Ch 71: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World

Lu Yao stepped aside, letting Harold in without asking where he had been these past few days. “As long as you’re back,” she said.

Harold sat down on the sofa, pulling a white bone from his pocket.

When Lu Yao returned with water and saw the bone, she was surprised. “Where did you get this?”

It looked remarkably similar to the one the demon god had given her.

Harold handed it over. “I went to gather my parents’ remains and found this strange bone among my mother’s. It’s not dragon bone. Do you recognize it?”

Drexis’ soul had been trapped by Helena in the bone bracelet, so the skeletal dragon wasn’t his original body. His and Alia’s remains had been scattered between the royal palace and the Goldclay Manor.

Once Harold’s magic recovered, he collected their bones and buried them in a secret place.

Lu Yao examined the bone, then retrieved another from her storage and placed them side by side. “Do you think they’re the same?”

“They look alike. Are you collecting these bones, Lu Yao?” Harold asked.

Lu Yao wasn’t sure. The system hadn’t assigned her any task involving the bones, so she shook her head. “This one was a gift from a customer at another store. I didn’t expect to find another one here.”

Harold recalled a memory from his mother’s past—a man had given her a narrow, long box to guard, which looked like it would fit a bone of this size perfectly.

His mother was gone now, so he considered the agreement fulfilled.

Harold nodded slightly and said, “Then I’ll give you this one too.”

Lu Yao remembered the demon god mentioning that the bones were important to her mission. But since the system hadn’t issued a task, she wasn’t sure how it all connected. After pondering a moment, she accepted it. “Alright, thank you.”

Harold gazed deeply into Lu Yao’s eyes, pressing his lips together before speaking.

“What’s on your mind?” Lu Yao asked.

Harold looked down, then hesitated before nodding. “Lu Yao, would you consider forming a contract with me?”

“A contract?” Lu Yao raised her brow. “A soul-binding one?”

Harold gripped the edge of his robe tightly and nodded.

Lu Yao shook her head. “If possible, could we skip that?”

Harold was momentarily stunned. “Why?”

Lu Yao smiled wryly. “My soul is already weighed down with enough. I’m afraid it might drag me under if I add a dragon.”

Harold didn’t know that every week, Lu Yao had to bind herself to another soul. She already had three and several more waiting in line. With the snack shop planning to hire more staff, there really wasn’t room for a dragon.

Harold didn’t understand why she was laughing, but the tension in his shoulders eased, and his hands relaxed. “I understand.”

As expected, Lu Yao was still Lu Yao.

【Congratulations, store owner, you have gained recognition from the strongest race on the Alexander Continent, the dragon race. The nail salon has upgraded to a five-star shop. The owner can now proceed to the next world!】

Lu Yao felt her pocket heat up and pulled out the clue note.

Every time she looked at this little slip of paper, it would reappear in her pocket later, as if it could recognize her.

The small, two-finger-wide white paper was folded neatly. The first part read, “The Flavors of Life,” and the second part was a small picture of a claw holding a large pile of treasure, with a sharp scaly finger gently rubbing the edge. Below that, there was indeed a new clue, this time with nine words.

Harold leaned over to read the note. “‘Life is like a box of chocolates’—what does that mean?”

Lu Yao casually tucked the note back into her pocket. “It’s a riddle. So, Harold, are you planning to stay in the rest area?”

Harold hesitated, cautiously asking, “Is that alright?”

The recent events with his parents had deeply affected him, and the once carefree little black dragon had matured considerably.

“Of course,” Lu Yao said, recalling Drex’ last request. She added thoughtfully, “Harold, I’m thinking of talking to Teacher Muxin about sending you back to Dragon Valley.”

Harold’s eyes flickered as he muttered softly, “Dragon Valley is boring.”

Lu Yao replied, “You’ve still got more than fifty years before you come of age. You can’t just waste all that time reading comics. I don’t want a lazy employee on my hands.”

Harold: “…”

Harold: “…”

The next day, when the other staff arrived at work, they were surprised to see Harold coming out of the rest area.

At noon, Muxin visited the nail salon to talk with Lu Yao and brought along an unexpected guest.

Lu Yao first discussed Harold’s situation with Muxin. The dragon race owed Harold a debt, and with the prophecy of the Doomsday Black Dragon now broken, returning to Dragon Valley for his studies wasn’t difficult.

Muxin was a bit surprised that Harold was willing to go back.

Lu Yao smiled, “I’ll leave the schooling matters to you then.”

