Truth Sometimes Goes Unheard
As Albert had predicted, the truth was not always conveyed. The soap sold out the moment it was made. At first, people had been hesitant.
“Soap, you say?”
“Smells nice.”
“But the price……”
“That’s something only the rich can afford. How could commoners like us use it?”
In the eyes of commoners, soap was a luxury item, something only nobles used. Everyone knew it was good, but a bar the size of a child’s palm cost 100 gold—and it was a consumable. It was simply too expensive for commoners to afford.
However—
“No need to worry about the price! This soap is only 10 gold! And just look at the size!”
The merchant skillfully caught people’s attention.
“What? 10 gold?”
People couldn’t help but be shocked at the absurd price. The Alchemy Guild sold soap for 100 gold per bar. This soap was only 10 gold? And it was much larger than the Guild’s version.
“At that price……”
“Maybe I should buy some?”
“Hahaha! If you’re interested, gather around! This soap has excellent cleansing power! No matter how dirty you get, one lather and it’s all gone!”
The merchant demonstrated by touching dirt and washing it off. That wasn’t all.
“Can you smell it? This fragrance?”
“Oh my.”
“Now that you mention it, it really does smell wonderful. Does soap normally smell like this?”
He was every bit the merchant. He knew exactly how to capture people’s attention and used it to full effect.
“Just leaving this soap out fills the room with a pleasant scent. You could even make your house smell like a flower garden.”
“It really does smell like flowers……”
“It reminds me of something…… but where?”
People listened to the merchant as if entranced. He had completely captivated their eyes, ears, and noses. But their purses didn’t open easily. After all, opening someone else’s wallet was said to be the hardest thing in the world. Yet that was precisely the merchant’s job.
I’ll need a finishing blow.
“And look at this!! This size! It’ll last at least two months! This isn’t an opportunity that comes every day! This soap is limited stock—you never know when it’ll run out, or if you’ll ever get more……”
“Goodness! We can’t let that happen!! Give me two!”
At that moment, the merchant’s planted shill bought the soap. With one person leading the way, those who had been hesitating rushed forward.
Limited stock!
If I don’t buy now, I might never get this wonderful thing!
If the soap runs out, I might be the only one who can’t have it!
He had even stirred up a strange sense of competition. The thought that others might buy it while they couldn’t was unbearable.
“M-me too!”
“Three for me!!”
“I have to buy this!!”
The moment their purses opened had arrived.
Just then, a commoner shouted.
“If you sell it this cheap, what do you even make?”
The merchant smiled contentedly at the question, struggling to hide his capitalistic glee.
“You do.”
Considering the material costs, it was a perfectly profitable business—in more ways than one.
And the soap wasn’t sold only to commoners.
“This…… is really soap?”
“Yes, it is.”
Richel was selling soap to a noble.
“Count Carmine, what do you think?”
“My word…… I’ve never seen soap like this before. The color is so elegant, and that scent……”
Carmine quietly closed his eyes and savored the fragrance. The sweet floral scent tickling his nose made him feel as if he were standing in a field of blooming flowers on a spring day. A pleasant excitement welled up naturally.
“It’s wonderful! Nothing like the soap from the Alchemy Guild!”
“Isn’t it?”
“And it even has a flower engraved on it…… Truly splendid.”
“That’s not all. Its cleansing power is……”
Richel demonstrated the soap’s cleansing ability with her own eyes.
“My word…… to think something so dirty could disappear so easily. It’s in a completely different league from the Alchemy Guild’s product.”
“Isn’t it?”
“So, how much is it?”
“We’re selling it for 100 gold each.”
Originally, they had planned to sell it for 200 gold, but after consulting with Albert, they had settled on 100.
“Same price as the Alchemy Guild. However……”
Carmine frowned. The price was the same, but anyone could see that the Flower Merchant Group’s soap was far superior—in shape, color, and scent. Since they were the same product, comparison was inevitable. Moreover, using this soap left a floral scent on the body, eliminating the need for expensive perfume.
