Chapter 100

Chapter 100

"Then I won't refuse, Auntie!" Lorant's eyes sparkled with amusement as he affectionately called out and happily took the belt, trying it on.

"Touch it and imagine your spirit entering it, and you'll be able to see the space inside." Jacqueline kindly explained the basic usage of the spatial accessory to Lorant.

Lorant delightedly held the belt in his hands, repeatedly putting a small bone dish inside and taking it out, thoroughly enjoying himself.

He looked just like a child who had received a favorite toy.

The internal space of this spatial belt was approximately the size of a twenty-by-twenty square room.

It was quite spacious.

Very convenient to use, Lorant quickly fell deeply in love with it after playing with it for a bit.

He eagerly fastened the belt around his waist.

The young man was rather slim, and even after being well-fed for so long, he hadn't gained much weight.

With the belt now on, his slender waist made one want to reach out and touch it.

Jacqueline patiently watched Lorant fiddle with the belt by himself, waiting until he had it properly fastened before speaking again: "Alright, you came today for the Animal Pet Shop's reopening, right?"

Lorant had mentioned long ago that the reopening of the Animal Pet Shop depended on the success of his new pet breeding.

Since he brought the "Dream Weaver," a brand new pet, it meant that the previously agreed-upon promotion of the Animal Pet Shop in Sakoren, in collaboration with the Beast Tower, would also begin.

"That's right, Auntie Jacqueline. The Animal Pet Shop is set to reopen tomorrow. For a while, the main pets will be the Windbreaker Horses, the Crystal Ice Flame Dogs, and the Dream Weavers."

"You should already understand the special qualities of this type of pet. This Dream Weaver is a gift for you, Auntie Jacqueline. You can experience its effects tonight, and I'm sure you'll love this little guy!"

Lorant was very confident about this. He believed no mage could resist the allure of the Dream Weaver.

However, he understood the importance of promotion.

Even the best wine suffers if the alley is too deep; no matter how powerful the pets were, they would be meaningless if no one knew about them.

To establish a foothold quickly, the most crucial thing for the Animal Pet Shop was to increase its visibility.

Only by raising their profile and enhancing their strength would those with ulterior motives abandon their covert schemes.

Not only did Lorant need promotion, but he also wanted the public opinion to be in his favor.

The Congress of Magic, the Empire, the Church, and the Knight Regiment—these seemingly polite gentlemen had no shortage of blood on their hands.

They could label an unnamed mage who had achieved something within the Mage Tower as an evil person wanting to harm the world, thus justifying their "sanction" under the guise of justice.

But they couldn't say the same about the fifth-level spellcasting mage known as the "Holy Doctor" who wandered among the people.

Those who had benefited from him would be the first to oppose and question such accusations.

At least, the difficulty of defamation would be vastly different between the two.

Having come from an era of information explosion and having seen countless instances of positive and negative publicity, Lorant was not willing to lose out in these aspects.

Gaining the high ground in public opinion would allow him to better promote his theories.

"This kind of pet..." Jacqueline's attention remained entirely on the Dream Weaver.

She was a pure mage with little interest in such intricate matters.

"Is it really as amazing as you say?" From her perspective, the Animal Pet Shop didn't need the extensive promotion Lorant had proposed; with such powerful beasts, everyone would eventually know about them.

If this beast truly matched the description in Lorant's guidebook, it would cause a seismic shift in the magical profession.

"Of course, Auntie Jacqueline can feel it yourself tonight to confirm its effects." Lorant had absolute confidence in his pet: "However, we should start the promotion methods we discussed today."

Jacqueline nodded: "Certainly, I'll call Tang En now. You can let him handle what you talked about earlier."

"Frankly, Lorant, can't you call him yourself?" she muttered quietly, eager to study the Dream Weaver.

She found such trivial matters a waste of time.

The vast grounds of the Beast Tower and the numerous beast farms could not possibly be maintained solely by the nine reclusive mages within the tower.

