Heartvine flipped open Commercial Alliance Contract Law. Ron leaned back in his chair as he read, while withdrawing his consciousness.
He was currently in the City of Chaos. To handle matters far away in the Royal Capital, he could only rely on this method of remote operation.
Fortunately, his little sister was fairly reliable.
She might be a bit playful, but she took important matters seriously.
It was just that habit of dressing up the puppet…
Very bad!
Extremely bad!
Sigh… this must be the price of lying. If only he'd told her from the start that the puppet had vision…
Ron rubbed his temples and pushed the thought aside.
Checking the time, he stood up and left the study, heading next door to the Tabletop-Themed Tavern.
The tavern was completely deserted. Other than Yuna, who was lying bored behind the long, curved nanmu-wood counter, there wasn't a single soul in sight.
Many flower baskets and decorations were placed at the entrance.
Some had been bought by Yuna that morning at Ron's instruction; others were congratulatory gifts sent by nobles and merchants who had heard Ron was opening a new shop.
Unfortunately, there wasn't a single real customer.
"I'm saying… can this place really make money?" Yuna complained, propping her chin up with one hand while drinking ale. "So boring~."
Ron took a look around the hall. The cleanliness was decent. He walked up to the counter and knocked on it.
"The cost of that drink comes out of your pay."
"Tch, stingy." Yuna took a big gulp of ale. The golden liquid ran along the edge of her rosy lips before she deftly licked it back with her tongue. "Your 'aunt' is rich. I don't need your lousy drink money."
"If you're bored, I can find something for you to do," Ron said calmly.
"Hm? Planning to exploit me again?" With only the two of them present, Yuna had no restraints. She crossed her arms and leaned forward, her expression openly provocative.
Ron glanced at her and continued, unfazed:
"I had you buy all kinds of drinks this morning—alcohol, fruit juice, milk, coffee, that sort of thing."
"When you've got nothing to do, mix different drinks in various ratios, taste them, and write down the results."
"Keep the good recipes. Later, I'll have people taste them. If the response is good, we'll officially sell them."
Yuna frowned. "Mixing drinks like that—won't it cause problems?"
"That's why I'm having you test them first," Ron replied coolly. "If you drink yourself into trouble, then we'll know not to sell them."
"Hey! Is that how you treat your aunt?!" Yuna glared at him.
Ron sat down on a high stool in front of the counter and chuckled. "Whether that's true or not is still up for debate. Now hurry up—get me a drink."
Yuna puffed out her cheeks and put her hands on her hips with a snort. A crackling sound of bones followed—
In an instant, the one-and-a-half-meter-tall loli transformed into a one-seventy-five-meter-tall, mature beauty.
With a flick of her long, pale leg, Yuna swung it straight over the not-so-wide counter and hooked it around Ron's neck.
Her smooth, fair ankle pressed intimately against Ron's skin. Wearing an unmistakably suggestive expression, she asked in a syrupy voice:
"Your Eminence Ron André, what would you like to drink?"
Ron's body stiffened for a brief moment. Then he immediately grabbed her leg and shoved it back, snapping irritably:
"Change back. Now. If anyone sees you like this, you're out immediately."
"Heh." Yuna shrank back into her loli form while looking at him with disdain. "And you still say you're not a loli-lover? Pervert."
Ron's eye twitched. He rolled his eyes, stood up from the stool, and said, "Do whatever you want. I'm leaving."
"Huh? Not even a drink? Your Eminence~."
Yuna stood behind the counter, blinking her big, innocent eyes, looking utterly wronged—like someone ready to immediately correct any mistake if only it were pointed out.
Ron was completely defeated. He didn't want to say another word and walked straight out of the tavern.
"Tch. All desire, no courage," Yuna said smugly, lifting her chin. Then she turned around, grabbed some liquor and fruit juice, and decided to try Ron's method.
After all, she had nothing better to do.
Meanwhile, Ron and Sylvie boarded a carriage and headed for the Chaos City Magic Academy.
To Ron's surprise, Illya had already tidied up her research room and was waiting outside when he arrived.
Had the sun risen in the west?
"Illya."
"Ron André."
"Let's get on the carriage first."
After exchanging greetings, the two of them boarded, and the carriage slowly headed toward the outskirts.
Without Edith present—and with Sylvie being the quiet type—the atmosphere inside the carriage was rather cold.
Ron sat facing two women of very different but equally striking beauty, forcing himself to bring up a few dry topics to avoid total awkwardness.
Though among the three of them, he was probably the only one who felt awkward.
The other two would likely remain expressionless even if the air froze solid.
Halfway through the journey, Ron stopped talking altogether.
Instead, Illya spoke up first.
"Ron André, have you ever tried drawing a magic array yourself?"
"Hm?" Being addressed proactively by Illya caught Ron off guard. "No, I haven't."
"Then do you have any understanding of ancient draconic script, archaic angelic tonal patterns, or demonic language?"
"Uh… not really," Ron answered honestly, puzzled.
"I see…" Illya nodded, looking thoughtful, as if troubled by something.
Ron's thoughts raced. He could roughly guess why she was asking.
That elven saintess… she wouldn't still be researching that crude, lowbrow poem of his, would she?
And Vosbites, the dean, was leading the charge?
You people really are stubborn to the extreme.
Ron complained silently.
Illya, meanwhile, was lost in her own thoughts.
Recently, the group researching 'Hoe the Fields at Noon' had come up with a new theory.
They suspected that those mysterious symbols might be a language unique to the gods themselves.
Perhaps only when a god personally inscribed such patterns could they produce the corresponding effects.
That might explain why they had never made any progress.
They had never seen such a form of writing—but that didn't stop them from speculating.
After all, hypotheses were free.
If Ron knew, he'd probably just give them a wry smile and a thumbs-up…
The carriage soon arrived at the prayer complex outside the city.
In just over half a month, three prayer halls had already been built along the riverbank.
Another batch of nuns arrived in the City of Chaos that afternoon, bringing the total number closer to one hundred.
Fortunately, Ron had instructed Guy to build two more prayer halls earlier—otherwise, there really wouldn't have been enough space.
Ron glanced at the newly arrived nuns who were still organizing their rooms, then handed a sheet of paper to Sylvie.
"Arrange their work according to what's written here. If there are any issues, ask me tonight when we head back."
"Yes," Sylvie replied, taking the paper and immediately heading toward the prayer halls.
Ron turned to Illya. "I'll be relying on you for the defensive magic arrays."
Illya nodded. "Take me around the area first. I want to observe the terrain and surroundings."
"Alright. Follow me."