How To Suck Honey With Extras [EN]: Chapter 146

161. My Duty is a Merchant! (4)

When anxiety subsides, the purse, once tightly closed, tends to open in reaction.

To capitalize on this, I took over an entire commercial building in the city and set up shop.

And in the most scenic location, with a view of the main street!

This prime real estate was acquired through connections, backing, and, of course, money!

Thanks to this, citizens are already peeking in, sending glances filled with various emotions.

‘This is a good sign.’

I’ll sell these goods splendidly, pack up the money, and return home!

I intended to extract as much profit as possible.

That’s why the merchants are now enthusiastically promoting our store.

“Come and see! We have a wide variety of goods, from food imported from other countries to various essential supplies!”

Currently, most of the products we deal with are daily necessities or food.

In other words, things that anyone can easily get their hands on.

“I expect they will sell without any problems,” Malo said with conviction.

I agree with that.

But!

“But I think there’s something slightly lacking.”

“Mr. Aileon? What exactly is lacking?”

“Well, take a look.”

I smiled lightly and stepped forward.

There’s still not enough buzz.

It’s not that we don’t have any customers, but I want a more explosive reaction.

I want the line to be so long that the merchants working now look like they’re about to collapse from exhaustion.

“The important thing is how eye-catching it is.”

I confidently folded my arms and declared.

The working merchants looked at me with questioning eyes, but I ignored them.

Sorry. I was actually bored.

“…I’ll show you all what real marketing is.”

I pondered for a moment what would be appropriate.

‘To stand out, that would be the best approach, right?’

Nothing beats this!

With that conviction, I summoned the spirits.

First, I summoned Sprite and Salamander as a test.

After all, these two are the most visually striking right now.

-…Huh?

-What is it?

The two summoned spirits tilted their heads, seemingly not understanding the situation.

Well, I’ve never summoned them for something like this before.

“Now, you guys help with the business.”

-Business?

-What’s that?

They really seemed to have no idea what I was talking about.

Well, ordering spirits to help with business is almost unprecedented, isn’t it?

“Gather customers.”

When I gave the order, the two spirits immediately carried out the image I had in mind.

They combined very weak electricity and flames to make faint flames flicker around the store.

Then, when I handed Salamander something to absorb, the color of the flames it created changed in real time.

What I gave it was a mixture of various raw materials such as copper and salt in various proportions.

I happened to find out that if you absorb certain materials into Salamander’s flames, the color changes for a very short time.

It’s a skill that doesn’t help in battle at all, but if you apply it, you can enjoy it like a mini fireworks display.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The colorful lightning and flames that burst out naturally attracted attention.

“Look over there!”

“Wow! Something’s sparkling!”

Passersby began to gather, looking curiously at the colorful fireworks bursting in the sky in front of the store.

People, once their attention is drawn, will use that as an excuse to come at least once.

Moreover, using spiritism for marketing is something that you will rarely see anywhere else, so there is nothing better to attract curiosity.

This is a conviction that comes from experience.

It was when I was working part-time at a sushi restaurant during summer vacation in high school.

At the time, the boss was urging me to attract customers, so a senior who was working part-time with me confidently showed me how to do it.

He excitedly set off firecrackers in front of the store to attract attention.

The effect was amazing.

…And we got reported and fired together.

Well, it’s a beautiful memory.

“Now that it’s come to this, you come out too.”

I summoned Undine in addition and manipulated water to create various shapes.

When I brought out this one as well, people’s attention and curiosity became even more focused.

“Wow! Are those creatures spirits?”

“I’ve never seen them before… I thought spirits were more terrifying.”

“Haha. You don’t know how cute these guys are.”

They help in fights and also help in making money.

They are really capable.

“Is it really not dangerous?”

“It’s not dangerous at all. …Right?”

When I winked, the two spirits rolled on the floor or pretended to lower their bodies quietly to appeal to their harmlessness.

…Spirits, it must be hard to make a living.

It’s okay, that’s the way the world is.

Still, perhaps because of their friendly appearance, people were more interested in the spirits than I thought.

Among them, there were some who seemed to want to touch them a little.

“You can touch them. However, it’s safe as long as you don’t touch them too roughly.”

“Really?”

“I don’t say things twice.”

I might as well hold a free spirit petting zoo on the spot.

But surprisingly, the reaction was good.

Some people curiously touched Sprite, who softened his thorns according to my instructions, or Salamander, whose slightly warm scales gave off a strange sensation.

Especially children reacted quite well.

“Spirit! Eat!”

Sometimes a child would offer something that looked like carrots or radishes pickled in salt.

“You’re not going to eat it?”

When they tilted their heads, Sprite hesitated as well, but eventually pretended to take it.

“Wow~.”

Satisfied with that, they would pat it or continue to bring something to feed it.

Well, I guess it doesn’t matter. It’s not harmful.

It’s not just these guys.

Undine is also a great help.

Undine, who had finished a water shaping show, even though I didn’t tell her to, started actively soliciting customers.

Ignoring the spirits as if she had no interest, she chased after people passing by.

“Wh, what is it?!”

-…Aren’t you going to buy anything?

