Ch 43: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World

The completed nail tips bore a simple circle design divided into four segments, each filled with a different color. Si Jin, who had just walked in, glanced at them and silently criticized Lu Yao’s aesthetic, thinking she had taken a sharp decline in taste. Even for an experiment, the design didn’t need to be this ugly; she could’ve just left the nail tips plain.

Harold’s hands had fully transformed into dragon claws covered in black scales. However, since only a partial transformation was taking place, the amount of magic power being channeled into his claws wasn’t as exaggerated as it would be in his full dragon form. Even so, his claws stretched the nail tips to their limits, nearly disintegrating the thin plastic tips under the pressure of his magic.

But rather than scattering, the tiny fragments of the nail tips seemed to be held in place by some invisible force, suspended above Harold’s claws.

Then, the most astonishing thing happened—once Harold stopped his transformation, the fragments of the nail tips started to gather back together, with the green, yellow, red, and blue color segments converging according to a certain pattern. They reformed into a complete nail tip and reattached themselves to his dragon claws.

Thanks to the pre-painted color blocks, the movement of the fragments was visible, allowing Lu Yao to trace the path they followed when stretched by the magic. And as the tips reattached, she could calculate how much the magic had expanded the surface area, helping her determine the amount of magic power used.

Si Jin’s dragon eyes widened as he immediately understood the purpose of the color blocks on the tips. But what caught his attention even more was how Lu Yao managed to make the nail tips not only stretch but also reform and adhere perfectly to a dragon’s claws.

Lu Yao took some photos and recorded Harold’s current state. Then she looked up and said, “Try pushing the nail tip to its limit. I want to know how much magic it can take before it shatters.”

Harold, who had been reluctant to remove his perfectly manicured nails for the experiment, was now just as intrigued as Lu Yao. If this new type of nail tip could withstand the magic power of a dragon’s transformation and still reattach itself afterward, they wouldn’t have to worry about their manicures when shifting back into their dragon forms.

Harold surged more magic into his claws, expecting the nail tips to burst apart. But even as his claws grew larger and the nail tips stretched further, they only continued expanding, refusing to break.

Meanwhile, in the barren mountains outside Emeraldstone Town, Muxin moved swiftly between the rocks, her hands clasped behind her back.

The shining chess pieces on her fingertips had been gnawing at her curiosity for days, constantly provoking her thoughts. She was eager to learn the meaning behind the chessboard on her nails.

That morning, she had left her dragon’s lair as soon as dawn broke. Now, she was finally approaching the town.

Suddenly, Muxin sensed a powerful surge of dark magic coming from Emeraldstone Town, its strength rivaling that of a dragon.

Her expression turned grave, and she quickened her pace, pushing her human form to its limits as she raced toward the nail salon.

At the same time, in the most luxurious inn in Emeraldstone Town, Annie also felt the ominous and powerful energy. She immediately grabbed her wand and rushed downstairs.

Mrs. Sid was enjoying breakfast in the dining area when Annie tossed a ring to her, saying, “Mother, there’s danger in town. Stay here and don’t leave. I’m going to check it out.”

Mrs. Sid’s face darkened, and she tried to stop her, but Annie had already bolted out the door.

As a top student at the magic academy, Annie’s ability to sense magic was far beyond that of ordinary people.

Harold hadn’t bothered to restrain his aura, so it didn’t take long for Annie to pinpoint the source of the powerful magic at the nail salon. Her heart raced with fear.

Why would such a terrifying aura come from that nail salon? Could the shopkeeper have angered someone dangerous?

Annie barely had time to think before she found herself moving toward the shop, her heart pounding with a mixture of fear and excitement, as if she had rediscovered the thrill she felt back in her academy days.

Muxin, approaching from the outskirts of town in her human form, was slower than Annie, so they both arrived at the nail salon around the same time.

Recognizing Muxin as the woman in the green dress from the other day, Annie knew it wasn’t the right time for pleasantries. The situation was too urgent.

