Seeing the pensive and worried looks on her Disciple and granddaughter's faces, Celestina decided to offer some words of comfort, "Innovation happens all the time, so as long as we act carefully, we should still be able to take advantage of the knowledge Lucas has obtained without exposing him to unnecessary danger."
"We can also spread credit for the ideas he comes up with around to several people, dispersing the risk further. The biggest issue will be if people come to know who the source of all this miraculous knowledge is, so the fewer who know the actual truth, the better," Celestina concluded.
Lucas and Sasha both nodded in agreement with this statement.
A moment later, Lucas straightening his back and wore a determined look on his face, declaring openly, "Since that's the case, I have another reason I must get stronger, wealthier, and more influential. As long as I am powerful enough, restoring Big Sister's arm and protecting everyone won't be a problem anymore."
Lucas had already made his intentions clear; he was determined to restore his big sister's arm and was willing to make full use of his advanced knowledge to do so.
If that meant putting himself at risk, then he would face that challenge head on.
Although Lucas still felt greatly burdened, he didn't despair and had taken the first step forward on his journey, one that would take him to heights he could not even imagine yet.
On the other hand, Celestina and Sasha were both slightly taken aback when the child in front of them spoke these words; but soon, Sasha smiled warmly while Celestina burst into laughter while praising liberally, "Hahaha, as I would expect from my First Disciple! En, one cannot always avoid adversity and danger if they wish to reach the peak, only by charging ahead can they possibly succeed!"
As both a General and a Marquess, Celestina was well aware that in order to accomplish great things, mitigating risk was important, but avoided it altogether was impossible. She hadn't known Lucas long, but she could already tell he was the stubborn type who wouldn't give up once he set his mind on something.
This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, though, as grit and determination were also essential components to success.
Since I've made him as my Disciple, it'll be my job to guide and reign him in when necessary, Celestina thought to herself with a smile, looking forward to watching just how far Lucas could go.
"By the way," figuring this matter was settled for the moment, Celestina decided to take a slight tangent and ask about something which had caught her attention, "You mentioned something about 'soap' and 'maple sugar' just now, didn't you?"
"Huh?" Lucas was feeling a bit of whiplash from the sudden change in subject, but he soon nodded, "That's right, Master. Soap is a cleaning product similar to Bathing Cream, and maple sugar is… well, it's sugar. They're both products I used my new knowledge to develop here in Redwood Town."
Thinking about what they had just been discussing, Lucas couldn't help frowning slightly as he asked, "Should I not have done that? Will introducing soap and sugar to the market cause some kind of problem?"
Instead of replying immediately, Celestina reached into the pouch on her waist and pulled out a pair of containers. One of them was a palm-sized wooden box, while the other looked like a small, porcelain bottle.
Setting the two containers down on a nearby table, Celestina opened them both, revealing an off-white bar and some light-brow crystals, "Are these the soap and maple sugar you made?"
Both Lucas and Sasha were stunned for a few seconds before they scrambled over and began examining the products.
After a brief inspection, including scratching off a bit of soap and tasting some of the sugar, Lucas and Sasha both nodded to one another before the former turned to Celestina and asked, "Master, how did you get these?"
Closing the lid of the soap container, Celestina pointed to a familiar emblem on it, the image of a half-risen sun.
Seeing this, Lucas quickly connected the dots and muttered aloud, "The Rising Sun Merchant Guild."
"I take it you struck some kind of deal with the guild," Celestina commented.
"En," Sasha nodded, "We started producing soap and sugar about half a year ago and signed a deal with the Rising Sun Merchant Guild a couple months later, but I didn't expect our products to make it all the way to Martin or Misty City already."
"These were specially introduced to me by a steward of the Guild," Celestina explained, "He was seeking permission to sell them in bulk in the near future."
Frowning slightly, Sasha thought of a certain crafty man she had dealt with for the past several years. She also recalled that this merchant had suddenly gone missing for several months right after they had signed that lucrative business deal, so she couldn't help asking, "The name of that steward wouldn't happen to be Warren, would it?"
Lifting her head from the soap container, Sasha was greeted by a faint smile on her grandmother's face.
No further words were necessary.
"Damn that Warren," Sasha cursed, instantly figuring out what the shrewd merchant's plan was.
Naturally, Redwood Town wasn't anywhere near capable of producing enough soap or sugar to begin exporting in bulk to other provinces in the Rockwell Kingdom, that had been nothing more than a pretense for Warren to meet with the Matriarch of the Balfour Family.
Steward Warren most likely knew about Sasha's background, and was testing whether she had the Balfour Family's support regarding soap and sugar. If Redwood Town had made a connection with the Balfour Family, Celestina would either show no interest in these products at all, or already be familiar with them; but, if there was no connection, it was likely that the Balfour Marquess would try to acquire them.
