Ch 33: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World

Lu Yao opened the window to let some fresh air in. Today in Yao Guang City, the sky was clear, and the weather was perfect. After standing by the window for a while, enjoying the breeze, she turned back and carefully placed twenty newly purchased nail files from last night’s emergency grocery run into the drawer. She was just about to open her nail salon for business.

As she pulled open the door and prepared to hang the “open” sign, she felt several intense gazes from nearby. Looking up, she saw the young man with a high ponytail standing in front of the shop, arms crossed. At his feet was a basket overflowing with glittering gold coins and jewels.

What… is this?

Even though he was a dragon, this display was a bit excessive. Didn’t he understand the concept of not flaunting your wealth?

Lu Yao’s gaze swept across the neighboring shops. The fruit stall owner to her left was staring intently at the pile of jewels. The butcher next door kept glancing at it, struggling to focus on his work. Across the street, both the bakery and the flower shop owners, along with their customers, were subtly observing the scene.

Hearing the door open, Harold turned his head, his brows furrowed in impatience. “Why did you open the door so late?”

As he complained, he effortlessly lifted the basket of treasures with one hand. A pearl and ruby necklace slipped out, seemingly about to fall to the ground. Harold flicked his toe, sending the necklace flying back into the basket with precision.

Sensing something, Harold glanced around the street before stepping into the shop, releasing a faint aura of dragon power. Those who had been secretly watching felt their scalp tingle, and they quickly averted their eyes.

To covet a dragon’s treasures? Foolish humans.

Once inside, Harold walked over to the seat where Si Jin had sat the previous day, placed the basket of treasures at his feet, and proudly lifted his chin. “I want a manicure. The most expensive one!”

The little black dragon had rolled around in his pile of treasures the night before, unable to sleep, his mind filled with thoughts of beautiful nails. On the way back, Si Jin had even bragged non-stop.

Not wanting to be outdone, Harold decided he would get his nails done too—and they would be even flashier and more gorgeous than Si Jin’s!

Having had little interaction with humans before, Harold instinctively believed that the more expensive something was, the more extravagant it would be. Unsure how much to bring, he had simply filled an entire basket with treasures.

Every dragon has their own hoard of treasures, often kept in a cave or on a mountain. Harold’s hoard was in the Black Mountain Wilderness, with treasures scattered all over the ground, perfect for rolling around in. This time, he had found a basket instead of a box, which he felt was too small.

Lu Yao handed him the tablet and sighed inwardly. Dragons were indeed wealthy, showing up with baskets of treasures just for a manicure. “Please take a look at the styles and see which one you like.”

While Harold browsed through the styles, Lu Yao quickly pulled up the system interface and spent 5,000 popularity points to reinforce the star gate. She wasn’t sure how many people had seen Harold carrying the basket of treasures into the shop. Regardless of whether anyone had bad intentions, she needed to be prepared in advance.

Harold quickly finished looking through the styles he hadn’t seen the day before and pointed to several pictures. “I want this one, and this one, and this one, and this one!”

Before even starting, Lu Yao could tell this was going to be troublesome.

He had chosen more than ten different designs, but only liked one nail from each set. And, of course, he only picked the most extravagant, eye-catching designs—the ones meant to be the centerpieces of each set.

Harold wanted every nail to be the “main attraction.”

This little black dragon was even greedier than the little golden dragon.

Lu Yao tried to explain the concept of balanced design, where each nail complements the others to create an overall sense of beauty.

After listening, Harold hesitated for a moment before reluctantly compromising. “I just want mine to be flashier than Si Jin’s, with more gemstones.”

Now that was a simpler request. Lu Yao nodded as she began selecting the necessary polishes.

Harold contentedly stretched out his claws. Finally, it was time for his manicure.

…

Early that morning, Alchemist Lixiu had gotten up to prepare for her monthly trip into the city.

