New chapter of Single Old Man is out! (1/1 chapter)

 

 

Summer New Product Battle (3)

(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)

Five days had passed since the new product battle began, and up until now, Sandrone hadn’t been able to beat Barion even once. Another loss in sales on the fifth day… To be blunt, it became clear that Barion was better suited as a manager than a magic tool engineer.

After securing his fifth victory, Barion left while laughing loudly. And Sandrone gritted her teeth and grabbed me by the collar.

“Why… why can’t we win!! Your mist sprayer, it’s been increasing in sales every single day!? Even the hair irons are about to sell out… and yet, we’re still losing in total sales to Barion!!” (Sandrone)

“…When it comes to this, I can only say that it’s Barion’s victory in terms of business strategy.” (Gentoku)

Over the past five days, I’ve come to mostly understand what Barion has been doing.

“…What do you mean?” (Sandrone)

“You are certainly smart. But this time, maybe because you let your emotions take over, your perspective has become narrow.” (Gentoku)

“…Eh?” (Sandrone)

I remove Sandrone’s hand.

Richter and the three, Rosso and the others, watched our exchange in silence. Or rather… they probably couldn’t butt in.

I say what I’m now convinced of.

“…Barion sold the set of sunscreen and moisturizing creams not in the Edelstein Kingdom, but in the seaside country of Zanad.” (Gentoku)

“…Eh.” (Sandrone)

“You were fixated on domestic sales… or maybe you just didn’t see it. While selling domestically, Barion was also selling the cream sets in Zanad, the seaside country where sunburn is a given. And he did it precisely so that today, the fifth day, he could show you a hopeless gap.” (Gentoku)

“…” (Sandrone)

“I have to admit, I thought he was just a stuck-up guy and not much to worry about… but there’s no mistake in his title as the president of a first-class merchant company.” (Gentoku)

“Then, that means…” (Sandrone)

“Yeah. You’ve lost. There’s no way the Peridot Company can make a comeback now.” (Gentoku)

I said it clearly, and Sandrone lowered her face.

“Moisturizing creams and sunscreen creams are consumables. Just by looking at the samples, I can tell. They’ll run out in less than two weeks. People who are meticulous will apply them daily… Some might’ve even run out of what they bought on the first day and came back to buy more today, on the fifth day. But the mist sprayer and hair iron… you only need one. The magic stones are consumables, sure, but you only need to exchange them once a year at the Alexandrite Company.” (Gentoku)

“…” (Sandrone)

“Sandrone. This time, you’ve lost.” (Gentoku)

“…gh” (Sandrone)

Then, Richter looked at me with a face that said “That’s enough…”.

But if I stop talking now, Sandrone won’t grow.

“Sandrone. What will you do? You lost to Barion… Are you just going to become his second wife as planned? Or will you not give up?” (Gentoku)

“…” (Sandrone)

Then, Richter stepped forward.

“Ojou… No matter what happens, I will follow you.” (Richter)

“…Richter.” (Sandrone)

“You gave me a place when I was dying in the slums. You gave food to this orphan, gave me education as a guard, and gave me the role of protecting you. If you give up, I will follow. If you won’t give up… I will fight alongside you. That is my loyalty.” (Richter)

“…” (Sandrone)

Richter crossed her arms in front of her chest. It wasn’t love. It was loyalty… a feeling that would never turn romantic. Blanche was even shivering, whispering, “So beautiful…”

Sandrone swept her hair back, took out a cigarette, lit it, and exhaled a puff of smoke.

“Fuuuh… Sorry for losing my composure. Gentoku, I won’t give up. I’ll fight until the end.” (Sandrone)

“…That’s the line I wanted to hear.” (Gentoku)

“So, you’ve got a plan, right? The way you’re talking, there’s still a move left.” (Sandrone)

“…Well, yeah.” (Gentoku)

Honestly… it’s not so much a plan as it is something I just overlooked.

I rolled up my sleeve and showed my arm.

