After finishing all the documents Guy had given him, Ron tidied up his desk and headed downstairs.
Nora was at the counter, counting gold coins.
Sister Sylvie sat silently by the tea table, eyes closed in prayer.
Ron glanced at Sylvie with a bit of a headache and walked over.
She had shown up early in the morning to begin her bodyguard duties.
Although Ron had declined to let her live at the flower shop, she was still determined to fulfill her role.
So she had simply decided to arrive early every day to protect Lord Ron up close.
Noticing someone approaching, Sylvie opened her eyes and stood to greet him. "Lord Ron."
"Come with me," Ron said, already walking out the door.
Sylvie immediately followed.
They stopped in front of the barbecue shop next door.
Ron pulled out a key, unlocked the door, and gestured for her to come in.
"Since you're so determined to stay close," Ron said as they walked up to the third floor, "you can live here instead. Saves you the hassle of going back and forth between the flower shop and the church every day."
The third floor had originally housed staff quarters, but ever since Lyle's employees were poached, it had gone unused.
"I'm planning to get this place renovated. The first and second floors will be used for a small business, and the third floor will be your residence. Sound good?"
Sylvie simply nodded. "I'll follow Lord Ron's arrangements."
And just like that, the matter was settled.
As for what kind of business would go on the first and second floors, Ron already had an idea.
First floor: a drink shop.
Second floor: a tabletop gaming room.
He wasn't doing it for the money.
Especially the tabletop room.
With Element Cards and Legendary Kill still unknown to most people, he didn't expect the place to be popular right away.
But Ron didn't mind.
Given his current wealth, he was well past the stage of needing to make money all the time.
Remodeling the barbecue shop was just about making life more comfortable and fun.
The second floor of the flower shop only had a tea table and a couch for hanging out. The dining table had already been converted into a hotpot table—not ideal for card games.
If more friends started visiting in the future, it'd be way more convenient to entertain them in this extra building.
Add a drink shop downstairs, and it'd be the perfect chill spot.
Since I've crossed into another world, been granted a cheat-like system, and don't have any rigid quests forcing me around…
Wouldn't it be boring to chase power and profit all day long?
The only question was—what kind of drinks should he sell?
Alcohol?
Coffee?
Tea?
Or maybe a DIY milk tea bar?
As Ron mulled it over, the system chimed in:
System: "Daily Quest triggered."
[Daily Quest] — [Renovate the Barbecue Shop]:
[Objective: Remodel the 1st and 2nd floors of the barbecue shop. Convert the first floor into a drink shop, and the second floor into a tabletop gaming room.]
[Requirement: Must meet the standard for official business operations.]
[Reward: Vital Bloom Vine seed and its cultivation method.]
Ron stared in surprise, then reread the quest.
"…System, did you just… have a personality change?"
A normal quest reward?!
[System: "Due to the host having failed 100 daily quests in a row, the system has adjusted the reward structure for daily quests to encourage active participation."]
"…You ever stop to think maybe your quests were just nonsense?" Ron muttered, lips twitching.
The system didn't respond again, and Ron didn't bother to argue.
In any case, better rewards were a good thing, and he welcomed the change.
Though... what if the system threw in another shady quest like "spy on someone bathing," but made the reward super tempting?
Ugh… conflicted.
Ron sighed and handed Sylvie a spare key. "Alright, I'll let you clean the place up and move in when you're ready."
"They'll be doing renovation downstairs soon, so it might get noisy. If that bothers you, feel free to wait a few days before moving in."
Sylvie took the key and nodded gently. "I'll move in tonight."
Her daily life had always been dull—aside from the occasional convent task, she mostly spent time in prayer. Whether it was noisy downstairs didn't matter to her.
Ron left her to organize the room while he went downstairs to inspect the first and second floors, thinking over layout plans.
That afternoon, Guy came by with a report on the factory and land developments.
Ron listened, gave some feedback, then instructed him:
"Find a construction crew to start the renovations on the barbecue shop next door."
"Another business venture, Lord Ron?" Guy asked curiously, legs dangling as the short goblin sat in the chair.
"Just a small project."
"I get it, I get it," Guy nodded, chuckling knowingly.
Back when he worked at the Gold Reserve Bank, Ron had handed him a promissory note worth over 10,000 gold. When Guy asked what kind of business he was doing, Ron gave the same answer.
It had ended up being a huge success.
This had to be another goldmine.
Ron saw his expression and rolled his eyes. He could already guess what Guy was thinking.
"I really mean it this time—it's just a little shop."
"Yes, yes," Guy nodded again, full of confidence. "For Lord Ron, of course, just a tiny investment."
"…Fine. Think what you want."
Ron shook his head in resignation. He wasn't going to argue.
Either way, Guy's pay wasn't going to change.
Whether the shop made money or not wouldn't affect Guy.
"Have the crew come by tomorrow. I'll go over the renovation plans with them myself."
"No problem."
After seeing Guy off, Ron read a book for a while. Bored, he projected his consciousness into the puppet on the first floor to check on business.
Today, there were a lot of customers.
Sales had shot up thanks to the exhibition before the ceremonial event yesterday.
Nobles, merchants, prominent mages, and warriors from all over the City of Chaos were now flocking to the flower shop to buy Nether Orchids and Crimson-Gold Chrysanthemums.
Occasionally, a few would purchase Scalevine, though in smaller quantities.
Still, only a day had passed.
As word continued to spread among various social circles, Ron figured that even buyers from outside the city might show up eventually.
Based on the current pace, even if Scalevine lagged behind the other two in sales, the current trend would still help him hit his main quest goal eventually.
He had about 2,000 Scalevine units left to sell. At this rate, it might take another two to three months.
By spring of next year, he was confident the mission would be complete.
Ron did a few calculations in his head.