Episode 68

Living through three lifetimes, you inevitably come to realize certain truths.

One of them is that no matter how rich someone is, nobody dislikes the word “free.”

“What’s that over there?”

“A miracle tonic?!”

“They’re giving it away for free?”

The nobles reacted predictably to the words “first come, first served” and “free.”

‘Come on over. You’ve never seen a saintess candidate like this before, have you?’

If you don’t have teeth, you use your gums. If you don’t have healing power, you replace it with something similar, right?

*Flutter!*

At that moment, a cool breeze blew through, highlighting the promotional flyers we had posted all over our tent.

“What’s this? ‘Energy that just keeps bubbling up…’?”

As more and more nobles took an interest in the flyer, I quickly drove the point home.

“By the way, all the products from Belze Trading Company are here! And they’re all certified by none other than Mr. Gordon Pellia—”

“Pelliaché, you rascal!”

“Yes! Certified by Mr. Gordon Pelliaché of the Kallios Duchy, so the effects are guaranteed!”

Even though I fumbled a bit because I couldn’t remember his name, with the old man’s help, I managed to successfully wrap up the promotion!

“Wow! Gordon Pelliaché? He’s pretty famous in the medical field, isn’t he?”

“They say it’s first come, first served for the first ten people. Should we check it out?”

As expected.

A well-known name provides strong credibility!

While people hesitated and glanced at each other, a middle-aged man who had been standing at the very back of Diana’s line quickly dashed over to my booth.

“First! I got here first!”

“Welcome!”

I greeted him brightly and quickly handed over a glass bottle filled with green liquid.

This is none other than the high-concentration fatigue recovery potion that Dr. Gordon and I developed together!

Because we had limited amounts of Fairy Herbs available, we needed a supplementary product to boost our offerings.

It’s like a side dish at a restaurant—except even the side dish here is from an insanely good place.

Compared to the rare Rellius grass, this potion, made from more readily available medicinal herbs, had surprisingly effective results.

After testing it on several of the Duke’s staff, including the hard-working Logan and the head chef, the feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

We sourced the ingredients from the old man’s herb garden, and with the help of low-wage… I mean, hard-working laborers, we were able to produce a large quantity in a short time.

The best value-for-money product!

“Hey, give me one of those too!”

“Me too!”

“Look here! I’m third in line!”

Following the lead of the first customer, the nobles began flocking to my booth.

The ten free samples were gone in an instant.

But as I glanced over at Diana and Marquis Barelotte, who both looked utterly shocked at having lost more than half of their potential customers in a flash, I didn’t feel the least bit regretful.

“Once you’re done, just drop the empty bottle in this basket here!”

I pointed to the collection basket next to the booth, making sure to provide excellent after-service as well.

*Pop!*

The nobles who received the potion immediately popped the caps and downed it in one go.

“Wow! It tastes surprisingly good!”

“Ooh, I can feel my health improving already!”

“Hey, doctor! Does this really cure all ailments?”

A few nobles cheerfully greeted Dr. Gordon, asking him the question.

Looking slightly nervous, the old man stammered,

“W-Well, it’s still undergoing clinical trials…”

“Of course it works, dear gentlemen! Drink this and then go see Diana! You’ll definitely see double the effect!”

I quickly interrupted Dr. Gordon, answering on his behalf.

“Haha! Is that so? This is an amusing booth!”

The nobles laughed heartily, handed back the empty bottles, and then headed back towards Diana’s booth.

However, despite the returning customers, neither Diana nor Marquis Barelotte’s expressions seemed to lighten.

Their feelings must have been complicated. It was probably hard for them to accept that they had lost customers to me so quickly. Plus, my suggestion that they visit Diana afterward must have added to their burden.

“Grandpa! You don’t need to worry about saying things like that!”

I quickly admonished Dr. Gordon, my hands on my hips.

He mumbled with a still somewhat uncertain expression,

“B-But… what if someone complains that it didn’t work?”

“Who’s going to believe that a 1-talent miracle tonic actually works? They’ll just think it’s a fancy drink.”

“Is… is that so?”

My words seemed to finally put the old man at ease.

Even though 1 talent is worth nearly 100,000 won… <74.02$>

‘But to these nobles, that’s hardly money at all.’

The truth is, exaggerated advertising is almost the norm in sales.

Plus, this event is run by kids. Everyone expects a bit of exaggeration, and they’re willing to overlook it.

The variety of promotional slogans at each booth was proof of that.

 

“The reincarnation of Snoopah, the fairy of dance!”
“They call me Mor-tcha-rt.”
“The Pope himself stayed here!”

 

So, the existence of a 1-talent miracle tonic wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.

I added the reputable Dr. Gordon’s name to the mix to ensure no one would feel uneasy about it.

