Ch 49: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World

Lu Yao had been too tired yesterday to fully register the details, which was why she had forgotten about the lotus theme.

She had made lotus-themed nails before, usually in soft tones of green and white or gold, giving them a graceful and elegant look, especially suited for pairing with qipaos, making them stand out in a delicate way.

However, those designs clearly didn’t match the customer in front of her, who appeared to be a clergyman.

Black and lotus—actually, not too difficult.

Since Carlos couldn’t see, Lu Yao verbally explained her idea.

“Do as you like,” Carlos responded nonchalantly, as though getting his nails done, and the result, didn’t really matter much to him.

As the sky outside darkened completely, Lu Yao, too tired to read further into the customer’s demeanor, said no more and began selecting the necessary nail polishes and tools.

But when she started filing his nails, a small problem arose.

Lu Yao used the regular nail file she usually reserved for her standard customers, but after a few strokes, the file snapped.

“…”

This felt eerily familiar—it was exactly like what had happened the day she met Si Jin.

Undeterred, she grabbed a new file, but it broke again after one use.

Lu Yao glanced toward Harold, hoping for some kind of clue.

But Harold was lounging beside her, casually reading a comic book, with snacks in front of him. He lazily flipped a page, grabbed a piece of snack, and sipped his drink, looking as carefree as a schoolboy on a picnic.

Sighing, Lu Yao resigned herself to the situation, retrieving the black-gold dragon nail file she had specially prepared for dragon clients. Thankfully, this time it didn’t break.

Could this customer also be a dragon?

But then again, he hadn’t asked for anything shiny.

Dragons’ love for shiny things seemed hard-wired into their genes, which made her question her assumption.

While sketching out the design, Lu Yao had a new idea and asked Carlos if he would be interested in a magical manicure.

Carlos nodded slightly, his tone calm and indifferent. “Whatever the shop owner thinks is appropriate.”

His composed demeanor and tone slightly dampened Lu Yao’s spirits. It seemed this customer had no particular enthusiasm for the manicure, and she couldn’t figure out why he had come to the shop at all. Surely it wasn’t just out of curiosity?

Her mind wandered briefly, but as she finished filing and applied the protective base coat, she began focusing more intently when constructing the magic formation.

Inspired by Dominic and Amos, Lu Yao wanted to try combining sketches and magic formations, layering them to create a dynamic effect.

Drawing on her experience with creating animated PowerPoints, she set up a light-attribute magic formation for a delayed effect, then used a dark-attribute magic formation to continually break down and reconstruct the layers. Numerous small magic formations formed a complete movement curve.

Although the animation was relatively simple, countless magic formations and meticulously detailed sketches were needed to create the subtle movements. It took her two hours just to complete the first nail.

The base color was pure black, with silver lotus leaves and a blooming silver lotus emerging from one corner of the nail. A gentle breeze seemed to make the lotus stem and its plump petals sway, while inky ripples slowly radiated from beneath the leaves.

The entire nail design featured only two motions: the swaying of the lotus in the wind and the rippling of the water, yet it left Lu Yao exhausted.

Unfortunately, the customer couldn’t see the design, leaving her a bit disappointed at the lack of feedback.

After sealing the design with magic, Lu Yao held Carlos’s hand for a moment, marveling. She had actually succeeded in creating a dynamic manicure!

Carlos, noticing that she hadn’t moved for a while, spoke up. “Shop owner?”

Lu Yao snapped out of her thoughts. “Yes?”

Carlos sounded a bit helpless. “How much longer?”

“…I’ve finished one,” Lu Yao admitted, feeling a bit guilty. “The rest will be faster. Are you hungry? Would you like some water?”

Carlos shook his head and lifted his hand slightly. “Continue.”

Time ticked by as Harold dozed off, his head gradually lowering onto the table until he was fully asleep.

In the middle of her work, Lu Yao noticed and got up to cover him with a blanket. She also poured water for Carlos and set out some snacks, though Carlos didn’t touch any of the food or drink.

Lu Yao then refocused on her work, hoping to finish the manicure as soon as possible.

As the heavy night gave way to the pale morning light, the sky began to glow with a soft blue mist.

Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Lu Yao grabbed a tissue to clean her hands before continuing. She only had two nails left to complete before she could finally rest.

The sun slowly climbed over the horizon, its rays piercing through the window.

Harold rubbed his eyes as he woke up, seeing Lu Yao still hunched over the workbench. His eyes widened in disbelief. “You didn’t sleep all night?”

Too tired to talk, Lu Yao had only one thought in her mind: just one more nail to go.

When Mumu, Tina, and Eugenia arrived at the shop, Lu Yao was finishing up the final touches on the last nail.

The three apprentices crowded around, watching in amazement as, at the moment the magic was completed, a golden-petaled lotus flower released a petal that gently floated onto the water’s surface, causing ripples to spread outward.

“It’s… it’s moving?” Eugenia was so taken aback by the sight that she got goosebumps and instinctively hugged her arms.

“Ji ji!” Mumu excitedly praised Lu Yao.

Tina stared at Carlos’ nails without blinking. Not only had the last nail come to life, but each nail was adorned with a different moving scene.

The manicure was a matching black and white theme, using only two main color schemes: black-and-white and white-and-gold.

The right hand had an ink wash style, with white lotuses against a dark, ink-like background. The surrounding mountains, rivers, and boat silhouettes were all black, with varying shades of depth and shadow. The silver-white lotus contrasted beautifully against the deep, inky background, swaying gracefully.

On the left hand, the design was primarily silver-white. The lotus, mountain, and boat silhouettes were outlined in delicate shades of gold and silver, creating a soft, ethereal look that felt pure and sacred.

