Chapter 74
Chapter 74. It's Not? Why Not?
After Penelope's fox-worthy best actress performance.
Let's quickly summarize what happened over the next two days.
First, number one.
'We will strictly crack down on this incident.'
'So please, just don't inform your family......'
Jurgen no longer needed to step forward himself to clean up the Montagra Cartel.
This was because the Soltera Governor, who preferred taking care of his political career over the people's livelihood, stepped forward directly and uprooted the Montagra Cartel.
After hearing something from his secretary Colbrook, the Governor succeeded in apprehending even the bribed employees at Del Alba Resort in just one day.
He displayed his biased competence to the fullest.
And second.
'Since this occurred in my jurisdiction, it's proper for me to take responsibility.'
'Please spend the remainder of your journey as my personal guests, staying comfortably at my villa to collect yourselves.'
'Haha, money? I'm not doing this because I want to receive such a thing.'
'This is an expression of sincerity, hoping you'll return with only good memories of Soltera.'
The Governor offered his personal villa to the party.
"Wow, are we really staying here?"
"He sure slathered on the money."
"Just how much has he been pocketing all this time?"
The Governor's villa was so large it made even Del Alba Resort's luxury suites look like shacks.
There were over ten permanent caretakers, three dedicated chefs, a fancy limousine and chauffeur.
With a spacious garden maintained without a single weed and even the private beach Serena had been singing about......
The quality of the trip leveled up tenfold in one go.
And lastly.
The pepper problem, which was practically the purpose of this trip, was resolved in a completely unexpected way during a conversation with Lofo, who joined belatedly.
"Guajillo Peppers? You came all this way for that?"
"That's right."
"Bringing those fine young ladies for just that......?"
Lofo looked at Jurgen with the gaze of someone viewing an incomprehensible creature.
"Big brother, this is perfect timing. The main product our Happy Farm is pushing these days is Guajillo."
Former retired soldier, ex-cartel boss turned reformed farm owner Lofo.
Until he was praising the beauty of farming and whatnot, Jurgen thought he was just moderately flattering him, but surprisingly he seemed genuinely serious about farming.
"Aren't Guajillo Peppers not that popular?"
"It's niche market strategy. People don't know about it since it's a recently developed variety. I guarantee it'll be a huge hit soon. Just wait a moment. I'll bring some right away."
Shortly after, Lofo proudly presented a basket full of peppers he'd brought from a nearby market.
"I scraped together only the ones produced at our farm. How about it? The appearance alone is killer, right?"
"Hmm, certainly not bad."
He seemed so proud that Jurgen didn't say much, but until this point he'd thought it was just amateur pride.
Jurgen silently picked up a red pepper.
A wrinkled Guajillo Pepper with an even deep red color, without any parts discolored to brown.
When he bent it slightly, it flexed like well-tempered leather.
"Well dried? Did you dry them yourself?"
"Of course, we spread them under the scorching sun and quickly gather them when it looks like rain."
When he slightly twisted and split the pepper in half......
A spice fragrance burst forth, mixing the sweet scent of ripe fruit with a slight smoked aroma.
The taste......
"Oho, you're a natural-born farmer."
"Heh, I should've realized that earlier."
The subtle sweetness on the tip of the tongue, the heavy flavor felt through the nasal cavity, and the gentle heat slightly spicier than typical varieties.
It was truly excellent, not just empty words.
Even better than the Guajillo Peppers he'd used when making the Seasoned Chicken sample before.
But the most amazing point was separate.
After Jurgen rummaged through the basket and checked several more samples.
The quality of the randomly extracted samples was perfectly uniform.
It meant they were products cultivated and harvested under a single standard in a well-controlled environment.
When asked about this, Lofo laughed as if it were obvious.
"Hey, that's a given. This will be my bullet from now on. I have to get the caliber right."
With this, he could make Y&P's Seasoned Chicken sauce with the same taste anytime, anywhere.
He could establish a stable 'taste standard' that would become the heart of the franchise.
"How about it?"
Jurgen faced Lofo, who was looking at him with eyes full of anticipation.
"How about working with me?"
***
'I have an acquaintance running a pepper farm over there, so I'll go take a look around.'
Around the time Jurgen left for Montagra again to tour Lofo's Happy Farm.
Penelope and Serena were in the midst of Costa sightseeing.
