Chapter 35: Cola Is Just the Beginning (2)
Chapter 35: Cola Is Just the Beginning (2)
Translation: Godtl
"Miss Penelope, I must decline the investment."
"All of it?"
"All of it."
A single decisive statement.
Penelope, who had been running around in dress shoes since morning gathering investment proposals, felt deeply frustrated.
To be honest, she was a bit miffed too.
"You said you needed more capital."
Cola remains a promising business even now.
It carries a powerful narrative by riding the trend of Bellaby's high society influence, and the taste itself is exceptionally outstanding.
That's why, despite being in its early stages, numerous investment offers have been pouring in.
Perhaps Jurgen was saying such things because he begrudged giving up shares.
But that would be knowing one thing while being ignorant of two.
"I'm equally reluctant about giving up shares. But right now, it's a battle of timing."
What Polar Suns left behind wasn't just factories or real estate.
With the disappearance of Lemonade, which had monopolized Nortaris's beverage market, a massive market vacuum has emerged.
The problem is that vacuum doesn't belong solely to cola.
"The hyenas will come swarming."
The 'Month of Concession' promised by the Grey Council has already passed.
Brighton, who used all sorts of tricks to hinder other regional beverages from entering the market, is also gone.
The Nortaris beverage industry was like an ownerless giant pie.
20,000 bottles a day, with an estimated monthly net profit of 820 crowns, is impressive, but it's woefully insufficient to immediately jump into the market share battle.
"Securing the market with 20,000 bottles a day is impossible. We've already spent all our money just building this factory—we can't immediately build more."
The market share war has begun, and Y&P is outmatched.
Even if it means accepting some losses, expanding their current scale seemed reasonable to Penelope.
"What's your opinion?"
"You're quite right, Miss Penelope."
"Right? I understand how you feel too. It must feel terrible to have something you worked so hard for taken away."
"Still, I must decline."
"...?"
Penelope trusts Jurgen.
In some ways, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she trusts him more than her own family.
Wasn't he the one who led a nobody like Penelope to where she is now?
"I... I want to blindly trust you too, but..."
Still, she wasn't sure if this decision of his was the right one.
"Giving up shares means, one way or another, external opinions will interfere with the company's decisions. Not to mention, the shares demanded are outrageously high compared to the conditions."
"Well, they must have guessed our situation. They were just being cunning."
What Jurgen dreams of is a Gastronomic Revolution.
Making money is merely a stepping stone in that process.
Cola has already achieved part of that goal.
Just look at this line.
Can you believe it?
In Britannia, people are lining up in long queues just to buy a beverage called 'cola.'
Everyone is curious about its taste.
Something unimaginable just a few months ago.
"There's something I'd like Miss Penelope to understand—my goal has always been the Gastronomic Revolution."
Accelerating monopoly through power and hierarchy like Brighton?
Fine.
It would make more money.
But a monopoly isn't strictly necessary.
Wasn't progress originally the byproduct of fierce competition?
Half-hearted beverages won't be enough to compete with cola.
Other beverage companies will each strive to create better flavors, and that would mean the flourishing of Nortaris's food culture.
"Needless to say, I won't go easy on anyone in this competition. As always, I'll give it my all."
"Of course I know that."
"But I doubt others will understand this goal of mine."
Even as he spoke, he wasn't without worries.
He knew full well how desperately Penelope wanted the business to succeed, how tirelessly she had been running around.
If Penelope truly regretted this, he had even considered following her wishes this time.
"Ugh, you should've said so earlier. What a waste of time. Do you know how precious my time is?"
Penelope tossed the investment proposals aside as if they were worthless.
"Are you really alright?"
Jurgen feigned concern.
Her overly breezy attitude might just be a facade to hide her unease about this disagreeable decision.
Penelope had many ways of not being entirely honest.
"What is it?"
Penelope merely pouted her lips, hesitating without giving a proper answer.
"I respect Miss Penelope's wishes as well. If my decision truly doesn't sit right with you—"
"It's not that. No, it's not like that."
"I'm well aware my decision leans toward idealism. So please, speak freely."
