Chapter 74
Chapter 74
Cassis was summoned immediately.
Having just finished his sword training during lunch break and freshly bathed, he flinched upon discovering Roen and me waiting for him in the office.
“You two… what brings you here?”
I politely said “Good afternoon” before getting straight to the point.
“Do you remember the homework I gave you in the Capital?”
“…”
“You haven’t done it, have you?”
“Coming up with a name turned out to be much harder than I expected.”
Apparently startled by our presence, Cassis made excuses while standing, not even sitting down.
“Well, you should at least share some candidates.”
“Right. Then we can all listen and keep the good ones, discard the bad ones.”
“I asked you to bring as many options as possible, whatever they might be.”
When Roen and I spoke in succession, Cassis pressed his lips together and responded with slightly lifeless eyes.
“It’s not easy. After all, this name will represent Luwin’s flagship business…”
“That pressure is exactly what’s making it difficult. Just throw out whatever comes to mind.”
“…”
Cassis seemed overwhelmed.
Well, I suppose it could be embarrassing to present your chosen names and their reasoning in front of all these people gathered for the meeting.
“Shall we try something simple right now?”
“Here?”
“Yes.”
Ding-!
[SYSTEM | Quest “In Search of Ice Cream’s Name” has arrived.]
The quest that arrived with the familiar notification sound was simple.
It was to determine the brand’s name, with a reward of 3,000 Jurang.
‘Couldn’t you give rewards in items or skills instead of money now?’
[Look who’s gotten picky after making some money.]
‘Well, naturally.’
Money can be earned, but skills and system-provided items can’t be obtained anywhere else.
[…Your shamelessness leaves me speechless]
[I’ll consider it positively next time]
And so, the impromptu meeting “In Search of Ice Cream’s Name” began.
* * *
“Luwin Ice Cream.”
“…Are you serious?”
“Luwin Screamy.”
“Oh…”
Cassis’s pupils wavered uncertainly.
Seeing his self-esteem plummeting, I hurriedly changed my tone.
“Oh! That sounds really good!”
“…”
“But since it’s a bit too direct, shall we hear some other options?”
“…”
Cassis remained silent, and Roen lightly smacked my shoulder, telling me to stop teasing him.
“I wasn’t teasing!”
“…Let’s just take turns suggesting names one by one.”
[SYSTEM | Quest updated to “Three People in Search of Ice Cream’s Name”]
“Frozen Cream.”
“Ugh, that’s terrible.”
“Why don’t you try it yourself?”
“Senior, why are you speaking informally? Am I that easy to look down on?”
Roen spoke through gritted teeth.
“You try it yourself then.”
“Haa*agen Dazs.”
“…What’s that?”
“Godiv*a.”
“What are you saying? Your Highness, Irina’s acting strange.”
Coming up with names was harder than expected.
“Let’s not fight, you two.”
“This really is difficult.”
“Indeed it is.”
We were eating ice cream while brainstorming, hoping it might inspire us, each with mountains of ice cream piled in front of us.
[Isn’t this more like attacking than sharing opinions?]
‘Be quiet.’
“I want something that feels friendly but easy to pronounce, something that might remind people of Luwin but also might not…”
“…Do you think that’s possible?”
“Ah, and it would be nice if it included a word that makes people think of ice cream.”
At my response, Roen crossed his arms and leaned back on the couch.
“Irina, what about the name of Seike Wine…”
“It’s just Seike Wine.”
“Couldn’t we just call it Luwin Ice Cream?”
While that wouldn’t be bad if we had no other options, I didn’t want to put ‘Luwin’ – the empire’s only Grand Duchy and a great noble house – front and center.
Besides, attaching ‘Luwin’ to a soft, sweet dessert like ice cream made it feel suddenly too heavy.
If it were a chocolate brand, ‘Luwin’ might not be bad.
While I was pondering, Cassis, who had been combining various words, suddenly spoke up.
“Lu and Cream?”
[SYSTEM | Quest “Three People in Search of Ice Cream’s Name” completed.]
[SYSTEM | Ice Cream Name: Lu and Cream]
Before I could even express whether I liked it or not, the system had already decided on ‘Lu and Cream’ as the ice cream brand name, and fireworks were going off in the invisible system window for Cassis and Roen.
[SYSTEM | Receiving reward of 3,000 Jurang.]
[SYSTEM | 99,870,097 Jurang remaining until debt repayment.]
‘I suppose the system thought ‘Lu and Cream’ was the best option?’
To be honest, I wasn’t particularly fond of it.
[…That’s hard to say.]
[It doesn’t seem bad though…]
Well, whether I liked it or not didn’t seem to matter much.
The system had already updated the brand name, and ‘Lu and Cream’ was prominently displayed everywhere.
“Isn’t Lu and Cream too cliché?”
“Maybe it is…?”
I quickly stopped Roen from pouring cold water on the idea.
Jumping up from my seat in urgency, I quickly said:
“I actually love it!”
“Really?”
“Yes. First of all, it has a cute sound to it, and it rolls off the tongue nicely.”
Roen looked up at me with eyes full of betrayal.
