Free Web NovelChapter 31: 31. Ophelia.
Several months later, Legolas could be seen standing before Rowena as he gave her his monthly report of his experience working with Austin.
Of course, his appearance still looked like that of a walking zombie, so anyone who saw him would instinctively feel pity for the struggles and pain he was going through as Austin’s aid.
Besides, his tasks had become even more difficult since Nora had become pregnant, which meant he had been working double time gathering ingredients and supplies from markets and dungeon diving.
"And that’s everything I’ve been doing all month, my lady." Legolas reported in a gentle and exhausted tone.
"Thank you, Legolas. You’re free to go." Rowena thanked him and Legolas bowed respectfully before leaving the Countess’s study.
Within the room, Rowena wasn’t the only one who had been listening to Legolas’s report.
Sitting on a couch nearby was a stunning dark elf staring at the parchment she was holding.
Her name was Ophelia and she happened to be Rowena’s aunt.
"You never cease to amaze me, little niece."
"What do you mean?"
"Just a few months ago, I thought you had sold a store or two when you suddenly asked me to send over all empty and unused vials." Ophelia replied and continued. freēwēbηovel.c૦m
"At the time, I really didn’t think much of it and had simply expected you to sell them at some point. After all, the stores were barely able to generate five gold coins a year, and that was from all five branches combined."
"But to my surprise, you asked us to send over all the potion vials we were supposed to sell, and this got me curious as to what you had in mind."
"Never would I have imagined you teaming up with a human for something so seemingly ridiculous as selling a 20% stamina-enhancing potion."
"To be honest, I thought the two of you might be insane to think something like that could ever be remotely possible, but yet again, that human surprised me, not only by brewing the potions but also by maintaining a constant supply of five hundred vials per month." Ophelia explained, and Rowena couldn’t help but chuckle softly as she recalled how her aunt had hurried back home from the capital, only to have her jaw drop in awe at the sight of the 20% impurity-free stamina-enhancing potion.
"How have sales been in the capital?" Rowena asked, because out of the five branches she owned, the branch in the capital city of the kingdom was managed solely by her aunt.
"Business has been surprisingly good these past few months." Ophelia replied and continued.
"We’ve experienced an influx in demand like never before."
"Adventurers, nobles, and aristocrats alike are all making bulk demands, with some even trying to bribe us into giving them more preferential treatment than others."
"There have also been quite a few willing to pay fortunes, I mean huge fortunes, just to get their hands on the recipe." Ophelia explained, and this made Rowena’s smile turn into a frown.
"Yes, I have heard about that too. Legolas previously reported that some nobles had ultimately deduced that the source of the potions might be from a collaboration between Austin and me."
"They’ve made contact with him?" Ophelia asked worriedly.
"Yes, they have."
"And what did he say?"
"Surprisingly, he declined their offer and insisted that what they were assuming was simply a rumour. The rumours of him being the source of the potion had begun circulating within the kingdom, but he had denied every claim of being the owner of the recipe."
Hearing this, Ophelia stayed silent for a while. "Hmm, so he stayed silent in honour of your contract with him, it seems."
"Yes, I thought the same thing at first, but when I thought deeply about it, I just couldn’t understand why he would do such a thing when our agreement was purely limited to the potions."
"Hmm, you do have a point there." Ophelia pointed out. "Since your agreement with him was purely limited to the sales of the potions, he had no reason to sell the pills as well."
"And thanks to the pills he’s selling through us, we’ve been able to generate a much higher income than what you two had initially agreed on."
Initially, Austin and Rowena’s partnership had been limited to the sales of potion vials, but thanks to Austin’s rank E potion-making talent, Austin had found a better way to revolutionise the production of stamina-enhancing potions.
With the help of his ability to conjure mana, Austin was able to figure out how to condense layers of liquid potion into a single solid pill for easier use and transport.
It was generally lighter than normal potion vials and melted instantly in a person’s mouth once swallowed, so it had been in high demand these past few months.
Although it was extremely difficult for Austin to make, the quantity he produced per month was quite low compared to the high demand from buyers.
Meanwhile, hearing what her aunt had just said, Rowena slowly lifted her head to ask. "What do you think the total sales will be at the end of our agreed contract?"
Ophelia was holding a parchment that contained a detailed estimate of how sales had been going these past few months, so Rowena wanted to know just how much she would be earning and just how much Austin would be earning as well.
"Based on the 200 potion vials initially agreed between the two of you, you were supposed to earn at least ninety gold coins while he would be earning at least sixty gold coins, excluding the costs of new vials and ingredients of course." Ophelia explained.
"But with everything that has happened so far, what do you think the new estimate is going to be?"
"For the past five months, he’s been able to produce a consistent amount of 500 potion vials and 300 pills per month, and with how things are progressing steadily this month, he’ll most likely be aiming for a similar number of products. That means if everything goes according to plan, you two would have earned a total of 738 gold coins."
Hearing this, Rowena stayed quiet for a while as she compared what their earnings would be at the end of the six months against their initial goal. freewebnøvel.coɱ
Initially it was supposed to be at a ratio of 90 to 60 gold coins, but now she would be earning a whopping amount of 442 gold coins and 80 silver coins, while Austin would earn 295 gold coins and 20 silver coins.
