Ron André hadn't expected that a single paper from Professor Simmons would once again set a new research direction for the private experimental zone.
At that moment, he realized once more—
There were still countless unknown phenomena in this world.
Just like in his previous life, many existing theories might still be flawed, waiting for future generations to challenge and refine them.
Unfortunately, Ron wasn't an experimental-type mage.
He couldn't participate directly in the research process.
Otherwise… that would've been something quite meaningful.
Still—
Providing the Element Potatoes, a crucial resource for the experiments, could be considered his own way of contributing.
After what happened that afternoon, Ron immediately returned to the City of Chaos and delivered a large batch of Element Potatoes to the experimental zone.
As the research progressed, the side quest—exploring the relationship between mana and elements—was gradually yielding results under Illya and the others' efforts.
Meanwhile—
Both the other side quest and the main quest were advancing steadily.
From the western region, Lyle had sent word:
The hotpot restaurants were nearly finished with renovations.
Although the western region was the largest in area, it had the smallest population. Cities, towns, and rural settlements made up less than 10% of its land.
Because of that, compared to the other three regions—
The hotpot expansion there had actually progressed the fastest.
With Princess Mia's name backing it, no one dared cause trouble.
According to Lyle's estimates—
By April 20th, hotpot restaurants would be established in all major cities across the Human Empire.
This side quest, which had lasted several months, was finally nearing completion.
Reward: Phantom Willow
No idea what it did yet.
As for the Magic Duel tournament, it was in full swing.
According to pre-event estimates, the round-robin stage would last at least eight days.
Each of the 16 players had to face the other 15—
Over 100 matches in total.
And since there was only one arena on the sixth floor—
The schedule was even longer than the elimination rounds.
At this rate, the main quest would likely only be completed after the 20th.
Reward: Devouring Bamboo
Just from the name, it sounded powerful.
Everything was on track.
Each task had someone responsible.
Ron didn't need to micromanage anything.
Which meant—
He now had more time to plan the future of Tansen City.
To make those plans possible, many creations requiring Element Potatoes and magic arrays became especially important.
So in the experimental zone:
Research on mana and elements → led by Harper
Other mages → assisted
Illya → mainly handled data analysis
Most of her time, however, was still spent with Ron—
Building all sorts of strange inventions.
And thinking about how to create production lines that matched his ideas.
In Ron's vision:
Things like:
Element buses
Refrigerators
Water condensers
Should all be mass-produced via assembly lines—
Operated by ordinary people.
Meanwhile, experts like Illya—
Shouldn't waste time on repetitive labor.
She only needed to:
Create prototypes
Design production lines based on them
But for now—
Since no such production lines existed yet—
She still had to build things like buses manually.
For example—
Ron's private army would need at least a hundred elemental guns in the early stage.
As for consumer items like refrigerators and condensers—
Ron had no intention of rolling them out yet.
Once Tansen City became his territory—
His priorities would be:
Dealing with annual beast tides
Improving low-income conditions
Only after stabilizing those—
Would he consider improving the quality of life?
Thinking about all this—
Ron couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
He even began to suspect—
Were those factions so eager to grant him a count title…
Because they noticed how much of a laid-back guy he was?
So they deliberately gave him a territory—
Just to keep him busy and ruin his peaceful life?
…Honestly, not impossible.
Meanwhile, various factions continued sending people to approach him—
Hoping he'd choose territory within their sphere of influence.
Clearly—
Their attitude had shifted.
At first, they tried to seize control of Ron's Wonderful Flower Shop.
Now?
They preferred to recruit him instead.
The logic was simple:
If you can't control him—
Then bring him into your camp.
It was all about benefit.
At the beginning, they thought Ron was easy to manipulate.
Now they knew—
He wasn't.
And forcing things would only reduce their gains.
So cooperation became the better option.
Unfortunately for them—
Ron had no intention of joining any faction.
As time passed, the day of the title ceremony drew closer.
News of Ron becoming a territorial count spread throughout the Royal Capital.
But for most commoners—
It wasn't a big deal.
What really captured public attention was—
The Magic Duel tournament.
As the round-robin stage intensified—
The 16 players delivered increasingly exciting matches.
And gradually—
They became stars in the eyes of the audience.
Even Andy, a commoner player—
Had gained a large following, including noble ladies.
Sensing the opportunity, the Magic Arena launched:
Official support posters for each player
The result?
Instant sellouts.
When Ron visited the arena occasionally—
He saw the audience waving all kinds of posters—
Both official and bootleg.
He couldn't help but chuckle.
"Yeah… this really has that fandom culture vibe."
Still, he didn't dwell on it.
His main focus remained on working with Illya.
Besides elemental guns—
They were also developing construction equipment:
Excavators
Lifting platforms
As more devices were created—
And Illya's work on production lines deepened—
Time quietly passed.
Soon—
It was April 15th.
The day of Ron André's Count title conferment ceremony—
Had officially arrived.