In fact, the Beast Tower had a significant number of subordinates, many of whom had lived generations in service to the tower.

Like the attendants of the Cavendish family, they were trusted private reserves.

The farms and city businesses of the Beast Tower were managed by these people.

A young man arrived at the Beast Tower.

Dressed neatly and wearing a monocle, Lorant sensed Peter's aura when he first met him—a professional butler's demeanor.

"Lorant, it seems your Animal Pet Shop is preparing to reopen, isn't it?" Tang En had met Lorant before, and despite their similar ages, Tang En was skilled at conversation, leading to a good relationship.

Lorant nodded: "That's right, so I'm planning to start the promotion in Sakoren as we discussed."

He glanced at Jacqueline, who seemed bored and lost in thought, and said helplessly: "Auntie Jacqueline, go ahead and study it. Just don't hurt the little guy. We can talk ourselves."

Jacqueline perked up, and Lorant could almost see a tail wagging behind her: "Don't worry, Lorant, I won't hurt it! Absolutely not!"

"Oh, right, your protective spell. I'll have Robert bring the materials over later."

"Thank you, Auntie Jacqueline. It's a bother." Lorant smiled warmly.

Tang En rose respectfully and gave a salute to the current head of the Beast Tower, watching him leave.

After Jacqueline's figure disappeared, Tang En let out a sigh of relief, got up to make himself a cup of hot cocoa, and comfortably sat down opposite Lorant.

"So, according to what you said, you want the Gale Horses pulling a carriage with the Animal Pet Shop logo to parade along the main streets."

Lorant corrected, "It's a float, not an ordinary carriage. Don't get that wrong."

Tang En nodded. As the steward of the Beast Tower, serving these eccentric mages was his duty. Compared to them, Lorant was already the most normal member of the entire Beast Tower.

"No problem, we're all set."

"Also, we need to buy advertising time on all the commercial screens for a few days, all dedicated to broadcasting the Animal Pet Shop ads, right?"

Lorant nodded; he had already tasked Lancelot with creating short ads suitable for broadcast on the commercial screens.

When you have a highly attractive product, the creativity of the ad becomes less important.

The Animal Pet Shop ads didn't require much thought; they simply showcased a few images of the animal pets and were considered complete.

Although simple, in Lorant's eyes, it unexpectedly resembled the animation that played when opening his guidebook.

However, Lorant needed a massive, unprecedented campaign to announce to everyone:

The Blue Star Pet Shop has arrived.

However, since all the Crystal Ice Flame Dogs have been delivered to their respective owners, and the next batch will take some time to hatch, the only animal pets currently available for display were the Gale Horses.

Unlike the Crystal Ice Flame Dogs, when the Gale Horses began breeding, it marked the Animal Pet Shop's transition to a stable operation.

At that stage, Lorant had sufficient resources to manage the breeding schedule effectively.

Thus, the breeding intervals of these animal pets were well-organized, and given their large litter sizes, the Animal Pet Shop could produce a new batch of Gale Horses every one to two days, ensuring a steady supply.

Of course, even so, Lorant still controlled the number provided to each Knight Regiment, not paying them all at once.

He also needed a large number of Gale Horses to remain in the Animal Pet Shop to ensure operational stability.

After all, it would be too embarrassing to have a large Animal Pet Shop without a single pet to sell.

Lorant did not want to see that situation again.

So far, apart from The Knights of the Thorns having five hundred Gale Horses, the other Knight Regiments and outposts each had fewer than a hundred, which was not yet a substantial number.

In contrast, Lorant kept over six hundred Gale Horses in the Animal Pet Shop, including the initial hundred that were artificially accelerated using the Time Device.

These Gale Horses, due to their accelerated growth, developed much slower than their siblings and remained about the same size as normally born Gale Horses.

Therefore, Lorant decided to keep this batch of Gale Horses within the Animal Pet Shop, not selling these seemingly 'flawed' animals.

