The plant had broad, thin leaves of deep green, with white veins spreading across them like patterns.
It was Brokia, an ornamental plant from the Fort Kingdom.
Grandma Marshall had purchased it using a delivery service provided by the bank.
“Tsk. I told them to send all they had, and yet they only sent three plants.”
“Three plants are plenty!”
“But can you really make premium recovery potions with this? It’s just a plant worth 5,000 Kona each. The shipping fee cost more than that.”
“Just wait and see, Grandma!”
To be honest, the recipe for making recovery potions using Brokia was something Grandma Marshall had developed herself.
In another time, I had found the recipe written on a piece of paper in Grandma’s room and occasionally used it to make recovery potions.
As a result, the memory of the recipe was still vivid in my mind.
We quickly booked a room at a nearby inn.
All we needed was one Brokia plant and the base ingredients commonly used for making regular recovery potions.
“Ack! It’s burnt!”
“Looks like the heating temperature was slightly too high. That’s why you need a skilled pharmacist.”
Our first attempt. One plant was wasted, but the second attempt was a success.
Grandma Marshall dropped a few drops of the completed recovery potion onto a portable-grade appraisal device and muttered in admiration.
“…It’s premium quality.”
Premium recovery potions.
Unlike mid-grade recovery potions, which were ineffective against fatal injuries, premium recovery potions were effective in rapidly healing fatal injuries and all kinds of wounds.
That was why Brokia’s price skyrocketed to one gold coin per plant.
‘Don’t mid-grade recovery potions made by pharmacist sell for two gold coins each?’
Even with their exorbitant price, recovery potions sell well because they are widely used throughout the empire.
Starting five years later, Grandma Marshall would earn a fortune just from the licensing fees for her potion recipes.
– But why did you share the recipe, Grandma? Wouldn’t it have been more profitable to keep it to yourself and sell the potions directly?
– Because there weren’t enough ingredients.
The primary reason Grandma Marshall didn’t produce and sell recovery potions herself was the issue of sourcing ingredients.
Brokia imported from the Fort Kingdom struggled to adapt to the climate of the Hayshal Empire, much like pumpkin seedlings. It was difficult to cultivate, making a stable supply of ingredients nearly impossible.
In my previous memories, Brokia’s exclusive import rights were controlled by an pharmacist’ organization.
‘But what if we beat them to it and secure both the exclusive import rights and the recipe?’
Needless to say, premium recovery potions would fetch sky-high prices.
However, relying solely on exclusive import rights carried some risk. If word got out that recovery potions could be made from a plant imported by a private individual, the supply chain could be cut off entirely.
‘The best solution would be to keep Brokia’s role in recovery potion production a secret and establish our own supply chain! The exclusive import rights would serve as insurance in case cultivation fails.’
The core of this business idea lay in cultivating Brokia.
The wild dog tribe’s mountain would be the key to this endeavor. I had learned something from Zikal when I fixed their spring.
‘And if Dad, as the leader of the wild dog tribe, and Baron Voltman split the profits from cultivating Brokia—oh, we’d be rich!’
I glanced to the side. Sitting by the door, Theon was on his knees, listening intently to the conversation from the living room.
Hehe. Just imagining how excited Theon would be if he found out made me giddy. I couldn’t wait to see his reaction. I refocused on the conversation
“It’s called Brokia, an ornamental plant from the Fort Kingdom that also purifies air. It’s difficult to cultivate. Do you think it’s possible?”
Grandma Marshall asked Baron Voltman.
“Hmm. I’ve never seen this plant before, so—”
“It’s possible.”
It was Zikal who interrupted Baron Voltman, who seemed uncertain.
“The wild dog tribe’s land has an unfailing spring. No plant dies as long as the spring is there.”
“Oh, really?”
“But we’ve never grown anything ourselves, nor do we have any intention of cultivating human plants. However, we could allow access to the land for those present here, provided Reytan, the leader of the wild dog tribe, gives his permission.”
Perfect. The conversation was going exactly as I’d hoped, and I was starting to feel excited.
Grandma Marshall then asked Baron Voltman.
“Would you be willing to cultivate this plant in secret on that land? No one must know that you’re growing this plant.”
“In secret? …I don’t know why, but very well. I’ll do it.”
“Excellent. As for the compensation—”
“Oh, that won’t be necessary.”
What?!
