Recaps

Edith and the Elf Priestess discussed Harper’s Scale Vine research and the possibility of testing and buying the plants for the Elf Race. Ron reviewed Gil’s Magic Duel rules and heard his elaborate marketing strategy for Elemental Cards, which led Gil to call Ron a business genius.

• Edith showed the Elf Priestess Harper’s thesis, and the Priestess considered testing Scale Vines with her tribe before making any large purchase.
• The Elf Priestess said the tribe’s existing Scale Vines could be tested against the beastmen fleeing the winter war, and she asked Edith to secure Ron’s guarantee of future supply.
• Ron selected furniture blueprints and left the renovation of the Barbecue Shop to the construction crew.
• Gil demonstrated the evolved rules for Magic Duel and showed Ron the investigation records he had collected.
• Gil described plans to market noble and commoner editions of Elemental Cards and expand the card pool, then praised Ron as a business genius.

Ron put Gil's plan to divide Elemental Cards into noble and commoner editions into action and brought senior nuns to a field beside the Dalle River to harvest Everchanging Radish leaves. He was disappointed that the arriving nuns were not the cute young sisters he had imagined, but their Plant Growth Technique could power his card production.

• Ron adopted Gil's promotional plan for separate noble and commoner editions of Elemental Cards and prepared to grow more Everchanging Radishes.
• Sylvie told Ron that the nearby convents' nuns had arrived, and Ron brought them from the eastern city gate to his land by the Dalle River.
• Ron discovered that the nuns were senior, semi-retired mages and learned Sylvie had selected them because they could use the Plant Growth Technique without disrupting their convents.
• Ron transplanted more than a dozen mature Everchanging Radishes and instructed the nuns to harvest and sort their leaves in alternating shifts.
• Guy realized the nuns' magic could make Elemental Card production nearly cost-free apart from land, facilities, and wages.

Ron arranged for nuns to mass-produce Elemental Cards, which he planned to sell through merchant caravans. As Gil set out for the Imperial Capital with the first shipment, Sylvie mistakenly believed the project served a divine mission.

• Ron planted 540 Everchanging Radishes and assigned the nuns to harvest their leaves for Elemental Cards.
• Sylvie told the nuns to treat the work as a serious part of Ron’s possible plans for the Church of the Goddess of Harvest.
• The nuns produced two or three thousand decks in a day, and Ron expected additional workers to increase output.
• Ron’s workers packaged the cards and sent them through merchant caravans connected to Gil’s father and the Gem Trade Alliance.
• On the third day, Gil collected five thousand decks and departed for the Imperial Capital to sell them.

Yuna tore down Ron’s recruitment notice while Nora fretted about wanting to live at the flower shop. Ron checked on the nuns’ work, then took control of Mia’s doll and discovered it had been dressed in a gown and jewelry.

• Yuna walked past the board game bar and flower shop, found Ron’s recruitment notice, and tore it down.
• Nora returned to the flower shop and worried that she had missed her chance to move in with Ron.
• Ron visited the prayer house, checked on the nuns and Everchanging Radish, and heard that nobles had asked about the land.
• Ron traveled toward Magic Academy and took control of Mia’s doll while Mia was napping.
• Ron saw the doll dressed in a pinkish-purple gown and jewelry and realized it had been cross-dressed.

Ron arranged for Mia to promote Elemental Cards in the Imperial Capital and visited the Magic Academy to hear about new potion research and ask Ilya for help with protective magic arrays. He left with a guide to the necessary materials and planned to inspect his land with Ilya the following afternoon.

• Ron contacted Mia through the doll, asked her to promote the Elemental Cards, and heard that Lyle was searching for a hotpot restaurant location.
• At the Magic Academy, Ron learned that Harper's Explosive Potion and Professor Hicks's Meditation Potion had entered trial production stages.
• Edith told Ron that the Priest was testing Scale Vine and might buy it in bulk if the results were satisfactory.
• Edith brought Ron to Ilya, who agreed to help set up warning magic arrays on Ron's land.
• Ilya gave Ron a guide to restriction-array materials, and Ron arranged to inspect the site with her the next afternoon.

