Chapter 64 - Episode 7: It's the Starry Sky Cake!
Greetings! I am Violia Nico Fortesia!
Right now, I have just found something else that can sell in this situation besides weapons and medicine.
...Drugs.
Is it not perfect for brightening the hearts of the populace who harbor anxiety over the monster attacks?
"Just sell Mystic Ruby. That stuff makes you super happy."
It truly stands to reason. If the populace is anxious, we should sell drugs that provide a sense of euphoria. It is correct. It is very correct.
"Selling drugs at a stall on the main street of the capital would be dangerous."
"Indeed. If we were to do it, we would have to limit it to the back alleys..."
But danger is still danger.
"No, you don't have to sell it as a drug. You could sell it as 'anxiety-relieving liquor' or something, or even 'drinkable Holy Water,' couldn't you? Is that no good?"
...Ah—I see. Yes! That is true! It is certainly true!
I do not have to call it a drug. It could just be a 'restorative,' or I could mix it into alcohol and sell it as liquor...
Yes, I see...
So I shall sell drugs without calling them drugs? In that case, it would be better to mix it into something.
If possible, something anyone can purchase would be good. Something that does not have a bad impression, and if anything, gives a simple and bright impression, making people think it is a 'correct' thing. Something like that would be good, but...
After thinking for a bit, I have reached a conclusion.
"I shall bake cakes as a get-well gift for the injured people!"
Nerina, the head maid of the Fortesia family, was good at baking cakes. I also learned several recipes from her.
I cannot bake delicate cakes as skillfully as she can, but I can manage to make simple ones with a decent result.
Therefore, I shall return to the ship, also to give instructions for restocking, and immediately bake cakes in the ship's kitchen!
What I shall make is a simple butter cake. As for the baking mold, there were lovely star-shaped ones in the market, so I decided to use those.
I shall mix berry jam into the dough and aim for a lovely, slightly pink cake. Yes. The pink is the color of the berries. It is not the color of blood.
"Come to think of it, there was a love charm where you mix a drop of your own blood into the sweets you give to the gentleman of your heart..."
"Mixing blood... What's that, some kind of death curse?"
It is a love charm! Well, if I did it, it would certainly be a death curse! I know that!
"The amount of blood... let us keep it to less than half a Mystic Ruby per cake. Since it is food, it will not last long to begin with, and they will likely eat it quickly, so we do not need to worry much about the attenuation of the effect due to dilution and the passage of time."
I shall greatly reduce the amount of blood. After all, the ones eating this are not junkies who do nothing but drugs, but just ordinary citizens. If I suddenly gave them a standard dose of Mystic Ruby, some of them might die from that alone!
Now then. And so, they are freshly baked.
Aside from containing a small amount of my blood, it is just a berry-flavored butter cake. When I open the oven, a soft, sweet-and-sour aroma wafts out, making me feel quite happy.
I immediately remove the cakes from the molds, let them cool, and wrap them in paper. Since they are to be eaten immediately, I shall not worry about the wrapping.
"The young lady's home cooking, huh. I'd like to try it, but this makes you high if you eat it, right?"
"That is right. Giovan-san, you should probably refrain. If anyone is to eat it, let it be only Chesta-san."
"Eh? I can eat it? Sweet."
While Giovan-san was making a thoughtful face, Chesta-san reached out from the side, took one cake that was not yet wrapped, and immediately bit into it.
"How is the taste?"
"Mmm, delicious! What's in this?"
"It is berry jam. As a secret ingredient, there is also a tiny bit of the brand of tea I like."
Surprisingly, the aroma of certain brands of tea goes well with berries. It is something the head maid Nerina taught me.
"If it's like this, it'll sell, won't it? It's tasty. Though right now, I'm not feeling high at all."
Oh. Setting aside the taste, if there is no effect in that regard, it would be putting the cart before the horse. Was it too weak for a drug addict? Or does my blood lose its effect if it is mixed into a cake and baked...? I have never done it, so I do not know.
I was feeling a bit anxious, but after an hour, the anxiety was resolved.
Why? Because Chesta-san became unusually cheerful. He is definitely high! (T/N: 'Rari-tteru' implies being high/tripping.)
...Well, it is just a margin of error for a drug addict to be a little high at this point.
And so, having confirmed that Chesta-san would get high, I shall immediately put these on sale.
"If they sell well, we shall have to rent an oven somewhere."
"We could even buy a house in the suburbs. We have that much leeway."