The place the two headed to alone was 'Paseo Passage,' targeting wealthy tourists and the local upper class.
For reference, a passage is a shopping space created by cleaning the alleys between buildings and covering them with glass roofs like indoor corridors.
Inside the alley, various boutiques, upscale restaurants, dress shops, luxury perfumes, etc. were arranged, seeming to completely absorb the arcade shopping street style popular in southern Britannia.
"Miss Penelope, how do I look?"
Penelope had many thoughts while looking at Serena, who placed a wreath on her head and cutely pointed with her finger.
"Amazing. Truly remarkable."
"Huh? Not cute?"
Penelope had thought Serena would immediately return to Nortaris.
After all, if someone who was almost kidnapped during an overseas trip dramatically escaped, they'd hurriedly return home.
Wasn't that common sense?
However, Serena's steps were different.
'Huh? Why would I go back?'
'The cartel won't touch me anymore, so it's completely safe now.'
'And seeing the Governor's villa, I just want to live here forever.'
She firmly refused to return home.
She boldly declared she would enjoy the remaining vacation.
"Maybe you would've lived well even if you'd just married into the Granville Marquis family."
"Why, why such harsh words suddenly......?"
Cautious Serena showed wariness.
"You know you can't get out of the Viscountcy again, right? The recommendation already went through?"
"Who says otherwise?"
Anyway.
The reason they specifically headed to this Paseo Passage among many tourist spots was to buy swimsuits.
Since the northern sea was unsuitable for swimming, neither of them had swimsuits.
"Ah! Found it! Siren Boutique! I saw in the tourist template that the swimsuits there are really pretty. I'll buy yours too, Miss Penelope."
"It's fine. I'll buy mine."
"Hey, just use the consolation money the Governor gave."
Climbing the stairs and opening the hardwood door, a clear ding of a bell rang.
The shop entrance was decorated more like a small private reception room than a clothing store.
An interior slightly excessively luxurious.
Plush velvet sofas sat on smooth marble, and even the candlesticks were decorated with gaudy gold leaf, sparkling.
Generally, boutiques claiming to be high-end have this kind of lobby structure.
Probably if they went down the hallway, there would be a place displaying clothes and fitting rooms.
Placing a lobby between the entrance and products.
A marketing method that caresses the vanity of the upper class by giving off the nuance of 'we only show products to customers who recognize value' or something like that.
"Welcome to Siren Boutique. Oh my, two beautiful young ladies?"
A madam with tall stature and sturdy bronze skin flashed a business smile while scanning the two.
This too is a rite of passage at high-end boutiques.
"Shall I bring you tea? Or would you like to browse first?"
"No tea needed."
"Yes, then I'll show you inside."
Of course, the result was passing.
Serena, who'd come out dressed up, and especially Penelope, were clearly profitable customers at a glance.
"Please let me know if there's a product you like."
After passing through a long corridor laid with blue carpet and artwork, a spacious area appeared beyond the curtain.
Decorated on mannequins as if displaying artwork rather than clothes......
"......?"
"......Huh?"
Penelope and Serena both stopped simultaneously.
They couldn't help it.
They'd clearly come because Siren Boutique was supposedly a swimsuit hotspot......
Because instead of swimsuits, some kind of underwear was hanging on the slender mannequins.
"......?"
Penelope narrowed her eyes and looked at the mannequin.
Did Serena carelessly enter a lingerie store again?
"......Huh?"
Serena also tilted her head.
She'd definitely seen it on the map—did she mistakenly enter the wrong store?
That's when the madam charged in.
"It's a passionate design, isn't it? It's the 'bikini' style that's very popular even in southern Britannia these days. A product designed by Robs Company's chief designer herself. It doesn't get heavy when wet and doesn't show through at all."
"Ah, of-of course. I knew that. I just didn't expect to see it even in Costa."
Serena hastily made excuses.
Penelope walked thud-thud toward the mannequin.
"Hmm......"
The material itself looked good.
The heavy red wine color was very luxurious, and the matte velvet-like texture was pretty too.
But everything else was the problem.
"Hmm......"
Penelope poked the bikini with her finger repeatedly.
The top was a balconette style covering only three-quarters of the chest, and the bottom blatantly exposed even the hip line.
At least there was a fluttering pareo attached to wrap around the waist and supposedly cover the legs, but......
"It's even semi-transparent. This is driving me crazy."