“…What’s that?” (Sandrone)

“There’s nothing left for you to do. Tomorrow… you’ll win.” (Gentoku)

“…Eh?” (Sandrone)

“Alright, we’re done for today. Sandrone, once tomorrow comes, you’ll understand everything.” (Gentoku)

“…O-okay.” (Sandrone)

And with that, the day ended.

 

—

 

Day Six.

I was having breakfast at a café near my residence. Bread, bacon and eggs, vegetable soup, salad, and black tea. Dessert was some sliced otherworldly orange. Music played from the café’s magic device, and the aroma in the air was amazing… There was a mist sprayer in the shop, spraying herbal water and spreading a wonderful scent.

“Haah~… Tea’s nice too.” (Gentoku)

Actually, I’d contracted with a farming family through the Commercial Guild to exclusively supply me with coffee beans. Now they’re delivered to my home regularly. Today, I bottled some roasted beans to take to work. I still need to give Blanche her café au lait. I haven’t kept that promise yet.

I left the café and, newspaper in hand, arrived at the company. Blanche was there… but not alone. Ao and Rosso were also present. All three of them looked a bit downcast.

“Hey. Blanche, I’m brewing some café au lait today, so look forward to it.” (Gentoku)

“Y-Yes… Um, Ojii-sama. What was all that about yesterday…?” (Blanche)

“Eh, come inside. I’ll make you some tasty café au lait.” (Gentoku)

At the office, I made café au lait for all three. I brewed a strong coffee, mixed in sugar and milk. Poured it into glasses with ice, and it was done.

They took sips…

Mmm, sweet and delicious. I usually don’t put sugar in my coffee, but sometimes sweet ones like this are great.

“Mmm, so good…” (Blanche)

“Right?” (Gentoku)

“Delishous!! Ojisan, this is really tasty!!” (Rosso)

“Can I have seconds?” (Ao)

“Yeah, sure.” (Gentoku)

As we were leisurely enjoying our café au lait… Richter burst in.

“G-Gentoku-san!! T-The Peridot Company is–…” (Richter)

“Being flooded with angry customers, right? Probably those who bought products on the first or second day.” (Gentoku)

“Eh? Y-Yes. H-How did you know…?” (Richter)

“Well, let’s just wait for the results.” (Gentoku)

I emptied my glass and poured myself another round.

 

—

 

In the evening, as I was leisurely reading the evening paper (just happened to be a street vendor selling it), a bewildered-looking Sandrone and a disheveled, bloodshot-eyed Barion came in. With them was a tax investigator. These two showed no change in expression.

“Y-Youuuuuu!! What the hell did you do!!?” (Barion)

Barion screamed and lunged at me the moment he entered. A startled Sandrone looked on, and Richter stepped forward to shield me. In front of me stood Rosso with sword drawn, Blanche holding a hammer over her shoulder, and Ao with both wrist blades deployed, each of them glaring at Barion with ice-cold eyes I’d never seen before.

“Hiieee…!” (Barion)

Barion froze in place. Even his guards, the mohawk and the bald guy, were too scared to move in front of Rosso and the others. I patted Rosso’s head, and the three disengaged their battle stances. Then, the tax investigator cleared his throat.

“Erm… Since the Peridot Company has become incapable of operating, the victory goes to the Alexandrite Company.” (Tax Investigator)

“Gyaaaaaaaaah!! Why the hell!!” (Barion)

Barion clutched his hair in anguish… Just as I expected. The tax investigator had his job done, quickly left, and only we remained.

Sandrone, looking more sympathetic than victorious, turned to me and asked…

“Gentoku… What happened?” (Sandrone)

“Most likely, a ton of women rushed into the Peridot Company to complain. Maybe even their husbands or bodyguards started wrecking the place too.” (Gentoku)

“Y-Yeah… The shop is in ruins, and apparently, looting broke out during the chaos. Both the main and branch stores are in terrible shape.” (Sandrone)

“The answer is this.” (Gentoku)

With those words, I rolled up my sleeve and revealed the bruise on my upper arm. Barion’s eyes widened in realization, while everyone else tilted their heads in confusion.

