Let’s Just Give It A Try First! (3)

First, the conversation stopped. No, more precisely, I was watching the grandfather and granddaughter whisper something to each other heatedly.

It seemed even Matilda and Linda hadn’t anticipated this, and their flustered expressions were obvious, but since I more or less understood the situation, I simply waited calmly for their conversation to finish.

Besides, once the coffee came in and they started drinking it, I was sure the topic would switch over quickly.

Because they were merchants. I was confident they would sense anything that made money just from the smell.

And when the coffee came into the room and the aroma spread, I couldn’t help but smirk as I watched the merchants turn their heads toward it as if spellbound.

They could have taken offense at my little smile, but as far as I could see, not one of them had the willpower to drag their bewitched gaze back to me.

“Now then, this is our domain’s specialty and the magical tea that will lead our future—something called ‘coffee.’ Let’s have a cup and continue our talk.”

“C-cough… It is indeed a ‘tea’ with an excellent aroma.”

A teacup was set down in front of Amode. The maids also brought several cups of tea to Idlen and the merchants and handed them out, but there was no tea set before us.

Amode looked at that with some puzzlement, but I spoke up.

“We drink this all the time, and we already had a little ‘tea time’ before coming here. It’s more than enough if our guests enjoy it.”

I was curious what he would think of that, but soon he said, “Then pardon us for drinking on our own,” and lifted the coffee to his lips. After he slurped a single mouthful, silence settled over the room and stayed there.

No, to be precise, only the sound of “slurp, slurp” could be heard.

The coffee we had given them was hot Americano. I had tried to imitate a big company’s flavor and added sweetness using raw sugar made from sugarcane, and I was sure fireworks from a whole new world of taste were exploding inside their heads.

On top of that, I had used roasted beans processed to minimize acidity and maximize smoothness.

I watched them, thinking it would surely be a cup they did not regret. The first merchant to put his cup down stared at it with such a regretful expression that I had to hold back my laughter, and when everyone else put their cups down at last, with Idlen and Amode savoring their tea to the very end, I finally spoke as tea time ended.

“It’s pretty good, isn’t it?”

“…What kind of magic did you work on it?”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s a familiar taste. I’m certain it’s made from Mansia seeds. What method in the world did you use… to draw out this depth of aroma and smoothness?”

It seemed the business card bearing the title “grand merchant” hadn’t been earned for nothing. I gave a crooked smile at Amode’s words and answered.

“For a merchant, you’re trying to snatch another man’s trade secret for free, aren’t you?”

“Ahem, my apologies. That was clearly a mistake on my part; I admit it. It’s just that this is so strange to me. I’ve drunk Mansia tea all my life, and I simply can’t believe it’s possible to get this kind of flavor and aroma.”

Aside from Amode and Idlen, it seemed only a handful had realized this was tea made from Mansia seeds, and the merchants behind Amode were murmuring among themselves. I took my eyes off them and continued.

“With this, we’re thinking of opening ‘shops that specialize in tea.’”

In roundabout words, I was saying I planned to open cafés, and Amode’s reaction was amusing.

“You plan to spread something this precious among the people of the continent?”

“As far as I know, Mansia seeds aren’t all that rare in the south.”

“…Once the processing method becomes known, they will certainly become rare. Even the amount we brought this time… would see its value leap up dozens, hundreds of times over.”

“Well, you do understand that it’s a trade, so you’ll have to hand over what you brought, right?”

“Ahem… But of course. Credit is a merchant’s lifeline.”

The reputation of the Dust of Sands Trading Company was not something light enough that they would steal seeds whose processing method they didn’t even know. Amode wasn’t the sort to destroy the trust he had built up over the years.

“To put it simply, the point is that in this world, it won’t be easy to figure out the process for making this ‘coffee.’ I intend to keep it strictly secret.”

“How do you mean?”

“We’ll do all the processing here, within the Ingrad Domain. After it’s processed, we’ll grind everything down so you can’t tell the original form and only then send it out.”

“…Won’t that cause problems with the product?”

“There’s a way around that… Ah, by the way, Matilda. I’m getting a little thirsty—could you bring some cold brew?”

“Understood, my lord.”

When I mentioned something they couldn’t understand, Amode’s curiosity was piqued and he began watching me closely. The finishing blow I intended to deliver was this: coffee drunk cold—coffee made by using a large amount of grounds and a very small amount of water and slowly extracting it drop by drop at a cold temperature over a long time.

It was the most luxurious way to use existing coffee grounds and something I had arranged to be prepared strictly for my own personal consumption. My plan was to torment Amode, who had already glimpsed another world of taste once, and make him ache for more.

I only realized later, when I turned my head and our eyes met, that Linda had been watching me from the back with shining eyes—but for now, dealing with Amode took priority.

‘Man, this is a bit much pressure.’

And in front of me, Idlen was looking at me with eyes much like Linda’s. Was this… being caught between a rock and a hard place?!

Thinking all sorts of things, I waited a little while, and then Matilda came in carrying a one-liter glass bottle and some glass cups. She set them down in front of me and stepped back, and I thanked her and began pouring the coffee into a cup as naturally as could be.

Then I took a light sip, just enough to wet my lips, and set the cup down—but the problem was that the merchants could not tear their eyes away from what I was drinking.

“I’d love to share, but as you can see, there isn’t much.”

“…C-couldn’t we have just a little?”

“To brew this much, an enormous amount of Mansia seeds is consumed. It’s the very essence of the flavor distilled down, so… it’s a little hard to offer you some…”

Amode’s eyes shook like the mast of a sailing ship in a violent storm, the gaze of a man staring at a betrayer. After letting out a deep sigh, he spoke to me.

