Even though I’d clearly labeled the jar, both Gramps and Aura had decided to taste it. By trying huge spoonfuls of it.
If they’d just sniffed it or dabbed a little on their fingers, it wouldn’t have been that bad. But no, they had gone all out.
“It’s something we’ve never seen before!”
“Tenma made it!”
“He just bought yuzu.”
“It says pepper, but I don’t see any black flakes...”
“That means it should be edible.”
“Maybe he meant sour, not spicy?”
“You can’t really know unless you taste a proper spoonful.”
And that was how the two of them had ended up in agony.
Aura had found it first. While she had been examining it, Gramps had happened to walk in and hadn’t been able to resist tasting it himself.
“I figured it was fine since it was made with yuzu...” Gramps muttered.
Aura agreed. “No one expects yuzu to be spicy!”
They didn’t seem particularly sorry, so I decided dinner that night would be extra hot. Literally.
“H-He’s a demon... N-Never mind...”
“That meanie—er, that meat looks delicious...”
I served up a special superhot stew I made just for them. They started to mutter things under their breath, but the second our eyes met, they both clammed up and began eating in silence.
“This sure is an interesting seasoning. So this is yuzu pepper paste? Kind of funny that you made it with chilis but you’re calling it pepper...”
“In some parts of the SAR, ‘pepper’ refers to chili peppers, so it’s not entirely wrong. Still, I’ve never heard of a yuzu-chili blend before. It’s unusual. Whether it sells well will depend on what you pair it with.”
Leni and Lani sampled the yuzu pepper and started discussing it seriously.
“Tenma, would you be willing to sell us the recipe? I’d love to try marketing it through Lady Sana’s network.”
“If we do that, we can lock in distribution across the SAR. Others will copy it eventually, but we want to establish it as a Tenma-branded product before that happens.”
My own brand, huh? I’d had no idea they knew I sold other products, but I guess they would’ve seen them if they had done a quick survey of Gunjo City.
“It’s simple enough, so I don’t mind giving it away for free,” I said.
But then they explained that if I didn’t have a formal deal, I’d end up with all kinds of unauthorized products using my name. So in the end, a proper licensing agreement was necessary.
I asked why that rule didn’t apply to the sweets from the Full Belly Inn, and Lani said that was different. That had started before I had gotten famous, and everyone in Gunjo City already knew that I’d stayed there a while and had ties to the shop. Plus, Duke Sanga was backing them, so no one was dumb enough to mess with it.
“Selling sweets is tricky, but I’d really like to sell the condiment in the SAR.”
In the end, we agreed to sign a deal. It was a contract that gave me royalties instead of a flat sale to them. I’d get a cut of the profits, and they’d pay me in local food, drinks, and other products. Lani would be in charge of putting together a selection of goods for me and would deliver everything on his merchant visits.
The next morning...
“Well then, I’ll be heading back to the SAR first.”
Lani had bumped up his schedule to head back earlier than planned so he could bring the intel on Chaos and the yuzu pepper recipe back with him.
After we saw him off at the gates, I was lounging around the house. However...
“By the way, Tenma, didn’t you say you were going to take my brother and go see the king?” Leni suddenly asked.
“Oh!”
That was right—I’d told Lani I’d go report to the king that I had shared sensitive information with him and that we’d go together to get scolded. When we had been drinking after dinner the night before, Lani had told Leni, “We’ll stop by the castle together,” so he must’ve remembered.
Still, if Leni was going to bring it up, I really wished she’d remembered a bit earlier.
“So that’s the situation, Leni,” I said. “Let’s go get yelled at together.”
“Why me?!”
Leni must’ve thought that when Lani and I had said we were going to see the king, the purpose was to strengthen ties between the SAR and the royal family or something. She clearly had no idea our actual intentions were to apologize.
“I’m going to drag my brother back here!”
She turned on her heel to chase after Lani, but...
“You’re not going to catch him,” I told her. “Even if he took his usual route home, it’d still take two or three days to catch up and bring him back. And if he left early on purpose, you’ll probably have to chase him all the way to the SAR.”
Even if what I’d told him had been within acceptable limits, it would still be better to let the king know as soon as possible. Lani was long gone now, so it sucked to be Leni...but honestly, it didn’t make much of a difference to me which one came with me. And considering how much trouble it would be to get Lani back here, it was better to just take Leni along instead.
“When I get back to the SAR, I’m spreading nasty rumors about my brother,” she said. The cold smile on her face was one I’d never seen from her before.
I had a feeling those rumors would either be wildly exaggerated or outright made up, but I didn’t ask. Poking that bear would only get me bitten. I just focused on staying in the background and praying none of her frustration would be directed at me.
“Ah, so that’s why you’ve summoned me,” Cruyff said.
I’d decided to go to the king, so I asked Cruyff to come by the estate. I could’ve gone straight to the castle like usual, but...
“People might get the wrong idea if you show up there with a young woman. However, if we frame it like you’re escorting an official from the SAR, then we can explain things if rumors do start,” Cruyff said with a smirk. He then headed straight for the carriage before I could say anything else.