The Female Lead Takes Care of Everything - Chapter 86

After finally calming down, the five of them took a moment to catch their breath. They had been cheering and running around so much they were out of breath.

“Bleh…”

Nivellia gagged and felt a bit of sourness rise in her throat.

Celletina gently patted her back as she spoke.

“I completed contracts with several high-end restaurants. We already received full payment. Philia Terre Pharmaceuticals also contacted me. They want to research the mushroom’s medicinal effects…”

Celletina kept talking for a while.

She had memorized every buyer and the exact quantity sold so she could tell her children all the good news in detail.

“Mother, we’re not supposed to call them stone mushrooms anymore.”

“Oh, right.”

Celletina gave a small smile, realizing her mistake after Soles reminded her.

“From now on, we call them Rospe mushrooms.”

How should the stone mushrooms be sold?

Before the official release, Celletina invited chefs from luxury restaurants that did business with Rubeo to a private tasting event.

“My goodness, the flavor is incredible…”

“It melts like cheese, with the perfect touch of saltiness and a rich, nutty flavor. This is amazing. Where did you even find this?”

“The aftertaste is so clean. No bitterness at all…”

“This would go perfectly with so many dishes, especially meats and dairy.”

The chefs all praised the mushrooms without hesitation.

They agreed that the texture and taste were excellent in every way.

“Wait… is this stone mushroom?”

“Oh, I remember now. During the war, it helped us a lot.”

Some of the older chefs recognized the taste immediately. A few of them had served during the Crepatna War forty years ago.

But even with all that praise…

“To be honest, I would love to create new dishes with this right away, but…”

“Our restaurant mostly serves nobles. I’m a little worried about how they’ll react. No offense to you, Madam.”

“There’s still a stigma around stone mushrooms…”

Many chefs were hesitant to purchase.

Celletina had expected this. She calmly responded.

“If you buy today, I’ll offer you a first-time discount at half the regular price. After this, all purchases will be full price only.”

That convinced some of the older chefs to go ahead with the order.

The others still looked unsure.

Celletina didn’t push further. She simply thanked them for their opinions and immediately began preparing a proper sales plan.

Soles and Aref helped with that part.

“Mother, Aref and I talked about this…”

“It was mostly Soles’s idea.”

“That’s not true. Aref had some great ideas too.”

Their strategy was inspired by Aref’s story. Just like Aref had gone from being an orphan to a respected savior of the Deiamor family, they would turn the stone mushroom from a cheap mercenary ration into a luxury ingredient.

“Let’s start by changing the name.”

They renamed it Rospe, which means “dew of the cliffs,” to reflect how the mushroom grows on rocky cliffs.

“Then we give it a story.”

They spread the idea that during the monster wars, brave warriors always carried Rospe mushrooms as a vital part of their rations.

They also explained how harvesting them requires expert skill and courage. The mushrooms can only be picked by hand, after carefully climbing steep cliff faces.

“People always think things are worth more when they’re harder to get.”

They emphasized that the mushrooms grow only in untouched natural areas and are dried using sunlight and clean sea air.

Finally…

“We need someone to set the trend.”

This suggestion came from Aref.

“If one person steps forward, others are more likely to follow.”

It was based on his own painful experience of being bullied and excluded at the orphanage.

But Aref was no longer afraid of those memories. Instead, he used them to help others.

“Did you hear? The Saint loved those mushrooms.”

“Did you see the late Marquis’s body? Even at that age, he had the build of someone much younger.”

“They say the Saint offered a prayer the moment she tasted it.”

“No wonder mercenaries are so healthy…”

They even mentioned how strong mercenaries tend to be, hoping to shift public opinion just a little.

Less than a week after their marketing campaign began, Rospe mushrooms completely sold out.

“I didn’t think they’d use my name like this.”

Muniel slowly lowered the newspaper she had been reading. The article was about the sudden popularity of Rospe mushrooms.

As she put the paper down, she saw the mischievous children hiding behind it.

Nivellia, Aref, and Soles all looked around nervously, like guilty cats, watching Muniel’s reaction closely.

“A-Are you mad?” Soles asked cautiously.

Muniel responded in a serious tone, pretending to be stern.

“Using someone else’s name is a very serious crime. You didn’t know that?”

The children lowered their heads even further.

“Will we go to prison?” Nivellia asked carefully.

“Is it that serious? How long do we stay? A few seconds? Five seconds?”

“Five seconds? No. You would have to serve ten years.”

