April 20th.
Five days had passed since Ron André was granted the title of Count.
During this time, the Magic Duel tournament had officially concluded its round-robin stage.
The four finalists were locked in:
Andy
Betty
Wardson
Rowell
The news that the finals would be held at the Grand Martial Arena had already spread throughout the Royal Capital.
Even commoners who usually kept their heads down working had heard about it.
As for the nobles and various factions who closely followed Ron—
They were naturally paying even more attention.
And the players?
They were practically on fire with excitement, discussing everything related to the finals day and night.
Even Dole Primary Academy, before Andy had even officially enrolled—
Had already hung banners celebrating his advancement to the finals.
Normally, things wouldn't have gotten this exaggerated.
But—
Because the Royal Capital Magic Academy had formed a strategic partnership with the Magic Arena—
Many smaller academies began treating Magic Duel very differently.
Especially after clubs dedicated to it were established—
Having "talent" in Magic Duel gradually became something to show off.
Participants of the first Magic Duel tournament—
Now, they carried a sort of halo among their peers.
They still weren't on the same level as real mages or warriors—
But within their circles?
They now had status.
Zooming out to the entire Empire—
Magic Arenas across regions had finally finished construction.
Staff were being recruited and trained.
Kiel had taken all the positive buzz from the Royal Capital—
And turned it into promotional material.
With the help of Mimic Grass—
Videos of Magic Duel matches were directly projected across different regions.
Commoners. Nobles. Mages. Warriors.
All are competing on the same stage.
Combined with dazzling visual effects—
Element Cards became popular before even being released in those regions.
After all—
The Royal Capital always sets the trends.
Once something became popular there—
It was unstoppable elsewhere.
Especially among minor nobles—
Who usually had nothing better to spend money on.
The moment they saw:
Elementia card skins
Figurines of Elementia
They immediately raised their gold coins.
Buy!
"What? Not in stock yet?"
"Pre-order!"
"Give me five hundred first—fill up my study!"
Even Ron himself—
Had secretly kept one Elementia figurine.
Made from Chameleon Radish—
Soft, resilient, and impossible to deform.
Amazing texture.
Only flaw?
…You couldn't undress it.
Anyway—
After the conferment ceremony—
Ron had spent several days handling the handover of Tansen City.
Even though he didn't plan to replace the local administration—
There were still countless matters requiring his attention.
So while he had briefly checked:
His new Count title
The reward: Phantom Willow
He hadn't tested them yet.
Now, on the 20th—
After finally getting a grasp on the overall situation—
He had some time.
Standing at the plantation base outside Tansen City—
He suddenly stopped and spoke into the air:
"The Goddess recently granted me a new ability. I'll test it now. Don't be alarmed."
A shadow rose from the ground.
Yuna appeared, fox ears twitching.
"...What is it?"
Ron grinned mischievously.
Then—
He vanished.
"Ron!"
Yuna's eyes widened.
Her Battle Aura surged instantly.
Shadow marks spread across the surroundings—
But there was no trace of him.
Just as she was about to react—
Footsteps sounded behind her.
A hand rested on her shoulder.
She restrained her instinct to strike—
Because she recognized the aura.
"What just happened?" she turned, eyeing him carefully. "Did the Goddess grant you some kind of dimensional stealth?"
"Not exactly." Ron smiled. "It's limited. Just letting you know in advance."
His new ability:
As a Territorial Count—
He could freely teleport anywhere within his domain.
Just now—
He had jumped to a distant town—
Then returned behind Yuna.
It sounded powerful.
But in practice?
Not that useful.
First—
His territory wasn't that large.
Roughly equivalent to a mid-sized city and surrounding towns.
With an Element Vehicle, he could already reach anywhere in about fifteen minutes.
Second—
He couldn't bring living beings along.
Meaning—
Yuna couldn't follow him.
Third—
Appearing suddenly in public would cause panic.
And if word spread—
It could attract unwanted attention.
So, unless he faced life-threatening danger—
This ability wasn't particularly practical.
…Unless…
If I could use this inside the flower shop…
Like suddenly appearing while Nora's taking a bath…
That… might be interesting.
Wait.
Why give a Count such a suspiciously "sneaky" ability?
For daily mischief?
Ron sighed internally.
After leaving the plantation—
He returned to the flower shop branch via Element Vehicle.
Sending Yuna off—
He entered his dimensional space.
Next—
Time to plant the reward:
Phantom Willow
Because just reading the system description—
Didn't tell him much at all.