“…I don’t really have any business at the store right now…”

-Aren’t you going to buy… anything?

She even followed them around, tilting her head and asking.

Of course, they couldn’t refuse.

A passerby, unable to withstand Undine’s gaze, headed to the store.

It must be because Undine’s appearance is close to that of a child.

And to add to my honor, I haven’t taught her that yet.

To learn that on her own, Undine… what a scary spirit!

‘By the way, I did this because I was bored, but the effect is quite good?’

As people flocked in like that.

“Well! Our association has various items in addition to spirits! While you’re here, take a look!”

If you recommend it like this, some people will buy the products.

Thanks to this, products started selling with a momentum that seemed to be definitely on the rise compared to before.

‘It’s selling well! It’s selling well!’

Yes! Sell more!

At this rate, I was convinced that I would be able to empty the loaded goods safely soon.

‘And it’s not just customers who are gathering.’

I noticed a separate gaze, but I pretended not to know and looked away.

The guys there are foreign merchants who have recently heard the rumors that the war is ending and have set foot here again.

I could feel a gaze that seemed quite dissatisfied.

Ah, I can taste the jealousy.

‘Come to think of it, I should say a word to those guys soon….’

Well, I’m going to draw a clear line with them, so there’s nothing to worry about.

Anyway, I was planning to set aside some time for that later.

* * *

Trading companies that had been reluctant to get involved with the principality for fear of being harmed were now shamelessly returning as if nothing had happened.

But it can’t be helped, even if it’s mean.

That’s the way the world is.

And it’s also true that I can be even meaner.

I left the store to others for a while, and Malo and I headed to a building in the city.

It was a place I borrowed for a while because of the later schedule.

There were already several carriages of those who had arrived earlier parked there.

“They seem to have already arrived.”

“That must be the case. Do you know, Mr. Aileon, how much the foreign trading companies are sweating right now?”

Malo laughed cheerfully and continued to explain with excitement.

It’s good that they re-entered the principality after a long time, but the reality is that there is no suitable place for them to stand.

That can’t be helped.

Although it’s because of the war, the fact that transactions have been infrequent in the meantime is bound to be a fatal problem.

It would be a complaint from the citizens of the principality.

“There is no place for those guys to set foot now.”

As Malo said with great confidence, the citizens of the principality are currently buying our products first.

In that situation, even if foreign trading companies come in, they cannot easily regain their position right away.

It would have been different if they had traded equally from the beginning.

They are already too late since we have been staying here for several months.

“So they have no choice but to cling to us and beg to relieve their regrets.”

I smiled bitterly and looked up at the building where the promised meeting was to be held.

In the end, it was the foreign trading companies who had been biting their lips while watching our monopoly who suddenly made a proposal.

How about arranging a meeting to discuss healthier commerce?

“Healthy my ass. It’s obvious. They’re just jealous of Mr. Aileon.”

“That’s a very annoying jealousy.”

“…But as discussed, will Mr. Aileon talk to them?”

“Yes. I intend to. Well, in a way, the starting point of this discussion was also due to my actions and judgment. It would be right to step forward myself.”

In fact, I could delegate the discussion to Malo and play around.

However, I am stepping forward for the sake of being prepared for any eventuality and because of a certain curiosity.

‘First of all, it’s a place where merchants from various foreign trading companies gather, so there might be an unexpected person.’

That’s why I was going to attend as a representative and talk to them.

Well, there are enough reasons to step forward.

First of all, the products I currently handle are invested with my funds, so my stake is significant.

So I can insist that I am the person in charge now.

“Well, let’s go in.”

As soon as we arrived at the meeting place, we immediately entered the conference room on the second floor.

Except for the seats for us, the people in charge sent by the foreign trading companies were already seated.

“Hmm… they’ve arrived.”

“You’re later than I thought.”

As they sent us glances and added a word that seemed to scold us, I also gave an appropriate response in return.

“Haha. There are so many customers that never stop coming. I was a little late because I was responding with a little sincerity.”

“……”

“……”

They were silent as if they were uncomfortable.

Well, they must be annoyed.

It’s like blatantly showing off with intention.

“It can’t be helped. I can’t make the customers uncomfortable.”

“Yes. But even so, please refrain from doing so a little, Pileros Trading Company.”

“I’m very sorry. Hahahaha. Anyway, let’s start right away.”

Enjoying their silence, Malo and I also took our seats.

The people gathered here now are the people in charge of the foreign merchant ships that entered the port a while ago.

And now is the time for them to growl at each other over their rice bowls [competing for limited resources].

“Ahem! I’ll get straight to the point first.”

The person who was taking the lead while putting on a show of weight as if telling them to listen openly was a merchant from a place called Alanel Trading Company.

His name is Duls.

It seems that he promised to take the lead.

It’s clear from the fact that everyone is not raising any objections.

“Please tell me.”

“Pileros Trading Company, I think your monopoly and reckless actions are a bit too much.”

“Monopoly… What are you basing that on?”

“The events of just this afternoon are clear. It’s important to sell things, but I think it’s a bit much to deceive customers with excessive actions as a matter of morality.”

“Deceive… Aha~.”

I couldn’t help but let out a sigh of disbelief.