, labor costs were the only long-term spending.
But even that was cheap.
The slums had plenty of low-cost laborers.
And if Ron could provide jobs, Chaos City would even offer subsidies.
So really, the financial burden was minimal.
What he did need to think about, however, was what Kiel brought up—the class divide between nobles and commoners.
"The elemental cards popular at the academy—do you think nobles can grasp them easily?" Ron asked.
"Most nobles, even if they don't have talent for magic, are still expected to study the basics," Kiel explained. "Besides, that version of the card game doesn't involve any deep magical theory. It's not hard for them to pick up."
"But for commoners, who rarely encounter magic, the learning curve could be steep."
Ron nodded. He understood.
"Then let's sell both versions," Ron said with a grin. "We'll call them both Elemental Cards, but divide them into a Noble Edition and a Commoner Edition. Price the former at 1 gold coin, and the latter at 10 copper coins."
"Of course, I'm just tossing out numbers. We can adjust based on the market. What do you think?"
Kiel furrowed his brow, thinking hard. Then his expression gradually lit up as he exclaimed:
"Brilliant!"
"If we position the Noble Edition as the Magic Academy's 'Dueling Magic' style—high-priced and distinct from the Commoner Edition—nobles will eat that up."
"And even if the commoners don't initially care about card games, once they hear that nobles are into it, they'll get curious."
"They might not be able to afford the noble version, but the commoner one is totally within reach!"
"This satisfies noble vanity and commoner curiosity—two birds with one stone!"
"Your Highness, you're incredible!"
"…?"
Ron looked at the overexcited Kiel, a big question mark floating above his head.
He honestly just didn't want to overthink it. Creating separate editions for nobles and commoners seemed simpler.
But this guy was already imagining all kinds of marketing brilliance?
"I didn't even know I was that clever…"
Ron couldn't help but laugh. Then he said, "There's still one problem. The academy version of the cards has vague rules. The interaction between spells and how they counter each other needs to be worked out clearly."
"So for now, while the cards aren't being mass-produced yet, I want you to collect info from the academy. Document how people duel with magic and organize all the interactions into a guidebook."
"Can do?"
"No problem!" Kiel thumped his chest confidently.
"Alright, if there's nothing else, go get to it."
"Ehem…" Kiel didn't leave right away. With a very serious look, he pulled a few illustrated booklets from inside his shirt and placed them on the desk. "Your Highness Ron, these are the latest Illya Special Edition Illustration Booklets from the academy. Take your time—I'll see myself out."
Watching Kiel leave with a goofy grin on his face, Ron glanced down at the booklets on his desk and sighed.
"What does he take me for?"
"Seriously now…"
Still, he quietly picked up the booklets and snuck out of the study.
And just as he turned the corner—
He ran right into Nora, who was heading upstairs to use the bathroom.
"Ah, Boss."
"Mm." Ron casually hid the booklets behind his back.
Nora looked a bit puzzled, but still walked into the bathroom.
Ron immediately darted into his bedroom, stuffed the booklets under the bed, and finally let out a relieved breath.
"Whew. That was close."
"Kiel's gonna get me in trouble one day…"