About fifteen minutes later, the sound of water in the bathroom gradually faded and finally stopped.
Rustling sounds came from within.
A few minutes later, the door creaked open, and warm mist billowed out from the bathroom.
A petite, slender figure stepped through the steam. Her delicate, rosy face looked a bit anxious.
She leaned against the wall of the hallway outside the bathroom and peeked her head out, scanning the living room for Ron.
"…Where is he?" Nora muttered to herself and headed toward the stairs.
On the first floor, Ron sat in a lounge chair with a book titled 'The Propagation of Elves' in hand, though he wasn't really reading.
The moment he heard movement from the stairs, he put the book down and looked up.
Nora's figure appeared on the steps—and immediately captured all of Ron's attention.
Exposed ankles as pale and slender as jade… A loose white long skirt that reached just above her feet… A clean, long-sleeved white blouse outlining her slim waist.
Her previously sm'udged face was now fresh and rosy. Her soft, clear features were revealed, and her shallow-black eyes still held a trace of sleepiness. The tip of her cute little nose glistened faintly with leftover moisture.
Her shoulder-length violet hair was tucked neatly beneath a black work hat, with her cat ears hidden inside.
Nora stood before Ron, fidgeting slightly as she tugged at her skirt, then clutched the hem of her shirt and looked up at him.
"I… I'm ready."
"…Mm." Ron snapped out of it and quickly turned toward the stairs, pretending to stay composed.
"Let's head back upstairs to sign the contract."
Nora followed him back to the second floor, where she signed a three-year employment contract: 10 silver coins per week, paid every weekend.
Nora couldn't read, and didn't know anyone who could, so she signed without hesitation.
In this world, contracts didn't hold much legal weight. They mostly served as a formality. If one party broke the terms, the other could use the contract as justification to take action—often by force.
That said, among commoners, contracts and courts still carried some authority.
Nora's blind trust came entirely from her lack of experience in this area. If Ron had hidden something in the fine print, she wouldn't even know she'd been sold off.
But of course—Ron was an upright gentleman.
That kind of thing would never happen.
After signing the contract, the two went downstairs.
Ron introduced the two flowers currently available in the shop:
The Nether Orchid, priced at 20 gold coins per plant
The Crimson-Gold Chrysanthemum, priced at 30 gold coins per plant
Nora stared dumbly at the price list on the wall, her mind nearly crashing.
"Twenty… gold coins?"
"Yep, twenty gold coins."
"Someone actually buys these?" Nora blinked, utterly baffled. She had seen customers coming and going every day, so she already knew the store had decent business.
"But why would anyone buy something so expensive?"
"Because it's worth the price," Ron replied with a smile, then patiently explained the effects and rarity of the two plants.
Though Nora didn't know much about warriors and mages, she did understand that such people were part of the upper class. For them, 20 gold coins might not be that much.
Just earlier, she had wondered if Ron was overpaying her with 10 silver coins a week… but now, that thought vanished completely.
Twenty gold coins…
Just selling one flower would cover her salary for 200 weeks!
There were only fifty-some weeks in a year…
Ron glanced sideways at her stunned expression and quietly chuckled to himself.
Then he taught her how to distinguish real and counterfeit gold coins and promissory notes, and showed her where the coin locker behind the counter was.
By 8:30 a.m., it was time.
Nora stood at the shop entrance, hung the "Open for Business" sign, then sat down at the counter just as Ron instructed. She only needed to get up and greet customers when they came in.
But on her first day, she couldn't stay still. After about ten minutes without any customers, she got up and started wiping down the store with a cloth.
Ten silver coins a week—if she didn't do more, Nora felt unworthy of such a high salary.
Meanwhile, Ron, using the excuse of "going out to handle something," opened the storage room door and entered the dimensional space.
Inside, the 2×5-meter farming space was fully planted—one row with Crimson-Gold Chrysanthemums, the other with Nether Orchids.
Ron focused his mind and began his daily production cycle.
As his mage cultivation increased, his magic seed generated more magic power, giving him better control.
Even planting two different species at the same time no longer affected their growth or slowed the production speed.
In just three hours, he produced over a hundred plants each of Crimson-Gold Chrysanthemums and Nether Orchids.
Basically, every ten minutes, he could harvest once. With a 10-square-meter farm, his efficiency had soared.
Ron glanced at his Wealth Points:
Wealth Points: 5801
Then he checked the system shop:
[Farming Space]: 1,000 Wealth Points per 1 m² (Max limit: +20 m²)
With his current points, he could purchase 5 more square meters.
And don't forget—he still had two pending business deals with the Radiant Mercenary Corps:
One was the monthly order of 100 Nether Orchids
The other was a cooperation involving Crimson-Gold Chrysanthemums
Ron estimated these two deals would bring in between 8,000 to 20,000 gold coins in profit.
The major portion of that, of course, came from the Crimson-Gold Chrysanthemum.
There were far fewer mages than warriors, so the magic academy didn't need large quantities—200 plants a month was already a significant supply.
But for the Radiant Mercenary Corps, spread across the empire with countless members, a plant that could enhance Battle Aura cultivation would never be considered "too many."
Ron guessed they'd buy at least 200 Chrysanthemums a month, potentially up to 600.
Not that he didn't want to sell more—it was just too risky to raise suspicion.
And the Corps might not even have the cash flow to handle larger orders right now.
After all, the Radiant Mercenary Corps in the City of Chaos was only a branch—their headquarters were in the capital, far beyond the local command's reach.
Even someone like Jasper, the branch head, would have to think twice before handling tens of thousands of gold coins.
He might even need to borrow from a credit institution to make the purchase.
This was where the magic academy differed.
Chaos City Magic Academy had a long history and had produced many legendary mages. Its deep foundations, extensive connections, and relationships with various races made it far wealthier.
Many noble families were eager to send their magical talents to study there—and naturally, generous with donations.
Plus, the academy often developed commercial magic products, and who got the rights to sell those often depended on… who donated the most.
So compared to the Radiant Mercenary Corps, the academy was truly loaded.