Girl in the Box: Please tell me why I was reincarnated as a mimic monster!

Their current half-dead state probably wouldn't recover anytime soon, so Ning simply pulled Li away. After saying goodbye to Lemi at the counter, they left the Borg Trading Company and boarded a carriage bound for Akihabara.

"Hey, miss," the driver asked as he drove, "if I remember correctly, you two are the people who were being talked about all over the streets not long ago, right?"

“If you’re talking about the person who caused a scene at the Adventurers’ Guild, then she is indeed the one.” Ning readily laid out her reasoning.

"Huh? Huh?! Aren't you the same?!" After a while, Li immediately retorted.

Watching the two bickering in the back, the driver couldn't help but smile knowingly, and he laughed loudly.

"Hahaha! How should I put it? He doesn't seem like that kind of person at all." The coachman laughed loudly. "I know the two ladies aren't lying, but I just can't believe there's such a person. I even saw the fire that day."

Upon hearing the coachman's words, Li couldn't help but shrink back, feeling somewhat guilty. She hadn't expected that a spell she had casually cast would have such power.

The coachman stopped laughing and asked, "What are you two ladies doing in Akihabara? I think you're from the Borg Trading Company, aren't you?"

“We have something to take care of over there.” Ning did not answer his question directly.

"Oh, I see." The coachman wasn't angry. "I guess you know a little about what's going on in Akihabara, but I have to tell you, that's the real treasure trove. If you want to live there, you'll have to be prepared for all sorts of things."

"Have you ever lived there?" Li asked.

"Yes, don't let my appearance fool you, I used to live in Akihabara too." The coachman chuckled. "People from the Principality have a very bad impression of Akihabara, but they wouldn't know unless they actually lived there. Oh, we've arrived."

Enough of this small talk. The carriage has entered Akihabara, but it seems much more lively today than the last time we came.

"Hey," the driver said to a passerby, "what's going on? It's so lively today."

"Hey, you haven't been here these past few days, have you?" a passerby said proudly. "We've done something big in Akihabara. Look over there."

"Haha! This is impressive!" The driver turned to the two people sitting in the carriage and said, "Miss, look over there."

Li and Ning curiously peeked out and looked in the direction the driver was pointing. What they saw was a flying dragon... soaring in the sky...

"That...it's not a dragon, is it...?"

As the Dragon King, he didn't sense any magic befitting a dragon; the thing flying in the sky wasn't a dragon. What exactly was that thing...?

"That's 'Light'!" A passerby proudly looked at the giant dragon in the sky. "A flying dragon, a flying machine made by Kana, capable of carrying two people into the sky."

"Wright"...?

Li recognized the name; she thought it was something like...

"It's actually that thing?!"

It brings to mind something I encountered not long ago when I first visited Akihabara. Back then, its creator, Kana, was trying her best to make it fly, and Riku gave it a little help, allowing "Light" to take to the skies.

What we saw back then as "Wright" was nothing more than a very rudimentary flying machine. Incredibly, in such a short time, "Wright" had transformed into a dragon capable of taking to the skies.

"...A wooden dragon?" Ning calmly analyzed. "Indeed, using wood can reduce weight, and choosing wood with good magic conductivity can bring the dragon to life. This Kana is a genius..."

The fact that Ning could so frankly call her a genius is enough to demonstrate Kana's talent. But isn't this a bit too fast?

With just a little help, Kana has grown so rapidly that Ri couldn't help but wonder if she had done too much.

"How is it, Miss?" the coachman asked. "Would you like to go and take a look?"

"No need." Ning shook her head and got back into the car. "We're in a hurry, please take us there first."

"Okay! Anyway, you'll be living here from now on, so you'll definitely see plenty of scenes like this. Hahaha."

Rika and Ning stood in front of the store with the words "Hakoniwa" (small garden) on its signboard. Well, how should I put it? It was a bit too fitting...

This kind of shop, hidden in a dark corner where few people go, is exactly the scene I've imagined countless times. Opening a unique shop in a place where almost no one goes by sounds so romantic... It's just that the positioning of this shop is a little vague... But it will definitely be fine!

"It's amazing that guy could find a place like this..."

Ning looked somewhat dumbfounded, then took out an adventure card to unlock the 'Miniature Garden'.

Chapter 30

The shop door unlocked, and Ning pushed it open and went inside. All the basic amenities were there, but no merchandise was on display. The goods were all stored elsewhere; what she sold was entirely up to her whim.

