Infinite Reincarnation – Arthur Hurt - Chapter 97



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Infinite Reincarnation – Arthur Hurt Chapter 97

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Arthur nodded. Madame Zeltney did not necessarily sell the dresses from the Lydis Salon to only the nobles. It was just that the demand from noble women was high, so only nobles wore them.

But things had changed. No longer was the royal family in charge of the fashion of the society, but everyone wore what they wanted. Instead, the demand for dresses from the Lydis salons plummeted as a reaction to the royal family’s control of fashion.

These changes in the market environment also affected the wealthy commoners and the bourgeoisie. In the era of unified fashion, they also had a niche where they could have their own fashion.

However, the unnecessary, extravagant banquet dresses worn by nobles for the purpose of showing off power and wealth do not suit their tastes.

Instead, it was the dresses in the style of Lydis that benefited, the dresses from Lydis’ salon.

Thanks to this increase in demand from the wealthy commoners, the Ridis Salon has not been greatly affected by the rapidly changing banquet trends of today.

This was because the dresses in the Lydis Salon were pretty, and even though competing shops that made Lydis-style dresses arose, it was also thanks to the reputation built up over time by Madame Zeltny’s philosophy of pursuing ‘clothes that are pretty and that you want to wear.’

Thanks to this, Arthur’s jewelry was not greatly affected. Arthur’s jewelry, which was thoroughly tailored to Madame Zeltny’s design, conveyed something that other jewelry could not replace, and although it was not overly extravagant, it was perfect for the taste of the high-class bourgeoisie.

This was the reason why the exclusive craftsmen of the Ridis Salon were well-known among the relatively wealthy common people.

When we felt like we had sufficiently oiled the mood by talking about each other, we got to the main topic.

“I heard your younger sibling is entering the academy next year?”

“You take the entrance exam.”

Arthur corrected Umel’s question. Haltz Boot seemed to have quite a bit of faith in Rel’s passing, but Arthur did not take his words at face value.

“And until then, is it right to look for a tutor who can teach you about the entrance exam?”

“Originally, Mr. Osarin wanted to do it, but I wanted someone with more experience teaching students.”

“Well, he’s not that bad of a teacher, though.”

“I’m still a bit confused as to whether I should be a lawyer or a bookstore employee. It’s not like it costs a lot of money, so wouldn’t it be more important to hire a more capable teacher?”

As if he knew the circumstances of his junior, Osarin, at Arthur’s sharp words, Umel nodded without asking any more questions and spoke.

“There are only about eight months left next year, and my tuition will be quite high.”

“I think it’s worth paying if it means my younger sibling can get into the school with excellent grades.”

“Then shall we start with the test?”

“great.”

Arthur nodded, and the four of them moved to Umel’s house.

Umel, whose father was an entrepreneur, lived in a detached house in a relatively safe area, and as he was a graduate student at the academy, his study was filled with many books.

“Okay, then let’s take the test.”

He checked his watch as he placed the test paper in front of Rel, and Rel immediately picked up her pencil and focused on the paper in front of her.

Arthur and Osarin waited outside the study for a moment so as not to disturb the test. While waiting, the two talked.

“How is his skill?”

The reason he asks such a question when he is alone with Osarin is perhaps a way of dealing with the world so as not to hurt Umel’s feelings?

Osarin answered.

“He is the best I know.”

“I will believe you.”

Arthur answered Osarin’s answer with confidence. Then he handed over the pouch containing the promised amount. Osarin, who had checked the pouch containing the appropriate amount of silver coins, raised his head and looked at Arthur. Arthur silently held out his hand. Osarin smiled and shook his hand.

The test didn’t take long. There weren’t that many questions on it.

Umel, who graded the test papers, said.

“Rel’s academic ability is very excellent. It’s hard to believe that he studied on his own.”

“Yes, there was someone who taught me.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Halts Butt is a retired person who teaches children as a way to pass the time.”

In the process, I didn’t necessarily mention the fact that I was paying expensive tuition.

“So, what about Rel? Is she good enough to be in the top tier?”

“It is entirely possible. However, you must thoroughly prepare for the entrance exam.”

Umel said that Lel had almost perfect scores in the most important subjects required for the entrance exam, such as language and mathematics, but pointed out that he was lacking in other subjects, such as world geography, history, and natural philosophy.

“I see. Then please take care of it.”

“Trust me. Oh, and just give me half the tuition.”

Umel waved his hand away as soon as Arthur took out his checkbook.

Only after Arthur tilted his head did he say this.

“Please give the remaining half to Rel after he passes with excellent grades.”

“You seem quite confident.”

“The training of the Rel Army was so good that I could have confidence.”

At Umel’s praise, Rel straightened his shoulders and raised his chin.

Arthur smiled faintly at that sight. Judging from the way he acted according to his mood, he was still a child.

* * *

Arthur took advantage of the opportunity to pay a considerable amount of Rel’s tuition while also checking his recent cash flow.

However, upon checking, it turned out that he had sent more money to his brother-in-law, Logan, to buy land than he had thought. It was because the prices of farmland were rising, as if the times were strange.

Yeah, so even if the economy is bad, the land doesn’t go anywhere?

