CHAPTER 25………………………………
The explanation that they were all good-looking beastmen didn’t work.
Julien, whose ears were sticking out and trembling like a startled deer, was clearly terrified, so Lin couldn’t push any further.
Although she wasn’t present at the scene, Julien—true to the person who would create a blockbuster recipe in the future—quickly found the perfect combination, even from Lin’s vague description: “A drink that tastes like alcohol but doesn’t have the bad stuff that actually gets you drunk.”
“Hehe.”
Like when she made it in the kitchen with Julien, the mocktail produced a pretty color.
Lin’s lips curved into a smile as she looked at the fake cocktail.
“If everyone drinks this and stops alcohol, we’ll all be healthier, right?”
She remembered everyone gossiping about how not just Kay but other knights were drowning in alcohol.
The mocktail itself would become a popular item in the future, but the idea to start selling it at the training grounds came from something she had seen on Earth.
“This is how all big businesses start.”
Exactly.
Looking at her modest stall, Lin nodded proudly.
Her mind vividly recalled images of entrepreneurs on YouTube talking about their childhoods: photos of them operating machines in some warehouse, or small, neatly arranged stalls on lawns in front of houses.
“The first step to becoming a millionaire. It all starts at the garage!”
Lin didn’t know what a garage was, but she remembered the wooden tables with yellow drinks on them.
For some reason, people there sold lemonade diligently, and Lin felt confident in her item, the mocktail.
“This will work in the future too. If I sell it now, it’ll do even better, right?”
Heheh.
Pleased with her own genius business sense, Lin let out a mischievous, capitalist-like smile.
If knights drank this, they’d become healthy; and she and Julien, who sold it, would become rich.
That’s what you call killing two birds with one stone!
It was worth the effort to drag desks and chairs from the playroom.
To fully enjoy the profits from her business, Lin resolutely refused adult help, her eyes sparkling with anticipation for the joy of making money.
How long had they waited for customers?
After their afternoon training, a few quick-footed knights noticed the small, eye-catching stall.
“Oh? Miss Lin?”
“Wow, did you draw all of this yourself?”
The knights marveled at the drinks illustrated beside her uneven handwriting.
Seeing the young lady straighten her shoulders proudly when praised for her drawing skills was truly…
Overflowing with cuteness, the knights, unable to contain themselves, shivered and asked:
“What’s a mocktail?”
“Ah! It’s a drink that doesn’t get you drunk!”
Ta-da!
Lin spread her short arms wide as she introduced it, unaware that her proud promotion would be interpreted completely differently by the knights.
“A drink that doesn’t get you drunk? What’s the point?”
“Isn’t alcohol for getting drunk? If it doesn’t get you drunk, why drink it…?”
These thoughts flickered through the knights’ heads, but they had no choice but to reflect immediately.
“You said drinking was exhausting, right? Now you can drink this instead! No hangovers, no getting drunk and tired!”
Heh.
The knights must have been grateful to see this, after suffering through their drunken states the day before.
Lin handed the pre-prepared cups to the knights, smiling brightly as she promoted her product.
“See? It looks exactly like alcohol, right? They say the taste is similar too. Mocktails are good for your health because they don’t hurt your body like alcohol!”
For reference, the taste comparison was performed by a kitchen chef of drinking age.
The knights bowed warmly, smiling at Lin’s enthusiastic promotion.
“This is truly a wonderful drink. May I have a cup as well?”
“Yes. A fine mocktail, only 10 coins.”
“Ah, yes. Here you go.”
The first customer’s precious coin.
Lin thanked them and returned the change.
The knights, impressed that the young lady could handle payments properly, all held their mocktails in one hand and drank.
Slurp.
“Delicious.”
“!”
The cups emptied by the knights were ridiculously small in their large hands.
And that’s when Lin realized her mistake.
“Oh no!”
Not gulping, but slurping.
The mocktails in the child-sized teacups only wetted the knights’ lips before disappearing.
“This won’t stop heavy drinkers from drinking alcohol!”
It was clear that this small amount couldn’t make the alcohol-loving knights quit drinking.
Moreover, as more knights rushed over out of curiosity, new orders began piling up.
Lin struggled, making mocktails one after another…
“Miss, you can take your time.”
“Of course! Also, these ones at the back don’t need any.”
“Hey! That’s cheating—ugh!”
The knights, realizing the young lady was struggling with her small hands, intervened and comforted her with their usual sluggish expressions.
No matter how hard she worked, Lin saw that she couldn’t serve even one cup to each knight, and the mocktail ingredients were running out.
“I can’t do this alone.”
She needed the power of mass production.
For more mocktails, she needed adult-sized cups, countless ingredients, and experts who could prepare drinks quickly.
Calculating in her mind the amount of money needed to secure all these resources, Lin nodded.
“I can’t cover this with my allowance.”
The time had come for her future knowledge to shine.
There was only one place where she could inflate her allowance like a souffle.
“Alright. Time to go to the auction.”
Lin Pegasus. Age 6.
The youngest ever to attempt an auction in the Pegasus estate!
That day, the dream she had matched perfectly with the original story.
Remembering the future knowledge she could use at the auction, Lin woke up in a good mood.
“Caligo. Good morning!”
[Full of energy even this early.]
“Yes. I had a good dream.”
Heehee.
As Lin got out of bed with a cheerful laugh, her eyes suddenly widened.
[What’s wrong?]
Caligo asked at her sudden expression change, but Lin quickly covered her mouth with her little hands and couldn’t answer.
Dodo-do.
She ran to one side of the room and finally released her hands in front of the always-prepared basin.
Splash.
Caligo’s eyes widened in surprise as black blood poured from Lin’s mouth.
[…]
Unlike other adults who would panic when Lin vomited, Caligo quietly lit up his doll-like eyes.
“Phew. That was close. The bed almost got dirty!”
[Vomiting blood.]
Even though she had just woken up, Lin was proud that she managed to reach the basin without dirtying the bed, while Caligo alternated his gaze between her and the black blood in the basin.
Caligo, who moved the doll so naturally that it seemed alive, floated next to Lin and spoke in a curious voice.
[Quite an interesting way to remove stagnant energy.]
“Huh? Stagnant energy?”
[Impurities that accumulate in the body. Dirty energy.]
“Dirty…?”
Dirty energy in my body?
Lin tilted her head in confusion, and Caligo, still intrigued, explained:
[The energy in the world contains dirty, stagnant energy. It’s completely opposite to the pure energy that our divine beast produces.]
“I don’t understand…”
Lin, normally a model student who understood everything in class, couldn’t grasp this either.
Seeing Lin’s defiant gaze, Caligo scoffed.