I’ve traded with the Alchemy Guild for a long time…… Normally, I should refuse out of loyalty, but……
He wanted that soap. How could he not? In terms of quality, the Flower Merchant Group’s soap was overwhelmingly superior, and the price was the same.
“Very well. I’ll take it.”
Carmine made his decision. He would trade with the Flower Merchant Group. It was a choice he shouldn’t have made, considering his relationship with the Alchemy Guild, but—
It’s simply too tempting.
Carmine was already completely captivated by the soap. Richel smiled the smile of a merchant who had closed a deal.
“Thank you. Ah, and while it’s 100 gold each, we’re offering three for 250 gold.”
“Oh, then buying three would be more advantageous!”
“Exactly.”
“Splendid! I’ll take three!!”
“Thank you~.”
Thus, the Flower Merchant Group’s soap began to spread among both commoners and nobles. It came to be called Flower Soap. Richel hadn’t deliberately named it so. The name had naturally stuck because using the soap left a pleasant floral scent.
“I don’t think I can live without Flower Soap anymore.”
“Me neither.”
“Can you smell it? Since I started using Flower Soap, my skin smells like flowers, so I don’t even need to wear expensive perfume.”
“With this wonderful color, design, and scent…… I can’t go back to the Alchemy Guild’s soap anymore.”
“True.”
Word of mouth spread among the nobles in an instant. Whenever nobles gathered in social circles now, they all talked about Flower Soap. Occasionally, the topic of Ant iron ingots handled by the Flower Merchant Group came up, but Flower Soap was usually the main subject.
This wasn’t limited to nobles.
“Using Flower Soap really does prevent food poisoning.”
“Ugh…… Lia, who broke up with me saying I smelled, came back after I started using Flower Soap.”
“My house smells so nice now that my fatigue seems to melt away.”
“If I keep Flower Soap nearby while sleeping, I can fall asleep to the scent of flowers.”
Commoners also welcomed Flower Soap. Of course, nobles occasionally complained that commoners were using the same thing as them.
“The same? Not at all.”
“What’s different? It’s just a different shape, but otherwise the same.”
“Hehe, they’re completely different. The scent is different, after all.”
“What does the scent matter……”
“The scent is important. The flowers used in the soap sold to commoners are different from those used in the soap sold to nobles.”
“Different?”
“Yes. The flowers in the Flower Soap sold to nobles have special effects. Haven’t you noticed? Your skin doesn’t feel tight anymore, or wrinkles have disappeared.”
“Now that you mention it……”
It was true. The weather had been dry lately, but even after washing, her skin no longer felt tight. And the fine wrinkles that had been bothering her recently—
“They’re gone! Now that I think about it, they disappeared after I started using Flower Soap!”
At those words, Richel smiled brightly.
“That’s exactly it.”
Richel had suggested to Albert that they create a distinction for cases like this.
Nobles are the ultimate supremacists. Albert is just an exception. If nobles found out they were using the same thing as commoners, they’d be displeased.
Even if they differentiated by size or design, as long as the base product was the same, problems would inevitably arise. That was why Richel had made the soap sold to nobles a little more special.
“Because we use better flowers, the scent is better too. There are only three types for commoners, but over ten for nobles.”
By differentiating in shape, color, design, materials, and variety, she made nobles feel more privileged. Albert had agreed.
Nobles are troublesome. Even grown men with dry ink on their IDs still need to be pampered……. But what can we do? We’re merchants. If we want to sell, we have to do it.
But you’re a noble, Albert.
There’s merchant blood from my mother flowing in my veins. Maybe my true nature is that of a merchant?
What about your father?
They mixed well, I suppose.
Anyway, it wasn’t a bad method, and thanks to it, the soap sold like wildfire. Orders poured in.
“Lady Richel, we have an order for Flower Soap!”
“Another 50 here!”
“Over here……”
It wasn’t just Flower Soap orders.
“We also have an order for 100 Ant iron ingots.”
“100 Ant iron ingots? From where?”
“Baron Luckley’s household. They say a massive monster appeared near their territory, so they need iron to form a subjugation party……”
“Hmm, understood.”
