The Capital City of Valoria was the beating heart of the kingdom. To Arthur von Pendelton (Age 7), it was a coronary artery blocked by cholesterol.
The streets were narrow, crooked, and crowded. Shops were dark, cavernous dens with heavy wooden shutters. Merchants screamed at passersby, grabbing their arms to drag them inside. It was aggressive, loud, and inefficient.
"Consumer anxiety is high," Arthur noted, looking out the carriage window. "The shopping experience is adversarial. We need to disrupt the paradigm."
Sitting opposite him, Sarah clutched her satchel. "Young Master, Master Vane has secured a building on the corner of Gold Street and Royal Avenue. It... it used to be a butcher shop."
"A butcher shop?" Arthur frowned. "Sanitize it. Twice."
The Renovation
When they arrived, Master Vane was waiting. The building was a prime location, but it was ugly—dark timber, small windows, and a lingering smell of old ham.
"My Lord Arthur," Vane bowed. "It is yours. But surely, we cannot open for weeks? We need to hire carpenters to build sturdy counters to prevent theft, and iron bars for the windows—"
"Gut it," Arthur ordered, stepping out of the carriage.
Vane blinked. "My Lord?"
"Remove the front wall," Arthur gestured to the entire street-facing side of the building. "Remove the internal partitions. I want an open floor plan."
"But... the roof will collapse!"
"The structural load will be transferred to a steel I-beam I have brought in the cargo wagon," Arthur explained, though Vane didn't understand a word. "And we are not using iron bars. We are using the Pendelton Pane."
...
For the next three days, the corner of Gold Street became a spectacle.
Local carpenters, paid triple their usual rate by Arthur, worked alongside the "Yellow Helmets" (Arthur's estate engineers). They tore down the front wall. They installed the steel beam—a strange, grey metal bar that confused the local smiths because it didn't rust.
Then came the glass.
These weren't small window panes. These were massive, floor-to-ceiling sheets of tempered glass, transported from the estate in crates filled with sawdust and wool.
When the workers hoisted the first sheet into place, the crowd gasped.
"It's ice!" a peasant shouted. "It's solidified air!" cried another.
Arthur directed the installation with a spirit level. "Seal the edges with silicone resin. If there is a draft, the customer experience is compromised."
By the third evening, the shop was transformed.
In a street of dark, wooden fortresses, the Pendelton Lifestyle Emporium was a glowing jewel.
Arthur had installed mana-powered recessed lighting in the ceiling. The light wasn't the flickering orange of a torch; it was a steady, neutral white (4000K Color Temperature).
Because the front wall was entirely glass, the light flooded out into the dark street.
Inside, there were no cluttered tables. There were floating shelves made of polished white oak. On each shelf sat a single product, lit from above like a museum artifact.
[System Notification: Retail Psychology Level Up.] [Concept Unlocked: The "Apple Store" Aesthetic.] [Effect: Customers feel under-dressed just by looking at it.]
The Night Before
Arthur stood inside the empty shop with Master Vane and Duke Kaelen.
The Duke was terrified to touch anything. "It's so... clean, Arthur. Where is the sawdust? Where are the barrels?"
"Barrels imply bulk," Arthur said, adjusting the alignment of a toothbrush display by two millimeters. "We are selling lifestyle, Father. We are selling aspiration."
Master Vane looked at the glass wall. People were pressing their faces against it from the outside, leaving nose prints.
"They can see everything," Vane whispered, sweating. "They can see the merchandise. What if they break the glass? What if they steal it?"
"It is tempered," Arthur said. "You could hit it with a sledgehammer, and it would only crack. Besides, Vane, you are missing the point."
Arthur walked to the window and looked out at the dirty, chaotic street.
"In the old shops, the customer has to enter to see the goods. They have to commit. That creates friction. Here..."
He pointed to a woman outside, staring hungrily at a bottle of the blue "Minty Fresh" mouthwash glowing under a spotlight.
"... Here, the desire begins before they even open the door. We are not hiding the product. We are celebrating it."
The Duke puffed out his chest. "A celebration of teeth! I like it!"
Arthur turned to Sarah. "Is the inventory stocked in the back?"
"Yes, Young Master. 500 units of Toothpaste, 200 units of 'Landlord', and 50 'Premium Toilet Seat' display models."
"Good," Arthur checked his pocket watch. "Now, we need to create the demand. Sarah, deploy the street urchins. Phase 2 begins at dawn."
End of Chapter 8