Chapter 19
Chapter 19. Competition is Not Fair (2)
The nobles of Britannia are generally capable.
What made Britannia the great power it is today was a cruelly thorough meritocracy.
Those who try to show off with only their noble bloodline will be beaten by everyone.
Therefore, the nobles of Britannia always polish and refine themselves.
If the social circles where such nobles gathered operated on simple and childish logic alone, that would be the stranger thing.
Penelope hadn't been ostracized by social circles from the beginning.
When she first debuted in social circles, she was overflowing with those who asked her to dance.
Her mailbox was always on the verge of bursting with invitations, and everyone wanted to say even a word to her.
However, Penelope failed to prove her worth over a long time.
The formula 'If you get involved with Penelope, I'll be devalued too' was engraved in social circles.
Penelope's isolation was not isolation as a lacking individual, but isolation as a fallen brand.
The fact that even her family had cast her out was decisive.
At that point, social circles wanted to expel Penelope.
Perhaps everyone didn't truly hate Penelope with all their hearts.
But for the sake of the 'class' of the community they belonged to, Penelope had to disappear.
An ordinary young lady would have quietly left social circles.
If she had fallen, she would naturally hide her traces.
This was also an unwritten law of social circles.
But Penelope didn't do that.
Because she knew.
That if she came down from the stage at this point without family support, she could never make a comeback.
That she would have to live her entire life as a useless doll in a display case.
That's why she struggled to find a way out while silently enduring the criticism.
From the perspective of social circles, this attitude might have appeared as defiance.
The social circles' 'self-purification' toward Penelope grew fiercer with each passing day.
To the point where her heart was about to break.
But now she could say with confidence.
She did well not to give up...!
"Good, take it with you."
"Thank you! I won't forget this kindness!"
"Yes, don't forget. Who showed you kindness."
"Of course! Please write it down clearly in the ledger!"
Why are their actions all so identical?
They approach cautiously, worried someone might see them meeting with Penelope.
Then they ask with doubt whether they can really get Cola.
When Penelope shows them Cola, their attitude completely changes.
They bow and scrape as if they'd give up their liver or gallbladder.
Those who had whispered behind her back so much were now begging desperately for a single bottle of Cola.
Seeing that shallow and lowly human nature, Penelope felt it.
"Power is... really wonderful...!"
Jurgen and Penelope thoroughly controlled Cola production.
So that only a selected few among the vain wealthy could get their hands on Cola.
So that Cola would become everyone's object of envy.
So that now, without borrowing Bellaby's name, Cola itself would become the line that determined social prestige.
What's important here is that Penelope is 'the person who can give Cola.'
From the point she could provide social benefits, Penelope became not a fallen brand but a usable resource.
Blindly mocking and ignoring her was no longer profitable.
Now there were even those who openly came to talk to Penelope.
"Um... Lady Penelope. I'd like to speak with you privately..."
"Do you happen to have time?"
"Would you be interested in participating in our tea party?"
Of course, Penelope knew too.
That just because Cola was popular didn't mean social circles had come to acknowledge or like her.
There would be those who secretly ridiculed her.
But a certain truth.
The malicious Nortaris social circle local rule that had bound Penelope for a long time.
'If you talk to Penelope, you'll lose out too' has disappeared.
Penelope succeeded in erasing the faded scarlet letter and returning to social circles.
Not only that, but she also got her hands on quite a lot of money.
In front of the gold coins piled high on the table, Penelope called Vic.
"Vic, could you put in some gold coins?"
[Sparkle sparkle]
"And I'm saying again, the fact that I'm a noble is a secret from Jurgen?"
[Candy?]
"Yes yes, I'll give you candy so keep it secret. That's right. Good."
Vic, who received candy, put the sales proceeds to hand over to Jurgen into his belly.
[Nom nom nom]
"You're kind of cute?"
[Like! Penelope! Cute!]
"Oh my, is that flattery?"
At first she thought it was a bit disgusting, but after living together recently, she'd grown quite attached.