Nora met Yuna, a seemingly timid applicant for a job at Ron’s shop, while Ron learned from the system that she was a spy sent by Andre III. Ron hired Yuna to work at the neighboring bar and took her upstairs to sign a contract, preparing to expose her identity.

• Nora spent the evening working and secretly read A Viscountess's Diary of Rising to Power when Yuna arrived with an old recruitment notice.
• The system warned Ron that a spy sent by Andre III had come to infiltrate the shop and ordered him to expose her face-to-face.
• Ron observed Yuna through the doll and recognized her as the spy, while she resumed her timid act when he and Nora came downstairs.
• Ron asked Yuna about herself and offered her a job at the bar for five silver coins a week.
• Ron took Yuna upstairs to sign the contract.

Ron hired Yuna, a spy sent by Andre III, and arranged for her to live at the Flower Shop. Nora also moved into the shop, leaving Ron, Nora, and Yuna living together as Yuna began probing Nora about her relationship with Ron.

• Yuna staged a fall that revealed her fox ears, and Ron reassured her before taking her upstairs to sign an employment contract.
• Ron offered Yuna an empty bedroom on the third floor after she claimed she had nowhere to stay.
• Ron invited Nora to move into the shop, assigning her the guest room on the second floor.
• Nora led Yuna to prepare the bedrooms, and Yuna questioned her about Ron, her pay, and her feelings for him.
• Nora defended Ron and admitted she liked him, then hurried after Yuna to help finish preparing the rooms.

Nora spent her first night living in Ron’s home, nervously imagining what might happen while deciding not to lock her bedroom door. Ron remained unaware of her thoughts and meditated, reflecting on his growing security and the businesses running without his constant involvement.

• Nora bathed, changed, and went to the guest room, where she debated whether to lock her door before leaving it unlocked.
• Ron dismissed a system task without a reward, bathed, and returned to his bedroom to meditate with a Nether Orchid fruit.
• Ron considered his improving magic and battle qi, his protections, and the businesses he had delegated to others.
• Ron concluded that his enterprises were progressing well and entered deep meditation, briefly hoping Yuna would not cause trouble.

Yuna secretly dealt with suspicious people near Ron’s home before entering his room and touching his face while he pretended to sleep. Ron exposed her and confronted her, and Yuna revealed that she was his little aunt and could transform into an adult woman.

• Yuna used her shadow form to locate and deal with suspicious lookouts and spies near the Flower Shop.
• Yuna slipped into Ron’s bedroom and gently touched his face while he lay still.
• Ron opened his eyes, but Yuna escaped beneath the bed in her shadow form.
• Ron called Yuna out and confronted her about spying on him and touching his face.
• Yuna claimed to be Ron’s little aunt, then transformed from a small girl into a tall adult woman with fox ears.

Ron questioned Yuna’s claims that she was his aunt and learned that she had been sent by Andre III to serve as a spy and a bridge between father and son. He remained unconvinced by her story, but let her stay in her role at his shop, and Yuna left after confiscating his books.

• Ron doubted that Yuna was his aunt and suggested they get a bloodline appraisal at the Magic Academy.
• Yuna explained that she had been bought at Ron’s mother’s request, trained in Andre III’s covert division, and sent back after reaching the sixth rank.
• Ron said he would not believe Yuna without evidence and told her to do her spy and employee duties while he remained indifferent to her loyalties.
• Yuna transformed into her small form, teased Ron about liking pretty girls, and took his books before vanishing into a shadow.

Ron prepared the new tabletop game bar for opening and put Yuna in charge of organizing it. After the system rewarded him for renovating the shop, he absorbed the Heart-Connecting Vine cultivation method and examined its seeds.

