After the opening match ended, Ron took Nora around the venue for a stroll and even went to check on the Northern team up close.
Thanks to the timely treatment from the nuns and the Scalevine leaves, their injuries had already healed. Even if they had to fight another match that afternoon, it wouldn't be a problem.
Back at the shop at noon, Ron ate while still mulling over his earlier idea.
Holding a magic battle tournament?
Just thinking about it felt exciting.
But honestly, the feasibility was low.
Or rather, it didn't hold much significance for now.
There probably wouldn't be many participants, and even fewer spectators.
Although Element Cards had gradually become popular in the Royal Capital, there were many different ways to play, splitting the audience into smaller groups.
Most people who enjoyed magic battles were young nobles still in school.
And that group wasn't nearly as large as outsiders might think.
Moreover, many of them treated Element Cards as casual entertainment—those with a true competitive mindset were even fewer.
So overall, hosting a tournament right now wasn't the right timing.
Even if he forced it, there would only be a handful of participants and a sparse audience—it wouldn't mean much.
Still, since the idea had come to him, Ron decided to give it a try.
That afternoon, he called Guy over and brought both him and Nora into the study, laying out a plan he had just come up with:
"I was given three shops before. I reluctantly accepted them—one became our current flower shop, and the other two have been left empty."
"This time, I plan to renovate the shop on the Central Street of Peace Square into a venue suitable for magic battles and spectating. You two will handle the execution."
"Guy, you've got a lot on your plate, so Nora will take the lead on this. You just need to help her contact a construction team."
Guy was already familiar with such tasks and immediately nodded.
The bar in the City of Chaos and the renovations on the second and third floors here in the Royal Capital had both been handled by him.
Nora, on the other hand, felt a little nervous. But she had long resolved to help ease the Boss's burden, so she nodded firmly and said seriously, "Leave it to me, Boss."
Guy left to find a suitable construction team, while Nora stayed behind to listen as Ron analyzed the layout and occasionally offered suggestions.
"If we want to design a layout suitable for magic battles, we first need to clarify the entire process," Ron said, taking out two decks of Element Cards from his [Backpack] and handing one to Nora.
The two stood apart in the room, facing each other.
Gesturing as he spoke, Ron said, "Like this—do you think players should sit across from each other at the same table, or stand apart with separate tables in front of them?"
Nora placed her small hand under her lips, frowning in thought. "If it's just casual play, one table should be enough, right? Otherwise, it wastes space."
"But what if it's an official match, with lots of people watching? Would one table be enough for dozens or even hundreds of spectators to see clearly?"
"Uh…" Nora tilted her head and blinked. "How big is the shop?"
"The one on Central Street has seven floors."
"Hmm… then… maybe include both types of setups?"
"Exactly what I was thinking." Ron nodded. "For casual matches like ours, one table is enough. But if people from the flower shop all come to watch, we'll need a more open layout so everyone can see clearly."
"However, we don't yet have a reference for how much space each mode should take."
"So at the start, I only plan to renovate the first floor, allocating space in a 3:7 ratio—30% for spectator-style matches, 70% for one-on-one setups."
"After running it for a while, we'll decide how to arrange the upper floors based on actual usage."
Nora nodded repeatedly, listening with great interest. Then she couldn't help asking, "But isn't seven floors too much? It feels like there won't be that many people… it might be wasteful…"
"Heh, for that, I'm planning to use a ranking system."
"A ranking system? Like separating commoners and nobles?"
"No, no—that kind of crude method is too arbitrary." Ron smiled smugly. "I plan to divide the seven floors into five tiers based on strength."
"Floors 1–2, 3–4, 5, 6, and 7—five levels in total. From bottom to top, only stronger players will be qualified to go higher."
Nora's mouth opened slightly—she had never thought of such a system before. It actually sounded quite interesting.
Anyone who truly enjoyed Element Card battles wouldn't be satisfied staying on the lower floors forever.
That would push them to spend more time improving.
And even if they reached the top floor, as long as Ron implemented periodic demotions or a "point loss" system, the competitive drive could be maintained.
Might as well call the five tiers "Bronze, Silver, Gold, Diamond, and Star Glory"… Ron chuckled inwardly.
"For example, we could set rules like winning ten matches in a row to advance to floors three and four. Then if your weekly win rate on those floors drops below 50%, you get demoted the following week."
Ron casually threw out an example. "Anyway, that's just a rough idea—we can refine the promotion and demotion system later."
"What about commoners?" Nora suddenly realized an issue. "Many of them can't afford the noble-version Element Cards… or is this shop only for nobles?"
"Of course not." Ron shook his head. "But in the early stages, the shop will indeed mainly be for nobles. That said, commoners will still be allowed to come in and watch."
"Most players are just a bunch of teenagers. Having commoners cheering them on will only boost their sense of pride."
"As for letting commoners participate…"
Ron frowned slightly, rubbing his chin. "We could lend them basic noble-version decks for free, but I'm worried that if they beat nobles, they might face retaliation…"
The class divide in this world was very clear.
Nobles rarely thought highly of commoners—and the few commoners they did acknowledge either ended up dead or became nobles themselves.
Even if Element Cards were just a game, those fifteen- or sixteen-year-old noble youths cared a lot about face.
If they lost to a commoner, they might be mocked for a long time.
And in anger, secretly taking revenge wouldn't be out of the question.
So this matter required caution.
He couldn't let good intentions turn into harm.