They were valuable specimens, and their inherent shortcomings did not diminish their importance.

Moreover, for Lorant, the Gale Horses were somewhat too large for ordinary people. For knights, however, they were just right, as knights had superior physical attributes and heights often exceeding two meters.

Like the Lennart brothers, both standing over two meters three tall, they looked like iron towers from afar.

When the first batch of Gale Horses was born, they couldn't even carry the weight of the brothers in full armor, let alone their shields and lances.

Thus, after subsequent batches were born, the brothers quickly switched to larger ones as their mounts.

Only these large horses could bear the knights' formidable weight during charges, allowing their three-meter-long lances to be used effectively.

However, these Gale Horses were still useful for daily use within the Animal Pet Shop, especially for ordinary people like Lorant and Ruth, who found riding them relatively easier.

Now, these Gale Horses were perfect for the upcoming task.

Lorant planned to divide them into three groups, sending them to Mauplan, Holland, and Sakuren for simultaneous promotional events.

The Blue Star Pet Shop was never intended to cater only to professionals; Lorant's ambitions extended far beyond that.

His true target was the vast number of ordinary people, even those living in poverty but still full of potential.

Moreover, tomorrow was the Flower Festival. Even the poorest families would bring their children into the city to enjoy the festivities.

At the very least, they would go to the church to receive a crude 'Goddess Cake' to fill their bellies.

This was the perfect time for promotion.

Before making ordinary people willing to purchase animal pets, they must first familiarize themselves with their existence.

Only then would some clever individuals be enticed.

During previous Flower Festivals, every household would place a bouquet of flowers at their door, believing that the most beautiful bouquet would attract the Flower Goddess, bringing good luck for the year.

Now, Lorant felt it was time to add to this tradition.

He prepared three beautifully decorated flower floats adorned with various flowers, each requiring five Gale Horses, each over three meters tall, to pull.

On these floats, all the animal pets from the Animal Pet Shop would be displayed, introducing the concepts of 'animal pets' and 'Blue Star Pet Shop' to more people.

As the most fitting animal pets for the Flower Festival, the flower floats naturally included the Flower Rooters.

The Flower Rooters are now adults, continuously spitting out flowers every day.

Lorant had sealed their 'mouths' on top of their heads for a while, waiting until tomorrow to lift the leather covers, turning these Flower Rooters into beautiful 'flower cannons.'

On each side of the flower floats facing the street, Lorant arranged dozens of carefully selected Flower Rooters of the same color. The sight of these little creatures spitting out flowers together should be quite spectacular.

Additionally, the flower floats would be adorned with many bamboo lanterns. These animal pets can now float by themselves, so tying them with ropes ensures they won't fly away.

When night falls, these faint glows gather above the floats, creating a beautiful sight.

Lorant naturally wouldn't forget the Fluffy Slimes and Thick-Feathered Slimes. Each float has its own theme color, and according to these colors, Lorant brought in matching Slime pets.

Putting these big round balls on the floats for them to bounce around should be quite an attraction.

After the parade ends, these little creatures can still liven up the atmosphere of the venue.

Of course, the most important part of the float parade in Lorant's memory is the people on top.

Lorant specially hired three well-known dance groups to perform on each of the three floats.

These groups, which always perform to packed houses, cost him a pretty penny.

Although the expense made Lorant a bit reluctant, the enthusiastic dances and songs do indeed create a lively atmosphere. After watching a rehearsal, he immediately confirmed their participation without hesitation.

In addition to the floats, Lorant also planned to showcase the hundred Wind-Breaking Horses.

During the Flower Festival, anyone who queues up can take a free ride on a Wind-Breaking Horse for a simple experience.

Of course, compared to the floats, the routes for the Wind-Breaking Horses are more varied. They can go down side streets as well as main roads, as long as the ride doesn't exceed ten minutes.

This allows people to better experience the presence of animal pets, preparing them for Lorant's future plans.

The appeal of having such close contact with exotic beasts is something Lorant, who came from the slums, understands all too well.