• Ron told Sylvie to send the arriving nuns to the prayer house and arranged for the first group to train them.
• Ron gave Yuna a supply list and sent her shopping with a patrol escort.
• Yuna returned with the supplies, and Ron explained how the bar and its tabletop game rooms would operate.
• Ron received the system’s reward for renovating the bar and absorbed the Heart-Connecting Vine cultivation method.
• Ron opened the Heart-Connecting Vine Seeds and examined their description.

Ron grew a Heart-Connecting Vine and discovered how its telepathically controlled tendrils could handle everyday tasks, shuffle cards, and potentially assist his businesses. Seeing its promise, he bought four more Cultivation Spaces to grow additional vines.

• Ron spent 2,000 Wealth Points on a Cultivation Space and grew a Heart-Connecting Vine in the Dimensional Plane.
• Ron tested the vine’s telepathic control and used its suckers to hold and pass objects to him.
• Ron made the vine shuffle Elemental Cards and imagined using Heart-Connecting Vines in his gaming room and Mia’s hotpot and Barbecue Shop.
• Ron considered using the vines to automate sorting and packaging at his suburban factory.
• Ron bought four more Cultivation Spaces, spending 8,000 Wealth Points.

Ron tested the Heart-Connecting Vine while Mia advanced preparations for a hotpot restaurant and planned to promote Elemental Cards at a noblewoman’s tea gathering. The chapter ended with Ron advising Mia on several proposed shop locations while enduring her dress-up game with the communication doll.

• Ron transplanted more than twenty Heart-Connecting Vines, gave the Cultivation Space to the doll in the Dimensional Plane, and returned to the Flower Shop.
• Ron showed Yuna how a Heart-Connecting Vine could hold and open a book, but refused to give her one when she asked.
• Mia accepted Madam Haiman’s invitation to afternoon tea and planned to bring Irene and the Elemental Cards.
• Mia discussed the hotpot restaurant’s preparations with Lyle, who had recruited staff and gathered supplies while considering possible locations.
• Ron connected to the doll in Mia’s room, saw it dressed in a gown and jewelry, and asked Mia about the restaurant preparations.
• Mia read Lyle’s proposed shop locations to Ron and asked which one he preferred.

Ron helped Mia assess potential locations for a hotpot and barbecue restaurant by teaching her what information to research, then planned how she could introduce hotpot and Elemental Cards to nobles. The chapter ended with Mia agreeing to serve hotpot to Andre III and use his praise to attract interest.

• Ron questioned Mia about the Imperial Capital’s residents, foot traffic, and spending power, urging her to research carefully if she wanted to build her own career.
• Ron confirmed that Mia had not given away her commoner-edition Elemental Cards and advised her to explain the editions to her friends and promise them noble editions later.
• Ron proposed that Mia serve hotpot to Andre III and encourage him to praise it, then host noble ladies so word of his approval would spread.
• Mia understood that the same approach could help promote Elemental Cards and agreed to handle the plan.

Ron prepared his new board-game bar for business before taking Ilya and Sylvie to the outskirts of Chaos City. Ilya agreed to study a warning magic array for the growing number of nuns, and Ron began showing her the area.

• Ron visited the empty bar, told Yuna to experiment with drink recipes, and stopped her from teasing him in her adult form.
• Ron and Sylvie picked up Ilya at the Magic Academy and rode with her toward the outskirts, where Ilya asked about Ron's knowledge of magic arrays and ancient languages.
• Ron and Ilya arrived at three newly built prayer houses, where more nuns had gathered and two additional houses were planned.
• Ron gave Sylvie instructions for organizing the nuns' work and asked Ilya to handle the warning magic array.
• Ilya asked Ron to show her the terrain and surroundings, and he led her on a tour.

Ron helped Ilya set up warning magic arrays around his land and factory, then taught factory workers to use Heart-Connecting Vines to sort Elemental Cards. After Sylvie warned him that Yuna’s background contained suspicious details, Ron checked on Yuna at the bar and returned to the Flower Shop for dinner.

