"This thing's been pretty popular lately," Soren said after thinking for a moment. "There are lots of ways to play, so everyone can find a style they like. The most popular one is probably Magic Duel, right?"
"I don't really get it myself, but those teenage noble brats are crazy about it. They gather all day studying strategies inside the game."
"I'm starting to suspect you brainwashed them."
After hearing Soren's remarks, Ron smiled in satisfaction and joined them for a few rounds of Element Cards.
However, these twenty-somethings weren't particularly interested in Magic Duel. Instead, they preferred simpler games—something like "Old Maid."
They would remove one "Big Joker" from the deck, then deal the remaining cards evenly. Each person discarded any pairs in their hand. After that, players took turns drawing a card from the next person.
If the drawn card formed a pair with a card in hand, the pair could be discarded, and the player continued drawing.
They went around like this until most people had emptied their hands. The unlucky one left holding the "Little Joker" at the end was the loser and had to accept a punishment.
In truth, the process wasn't the main point.
The real focus was the punishment.
Drink forfeits. Forced hugs. Kisses. Taking off a piece of clothing. Dancing or singing a song.
Those were the true objectives of the men present.
After staying for a while and being force-fed a mouthful of low-quality lovey-dovey nonsense, Ron finally couldn't sit still any longer.
"Do you know how to get to Monlis Street? I've got something to take care of—I won't stay."
Ron stood up to leave.
Soren didn't insist. After giving directions, he went back upstairs to continue enjoying himself.
How long Miss Penny would keep his interest was anyone's guess.
Following Soren's instructions, Ron successfully found Monlis Street.
The street was hidden in the deepest part of the Queen's Street district. Wrapped layer upon layer within the surrounding area, it was genuinely difficult to locate.
If Mia and Eileen hadn't brought him there last time, he doubted he could have found it at all.
It was like the clasp of a girl's undergarment—clearly you knew it was there, but somehow you just couldn't undo it.
Ron stepped into the narrow street, only wide enough for four or five people to walk side by side.
The ground was paved with red stone bricks that visibly carried the weight of history. Time had worn them unevenly.
The shops on both sides followed an antique and elegant style. Many were well-known brands within noble circles.
Ron, however, knew nothing about such things. He had no idea what precious goods the shop names and emblems represented.
If judged purely by price, the plants in his flower shop could barely qualify as half a luxury item, so they wouldn't clash too badly with the street's atmosphere.
After wandering for so long—and having a few drinks at the magic club along the way—Ron arrived at the storefront with a slight buzz.
This was his second time here.
His first visit hadn't left pleasant memories. But now that matters had settled, and the academy's follow-up actions had little to do with him, it was time to put the earlier unpleasantness behind him.
With that thought, Ron took out the key and unlocked the door.
Immediately, the system's notification sounded in his mind—
[Main Quest] — [Open a Branch Store]
[System: "Congratulations, Host, on completing the quest. Rewards have been issued."]
[System: "Store renovation has begun. Time remaining: 11 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds."]
[System: "Spatial Transmission Access has been unlocked. After renovation is complete, the storage room will automatically connect to the dimensional plane."]
[System: "Access reward: The spatial barrier between the flower shop in City of Chaos and the Royal Capital has been broken. The Host may use the dimensional plane to achieve spatial teleportation between the two locations."]
[Shop]
[Spatial Transmission Access]:
(1) 200,000 Wealth Points — Connect to the dimensional plane. Requires opening a new branch store before redemption.
(2) 50,000 Wealth Points — Select one individual and grant secondary spatial transmission access.
"The system's really coming through," Ron said in surprise after reviewing the interface.
He had previously been troubled by the great distance between the City of Chaos and the Royal Capital. Now the system had immediately solved it.
"Wait—using this spatial transmission doesn't cost extra Wealth Points each time, right?" Ron asked cautiously after his initial excitement.
[System: "Wealth Points are required only when redeeming new spatial transmission channels or secondary access in the shop. The connection between City of Chaos and the Royal Capital is a complimentary reward and requires no additional cost."]
"Alright, I take back what I said. Didn't expect you to have a conscience," Ron muttered.
"Then what exactly does secondary access do? Does it mean others can teleport through the dimensional plane like me? Will the farming space be exposed?" he asked.
[System: "Individuals granted secondary access may teleport through the storage room. While passing through the dimensional plane, they will remain mentally shielded and will regain awareness only after transmission is complete."]
Ron nodded thoughtfully.
This kind of ultra-long-distance teleportation was practically a cheat code…
For example, the large-scale teleportation arrays of the Church of the Goddess of Harvest cost no less than four-digit gold coins each time they transported a living person.
As for Ron's dimensional-plane channel—aside from the one-time cost of 200,000 Wealth Points—it required no further payment.
Compared to the cost of a teleportation array, it would break even after only a few hundred uses.
The only flaw was that this channel could be used only by Ron himself.
If others wanted to use it, Ron had to spend 50,000 Wealth Points per person to grant secondary access.
Each additional person meant another 50,000 Wealth Points.
Of course, once secondary access was redeemed, there would be no further expenses. Even then, it was far more economical than ordinary teleportation arrays.
Since leaving City of Chaos in mid-December until now, early January, dividends from the flower shop, hotpot restaurant, Element Cards, and the Divine Tree had been steadily generating Wealth Points for him.
At present, his Wealth Points had surpassed 250,000 and were steadily climbing toward his small target of 300,000.
This branch's spatial transmission channel had been gifted, saving him 200,000 Wealth Points.
With his current balance, he could grant five secondary access permissions—more than sufficient.
Nora would definitely get one.
As for Yuna and Sylvie, he would wait until Nora obtained secondary access and test the system's effects personally to ensure no secrets were exposed before deciding.
With that in mind, Ron began wandering around the shop, checking to see if there was anything that needed improvement.