Guide to Running a Shop in Another World

Chapter 43: The second store

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The complete wearable nail plate is painted with the simplest circular pattern, divided into four equal parts and filled with different color blocks.

Si Jin Gang came in and saw it at a glance, and he secretly complained that the owner's aesthetic taste had regressed drastically. Even if he was doing an experiment, he didn't have to paint it so ugly, or he shouldn't paint any patterns at all, and just use plain nail pieces.

Harold's hands had completely transformed into dragon claws covered with black scales, but because they were only partially transformed, the magic power input was far less exaggerated than the complete form. When his claws stretched out the armor plates, the thin plastic sheet was crushed back and forth by the magic power, almost breaking into foam.

But the fine powder did not disperse. It seemed as if it was restrained by something and floated above Harold's claws.

Then, the most amazing scene happened - after Harold stopped transforming, the scales that were suspended on his claws began to shrink toward the center. The green, yellow, red, and blue blocks gathered together according to a certain pattern, and restored to a complete scale, which then tightly adhered to the dragon's claws.

Thanks to the color blocks drawn in advance, you can see the movement path of the nails as they are stretched out by magic and then gathered back together.

And when they were reattached to the dragon's claws, Lu Yao could also calculate the amount of magic power injected from the expanded area of the color block, making it easier to make subsequent adjustments.

Si Jinlong's eyes widened, and he had guessed Lu Yao's intention of painting blocks of color on the nails. But he was more concerned about how Lu Yao could make the nails stretch out and then restore them to their original state, and also stick to the tip of the dragon's claws.

Lu Yao took a photo to record the state of Harold's claws at the moment, and raised his head and said, "Try to use all your strength to break the armor. I want to know how much magic power the armor will withstand before it completely breaks."

Harold was also amazed at Lu Yao's research. At first he was really reluctant to take off his beautiful nails to do this experiment, but now he was very excited.

If this nail plate can withstand the magical crushing of the dragon form, and can be restored and attached to their claws after deformation, there will be no need to worry about not being able to change back to dragon form after doing a manicure.

Harold's magic power surged, and he thought the scales would be easily stretched and shattered. However, as he input more magic power, the claws grew bigger and bigger, and the scales stretched, but just kept spreading outwards.

In the barren mountains outside Emerald Town, Mu Xin put his hands behind his back and moved quickly among the rocks.

These days, the chess pieces shining on her fingertips have been stimulating Mu Xin's curiosity every moment, and she can't wait to understand the meaning of the chessboard on her fingertips.

As agreed, on this day, she set out from the Dragon's Nest as soon as the morning light lifted a corner of the sky, and now she is finally here.

Suddenly, Mu Xin sensed a strong dark magical energy coming from the direction of Emerald Town. The aura was so powerful that it was comparable to that of a dragon.

Her face was solemn, and she increased her movement speed to the limit of her human form, rushing to the nail salon.

In the most luxurious hotel in Emerald Town, Anne also felt a strong and ominous aura. She immediately grabbed her wand and went downstairs.

Mrs. Sid was having breakfast downstairs. Anne took out a ring and threw it to her. "Mother, there is danger in the town. Wait for me in the store and don't go out. I'll go out and take a look."

Mrs. Sid looked unhappy and tried to call her, but Anne had already run out.

Anne has always been an excellent student in the magic academy and her perception of magic is stronger than that of ordinary people.

Harold's aura did not subside at all. She quickly sensed this power in the nail salon and was horrified.

Why does that nail salon have such a scary atmosphere

Did the store owner offend someone who shouldn’t be offended

Before Annie could think about it, her body started moving.

Even though she knew it was dangerous, she was still a little excited, as if she had regained the feeling she had when she was still in the magic academy.

Mu Xin came from farther outside the town. Because he had transformed into a human form, his speed was much slower, so he met Annie in front of the nail salon.

When Anne saw her, she immediately recognized her as the lady in the green dress that day, but the situation was urgent and it was not a good time to speak.

Mu Xin didn't care about Annie and raised his hand to push open the half-open door of the nail salon.