Harold also joined in to see the finished work, and his dragon eyes narrowed as he pointed at Carlos’ left ring finger. “A fish just blew a bubble.”

Hidden within the overall design was a fifth color—orange. On that nail, a tiny orange fish quickly surfaced to blow a bubble before darting away.

The design on Carlos’ right ring finger was even more obvious. Against the black background, the same orange fish swam quickly under a lotus leaf, like a streak of sunset light briefly cutting through the deep night sky.

Tina’s eyes shone with excitement. She had never seen such a manicure before. Despite not using any gemstones, it was so stunning that she couldn’t tear her gaze away.

She regretted not staying at the shop the previous night. If she had, she would have witnessed how the shop owner crafted such a masterpiece.

The apprentices continued marveling over Carlos’ nails, while Carlos himself remained calm and composed.

Only after the others had seen enough did Carlos withdraw his hand and speak evenly, “Shop owner, the bill.”

“Five hundred gold coins,” Lu Yao said weakly, no longer concerned about Carlos’ reaction, as she was too exhausted.

Carlos placed a bag of gold coins on the table, then grabbed his staff and stood up.

This time, he had no escort. After leaving the nail salon, he made his way alone toward the teleportation array at Fountain Square.

Knight Elvi had just finished an escort mission. During the mission, they had encountered a large group of magical beasts, and she had run out of healing potions and sustained injuries. As she exited the teleportation array and headed straight for Lixiu’s apothecary, she spotted Carlos walking down the street from the east.

Elvi’s expression shifted slightly, and she quickly stepped aside. Why is the Grand Priest in this remote town of Emeraldstone?

Carlos seemed to sense her presence and paused, turning his face slightly in her direction.

Elvi held her breath, not daring to make a sound.

Even though he was blind, she didn’t dare underestimate him.

In fact, because Carlos had lost his sight, his other senses had become even sharper than those of ordinary people.

After standing still for a moment, Carlos resumed his walk toward the teleportation array.

Only after he had left did Elvi’s nerves gradually relax. She bought the healing potions she needed and, as she passed by the nail salon, a thought struck her.

In this small town, the only thing that could possibly attract visitors was the nail salon. Could the Grand Priest have come for a manicure?

Elvi thought this idea was too absurd. She wouldn’t be surprised if the emperor himself wanted to get his nails done, but if it were Carlos…

Imagining the serious, cold, and dignified Grand Priest getting his nails done by Lu Yao made her shudder in disbelief. That was absolutely impossible!

There was only one other possibility—her cover had been blown.

Elvi’s expression turned grim. She quickly finished buying most of the potions in the apothecary, hurried back to her lodging to pack, and swiftly left Emeraldstone Town.

Back in the nail salon, Lu Yao was eating and asked Mumu, “Are the next clients coming soon?”

She had gotten a bit carried away last night and worked on a single manicure the entire night. Now, she was utterly exhausted. Her mind was foggy, and while she didn’t want to cancel appointments, she was overwhelmed with fatigue.

Tina returned from outside, holding three bottles of potions. “These are mid-tier recovery potions. They can restore your energy and relieve fatigue.”

“Where did you get these?” Lu Yao asked curiously, picking up one of the bottles. It was a transparent, diamond-shaped glass container, filled with a light red liquid about three-quarters full.

Tina explained, “I bought them from the apothecary across the street. Next time, I’ll brew some high-tier recovery potions to keep in the shop. When you’re busy, you can drink one and feel fully refreshed.”

Lu Yao uncorked the bottle and sniffed it. It didn’t have any odd smell, so she drank half of it. The taste was mild, neither bitter nor sweet, like dew with a hint of grassiness.

After a few minutes, the fatigue started to fade, her mind became clearer, and even the slight irritation she’d been feeling disappeared.

Feeling reinvigorated, Lu Yao gulped down the rest of the bottle.

The magical world is amazing!

…

Carlos returned to the Royal Magic Academy after leaving Emeraldstone Town.

When the headmaster learned of his arrival, he immediately gathered his staff to seek guidance on important matters regarding the upcoming centennial celebration.

The Grand Priest hadn’t returned to the academy out of nostalgia for his alma mater. The centennial celebration was of great significance, requiring his personal supervision.

Joan, a third-year honor student, attended the meeting as a scribe, primarily tasked with recording the minutes.

The entire meeting could be summarized as Carlos’s “one-man show.” The headmaster consulted him on various aspects of the celebration, and the Grand Priest either nodded in approval or shook his head in rejection.

This made Joan’s note-taking fairly easy. During the meeting, she even got distracted and noticed something unusual about Carlos’s nails.

!!!

She thought she saw a little red fish swimming on one of the Grand Priest’s nails. Upon closer inspection, she realized that the nails on Carlos’s two hands were different colors.

Wait… did the Grand Priest go to the nail salon for a manicure?

Joan suddenly remembered that a few days ago, Carlos’s attendants had asked Audrey about the nail salon.

Curiosity piqued, she sneaked another glance at his nails and was immediately captivated by the intricate design. The black-and-silver and white-and-gold color schemes were so elegant and refined, perfectly complementing the Grand Priest’s dignity.

Each of Carlos’s nails featured the same type of flower, each with a different posture. But what kind of flower was it?

A beautiful blossom that grew in water, but one she had never seen before.

After the meeting ended, Joan finished organizing the minutes and handed them to the supervising teacher. She immediately went off to find Audrey.

She could barely contain her excitement—she had to tell Audrey the shocking news that the Grand Priest had gotten his nails done at the salon!

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