Arun stood frozen, staring at the fruit in his hand. It wasn't ordinary, it wasn't natural—it was a spiritual fruit.
"…I made this?" he whispered.
Roma nodded casually. "Yes."
Arun's eyes didn't leave it. "…With chakra?"
"Yes."
"…That's… precious."
Roma shrugged. "Depends how you look at it."
Arun's expression slowly shifted from shock to realization. He wasn't stupid. He came from a decent background, not the highest, but enough to understand value. Spiritual fruits were not something common people could just make. They required resources, time, energy, sometimes even luck. And here he was, holding one created out of nothing.
His grip tightened slightly.
If people find out…
His thoughts turned cold.
They won't buy it… they'll kill me for it.
He slowly looked at Roma. "…You trusted me with this?"
Roma didn't even look at him. "Hmm."
Arun went silent. That one small reaction was enough.
[System Notification]
Arun — Loyalty Increased: +3
Current Loyalty: 22/100
Roma didn't react outwardly, but inside he noted it.
Good.
Because this was calculated.
Everything was.
Roma leaned back slightly, thinking—cost, production, profit. Each spiritual fruit had a market price of 100 Relpies.
Their cost?
Almost nothing.
"1 Palso," Roma muttered.
100 Palso equaled 1 Relpies.
Meaning even if he sold each fruit at 50 Relpies, half the market price, he was still making massive profit.
"…And we can produce around 50 fruits per day," Roma calculated quietly.
Energy limit. Chakra reserve. Sustainable output.
Even then, the margin was ridiculous.
Roma's lips slowly curled. "…Perfect."
Then he started laughing.
"HAHAHA…"
Arun stared at him. "…Why are you laughing like a villain?"
Roma wiped his eyes slightly. "…Because this is beautiful."
"…What is?"
"Profit."
Arun sighed. "…I regret trusting you slightly."
Roma ignored him.
On the other side, Riz sat quietly. His role was different.
Roma walked over. "I'll handle your part."
Riz looked up.
Roma placed a few basic tools in front of him—simple instruments, bandages, herbal medicines.
"No complex treatment," Roma said. "Only basics."
Riz listened carefully.
"Physical therapy," Roma continued. "Body adjustments, minor injuries, muscle recovery."
Riz frowned slightly. "…Not real medical work?"
Roma shook his head. "No risk."
A pause.
"Also," Roma added, "you'll give advice."
"…Advice?"
Roma nodded. "Health. Basic cultivation guidance. Lifestyle."
Riz blinked. "…To random people?"
"Yes."
"…I don't know enough."
Roma shrugged. "Most people know less."
Silence.
"…That makes sense."
Roma continued, "Keep sessions short."
"How short?"
"Five minutes max."
Riz blinked. "…That's too fast."
Roma shook his head. "No."
He pointed outside. "More people equals more money."
"…Oh."
"Lower charge per session," Roma added, "but higher volume."
Riz nodded slowly. He understood.
Roma looked between both sides of the shop—fruits and health. Balance.
Then he pointed at himself. "I'll support wherever needed."
Arun looked at him. "…So you're the boss?"
Roma paused. "…No."
A beat.
"…I'm the brain."
Arun stared. "…That's worse."
Riz almost smiled.
Roma ignored both of them.
Everything was set—a system, a plan, a business.
For once, Roma wasn't reacting to the world.
He was controlling it.
And that felt good.
The first day was quiet. A few curious customers walked in, drawn by the large banner outside advertising fifty percent off for the first month. Some came for the price, some out of curiosity, and some simply because they had nothing better to do. They looked around at the unusual setup—spiritual fruits on one side and a "doctor" on the other.
"Is this real?" one man asked while holding a fruit.
Arun stood behind the counter, trying to look confident. "…Yes."
The man hesitated, then bought one and took a bite. For a moment, nothing happened, then his expression changed slightly. "…It's real."
That was enough.
By the second day, more people came. By the third, word had already started spreading across the area that there was a shop selling real spiritual fruits at half the price. By the fourth day, the shop was no longer quiet, as customers began arriving in groups—some sceptical, some excited, some simply looking for a good deal.
Roma stood in the corner, watching everything and silently calculating.
By the fifth day, it exploded. The shop was packed, voices overlapping.
"Two fruits!"
"Give me five!"
"Do you have more?!"
Arun didn't stop moving. His hands worked nonstop, chakra flowing as he created, sold, and created again, of course he created back in his room he doesn't want to show his skills to the world. Roma had no choice but to join him. They worked like machines—produce, sell, recover, repeat—barely pausing.
By the seventh day, they stabilized at more than one hundred fruits per day, each sold at fifty Relpies. Customers no longer questioned the price; they simply bought because it worked, because it was cheap, and because no one else offered anything like it.
Roma's calculations were completely correct.
At night, they collapsed from exhaustion. Arun lay flat on the floor, groaning that he couldn't feel his hands, while Roma, equally tired, replied that it meant he had worked properly. Arun muttered that he hated him, and Roma simply acknowledged it without concern. The next morning, they woke up and did it all over again.
Ten days passed like this—fast, relentless, and profitable.
On the tenth day, Roma sat at the table counting quietly. "Average one hundred fruits per day at fifty Relpies each… that's five thousand Relpies."
Arun stared in disbelief. "Five thousand… in just ten days?"
Roma nodded. "Yes."
Arun leaned back slowly. "…We're rich."
Roma shook his head. "No, we're just stable."
Riz sat nearby, his role quieter but steady. Patients came in with minor injuries, muscle pain, and fatigue, and he treated them with quick sessions, simple advice, and basic care. At first, people doubted him, but as results showed, they began returning. It wasn't perfect, but it worked well enough.
In ten days, Riz earned around one hundred Relpies. Not much, but consistent.
Roma nodded in satisfaction. Everything was working exactly as planned.
Arun leaned back and said, "I didn't think this would actually work this well."
Roma didn't respond immediately because he was already thinking ahead.
After a moment, Arun looked at him again and said, "So what about the Association? You said we're supposed to help people… especially war victims."
Roma looked at both of them and said, "I've already been working on that."
They both turned toward him immediately.
Roma continued, "I've been asking around about what happens to war victims, especially those who survive battles, and the answer is simple—they don't get saved, they get sold."
Arun frowned and said, "Do you mean the men and women… they end up as slaves?"
Roma nodded and said, "Yes, not just men and women, even children—they're all sold in the black market like goods."
Riz lowered his head slightly and said, "So that's where people like us end up… we just become something to be traded."
Roma replied, "That's exactly what happens."
The room grew quiet for a moment.
Then Roma leaned forward and said, "That's where we start."
Arun looked at him and asked, "You're saying we go to the black market?"
Roma nodded. "Yes."
Arun hesitated for a moment and then said, "But nobles also buy slaves from there, so how exactly are we saving anyone if we're doing the same thing?"
Roma replied calmly, "We're not going to do what they do. We're not buying people to own them—we're saving them."
They both looked at him.
Roma continued, "We give them a choice. We let them live with dignity. We give them work and salaries. No one gives salaries to slaves."
Arun stayed quiet, thinking.
Riz looked at Roma and asked softly, "And after that?"
Roma said, "This is only the beginning. Right now, we can only help a few, but later, when we have more money and resources, we'll help more people."
The room fell silent again, but this time it felt different—not heavy, not uncertain, but steady.
Arun exhaled slowly and said, "So we're still doing business… just differently."
Roma nodded. "Yes."
Riz looked at both of them, then nodded slightly.
Outside, the city continued as always
To be continued…