Back when Lyle hadn't yet left the City of Chaos with Mia, Ron had already discussed this topic with him.
At the time, Ron had encouraged Lyle to first follow Mia and establish hotpot restaurants across the Human Empire.
Once he had accumulated enough experience—and enough capital—he could return to the Dwarven Kingdom and start his own business.
Bringing the hotpot model there.
Lyle had always been working toward that goal.
So in Ron's view, the answer to his question should have been obvious.
"After expanding into the Western Region, I plan to take a break for a while," Lyle said after some thought.
"After that, I want to visit the hotpot restaurants across different regions."
"Our expansion has been too fast. Early on, problems might not show, but over time, all kinds of issues could surface."
"I want to conduct a full review—and also gain more experience."
Ron stroked his chin and nodded.
He was slightly surprised, but not entirely.
Lyle clearly hadn't been blinded by success.
He was still steady and cautious.
Even though he was already capable of returning to the Dwarven Kingdom and making a name for himself, he was willing to slow down and refine his work.
Ron took a sip of ale and listened as Lyle continued.
"Originally, after that, I planned to resign and return to the Kingdom to open a hotpot and barbecue restaurant."
"But the more I thought about it, the more something didn't sit right with me."
"Then I figured it out."
"After finishing the Human Empire's hotpot expansion, I want to return to the City of Chaos first…"
"And take back the market from those copycat barbecue shops!"
Ron froze for a moment.
He hadn't expected that to be Lyle's lingering concern.
But thinking about it, it made perfect sense.
Back then, if not for an employee leaking the seasoning formula and betraying Lyle—
Combined with pressure from Count Walton's steward—
Lyle wouldn't have been forced to leave the City of Chaos with Mia.
There had been no legal protection for recipes.
No evidence.
Unless Ron personally stepped in and pressured Count Walton—
There was nothing they could do.
And even then… what would it change?
At the time, Ron had just become a Chosen One.
The City of Chaos was jointly governed by four races, and the influence of the Goddess of Harvest — Hervesta was limited.
His identity as the Seventh Prince didn't carry much weight there either.
In the end, it would still come down to real business competition.
And compared to Ron's flower shop—
Barbecue restaurants simply weren't that profitable.
Not to mention, Ron's funds back then weren't particularly abundant.
So it wasn't worth intervening.
Even Lyle himself never expected Ron to help.
After all, selling him the seasoning formula for just one gold coin had already been a huge favor.
As for why Ron later encouraged Lyle to expand hotpot restaurants—
That was because of a system-side quest.
Otherwise, Ron wouldn't have paid much attention to Mia's business at all.
After all—
The profits from Ron's Wonderful Flower Shop far exceeded things like hotpot or Element Cards.
If not for the system pushing him forward, he'd probably still be lounging in his shop in the City of Chaos—
Teasing Nora, playing cards with Mason—
Living a carefree life.
Instead of being this busy—
Needing even puppet substitutes just to keep up.
Because of that, Ron had long since forgotten about those copycat barbecue shops.
If Lyle hadn't brought it up, he might've forgotten entirely.
But now that Lyle mentioned it—
Of course, Ron supported him.
"The City of Chaos is basically my home turf," Ron said with a grin.
"When you go back, I'll make sure you have plenty of the special seasoning."
"Trust me—even if they try to copy it again, they won't be able to replicate the same taste."
Back then, imitation had been possible because all the ingredients were locally available.
But now—
Ron had the Spice Pine Seed—king of seasonings.
And only he could produce it.
The fate of those copycat shops was obvious.
Even if they didn't go bankrupt—
They'd lose at least 80–90% of their market share to Lyle.
"Thank you," Lyle said sincerely, smiling.
"But this isn't just about personal grudges."
"The City of Chaos has a huge reputation across the continent—including in the Dwarven Kingdom."
"Dwarves have always had biases against humans."
"So if I promote hotpot as something popular in the Human Empire, it might backfire."
"But if I say it's wildly popular in the City of Chaos…"
"That's a completely different story."
"So reclaiming that market isn't just about the past—it's also about paving the way for my future business in the Dwarven Kingdom."
Ron nodded in understanding.
He hadn't experienced it firsthand, but history made it clear.
Long ago, humans, dwarves, elves, gnomes, and goblins had united to overthrow the Beast God's dominion.
Afterward, each race claimed its own territory.
The dwarves, heavily exploited during that era, had seven royal bloodlines—four of which had already declined.
The remaining three fought among themselves after the war, splitting into a three-way stalemate.
The Dwarven Kingdom didn't even exist yet.
Decades later, after the Human Empire recovered, Emperor André II turned his attention to the dwarves—masters of forging and metallurgy.
War broke out.
Two dwarven royal factions near the Empire were crushed and forced to retreat.
They sought aid from the third faction.
Thus, the dwarves united for the first time.
Using their home terrain advantage, they eventually pushed the human army back across the Darle River.
After the war—
The Dwarven Kingdom was formally established.
Since then, many dwarves had harbored prejudice—even hatred—toward humans.
Though trade between the two nations improved relations over time—
Things were far from fully healed.
So Lyle couldn't possibly market hotpot as a "Human Empire trend."
Of course, from Ron's perspective, none of that was a big issue.
As long as he continued supplying Spice Pine seasoning—
Lyle's success in the Dwarven Kingdom was only a matter of time.
Still, Lyle's approach was clearly more strategic.
"Then I'll wish you success in advance," Ron said with a smile, raising his cup.
They clinked drinks and laughed.
For a moment—
It felt just like the early days, when Ron had first arrived in this world.