With the new school year approaching, both Harold and Tina would be going to Dragon Valley. The two young dragons had received permission from their guardians to live off-campus. After their afternoon studies, they would be able to return to the nail salon together.

Dragon Valley wasn’t too far from Emerald Town, and since both Harold and Tina were relatively mature young dragons, traveling together wouldn’t pose much danger.

Lu Yao planned to upgrade the nail salon, expanding the rest area and creating separate rooms for Tina, Clarissa, and Eugenia to rest. Sometimes, Si Jin and Harold were just too noisy.

The king had died suddenly, the nobility had fallen, and the empire was in turmoil.

Surprisingly, business at the nail salon wasn’t affected, and more clients came to commission battle nails. Lu Yao thought it might be a good idea to upgrade both the research and reception rooms while she was at it.

After finishing the discussion about Harold returning to school, Lu Yao turned her attention to the guest Muxin had brought with her.

Radner was the oldest elder in the dragon race, someone Lu Yao had encountered before at the Magic Academy.

However, today he appeared in human form, so she hadn’t recognized him immediately.

Radner’s visit had a straightforward purpose—he wanted to know more about the Demon Dragon Armor and the Nine-Star Magic Sword.

The ancient weapon-forging magic book Lu Yao had used was rather mysterious. Once she successfully crafted an item, the contents of the book would disappear. After she finished making the last piece, the entire book vanished.

As for the Bone-Eating Grass, Lu Yao simply explained that she had come across a small amount by chance and that it was now used up.

Lu Yao stood at the door and watched as Radner and Muxin left.

Back inside the salon, Si Jin approached her and asked about the bone pen she had used.

On the day at the Magic Academy, the others might not have noticed, but Si Jin had seen Lu Yao take out a peculiar pen that easily severed the soul link between Helena and Drex.

Lu Yao retrieved the bone pen from her storage, though it wasn’t really a pen.

Before crafting Harold’s battle nails, she had made several magic tools as practice. One of the materials she had on hand was decent, so she forged a handle and mounted the bone the demon god had given her on it.

Now it had a black handle with a white tip, resembling a pen. It was quite convenient to carry and use.

That day, in a moment of inspiration, she had pulled it out and, to her surprise, the pen had been incredibly powerful. With just a gentle stroke, it had severed the soul connection.

When she took out the bone pen, Si Jin instinctively jumped three steps back.

On that urgent day, he hadn’t felt it, but now he realized that the pen exuded an indescribable, sinister aura.

Edward and Clarissa also frowned and moved away.

Only Ambrose, though intrigued by the pen, didn’t dare to reach out and touch it.

(T/N: I don’t know why the author just ended this scene and moved on to the next one. Just letting you know that this isn’t error.)

…

The nail salon had just reached five stars, but hadn’t yet unlocked the requirement for a deputy manager, so the employees still needed further development.

Lu Yao planned to continue training her staff while also preparing for a new store.

System: 【This time, the clue is so simple. I suggest that the next shop should just sell chocolates.】

Lu Yao: “…”

System: 【Why aren’t you saying anything?】

Lu Yao: “…I don’t think that’s going to work.”

The system was baffled: 【Why not?】

The clue clearly mentioned chocolate—how much more straightforward could it be? Did the shopkeeper not understand?

Lu Yao: “Isn’t it possible that ‘chocolate’ is just a metaphor?”

The system didn’t grasp the concept of a metaphor and, feeling out of its depth, decided to concede: 【So, what does the shopkeeper have in mind then?】

Lu Yao: “The nail salon still needs tending to for now. The new shop should be something simple, where I don’t have to be there constantly. I’ve got an idea—let’s start with the Stargate.”

To easily manage several shops, she decided to set up the third shop right next to the nail salon.

This new storefront had a similar size and location to the nail salon. As usual, Lu Yao spent 100,000 popularity points to upgrade the shop into an interdimensional space.

At the same time, she drew up new blueprints, instructing the system to renovate and decorate the new store according to her design.

The setup would take twelve hours, so Lu Yao made a trip to the market.

She discussed the arrangements with various suppliers, placing orders for the night food supplies for her snack shop, and renegotiating prices.

The next day, Lu Yao stood in front of the third shop, quite satisfied.

System: 【Lu Yao’s Blind Box Store—this name sounds so strange.】

Lu Yao explained, “You know the saying, ‘Life is like a box of chocolates’? Well, there’s another part to it—‘You never know what you’re gonna get.’”

Illiterate system: 【???】

Lu Yao: “Don’t you think this store fits the theme perfectly?”

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