I finally decided we had to get going; it was almost dark and would be by the time we reached the city now that we'd delayed so much.
I stood up and tapped Elaria, who had sat down but was still examining things closely, on the shoulder.
I motioned to the figure of Lila lying sprawled on the grass, "Get her dressed and ready to go."
"Yes, Master."
I walked through the one-way barrier and dispelled the one keeping my new product from fleeing.
They were lying side by side; the guy looked happy but resigned to his fate while Karen looked lifeless, just staring off into space.
I touched the guy's forehead and confirmed that the method did indeed work.
"I still have to test one more thing."
I wasn't 100% sure a vegetable peeler would actually peel a person's skin, and if it couldn't, how could I ever make good on my threat?
I picked up his hand and pulled out the peeler, placing it on his arm.
He started screaming in terror, "No! No! NO! NO!"
I dragged the peeler towards me, pressing firmly, and found it actually did peel off a strip of flesh.
Rivulets of blood ran down his arm as he screamed. Since a peeler worked, I saw no reason to keep him alive and beheaded him with a wind blade.
I turned to Karen, who had come back from the dead due to the screaming and looked at me in horror.
I held up the peeler. "Do you want to try?"
She shook her head so hard it seemed her eyes might get flung out.
"Are you going to do as I say?"
She nodded vigorously.
"Promise."
Her voice sounded hoarse, "I swear to mana to do whatever you tell me to."
I wasn't sure it would work since a person can't be forced into making a mana oath, however, it seemed to work and must not consider this forcing her. Maybe because she wanted to harm or kill me before, and mana considered this her punishment?
"Get up, get dressed, and follow me."
She immediately did as I said, and I walked over to Elaria and the now dressed and standing Lila.
"Alright, let's go now."
We left for the city again and arrived at our apartment about an hour later.
I pointed to a corner of the living room and looked at Karen, "Stay in the corner until I say differently."
The rest of us went to our rooms for the night.
---
I stopped cultivating when the sun shone through the window and got up. Lila was still sleeping when I left the room, but Elaria was in the kitchen preparing breakfast.
Karen was still in the corner, and I knew she'd have to eat, and I should have her bathe before presenting her at my meeting with Herbert.
"Come eat, then take a bath quickly."
I turned to Elaria, "Take care of Lila when I'm at the tower."
"Yes, Master."
Soon Karen was done eating and bathing. I had prepared an outfit that clung tightly to her curves and had a cut out in the proper place so it wouldn't have to be removed when people tested her. It didn't go over her shoulders or arms and could easily be pulled down a bit if one wanted.
I was going to have her go like this, but then I realized if I brought her through the streets in such clothing, I might get in trouble. The last thing I need is to be stopped by the guards because the person with me is half-naked.
I gave her a robe to put over, and she looked grateful.
"Let's go. Don't speak or use any magic unless I tell you to."
She nodded in understanding as we left.
When we reached the magic tower, I went straight to the elevator and the top floor.
I pushed open the doors to Herbert's office, and we entered.
He was talking to another man about his age, and when he turned to see who entered his office, his eyes lit up when he saw me.
The other guy reminded me of the picture in my head of Santa, fat, jolly, and laughing.
"Max! Come here and let me introduce you to someone, this is my friend Earl Jhon of House Smith. Come come."
I came over to introduce myself, "Hello, I have a long name also, I'm Mage Max of House Frost."
Herbert flashed me a look like he wanted to strangle me, but Jhon burst out laughing and slapped Herbert on the back.
"Herbert, I think the magic tower will be just fine under this one's care; at least he won't be boring like you old man."
Herbert coughed, "I am not boring, and your a month older than me. "
"Mhm..."
Herbert looked at Karen, who was still standing by the doors, scrutinizing the floor. "Who's she? You haven't brought her before."
"She tried to harm me and is now a sample I prepared to show you; it's something that can increase lifespan by a little."
I wondered if between the two of them they might will the loading circle into existence as they tried to comprehend what I said.
I'll say it another way, very simply, "She can increase vitality a little at a time now. I want to sell the magic that does it for mana stones."
"Huh?"
Right, the concept of vitality doesn't exist here. I picked up a piece of paper and a pencil from Herbert's desk and drew a vertical line on the left side, then a horizontal line; they intersected in the bottom left corner at a 90-degree angle.
Under the bottom line, I wrote "age," and next to the horizontal line, I wrote "vitality." At the top, I wrote the description of vitality as, "vitality = how long you live/how much energy you have in the day/how old you look."
At this moment, I could feel what I had said to the two old guys previously clicked, but I still drew the downward sloping arrow anyway.
"Now you should see what I mean; if you increase your vitality a little bit, you not only live longer but also live better and look younger for more time."
