"I could offer you one of my prized specimens.
A Nightshade Lotus—extremely rare, it has beautiful purple blooms that—"
"What would I do with it?" Noah interrupted, imagining his apartment overrun by the tiny plant monster.
"Well, it’s quite beautiful when it blooms—"
Vex paused mid-pitch. "Only small animals. Rabbits, cats, the occasional small fingers if they’re not careful—"
Yeah, I’ll pass on acquiring a pet that views me as a potential snack.
What would I possibly want it for? To eat me? No thanks.
The viscount’s shoulders slumped in defeat. His grand bribery scheme had crumbled against Noah’s complete lack of interest in acquiring a deadly flora.
Sorry, Vex. I prefer my plants to be decorative and non-carnivorous.
But as Vex stood there, deflated, Noah’s entrepreneurial instincts kicked in.
The demon clearly had money and motivation to feed his little flower, he fit the classic premium customer profile.
"Have you considered the tea?" Noah gestured toward the glass bottles.
"It increases the mana regeneration and reserves for ten minutes, and it also tastes amazing, according to all my customers. It will complement the bread’s effects."
Vex’s eyes widened as if Noah had revealed the secrets of the universe. The Venus Demonic perked up too, her tiny head swivelling toward the bottles with obvious interest.
Even this demonic plant wants the peach iced tea. It’s wanted in all worlds, haha.
It was clear that Peach Iced-tea was one of Noah’s favourite drinks.
"Enhanced mana regeneration?"
"Ten minutes per bottle," Noah explained, lifting one bottle to catch the light.
Twenty gold coins were placed on his table.
That’s why I love rich customers. They don’t hesitate, they just buy.
"Will this truly help her?"
"Well, it depends. Like I said, the iced tea is soothing to the throat and heart. It has a very cool sensation, and it mainly increases your mana. Perhaps, combined with the bread’s effects, it might provide some slight improvement."
Vex accepted the glass bottle before popping it open.
Then, Vex carefully tilted it toward his precious.
Her petals flared wide, tiny teeth chattering with excitement. She practically vibrated with anticipation as the peach iced tea approached.
The moment the tea touched her delicate mouth, Precious began to shake—not with weakness, but with pure, unbridled joy. Her entire bloom quivered as mana coursed through her tiny system.
The plant is having some kind of spasm.
Colour flooded back into her petals like sunrise breaking over mountains, and her tiny vines reached out to embrace Vex’s finger with obvious affection.
"Magnificent!" Vex breathed, tears of joy streaming down his crimson cheeks. "She hasn’t been this excited in months!"
It turns out that watching a grown demon viscount cry over his plant companion is unexpectedly quite touching.
Precious finished the tea and immediately began exploring her renewed vitality. She snapped playfully at Vex’s other hand, clearly playing with him.
"She’s trying to hunt again!" Vex sobbed with happiness. "Look at that killing instinct! So beautiful!"
Only demons would find homicidal plants beautiful. But honestly? She does look kind of adorable.
After Vex departed with his revitalised plant companion, Noah finally had a moment to process the morning’s strange success.
The system notification flashed across his retina.
[Your idle income has been updated!]
[Daily Revenue: $3,000]
Three thousand dollars daily. If I sat at home doing nothing but binge-watching my favourite show, I would still be making $90,000 a month.
His bread had locked in at ten gold coins, tea at twenty. Combined, they granted him a total of thirty golden coins a day idly.
Before he could fully appreciate his financial progress, a familiar silhouette appeared at his doorway.
Noah’s heart rate spiked immediately upon realising who it was.
She stood just outside his threshold, her ruby eyes glinting with amusement.
Her curves were accentuated by form-fitting clothing that seemed designed to short-circuit any man’s rational thoughts.
Her dark black hair was especially beautiful under the sun’s rays, creating a halo effect that made her look like sin incarnate.
Too beautiful. Dangerously beautiful.
Noah immediately averted his gaze, studying his inventory with sudden fascination. Anything to avoid those hypnotic eyes and the trouble they promised.
Don’t look directly at the succubus. Basic survival instinct. I can’t fall for her tricks again.
Lola’s soft laughter drifted through the open doorway like honey laced with poison.
"Trying to ignore me, mysterious man?"
Mysterious man...She still doesn’t know my name.
"I feel rude, I should’ve asked for your name yesterday, when we were so...close..to each other."
Her voice was naturally seductive without trying, and with trying, it made her double the trouble. The demons in the plaza turned around to take a closer look at the man who had caught the succubus’s attention.
Although Lola was a succubus, she had never done such things to a demon before, much less a human.
Noah continued organizing his shelves, hyperaware of her presence but refusing to engage.
Keep busy. Don’t make eye contact. Don’t fall for whatever game she’s playing.
"I tried to enter, but something’s blocking me. What kind of magic did you use? I like it, it’s quite aggressive."
Her voice dropped to a sultry whisper that seemed to caress the air itself.
"Could you please... let me in?"
The last sentence carried enough seductive power to make grown demons weep. Even with his back turned, Noah felt the pull of her charisma like gravity made of temptation.
No. I’m keeping you outside for longer. Consider it punishment for yesterday’s performance.
He thought. Despite that, he felt worried. The succubus couldn’t enter his store, this might be a problem.
’System, why can’t she enter? Is the ban permanent?’
I can’t lose a rich customer to petty revenge. That’s three thousand dollars in potential sales.
[The succubus Lola is unable to enter because you expelled her from the store. The shop maintains a passive security feature preventing re-entry of ejected individuals. However, you retain authority to grant access privileges.]