"Indeed... Oh, should we set some monsters on them? Would that not cause the land prices to crash?"
By the way, I have asked Giovan-san and Keeb-san to return to the Kingdom of Orchesta once to restock weapons and medicine. We are about to run out of inventory! They are selling unexpectedly well! I am truly surprised, really!
"...Well, all of this depends on whether these sell."
...We are selling weapons and medicine, and that alone is generating sufficient profit. However, since we are at it, I want to go one step higher.
Whether these cakes sell or not will determine whether a drug sales channel is born in this country. I am nervous.
"At first, I intend to go with the method of distributing them for free as samples, and then charging money from the second time onward. It is a common tactic for drug sales, but would that be alright?"
"Isn't it fine? I think there'll definitely be people who fall for it. Oh, if they sell, it'd be better to increase the variety. Just change the flavor. While they're trying to try all the flavors, they'll get hooked, right?"
I see. Chesta-san's opinion on drugs is appreciated. As expected of a die-hard drug addict.
"I wonder what flavors would be good. It might be refreshing to put in candied orange peel. Also tea flavor... oh, green tea flavor might be interesting too."
Just thinking about it is exciting. Now, if only they sell smoothly...
After that, we opened the stall as usual. While I was selling medicine alone... I also put out the cakes in question.
"Two crates of Holy Water, and one crate of wound medicine and bandages. ...Oh, that is right. If you like, please have this as well."
I hand a wrapped cake to the merchant who came to buy medicine.
"What is this?"
"I baked cakes with prayers for warding off evil. They are still prototypes, but I intend to put them on sale soon. If you like, please eat it. In this kind of situation, I think having something sweet might help you settle down."
If I offer the wrapped cake while saying something appropriate, well, no one refuses. The merchant successfully took the cake home.
After that, I also added a wrapped cake for those who came to buy medicine. Unexpectedly, there were more townspeople coming to buy individually than merchants for resale.
...As Doran-san said, the townspeople are anxious.
When I added a cake while offering gentle words of encouragement, everyone went home with a smile.
Now, I just hope this becomes popular...
"...I never thought that drugs (yaku) would sell better than medicine (yaku)."
Yes. And so, one week after the cake distribution.
Successfully, I have changed from a medicine shop to a cake shop.
Right now, cakes are selling about as much as medicine. Yes. The townspeople are buying cakes with smiles. This was a bit faster than I expected...
"This town originally had hardly any entertainment. Then the monster commotion made the air tense... and the cakes here, which provide a breather, became a huge hit..."
"It seems like selling them along with the medicine that suddenly became necessary also led to the expansion of the sales channel. Well, it's good that it went well, isn't it?"
That is true. It has gone brilliantly well. As expected, drugs are perfect for resolving people's anxiety...
"'Star Cake,' was it? It had some cute name, didn't it?"
"'Starry Sky Cake,' is it not? Apparently, someone gave it that name on their own."
The cakes I sell have come to be called 'Starry Sky Cake' before I knew it, and they have become the talk of the town. Apparently, it is called 'Starry Sky Cake' because 'it is shaped like a star, and when you eat it, you feel like you are floating through the starry sky.' It seems everyone is getting high smoothly, which is better than anything.
"By the way, is there any change in the Kingdom of Orchesta?"
Now, let us leave the talk of cakes there and listen to Giovan-san and Keeb-san.
Since those two have returned to the Kingdom of Orchesta once, it is a good time to hear about the situation.
"Ah—... about that."
...However, as soon as I asked, Giovan-san made a complicated face.
"Apparently, they're going to hold the Kingdom Festival on a grand scale."
...Oh, as I thought.
"I never thought there would truly be such an idiotic thing."
Even though the escaped heinous criminals have not all been caught yet, they are going to curry favor with the citizens with the Kingdom Festival. Well, it might be just right for the foolish masses who do not think deeply about politics.
"If this was a plan that came from the King, then the Kingdom of Orchesta is finally finished. Since I want to end it before it ends, we must hurry."
I want to kill them before they die. Yes. I shall make the royal family suffer and die properly. For that purpose, I want to establish a slave market in Elsemarin soon. Yes.
"So, young lady. This is the main point."
"Eh, there was a main point beyond the royal family being idiotic?!"
I am surprised! There was a continuation to the story?!
"...Well, about that Kingdom Festival."
"Apparently, on the night of the first day, they're going to hold a masked ball for the upper class where anything goes."