Chapter 45 – Deterring Investigation (2/2)

”No, you are a guest of my lord, it is only proper that you be properly escorted.”

”But, but after what happened, wouldn't you have to stay to handle the aftermath?”

”Oh...yes. In that case, please allow one our guards to escort yourself to your abode.”

It felt like he really wanted to find out where I was staying, but that was the last thing I could afford. The way he was so insistent, he was probably at least a little suspicious of me already.

”No, but...”

”I insist. It is for your own protection.”

(Hell no it is!)

”P, protection? Do you mean this city is dangerous enough that I would need such a thing during the day?”

”N, no. The city is perfectly safe. It is the pride of house Koree. But...”

”Then taking an escort would be an insult to your lord, wouldn't it?”

”...”

The old man's face twitched slightly, but otherwise maintained that gentle smile he had since the beginning.

”It would. I retract my words. I apologize if I had offended you.”

”No, it's fine. Then, I'll be off.”

I quickly made my way past the butler and through the gates the guards opened for me before walking down the street around a few corners through a bunch of side streets at random. When I was certain there wasn't anyone that could see me, I activated [Spirit Form] and made my way back to the orphanage.

In an alley near the orphanage, I fixed myself up to avoid making anyone worry the best I could. I took out my hat from my bag and put both on like I usually did. It was then that I was reminded I had transformed myself into a foxkin as I felt the ears on top of my head squish as I put the hat on.

Checking to make sure I had swapped out transformations and was presentable, I disengaged [Spirit Form] and exited the alley.

The second I was in sight, a bunch of the kids came running calling for my name. I gave them the best smile I could manage as I went inside with them, only to be rushed by almost all the rest of the other kids. Even Philia showed up, though she stayed a third of the way up the stairs to the second floor and just watched the scene of me being swamped with little kids all the while gently smiling.

The kids were all in a frenzy asking why I had gone when they woke up. All I could do was lie and just said that I couldn't sleep so I was taking a walk around the city. While the kids bought it easily, a quick glance confirmed that Philia didn't, and thus I was forced to prepare to explain at least some of what had happened later on.

For now though, since the kids were reassured, they went off to make some money. As I had come back a bit late, there wasn't enough time to make breakfast, but apparently they didn't have any real problems regarding that. The kids reassured me that they were used to not eating breakfast. When I looked at Philia to confirm it, she only gave a weak nod.

I kinda suspected it with how they had treated the breakfasts I had been making, but having it confirmed stung.

That aside, Philia and I were cuddling again on the bench like usual while holding the napping little kids in our arms. No, it had become my usual, but I would need to leave this city soon. Staying could risk bringing danger to the orphanage. If that butler got suspicious enough, he might be able to figure out that I was connected to this place and bring trouble to the kids.

He seemed much more decent than anyone else I had met from that place, but that didn't mean I could afford the risk, and she needed to know that. At the very least, it wouldn't be fair if I didn't give her a warning.

I really was going to miss these quiet times I spent with Philia.

”...You don't have to tell me if you don't want to.”

I looked at my side as the little orphanage director buried a part of her face into my sleeve.

”If it hurts, you don't have to tell me what happened. I believe in you after all.”

”...no, it's because you believe in me that I need to tell you.”

”How much longer can you stay?”

Philia pulled on my arm as she leaned into me even harder, not raising her face in the slightest. I was a little surprised at the shift in subject.

”Ah, ummm, probably a few days, but that's it.”

”...I see.”

I wanted to do something. Comfort her or something. Parting probably hurt her more than it hurt me. But I was worried. Worried that doing anything would make parting even more painful for her. I cursed at my own spinelessness. I was a level 255 powerhouse, yet when it came to interpersonal subjects, I felt like a noob. No skills, no finesse, no guts.

But no matter how little courage I had when it came to interacting with people, Philia deserved to at least hear what had happened. What I knew.

”Last night, I killed some people.”

”...and?”

Philia's body stiffened as I said it, but contrary to my expectations, she pushed her body more tightly against mine.

”I uh...it seemed like they were planning some terrible things for the orphanage. That, and they had already kidnapped one child it seemed.”

”I see. So they were the ones who took Karlie?”

”Karlie?”

”Ah, no. Don't worry about it.”

I was curious, but the way she shook her head made it hard to press further.

”Anyways. I found those people last night and killed them. I think I got away with it, but to make sure, I need to leave the city for a while until things settle down.”

”sigh And you came back to make sure that we'd be alright before you left? You need to think about yourself more Scarlet. Are you sure you don't need to leave immediately?”

”It's probably fine? I made it look almost impossible for me to have done it, and the one to have left that house was a silver-haired foxkin in black robes.”

”A foxkin?”

I took off my hat and hood, then swapped transformations.

”You never cease to amaze me.”

”I have a lot of time to kill.”

