[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-gacha-harem-system":3,"chapter-gacha-harem-system-gacha-harem-system-chapter-172":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Gacha Harem System",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},453912,707,"Chapter 172: Is That... Shelby?!","gacha-harem-system-chapter-172",172,"\u003Cp>The tram slowed and stopped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lukas sat up in his chair, glancing at the sign above the platform.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was their stop. He tapped Akira on the arm, then Melody. Both rose without a word and followed him off the tram.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stepped onto the pavement and looked both ways, orienting himself using the map in his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Golden Emporium sat across the street, taking up most of the block.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was wider than it was tall, with large windows running along the ground floor and a sign above the entrance in bold lettering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the outside it looked exactly like a department store back on earth. Like the kind of building that contained other buildings inside it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lukas led the way across and through the entrance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside, the ground floor opened up into a wide concourse. Stores lined both sides, each one with its own signage and its own display facing outwards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was quite a lot of foot traffic, but not to the point of it being too crowded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Climbers, but Awakened and Adept, moved from shop to shop, not even stopping to check anything. It was clear that they knew the place well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Akira and Melody drifted slightly behind him, taking in the sight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Look at that,\" Melody said under her breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I see it,\" Akira replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lukas glanced back. They were both looking at a clothing store to the left, its display window showing a row of beautifully arranged dresses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Focus,\" he said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They glanced at each other, giggling before catching up with him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He found a directory board mounted near the center of the concourse, a flat panel with the floor layout and a list of stores organized by category. He ran his eyes down the list.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stopped when he saw a familiar name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shelby’s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He frowned at the name for a moment, then found it on the layout. It was on the ground floor, around the east wing. He stared at it a second longer, then turned and led them in that direction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They found it without having to look around too much. The store had a large sign above the entrance, the name in the same style he remembered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Below it, in smaller lettering were a few words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Spatial Storage - Rings, Bags, and Specialty Items.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Melody and Akira had gone quiet beside him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is that the same Shelby?\" Akira asked. She hadn’t personally met the man, but she’d heard of him from both of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It can’t be,\" Melody said. \"Shelby died in the Brotherhood attack.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lukas said nothing, even though he was thinking the same thing. He stood there for a moment longer than necessary, because even though he knew the man was dead, there was a seed of ’what if’ inside him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because Rollo had also died in the Brotherhood attack. And Rollo had been very much alive on the platform in Salaria, right up until Lukas had killed him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He pushed the thought aside and walked to the entrance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A salesperson stood just inside the door and bowed slightly as they approached. \"Welcome. What can I help you find today?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Spatial rings,\" Lukas said. \"We need the largest storage capacity you carry.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Right this way.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The salesperson led them deeper into the store, past display cases of smaller rings and bags, to a section near the back where the higher capacity items were arranged behind glass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He unlocked the case and began presenting options, explaining the capacity of each one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lukas picked one up and pushed his mana into it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The space inside unfolded in his mind. It was vast. Easily large enough to swallow his entire apartment building three times over with room to spare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He set it down and looked at the others. \"These will do.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Melody and Akira moved along the case, each selecting one. Both went for plain bands without decoration. Even in a big city like this, there was no guarantee that thieves wouldn’t notice a golden ring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"One more thing,\" Lukas said to the salesperson. \"Pocket watches. Do you carry them?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We do. Follow me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He led them to a smaller section set slightly apart from the rings. A glass case held a neat row of watches, each one face-up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Standing beside the case, with his arms crossed and his eyes on one particular watch he’d just placed there, was a man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had close cut salt and pepper hair, and a well-kept mustache. And when he glanced up at the sound of their approach, his eyes had that same twinkle that Lukas recognized immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The salesperson bowed. \"Master Shelby.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man turned fully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The three of them stared in surprise, recognition blooming in their eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t Shelby. The age was slightly different, and this man was just slightly broader in the shoulders, but the resemblance was so close it almost made him freeze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Forgive me,\" Lukas said before he could stop himself. \"Did you have a relative in Havenhart? A Mr. Shelby who ran a spatial ring shop?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man’s eyebrows rose. \"I did.\" He studied Lukas with open curiosity. \"You knew him?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We did,\" Melody said. She held up her hand, showing the ring on her finger. \"He sold me this. Back when we were Awakeners.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man’s expression shifted immediately, the curiosity softening into something warmer. He looked at the ring, then at each of them in turn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Friends of my brother’s,\" he said quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He turned to the salesperson. \"Twenty percent off their purchases today. All of it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The salesperson nodded and stepped back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lukas began to thank him, but the man raised a hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No.\" He shook his head. \"Thank you. For remembering him.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked at the ring on Melody’s finger one more time. Then he gave them a short nod, uncrossed his arms, and walked away through a door at the back of the store.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The three of them stood there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a moment, Akira said, \"He’s a good man.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lukas watched the door the man had gone through, then turned back to the salesperson.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The pocket watches,\" he said. \"Tell us what you have.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And as the salesperson spoke, he could tell. Their old life had passed away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a new era.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The era of the Second Floor.\u003C\u002Fp>",1048,"2026-05-30T09:48:28.548Z","2026-06-01T04:30:55.345Z",1,"novelbin.me","cadca0ba0e356ba1deddda06c0ca2cd516485d0834492b548dd85c5939cb1d7d","gacha-harem-system-chapter-173","gacha-harem-system-chapter-171",192,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fgacha-harem-system-cover.jpg"]