• Ilya explained that Shadow Ore was scarce and that its limited supply hindered her wish to bring magic arrays to ordinary people.
• Ron showed the factory workers how Heart-Connecting Vines could sort Elemental Cards quickly, then helped Ilya set up warning arrays around the factory and nearby land.
• Ilya declined Ron’s dinner invitation and clarified that the Elf Race Saintess would not marry outside her race, while Ron denied having romantic intentions toward Edith.
• Sylvie told Ron that an investigation had found suspicious details in Yuna’s otherwise clean background, and Ron acknowledged her warning.
• Ron watched Yuna serve questionable drinks at the bar, asked whether anyone had gone upstairs, and then headed back to the Flower Shop with her for dinner.

Ron received a side quest to make Elemental Cards popular throughout the Imperial Capital, then was interrupted by Yuna sneaking into his room. Yuna returned to the attic after revealing she had killed a fifth-rank warrior and was still troubled by the danger surrounding Ron.

• Yuna persuaded Nora to ask Ron for permission to learn cooking, and Ron readily agreed.
• The system gave Ron a side quest to sell Elemental Cards across the Imperial Capital, with Elemental Potato seeds and a cultivation method as the reward.
• The system warned Ron that a spy had entered his room, and he found Yuna hiding in his wardrobe.
• Yuna teased Ron about Nora before leaving, and Ron resumed meditating.
• Yuna reflected on killing a fifth-rank warrior who had been tracking Ron and fell asleep after deciding she might make him try some terrible cocktails.

Andre III learned that Ron's Golden Red Chrysanthemum had helped create the Explosive Potion that turned the tide in the northern war, while Princess Mia prepared a meal for him at the palace. In Chaos City, Ron taught Nora to cook, and she joined Ron, Yuna, and another companion for dinner.

• Andre III received reports that the Explosive Potion had helped the human army drive back the orc forces, and learned that its stabilizing agent came from Ron's Golden Red Chrysanthemum.
• Andre III worried that Ron's growing ties to the Harvest Goddess and the military could give him political influence if he returned to the Imperial Capital.
• A palace attendant told Andre III that Princess Mia had prepared hot pot for him, and Andre III headed to the dining hall.
• Ron tied an apron on Nora and taught her how to chop tomatoes and make stir-fried tomatoes and eggs.
• Ron guided Nora through making several more dishes, then called Yuna to help carry them out before the four of them sat down to eat.

Ron checked on Nora and the nuns’ work at his shop, then used the puppet in Mia’s room to speak with her after dinner. Mia reported that her father had praised the hotpot and planned to invite noble young ladies to try it.

• Yuna teased Nora about Ron hugging her while teaching her to chop vegetables, and Nora denied that anything romantic had happened.
• Ron asked Sylvie whether the nuns were comfortable harvesting leaves, and she said they enjoyed seeing their Elemental Cards pile up.
• Ron projected his consciousness into the puppet in Mia’s room and cut off its vision while Mia changed with the help of two maids.
• The system triggered a quest to watch Mia change, but Ron ignored it and failed the quest while reading about cross-racial reproduction.
• Mia told Ron that her father had praised the hotpot in front of the household staff, and she planned to invite noble young ladies over for hotpot.

Mia chose a location and layout for Ron’s hot pot restaurant in the Imperial Capital, and Ron taught her an employee training plan. Back in his own body, Ron began carving mahjong tiles using coins as inspiration.

• Mia gave Andre III two decks of Elemental Cards and promised to promote them among the aristocrats.
• Mia reviewed her survey results with Ron and chose Central Street at Peace Square as the hot pot restaurant’s location.
• Mia proposed separate floors and dining areas for nobles, merchants, officials, and commoners, then took notes as Ron explained an employee training plan.
• Ron ended his connection with Mia and used the Heart-Connecting Vine to retrieve a pale green block made by Guy’s construction crew.
• Ron carved Emperor Andre’s portrait into the block, painted it gold, and continued making tiles for a game of mahjong.

Ron finished making a mahjong set and then joined Mason and the others, who had come to his shop to show their support. He taught them to use Heart-Connecting Vines for a more convenient game of Legendary Kill and offered Harper a vine to take home.