"..."
"Miss Penelope?"
Penelope, who had always maintained her dignity even when being utterly ignored in social circles—this very Penelope was now fidgeting awkwardly.
She absentmindedly twirled a lock of her golden hair between her fingers before finally speaking. Her gaze, however, kept skittering away from Jurgen like magnets repelling each other.
"This business... it's really important to me. Gaining my family's recognition is one thing... and, though I don't think I've mentioned this to you before—getting along with my sister again, too. For the first time, it feels like it might not just be a dream."
It had been a dream she had long resigned herself to as unattainable.
A hollow wish she had always wanted to abandon but clung to out of sheer stubbornness.
But not anymore.
Now there was hope.
The kind of fierce drive and desire that only emerges when a destination finally comes into view.
If possible, she wanted to take only shortcuts. If possible, only the safest paths.
After coming this far, failure was unbearable.
The very word "failure," which had dragged Penelope down into frustration countless times before, made her shudder with revulsion.
"But still."
Strangely enough.
Even as she listened to Jurgen talk about disregarding the fundamentals of business.
Even as she knew full well that one misstep could lead straight to failure.
This thought kept surfacing:
"I want... your dream to come true too."
If she failed alongside him, she could just laugh it off.
Wouldn't she be able to try again, over and over?
Even if she had to return to that shabby little general store and start from scratch, wouldn't that be fine too?
"...We're partners, aren't we?"
The words came out painfully roundabout.
Because for some inexplicable reason, her ears burned with such embarrassment that she could barely stand it.
Her restless fingers kept clutching at the hem of her skirt, with nowhere else to go.
Had she even conveyed half of what she truly meant?
"Why aren't you saying anything?"
Ugh, stop this.
I'm being way too self-conscious over nothing.
It's not a big deal. Just a little cringey, that's all.
Penelope, who had been intently studying a random stain on the floor, finally managed to lift her head and look at Jurgen.
Her cheeks were undoubtedly flushed red—she could only pray he'd mistake it for the glow of the setting sun.
When she met Jurgen's eyes again—
"Ah, I'd forgotten. We are partners, aren't we?"
He was smiling—simple, refreshing.
The sight filled her with joy, yet somehow...
"Let's continue to work well together, Miss Penelope."
"You too, Jurgen."
Their fists met in a light, cheerful bump.
"If you show me such splendid ambition only to lose to some competitor, I'll never let you live it down. I'll call you a fool for the rest of your life."
"Oh-ho, now that's terrifying."
"You think I'm joking? If you knew how long I can hold a grudge, you wouldn't be laughing."
"Scary... really scary..."
Beyond the window where the sunset stretched long, the silhouettes of customers setting up tents in the queue stretched into the distance.
When outsiders hear the term "the North," they imagine nothing but a snowy wasteland with the Labyrinth Demon Realm and Nortaris plopped in the middle.
But how could that be?
While it's true Nortaris is the largest city in the North, the Northern region of the kingdom is vast.
The North is home to major cities, each thriving on their own industries.
Take Billstone with its mining, Riverport as the North's largest trading hub, or Golden Hill with its livestock—these satellite cities each had their specialties.
Among them, Golden Hill's Keystone Company was a food industry giant, wielding immense influence across the North through its livestock and dairy operations.
"Brighton, that son of a bitch is finally dead. You have no idea how satisfying that is."
Baron Keystone, owner of Keystone Company, grinned as if he'd just received the joyous news, though the incident had occurred a month prior.
He'd been a thorn in his side for ages.
The Keystone family were Traditional Nobles with longstanding roots in Golden Hill.
Leveraging their massive wealth, they'd diversified into producing various processed foods for the market.
Among them, Keystone Company had even succeeded in dominating the beverage market with their "Berry Mix."
Except in Nortaris, that is.
The reason Keystone Company's beverage "Berry Mix" couldn't gain traction in Nortaris was simple.
Because Polar Suns had joined hands with high-ranking nobles and eliminated competitors both inside and out.
