Ch 60: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World

A convoy of carriages set out from the Iron Needle Forest, bound for Emerald Town on the northern border.

Necromancer Ambrose had too many belongings, making it impossible to use a teleportation array. Nearly twenty carriages were making the journey from the western region to the northern border, a trip that would take about half a month.

Ambrose only intended to accompany the convoy to the nearest teleportation point. Apart from needing to hurry to his new job, he had no desire to continue spending time with Edward.

The long-haired man in the black cloak—Edward—sat across from the necromancer, his emerald-green eyes full of curiosity as they fixated on Ambrose’s hands.

More specifically, on his fingertips.

Ambrose sat upright in the carriage, one hand delicately holding a fine white porcelain teacup. The gentle aroma of black tea filled the compartment, while the gemstone rings on his bony fingers glittered under the glow of the soul flames.

His pale, elongated fingers, now adorned with black-and-white leopard-print nails, rested elegantly against the cup’s surface, exuding a wild and striking beauty.

Edward rubbed his chin, staring for a long while before finally speaking, “Dark magic and light magic… You’re nothing but bones, yet you went out of your way to attach nails with magic. Ambrose, you’ve fallen.”

“……”

Ambrose lowered his head and sipped his tea, choosing not to respond.

This vampire progenitor was just too annoying.

It all began two hundred years ago when Ambrose had first transitioned from being a mage to a necromancer and moved deep into the Iron Needle Forest.

At the time, he only wanted a place where he wouldn’t be disturbed, to focus on his magic research.

However, it turned out that his carefully chosen residence was near a vampire’s home.

Not wanting to be bothered, Ambrose had gone to challenge the vampire to a fight, hoping to drive him away.

Back then, Ambrose, newly liberated from his physical body and full of newfound power, never imagined he could lose.

But he hadn’t known that the laid-back green-eyed vampire was a progenitor.

He lost the fight, and moving away seemed like too much trouble, so Ambrose chose to endure it.

And so, for the next two hundred years, he tolerated Edward’s constant harassment.

In hindsight, moving now to escape Edward was probably a blessing in disguise.

Edward, used to Ambrose’s taciturn nature, took a small sip of the tea, grimaced, and set the cup down, his gaze still locked on Ambrose’s fingers.

“Honestly, the more I look at them, the more those little patterns seem appealing. Your old-fashioned taste seems to have improved a bit,” Edward commented nonchalantly, delivering a comment that could make anyone fume.

Ambrose took a deep breath, holding back his irritation.

Soon, they would reach town, and he would teleport straight to the nail salon. This would be the last time he had to endure this vampire.

…

Emerald Town, Nail Salon.

Lu Yao sat on the couch, fiddling with her phone.

Early that morning, the black ring had been purchased.

She received a message from the buyer, who wished to bring someone along to appraise the ring.

It was a familiar request. Without needing to guess, Lu Yao knew who it was.

After thinking it over, she agreed.

They scheduled the transaction for three days later in the afternoon.

Yesterday, a group of adventurers had tried to “raid” the nail salon, but Si Jin and Clarissa dragged them to the wilderness for a good beating.

In the morning, Clarissa mentioned that no one from Redheart Guild dared to take on the mission anymore.

With the adventurer problem resolved, Lu Yao removed the concealment magic array from the door.

However, the morning was quiet with no customers, leaving the staff lounging idly in the salon’s relaxation area.

Meanwhile, Lu Yao was in the research room, reading the magic book Dominic had lent her. It contained many complex concepts about magic usage, along with a wealth of practical examples covering various magical attributes.

This book delved deeper into practical combat knowledge than the one Si Jin had given her, further expanding Lu Yao’s thinking.

She pulled out some scrap paper and began sketching.

She had an idea about combining nail art with combat techniques, and after reading Dominic’s book, the concept became much clearer.

Necromancer Ambrose entered, pushing open the black door with his staff. “Sorry, I was delayed by moving. I’m late,” he said.

Without looking up, Lu Yao replied, “It’s fine. It’s not busy today. You’ll need time to get used to things. If you have any questions, just ask Mumu—he knows everything.”

Ambrose hesitated. “…Why the slime?”

Suddenly, from outside the door, an ecstatic, almost crazed voice rang out.

“Hahaha! Xiao Ming! Daddy found you!”

Lu Yao and Ambrose walked out to see a pale-skinned, black-haired man holding Mumu up in the air, his expression one of pure delight.

The man had long black hair and green eyes, his face both handsome and sinister, marred by burn scars revealing raw flesh beneath, making his appearance both terrifying and oddly joyous. Mumu, however, wore a rare look of complete resignation.

Lu Yao glanced at the others. “What’s going on?”

Harold, clearly amused, said, “That man claims to be the little slime’s father.”

Ambrose raised a hand to cover his eyes, on the verge of an emotional breakdown. “Edward, why are you here?”

They had parted ways at the last town. Ambrose had jumped into the teleportation array in a hurry, certain that Edward wouldn’t know where he was headed.

Edward’s facial skin was slowly healing; he had just walked across the sunlit Fountain Square. Ordinary vampires would perish in sunlight, but as a progenitor, Edward’s skin only burned.

Holding Mumu tightly, Edward’s green eyes were filled with joy. “Ambrose was acting so suspiciously, I asked your subordinates and learned you were headed for this town. But I didn’t expect Xiao Ming to be here too. Xiao Ming, my son, do you still remember me?”