She lived in the small town, where she could gather most of the herbs she needed nearby and process them herself. However, some rare herbs that required specific growing conditions were not available in Emeraldstone Town and had to be purchased in the city.

At the end of each month, she would make a trip to Onorton City to stock up on rare herbs and sell some of her higher-grade potions.

As Lixiu was changing clothes, her arm slipped through the sleeve, and the soft, pink tips of her nails peeked out from under the cuff. She couldn’t help but lift her hand and admire them for a moment. The sunlight streamed through the window, and her mood brightened considerably.

Lixiu was usually busy with her potions and didn’t demand much from life. When she went out, she always opted for the most efficient way to handle things, finishing her errands and returning immediately, without bothering to dress up. But seeing the delicate pink on her nails gave her a small burst of excitement. She decided to take off the mustard-yellow shirt she had halfway on and pulled out a lightly worn floral dress from her wardrobe.

Since she was heading into the city, there was no harm in dressing up a little, right?

Before leaving, Lixiu checked her shopping list, made sure she had all the potions she needed to take to the city, and ensured that everything was in order. She then took her breakfast and stepped out of the house.

In town, there was a place where you could rent horses and carriages. Since she had to bring herbs back with her, Lixiu usually rented a carriage and hired a guard to protect her during the trip. The entire trip, including her errands, took three days because Emeraldstone Town didn’t have a teleportation array, and teleportation scrolls couldn’t be used. Travel was always inconvenient. However, Lixiu loved the tranquility of the town, and the surrounding mountains were rich in the herbs she used, which made up for the lack of convenient transport.

Lixiu paid for the carriage rental and the guard. Usually, she would sit inside the carriage and read while the guard drove her directly to Onorton City. But today, she was in a particularly good mood and decided to sit up front with the female knight, Elvi, and chat on the way to the city.

Elvi was the best knight in Emeraldstone Town, and Lixiu always hired her for these trips. Over time, the two of them had become somewhat familiar with each other.

As they left Emeraldstone Town, Lixiu noticed that Elvi seemed distracted, occasionally sneaking glances at her. Sensing something was off, Lixiu felt a bit uneasy. After some hesitation, when Elvi glanced at her again, Lixiu couldn’t help but ask, “Is something wrong with me?”

Elvi hesitated before finally speaking up, “I heard you went to that nail salon yesterday.”

Lixiu sighed in relief. She had thought something was really wrong. Smiling, she openly admitted, “Yes, I did go to the nail salon.”

Elvi’s eyes lit up with curiosity. “What exactly is that place? I heard it appeared out of nowhere, and the owner is supposedly a powerful witch?”

There were many rumors about the nail salon around town, and nearly everyone had heard different versions of the story, though none had concrete details. Yesterday, someone had mentioned that two strange and intimidating men, along with Lixiu from the potion shop, had gone inside, but beyond that, no one seemed to know more.

Elvi, having overheard some chatter while drinking at the tavern, was now curious and decided to ask Lixiu about it since they were traveling together.

Lixiu found the whole thing amusing and could understand where Elvi was coming from. Before visiting the nail salon herself, she had been wildly curious and a little scared.

Lixiu raised her hand, showing off her nails with a smile, and explained, “The shop is mainly for nail beauty treatments. The owner isn’t a witch, and she’s very nice. I just went in and had my nails done.”

Elvi stopped the carriage and grabbed Lixiu’s hand for a closer look. There were no traces of magic, just colored nails. However, the color was unusual, and the method used to dye the nails was clearly different from the usual techniques.

Lixiu’s delicate, fair hands, paired with her floral dress and those soft, gentle nails, made her look incredibly cute.

“Can I do this too?” Elvi blurted out without much thought. She was a knight, always handling a sword, and as soon as she realized what she had said, she felt embarrassed. “Never mind, I was just curious.”

A knight with painted nails? That was too strange, wasn’t it?

But Lixiu was delighted. “You like it too? There’s no need to feel awkward! The shop has many design options, and I’m sure you’ll find a style you like.”