Soap was far cheaper than Bathing Cream, but worked nearly as well, so many nobles would surely be interested in purchasing it, even one as powerful and wealthy as Celestina.
As for maple sugar, that would be of even more interest to the Balfours if they weren't the ones producing it.
The Balfour Marquess Family's primary mission was to guard the Rockwell Kingdom's border with the Darr Kingdom, and one of the Darr Kingdom's biggest sources of revenue was the sale and export of sugar.
If a domestic source of sugar appeared in the Rockwell Kingdom, the Balfour Family would be willing to pay an enormous price to acquire it.
Sasha might not have been privy to the core secrets and dealings of the Balfour Family, but she knew enough to recognize how valuable the maple sugar Lucas developed would be to them.
Celestina even confirmed this point with her next words, "That Warren only got a meeting with me because he mentioned having secured a local source of sugar. Without that, a mere Low-Rank steward wouldn't have been qualified to meet with a Marquess, regardless of his affiliation with the Rising Sun Guild."
"This must have been several months ago, yes?" Lucas asked from the side.
"That's right," Celestina nodded, "I was quite surprised when I first laid eyes on this maple sugar of yours. Not only is it of extremely high purity and quality, it's even a High-Rank Tier 2 ingredient, making it far more valuable than the Darr Kingdom's ordinary Low and Mid-Rank Tier 1 sugar."
"Strange," Lucas muttered, "If Steward Warren already figured out that we didn't have any connection to the Balfour Family several months ago, why didn't he try to lower the purchase cost or buy us out directly?"
"Perhaps he figured he was making enough profit already," Celestina mused before inquiring, "How much did you sell this soap and sugar to that Warren for"
"2 Silvers per bar of soap, and 15 Gold per kilogram of sugar," Sasha reported casually.
*Pft…*
Lucas and Sasha were both taken aback when they heard the always noble and composed General do a spit-take and begin coughing uncontrollably.
It took about a minute before Celestina recovered and asked incredulously, "How much did you say you were selling these for?"
When Sasha repeated the numbers, she could see her grandmother's brow visibly twitching, prompting her to ask, "How much did Warren offer to sell them for to you?"
Through gritted teeth, Celestina spat, "1 Gold for a bar of soap, and 60 Gold per kg of sugar, bargained down from an original ask of 80 Gold."
"Tss…" Lucas and Sasha drew sharp breaths, amazed at how daring and black-hearted Warren was, asking 4 times the price from Celestina as they had sold their products to him for.
"That rotten brat had the gall to say he was offering me a special discount!" Celestina grumbled angrily, "The soap was one thing, as at 1 Gold it's still just barely cheaper than Bathing Cream, but if he really bought sugar from you at 15 Gold a kilogram, then he was flat-out ripping me off at 60 Gold! I only agreed because he said it was a rare commodity with an extremely limited supply! The next time I see that Warren, I'll make him regret cheating me!"
Clearly, Celestina felt aggrieved with Warren, who had pulled a fast-one on her in that soap and sugar sale.
As for Sasha and Lucas, the two of them unconsciously shifted their eyes away, feeling extremely guilty.
Sure, Warren was trying to scam the Balfour Matriarch with his prices, but the truly steep markup was actually the one Sasha and Lucas were charging Warren!
In other words, while Celestina thought she was paying perhaps 5 or 6 times the production cost, she was really paying nearly 50 to 200 times that amount!
Unfortunately for the pair, this slight shift in their demeanor didn't escape the sharp senses of the High-Rank Adept, causing Celestina to narrow her eyes in suspicion.
Glaring at her granddaughter and Disciple, she asked pointedly, "How much does it really cost you to make a bar of soap and a kilogram of sugar?"
Lucas began sweating under the intense gaze of his Master, and was thinking about passing the responsibility of delivering this unpleasant news to his aunt. Sasha was the one who negotiated the deal with Steward Warren, so it only made sense for her to explain, right?
But to the boy's dismay, his aunt actually beat him to it as she hastily stated, "Lucas was the one who developed the manufacturing process for both soap and sugar, so he would know best what they cost to make."
Aghast, Lucas turned a betrayed look to his aunt, who only looked away and began whistling, as if what came next was none of her business.
Before the boy could even lodge a complaint, though, he felt two hands clamp down on his shoulders, forcing him to look back at the 'smiling' face of his Master.
Realizing escape was impossible, and delaying would only make his situation worst, Lucas lowered his head and quietly muttered, "It's… about 20 Coppers per bar of soap, and for the maple sugar… it's… it's…"
Lucas hesitated again, but feeling the grip on his shoulders tightening like a vice, he winced and spat out the truth, "35 Silvers for a 10 kg barrel of maple sugar, including the barrel!"