In other words,

‘This drink made by a child won’t harm your body! It’s guaranteed by Gordon Pelliaché!’

I felt a little sorry for the old man, who had worked hard to develop a genuinely effective potion, but it was necessary to sell in bulk at low prices.

‘Eventually, they’ll realize it actually works.’

For now, it was enough just to let people know that this product existed.

Look at them.

“Ugh, I should have come a little earlier!”

“I wanted to try it too…”

“What? It’s only 1 talent?”

The nobles who missed out by just a hair were visibly disappointed.

But among them, there were always those who would be intrigued.

Their reasons varied.

Maybe they were thirsty after rushing over, or maybe the surprisingly low price tempted them.

Or perhaps they were hoping for Diana’s healing power combined with a placebo effect.

Whatever the reason.

“Young one, here’s 1 talent. Can I have one too?”

“I’d like one as well!”

“Me too! Here’s 2 talents!”

As long as I could make sales, I didn’t care!

“Yes! Here you go!”

I replied cheerfully, handing out the potions.

In no time, five people had bought the miracle tonic.

‘Lowering the price was definitely the right call.’

Dr. Gordon had prepared a total of 500 bottles. I knew there would be around 600 nobles attending today’s event. My goal was to sell at least half of them.

Honestly, selling it for just 1 talent felt like a bit of a waste, but if I managed to sell half, it would be a success for me.

‘That’s… a whopping 25 million won?!’ <18,505$>

And if I added in the products made from Fairy Herbs, I’d have a real chance of competing with Diana!

Of course, I planned to use the Duke’s influence for some of those 250 bottles, but my confidence didn’t just stem from the low price or Dr. Gordon’s endorsement of the “miracle tonic.”

“Hahaha! Young one, can I get one of those too?”

Another noble approached, following someone else’s lead. He was a young man who didn’t even need to use a healing eye—just taking a deep sniff was enough to tell he was sick.

“Looks like you’ve caught a cold!”

“Hrrgh! Yeah, no matter what I do, I can’t seem to shake it off. I came here hoping for some of that healing from the future saintess…”

The man glanced at the long line in front of Diana’s booth and sighed.

‘What a great test subject!’

I quickly handed him a bottle of the tonic, my eyes gleaming.

“If you drink this, you’ll feel better in no time!”

“Haha, really? I’m looking forward to it! Hrrgh!”

As he reached out to take the bottle, his fingers brushed against mine.

I didn’t miss the opportunity and subtly infused him with a tiny bit of healing power.

*Zing!*

A white spark flickered at his fingertips, though it was so brief that no one else noticed it.

He flinched, thinking the warmth from the healing power was just static electricity.

“Ow! Did I get shocked?”

But he quickly shrugged it off and opened the bottle.

He hadn’t yet realized that his blocked nose was now clear.

Only I could see how the infused healing power was burning away the yellow aura that had been lingering around his nose.

A few moments later, after he downed the tonic, he handed me the empty bottle.

I looked up at him eagerly and asked,

“How do you feel?”

“Hmm… I think I feel the same as…”

Just as he was about to brush it off, the man suddenly paused and widened his eyes.

“M-My goodness! My nose is clear!”

Realizing what had happened, he flared his nostrils and took a deep breath.

“This stuff really works?!”

“What’s going on, David?”

“Father! You have to try this too! It’s incredible! It’s only 1 talent, so I’ll buy it for you! Uncle, you too!”

With his family passing by, I managed to sell two more bottles.

It seemed they shared living quarters because the same faint yellow aura surrounded their noses and heads.

I used a small amount of healing power on them as well.

“Oh, wow! This is amazing! My head’s been feeling heavy lately, but it cleared right up after drinking this!”

“It’s so cheap too. Should we buy a few more, brother?”

A little later, after recovering from their colds, they also gave glowing reviews.

Naturally, Diana’s customers, who were standing nearby, pricked up their ears and began to take notice.

“Is that stuff really that effective?”

“Maybe I should buy one too?”

Some of the nobles, tired of waiting in line and suffering from minor ailments like colds, muscle aches, or fatigue, started to drift over to my booth.

With line-jumpers like Lady Cloud taking the spotlight, interest in Diana’s healing power seemed to be waning.

‘Yes, you can handle all the tough and complicated healings, Diana.’

I grinned as I watched her struggling to pour her precious holy power into the elderly lady in front of her, just as she had smirked at my empty booth earlier.

“W-Where are you going, Marquis! Baron, you too! It won’t be much longer if you just wait a little…!”

As his hard-won customers began to desert him, Marquis Barelotte stomped his feet in frustration.

Then he turned sharply to glare at me.

“A miracle tonic―?!”

As expected.

“Well, well! You’re really going to these lengths just to get some attention! Are you that jealous of Diana?!”