Doing my best to suppress a grin, I playfully flick my ears as Philia stared wide-eyed at them.

Afterwards, we worked a bit on soap-making then moved on to learning the fundamental magic skills before calling it a day.

That night, I checked on all the soap we had made along with the equipment we were using. Everything on that side was looking good and there wasn't anything to worry about, but as I thought about the next step, I realized that there was something I had forgotten: I hadn't had a plan on how to actually sell the things.

My market research had confirmed that there was no reasonable way to sell soap to the general population as it was seen as an exclusive item for the rich.

My only way to sell it would to find a store that already catered to the rich and noble. There was that one store that I had visited, and the store attendant that served me seemed to have been a decent person, but I was worried that it would be enough.

If the orphanage succeeded in selling the soap, then it would draw attention to it. It wasn't like selling a common commodity, but a luxury one. And on top of that, it would be better than some of the competition that was imported from outside the city.

Anything I could do to deflect suspicion would be extremely helpful.

Selling the soap at a relatively low price should deter the store from being tempted to harass the orphanage to sell the recipe, as if that happened, nothing would stop the Philia and the kids from selling the recipe to everyone else, completely destroying the market on high end soap. I could emphasize that point when marketing the soap as well just to make sure.

The problem was attracting third party attention. Once a high end specialty product was brought to the market, then everyone in that market would start looking for the source and try to discover their secrets. I doubted patents existed, so stealing the secrets would be high on the priority list. Selling the soap to multiple stores would mitigate that problem quite a bit, but on the other hand, it would expose the orphanage to quite a bit of overall attention, and threaten to turn it into a sweat shop as they were pressured into producing enough for all the stores they were selling to.

Keeping it to just one store would make it an exclusive product and naturally limit production by virtue of the store's inability to sell more than a certain amount. It would also make it easy for that store to limit sales though any number of excuses, and an item that was advertised to have a low production run would in turn garner prestige and inflate the profit margin. Probably.

The orphanage didn't need that much money to keep going, just a regular supply for the long term, so anything that would limit production, even if it meant the kids got a smaller cut, would be beneficial. In the end they were kids, and deserved to have time to play and learn.

But also by limiting the production and sales, it would increase the likelihood of someone trying to figure out the source and the recipe. People making copies on their own was fine, but actually going to investigate and discover the orphanage was a worry.

Philia could sell the soap to the store herself. The problem was buying the ingredients to make the soap. Or more specifically, the lye. It was blatantly obvious that the amount of ashes produced through ordinary day to day fire usage wasn't nearly enough to satisfy the lye needs of making the soap. Buying the ashes was the only solution, but then it would bring suspicion in regards to why the orphanage needed so much ashes. Bringing in more wood to produce more ashes in a bonfire was just asking for even more trouble, so that was out.

A trustworthy middleman was exactly what I needed, but I, being a person with almost no contacts in this world, was hardly someone who could come up with someone who could be a decent middleman on her own.

But, if I couldn't come up with someone, then I could just ask someone else if they knew someone.

(Well, at least I can hope that someone I knew would know someone trustworthy.)

Ninetailed_Furball

Hello everyone! Been a few days! (^.^)/~~~

Looks like my last chapter got a whole bunch of mixed opinions. Many were happy the lord was dead, but a lot felt like I rushed his arc. That said, his story was almost entirely in the background and only mentioned here and there. Even that was enough for him to get on my nerves and thus, he was done away as quickly as I could type it in.

That guy. Even though I was the one who wrote him, made me so mad! (╬ ಠ益ಠ)

Well, he's gone, and looks like Scarlet's going to be in the clear for now. Was how she handled it a bit unrealistic? Do you think the butler should've tried harder to get more information out of her? Do you think he secretly stalked her straight through her [Spirit Form] and is now spying on the orphanage? Is he secretly some Marvel super-villain?! °O°

Well, all that aside, we're finally approaching the end of the arc, so I wanted to try something new. Well, new for me. You guys have probably seen it hundreds of times as I have from other content creators.

I've been thinking of putting in a Q&A bonus chapter once this arc ends. So, put in your questions in the comments, and I'll pick the ones I like and throw them all in one post! (≧∇≦)

Ask whatever you want! Wondering how something works? What a certain character was thinking or doing at a certain point? Maybe wondering why certain events happened they way they did? What I was thinking when writing a certain scene? What my original plan even was and how badly was it derailed as I wrote it? (hint, it was a lot)

I hope to hear a ton of questions form you all, both from the regular commenters as well as those who like to stay quiet! I'm willing to answer almost anything as long as it doesn't get weird! Or spoilery. But maybe I'll hint something if I find it fun enough! ヽ(´ー｀)┌

Thanks again for reading and supporting my story, and I hope to hear from you all, regardless of what you have to say! (^o^)丿