Two days passed in which Ning managed to set up everything he would need to revamp the store. He painted the inside and outside of the shop to make it look more premium. He added railings to the stairs that led to the shop. He added glass doors and windows, where he hung a majority of the products for everyone outside to see. He also added a light fixture, created using conversion, that spelled out the name of the shop, Heeran's Love.
He added other small tweaks on the inside too, making the shop look far more attractive than it ever was. He added various pieces of furniture to improve the indoor aesthetic. He added seating areas for the customers to have a more comfortable time inside.
Finally, he added new weapons and artifacts of his own to the list that was already in the shop to attract people who might want them, some of which would be incredibly hard to come by.
He had only had a few days to make what he could, but that still amounted to a few dozen, which was more than enough.
The woman was completely flabbergasted at the transformation her shop had gone through. She barely even recognized it when she came down to go next door to buy something.
"How much did you pay for this?" she asked Ning.
"Hopefully not too much," Ning said, not telling her the actual numbers. He hadn't paid for most of what he had done after all. The system had taken care of the little things. "I should be able to make it all back if business goes well."
"I hope you do," the woman said. "But shouldn't you have informed me? It's in the contract that you must—"
"Oh, the expenditure never crossed the threshold," Ning lied. "So there was no need to."
"Is that so?" the woman said. There was no need for her to try and find the truth since it wasn't her money that Ning had used. Still, she felt guilty thinking she would be making use of what he did to better her own shop.
"Where are you headed to?" Ning asked her.
"Need some sugar," she said, pointing toward the wall, referring to the general store on the other side of that wall. "When will you start taking customers?" "I've technically already started taking customers, but I suppose I won't see any changes for a few days," Ning said. "No worries though. I've sent Emma and Hadden to spread around some pamphlets to advertise the store."
"?" the woman asked. "That's just wasted money." Her face got a little serious all of a sudden. "And it invites unneeded attention."
"I can guess that," Ning said. "Don't worry, they'll find me hard to fight against even if they come at me full force."
The woman gave a small nod and looked outside. "It's close to evening time. Tell your kids to not walk around at night time. You never know what could happen in the city."
Ning gave a nod. "They should be back soon."
The woman left for a few minutes and returned with the sugar, leaving straight for upstairs.
Ning sat on the chair, behind the desk he had made for himself, looking at the textbooks that Emma was done reading. He had no knowledge of the beasts of this world aside from what he was already aware of, so he decided to read it instead of gaining all the knowledge at once.
He had to pass the time somehow.
He had only just gotten to the page about a Greenhorn Battle Beetle and its incredible Wind Essence horns that were a natural conduit when the doors opened up.
He looked up, wondering if Emma and Hadden were back, but instead, it was a young girl with a look of awe on her face. "Am I in the right place?" she asked as if jokingly, looking all around her.
Ning waited for the girl to approach him, but she simply went around looking at the different weapons on the wall and touching through the furniture that was around the room.
'Weird girl,' he thought. Seeing that she wasn't approaching him, it seemed it was his turn instead to approach her.
He got out of his chair and walked up to her.
"Welcome to Heeran's love," Ning said. "You must've received one of our pamphlets, how may I help you?" The girl turned sharply, her crystalline blue eyes landing on him. She looked at him up and down, and Ning did the same in return. She wore a weirdly formal dress with a shirt and tight skirt that went all the way to her shin.
Her hair was half tied and half free, while a necklace hung around her neck with a dark purple crystal embedded deep within it.
"You're quite young," the girl said.
"I'm old enough," Ning said. "Can I help you with anything? I can recommend you a weapon if you want to buy one."
"How much did you spend on the renovation?" the girl asked.
"Sorry?" Ning asked.
"This shop; you renovated it, correct?" she asked. "How much did that cost?"
Ning narrowed his eyes. "Why would you want to know that?" he asked.
"Because if you spend more than 1000 Fire coins for renovations in your shop without the city's knowledge, you will be fined for it. They need to approve the changes you make according to the city rules," the girl said.
"I… do?" Ning asked.
"Did you not read the contract?" the girl asked. "It was written there that you must inform Aunt Laila about any changes that would cost over 1000 Fire coins. You did tell her, right?"
Ning paused for a moment before realizing that she was not a customer at all. "I see," he said. "You must be Juna. Miss Laila has spoken a lot about you."
The girl extended her hand. "I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself. I get too fixated on my work. I am Juna. What may I call you?"
Ning grabbed her hand. "I am Ning."