Amid the flood of orders, Richel was having a fulfilling day. It was the first time a day had felt so rewarding.
“We sold so much!”
Organizing documents in her office, Richel felt satisfied. Looking at the sales figures on the papers warmed her heart. As her purse grew heavier, she felt a strange sensation, as if her heart were being filled as well.
I must be a born merchant. Just seeing money makes me happy.
Richel proudly looked at the money piled before her, then her expression turned slightly gloomy.
“Would Father and Mother have been happy to see this…… No, what’s the point of thinking about that now.”
Richel steadied herself. Many things had happened in the past, but she chose to view even the hardships positively, as valuable experience.
“Well, that’s enough for now……”
Just then, Richel the merchant sensed that the air in the office had changed. A tension that pricked her skin. The air seemed to crackle, signaling that someone other than herself was now in the room.
“Who……”
As she tried to ask who it was, a sharp blade appeared at her throat. It had happened in an instant. She had only looked away for a moment, yet in that brief time, the intruder had already pressed a sword to her neck.
“From now on, answer my questions honestly.”
The masked man’s eyes gleamed with intense killing intent. Richel knew those eyes. They belonged to someone who had killed many people—someone who no longer felt any guilt about murder.
An assassin.
His voice was hoarse, making it impossible to identify him, though she could barely tell he was male. The assassin quietly recalled his mission and asked.
“Where do you get your supply of Flower Soap? Who makes it, and where is the maker located? Tell me.”
As he questioned her, the assassin thought this job wouldn’t be easy. After accepting the request, he had investigated Richel.
A merchant loyal enough to continue trading with the fallen Legrian family even when other merchants had abandoned them. Usually, getting information out of such merchants is difficult.
She was a born merchant. Other merchants might talk after a little pain, but this type was different. A merchant who upheld loyalty to the very end.
Opening the mouths of those with faith and conviction is no easy task.
Because Richel held conviction, her mouth was locked with a lock that no key could open.
My role is to find the key that fits that lock.
It wouldn’t be easy, but having accepted the request, he had to complete it somehow.
“I’ll tell you everything.”
“Good, I knew you would. Merchants like you don’t open their mouths easily. But don’t worry. I’m a professional, so your mouth…… Huh? What did you say?”
“I said I’ll tell you everything. The person making the soap is a very handsome man named Albert Legrian. He brought dark elves with him and had them make the soap.”
“……Wait, what?”
“Albert is currently in the Legrian territory…… Ah, that territory is adjacent to Monster Land. You can get there in a few days by carriage.”
“……”
It was as if there had never been a lock on Richel’s mouth to begin with. Even the assassin, who had worked so hard to find the key, felt awkward. Look at her, rambling on. At this rate, she looked ready to personally guide him to the Legrian territory as a coachman.
“It’s true. I just receive it from him and sell it.”
“……”
The assassin couldn’t help but be flustered. According to his investigation, she should have been the hardest type to make talk, yet she was spilling everything so easily?
“Is there anything else you want to ask? Why? If you want to know more……”
Of course, Richel was simply doing as Albert had instructed. He had told her to tell everything if asked, and that even mentioning the dark elves was fine. So she had told the whole truth.
With this much explanation, he should understand and leave, right?
She had told him everything he wanted to know. Normally, an assassin would have been satisfied and moved on, but—
“……Are you trying to deceive me? Did you think such lies would work?”
“No! What do you mean, lies! Where else would you find someone as truthful as me! I told you everything! Albert brought dark elves and made the soap!”
“I won’t fall for such nonsense.”
“No!!”
Richel was frustrated. She had clearly told the truth, yet the other party didn’t believe her. It was maddening.
“I really told you everything! It’s true!”
“Enough.”
After gagging Richel—perhaps using magic—she couldn’t move.
“I’m a professional. I won’t fall for lies from someone like you.”
The assassin carried Richel like a sack of luggage and dragged her out through the window.
Sometimes, even if you tell the truth, it doesn’t get through.
I told the truth, so why won’t you believe me!!
Her indignant scream never left her mouth, echoing hollowly only in her heart.