Though it was impossible to confirm exactly who was involved, judging by how Keystone—who had been probing for weaknesses on multiple fronts—couldn't even leave a trace behind, the other party was clearly no pushover either.
But what did it matter now?
Brighton had met a fiery end after recklessly overstepping his bounds, and Polar Suns had fallen from grace.
The golden nuggets scattered across Nortaris belonged to whoever picked them up first.
Recalling this fact, Keystone chuckled once more.
"That mafia bastard always looked like he'd take a spectacular fall someday. Ah, not that I'm referring to you, of course, Rex."
"Naturally."
Rex Salisbury, the eighth seat of the Grey Council, flicked his jackknife with practiced ease as he responded indifferently.
Baron Keystone and Rex had joined forces.
To be precise, Baron Keystone had hired Rex as his frontman.
Rex would leverage his influence within Nortaris to help Baron Keystone monopolize the now-vacant beverage market.
In return, Baron Keystone promised to share the crumbs that fell from the table... or so it seemed.
Even Rex couldn't help but feel a twinge of doubt.
"Baron, are you absolutely certain about this?"
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"There's Cola in Nortaris. Judging by recent events, it's practically whipped the masses into a frenzy."
"That's already been accounted for."
It wasn't an unfounded concern.
Keystone had heard the rumors about Cola too.
"Ever since Cola set up their factory, it's been selling like mad. They produce enough in a single day to sell out completely by evening—so much so they don't even need separate storage. It's been like this for a week straight."
"Were you in the loan-sharking business before this?"
"...Finance. With some gambling dens on the side."
"Then it's no wonder you wouldn't know."
Yet Keystone remained unshaken.
"So how many bottles of Cola flood the market per day?"
"Twenty thousand."
"Rex, twenty thousand bottles a day means nothing in this game. I'll crush them under sheer volume, and all you have to do is choke their supply lines. We'll end this before Cola even gets a chance to expand production."
Nortaris wasn't just a market gap—it was a vacuum.
Twenty thousand bottles could never meet demand.
If Cola was thriving on quality and high profitability, Keystone would counter with volume and aggressive pricing.
"I'll start by releasing a million bottles of Berry Mix. As for the price... hmm. Let's say a quarter of Cola's."
A massive bomb had just been dropped on Nortaris' beverage industry.
Ever since the last request, Serena had been suffering from the aftermath.
Whether it was from pushing herself too hard or burning through her reserves, she was completely drained.
In other words, she had burnout syndrome.
"Ugh... I don't wanna do anything..."
She had made a tidy sum.
Both the Lenoir Workshop's technical prowess and Serena's own skills had taken a leap forward.
She knew she'd have to get back to work eventually, but at the very least, she wanted to rest easy for the first half of the year.
But during her sweet afternoon nap—
Just as she was nuzzling into her cushion, lost in blissful lethargy, her hopes were abruptly dashed by Penelope's sudden arrival.
"Machines... additional production?"
"Mhm. Jurgen said he'd drop by this evening."
"B-but Cola's already selling well!"
"To sell even more."
"Gwaaah...!"
Serena wanted to deny reality.
But she quickly pulled herself together.
It wasn't like she was in any position to refuse their demands anyway.
They were already deeply entangled through non-disclosure agreements, exclusive supply contracts, and the like.
If she couldn't avoid it, she might as well enjoy it.
Look on the bright side.
If she worked diligently to build up her achievements, Serena could be recognized as a baronetess. That would ensure the Lenoir Workshop kept getting contracts. And eventually, she might even be acknowledged as a true noble.
"Work is good, safety is good, overtime is good..."
"Huh? Is that a chant?"
"It's nothing..."
Steeling her resolve, Serena asked:
"So... how many of what do I need to make?"
"Well, it's a few different things... But the request itself is for about a hundred units?"
"...What?"
Had she misheard?
Serena forced a strained laugh.
"Ahaha, you're so witty... That's a joke... right?"
"It's not a joke."
"And the deadline...?"
"As soon as possible."
"A hundred units... Then what about the funding...?"
"I'll lend it to you later."
"Ah..."
Serena could not be happy.