The carriage stopped on Queen's Street.
The two got out hand in hand and slowly walked back toward Ron's Wonderful Flower Shop.
"Ah! I left my hat in the hall!"
"Have Mia send someone to deliver it tomorrow."
"…Oh."
"From now on, don't wear a hat anymore. You look just fine like this."
After a moment of silence, Nora nodded firmly. "Mm!"
They arrived at the storage room door and pushed it open.
"Let's go. Time to head home."
The two returned to the flower shop in the City of Chaos.
As soon as they got back, Nora slipped into the bathroom to bathe.
Sitting on the sofa in the living room, listening to the soft sound of running water, Ron couldn't help but smile.
If the system had pushed him to open the flower shop—helping him establish himself in this world and giving him the means to survive—
Then, starting from today, he finally felt a sense of belonging here.
Before this, he had felt more like a player, messing around in a game-like world.
But after truly confirming his relationship with Nora, everything had changed.
Nora was like an anchor for his ship, fixing him firmly in this sea of another world.
That was her irreplaceable meaning.
As Ron was thinking this, a shadow appeared beside him, condensing into Yuna's mature form.
"So you two finally decided to come back, huh…" Yuna squinted at him, her face full of resentment.
Ron turned to her with an amused smile. "What's wrong?"
"What do you think?" Yuna shot him a glare. "You didn't even tell me beforehand and just took Nora to the banquet, leaving me alone in the shop!"
"I didn't even get dinner!"
"You're busy chasing girls and completely ignoring your dear aunt?"
Ron chuckled. "So you didn't eat?"
"I did," Yuna said, swinging her long legs lazily from beneath her nightwear. "I went to the nearby hot pot restaurant in the end."
Momentarily distracted, Ron turned his gaze toward the balcony. "Well, that's fine. I'll reimburse your meal."
"Tch, who cares about that?" Yuna pouted, her eyes drifting to Ron's lips before she grinned. "So? Nora tasted pretty good, didn't she?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Stop pretending. Her lips are all swollen, and yours aren't much better. And you're still acting innocent?"
Ron stood up and went to make himself a cup of tea, trying to hide his awkwardness.
Yuna burst into laughter, slapping the sofa. "I knew it! That whole 'taking Nora to the banquet' thing was just an excuse—this was the real goal!"
"Hmph. Men are all the same."
Not wanting to continue that topic, Ron simply took his tea and went into the study.
Bored, Yuna turned back into a shadow and went upstairs to sleep.
After a while, the bathroom door opened.
Wrapped in a towel, Nora knocked softly on the study door. "Boss, I'm done."
"Mm, you go rest first. I'll shower later."
Ron responded while looking at the system panel that had just popped up:
--------
[Main Quest] — [Sell Element Cards]
[System: "Congratulations, host. Quest completed. Rewards have been placed in the [Inventory]."]
[System: "Upgrade quest triggered."]
---------
[Upgrade Quest] — [Plant Element Potato]:
["Requirement: Successfully grow an Element Potato."]
["Reward: System Level +1, one dynamic custom skin."]
--------
Closing the panel, Ron headed to the bathroom.
It was already late. He'd deal with the rewards and new quest tomorrow.
Besides, seeing the upgrade reward killed most of his enthusiasm.
A system level-up? Probably just another useless optimization that required spending money.
And a dynamic skin?
What's the point of that?
Ron shook his head and sighed.
Still, at least the main quest was complete, and he had obtained the Element Potato.
He trusted the system's plants.
They had always been reliable and provided him with plenty of help.
Surely this Element Potato wouldn't disappoint either.
After his shower, Ron returned to the bedroom, ready to sleep—when he heard a knock on the door.
"Come in," he said. "What is it?"
Nora pushed the door open, her face flushed red, head lowered as she spoke hesitantly:
"B-Boss… I accidentally… got my bedsheets wet…"
"The others… haven't dried yet…"
…
Morning.
Sunlight slipped through the curtains, casting golden lines across the room.
Ron opened his eyes on time, feeling a weight on his body.
Looking down, he saw Nora lying beside him, hugging him tightly, one leg draped over his stomach.
Chuckling softly, Ron patted her head. "Nora, time to wake up."
"Mmm…" Nora pouted, wriggled slightly, then slowly opened her eyes.
Seeing Ron's face so close, she jolted awake, scrambling off him as her cheeks flushed red.
"B-Boss… good morning…"
"Morning." Ron smiled at her dazed expression, leaned in, and gave her a quick morning kiss before getting out of bed. "I'll go train in the backyard. Breakfast is on you."
"…Mm! Got it!"
Nora happily climbed out of bed, returned to her room to change, then went to wash up.
As she applied resin to her face in front of the mirror, her eyes were filled with overflowing happiness.
Before, even when she held hands or hugged Ron, there had always been a lingering unease.
But after last night, that feeling had completely disappeared.
Standing before the mirror, her mind replayed everything from the pavilion over and over.
Even the air felt sweet.
By the time she entered the kitchen to prepare breakfast, she was humming softly.
Suddenly, a pair of small arms wrapped around her.
"Nora~ good morning~"
"Ah! Yuna~ don't touch randomly!"
"Hehe~ Nora~ you smell like a man! Confess!"
"Stop it… I'm cooking…"
"I just checked your room—your bedsheets are gone. So where did you sleep last night?"
"I-I…"
"You slept with His Highness Ron, didn't you? Did you do that?"
"We didn't do that!"
"Oho~ so you did sleep together~."
"…Yuna! You're so mean—tricking me like that…"
Nora's face turned bright red, nearly burning the bacon.