Muxin ignored Annie and pushed open the half-closed door of the nail salon.

The shop was empty, but faint sounds were coming from behind a black door. The two women followed the noise and found their way to the research room.

Just as they reached the door, Harold’s nail tip, after being pushed to its limit, finally shattered with a loud “bang,” sending white powder flying all over the room.

Si Jin held up the phone, recording the entire process, while Lu Yao jotted notes in her notebook, casually asking, “At that level, how much of your magic did you use?”

Harold, looking relaxed, replied, “About thirty percent. This little nail tip is sturdier than I thought. What did you do to it?”

Normally, a thin nail tip like that would never withstand thirty percent of a dragon’s power, so it had to be because of the magic circles Lu Yao had drawn on it.

Lu Yao didn’t respond, focusing on scribbling in her notebook, making adjustments to the structure of the magic arrays and noting down every modification that was needed.

Muxin and Annie arrived just in time to witness the final scene.

Muxin, being the first to reach the door, saw the moment when the nail tip adhered to Harold’s dragon claw. After taking in the current state of the research room and overhearing their brief conversation, she pieced together a vague guess and felt her previous concerns lift.

She knocked on the door to get their attention before stepping inside, “Shopkeeper, are you researching a manicure for shape-shifting creatures?”

Muxin’s bright green eyes sparkled with excitement, more eager than she had been when she first learned about manicures.

Annie, on the other hand, couldn’t hide her shock as she stared at Harold’s transformed claws, fear creeping in as she instinctively stepped back.

Lu Yao, having finally finished recording her thoughts, looked up, surprised to see both of them there. “Why are you both here?”

Muxin’s expression regained its composure, “Today is our agreed-upon day, did the shopkeeper forget?”

Lu Yao nodded, “I didn’t forget. The items are outside; I’ll grab them for you.”

Muxin stayed where she was, not in a rush. “No need to hurry. Did your research succeed?”

If the manicure for shape-shifting creatures was ready, she wanted to change hers immediately. It was inconvenient not being able to transform into her dragon form to protect her nails.

Lu Yao pondered for a moment, not hiding anything, and cautiously replied, “I’m almost there. I just need to make a few more adjustments.”

The initial results exceeded her expectations, and after refining the magic array, she could apply it to real nails in the next stage.

Mu Xin’s anticipation grew, “When it’s ready, please let me know.”

Lu Yao scratched her head. “How should I notify you?”

Muxin pulled out a communication scroll from her bag, but then reconsidered and instead handed Lu Yao a small, glowing green dragon scale. “The scroll would take too long—I’m too impatient. Just touch this scale three times, and I’ll know.”

Lu Yao’s expression turned a bit odd. Was this scale really reliable? How would touching it alert her?

But Muxin’s face was perfectly calm.

“…Okay,” Lu Yao reluctantly accepted the scale.

Meanwhile, Harold grabbed Annie by the collar, dragging her out, “What about this human?”

She had seen his dragon claws, and although Harold rarely interacted with humans, he knew that not everyone was as accepting as Lu Yao.

Annie, having seen Harold’s claws, had already formed some guesses. During her stay in the town, she’d overheard rumors about the nail salon being connected to dragons, though she hadn’t taken them seriously.

Now, realizing the truth, that there were indeed dragons in the shop—more than one, no less—her terror grew.

Knowing she couldn’t escape from a dragon, Annie looked desperately at Lu Yao, her only chance of survival.

Muxin, sensing Lu Yao’s hesitation, kindly offered, “I have a potion. One drop will erase her memory of today.”

Lu Yao considered for a moment before deciding, “Let’s go with that.”

Annie: “…”

Lu Yao wasn’t concerned about Annie discovering her magic manicure research. Once it succeeded, she planned to actively promote it anyway.

The dragons clearly had reservations about Annie. Erasing her memory would eliminate any threat to her safety and remove any potential risk to the dragons, so Lu Yao had no reason to oppose it.