The store was empty, but there was a voice coming from the black door. She followed the voice to the research room, and Annie followed behind her.

As the two men walked to the door, the armor on Harold's hands finally couldn't bear it anymore and shattered into powder with a "bang". Fine white dust filled the room.

Lu Yao asked Si Jin to hold up his phone to record the process, while he held a notebook beside him and asked casually, "How much magic power did you use to achieve this level?"

Harold looked relaxed. "About 30%. This small piece of armor is stronger than expected. What did you do?"

Under normal circumstances, such a thin piece of armor would definitely not be able to withstand 30% of the dragon's magic power. It must be because of the magic circles she drew on it.

Lu Yao didn't respond and kept writing and drawing in his notebook.

She was quickly adjusting the structure of the magic circle and recording all the places that needed to be modified.

Mu Xin and Annie just happened to see the last scene.

Mu Xin arrived at the door first and saw the moment when the scales were attached to the tip of Harold's claws. Then he inferred the current state of the laboratory and a few brief conversations. He had a vague guess in his mind and put his worries aside.

She raised her hand and knocked on the door, attracting the attention of several people before walking in. "Owner, are you researching nail art suitable for monster transformation?"

Mu Xin's emerald green eyes sparkled, and she was even more excited and curious than when she first learned about manicure.

Anne's eyes fell on Harold's mutated claws. Unable to hide her fear, she took a step back.

Lu Yao finally wrote down everything he had thought of. He looked up and saw Mu Xin and Annie, and asked in surprise, "Why are you all here?"

Mu Xin regained his composure and said, "Today is the agreed date. Did the owner forget?"

Lu Yao nodded, "I didn't forget. The things are outside, I'll get them to you right away."

Mu Xin stood still, "Don't worry. Has the owner's research been successful?"

If transformable nail polish has been developed, she would change to a new one immediately.

It is indeed inconvenient to protect the nails from changing into a dragon shape.

Lu Yao hesitated for a moment, not intending to cover it up, and said conservatively: "It's almost there, I'll adjust it again."

The results of the preliminary experiment exceeded expectations, and once the magic circle is adjusted, the next step will be to apply it to real nails.

Mu Xin couldn't help but look forward to it when he heard it: "Please let me know when you succeed."

Lu Yao scratched his head: "How do I tell you?"

Mu Xin took out a message scroll from her bag, and when she was about to hand it to Lu Yao, she took it back and took out a piece of emerald green scale. "The message scroll is too slow, I can't wait. When the time comes, you touch the scale three times, and I'll know."

Lu Yao's expression is a little subtle. Is this scale serious

Why can you tell just by touching it

Mu Xin looked calm.

“…Okay.” Lu Yao took it anyway.

Harold lifted Anne by the collar and pushed her out. "What should we do with this human race?"

She saw his claws. Harold rarely interacted with people before, but he knew that not everyone was like Lu Yao.

When Anne saw Harold's claws, she had a vague guess.

While living in the town these days, she had also heard rumors about the nail salon owner and dragons, but she didn't take it seriously at first.

Who would have thought there were actually dragons in the store, and more than one. It's so scary.

Annie knew that she couldn't escape from the dragon, so she looked up at Lu Yao.

The shop owner is her only hope.

Mu Xin was about to leave, and worried that Lu Yao didn't know what to do, so he kindly suggested: "I have a potion. Feed her one drop and it will erase her memory of today."

Lu Yao looked at Annie, hesitated for a few seconds, and said decisively: "Let's deal with it this way."

Anne: “…”

Lu Yao is not worried that the magic manicure will be seen by Annie. Once the research is successful, she will actively promote it.

But the dragon clan was obviously afraid of Annie. Erasing her memory would not threaten Annie's personal safety and could also eliminate the hidden dangers that might be brought to the dragon clan. She had no reason to object.

Annie didn't want to lose her memory, so she mustered up her courage and said, "Shopkeeper, I have something to say."

Although there were dragons all around, Annie still used her extraordinary intuition to figure out that Lu Yao was the one who could make the decision here.