With this, Lorant felt that his preparations were quite sufficient.

With flower roots during the day, bamboo lanterns at night, and lively performances on the floats, Lorant believed his floats would shine brightly among the three main cities!

The next morning, Lorant woke up early.

Good sleep quality had reduced his tendency to oversleep in recent days.

He could wake up refreshed every morning around eight or nine o'clock.

Even after only five hours of sleep due to staying up late thinking about the opening, Lorant was still energetic.

Every morning, his first task was to rub the head of the Dream Weaver, who had worked all night, and say goodnight to it properly.

The little creature yawned widely, rubbed against Lorant's hand, and curled up comfortably in its nest to continue sleeping.

This little creature's circadian rhythm is completely opposite to its owner's. It works diligently every night and then sleeps soundly when the owner wakes up, digesting the feast it had overnight.

The Ghost Spider baby also woke up, dropping right in front of Lorant, extending its claws and begging for a hug while cooing in Lorant's mind.

The name "Baby" was ultimately given to the little Ghost Spider by Lorant.

Lorant tried calling it other names, but the Ghost Spider would get upset, pretending not to understand that it was being called.

So Lorant had no choice but to continue using the name he had been calling it since it was still an animal pet egg.

And no matter how Lorant explained, the Ghost Spider insisted on calling Lorant "Baby" as well.

Thus, the two ended up calling each other "Baby."

Lorant greeted Baby with a good morning, put it in his pocket, and went downstairs.

All the large wooden windows in the living room were already open.

The cool morning breeze blew freely into the house, carrying the fresh scent of crushed grass.

As the weather warmed up, Lorant no longer kept the house sealed. He preferred natural sunlight and air over the light provided by illumination spells.

The windows were open, but the indoor temperature was still maintained by the magic system, allowing one to enjoy the gentle breeze comfortably.

Mike always got up early to activate the cleaning spells in each room of the Animal Pet Shop before doing his own work.

Taya would also help Ruth prepare breakfast for the family before heading off to work.

At this moment, only Lancelot was eating breakfast in the hall.

Lorant scooped a bowl of oatmeal and sat across from him. "Lancelot, good morning. Where are the others?"

Lancelot picked up a piece of pickled vegetable with his fork and pointed towards the Animal Pet Shop.

"They're inside. Taya opened the shop early, and those mages across the street rushed in like madmen." He sighed, "Ruth Auntie also went over to help, but it's quite chaotic there now."

Indeed, it was chaotic. The mages originally waiting outside the Animal Pet Shop just to reserve a Crystal Ice Flame Dog were stunned by the two prominent animal pet models inside.

However, they quickly gathered around Taya's counter, waving their crystal cards to secure their spots.

Once they achieved their initial goal, they had time to look around, which gave them a huge shock.

"Dream Weaver! When will the boss let us see the Dream Weaver!"

"Yeah! Those behind, stop pushing; let us make our reservations first and then see the Dream Weaver!"

"Why should we? I want to make my reservation first."

"Can those who have finished please leave?"

The entire Animal Pet Shop was in chaos.

If not for the fact that they were inside the shop, these guys might have started dueling with their wands right there.

Well, such things are not uncommon in Sakolen.

Lorant pushed the door open and was immediately hit by a wave of various sounds.

His motion halted instantly.

Lancelot, standing behind him, chuckled and pushed him inside.

The atmosphere in the shop changed abruptly as they entered.

Everyone's gaze focused on the two of them, and upon seeing Lorant, their looks turned intensely heated.

"Is that the shopkeeper?"

"Should be. Didn't they say he's a black-haired, black-eyed boy?"

"Indeed, appearances can be deceiving..."

These whispered comments were quite noticeable in the suddenly quiet shop. When Lorant heard "appearances can be deceiving," a small cross appeared on his forehead out of irritation.

What the hell does that mean! Who are they talking about!

But before he could react, the shop erupted into noise once again, even louder than before.