CH 7

he next day after talking to the father, the three family members gathered in the dining room for breakfast.

Mother was unable to join them because she was ill and could not leave her room.

Garun told that she was very disappointed.

Still, Mel was very happy.

As we were eating and talking, I think my father's expression faded a little.

"Meldy, may I call you Mel too?"

Father, who had been watching and listening to the conversation between Mel and I, stepped into the conversation from the side with a stern, strong look on his face.

Suddenly there was a strange atmosphere in the room.

Garn was smiling, but the maids were rolling their eyes.

Mel was not afraid of such an atmosphere and clearly said to father,

"N-n-no, you can't call me that way The only people who can call me Mel aremother and - brother , who is by my side.

"I see."

'Oh no."

The father is looking very sad and somber, though he is keeping his eyes closed and not changing his expression.

I think he's probably crying on the inside.

Garun is shaking his shoulders slightly.

The maids are pinching each other's sides, as if they are enduring something.

" Father. I'd like to take a look around the estate today, if that's all right."

I cleared my throat and looked at my father, who was looking dejectedly at me.

"...... is fine, but you'll need at least two knights to escort you. And ask Garun to provide a carriage."

'Yes, father.'

Mel, who had been listening to the conversation between father and me, raised one hand and said with a smile,

"I want to go too."

'Mel is still little, so we'll go when you''re a bit older."

Mel then launched a "'spoiled brat' attack.

But unfortunately, I can't take her with me today because I have an important thing to do.

I promised to read her a picture book when I got back, and Mel agreed.

'Now, let's get going."

After breakfast, I gathered the necessary things, got into the carriage, and headed for the largest town in the territory.

The town was close to the mansion, so it would only take about 10 minutes to get there.

The territory of Bardia is said to be a frontier, but it is only called "frontier" because it is far from the imperial capital.

From a different perspective, it is a territory located halfway between the imperial capital and other nations.

In some cases, the variety of goods and services is better than in the capital.

The size of the towns in the territory also shows that it is by no means a "remote area."

It has the advantage of having more land at its disposal than the capital, and has succeeded in producing its own olives, which were brought from another country, and sells the refined oil and other products to the capital and neighboring countries.

The production of olives was apparently the idea of father, who believed that the prosperity of the territory would lead to military power, which in turn would lead to deterrence against the neighboring countries.

However, there were those who did not like it, and when he first started the olive business, he was mocked for "going to the frontier to experience planting trees."

After the success of the business, people began to talk behind his back about "tree-planting territory, tree-planting counts," and so on, out of envy and jealousy.

After passing the olive fields that could be seen from the carriage, the town comes into sight.

At a checkpoint near the gate, peddlers were waiting for their turn to enter the town.

The carriage I was riding in stopped for a moment, and the escort outside the carriage ran alone to the gatekeeper who was checking ahead of us.

After a little while, he returns and says, "I have spoken to the gatekeeper at the checkpoint, let's go," and the carriage immediately begins to move forward.

Oh well, if you are the son of a lord, you get preference.

I felt a little embarrassed and apologetic about entering the town with a long line of people behind me.

I muttered to myself, "I'm sorry, everyone."

I stopped the carriage at the Bardia family's villa in the town and decided to explore the town on foot.

Although I had a different objective, this was my first visit to a town in another world.

Curiosity was irresistible, and I found myself gazing here and there at the stalls and stores I had never seen before.

Master Rid, please be careful not to go too far on your own."

'Deanna is right. The town is crowded, and you never know where danger may be hiding".

As I fidget around with a gleam in my eye, I am approached by two of the escorts.

Their names are "Rubens" and "Deanna," both with brown hair and blue eyes.

They seem to have known each other since childhood.

I understand, Then, please refer to me as "Rid" when we are in town, okay?　If you call me Master, it makes me sound like an aristocrat child.

Both of them were puzzled at first about calling me by my name, but in the end they agreed.

They changed their clothes at the villa, and all of them were a little more modest in their clothing.

As we walk around the town, we see that there are basically many humans, but there are also beastmen and elves.

It was a reminder that I was in a another world.

As I was walking along with such thoughts in my mind, I arrived at my destination.

"Are you sure this is the right place?"

Deanna said with a dubious look on her face.

The signboard at the place we arrived read "Christy's Trading Company."

She probably thought it was an escort mission when I went shopping.

"Yes, this is definitely the place."

When I opened the door, a "clang-clang" bell rang, announcing a customer came into the store.

From the back of the store came a voice saying, "Hi," and the sound of footsteps

Welcome to the store, how may I help you ?"