“Bruise? Did you hurt yourself or something?” (Sandrone)

“No. This happened because I kept applying the moisturizing cream from Peridot Company.” (Gentoku)

“…Eh?” (Sandrone)

I sighed deeply. My upper arm looked as if it had been burned, red and inflamed, with black spots appearing around it.

“This moisturizing cream is a failed product. If you keep applying it, it causes abnormal skin reactions. Probably… they followed my recipe to make the base cream, then added fragrances and whatnot. When they tested it on skin and found it made the skin smooth, they decided it was ‘complete’ just like that.” (Gentoku)

“…Tsk.” (Barion)

“Sure, it does make your skin smooth. But they didn’t bother to test what would happen with continued use, did they?” (Gentoku)

“…Grrr.” (Barion)

Sandrone spoke with a sympathetic tone.

“…It seems that at both the main store and the branches of Peridot Company, many female customers stormed in, yelling that they had facial abnormalities. Their husbands or guards beat up the employees, the stores were trashed, and amid the chaos, looting also broke out… Apparently, every Peridot store in the royal capital was affected.” (Sandrone)

“…Blanche.” (Gentoku)

“Y-Yes?” (Blanche)

“Can you fix this?” (Gentoku)

Blanche was the Saint of Healing… possessing the Light attribute and able to use healing magic. Maybe I could learn it too if I tried… I’d decided to use magic for product development, but perhaps learning just healing magic wouldn’t be a bad idea.

When Blanche cast a gentle light over my upper arm, the bruise disappeared cleanly.

“…This would be classified as a disease. If you go to a proper clinic for a few days, it should go away.” (Blanche)

“Eh…? But mine disappeared.” (Gentoku)

“Ufufu. That’s because I’m special.” (Blanche)

“Ah, thanks… I’ll pay you later.” (Gentoku)

Barion wobbled to his feet.

“It’s all over. Peridot Company has lost all credibility. The stores are wrecked, everything’s been taken… This is all your fault, Sandrone… and Gentoku!! This is your fault!!” (Barion)

“Don’t screw with me!!” (Gentoku)

I roared.

It came from the depths of my gut. Magic surged uncontrollably for a moment, and violet lightning sparked. Barion flinched in shock.

“Sure, I made this. But… the one who stole it, sold it without testing, was you!! I told you to stop selling it!!” (Gentoku)

“Ugh…” (Barion)

“Chasing short-term profits and putting customers at risk just to satisfy your greed… You have no right to call yourself a magical tool engineer!!” (Gentoku)

“S-Shut uuuuuup!! You! You’re the one at fault!!” (Barion)

Barion came at me. Rosso and the others moved to stop him, but I held them back and stepped forward. I took a martial arts stance, deflected Barion’s lunging punch, then countered with repeated strikes to his chest, finishing with a knifehand blow to the neck.

“Gwaa!?” (Barion)

“Reflect on your actions for once!!” (Gentoku)

With a low stance, I landed a direct punch to his face, and Barion rolled across the floor, crashing into the sofa.

“Guh, guh… Y-Youuuuuu!! H-How dare you hit the face of a noble, you bastard, you bas—” (Barion)

Oh yeah… he was a noble… Maybe I went too far.

Just as Sandrone was about to say something, the office door suddenly burst open. Several soldiers entered, followed by an elderly man.

Who?

“Y-your Excellency Marcelino…!!” (Sandrone)

“Papa!!” (Barion)

Sandrone bowed immediately in surprise. Barion stood up, wiping the blood from his nose.

“…Barion.” (Marcelino)

“Papa, listen!! These guys–…” (Barion)

“Enough already!! You fool!!” (Marcelino)

“Fuhii!?” (Barion)

“Uwoah.” (Gentoku)

He screamed with all his might. Then, turning to Sandrone, he bowed deeply.

