Chapter 73
The pearl in the mud that gave the swordmaster Diera a hard time, the star who shined in third place in the jousting competition. When I personally scouted Oryx Myrkane, who was the topic of discussion, Duke Seymour was surprised and showed a hint of joy.
"You brought in a pretty useful guy. He also seems to be able to endure pain. He will become a strong shield that protects Seymour's back."
I quickly agreed with my father's words.
"So that Oryx's talent shines and he becomes an official knight, he will train intensely with Seymour's knights… No, I want you to train him systematically."
"Of course. I plan to make him into a knight worthy of Seymour to his core."
‘The road of hardship has been opened.'
Although I was a bit sorry, I wanted Oryx to become an official knight that handled aura as soon as possible, and I wanted him to protect me.
"I wanted to repay Princess Deborah for her kindness, but, on the contrary, I ended up receiving even more kindness."
Oryx said he did not resent me even while he was rolling around under harsh training.
Whether he was impressed by Seymour's systematic knight training that incorporated magic, Oryx, who was unable to show his talents in the remote territory due to his foolish brother's inferiority complex, had just moved to the capital, and was having a hard time at the unknown knightly order, thanked me over and over again.
"It seems that the Princess didn't bring a human, but a monster."
"Princess Deborah, who makes that monster flustered; why did she…"
Also, it seemed that even the commander of the Seymour's knights was speechless at Oryx's extraordinary strength.
‘I hope he will become an official knight that handles aura soon.'
I stopped by the barracks where Seymour's vassals were staying and watched Oryx easily wielding a 2-meter spear, as if it were as light as wooden chopsticks, and then slowly moved towards the separate building.
‘An unexpected lump of luck has appeared.'
I was only supporting the players in order to promote the ionic drinks and takeout, but I got lucky.
‘Well, electrolytes are effective for dehydration symptoms.'
After the jousting event, Armand launched an ionic drink under the name of ‘Super Aid'.
It was sold in ade categories, such as lemonade and cherryade, and it was also a link to functional drinks, which would be taken as a differentiation strategy later.
A super aid for quick thirst-quenching.
And coffee for concentration enhancement and brain activation.
To sell coffee, it has to be part of the big picture.
"Coffee. That's fine. I don't know if I will be able to sell it if I make it look good."
Even the Master, who got rid of it because it was bitter and tasteless, seemed to favor coffee often when there were many requests.
He was astonished and said that drinking that black devil's drink makes you feel like you're on the move, and you can do almost twice as much work when you're in a hurry.
‘When will it be the best time to launch the coffee…'
Armand was just getting established, so I didn't think it was yet time to come forward with coffee, which is bitter and unfavorable in color.
‘The lack of a barista is also a big problem.'
Still, through the jousting competition, I presented a business item called takeout and an ionic drink in front of numerous imperial people.
‘I was really relieved that the imperial family allowed drinks in the arena.'
The clock tower played a huge role in winning this.
The administrative office seemed to have received a lot of praise from superiors for successfully attracting an expensive and useful facility like the clock tower without spending a single penny, and had a favorable feeling towards Armand.
The ‘Armand Children's Donation Foundation' was established recently, so it looked even more solid and trustworthy.
‘Hm. Are there any after-effects?'
[Sales after the competition.]
As I opened the sales slip contained in the cake box from the Maisond without much thought, I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
‘Did it really sell this much?'
The result was an absolute success.
***
After the jousting competition, Armand was often mentioned.
It was thanks to the cups, which were stamped with Armand's seal, were exposed to a large number of spectators, and to the plausible story that was added.
"Oryx, who seemed like he would collapse at any moment under the scorching sun, got his energy back after drinking that and did a great job."
Oryx's acquaintance's acquaintance's acquaintance chattered with excitement.
"He said the competition was very difficult. That drink gave Oryx one last chance to become a knight."
People liked dramatic stories.
The success story of the unknown knight, who was not noticed by anyone, was everyone's favorite.
"Now Oryx is being treated well in Seymour, right?"
"I heard rumors that his skills are improving day by day. They said that the prideful Seymour knights admired him."
"Hm! Let's go quickly. What did Oryx drink to create this uproar?"
The gentlemen, who headed to Armand while chatting, looked with awe at the crowd dressed in official knights' uniforms in front of the fountain in the east gate.
They were holding cups, one after the other.
"Is this the drink you drank at the jousting competition? I was looking forward to it, but it's very bland. The taste is also subtle."
"It's bland, but doesn't it feel refreshing?"
"I don't know what it is, but it's easy to drink."
"It can have a dramatic effect when you drink it when you are having a hard time. Maybe it's just a Super Aid? When I drank this drink in the sweltering heat, it felt like I had found an oasis."
The ionic drink left a deep impression on the knights who participated in the jousting competition.
There were knights who stopped by Armand with their colleagues while recalling the feeling of that time, and there were knights who took the ionic drink in a state of exhaustion after training.
"This is the place from the rumors…"
"That's right."
As word spread that it was a shop frequented by famous knights, there were also those who came from far away and drank the same drink as them.
It was similar to when a celebrity visits some place as a regular customer, that store becomes a jackpot.
In addition, the tall and good-looking knights provided a wonderful sight to the main customers, young ladies.
It is not for nothing that entertainment companies set up cafes on the first floor of the office building.
The window seat on the second floor where you could clearly see the knights coming and going to and from the shop was definitely a hot spot.
The area around Armand and the fountain in the East Gate Square was bustling with people every day, and there was a constant stream of visitors.
Moreover, there was a lot of demand for takeout due to the warm weather, and because the price of the ionic drinks was low, the net profit was forced to nearly double in an instant.
***
"What is this? Why did Naria's sales drop in half!?"
Bruno, a great business owner who runs a dessert shop and various other shops at the academy's front gate, was furious when he saw Naria's latest sales slip.
"Damn it. If this situation continues, we will not be able to meet the amount we promised to the Duke of Serig."
As a semi-noble man, he was a vassal of Duke Serig's family, and was protected by the Serig in return for paying a large sum of money every month.
It was also the price of stealing slush funds from the imperial family and filling the Duke's back pocket.
Managing a family was expensive, so Duke Serig was quite fond of Bruno, who had good business skills.
However, the Duke's trust was premised on bringing him a lot of gold coins.
When Naria, which had the highest sales among the stores in the West Gate, became sluggish, Bruno couldn't help but become infuriated.
"What is the reason! Why aren't you answering quickly?"
"Ack!"
Naria's store manager, who was hit by an ashtray thrown by Bruno, opened his mouth with a sad expression while grabbing his bloody forehead.
"That… As we continue to competitively lower our set menu prices, we may have increased sales, but our net profit is not high."
Although the discount rate is high, the truth is, the sales quantity did not increase very much.
The noble girls they targeted were not simply people who liked cheap things.
On the contrary, they thought it was vulgar to see them compete openly for discounts.
Also, since the price was lowered, there were problems with the quality.
In order to meet the daily sales demanded by Bruno, the manager had no choice but to reduce the number of grams of tea leaves per cup, and the picky customers stopped coming, noticing that the taste was not the same as before.
However, the Naria’s owner was not keen enough to see through the characteristics of these main target groups.
"So? Is that all?"
"I think that… one of the reasons was also that customers flocked to the academy's east gate because of Armand."
"That damn shop…! I don't know who runs it, but he's a pretty smart guy."
Bruno tapped the desk with his thick hand, which had a gold ring on.