Ambrose glanced at Mumu and rolled his eyes. “…He’s a staff member here. His name is Mumu, not Xiao Ming.”

Edward had a strange habit of adopting weak and powerless magical creatures. Recently, he had indeed been searching for a slime. But slimes that looked alike were quite common, and it was impossible for his Xiao Ming to have traveled from the west to the north.

Edward was surprised. “Who gave him that name?”

“Chirp,” Mumu weakly replied.

Lu Yao stepped forward, standing on tiptoes to take Mumu from Edward’s arms. “I gave him that name. And you are?”

Edward finally noticed Lu Yao, a seemingly ordinary human woman, and his expression instantly cooled. “Edward, the father of this slime. I’m here to take him back to my castle.”

Mumu clung tightly to Lu Yao’s arm, his watery eyes filled with reluctance. “Chirp chirp.”

Lu Yao understood.

Mumu was probably indeed Edward’s Xiao Ming.

Harold walked over, prying Mumu off Lu Yao’s arm with obvious amusement. “Xiao Ming, time to go home with your dad.”

Mumu: “…Chirp.”

Lu Yao held Harold back and looked down at Mumu. “Mumu?”

“Chirp chirp… chirp chirp chirp… chirp…” Mumu slowly lifted his round little face and explained the situation.

The little slime had originally lived in the Iron Needle Forest in the west, keeping company with a lonely vampire. This vampire claimed to be the slime’s father and named him Xiao Ming.

Vampires could turn others into their kind through a blood ritual, but giving Xiao Ming a name hadn’t made him Edward’s subordinate. Slimes, after all, had no blood, and Edward had never intended to make Xiao Ming a subordinate—he simply treated the slime like his child.

Slimes were generally low-intelligence magical creatures with no real thoughts. However, Edward, the vampire progenitor, adored Xiao Ming and took him everywhere, whether he was sleeping, eating, or studying magic, never letting the little slime out of his sight.

Under the influence of everything he’d seen and heard, the little slime gradually developed some independent thought.

However, the vampire progenitor hadn’t noticed this change.

About a month ago, Edward had to leave for a rare trip and couldn’t bear to leave Xiao Ming alone in the castle, so he took him along. Along the way, they encountered some trouble, and by the time Edward realized it, Xiao Ming was already gone.

Edward searched for a long time but couldn’t find Xiao Ming.

On the other hand, Xiao Ming woke up in the wilderness, thinking he had been abandoned by his vampire father.

Heartbroken for about three days, he then realized that living in the wild was actually quite enjoyable—except for being a bit lonely.

The little slime roamed the mountains happily until he was caught in a spirit spider’s web that trapped magical creatures, unable to free himself.

When Lu Yao found him, he had already been hanging in the tree for three days and nights.

While living in the castle, Xiao Ming had occasionally overheard Edward cursing humans, and he always thought humans were even scarier than the vampire progenitor.

After being rescued by Lu Yao, he was so frightened that he immediately turned into a puddle of water. But then, this human called him cute.

Even his vampire father had never called him cute or smart.

The little slime didn’t know how to describe the feeling.

It was like enduring a long, harsh winter and then suddenly encountering a warm spring.

With a “plop,” he’d jumped in, enveloped in the warmth of the spring water, unwilling to move for a long time.

Later, he knocked on the human’s shop door with a cluster of black lotus, and from then on, he became Mumu.

Mumu was capable.

Mumu was adorable.

Mumu was amazing.

No matter how many times he heard it, Mumu never grew tired of it.

Mumu wanted to stay at the nail salon, to remain by the shop owner’s side.

But Edward’s emerald-like eyes, filled with moisture, gazed at him lovingly, and Mumu felt conflicted.

Lu Yao looked at the pale man across from her, who was hugging Mumu and petting him, his green eyes gleaming with the same tenderness Mumu showed when he acted cute. Now she understood why Mumu liked to be so affectionate.

But, but…

This was a vampire!

How could she convince him to agree to get a manicure?

Lu Yao glanced at Mumu and thought for a moment. “Mumu, if you want to go back with your parent, that’s fine too. Even if you live far away, you can use the teleportation array to come to work, just like before.”

Mumu didn’t live in the shop; he returned to the wilderness after work every day. Living at home and working at the nail salon wouldn’t really conflict.

Edward, holding Mumu tightly, looked stern. “He’s just a slime. What can he do? Humans are always so cunning and greedy, even using a slime for their purposes.”

Lu Yao: “…”

Harold, full of glee, sat down next to Lu Yao, threw a slightly provoking glance at Mumu, and happily said, “Yes, yes, take the little slime home. He’s always getting in the way at the shop.”

Lu Yao exhaled slowly and calmly said, “If Mumu wants to go, and you’re his guardian, I have nothing more to say.”

Mumu let out a sad “chirp.”

After a pause, Lu Yao continued, “But there’s one thing I don’t agree with. Even though he’s a slime, Mumu is very capable. Ever since he joined, every task I’ve given him, he’s completed flawlessly.”

Edward was surprised. “What can a slime do?”

Lu Yao said seriously, “I understand that no matter what I say, you might not believe me. Why don’t you experience it yourself?”

“Experience how?” Edward admitted that he felt provoked by this human.

A few minutes later, Edward sat at the workstation while Mumu carefully held a black-and-gold nail file, delicately trimming Edward’s nails.

Edward looked amazed. “Oh, oh, oh! Xiao Ming can actually use tools!”

For some reason, Ambrose, watching the scene unfold, felt like this was not surprising at all.

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