However, Annie didn’t want to lose her memory. Summoning her courage, she said, “Shopkeeper, I have something to say.”

Even though dragons surrounded her, Annie’s sharp instincts told her that Lu Yao was the one in charge.

She looked directly at Lu Yao, speaking with firm conviction: “I can be of help to you.”

Lu Yao: “?”

With her fear subsiding, Annie looked at Lu Yao with sincerity and continued, “I was a top student at the Empire’s Royal Magic Academy, consistently ranked first in magic assessments. I’m also the top-ranked mage in the capital’s adventurer guild. I will keep the dragons’ secret, and I can help with your research. In exchange, could you refrain from erasing my memory?”

Lu Yao was intrigued. “Erasing just today’s memory wouldn’t affect you that much, so why are you so against it?”

Annie hesitated for a moment, looking a bit embarrassed, before finally answering in a low voice, “It might not affect me directly, but people around me will notice. My mother may not say anything, but I know she would worry.”

Annie’s father had passed away years ago, and her mother, Madame Sidleves, was the sole pillar holding up the Sidleves family. With many already eyeing the family’s fortune, Annie couldn’t afford to cause her mother any more distress after the upheaval from the academy.

Seeing Annie’s reasoning, Lu Yao was about to agree, but Muxin stepped forward, drawing a contract from thin air with a flick of her wrist.

She said calmly, “Humans are cunning and deceitful. Shopkeeper, you shouldn’t trust her words so easily. A contract is the only true guarantee.”

Lu Yao, slightly taken aback, responded, “Oh, alright.”

Muxin had prepared a confidentiality contract. Once signed, Annie would be unable to reveal any secrets about the nail salon or the dragons.

Though Muxin would have preferred wiping Annie’s memory, as it was the safest option for the dragons, seeing Lu Yao’s indecision, she compromised.

The magical contract would bind Annie’s soul, and once she signed it, there would be no turning back. After overseeing the signing, Muxin left with her new set of chess pieces.

Annie could have left immediately as well, but instead, she stayed, eager to observe Lu Yao’s research. As a prodigious mage with wind, fire, and earth attributes, Annie had always excelled at the Royal Academy, both in theoretical knowledge and magical power. She thought perhaps she could provide some valuable insights to the shopkeeper.

But upon seeing Lu Yao use both dark and light magic circles to modify the nail tips, Annie was stunned for a full minute.

A dual-attribute mage of light and dark was so rare that if Lu Yao had attended the Royal Academy, it would have caused an uproar akin to when Master Carlos had enrolled—professors would have fought to recruit her as their apprentice.

To Annie’s dismay, her mastery of three attributes, which she had always prided herself on, proved utterly useless in the face of Lu Yao’s research. The ability to break down and reconstruct any material was something only a mage with dual light and dark attributes could achieve. Mages with other attributes could do nothing in this realm.

Annie left the research room in a daze, struggling to process what she had just witnessed.

It turned out that the most ordinary-seeming person was actually the most extraordinary.

Back at the inn, Madame Sidleves grew anxious after waiting for Annie to return. She brought some guards and headed to the nail salon, where she found her daughter looking despondent. “What happened?” she asked.

Annie fell into her mother’s arms, nuzzling her nose against her mother’s shoulder, drawing comfort from the familiar warmth. “Mother, I just suddenly realized how vast the world truly is.”

Madame Sidleves gently embraced her daughter without saying a word.

…

With the shop now closed, Lu Yao focused entirely on perfecting the magic circles. Three days later, she finally succeeded in optimizing the light and dark magic circles for transformative manicures.

She redid Harold’s nails. Under the influence of the magic circles, when Harold transformed his hands into dragon claws, the nails would shatter into pieces during the transformation. Once it was complete, the fragmented pieces would reform and adhere neatly to his claws.

His claws were now studded with jewels, glittering magnificently, resembling a clue she had received earlier.

The next day, when the shop reopened, Lu Yao’s much-anticipated apprentices finally arrived—two of them at once.

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