“Regarding this matter… my foolish son has caused great trouble. Sandrone-dono.” (Marcelino)

“N-No…” (Sandrone)

“It’s not just about the broken engagement. He also caused trouble for the House of Count Iolite… His exile was, in part, the responsibility of the House of Marquis Jasper.” (Marcelino)

“…That matter is already past.” (Sandrone)

“I apologize. Spoiling the youngest son just because he was a noble, even a lower one, and entrusting him with the operation of a company funded by the House of Marquis Jasper… It was premature. I will take over Peridot Company and arrange compensation and treatment for the victims.” (Marcelino)

“Eeeeeh!? P-Peridot Company is mine–…” (Barion)

“Silence!! Do you not realize that you’ve dragged the name of the House of Marquis Jasper through the mud!? Thanks to you, the Queen herself may end up with an irremovable scar on her face!!” (Marcelino)

“Q-Queen?” (Barion)

“Don’t pretend to forget. You gifted that defective cream to Her Majesty, didn’t you? And that’s not all. Your cream… it’s already reached Zanad, a foreign country. I just sent out a messenger, but it takes a week to get there from here… It’s inevitable that there will be victims. This isn’t just a domestic issue. It could become an international incident!” (Marcelino)

Barion turned pale. He finally realized the severity of the situation. I looked at Blanche, and she nodded.

“Your Excellency Marquis Jasper. Nice to meet you… I am Blanche of the ‘Scarlet Camellia’. I’ve confirmed that with my magic, it’s possible to heal the damage caused by that malicious cream.” (Blanche)

“I see. That is excellent news… You have my gratitude.” (Marcelino)

The Marquis turned to Sandrone again.

“The House of Marquis Jasper may well be dissolved after this. But I will do everything in my power to prevent that. Sandrone-dono… you have the right to punish this son of mine. What will you do?” (Marcelino)

“Let’s see…” (Sandrone)

“Eep.” (Barion)

Barion looked utterly pitiful. He cowered behind the sofa.

Sandrone smirked.

“Then, starting today, for ten years, he will serve as the ‘toilet cleaner’ for Peridot Company and all affiliated stores.” (Sandrone)

“Whaaaaaaaaaat!?” (Barion)

“…Understood. From this day forward, Barion shall work as the Peridot Company’s ‘toilet cleaner’.” (Marcelino)

“P-Papa. Th-That’s a joke, right?” (Barion)

“…Now then, excuse me. You there!! Shave that cleaner’s head!! Teach him the way of cleaning!!” (Marcelino)

“Noooooooo!! I don’t want thiiiiiiis!! Sandroneeeeeeeee!!” (Barion)

Barion was carried away by the soldiers. In the end, he was more pitiful than anything else.

After Barion and the others were gone, silence fell over the room for a moment…

Then, Sandrone spoke.

“We won… but I feel incredibly drained.” (Sandrone)

“Well, that’s how it is. Honestly… it wasn’t a very satisfying victory.” (Gentoku)

“…Gentoku?” (Sandrone)

“I… had a hunch that the cream had defects. But for you to win, I had to stay silent. I told him to stop selling it, but I knew he had no intention of stopping. So… I knew this could happen, and still did nothing. I can’t face the women who used that cream.” (Gentoku)

If any of them end up with permanent scars… That would be my responsibility too.

Then, Blanche said…

“Rest assured. As long as I am here, there’s no need to worry. Oji-sama… Don’t underestimate the healing magic of ‘White Blanche’.” (Blanche)

“…Yeah. Thanks.” (Gentoku)

“Fufu. Consider it thanks for the café au lait. I’ll go treat the patients now.” (Blanche)

“Ah, please do.” (Gentoku)

Blanche left. Rosso and Ao went with her, leaving only Sandrone, Richter, and me behind.

“For now… I’m tired. Let’s go home.” (Gentoku)

“Yes, let’s… Hey, Gentoku, want to grab a drink? I’m in the mood for one.” (Sandrone)

“Yeah… man, I’m beat.” (Gentoku)

And so, the battle between Alexandrite Company and Peridot Company… came to a close.

 

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(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)