Soap (14) - Black Plague and Pregnancy Countermeasures Headquarters
The Black Plague and Pregnancy Countermeasures Headquarters—shortened to Black Im Bon—had been established, and we were spending our busiest days since its creation.
"Breeder. Word is you've been skipping your breeding duties lately." Wellington was giving me hell about it. Of course, Melania could shut down his complaints.
Right now, I was proving my worth with concrete results. After forcing the doctors to wash their hands, the sudden drop in postpartum mortality rates among the increased number of mothers was enough to earn Melania's full approval. If we could dramatically reduce the Black Plague as well, I figured I could finally graduate from being a Breeder.
It was almost time. We couldn't cure the Black Plague, but we could prevent it. Right here, in this soap factory!!
"Is the soap being produced properly?"
"Hmph. Of course. Who do you think is in charge?"
Helen was naturally the overall supervisor of the soap factory. It was only fitting after the massive investment she had made. The factory itself belonged to the territory—more precisely, to my department—but that was a minor detail.
Squeeze—!
I grabbed Helen's ass tightly while she spoke arrogantly in front of everyone else. That was her real personality when others were watching. Though, even when she came looking for sex, she always started off acting cocky before we began.
"Hngh❤︎"
"So how much have you made, you bitch?" I whispered into her ear while gripping her ass. It looked like I was treating her roughly, but this kind of handling was basically a reward for Helen.
"…Enough to supply the entire Bicken Territory for now…"
What moved the females was the fact that an Alpha Male had taken an interest in their bodies. She answered while subtly swaying her hips side to side, clearly enjoying my teasing. Of course, she couldn't be too obvious—there were too many eyes here.
I released her ass, signaling her to restrain herself.
"How low can we drop the price?"
"…Twenty silver."
Twenty silver… Considering a family of four could barely survive a month on one gold if they lived extremely frugally, it wasn't exactly cheap. But compared to the previous price of five gold, it was a massive reduction.
"Oh!"
I let out an exclamation at the drastically lowered price. As expected of sodium hydroxide. To think we could bring soap, once a mere luxury item, down to this level! Of course, people still thought of soap as a luxury rather than a necessity, but that didn't matter. They would soon come to see it as essential.
However, Helen wore a dissatisfied expression, as if something was wrong.
"How are we supposed to make money with this?"
"What's the matter?"
"Ha… Honestly, I never knew you could make soap with sodium hydroxide. But… that's all it is. We can't make money like this!"
Squeeze—!
"So you're dissatisfied?"
"Hngh…❤︎"
I gripped Helen's ass harder and whispered into her ear again. The defiant look from moments ago had vanished, replaced by the face of a female in heat.
"Let's continue this conversation somewhere else."
I couldn't just leave her like this.
"Luzenda. Escort the lady."
"Understood."
Luzenda was a mercenary. It wasn't strange for her to speak formally to me, given that she was known as Helen's business partner. The supervisor's office inside the shabby soap factory was filled with expensive decorations that looked out of place.
"So. What's the problem?"
Normally, Helen and I would be equals as collaborators. No—technically, I was a Breeder and she was a noble. Given the difference in status, Helen should have ranked higher. Yet the one sitting in the highest seat, on the most expensive chair Helen had brought in, was me. Naturally. Because I was an Alpha Male!
Helen was a female who wanted someone to dominate her arrogance. Luzenda stood behind me instead of her employer, as if guarding me.
"What's the problem?"
"What's the problem, you ask…!! It's twenty silver! No matter how low we go, it's twenty silver! If we sell it to merchants, it'll go for around thirty silver. At that price, no one will buy it! Well, nobles might, but there aren't that many nobles! We've already made two hundred thousand bars of soap!"
Helen was pointing out the absolute lack of demand. No matter how cheaply and abundantly we produced soap using sodium hydroxide, it meant nothing without buyers. That was what she was highlighting.
Well, well…
"Did you really think I hadn't anticipated something like this?"
"…Everyone makes mistakes. I-I… Hngh❤︎ I dared to challenge my master without knowing my place."
Helen suddenly went into heat mid-sentence.
"Don't worry. The soap will sell extremely well."
