Isekai Nonbiri Nouka Chapter 1086: Countess Godrake’s Proposal

I stood with my feet shoulder-width apart, my left hand behind my waist.

I made a fist with my right hand and pointed my thumb toward my chest.

My name is Mikel.

I’m Alfred-kun’s guide.

……..

I’d worked hard to come up with that pose, but Alfred-kun, Kato-san, and even mother had all pointed out various flaws.

Hmm, there’s a lot more to this than I thought.

-0-

Anyway, the tea party with Count Godrake had turned into a tea party with Countess Godrake.

The main topic of the countess’s conversation was the beauty products Alfred-kun had brought with him.

These beauty products were originally prepared as gifts for women when Alfred-kun first came to Raywhite Kingdom.

However, although it was understandable since Alfred-kun hadn’t been familiar with Raywhite Kingdom’s culture and customs, beauty products weren’t suitable as gifts here.

In Raywhite Kingdom, it was generally considered bad manners for a man to give beauty products to a woman.

To put it simply, it meant, 「Please use these and become beautiful.」

That could be rephrased as, 「Your appearance isn’t very impressive as it is.」

It was practically the same as picking a fight.

Giving them to a man for his wife or daughter wasn’t acceptable, either.

It would be taken as saying that his wife or daughter wasn’t particularly attractive.

The only exception was perfume.

That meant, 「Please become a woman who wears the scent I like」, and was treated as a marriage proposal.

I’d like to ask why perfume was the only exception, but that’s just how their culture and customs worked, so we’d have to accept it.

In any case, for these reasons, Alfred-kun couldn’t give the beauty products he’d brought as gifts.

He was able to give them to mother, who understood the circumstances, but there was far too much for one person to use alone.

While he was wondering what to do with them, he left them sitting in storage. Then he met the noblewomen who were helping the princes at the archives.

He couldn’t give the beauty products to them as gifts.

However, he could give them to people he knew as samples to try.

They could try them out and buy some if they liked them.

Well, Alfred-kun didn’t seem interested in selling the products. He just wanted to get rid of the leftover gifts, so the samples were really just an excuse…

But appearances were important.

And so, the beauty products Alfred-kun had brought were distributed among the noblewomen helping the princes at the archives.

I knew about that.

I’d been there myself.

However, I had no idea what happened to the beauty products after they were handed out as samples.

「I received some of the products that had been distributed as samples from Foka and tried them myself. They were absolutely wonderful.」

It seemed the beauty products had earned quite a good reputation.

「If possible, I’d like to purchase them regularly. Would that be possible?」

The countess was smiling, but her eyes weren’t.

I knew that look.

It was the same look mother gave when she wanted to get her way.

Whether Alfred-kun noticed her expression or not, he replied as calmly as ever.

「Thank you very much. However, I don’t have a shop in this country, so regular purchases would be difficult.」

「Oh, is that so? Foka told me you’re involved with several shops, though.」

「Those are all food and drink establishments.」

「Couldn’t you use one of them as a base?」

「That would be difficult. Beauty products must be stored carefully. It would be a problem if careless handling caused issues with the users’ skin or beauty.」

「That’s certainly true. Then how about supplying them to a trading company I have a close relationship with?」

「That wouldn’t offer me any benefit.」

「…I see.」

「When I have new beauty products available, I’ll be sure to inform Lady Foka right away, so…」

「I’ll arrange a shop for you to sell your beauty products. All the profits from that shop will belong to you. How does that sound?」

Alfred-kun was at a loss for words.

I quickly stepped in to help him.

Alfred-kun was a guest who had come to our kingdom to study.

All the shops and businesses he was involved with had other people serving as their representatives, so I asked her not to make unreasonable demands of him.

I tried to put it as politely as possible.

「Then I’ll arrange a representative for you as well.」

She didn’t seem inclined to give up.

Just as I was wondering what to do, Kato-san, who had been waiting in the background, got off his motorcycle and came over to Alfred-kun’s side. He whispered something into Alfred-kun’s ear.

After hearing him out, Alfred-kun took a deep breath.

Then…

「Thank you very much for the countess’s generous proposal. I’ll take it back and give it some consideration. I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.」

「Oh? Can’t you make a decision here?」

「No. After all, I’m a guest of the Korin Religion. I can’t make decisions entirely on my own.」

「……………………I understand. I look forward to hearing a favorable response.」

They both smiled at each other.

With that, the countess withdrew.

-0-

The tea was refreshed, and we finally had a moment to relax.

Count Godrake apologized to Alfred-kun and me once again.

「I’m truly sorry. This may sound like an excuse, but the trading company my wife has relied on for beauty products has run into some trouble. I believe she’s becoming rather anxious about it.」

Trouble?

「Yes. Well, it’s a trading company backed by the ducal house of a certain country, and a daughter of that ducal house was involved in producing their beauty products.」

Had the duke’s daughter gotten married or something, making it impossible for her to continue working on production?

「Her engagement to a member of the royal family was broken off, and she was banished from the country. Her whereabouts have been unknown ever since.」

Good heavens.

And as a result, the quality of that trading company’s beauty products had deteriorated?

「I don’t know the details, but it seems they’ve managed to maintain the quality somehow. However, sales of several products have been discontinued.」

And Alfred-kun’s beauty products were meant to replace those?