Coming out from the back of the store was a girl with cute cat ears and tail, black hair and shiny black eyes.

While I was thinking how much I longed to meet someone with black hair and black eyes, I couldn't help but notice the cat ears and tail.

"Can I help you?"

'...... excuse me. Actually, I sent a letter to Christy the day before."

Oh I'm sorry I didn't know you were a customer of the master. I will go check on your letter right away.

The storekeeper lady finished her speech and went back to the back of the store with quick steps.

In the meantime, I looked around at the merchandise in the store. The products are neatly displayed and the store is clean.

I guess it's evidence of good store management.

While I was looking at the products, a beautiful lady came from the back of the store and called out to me.

" Master Rid, I am sorry for keeping you waiting. I am Christy Safron, president of Christy Trading Company."

'I am Rid Bardia, who contacted you by letter. Pleased to meet you."

Her skin is clear and white, her hair is a beautiful golden color, and combined with her green eyes, she gives off a very mysterious atmosphere.

She was the only "elf" in the Bardia territory who ran a business.

I came to know about the Christie Trading Company the day after I told my father that I wanted to do business, when I asked Garn for advice on a good trading company.

At that time, I asked him for a difficult task: a trading company that could develop in the future with sales promotion routes to various places, regardless of whether they were in the country or not.

Garn thought about it for a moment and then said, "I have an idea," and told me about the Christie Trading Company, which was runned by an elf.

As soon as I heard what he said , I sent a letter asking for advice on business.

'Well, let me show you to the reception room."

"Yes, please."

Christy showed me to the reception room, which was much more elegant than I had imagined from the outside look of the store.

I sat down on the sofa as she suggested.

I was nervous at the thought that we were about to have a business meeting.

Rubens, Deanna. I want you two to wait outside the room.::

"...... yes, sir."

They looked at Christy, bowed, and left the room.

She looked a little surprised when she saw them follow my instructions .

'Well, thank you again for your time. Ms Christy-.

'Yes, it was nice to meet you. But was it alright ? You let the two escorts out of the room. ......

"Yes, I did. I'd like you to keep what I'm about to tell in secret until the time comes."

"Yes, ......, that would be fine."

"Then ......."

As Christy looked at the child sitting nervously between her eyes, she remembered an incident not long ago.

She couldn't believe her eyes when she realized that the letter from the "Rid Bardia" was a request for business advice.

She was told that the son of a frontier count was a child, not even adult .

What does a child know about business?

The child's selfishness is also troubling. ......

She clicked her tongue in her mind .

Christy was the eldest daughter of a merchant family in a territory.

She had an older brother, and her parents taught her and her siblings business without disadvance to any of them them.

The eldest son had plenty of business acumen, but Christy had even more.

However, due to the hereditary system that was in the family. Business, of the family was inherited by the eldest son.

Christy knew that her brother would eventually take over the family, buisness and she wanted to support the him .

However, when the eldest son takes over , smoke begins to rise in an bad way.

"Christy should have taken over that because of her achievements and business acumen."

Some of the members of the business association began to say that

Their voices grew louder and louder.

Fearing a split in the family business, Christy decided to leave her family business and start a new one on her own.

The location she considered was a place where the trade area did not overlap with that of her parents' house, and where there were almost no elven chambers of commerce.

As a result, Bardia was the right place.

Christy returned from her thought to reality, looked at the child , and muttered in her heart, "I never thought I'd be involved with my parents."

(I never thought I'd be forced to go along with a nobleman's child's game at a place I chose to keep out of my family's business. Well, I guess I'll just have to listen in and make a breakthrough to the Bardia family. ......)

Christy flipped a switch in her head. She was beginning to think of ways to end this discussion quickly and make it as beneficial to her as possible.

◇ ◇

I found out some interesting things as a result of asking the maids in the mansion, including confirming what I had researched in the books in the mansion's library.

I noticed that the idea of rinses and lotions and similar products rarely existed in this world.

Cosmetics existed when we talked to them, but the idea of post-makeup skin care was unknown.

It all started when I was reading a book about plants in library and came across the word "aloe."

I wondered if aloe existed in this world, and muttered to myself, "I remember there used to be aloe lotion," to which Danae, who was nearby, looked at me curiously and asked, "What is lotion? "

I explained to Danae briefly about lotion, but she looked surprised and asked again .

, "What do you mean by taking care of skin?　What is the difference from washing your face?　Or rather, why does Master Rid know such things ......?"

I thought it was common knowledge, but apparently not in this world.

I asked Danae for more information after that, but she said she had never heard of such a specific product.

I had never thought about taking care of my own skin in my previous life, so I didn't expect it to take such a bite out of me.