They don't need to make a profit anyway; opening this "miniature garden" is just a way to pass the time. They leave all the profit-making to the Borgburn Association, because the real products for sale are with them.

In the past few days, Ning has already hastily made several batches of substandard cotton lamps and a few sets of electrical boxes. The cotton lamps were made with inferior materials, but the electrical boxes could not be made with substandard materials.

Let's just hand it over to Borg for sale on his behalf. Speaking of which, does this world even have auction houses...?

“The interior is a bit different from what I imagined,” Ning said, opening the window to let in light. “The lighting isn’t very good… I think we need to find an opportunity to renovate it.”

“We can’t just change it to a modern style,” Li said, glancing at some of the nearby buildings. “It would become too conspicuous.”

Although the shop is located in a remote neighborhood, it doesn't mean that no one passes by. If the renovation is too over-the-top, it will definitely leave a deep impression on passersby, and then the mystery shop will not be able to operate.

"Haa... whatever you want. Give me an electrical box and a cotton lamp, let's set it up for now."

"for you."

In fact, Ning had already figured out how to change this place, but since Li had said so, she decided to settle for second best and make some modifications that wouldn't affect the overall effect.

As for lighting, the "miniature garden" is located in a very remote area, almost right near the city wall, and is covered by the huge shadow of the towering city wall, so there is almost no light.

Even if the window is opened, it won't make much difference. The store is too dark and feels a bit eerie. There are two beautiful girls here, and the scene is too incongruous, so it's a pass.

So the first thing to solve is the lighting problem in the store. That being said, this problem has actually been solved a long time ago.

The solutions and everything you need are here.

Ning carried the electrical box to a less conspicuous spot, placed her hand on it, and replenished it with her magic in one go. Only after Li had arranged the cotton lamps according to Ning's instructions did she illuminate the interior of the shop.

"It's passable for now..." Ning was still not quite satisfied. "Hey, Li, do you have any wallpaper? I don't have many requirements, white is fine."

"Let me think... I think there is..." Li unfolded the magic circle, "But it's not wallpaper, just ordinary white paper. Do you want to put this up all over the store?"

“It can be used with a little modification.” Ning took the white paper from the magic circle. “At least it will make this place look less dark. I don’t really like the feeling of the maze.”

The maze's light mainly comes from the magical crystals within the walls, and the light emitted by these magical crystals is very weak, so the maze is generally quite dark.

"How about Soul Grass?" Li suggested.

"You're overthinking it." Ning explained while processing the white paper, "The Soul Grass glows because it has a soul fragment residing in it. If it's not a soul fragment with a very high spiritual level, it won't have the brightness of the Perseus."

"makes sense……"

They spent a little more time tidying up and cleaning the shop before officially opening for business... Well... there won't be many customers on the first day anyway.

Li had placed some insignificant items on the display stand in the shop, some from this world and some from Earth. The prices were also randomly listed, the most expensive item being a fruit knife from Earth—priced at one gold coin.

"This is too reckless..." Ning said worriedly.

"That's what makes it feel like a mystery shop."

Contrary to Ning's concerns, Li was quite satisfied with this way of doing business. Thinking about it carefully, they were just doing it for fun, so Ning didn't say anything more.

It looks like it's going to be really boring...

Ning muttered to herself, sitting behind the counter and opening the book she hadn't finished reading yet. She put Li aside, figuring she'd get bored soon enough.

after an hour……

"Hey... Ning, why is no one here...?"

"Because no one has discovered this place."

"Hey...why hasn't anyone discovered this place...?"

"Because this is what you wanted."

"Hey...when will anyone come here...?"

"Someone will probably come tomorrow."

"Give me a more definite answer..."

"You're making things difficult for me."

"Hey... is there anything to do... I'm so bored."

Just as she expected, Ri was now wandering around the store, bored and looking for something to do. Couldn't this person have a little more patience...? And she was the one who wanted to be like that...

The "miniature garden" was even more concealed than expected, seemingly blending perfectly into the shadow of the city wall. Its secluded location further reduced the chances of anyone coming looking for it. An hour… no, an hour doesn't prove anything. Based on expectations, it's unlikely anyone will come today.

"So this is the 'mystery shop' you were hoping for," Ning said, looking at the book. "Those who are destined to find this place will naturally come here. Isn't what we need to do just wait here?"

