Chapter 33.2: Pearl Tears

***

The day of the promised deadline.

In the reception room of the main castle, Tully, the chairman, and four executives of the Aria Trading Company were all present.

With Tully at the center and the executives standing on either side of him. They were all familiar faces to Rishe.

Rishe, on the other hand, was facing them, explaining her product.

“–And paint the nails like this.”

Lining up behind her were seven handmaidens.

Each of their nails were tinted crimson, bright blue, pale green, and clear yellow.

Their toes, glossy and shiny with sap, were very beautiful.

“The conditions in the Imperial Capital of Garkhain is as documented. Women accessories are very expensive, but many common households can afford it. Women who want to be fashionable but can’t afford to buy jewelry or dresses will love this product.”

She presented a sheet of paperwork to Tully.

It was a document that made no mention of the ingredients, but listed an estimate of the purchase price and production costs.

“And this is the transit record of people entering and leaving the Imperial Capital. As you can see, many of them are male travelers in the prime of their careers.”

“Looks like it. And these guys have a home to return to and a family waiting for them.”

“That makes it the perfect souvenir. These bottles are small, and not too bulky.”

Being small and not too bulky meant that it could easily be distributed outside the country.

It would also be convenient for the Aria Trading Company, where peddling was the main selling method.

“What do you think, Chairman Tully?”

Tully, who had been listening to Rishe in silence, asked the other executives without tearing his off Rishe.

“Chester, Melvin, Neil and Russell, tell us what you guys think.”

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The named executives cited their opinions.

“Chairman, I think it has potential. Regardless of how far you trust the cost accounting, if we can keep it this cheap, it means we can mass produce it.”

“If I were to put a price on that bottle, I’d say 2000 gold for the common people.Still, there’ll be a gross profit.”

“It uses flowers for the dye. If we take flowers that only bloom in a particular country for the dye, we can sell it with added value in other countries.”

“Oh, man, you guys are really boorish.”

When Tully heard his men talking, he held his forehead and shrugged.

“Cost? Gross profit? You don’t think that’s the only way to look at a product, do you?”

“Then, what about you Chairman?”

“Let’s settle it. You dictate whether this commodity is an ant or a pear.”

Tully said, and smiled gently.

Not at Rishe or his men, but at the handmaidens present.

“Go ahead and give us your opinion, lovely ladies. How do you feel about painting those nails?”

“Uh, um…”

Tully’s smile, which has been described as ‘a mature man’s sexuality,’ made the handmaids’ cheeks flushed.

Inwardly, Rishe strongly prayed that they wouldn’t be deceived by any good-for-nothing dude in the future.

The maids were reserved at first, then they began talking.

“We often look at our hands when we are at work. If our nails are beautiful to look at, I’d be so happy and excited to see them.”

“With such lovely nails, I feel like I can do my job better than usual! That’s how I feel. Fufufu, it’s weird.”

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“It was difficult to paint my right hand by myself, so we had a nail polish contest with other maids. We chatted while painting, and it was so much fun! When we get better at it, we’ll talk about trying to draw pictures.”

The maids babbled, buoyant and gleeful.

Finally, Elise uttered with a bashful smile, “I was happy. I was just so, so happy…”

“Elise…”

She painted her nails a coral color extracted from gerbera.

When Rishe asked her again what her favorite color was, she didn’t hesitate to answer, “The same color as Rishe-sama’s hair.”

“I see.”

Tully leaned back against the backrest.

“By the looks on the faces of these girls alone, this product is going to be a success. There’s no need to do all those calculations about purchase price or whatnot.”

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“So, Mr. Chairman, does this mean Rishe-sama has passed your challenge?”

“…”

In that instant, surprise seeped through Tully’s eyes.

“Now, we’ll see…”

The maids exchanged glances, getting suspicious at the turn of events.

Tully picked up a few papers that Rishe had laid out on the table and flipped through them again

“The price of a product is inclusive of all added values. Whether the cost is low or it’s available for mass production has no bearing on the value of the product.”

“True enough.”

“This product is unique and is the only item available, so demand is expected to be high. If I were the inventor, I’d raise the price and sell it to the gentry.”

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Rishe’s gaze was focused squarely on him, trying to figure out what was going on in his head.

“Shall we hear what your real thoughts are?”

“Uhm-hum…”

Sure enough, Tully had seen it coming.

“Thank you, Chairman Tully. Now that you like this product, I’ll finally cut to the chase.”

“Rishe-sama, Mr. Chairman, what’s going on here? Cut to the chase, so you mean…”

Despite the upset executives, Rishe and Tully faced each other across the table.

“From here on out, let’s talk about the terms of our business. Chairman Tully…”