Sorry, but I have to follow the system.
There’s no choice.
“And it’s perfect because while ‘Lu’ might remind people of Luwin, it might not. ‘Cream’ expresses the smoothness of ice cream.”
Cassis seemed to gain a bit of confidence from my effusive praise, nodding reluctantly.
“Then let’s finalize it as ‘Lu and Cream.'”
I confirmed it right away, worried Cassis might change his mind.
“Is it okay not to hear other people’s opinions?”
“It’s Luwin’s business anyway. We only need the decisions of those who know ice cream best.”
That’s not true.
But the system stands above people’s opinions.
I decided to put my absolute trust in the system that had designated ‘ice cream’ as a business item despite my initial doubts and was now showing me the path to success so clearly.
[Excellent]
[Yes, that’s the right attitude!]
Ding!
[SYSTEM | Quest “Successfully Launch Ice Cream Brand <Lu and Cream>!” has arrived.]
[Successfully Launch Ice Cream Brand <Lu and Cream>!
You’ve made quite a name in the Capital?
That’s not enough.
Let’s become famous more properly and systematically.
(Complete) 1. Determine brand name
2. Decide on poster, logo, concept, etc.
3. Find a store location
4. Decorate the store
5. Promotion 1
6. Promotion 2
7. Promotion 3
8. Successfully launch
Reward: None]
House Luwin’s ice cream brand <Lu and Cream> launch confirmed!
* * *
Once the brand name was confirmed, Yuri began working as if there was a motor attached to his hands.
“Y-Yuri. You don’t need to rush so much.”
Let’s take it easy, sweetie.
“But… it’s fun… should I stop?”
“Even if it’s fun, you need to pace yourself. Things are going to get really busy, so you shouldn’t exhaust yourself already.”
I’m actually looking for another talented person who can turn Yuri’s store designs into reality. Also, since Yuri is so young, I’m searching for another artist who can assist with his work, but I haven’t found anyone suitable yet.
After I managed to coax Yuri back to his room, I noticed Cassis, who had been standing nearby, looking at me with quite a gloomy expression.
“What is it now?”
What’s the problem this time?
What’s made you upset now?
Whether it was because of our conversation in front of the garden during the New Year’s party, or because I ended up crying during that conversation, Cassis seemed to have lowered his barriers with me considerably since then.
“Is there really nothing I can help with?”
“You’re already doing plenty of work.”
“With ice cream- no, Lu and Cream, I mean. Everyone’s busy with their own tasks, but I feel useless.”
I clicked my tongue.
“That’s not true at all. Thanks to your introduction to ‘Ophelia,’ we were able to gain this much recognition.”
Even though most of us from Luwin had left the Capital and returned to the North, I heard that the social circles were still occasionally talking about ‘ice cream.’
Even though the stall’s operating days had been drastically reduced from twice to once a week, people were still coming in large numbers.
“And Lord Cassis, it only seems like you have nothing to do because we haven’t properly started yet. Once things get going, you’ll have more to do than anyone else.”
After all, we’ve got so many tasks piled up that need to be done now.
“Is that so?”
“Yes. You’ll need to network in social circles while promoting.”
“Ah…”
“You’ll need to secure investments too.”
“…”
“And we need to lobby important people to promote our ‘Lu and Cream’ well – should I do that, or should Lord Roen?”
Cassis needs to do it all.
These things should be done by the business owner in the first place.
Just like how I ran around to supply Seike Wine to restaurants and specific family parties.
“Understand?”
“Yes.”
* * *
After sending Cassis off, I was heading to the kitchen humming happily when I noticed a hazy figure standing ahead.
I instinctively stopped when I recognized who it was.
However, the person didn’t give me time to escape and walked straight toward me.
“It’s been a while?”
“Ah, yes. I heard you weren’t at the mansion, but you’re back now.”
Sian Terezia looked just as inscrutable as when I’d seen him before leaving for the Capital.
“I had somewhere to visit briefly.”
“I see.”
He barely knew anyone here, so where could he have gone?
But knowing I wouldn’t get a proper answer even if I asked, I just nodded in agreement.
“How was the Capital?”
“Well, crowded and noisy.”
“They say there’s a temple in the Capital.”
“Yes…”
Ah.
He seemed to have another purpose.
“Take me with you next time.”
“I won’t be going for a while.”
I instinctively sensed danger and denied his request.
However, Sian just smiled slightly.
I felt a chill run down my spine and unconsciously took a step back.
‘Come to think of it, it seems like whenever Sian Terezia smiles like that, some incident occurs.’
[…..]
[…..]
“Ah.”
I looked at Sian anew as the system went dead again.
After pressing the unresponsive system window a few times, I just cleared the screen entirely.
“You must have some business to attend to there soon.”
Damn it.
That statement meant I should create a reason to take him to the Capital, even if I had to make one up.
“…I’ll arrange something.”
“Good girl.”
I absolutely must not arrange anything.
I should go alone and report afterwards that it was urgent, and I didn’t have time to notify anyone.
However, the occasion to head to the Capital approached faster than expected.
