While Ron André was still lost in his thoughts inside the carriage, several other carriages passed by, catching his attention.
The drivers were all dwarves.
Through the windows, he could see that the dwarves inside were dressed in luxurious attire—clearly individuals of some status.
"Have the diplomatic delegations arrived?" Ron wondered.
Previously, when Emperor André III had invited him to dine at the palace, he had mentioned matters regarding envoys from other races.
Every few years—or sometimes even annually—
Delegations from the major races would gather in the Human Empire's Royal Capital.
Even the beastfolk, who waged winter wars almost every year, would still send representatives.
Many interspecies issues were brought to these meetings.
Though most discussions turned into endless arguments—
They did resolve quite a few disputes.
Many treaties, agreements, and contracts between races were born from such gatherings.
Ron didn't care much about these matters.
But for the upcoming Magic Cup finals—
He planned to invite these delegations to attend.
If Element Cards could spread to other races through this opportunity—
That would be a nice bonus.
After this brief distraction, Ron returned to Ron's Wonderful Flower Shop and entered the pocket dimension.
As usual, he explained this place to Yuna as a "space for communicating with the Goddess of Harvest — Hervesta."
Whenever something couldn't be explained—
Just let the goddess take the blame.
As for why he entered with his real body this time—
It wasn't to improve planting efficiency.
It was for experiments.
Over the past few days, Ron had conducted numerous tests on Element Potatoes, gradually uncovering their properties.
Especially regarding their lifespan and usage efficiency.
This type of experiment required long-term observation.
If done normally, it would demand significant manpower and resources.
The private lab had just been established—
There simply weren't enough people.
Illya was already too busy to focus on this.
At the current pace, it would take at least one or two months to get reliable results.
But inside the cultivation space—
With accelerated time—
That process was compressed dramatically.
Since many responsibilities had already been delegated, Ron found himself with free time.
So he decided to conduct the experiments himself.
The process was simple… and incredibly boring.
But with time acceleration—
Even boredom lost its power.
After several days of testing, Ron summarized a few key points:
1. Storage Lifespan
If left unused, Element Potatoes could last for several years.
The exact duration depended on the surrounding elemental density.
2. Active Consumption
Once used, they would begin to degrade.
If used continuously without rest, their lifespan could drop to about one month.
3. Rest Cycles
Alternating between use and rest could significantly extend their lifespan.
His current experiment focused on finding the optimal "rest interval" to maximize efficiency.
This wasn't urgent.
After all, Element Potatoes could be mass-produced in the cultivation space.
However—
Now that he understood their properties—
A new problem emerged:
Security.
Unlike elemental stones, which were quickly depleted once stolen—
Element Potatoes were different.
The total elemental output they could provide was likely thousands of times greater.
Even with recovery intervals—
They were vastly superior.
If such a resource fell into the wrong hands—
The consequences could be troublesome.
Of course, Ron wasn't going to stop using them out of fear.
At most, he wanted to find preventive measures.
And besides—
They weren't truly infinite.
They would eventually rot.
Compared to potential risks—
Ron was more concerned with how to utilize them effectively.
His business empire was already expanding rapidly.
Almost every major faction had signed cooperation agreements with his shop.
The result?
A massive cash flow.
And he was spending it just as fast:
Element Cards
Hot pot restaurants
Research labs
Private experimental zones
For now, everything was stable.
But once Tansen City became his territory—
The cost of building and upgrading an entire city would be on a completely different scale.
Especially with all the "strange ideas" he wanted to implement.
So—
He needed new income sources.
The simplest option?
Selling new plants.
Rejected.
Too risky.
So instead, Ron came up with indirect monetization ideas:
pine-needle tea houses (for certain… male concerns)
resin SPA treatments (beauty and recovery)
Chameleon Radish figurines
Cinema systems using Mimic Grass projections
And…
Element Stations—similar to power plants, supplying elemental energy for a fee
Some of these ideas were already in planning.
Others remained theoretical.
The tea houses and SPA services would undoubtedly be popular among nobles.
Once Nora had time after the Magic Cup—
She could start testing these businesses.
After all:
One targeted noblemen
The other targeted noble ladies
And both—
Would ultimately drain the same wallets.
As for figurines—
Production of Elementia models was already underway.
Once finalized, they could be mass-produced using Chameleon Radish.
The cinema concept, however—
It was still in its early stages.
Currently, Mimic Grass is mainly used for projections in the Magic Cup—
Or as an advertising tool by Guy.
Movies would require time to develop.
And more importantly—
It was unclear whether people would even pay to watch them.
Significant upfront investment would be needed to cultivate audience habits.
As for the Element Station idea…
Ron sighed.
The problem was simple:
There were no affordable materials capable of transmitting magic power over long distances.
No equivalent to "cables."
When he proposed the idea to Illya—
Reality quickly shut it down.
After finishing today's experiments, Ron exited the pocket dimension.
He couldn't help but reflect:
Ideas from his previous world—
It couldn't just be copied over.
They had to be adapted to fit this world's rules.
If even something like a "power plant" couldn't be built—
Who knew when something like the internet could ever exist here?
Otherwise—
Life really was a bit too boring.