「That seems to be the case.」

I understood the situation, but it had nothing to do with Alfred-kun.

I didn’t know what Alfred-kun intended to do, but personally, I thought it was still too early for him to expand into selling beauty products.

He was already involved in restaurants, the toilet business, and even the development of an uninhabited island, among other things.

I felt that if he spread himself too thin, all of those ventures would end up half-finished.

I’d tell Alfred-kun that once we got back.

With that in mind, I looked at Alfred-kun, only to find him asking Count Godrake a question.

「I’d like to confirm something… Do you know the name of the duke’s daughter from that country?」

「If I remember correctly, her name was Ekaterize.」

Alfred-kun’s face twisted into a somewhat strained expression.

What was that about?

Did he know her?

-0-

After the tea party at Count Godrake’s estate, we returned.

Then Alfred-kun promptly dumped Countess Godrake’s proposal on mother.

Leave it to someone who can handle it.

Apparently, that was what Kato-san had whispered to Alfred-kun during the tea party.

「That countess can be rather forceful. Understood. I’ll see what I can do.」

It seemed mother would handle all the negotiations from that point onward, too.

Well, that was probably the right choice.

Mother seemed to know the countess personally, after all.

「Now then, what are your plans?」

I’d assumed Alfred-kun would turn down the proposal, but apparently, he intended to accept it.

「After leaving her country, Ekaterize came to the Demon King’s Kingdom and became friends with me, Ursa, my older sister, and Tiselle, my younger sister. It’s a little indirect to say that this is a consequence of the business she was involved in, but I’d at least like to do something to provide substitutes for the products that are no longer available.」

「That’s a wonderful idea.」

「However, all I can do is arrange the supply of the products. I won’t get involved in sales or building a distribution network. Also, I don’t want to get caught up in faction-building or conflicts involving the beauty products.」

「Understood. As for the products themselves… it would be best to discuss that with the countess and decide together.」

「Yes. If possible, rather than giving us product names, please provide the users’ ages and the effects they’re looking for. As for the quantities… there are limits to how long the products can be stored, so I don’t want anyone to assume we’ll definitely be able to supply the exact amount requested. Depending on the circumstances, we may need to rely on merchants from the Round-Faced Fox race…」

Mother and Alfred-kun continued their discussion.

Um…

「Mikel, is something on your mind?」

Oh, no, it’s just… Count Godrake provided us with some information, so I thought we should also discuss protecting Count Silversilk’s family.

「Ah, I’ve already taken steps to deal with that.」

You have?

「The nobleman you brought here a little while ago told us quite a lot.」

Ah… the nobleman Kato-san had so generously given a flying knee strike to.

So he was connected to them.

「Fufu. Honestly, it’s troubling how many people fail to understand, even though we keep telling them that Alfred-kun is a guest of the Korin Religion.」

Mother was smiling, but her eyes weren’t.

Scary.

-0-

Noblewoman A: 「Even women aren’t allowed to give beauty products to other women.」

Noblewoman B: 「That’s right. It’s like picking a fight.」

Noblewoman A: 「You’re supposed to provide your own beauty products, after all.」

Noblewoman B: 「The only time it’s acceptable to give them as a gift is when the other person asks you for them.」

Noblewoman A: 「Perfume, on the other hand, is always welcome.」

Noblewoman B: 「Ah, but even then, the scent has a meaning, so…」

Alfred: 「…That’s a culture I’m not familiar with.」

Mikel: 「What a pain.」

The Princes: 「It’s easy if you just remember that beauty products are women’s territory.」

Mikel: 「Meaning?」

The Princes: 「Don’t get involved. Don’t meddle.」

-0-

A Summary of the Countess’s Tea Party

Countess: 「I tried the samples. They’re amazing! I want the cosmetics.」

Alfred: 「That’s impossible. I don’t have a shop.」

Countess: 「Then supply them to a shop owned by someone I know.」

Alfred: 「That would make the prices higher, and there’s nothing in it for me.」

Countess: 「Then I’ll prepare a shop for you. You’ll be the manager, and I’ll even provide the staff.」

Alfred: 「…(Huh? Has she blocked off all my escape routes?)」

Kato: 「Let’s consult that bigshot. (Accept defeat gracefully.)」

Alfred: 「(Grrr…)I’ll take the proposal back and give you an answer.」

Countess: 「Isn’t making quick decisions a basic principle of business?」

Alfred: 「I’ll have someone important from the Korin Religion handle the negotiations. Please let me do that.」

-0-

Afterward

Fushu: 「Stop bullying the young man.」

Countess: 「But…」

Fushu: 「I’ll share some of what I received with you.」

Countess: 「Roger that.」

Fushu: 「Just don’t expand the number of shops. It seems there’s a limit to how much they can supply.」

Countess: 「What about producing them here?」

Fushu: 「That seems difficult, too.」

Countess: 「What a shame.」

Fushu: 「Also, we’ve confirmed that the duke’s daughter we discussed is alive. She’s in the United Kingdom of Careland Region.」

Countess: 「Can we bring her here?」

Fushu: 「You’d better not. You’ll die.」

Countess: 「Is a dangerous organization involved? One dangerous enough for you to say that?」

Fushu: 「Angels.」

Countess: 「…I’ll stay away.」

Fushu: 「I’m glad you understand so quickly.」