• Ron completed 108 mahjong tiles for the Coin, Circle, and Staff suits, then designed seven more tiles featuring the emblems of orthodox gods' churches.
• Ron stored the finished mahjong set and left his study, while Nora secretly read Viscountess's Rise Diary at the counter.
• Ron learned from Yuna that Mason, Harper, Edith, and three other Magic Academy teaching assistants were upstairs, and he carried them ale and fruit.
• Ron gave the group Heart-Connecting Vines and showed them how to use the vines to handle their cards, drinks, and fruit while playing Legendary Kill.
• Harper asked whether Ron sold Heart-Connecting Vines, and Ron said he would give him one when he left.

Ron sampled Yuna’s experimental drinks and found that her dark green concoction tasted good, though her other creations were unpleasant. He asked Yuna to have Nora and Sylvie try the green drink, then returned to the Flower Shop, where Nora hid her smut book and the doll in her lap watched her with eerie glowing eyes.

• Yuna gave Ron a foamy pale yellow drink, and he spat it out after tasting its bitter, sour flavor.
• Ron sampled Yuna’s dark green drink, enjoyed it, and asked her to send some to Nora and Sylvie for their opinions.
• Ron tried Yuna’s thick fruit-and-milk mixture, disliked it, and rinsed his mouth with the green drink.
• Yuna offered Ron more strange drinks and suggested names for the green one, but Ron left the naming to her and returned to the Flower Shop.
• Nora hid her smut book beneath Essential Knowledge for Running a Shop when Ron arrived, while the doll in her lap emitted an eerie light.

Livim and the elves fought orc deserters and discovered that werewolves were using ambush tactics. A young elf survived a werewolf's attack thanks to his Scale Vine, while the attackers escaped into the woods.

• Livim explained to a young elf why orcs raided the Human Empire each winter and why the elves aided the humans.
• Livim spotted an approaching battle, and the elves joined the fight against several dozen exhausted orc warriors.
• A hidden werewolf struck the young elf from above, but Livim evaded it and warned the others about the ambush.
• The werewolves ordered the orcs to break through and escaped into the woods as the elves regrouped.
• The young elf got back up unharmed and credited the Scale Vine on his wrist with shielding him from the werewolf's blow.

Elf warriors discovered that Scale Vine could automatically protect its bearer and greatly reduce injuries, prompting the elf priest to seek cooperation with Ron. In Chaos City, Ron reached the second rank in battle qi cultivation and received a new quest to spread hot pot barbecue restaurants throughout the Human Empire.

• An elf warrior survived a werewolf's ambush with only a minor injury because his Scale Vine shielded him, and the leading elf warrior sent a report to the clan.
• The elf priest reported Scale Vine's combat results to the empress, received authorization to discuss cooperation with Ron, and set off for Chaos City.
• Ron completed his morning training and reached the second rank as a warrior.
• Nora prepared breakfast while Ron showered, and the system announced that he had completed the quest to help Mia open a hot pot restaurant in the Imperial Capital.
• The system gave Ron a follow-up quest to expand hot pot barbecue restaurants across the Human Empire, with a Phantasmal Weeping Willow seed and cultivation method as the reward.

Viscount Karl took his wife and daughter Betty to Princess Mia’s new hotpot barbecue shop, where the family enjoyed the food and Betty tried grilling meat. After their meal, a waiter invited Betty to visit the top floor, where Princess Mia was hosting distinguished guests.

• Betty persuaded her mother to ask Viscount Karl to pay for a visit to the hotpot barbecue shop.
• On November 25th, Viscount Karl brought his wife and Betty to the crowded shop on Central Street.
• The family ordered hotpot and barbecue, and Betty eagerly tried grilling pork belly herself.
• The family received a Noble Edition Elemental Cards deck as a gift after paying.
• Viscount Karl declined to go upstairs but asked a waiter to take Betty to see Princess Mia and her guests.