I needed these guys to be on my side; they could help with the marketing.
They looked eager to get the benefits, but didn't look like they believed me.
"Tell me about it," Jhon said.
I grinned, "How about you just experience it for yourself over the next couple of hours while Herbert teaches me whatever he was going to today. Take it as a sample of what I'm selling."
He grinned, "Alright, I'll try out this new magic of yours; how do I try it?"
I looked at Herbert, "Is there one of the guest apartments open he can use?"
"He's already using one."
I nodded, "Perfect. Take her with you to your apartment, and remember, the amount you put in is the amount you get back."
I went over to Karen, "Robe off, go with him and perform well."
I didn't have to specify every little thing, she knew so her mana oath wouldn't allow her to twist it.
She dropped her robe, revealing skin-tight clothing underneath with a missing area over her slit; she still tried to hide it even though it was pointless as it would soon be seen.
I wasn't worried about the method of increasing their lifespan being rejected as wrong; humans are greedy when it comes to their lives and well-being, especially nobles, and I really doubt Herbert hasn't conducted even worse experiments at the tower than turning a bad person into a furnace.
I looked back at the old men who both had slightly red-tinged faces.
Jhon was the first to say something, "I kind of wondered... but now I'm certain, at least she's pretty."
I grinned, "Of course, how could I sell anything as novel as this without a good sample."
He laughed and headed out the door with Karen following obediently behind.
After the door closed, Herbert decided what to teach me today, "I'll show you how all things at the magic tower are sold, produced, and all related things. It seems like a fitting topic for today considering you have a product to sell, assuming it actually works."
"Alright."
"Lets go down to the alchemy floor and start with basic potions and artifacts as they are pretty normal to sell."
We went to the alchemy floor, and he started showing me around. He explained in detail about how it was decided the price of each potion compared to the cost to make, how they decided who to sell in bulk to and for what price, advertisement for new products, etc.
I found it pretty boring but there were a few helpful details that might help me in future ventures.
After all the explanations, we went back to his office.
"Max, practice what I told you by drawing out a plan for your product, and I'll look it over for any flaws or anything that can be improved."
I nodded and took a few sheets of papers from the desk to start writing out the different sections of my plan.
While I was working on it, Elaria and Lila came by. Lila sat beside me, leaning against my side while I worked, reading what I was writing.
For advertisement, I planned to rely on the talkative nature of nobles; they were always trying to one-up each other, and owning an expensive product that could increase vitality was a big one-up.
For the price, I was thinking 10 high-grade mana stones for each person they wanted to have learned the technique. While that price was outrageous, it wasn't so outrageous that many nobles couldn't find some way to afford it.
I would also accept the equivalent amount in lower-grade stones, as 1 high-grade mana stone cost more than 10,000 basic ones but only contained the same amount of mana.
And for the nobles that couldn't afford to pay that price, I decided I'd open a brothel where the price was a few silver plus 500 basic mana crystals a night; that way, the poorer nobles or maybe even merchants could come and spend the night whenever they wanted.
They would get addicted to the feeling of their vitality increasing, and they would either keep coming back or save up the big bucks.
While writing out my plan, I realized I needed some girls to work at the brothel.
I wrote down all the conditions and what they would need to do, as well as what they would be paid, then handed the paper to Elaria, "Go to the slave market or wherever you need to and find some girls willing to fulfill all these conditions; also, buy a building in a good place in town that rich people will come to."
"Yes Master." She immediately left.
Lila pointed at a section of the paper where the price was listed, "Since they will be sending so many women, you should put something about how you'll check the qualifications on each of them, and if you find one with the qualifications you need, you'll keep them and provide the technique to two others from the same person who sent the one you stole. Or they can just pay for two others by sending someone with good qualifications, of course they don't know how to check them though."
"Huh, what for?"
"You said you needed someone to be Luna's maid, and finding someone with good qualifications is rare."
Well, yes, I guess I do, but I never thought she'd bring it up. I activated my ring to speak to Elaria.
"Elaria, check the cultivation qualifications of the girls you look at. If there's a good one, see if they'd make a good maid."
"Yes Master."
She sounded slightly disappointed that I was looking for another maid but had to follow my instructions.
"Don't worry, I won't replace you; you're just going to be too busy, so you will need an assistant."
"I understand, thank you for thinking of me Master."
I wrote down Lila's suggestion on the paper just with more clear wording, and when I was just about finished, a butt-naked Jhon burst into the office, the office doors hitting the walls with a bang.
Lila jumped, and her head spun to look at what happened; her head snapped back in the other direction, and she covered her eyes, burying her face in my side.
"It works! I feel like I could smash a mountain!" Jhon shouted with his arms raised and flexed.