“That’s true…” Li leaned on the counter, “but doing and saying are two different things… I’m still super bored right now.”

“Then the fault lies with you.” Ning had no intention of defending her at all. “This kind of situation was bound to happen. The fault lies with your lack of consideration. Complaining now is useless.”

"Ugh..." Li was speechless. "Let's not talk about that now, let's find something to do."

"Would you like to read a book?"

"No."

"So difficult to please..."

Ning's proposal was immediately rejected, a result she had anticipated, so she simply ignored Li. Li also tried to find something she wanted to do, but it didn't seem to be going very smoothly.

A deserted, quiet street; shops with no customers; a girl with nothing to do; a boring day... Ah, something seems to be coming... Eh... Eh?!

boom--!

"Wow!?"

Li, who was building a card pyramid, was startled by the sudden explosion and accidentally knocked it down, ruining several hours of hard work.

“Ahhh…” Li stared at the collapsed pyramid, speechless.

"You're really boring... Come on, let's go out and have a look."

Ning was also disturbed by the roar. She closed her book and put it on the counter, then grabbed Li and walked out without saying a word.

Judging from the sound and vibration, the source of the commotion must be nearby. Ning wasn't about to let the person disturbing her reading get away with it. They could see the rising black smoke as soon as they stepped outside; the culprit was right there in the smoke.

They walked to the source of the black smoke and saw a chaotic square, the paved stones shattered and fragments scattered everywhere. In the crater created by the crash, there was a dragon… and two young girls…

This is... "Wright"...?

The two girls inside were...

"Oh! It's you two!" Kana emerged from the wreckage of "Light".

Chapter 31

Yes, that person is Kana, the creator of "Light", a girl whom Ning described as a genius... though she seems a bit oblivious.

Judging from the current situation, it's probably because 'Light' ran out of magic reserves and fell down. After all, it's such a huge creature; it's already a miracle that it could fly for so long with only the limited reserves in its Blazing Heart.

No... we could consider the possibility that she has modified her energy reserves.

"Hahahaha! Did you see that! My Light!" She patted the wreckage that had once been 'Light' and said, "Light can now carry two people into the sky! Oh, speaking of which, I haven't thanked you yet! How about it, I'll make an exception and grant you and me the right to ride Light into the sky. Want to go up?"

"No thanks, I'm not interested."

"Um... let's forget about it."

Ning blatantly expressed her lack of interest. As for the reason, she herself was the Dragon King, and flying into the sky was a piece of cake for her. Even if Ning wanted to fly into the sky, it wouldn't be difficult for her.

“Besides…” Ning pointed to the wreckage of ‘Wright,’ “this can’t fly anymore, can it?”

If it were the original, simpler 'Light', it wouldn't be so bad, since its structure wasn't that complex and repairs wouldn't be so troublesome. But this 'Light', which has now evolved into a flying dragon, is practically totaled after this direct impact with the ground.

Although materials like these are easy to find, the 'Wright' is practically unusable anyway, so we can only disassemble the more important, intact parts and rebuild it from scratch.

The wrecked "Wright" before them didn't look like the fake dragon that had been so glorious in the sky not long ago. Moreover, if it weren't for the fact that "Wright" was here, it would have been shot down by something else long ago.

Dragons are a race with extremely strong self-esteem. If something is found impersonating a dragon, they will attack it at all costs.

However, the Dragon King, also known as Li, is here. The lower-ranking dragons dare not approach this place; they have already flown away after sensing Li's presence.

All in all, it's a miracle this person is still alive...

"Oh...that certainly seems to be the case."

Ning's reminder made Kana realize that "Light" was nearing the end of its life and could no longer fly as it had not long ago.

"Hahaha, it's alright, it's alright!" Kana laughed heartily. "With me here! And my partner too! 'Light' will definitely be resurrected!"

"You really are persistent..." Li Du was somewhat impressed by her tenacity.

"So... I'm not your partner..."

Princess Alice, with her blonde hair, crawled out of the wreckage, her clothes and hair stained with black grime, looking miserable, but thankfully she didn't appear to be injured.

"Haha, partner, I know how you feel." Kana walked over to her and patted her shoulder. "A genius like me is someone you can only dream of in your entire life, so you're afraid you're not talented enough and don't deserve to stand beside me, right? It's okay, I won't mind... Waaah?"

"That's how it is... Please, both of you, put in a good word for her." Alice didn't want to deal with her at all and covered her mouth with her hand.