I shot up from my seat in shock. Theon, Jeffrey, and Anne all turned their eyes to me, startled by my sudden movement.
But I couldn’t focus on their reactions. What caught me off guard was Baron Voltman’s firm refusal of Grandma Marshall’s offer for compensation.
“Considering the favor we’ve received this time, cultivating one plant is hardly a difficult task.”
“Is that so?”
No, this can’t be!
Grandma Marshall had a smile on her lips.
She might be a benefactor to Dad and me, but when it came to money, she was not someone to let her guard down.
There was a chance she could turn this around by saying, ‘I intended to pay Baron Voltman fairly, but since he refused, there was no choice.’
‘Should I step in myself? But would it be okay to talk about profit margins in front of Dad?!’
While I was anxiously staring at the hallway floor through the gap in the door, Dad finally spoke up.
“Profit-sharing.”
Dad, who had been quietly observing the situation until now, opened his mouth.
“If you’re going to lease the wild dog tribe’s land to Baron Voltman for cultivation, we’ll need to discuss profit-sharing since I’m the leader of the tribe.”
“Reytan, there’s no need to bother. It’s not a rare plant or anything.”
“No. You mentioned its air purification function, but I suspect Marshall intends to use it for a completely different purpose. Is it a medicinal plant, Marshall?”**
“Tsk.”
Grandma Marshall clicked her tongue.
Dad had sniffed out the money involved.
***
“30 percent of the sales.”
“No way. That’s barely profitable.”
Under Dad’s sharp questioning, Grandma Marshall eventually confessed that Brokia was an ingredient for recovery potions.
“The difficulty in making recovery potions lies in the scarcity of ingredients, doesn’t it? And asking someone to secretly cultivate such a tricky plant means you view this as a venture you don’t want competitors to take advantage of. It seems more appropriate to enter a joint business agreement rather than just treating it as a supply contract.”
Currently, Dad was negotiating with Grandma Marshall on behalf of the wild dog tribe and Baron Voltman regarding profit-sharing from the cultivation of Brokia.
“Even factoring in production and distribution costs, they wouldn’t account for more than 2 percent of sales revenue.”
“Do you think acquiring exclusive rights is free? That costs money too, you fool.”
“But didn’t the minister who grants import licenses borrow money from you, Marshall? Brokia is still a low-value plant at the moment, so you probably won’t even need to bribe the minister to secure exclusive rights.”
“You’re practically reading my ledger. Even so, it’s impossible. Ten percent already goes to licensing fees. Fifteen percent of sales—take it or leave it.”
The fierce argument between Dad and Grandma Marshall continued. Occasionally, I could hear Baron Voltman mediating the discussion, while his wife chatted with Zikal about methods for cultivating plants.
“Come out and have some snacks.”
As the negotiation dragged on, Baron Voltman’s wife called the minors to the dining table. The snacks were sweet apple pies.
By the time night had fallen outside, the numbers were finally decided.
“What a stubborn man.”
Dad didn’t budge on his original demand of 30 percent. The profits would be split, with 15 percent going to Baron Voltman and 15 percent to the wild dog tribe.
Sipping juice at the dining table, I was inwardly impressed.
‘To think Dad managed to win against Grandma Marshall…!’
Perhaps this was why Grandma Marshall had never taken Dad lightly.
“Let’s draft the contract.”
Dad said with a light smile to a grumbling Grandma Marshall.
Three copies of the contract were prepared.
The representatives: Grandma Marshall, Baron Voltman, and my dad.
“…Is this really okay?”
Baron Voltman, holding the contract with a dazed expression, muttered under his breath.
He must have known the selling price of recovery potions. After all, recovery potions were widely used on the battlefield.
Now, he wouldn’t need to worry about living expenses anymore.
Tears welled up in Baron Voltman’s eyes, and the tip of his nose turned red. His wife, too, seemed on the verge of tears.
“Is it really alright to receive the signing bonus as well? We were worried about how we’d survive this winter….”
Even Anne, who had been sitting in the living room, was sniffling.
I leaned over to Theon, who was sitting next to me at the dining table, and whispered,
“Theon.”
“Yeah?”
“From now on, Theon can use all of your allowance however you want.”
Theon’s eyes, slightly wider than usual, turned to me.
I giggled.
***
A week later.
“It’s been a week since we last met, Miss Berry.”
“Y-Yes, ma’am.”
I couldn’t bring myself to meet Madam Freya’s eyes.