Anyway, considering the land tax and other things that will be paid in the future, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to secure more cash. People betray, but money never does, right?

Arthur, who had been pondering for a moment, checked his schedule. There was plenty of time to try something different.

However, what was important was what to do, and in fact, there was something I had been thinking about for a long time. It was an item that I couldn’t understand why no one had done it before.

“Death penalty, what are you making?”

“It’s a test piece.”

“What is it?”

“If done well, it’s something that will have significant synergy with our guild.”

While Arthur was working, the workshop staff, including Kadan, were busy making ornaments to be delivered to the Lydis Salon and commissioned items for the guild.

No, Arthur was working an hour late, so it was killing me. Especially for Kadan, who loved playing cards, it felt like he was working overtime again.

“Oh, are you meeting with those three?”

“No. Since the last time the death penalty made me work overtime, I’ve changed bars.”

“If we happen to meet, tell them you can’t play cards because of me.”

“yes.”

Arthur was meticulous. This floor was narrower than he thought, and he didn’t know when Kadan would meet them again. It was childish, but Arthur’s consideration to minimize the conflict was to have him say, “Our death sentence told us not to play with you.”

He concentrated and quickly finished his day’s work, and then spent the rest of his time developing new products. Well, development is just taking out what was already in his head.

In the meantime, he talked to Rel about tutoring. How were the classes and whether she was studying well.

Rel smiled and bragged to Viana and Arthur about how much he had been praised. Judging by his confident appearance, it seemed like there was nothing to worry about.

After about a month, the prototype was completed.

Arthur brought in the prototype and gathered people to evaluate the product. Of course, the merchants Jaran and Samuel were called, but he also called in Mrs. Zeltney, Cho-Leng, and Holden.

“It’s a new product. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Arthur wouldn’t have gathered people like this for nothing.”

Zarran and Samuel sat at the table, looking at Madame Zeltney and Cho-Reng, who were sipping tea, in anticipation. This was the first time Arthur had called people over like this and asked them to evaluate a new product.

“Have you been waiting long?”

As Arthur opened the door and came in, Holden scolded him with his eyes, asking why he came now. To be honest, the people in the room were big names that Holden would normally not dare look up to, so it was difficult for him to breathe in the same space.

But Arthur couldn’t see the look in his eyes and placed a box on the table. The eyes of everyone gathered in the room were drawn to the box, which was finished with a glossy varnish.

“What is that?”

Arthur responded to Samuel’s question:

“It’s better to show than to explain.”

Arthur lifted the lid of the box and opened it, revealing its complex internal structure. It was a complex mechanical device using numerous gears, and the cylinders with protrusions and metal combs were impressive.

Arthur opened the lid of the box, took off the handle attached to the bottom of the lid, inserted it into the hole at the back of the box, and turned it. The sound of the spring winding could be heard.

Then, the cylinder started spinning and the protrusions attached to the cylinder struck the tips of the metal teeth of the comb, and music began to play. The music was a promotional song for Ridis.

“What is this?”

Arthur asked back as Cho-reng asked with wide eyes.

“Have you ever seen anything like this?”

“None!”

Cho-reng’s answer rather surprised Arthur.

No, if the industrial revolution had progressed to this level, mechanical engineering would have been sufficiently developed, but are you saying that we haven’t come up with the idea of ​​playing music using a clockwork mechanism yet?

There was a sense of discomfort that he felt every time he conducted market research. With the sophisticated gears and winding technology, shouldn’t someone have already created a music box like this?

So I thought it was a relic that someone already knew about, but judging from Cho-reng’s reaction, it seemed like he had become the first developer.

Cho-Reng asked Arthur.

“What is this thing called?”

“Well? Should I call it a music box?”

It was an object with a different name in each previous life, but when I thought about the language I use now, the name music box stuck with me.

“It’s a music box… … . Is it okay?”

Samuel, unable to stand someone’s evaluation, intervened and said a word.

“This is a great product.”

“But it seems like it would be easy to replicate.”

While Samuel looked at the positive side, Jaran pointed out some areas of concern.

Holden, who had been observing the way the music box rotated, agreed with Jaran’s words.

“At this point, it should be possible to reverse engineer and replicate the product as much as you want.”

“Yes. It’s not much different from a pocket watch. So you have to take that into account when selling it.”

Arthur said.

Once a hit product is released, it is natural for copycat products to appear. Human desire for money easily makes people abandon business ethics.

In today’s world, counterfeit goods have to be taken for granted.

“How about accumulating all the goods first and then releasing them all at once?”

Zarn responded to Holden’s suggestion.

“It’s complicated. It requires a lot of capital. Even if your guild receives investment, do you think it has the capacity to do so?”

Transporting and managing raw materials and goods was more difficult and troublesome than expected.

Even in places like Matou Trading Company, there are losses in inventory management, and these losses are never simply due to breakage. They simply disappear as if they have broken the law of conservation of mass.

The reasons for their disappearance included embezzlement, theft, and errors in records, but Arthur’s strategy of stockpiling a sufficient number of new products would inevitably suffer great losses if even one new product leaked. This was because prices had to drop due to the sudden increase in supply as they had to sell off quickly before competing copycat products appeared.