With just tentacles sticking out between bags, it was somewhat like the hermit crab she'd raised when she was young.
While Vic was eating the gold coins, she thought deeply.
"It really is like a dream..."
The overall atmosphere of social circles that had rejected Penelope until now had changed.
She'd also experienced the sweetness of wielding power over others.
Money had accumulated enough that she could attempt new businesses with just 30% of the sales proceeds.
For all these things to happen in such a short time.
If it hadn't been for Cola, it would have been impossible even if she died and came back to life.
Of course, without Penelope, getting Bellaby's help would have been impossible, and being able to sell to nobles like this would have been questionable, but in the end, it was Jurgen who brought the item called Cola.
"You know, Vic."
[Yeah]
"What do you think Jurgen likes?"
[Vic!]
Penelope decided to show her gratitude in her own way.
***
Falling asleep while counting money.
It would be what every self-employed person dreams of.
A situation where Cola was so bubbled that it could be measured as 'wealth.'
On average, one bottle traded for about 20 crowns.
Considering that Cola's production cost was about 4 pence, the operating profit margin was about 99.98%.
There was no such excessive profit as this.
But originally, the economy rolls when rich people spend money.
Since the wealthy class that could afford to buy Cola now wouldn't have their family finances collapse from spending that much money, there was no particular guilt either.
"Going smoothly."
Since 70% of the operating profit went straight into Jurgen's hands, the bonds he'd exchanged at the bank were also piling up in bundles.
Even faced with enough money to turn a good citizen into a robber, Jurgen remained calm.
Because the digits of the amounts he'd handled in his position as Minister of Internal Affairs were different.
Besides, he hadn't started this work wanting to accumulate wealth in the first place.
"With this much money, I can gradually establish a factory and make several 'Dice' too."
Jurgen was an alchemist capable of Material Creation, called the realm of gods.
But that didn't mean he could cast Material Creation from bare ground.
Alchemy absolutely required a 'catalyst.'
Currently, between making Cola and extorting cocaine from the cartel, all the dice used for Material Creation were depleted.
To survive in this harsh world, and to stabilize the Cola business before moving to other businesses.
He needed to keep spare dice in his possession to feel at ease.
"Well, it'll take some time, but it's not urgent right now, so there's no helping it."
—Slam
"I'm here."
[Daddy!]
Penelope now commuted to Jurgen's rented house instead of the shop.
At first, she used to complain about how dusty it was and how messy, but now she quite naturally went in and out of the rented house.
Vic bounced out from her side and clung to Jurgen.
The sight of tentacles stretching through briefcase gaps and wrapping around Jurgen looked quite bizarre from the side.
"You worked hard today too. These days Miss Penelope is busier than me."
"What can I do? I'm outstanding. If you're really grateful, adjust the stake or something."
For Penelope, it was a joke thrown out lightly.
"Let's do that. Would fifty-fifty be appropriate?"
"Why are you being so serious? It was a joke... Huh?"
"I'll apply it starting from today's sales amount."
Penelope blinked her eyes.
Actually, that Jurgen was an extraordinary person was something she'd been feeling especially lately.
It was also Jurgen's idea to transform Cola, which almost ended as a brief trend due to the Bellaby effect, into a political item.
Even holding enough money to live as a wealthy person for life, he just said 'Oh, quite a lot' and didn't make a big deal of it.
His origins might be common, but his character was extraordinary.
Even now, wasn't he so easily offering to share his portion?
But he definitely didn't know worldly affairs.
"Sigh, are you an idiot?"
"An idiot? Didn't Miss Penelope skillfully create the high price range?"
"Even if that were true, you should be more tenacious."
"Why calculate such things between business partners? Without Miss Penelope's efforts, we couldn't have gotten this far."
An unexpectedly sincere answer came.
Honest praise she hadn't heard in who knows how many years poked the softest spot in recognition-seeking monster Penelope's heart.
"......"
Penelope quickly turned her head and tried to hide her agitation.
