That’s... actually terrifying. He could go from house pet to a lion’s size in seconds.
"Incredible," Noah breathed, watching Leo return to his preferred adolescent size. "Your growth has been remarkable."
"The food you provided contained power beyond anything I’ve experienced," Leo explained, his mental voice carrying gratitude and appreciation. "My body needed time to fully absorb and integrate such concentrated energy."
The conversation was interrupted by familiar voices outside the shop. Noah’s enhanced hearing detected Princess Elara’s distinctive laughter mixed with Valeria’s voice, accompanied by several other voices he didn’t immediately recognise.
Noah moved toward the door, peering outside to see an impressive assembly gathering near his shop entrance. Princess Elara and Valeria led the group, but behind them stood figures whose very presence radiated an aura of power.
They were the kingdom’s strongest warriors.
This is going to be my biggest sale yet.
The shop door opened with the familiar chime, and Princess Elara entered first.
She was startled by Noah’s appearance at the door, but then relaxed and greeted him.
Noah returned the greeting to everyone before moving inside and letting them in. The shop was large enough to accommodate them all.
Entering inside, Elara’s amber eyes landed on Leo, who was too big not to notice.
"Oh my!" she exclaimed with genuine delight, her royal bearing momentarily forgotten as she spotted Noah’s companion. "Leo woke up! And look how much he’s grown!"
Valeria followed close behind. "He’s already reached adept rank," she observed with obvious amazement. "That level of advancement in just two days... It’s incredible."
Noah nodded with pride in his companion’s achievement. "His potential has also increased. His potential is master-level now."
"Wow," Elara breathed in a cold breath.
Master-level pets were by no means easy to find. The strongest pet the royal family had was an adept-rank wolf at the end of his potential. "That’s... incredibly rare. Master-potential magical beasts are considered national treasures in most kingdoms."
"Hello, Princess!" Leo greeted, he saw her as his father’s friend, and greeting was an obligation.
"He’s so cute, hi Leo."
The other members of their group began filing into the shop, their expressions equally impressed as they sensed Leo’s aura and noticed the abundant premium products displayed throughout the space.
Noah recognised several faces from the day before, but others were completely new, figures whose reputations preceded them into any room they entered.
"Welcome to the Idle Store," Noah announced with courtesy, gesturing toward his premium product displays. "I have fresh stock of all enhancement items available. A new item has also been added."
The assembled warriors moved through the shop with obvious appreciation for the quality and variety of options available.
"Those are the rare treasures: protein bars, beef jerky, energy drinks," one of the newer customers muttered aloud. "All permanent enhancement items of the highest quality."
But Princess Elara’s attention had focused on the new item that Noah had just spoken about. The one that hadn’t been present during her previous visits.
"Rice cakes?" she asked with obvious curiosity, approaching the display with growing interest. "This is the new product."
Noah nodded. "Just introduced today. They provide permanent intelligence enhancement along with the standard temporary boost."
The reaction from the assembled group was quite dramatic, to say the least. Intelligence enhancement items were rare even among permanent attribute boosters, their rarity making them more valuable than the other items.
"Permanent intelligence enhancement...Incredible," breathed a court mage whose robes marked him as one of the academy’s senior instructors.
"How much?" Elara asked immediately, mirroring everyone’s internal question.
"Same price as the other premium items," Noah replied smoothly. "One hundred fifty golden coins."
Without hesitation, Elara produced her coin pouch and counted out the payment with obvious eagerness to test the new product.
"I’ll take one immediately," she declared, accepting the rice cake with careful hands.
The assembled warriors watched with fascination as Princess Elara unwrapped the enhancement item and took her first bite.
As the princess, she had privileges that others didn’t, so none of them complained about her buying the first product. They also knew her relationship with the viscount wasn’t simple.
Elara’s expression immediately transformed, eyes widening with surprise at both the flavour and the effect.
"It’s... incredible," she murmured, her senses allowing her to feel the intelligence boost taking effect in real-time. "The taste is unlike anything I’ve experienced."
"I’ll take a protein bar, please," announced a master-level berserker whose reputation for strength was known throughout the kingdom.
"An energy drink, please," added a guild captain whose agility-based combat style would benefit enormously from the enhancement.
"One of the rice cakes and one beef jerky, please," declared a court mage who wanted to not only improve his power as a mage, but also his weakness, his vitality.
The transactions proceeded with enthusiasm as Noah distributed his premium stock among customers who understood exactly what they were purchasing. Each warrior approached their selections with careful consideration.
They were investing in their future power after all.
Within ten minutes, Noah’s entire premium inventory had been completely depleted. Eleven protein bars, eleven packages of beef jerky, eleven energy drinks, and ten rice cakes—all sold to the kingdom’s most elite practitioners.
Each item commanded its standard price of one hundred fifty golden coins, generating a total revenue that made Noah’s head spin with satisfaction.
Forty-three items multiplied by one hundred fifty coins equals... six thousand four hundred fifty golden coins.
The calculation translated to $645,000 in his currency conversion system, immediately restoring more than half of what he’d invested in idle room training just hours earlier.
But beyond the monetary value, each sale had generated ten shop points, bringing his total to nearly ten thousand, tantalizingly close to finishing one of the requirements for the Shop Level 3 upgrade that would allow him to gain new products and new features like the idle room.
As the last customer completed their purchase and departed with obvious satisfaction, Noah found himself alone with Princess Elara, Valeria and Leo.