Chapter 65: Stealth Marketing

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Today, I visited Nalluadhid, the country famous for its flourishing trade and commerce.
I considered building a Japanese house or something like that in the forest for an instant, but I decided against it in the end.
Even if the tatami mats were created, maintaining them was a different challenge altogether.
Wooden floors were also nice, but then, I would use some tables and chairs over there for writing, so still not sure.

I had two minds over what to do with the house, so I decided to visit this country, which was rumored to have some cutting-edge stuff.
Yeah, many houses had huge windows and they also exuded refinement.

There was a window with a lot of round glass bottles all lined up, covering most of it.
They made it by blowing the glass just like when making flasks, then they would join it with the bottom that had already been flattened.
The transparency of the resulting piece of glass was far superior among all that I’ve seen before.

Most of the bottles found in Canum were tinged with a pale emerald hue, and they were filled with trapped air bubbles.
They had a similar color with the glass floats being sold in the beaches of Japan.
Plus, they’re considerably thick.

This country was situated in the small island between the Lower Jaw Peninsula — officially known as the Tarya Peninsula — and Gavil Peninsula.
It declared itself as a neutral territory, and people from all over the world were welcomed here as long as they were merchants.
Well, frankly speaking, kings and feudal lords didn’t have any power here, and the various bigwigs of the commerce industry were engaged in disputes about rights while managing their businesses.

It didn’t have its own military force, but the battles between the merchants backed with various great nations was, as expected, quite harsh, too.

There were some glasses made of colored glass that I never saw in Canum before.
I also spotted a ring with a huge stone, and some fine silk.
A lot of products and items were carried to the ships, where they were priced then dispatched.

There were travelling merchants and peddlers, too, but most of the businessmen had established stores in this country.
Some people came to purchase stuff, but most of them came to deliver letters from sales agents or branch offices, so literacy was almost indispensable for merchants in this country.

The merchants were more secure if they were to procure the items themselves onsite, and do the selling too, if there were no trusted third-party organization.
However, because the Commerce Guild was established, the merchants relied on the money orders that they issued.
Well, the states also release their own money orders, but it was frequently used in gambling, depending on the country.

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『 Fae’s Bough 』 also existed here, but there were also temples and shrines dedicated for other spirits.
Hashim was the spirit of the gold coin, while Seykai was the spirit of the sea.
Their religious beliefs were typical of a trade-centered nation specializing in shipment of goods.
Of course, these two spirits were strong enough to be treated as deities.

I saw a finely crafted, engraved letter box, and there was a vibrant dress, too.
Well, I wasn’t that familiar with dresses, but it wasn’t like those puffy dresses frequently worn by french dolls.
It was tightly fitted in the waist down to the buttocks, reminding me of mermaids.

No idea about its purpose, but the form was somewhat retro, and it actually looked stylish.
It was charming, but I was looking for wool, or clothes made from wool, dyes, threads, silk, hemp, and other stuff like that.

Most of the shops were those who wouldn’t offer anything really good unless the negotiations pushed through, shops whose samples were the only good ones they had, or those who wouldn’t entertain me unless I would buy a particular amount.
It’s quite hard to relax.

A red, opaque glass painted with gold patterns caught my eye, and I thought it was really cool so I bought it.
The price was expensive enough for my eyes to pop out, though.

I sauntered on the stone paving.
Buildings looked like they were jostling against each other on this mountain-like island, probably because the ground was more dirt than pavement, I guess.

I randomly picked a restaurant and chose freshwater prawn spaghetti for lunch.
They gave me white wine even though I didn’t ask for it.
Do they serve wine instead of water here?

The seats at the terrace were popular among the guests despite the cold since it provided an unbroken view of the harbor’s scenery, apparently.
I tried asking whether a seat was available, but was told that all of them had been reserved already.
Reservations were equated to business negotiations, so merchants would reserve these seats.
Thus, they were still fully booked no matter which day you drop by.

They partly opened the shrimp before grilling it over charcoal fire.
The fragrant aroma aroused my appetite, and its meat was sweet.
Alright, let’s copy this next time.

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People around me were dipping a biscuit-like thing inside their cups before eating it.
Oh, maybe those were hard biscotti and they’re soaking it in coffee?

(Wait a sec, they have coffee here!?)

……….That’s what I thought, so I tried asking, but their cups just contained sweet wine.

After lunch, I also went around looking at the medicine varieties to see how advanced their medical technology was.
Yep, there’s cacao.
It’s being touted as meds for longevity, and people drink it after crushing and mixing it with various spices and flavorings.

「 Isn’t this super bitter without sugar? Do they do that because bitter meds are effective? 」
「 Well, part of the nobility enjoyed this as a special drink behind closed doors, apparently.
They add sugar, milk and vanilla.
That’s why they say that the price will shoot up even more.
」
The shopkeeper amicabilly explained, but isn’t she saying that I should buy it now since it’ll become more expensive, huh.

1 bean was 1 gram, and it cost around 2 mon — even if you get a silver coin’s worth, it was only around 75 beans.
An ordinary sailor’s wage was one copper a day.
Plus, this was Nalluadhid, so the further you go from here, the more expensive it would be.

Hmm, should I just buy them at the manufacturing place? But according to the 【 Appraisal 】 results, it would take a lot of time and labor in consideration of the fermentation and dehydration processes.
Alright, let’s just buy them now.

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And so, I bought some, along with vanilla beans, yellow mustard, brown mustard and turmeric.
I also got them in my food storage, but it would be good if I knew the difference between them.

「 Excuse me, dark-haired mister over there.
」
「 … 」
A gentleman exuding refinement stood there when I turned around.

「 Oh my, what a beautiful person.
」
「 …What? 」
Was he asking for a punch in the pit of his stomach? Or maybe he was trying to do some sales talk?

「 Ah, please pardon my rudeness.
If it’s alright with you, may I ask where you bought that bag? 」
「 Yeah.
This is a new merchandise that the Adventurer’s Guild in Azirh just registered recently.
It’s handy, you know.
」
「 I see.
Azirh is a bit far from here, isn’t it.
」
The distance itself was short, but there were a handful of impassable mountains that were perpetually coated with snow, even in summer.

「 Rather than purchasing the bag, wouldn’t it be faster if you order a copy of the specification document, and reproduce it here? 」

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「 Oh, yes, what a wonderful idea.
」

Actually this was already the tenth time I was approached and had a conversation like this.
Only one or two among them had the guts to go to Azirh, was it?
If a merchant went there, then my toilet would also spread here……..
I purposely stayed in an inn so I could check the furnishings and architecture style, but the toilet was still a vase.

Hurry up and spread it far and wide!!

——-
T/N: Jean will go down in history as the Father of Toilet in this world XD

Glass floats, or Ukidama (lit.
floating balls) – popular collectors’ items that were used by fishermen before.

https://jmty.jp/hokkaido/sale-fur/article-copf3