The interior décor of the shop hadn't changed much. There were simply additional square racks for displaying plants, glass columns, and vertical and horizontal railings.
The real change lay in the storage room at the back.
As Ron reached the door of the storage room, the system's notification sounded.
[System: "Enter the dimensional plane?"]
Ron chose "Yes."
In the next instant, he arrived in a vast, blank-white world. Before him was the long-familiar farming space—
Nether Orchids, Crimson-Gold Chrysanthemums, Scalevine, and Heartvine were being continuously produced under the puppets' operation.
Nearby stood the towering Spice Pine.
The ordinary Puppet Tree and the Puppet-Emerald Cypress stood to the side like a pair of doormen.
Everything was familiar.
A deep sense of satisfaction and security welled up in Ron.
After staying for a short while, he chose to exit the dimensional plane.
Previously, he would simply return directly. But this time, the system prompted him again—
[System: "Proceed to the flower shop in City of Chaos, or the flower shop in the Royal Capital?"]
Ron selected "City of Chaos."
The next moment, he pushed open the storage room door of the flower shop in the City of Chaos.
He was back.
Ron stood in the dimly lit first floor of the flower shop, illuminated faintly by the night. He walked to the counter, sat down, and gently ran his hand across its surface.
Spotless.
Nora must have been wiping it down every day.
He unlatched the drawer. Inside were neatly arranged gold coins and receipts.
In another unlocked drawer were the books Nora had been diligently studying these days.
Ron flipped through them casually, all the way to the bottom, but couldn't find "Diary of a Viscountess' Rise to Power."
Only then did he discover that Nora had hidden it between two other books.
So cautious…
Ron chuckled.
He closed the drawer and quietly ascended the stairs.
The second floor was dark as well. It seemed Nora had already gone to sleep.
Ron glanced at the tidy dining table, the neatly arranged kitchen utensils, and the spotless sofa. A faint smile appeared on his face.
Entering the study, he noticed the bookshelf was even more orderly than before he had left. The desk had clearly been wiped daily.
On the desk lay a reading reflection Nora had carefully written, waiting for him to return and review it.
He opened it and skimmed through.
Without him there to constantly remind her, Nora's handwriting had gradually become smaller and smaller again—just to save paper…
This silly little girl…
Ron shook his head helplessly.
He stepped out of the study and quietly approached Nora's bedroom door, gently pushing it open a crack.
At the same time, his consciousness descended into the puppet.
Nora was sleeping soundly, her small mouth slightly open as she exhaled warm breaths.
Her eyelashes trembled faintly, perhaps dreaming of something.
Through the puppet, Ron felt the warmth of her body. Suppressing the longing in his heart, he quietly closed the door again.
Now that he was back, there was no need to rush.
With that thought, Ron opened his own bedroom door, intending to sleep there tonight.
The moment he stepped inside, under the pale moonlight, he saw a figure sitting cross-legged on his bed. A pair of bright eyes stared at him without blinking.
"Damn!" Ron cursed under his breath. "Are you crazy? What are you doing on my bed in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?"
Yuna's lips curled into a smile, her eyes narrowing playfully. "I was wondering which fool with a death wish snuck in at this hour. Turns out it's you, you heartless jerk."
"Whatever it is, we'll talk tomorrow. I'm going to sleep."
"Hey! Explain this first—how did you suddenly run back here in the blink of an eye?"
"Don't feel like talking. I'm tired."
Ron took off his outer coat, climbed into bed, pulled the blanket over himself, and closed his eyes.
"Come on~" Yuna shifted into her mature form and nudged his waist with her leg. "Sleep? Let's have some fun instead!"
"I hate it when people barge into my room. I'm ignoring you."
"Tch." Yuna crossed her arms. "Nora comes in, too. These days, she sneaks into your room almost every night just to hug your blanket for a while."
"…" Ron pulled the blanket up and sniffed it. "Seriously?"
Yuna looked at him in disgust. "Ew. Pervert."
"Alright, alright. You and Nora aren't the same. Nora can hug me. Can you?"
"In your dreams!" Yuna kicked him. "So? Did you settle things in the Royal Capital? Didn't someone snatch your shop?"
"How do you know?" Ron frowned.
"I'm part of the intelligence division, remember? I can get that much information. Just a few days delayed. I don't know the latest developments."
"I got the shop," Ron said impatiently. "I stormed into the church of God of War, beat up their archbishop, and they all knelt calling me daddy, begging me to take their shops. Got all three for free."
"Happy with that version? Now go to sleep!"
"Haha!" Yuna burst into laughter, her shoulders trembling slightly. Ron swallowed discreetly. "Tell me the real story. No lying."
Ron pushed her bare feet off his stomach and sat up helplessly, recounting everything that had happened in detail.
If he didn't explain, she clearly wasn't leaving.
A rather unconventional way of showing concern…
More than half an hour later, Yuna listened quietly, her expression gradually turning serious.
The smile faded from her face. She became calm and reserved, no longer playful.
"I should've gone with you back then," she said with a hint of regret. "Through the intelligence division, I could've informed you of many things in advance."
"What's the point of saying that now?" Ron shook his head. "Everything's resolved perfectly. I even got three shops for free."
"Tch. You were just lucky. The two big powers were willing to step in and stir things up. Otherwise, it wouldn't have gone so smoothly." Yuna rolled her eyes. "But speaking of which, you just got the shop. How did you suddenly fly back here from the Royal Capital?"
"Used the Harvest Goddess Church's teleportation array?"
"That's ridiculously extravagant!"
In Yuna's mind, the only way Ron could ignore distance and return so quickly was via a spatial teleportation array.
Ron didn't feel like explaining the spatial transmission channel just yet—it would take too long—so he merely shrugged, tacitly confirming her guess.
"Hmph!" Yuna kicked him again and shot him a sideways glance. "So this is all to make a beauty smile? Spending that much just for romance. What a waste."
"What are you talking about?"
"Still pretending?" Yuna scoffed. "Tomorrow, Nora's going to visit that old grandmother's grave. She said you probably wouldn't make it back in time, so she planned to go alone. She was feeling pretty regretful about it."
"And then you just so happen to rush back tonight."
"Isn't it just to give her a surprise?"
"Hah. Men."