Did the tailor run short of fabric?
Was this aiming for cost reduction?
They want people to wear this and swim in front of others?
And this is supposedly trendy?
"......Do southerners have no sense of shame?"
While Penelope was browsing various swimsuits in massive culture shock.
The madam was targeting Serena with a grinning smile.
Because the merchant's keen nose caught the scent of gullibility from the restless pink-haired young lady.
"How about it, customer? Isn't this one more elegant?"
"W-w-well...... It's too bold or radical for me, I think...... I don't think it would suit me well."
"That can't be."
"But exposing bare skin so openly......"
"That can't be! Shall we look at this design? How about it? Though it's not clothing I can recommend to just anyone......"
The madam firmly shook her head while continuing sweet flattery.
About 10 minutes passed.
After browsing through swimsuits, Penelope fanned her flushed face with her hand.
This store was a bust.
There wasn't a single decent swimsuit.
Even the swimsuits Penelope commonly knew, where top and bottom were connected as one, had the sides, back, or navel area completely exposed.
Anyway, she'd be playing at the private beach attached to the villa, and looking at them, aesthetically they weren't exactly bad, but she judged they weren't clothes for a proper young lady to wear.
"Serena, let's go."
However.
"Miss Penelope, h-h-how do I look?"
"????"
Gullible Serena appeared, barefoot on the blue carpet.
In a pure white bikini.
"Ehehe, I like the frills. Ah, this coral and pearl brooch is the point!"
At least the frills on the top and bottom dangled enough that it didn't blatantly accentuate body lines, but there was no pareo to wrap around the waist.
Meaning it was that much more daring attire.
"No......"
Penelope was surprised in many ways.
First, that the bikini, which she'd only thought would be shameless, looked quite attractive when Serena was actually wearing it.
Most of all......
That Serena had been hiding considerable power all along.
"Miss Penelope, you pick one too."
Serena was twisting her body as if embarrassed but making a strange eye-smile.
But Penelope knows what that smile is.
The smile you make when a dress shop makes clothes you absolutely love.
"You're really going to wear that?"
"Why, why not? Since we're traveling anyway, I should get into the spirit properly! I couldn't wear something like this anywhere else......"
"Alright...... Do as you like."
To Penelope, who was being lukewarm, Serena stuck close, acting familiar.
"Miss Penelope, you try on that one from earlier too. That red wine colored swimsuit."
"No."
"Don't be like thaaaat...... I'll buy it for you. Okay? I really think it would suit you well. Pleeeease, Miss Penelooope."
"Why are you being so gross! I said no! You can wear it alone!"
Serena, who'd been following toddle-toddle and begging as Penelope ran away, revealed the reason for being particularly persistent.
"But! It's somehow embarrassing to wear it alone!"
She likes it and wants to enjoy the travel high, but it's a design she's wearing for the first time in her life so it's embarrassing, and in times like this, if a reliable friend is by her side, she feels like she could fully radiate her charm!
For that, Penelope also needs to strip down next to her!
"......Please......"
Normally Penelope would coldly refuse no matter how much Serena whined, but......
Today was a bit different.
Serena stayed stubbornly to enjoy the trip even after being kidnapped......
Wouldn't it be reasonable to grant a request to wear cost-reduced swimsuits together?
"Hmmmm......"
But if it were just the two of them and Serena, maybe, but there's Jurgen.
Penelope in conflict.
"......Haah, you really want to wear it?"
Serena cunningly dug into that gap.
"Anyway, there's only Mr. Jurgen besides us, right?"
Right.
Anyway, the two are in an intimate relationship!
From Serena's perspective, it seemed Penelope was just pretending to be modest in front of Serena.
"I know everything there is to know. This is an opportunity for you too, Miss Penelope!"
"Opportunity? What opportunity?"
"Obviously, a good opportunity to display Miss Penelope's charm in front of Mr. Jurgen!"
Penelope blinked.
"What kind of out-of-nowhere talk is that suddenly?"
"......What?"
Serena also blinked.
"You and Mr. Jurgen aren't in a romantic relationship...... ?"
"Huh?"
"What?"
"Huh?"
"What?"
What's with this reaction?
Could she really be planning to play dumb after being so obvious?
Was she trying to hide it from the start?
"......We're not...... in that kind of relationship though?"
Serena fell into great confusion.