“T-Ten years?”

Nivellia’s eyes went wide, and she started to tear up. Her lips quivered, and soft sniffles escaped through her tightly shut mouth.

“But!”

Before she could actually cry, Muniel raised her voice on purpose.

It worked. Nivellia’s tears vanished immediately.

“The stone mushrooms — no, I mean the Rospe mushrooms — they sold well, right?”

“We sold all of them! Every last one!”

Nivellia quickly answered.

She was the leader, the head of the Pelea trading group. She had to protect her subordinates now.

“We sold everything, and we don’t have any debt left!”

“Then give Grandma and Grandpa a hundred thousand Uba each. You used our names, so it’s only fair to pay a fee, right?”

“Uhh…”

Nivellia hesitated. She really didn’t want to give up that money.

But after a moment, she squeezed her eyes shut and shouted as if making a noble decision.

“Fine! I’ll give it!”

She spread her arms wide, like she was shielding her subordinates from punishment.

“I’ll pay! So don’t send them to prison! You have to promise! Alright?”

“Alright. I promise.”

Just like that, Muniel and Ardores earned two hundred thousand Uba.

“This is your advertising fee,” Muniel said.

“Advertising fee?”

“Yes. You used someone else’s name to promote your product, so it’s only right to pay for that. Otherwise, it counts as name fraud.”

“The world is a harsh place…”

And so, Nivellia learned about advertising.

When Caleo heard the story, he clicked his tongue in disbelief.

“Seriously? You just took money the grandchildren earned?”

“That sounds terrible when you put it like that! I feel misunderstood,” Muniel said.

“This wasn’t theft. This was financial education,” Ardores added confidently.

“Exactly.”

Muniel and Ardores stood proud.

“They need to learn early that earning money isn’t easy. And that sometimes, people make mistakes without even realizing it.”

Especially Nivellia, whose dream was to become rich. She needed experiences like this more than anyone.

“And what do you think?” Caleo asked.

“Was this success entirely thanks to Nini?”

“Not entirely, of course.”

The truth was, Nivellia hadn’t done very much herself.

Most of the work had been done by adults, and she had also received a lot of help from Soles and Aref.

But Nivellia had managed to find something she could do.

“You found a product that seemed like it would sell well. You worked with your team and knew exactly when to step up as the leader.”

At Muniel’s words, smiles appeared on the faces of both Caleo and Ardores.

“This is Nini’s first real success.”

At last, Nivellia had earned money by her own effort.

“Ten, hundred, thousand…”

Nivellia had just received her first profit statement from Celletina. She immediately started counting the digits on the page.

She had been managing debt since the age of two, so this much was easy for her.

Not long ago, she had even learned about numbers in the trillions.

The startup capital used to launch the Pelea Trading Company had been one hundred fifty-three million Uba.

And the profit from selling out all the stone mushrooms was eighty million Uba.

“Huh?”

As she carefully read through the fine print, Nivellia pointed to one line on the statement.

“Mom, what’s this?”

“Oh, that’s the promotional expense for Philia Terre Pharmaceuticals.”

Celletina had helped spread the word about Philia Terre’s new medicine by placing samples with the Pelea Company and letting word of mouth grow, especially in rural areas far from the capital.

“I know what that is! Advertising, right?”

“Yes, that’s advertising.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me? You have to ask before doing that!”

Nivellia gave her mother a stern look and protested.

“You have to tell me first! If you don’t, it’s illegal! You can go to jail for ten years!”

“I told you.”

“I don’t remember!”

“Then next time, let’s make sure you remember too. Alright?”

“Okay!”

Nivellia turned back to the statement and kept reading.

The advertising fee they received from Philia Terre was ten million Uba.

“Hmm, so then…”

In the final section, the total profit listed was ninety million Uba.

“Ninety million Uba!”

Nivellia stared at the number, unable to close her mouth.

“That’s so much…”

I really made that much money at once?

Her hands started to shake with excitement. It was much more than the fifty million Uba she had received for rescuing Azel last spring.

But then…

“Oh, wait, that’s not the final amount.”

Celletina pointed to a line near the bottom of the report labeled “Final Settlement.”

“This is how much you’ll actually receive, Nini.”

The amount written there was five million Uba.

Nivellia stared at it for a long moment, then looked up at Celletina with wide, confused eyes.

“This? This is it?”

“This is it.”

“…This is really it?”

Nivellia slowly began to deny reality.

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