Elvi was still a bit hesitant, so Lixiu told her about Si Jin and Harold’s experience at the nail salon.

Hearing that men were going to Lu Yao to get their nails done, Elvi’s curiosity peaked again. She decided that after returning from Onorton City, she would visit the nail salon!

…

At the nail salon, Lu Yao was engaged in a “battle” with Harold. His nails were filed, and base coat and color had been applied, but they were now stuck on the details.

Harold had dumped a pile of gemstones on the table and insisted that Lu Yao use them to decorate his nails.

Lu Yao stared at the pile of rubies, emeralds, amethysts, and kyanites in silence. The smallest gemstone was larger than his palm, and holding them felt like a weight in her hands. She couldn’t begin to understand what was going on in this dragon’s mind.

Harold pushed her with one finger. “What are you waiting for?”

Lu Yao looked at him with exasperation, trying one last time to explain, “Harold, these gemstones are bigger than your hands. There’s no way to decorate your nails with them.”

Harold’s deep blue eyes fixed on her. “I want nails that look better than Si Jin’s. And I want to use these gemstones.”

Lu Yao: “…”

He looked smart, but this kid was stubborn.

“There’s only one way,” Lu Yao sighed and picked up a blood-red gem. “We’d have to cut them into small pieces to fit on your nails.”

Harold immediately grabbed the gemstone and hugged it to his chest. “No.”

Dragons are the most greedy of creatures. How could they possibly damage their treasures?

Lu Yao: “…Unless you can shrink them down. That’s the only way I can help you use them.”

Harold blinked, then raised his hand and traced a magic circle over the gemstones. The circle floated in the air, expanding outward as black light enveloped the stones, shrinking them at a visible rate.

“Is this what you meant?” Harrod asked.

Was this magic? That was too fun!

Lu Yao carefully picked up one of the now-shrunken rubies. It was the size of a grain of rice, gleaming like condensed blood and glowing with a rich, enchanting light, but it still felt as heavy as ever in her hand.

The size had shrunk, but the weight remained. Ordinary glue probably wouldn’t be strong enough to hold it.

[You can exchange 100,000 popularity points for a set of dragon-specific magic gemstone glue. Do you want to exchange?]

Lu Yao: “…Exchange.”

Half an hour later, Lu Yao, panting from exhaustion, finally finished all of Harold’s requests. The stones were so heavy that tweezers couldn’t pick them up, nor could she push them around. She had to use her hands to place the stones on Harold’s nails, then carefully adjust them—a tedious and physically demanding task.

According to the system, Harold was a young black dragon, and he seemed to have a fondness for black. He chose a black-silver base for his nails, with various gemstones for decoration.

Lu Yao applied a black gradient, from light to dark, layering it meticulously from the nail bed to the tips. She created a starry sky effect on the top third of the nails using silver cat-eye polish. Each nail was adorned with gemstones of different sizes and colors, making his hands look like treasure boxes, glittering so brightly it was hard to keep your eyes open.

The gemstones seemed randomly placed, but Lu Yao had put a lot of thought into their arrangement and color coordination. The result was an extravagant, sparkling look that wasn’t tacky at all. Instead, it looked sophisticated and elegant.

Perhaps because real gemstones were used, the stones sparkled even more brightly than before they were shrunk. Lu Yao couldn’t resist holding Harold’s hand and admiring it for a while, then pulled out her phone to take as many photos as possible.

Harold was naturally pleased, shaking his hands repeatedly to watch the gemstones reflect light from different angles, the corners of his mouth curling upward uncontrollably.

He knew he was a genius—he had thought of using gemstones to decorate his nails, and they sparkled even more than the little trinkets the shop owner used.

Suddenly, the door swung open, and Si Jin walked in. Seeing Harold, he wasn’t surprised at all. “I waited for you at Black Mountain Wilderness all morning.”

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