“I… concede. Would you grant me one cup?”

He hadn’t explained exactly what he was conceding, but I gave a little chuckle, told a waiting maid to bring me a glass, poured a fresh serving into it, and passed it to Amode.

Then, as he cautiously sipped just enough to moisten his lips and closed his eyes with a long “Hmmmm,” everyone’s attention focused on him. I casually sipped at the portion poured for me and pondered how best to introduce Linda and Matilda, who would star in our future dealings.

To be honest, I could keep handling things myself, but I also wanted to introduce the two who would shoulder the major affairs of our domain from now on and let them build a relationship.

I hadn’t expected a battle of momentum to break out, but since I had, in any case, secured the victory, I waited for Amode’s response in a much more relaxed frame of mind.

After a short while—

“It’s truly… splendid. I have lived a hundred years, and I never imagined I would find the fact of being old at this age this regrettable.”

It was a bit bewildering that a single cup of coffee had made him feel that way, but I replied.

“I’ll make sure you’re well stocked up for your return journey. That much consideration I can certainly offer.”

“I can only offer my thanks again and again.”

After that, nothing more was said about Idlen, and when I introduced Matilda and Linda, saying that these two would be handling the large and small affairs of our domain from here on, Amode in turn told me that Idlen would be the next head of the Dust of Sands Trading Company. Then he made me one suggestion.

“Why don’t we old men step back for a bit and let the youngsters of the future talk among themselves?”

I was one of the youngsters of the future too, but Amode suggested stepping away as if I were some old man like him. On top of that, he quietly clutched the cold-brew bottle, which left me speechless for a moment. I told him to go ahead and drink all of it and we stepped out of the VIP room together.

After that, Amode and I headed to the dining hall on our own. There, over coffee, sikhye, and the jocheong I had given them previously, we were able to talk at length, and Amode told me that jocheong had begun to gain a reputation as something quite remarkable.

“Up until now, people pretty much thought honey was the mainstream source of sweetness. Since it never changes, it’s easy to store and has many uses, so it was widely loved. Then, out of nowhere, Idlen brought this thing called jocheong and handed it to me… I didn’t know what to make of it at first. But that deep sweetness… was marvelous.”

“Was it really that impressive?”

“In the Empire there are strict regulations on sweeteners. Because of their addictive nature, many people once suffered terribly from tooth-rotting disease.”

Well, that was probably why they had put restrictions on sugarcane, sugar beets, and other sources of sweetness. I thought that if a culture of brushing one’s teeth right after eating had taken root, sweetness would have developed much further than it had.

As I continued chatting with Amode about this and that, he eventually asked how jocheong was made. I kept that secret as well as I answered.

“You know how it is—selling it is one thing, but the method of making it…”

“I really want to strip this domain bare and examine everything. I suppose all of it came out of your head, my lord?”

“Well, yes, but… they’re foods with a long history and tradition behind them. Anyway, if you want a hint about jocheong… it’s made from this.”

To settle his stomach, I had given him some sikhye, and he stared down at it, then looked at me with a disbelieving expression.

After that, through various personal conversations with him, I was able to build a friendly rapport. When I judged that enough time had passed and we returned to the VIP room, both Amode and I froze at the sight of three women smiling as they talked with expressions that fairly radiated killing intent.

In truth, I never heard what had happened that day, even afterward.

It seemed the women had had some sort of battle of wills among themselves, but just why they had been smiling like that while letting their murderous aura billow out… remained a mystery. Still, in all subsequent transactions involving goods purchased from our domain, the three of them maintained strictly businesslike relations with no more red faces.

This time, the items the Dust of Sands Trading Company bought were invigorators, alcohol, sugarcane powder, and coffee.

Among these, the item they took in the greatest quantity was, unsurprisingly, the invigorators. Idlen told me that in the south they were causing such a huge sensation that entire shipments sold out every single day.

From the seller’s point of view, it was nice that they sold so well, but the fact that my strength was drained in the process of making them was undeniably inconvenient.

Even so, I couldn’t simply refuse to sell them, so I somehow kept up with the requested volume—but the problem was that Princess Riana also scheduled a visit, which completely tangled up our timetable.

In the VIP room sat me, Princess Riana, and Idlen. The issue was whether they already had some prior connection. Princess Riana and Idlen were chatting away in bright, cheerful tones, clearly enjoying themselves.

“So the south is in an uproar over God’s Blessing right now too?”

“That’s right. You could say a spark of hope has been passed to many men who had given up.”

“It can’t be that sacred an atmosphere, surely?”

“Well, it depends on the person. There really are people who call it a blessing sent by God, you know.”

I had no idea why I was sitting in the middle of their chatter, but it was time to bring up the main issue.

“So, about that God’s Blessing. If I ship a large amount to the Dust of Sands Trading Company now, it will take quite a long time to prepare the volume that’s supposed to go to the Imperial Trading House, you know…?”

“Is that so…? In that case, how about the Dust of Sands Trading Company yields a little?”

“We’re in a hurry for stock as well, and we’d actually like to take even more of it, but we’ve reduced the quantity because we’re worried we might harm Viscount Ingrad’s health.”

“If that’s your concern, then I think it would be better for the Dust of Sands Trading Company not to take God’s Blessing and instead adjust things to take other goods.”

Cheerful and harmonious?

A cold snap suddenly blew in, and now the two women were trading vicious barbs, sparks flying between them. Friendship?

‘Ah… I’d misunderstood. They’re not close friends… They might even be sworn enemies…’

All sorts of thoughts flashed through my mind in that moment.