"…I'll trust you."
*
Helen's concern was perfectly reasonable. She wasn't called a genius for nothing. She possessed knowledge even outside her own field of expertise. But the moment I obtained the secret of soap production using sodium hydroxide from her, I had already begun preparing to sell it—through the three thieves.
I ordered them to only rob houses infected with the Black Plague, then made them wash themselves clean with soap. Would people think the thieves were simply lucky? Maybe once or twice, but if it continued for over a month? They would start suspecting the thieves had something—something that prevented the Black Plague. And that something was, of course, soap.
Using soap alone could prevent the Black Plague to a significant degree. Its cleansing effect was a full 96 percent effective against bacteria and viruses.
I had Leona spread rumors discreetly: the thieves had something that kept them from catching the Black Plague. It could be medicine, or some special item. But rumors were just rumors. Unless the truth was confirmed, no one would believe me even if I said it was because of the soap.
"Yes, my lord. Of course."
"If this goes well… there will be a great reward."
"Yes, yes! Thank you. Leave it to me!"
That was why I summoned the thieves again. The rumors had spread far enough. Now it was time to let people gradually feel the reality of it.
Perhaps because the thieves had robbed the homes of Black Plague victims for a month without any issues, their gazes toward me were filled with respect.
'They're useful.'
Beta Males who didn't show unconditional hostility toward me, an Alpha Male. They were valuable assets. Among the Breeders from my world, few were cooperative unless they were idiots. These thieves seemed like they could be used for a long time.
*
Karl, Johnson, and Hanson—the three thieves—were genuinely shocked that they hadn't caught the Black Plague. What was his name again…? He was supposedly the head of some department, not just a subordinate of Knight Commander Leona, but the title was too long to remember. Still, they remembered the name Alpha clearly.
To them, Alpha was like a savior. Not only had he pulled them out of prison where they were waiting to die, but he had also given them the chance to make a fortune…!! At first, they thought he was just a proxy sent by Knight Commander Leona because she didn't want to talk to them…! When Leona had whispered that he was someone they absolutely mustn't offend, how shocked they had been—!!
"Hey! Karl! W-we're close, right? J-just tell me how you avoid catching the Black Plague!"
That was why they did their best to carry out Alpha's orders without a single mistake.
"Hah… Seriously. This again?"
Karl put on a troubled expression as he met his friend at the tavern. At first, he had truly been troubled, but not anymore. Now he had permission to tell people why they weren't catching the Black Plague.
"Please. You know the house next door to ours, right? Someone died of the Black Plague there yesterday. I can't move, and my wife and I are just pacing around in panic!!"
"Ahem. If you're that desperate, I suppose I have no choice. You should be grateful my brothers didn't visit this house today. They would've caused an uproar if they had!"
"I won't tell anyone about this!"
Karl deliberately looked around before whispering into his friend's ear. Of course, his voice was loud enough that anyone in the quiet tavern paying attention to the now-famous Karl could hear.
"I had a dream. The goddess told me that if I wash myself clean with soap every day, I won't catch the Black Plague. She even said to wash the laundry with soap!"
"What…? You're not lying because you don't want to tell me, are you?"
"Hah…! Why would I lie? If you're worried about the price… I'll sell you soap for twenty silver."
"Is that true! Thank you! Thank you!"
Karl acted offended at his friend's suspicion while subtly selling the soap at a low price. Twenty silver was still expensive, but if it truly prevented the Black Plague as Karl claimed, it was cheap.
"Hey! Me too! I need to know if that's true!!"
A burly, muscular man approached with the intent to hit Karl if he didn't sell him soap cheaply as well. Karl calmly pulled out another bar from his pocket. He had received so much soap from Alpha that he could afford to sell this much at a low price. Of course, he had no idea that making this soap had only cost about thirteen to fifteen silver.
This wasn't happening only here. Johnson and Hanson were also subtly selling soap to people in different taverns.
"See? I told you I had everything planned out."
"H-how…"
After seeing the soap sell like wildfire, Helen had to clench her thighs tightly at Alpha's brilliance. Today, she was wearing a skirt. If she didn't hold back, her juices would drip right through her panties.