She looked at Lu Yao and said firmly: "I will help the owner."

Lu Yao: “?”

After Annie thought it through, her fear faded a little. She looked at Lu Yao and said sincerely, "I was originally a student of the Imperial Royal School of Magic. I ranked first in magic assessments every year, and I am also the number one magician on the Capital Guild Adventure Team Ranking. I will keep the secret of the dragon, and it will definitely help you with your research. In exchange, can you not erase my memory?"

Lu Yao was a little curious, "Only erasing today's memory won't have much impact on you, why don't you want to?"

Anne hesitated for a while, looking a little embarrassed, but finally answered in a low voice: "Erasing my memory will indeed have no effect on me, but people around me will notice something strange. My mother won't say anything, but she will definitely be worried in private."

Anne's father passed away many years ago, and now Sid Levis relies entirely on Mrs. Sid for support.

However, there were countless people who coveted the huge fortune of the Xide family. The incident at the college had already alarmed her mother, and she could not allow anything to happen to her again, which would make her mother even more worried.

Lu Yao nodded and was about to agree, but Mu Xin stepped forward first, raised his hand and drew a line in the air, and a contract fell out.

She said calmly, "Humans are eloquent and cunning, so shopkeepers should not trust them easily. The contract is the only guarantee."

Human Race·Lu Yao: “…Oh.”

Mu Xin took out a confidentiality agreement, which prohibited him from revealing any secrets about the nail salon or the dragon after signing it.

In fact, Mu Xin prefers to erase Annie's memory, which is the safest option for the dragon clan.

Seeing Lu Yao's hesitation, she compromised for the first time.

The magic contract directly binds the soul, and once you sign your name, you cannot go back on your word.

Mu Xin supervised Annie to sign the contract before leaving with the chess equipment.

Annie could have left directly, but she didn't leave immediately. Instead, she stayed to visit Lu Yao's research.

She is an extremely talented magician who possesses the three attributes of wind, fire, and earth. In terms of theoretical knowledge and magical prowess alone, she can walk all over the Royal Academy where monsters roam frequently.

I originally thought that Lu Yao's research was at most at the level of classroom assignments at a magic academy, but with her level, she could definitely provide the store owner with some new ideas.

When Annie saw Lu Yao using two magic arrays, dark and light, to transform the wearable armor, she was stunned for a full minute.

If such a rare dual-attribute magician appeared in the Royal Academy, it would surely recreate the grand scene when Carlos-sama entered the school—many teachers pulled hair in public to compete for the outstanding seedlings...

What's even more frightening is that the three magical attributes and meticulous theoretical knowledge that she was proud of were of no use in Lu Yao's research topic.

Only the shop owner who possesses the dual attributes of light and darkness can destroy and reconstruct any material at will. Magicians of other attributes have no way to deal with that kind of magic circle.

Annie walked out of the laboratory in a daze, unable to recover for a long time.

It turns out that the shop owner she thought was the most ordinary one was the most perverted one.

Mrs. Sid waited in the hotel for a long time, but Anne did not come back. She could not calm down, so she took her guards to find Anne in the nail salon. She found Anne with a dejected look on her face, "What happened?"

Anne threw herself into Mrs. Sid's arms, rubbing her nose against her mother's shoulder, absorbing the familiar warmth. "Mom, I just suddenly feel that the world is so big."

Mrs. Sid gently hugged her daughter back without saying anything.

-

The nail salon hung a closed sign, and Lu Yao focused on studying the magic circle.

Three days later, she finally adjusted the magic array of light and dark attributes used in the transforming nail art to perfection.

She redid Harold's manicure.

Under the hold of the magic circle, when Harold's hands turned into dragon claws, the nails would first break into pieces. When the transformation was completed, the broken nail material would gather together again and stick to the tip of his claws.

The claws were inlaid with gems, glittering with jewels, and actually looked a bit like the clues that were obtained at the beginning.

The next day, the nail salon reopened and the apprentices Lu Yao had been longing for came, two at a time.