After locking up the drugstore, I explained everything to my team.
“Fake tents?! No!” Noela grimaced.
“I can’t believe someone out there did such a thing,” Mina added unhappily.
“I’m more surprised that everyone wants a tent!” Vivi noted, sounding totally relaxed. She was right that counterfeits popping up meant that the Kalta tents themselves were pretty popular.
“Doctor, let’s find the culprit and make them regret acting so foolishly for the rest of eternity!” Ejil cried. “If you allow me, I can make it happen with ease!”
It didn’t take him long to get real dark. “I don’t want to penalize anyone,” I replied.
Technology was always evolving. We just so happened to “invent” tents because they hadn’t already existed in this world, but someone else could’ve beaten us to it. Still, Paula was right that these knockoffs of our product were negatively affecting our reputation, and I felt bad that Lars had to deal with the adventurers’ complaints.
“From now on, there will probably be knockoff tents,” I admitted.
“Steal Master’s idea!” Noela was enraged, and her tail stood straight up in anger.
“I know it’s a shame that people are stealing our idea. But I think it’s okay for us not to punish the counterfeiters. Even if we did, other people would keep trying to copy us. All in all, it’s fine, I think.”
“Groo…” Noela didn’t seem to agree, but that wasn’t crucial.
“Heh heh heh. So, it’s my time at last! I shall find the counterfeiters, Doctor, and drop them into a hell beyond their wildest dreams! Hee hee hee! I’m elated!”
“I said not to! Were you even listening to me?!” I heaved an exasperated sigh. Ejil always went straight to violence.
“You’re all right with counterfeiters making knockoff tents, Mr. Reiji?”
“Well, I’m not planning to make a fuss about tents being produced outside Kalta.”
“You’ll never take over the world with a weak stance like that, Doctor!”
“No worries. I don’t intend to take over the world.”
“Like tent!” Noela insisted. “Don’t want people insulting!”
Yeah, I get that… I wasn’t crazy about people trash-talking our hard work either. And the average tent buyer had no way of knowing whether the manufacturer had applied water repellent or not. If only we could use a quality-approval symbol or something.
“I’ve got it!” Vivi raised her hand excitedly. “Me! Pick me!”
“Yes. The fairy in the front row.”
“I’m a spirit! Jeez!” After our usual back-and-forth, Vivi cleared her throat. “What if you signed the tents to show that they were made here in Kalta?!”
“Ah! That’s a great suggestion.”
“Groo! Not bad for Vivi!”
“Riiiight? Tee hee hee! I knew it was awesome! Feel free to sing my praises!” Vivi was delighted.
“If there’s no way to authenticate the signature, couldn’t people just copy it too?” Ejil pointed out.
The lake spirit’s bright expression darkened at his logic. “Why do you have to be like that? It was such a good idea!”
I’d already considered using a logo to signal that the tents were produced in Kalta. But this world didn’t have Japan’s super-detailed printing technology, and a counterfeiter could make as many knockoff tents as they wanted with a copied logo or signature. The buyer wouldn’t be able to tell the logos apart, so it wouldn’t matter if only we could tell.
I racked my brain. “Something like a signature that anyone can distinguish…” Hmm…
Mina attempted to reassure me. “Mr. Reiji, you and the others created something wonderful. If Kalta keeps making tents, I think people will come to understand the difference.”
“Thanks. I really hope you’re right.”
Still, our primary customers were adventurers who risked their lives daily. If they used defective equipment, it could mean the difference between life and death. For instance, if the frame broke, the adventurer could end up drenched in cold rain.
We’d known that today’s tent was a knockoff because the counterfeiters hadn’t applied water repellent or protective coating—products I’d created using my medicine-making skill. And they couldn’t rip off my potions, because I made those with my skill too. In short, it would be easy to tell whether an item I usually produced with my medicine-making skill was counterfeit.
“Hm…? Oh…yeah,” I mumbled. “I should just make that more obvious.”
“Groo… Master?”
“I had an idea. I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll get dinner ready, then.” Mina headed to the kitchen.
“Groo! Me help Master.”
“I’ll help too!” Vivi exclaimed.
“No, you can go home for now, Vivi.” I nodded slightly. “Good work today.”
“Gah! You’re sending me home like I wasn’t pitching in on this?!”
“Noela will be more than enough help at this point.”
“Would you like me to help in the lab too, Doctor?” asked Ejil.
“I have a different request for you, actually.”
“Oh! Leave it to me.”
“Aw…you’re so lucky,” Vivi told him, a trace of jealousy in her voice.
I jotted down the ingredients my medicine-making skill deemed necessary, asking Ejil to grab the ones I didn’t already have. Then, feeling guilty, I invited Vivi to join us in the lab as we created my new product.
“I’m back, Doctor!” Ejil soon cried, opening the lab door. He’d apparently used teleportation magic; he was breathing heavily.
“That was fast. Thanks a lot, pal.”
“I-It was nothing,” he replied, trying to act cool.
I bet he thought about Noela the whole time.
“Here, Master.”
“Thanks.” Not that she’s even looking his way.
We had everything we needed, so I began the usual process.
Night Light: Gel that causes surfaces to glow slightly in the dark after application.
“Done!” I exclaimed.
On Earth, people used this kind of unique gel for things like clock hands and watch dials. It was helpful when you woke up at night, since it let you tell the time without turning on the lights. The drugstore’s single-use light source was similar, but its effect disappeared after a few hours. I hadn’t designed that for long-term use.
“What this, Master?”
“If you spread it on something, it’ll glow when it’s dark.”
“Ha ha ha! Don’t be silly, Reiji!” Vivi cackled. “You can’t produce light where there is none. You need fire for that!”
“Just watch,” I replied, heading into the yard.
My surroundings were pitch-black; the light from the house was barely visible. Dipping my finger into the night light gel, I drew a few simple characters on Noela’s brand-new tent.
“Groo?! Glows!”
“That’s amazing!” Vivi cried. “It’s so dark outside!”
“I see. Good idea, Doctor.” It sounded like Ejil had caught on to my plan. “Once you mark the tents with that night light gel, all you’ll need to do to prove their authenticity is go someplace dark. Even if a counterfeiter copies your signature or logo, it certainly won’t glow in the dark, since nobody can counterfeit your drugstore products.”
“You got it.”
“Amazing, Master!”
“Sorry for laughing, Reiji. That really is incredible.”
I explained to the rest of the business association that we could use night light gel to watermark the tents.
“Rei Rei, you’re a literal god,” Paula enthused.
I made more of the gel—not as a drugstore product but only for use on the business association’s tents alongside water repellent and protective coating. Then I had Elaine tell Lars that knockoff tents were circulating but that our new tents couldn’t be replicated completely, and that we’d offer a night light gel treatment to customers who’d already purchased a Kalta tent.
Before long, the number of tent orders was back to normal.
“Sir Reiji, we got tons of requests this month!” Elaine cried, carrying in a bunch of letters.
Not all the letters were mail orders, though. Some were from adventurers expressing gratitude for such sturdy, portable shelters.
“I’ve got to make sure the others read these too,” I murmured.
When I put the fan mail down in the meeting hall, the business association members leafed through it happily.