Curious, I asked where I could get aloe in the territory, and to my surprise, I was told that it was on the grounds of the estate. remnant of father's research on various plants from other countries before he started working on the olive tree.

'...... By the way, isn't aloe also known to be good for wounds?'

What, does this creepy plant have such an effect ......?"

The place that Danae showed me was indeed covered with aloe.

The actual aloe is a rather splendid aloe.

I tried to make a prototype of a lotion with the aloe that was in the mansion, and I think I made a decent product.

When I asked Danae to try it, she said, "It's very good," which gave me confidence.

Then there was the rinse, which I made with a vague memory of a previous life, based on olive oil.

I gave up on shampoo once because I didn't know how to make it.

However, "soap" already existed in this world as a luxury item, so I thought that if I could prepare a rinse, it would sell reasonably well to the nobility.　So I made a prototype.

The source of my knowledge was all information from a video site I watched in my previous life to kill time.

I was discussing the future development of the two products with Christy of Christy Trading Company, and she seemed to respond better than I had expected.

Christy's eyes were not smiling at all at first when I talked to her.

I think she probably thought it was a waste of time.

I would have thought it was a waste of time if a child, even of an aristocrat, had asked me for advice on business.

I would just listen to what he had to say and let him go home.

That would be common sense.

But when I told her about the concept of lotion and rinse, how to use them, and that I had a prototype of a product , the color of her eyes changed a little.

She asked, "Have you already heard of similar products or ideas from the empire, other countries included?"

'...... No, I haven't. This is the first time. If it did exist, I would definitely know about it."

Hearing Christy's words, I was relieved for a time.

It was clear to me that this type of product is not in the world and is not known in this world, as I thought.

Perhaps we can compete.

'But if we don't have a product, whether it's a test product or anything else, it's just a drawing. ......'

"Oh, I've got a prototype for you then."

"Oh, ......?　You already have a prototype?'

I nodded at her words, and then I placed the prototypes of Olive Rinse and Aloe Lotion on the desk and said, .

"......They are prototypes, so I think there is still room for improvements before they are available in the market."

Christy's eyes sparkled. She muttered as she looked at the product on the desk.

"Can I try ......?"

Yes," Christy , Would you like to try it, ?

"I will try the aloe lotion. . I can't use the rinse here if that's what you asked for, so may I keep it?"

'I understand. I trust Ms. Christie and will entrust you with the rinse. Please keep it secret for now."

'Of course. Then, I will use the lotion on my hands."

Christy picked up the prototype on the desk and put the lotion on the back of her right hand.

With her left hand, she spread the lotion all over the back of her right hand.

She compared her right and left hands face up to see the difference in touch and feel.

Then her face began to sparkle and her eyes blazed as she said.

" It's good."

"..... Thank you."

She got up on and was very pleased and excited about the effects of the prototype lotion.

When her eyes met mine, she mumbled, "Oh ......," and sat back down on the sofa, embarrassed.

After taking a deep breath and regaining her composure, she coughed lightly and then said,

'I am ashamed to admit that I have been suffering from dry skin for some time, and I never dreamed that such a product existed, and I am very impressed."

"I am very impressed. I am glad I could be of help."

Apparently, the introduction of the lotion and conditioner went well.

"Master Rid, this wil be sold well."

"I'm glad you liked it, Christy. I tried it myself, but I wanted to get a woman's opinion. ......"

"I am sure this will be a product that will be a big hit. I will definitely commercialize this product ."

......

This is how I came to deal with Christy of the Christie Trading Company.

At first I wasn't sure what would happen, but I was relieved when the deal was settled.

Once the cosmetics and rinse business was settled, I discussed my future plans with her.

Rather, this was the main point .

I wanted to create personal assets, and I still had a lot of ideas.

That I want to obtain medicinal herbs that will cure a "magic depletion disease" through the Christie Trading Company.

She is listening to me seriously, unlike the first time.

When I finished, Chris looked at me as if he had no idea what he was talking about.

. I'm not looking for an award, but I need you to find something for me.

'What exactly ...... would you want ?"

'Two things , lute grass and moonflower grass, have you heard of them?'

'Ummm ...... I haven't heard of them . I will look for them."

"Thank you very much for your time today."

"That was a good meeting "

I got up from the sofa and held out my hand to her, and she shook it strongly without hesitation.

I left the reception room, met the two escorts , and left place . Chris and the girl from the shop were very friendly and helpful.

Chris and the store girl bowed their heads in front of the store until we were out of sight.

T/n Only 1 chapter for  today  . Tomorrow will be a bit more .