What does it feel like to strip down to just your underwear in front of six girls?
If you're curious, go for a swim at the pool sometime.
Half an hour later, the dressing room door opened.
Ron stepped out, dressed in a thick ceremonial robe.
In mythology, the Goddess of Harvest governs autumn, bringing prosperity and life to the continent.
Thus, the ceremonial robe was composed of golden and green hues—representing her two divine authorities: harvest and life. Together, they symbolized the essence of autumn.
The robe was an oversized, flowing garment. The sleeves were long enough to cover the arms and hands entirely, and the hem trailed along the floor. Two nuns had to walk behind Ron to gently lift and hold the robe's edge.
Intricate patterns of branches, vines, flowers, and fallen leaves were embroidered across the fabric, and a soft, magical glow flowed through them.
Sister Sylvie stood waiting at the dressing room entrance. When she saw Ron step out wearing his emerald crown, she bowed and said:
"Lord Ron, please rest in the rear chamber for now. When the sacrificial ceremony is about to begin, we'll summon you to the plaza."
"Mhm." Ron nodded and, with the help of a nearby nun lifting the hem of his robe, managed to sit down in a chair.
In the hallway of the cathedral's annex, many notable guests had already gathered.
The Church of the God of War, and the Church of the God of Healing had both sent bishops to attend.
Several dukes and marquises from the Human Empire—and even earls from counties surrounding the City of Chaos—had sent either personal representatives or family members.
Princess Mia had arrived as a royal representative, while Eileen stood on behalf of Duke Christine.
A prince from the Dwarven Kingdom was present, currently exchanging friendly greetings with two elven priestesses.
Edith, half-distracted and clearly forcing herself to remain polite, pulled along her completely zoning-out older sister as they followed behind the elven priestesses.
The Dwarf race's Chosen of the God of the Stars, Starray, had sent a specialized Enchanted Metallurgy Puppet. At any time, he could possess the puppet with his divine will.
All three major Goblin trade alliances had sent representatives, bearing lavish gifts.
The Gemstone Trade Alliance—the most powerful faction in the City of Chaos—had each of its major caravans send gifts separately, causing the perpetually broke Bishop Morris to beam with joy.
In addition, some local nobles and wealthy merchants had "donated" enough to secure entry into the annex hall, hoping to leave an impression on the big shots.
With time still before the ceremony began, everyone exchanged polite pleasantries, keeping up appearances.
Then, Archbishop Ulysses appeared at just the right moment. Behind him followed Nora, pushing a small cart that displayed the three flower shop plants.
The scent of the Nether Orchid had barely begun to drift out when it immediately caught the attention of the mages present.
Not to be outdone, the Crimson-Gold Chrysanthemum released its own fragrance, faintly stirring the Battle Aura Vortex within the warriors' bodies.
Before the Archbishop could even say a word, curious guests had already stepped forward to examine the plants on the cart.
"How many of these flowers do you have? I want them all." The voice came from the Gnome metallurgy puppet, its tone flat and emotionless as it pointed at the Nether Orchid.
The Archbishop raised an eyebrow and looked into the deep, knowing gaze within the puppet's eyes. "A Seer?"
"Yes," the puppet nodded.
At that moment, the will of the Seer had indeed descended into the puppet—Ulysses was merely confirming his own presence.
Once confirmed, the Archbishop smiled and picked up the Nether Orchid.
"This flower is called the Nether Orchid. It draws in nearby elemental particles, functioning like a miniature Elemental Convergence Array. Its fragrance also improves meditation efficiency for mages. This has been verified by the Royal Capital Magic Academy."
"Twenty gold coins per plant. Are you interested?"
"Of course," the puppet responded. "One thousand plants. Or more, if available."
A quiet gasp rippled through the hall.
A Tier-7 Legendary Seer was built differently—spending over ten thousand gold coins without a second thought. Extremely generous.
The Archbishop, being a fellow Tier-7 Legendary, remained composed and simply said, "Each of these three plants has unique, wondrous properties. They're all products from Lord Ron's flower shop. If anyone is interested, feel free to visit Ron's Wonderful Flower Shop in the Ruby District of Aikley Street after the ceremony."
"Understood," the puppet replied. It then stepped back, leaving the crowd, and the deep gleam in its eyes gradually faded as it returned to being a lifeless enchanted puppet.
Seeing that even a Chosen One from the Dwarf race had shown such interest in the Nether Orchid, many guests stepped forward to inquire further.
As for the thought of "two Legendary-ranked figures working together to scam people," the idea only briefly flickered in some minds before being dismissed.
The Harvest Goddess Church wasn't desperate enough to resort to fraud, and the Seer of the Gnomes surely had better things to do than scheme over a few flowers.
Princess Mia stood to the side, acting as a wide-eyed hype girl.
Every time the Archbishop introduced a plant, she would chime in with things like, "Wow, that's amazing!" or "I didn't know there were such magical plants!" and "This Scalevine looks great—I'm buying one!"
With Mia's enthusiastic performance, the energy of the promotional exhibition stayed lively.
Meanwhile, as a researcher from the Royal Capital Magic Academy, Edith stood nearby explaining the special properties of the plants to the crowd, giving everyone a solid foundational understanding.
Many guests expressed immediate interest and placed preliminary orders on the spot.
Behind the Archbishop, Nora watched it all unfold, her heart filled with mixed emotions.
On the one hand, she was happy that the flower shop had gained a wave of new income.
But on the other hand, she felt…useless.
She hadn't helped at all—aside from pushing a cart.
In this exhibition, Princess Mia and Edith had both played much more important roles than she.
All that information she had spent days memorizing about the three plants hadn't come into play at all…
Ugh. I'm so useless…
"Has your academy done any real testing on the Scalevine's actual effects?" the elven priestess quietly asked Edith, pulling her aside.
Edith immediately shared the results of Harper's recent experiments and then asked, "Are you planning to buy some, Priestess?"
The priestess nodded solemnly. "The northern winter war is about to begin. We expect many orcs to flee south into the Forest of Freyst. As per our alliance with the Human Empire, we're obligated to help clear them out."
"If the Scalevine's defensive capabilities prove effective, it could serve as another line of protection for our people."
Since this was a matter involving the entire Elven race, Edith knew she couldn't show favoritism toward Ron. After a moment of thought, she said carefully:
"The tests on Scalevine aren't fully complete yet. If you're interested, I suggest purchasing a few to test firsthand. Once we have finalized the results, you can decide whether to place a large-scale order. How about that?"
"Naturally," the priestess nodded with a warm smile.