There was a young lady's dignity.
She didn't want to show herself being happy over a single compliment when she wasn't even a little kid.
"......Since you're getting rich quick, you seem to be getting cocky, but listen well. Stakes aren't something you can just throw around carelessly like that."
"I'm not throwing it around carelessly. It's an investment in Miss Penelope. I think Penelope has that much value."
"......!"
Penelope's eyes widened greatly.
He didn't even know that Penelope had persuaded Bellaby.
He probably didn't know that she was using her connections as a noble to sell Cola in social circles either.
Yet he acknowledged Penelope's abilities and tried to give proper compensation for them.
"Anyway, even when I give advice..."
Really, such naive complacency is like a pushover.
But Penelope didn't dislike that harmlessness.
She'd been wondering whether to show him gratitude for no reason, but seeing Jurgen made such calculating worries seem foolish.
Penelope took deep breaths for about 15 seconds and turned around again.
"You're interested in alchemy, aren't you?"
Penelope had seen his workshop decorated like an alchemist's laboratory.
She'd surely thought it was remnants of an unfulfilled dream and felt sympathy for him.
Such speculation became certainty seeing Jurgen's reaction.
"Hm? Wh-what do you mean? I'm not interested in alchemy or anything like that. Really."
She'd never seen Jurgen so startled before.
She'd hit the mark.
"Since you have money now, you might think you can learn alchemy. It'll probably be difficult."
"So I said I'm not interested, didn't I?"
Alchemists are treated as professionals even at 2nd rank.
It's that hard to learn, and such teaching is passed down exclusively within specific classes.
Even if commoner Jurgen tried to learn, he'd just get money extorted by fake alchemists somewhere.
So she prepared.
"Here, take it."
"What's this?"
"Introduction to Basic Alchemy textbook."
"Why are you giving this to me..."
Seeing Jurgen's face, deeply moved and dumbfounded, made her embarrassed as expected.
It had been a long time since she'd given someone a gift out of pure goodwill.
The feeling of tickly feathers growing in her throat, perhaps because she was doing something that didn't suit her.
So Penelope continued speaking in an even sharper tone.
"Do you know how amazing this book is? You know Hanbin, right?"
"I-I don't know."
"Someone who dreams of being an alchemist doesn't know Hanbin? Britannia's greatest alchemist who's said to have reached the realm of Material Creation?"
"...I do know him."
"This book was written directly by Hanbin Ainsworth."
"......"
"It's a great book that compiled the basic knowledge about alchemy that had been fragmented until now?"
"......"
It was also a book that Penelope, who had hoped to become an excellent alchemist like her sister, had studied day and night.
Though she didn't particularly need it now.
"And this is my summary of what I studied when I was young."
Penelope additionally took out five thick notebooks.
"Since you have some brains, if you consistently spend time for about 10 years, you should be able to reach 1st rank level."
"Thank you so much, Miss Penelope."
"If you have any parts you don't understand, ask politely. I'm a 4th rank alchemist."
Penelope spoke triumphantly and crossed her arms.
And she glanced sideways to observe his reaction.
Jurgen, who couldn't figure out how to accept such a gift.
The tickling sensation remained, but Penelope felt a bit proud.
***
The rose garden of Count Rosemore's mansion.
A woman in a beautiful dress was drinking Cola.
For the mediocre upper class, Cola was such a rare item they couldn't bear to drink it...
But not for her.
Clarisse had already been helping her elder brother, the family heir, manage the family for five years.
With one gesture from her, goods and wealth that mediocre nobles couldn't see in their entire lives changed hands.
"The little miss sent it as a gift. How is it?"
"Really? Have you two become close again recently... urp...! Uurp!"
"What is she really saying! I'm sorry! Miss! For asking something unnecessary."
The maid attending her blocked her colleague's mouth while reading the atmosphere.
"A gift, really... How admirable."
Clarisse's fingertips tapped the rim of the glass tap tap.
"I don't like it."
A coldly chilled gaze lingered over the black surface.