Chapter 213: Consultation with Serge-san and a Flash of Insight (3/4)
“What a wonderful product! This luster, this texture. When I look at it closely, I can see that it’s a little different from silk, but it looks really similar, doesn’t it? If we wove something with this, I’m sure a beautiful cloth would be produced. Moreover, not only is the quality great, procuring it is also easy.” [Serge]
Normal silk relied on silkworm cocoons, so only a limited amount could be produced at a given time. They couldn’t be mass produced.
But the Slime Rayon could be produced as long as the Fiber Slime was given enough ingredients.
Moreover, the production rate could be further bolstered once the fiber slime started multiplying.
As for the ingredients, as I’ve said earlier, I could produce as much as necessary as long as I have enough fertilizers.
“Until now the silk products could only be marketed toward nobles as luxury products. But by using this Slime Rayon as a ‘substitute’ for silk, it will finally be possible to market those products even toward commoners, making it possible to distinguish oneself.” [Serge]
“Entering an already established competitive market is really hard, after all.” [Ryouma]
“Indeed. Moreover, in the end this Silk Rayon is no more than a ‘substitute’. So long as silk is recognized as the ‘real thing’, and the noble customers look for that real thing instead, then the merchants and manufacturers dealing with silk won’t become hostile. Some degree of mass production will be needed to target the commoner market, but that too seems to be but a matter of time. Could I keep this spool of Slime Rayon?” [Serge]
“Of course, as long as you examine it.” [Ryouma]
“Alright then. I’ll use it as reference for later.” [Serge]
Looks like the Slime Rayon will turn into a big thing.
But I still have one more thing to show Serge-san, the last product I brought.
“Serge-san.” [Ryouma]
“So you’ve even brought ‘something’ that I must prepare myself for, I see.” [Serge]
“Yes. This too is a product brought about through the evolution of slimes, and I myself was shocked by it. Of the things I’ve showed you so far, this one is the most valuable.” [Ryouma]
“It is rare to see you praise something so much, Ryouma-sama, fret not, I’ve prepared myself. Do your worst.” [Serge]
Serge-san made a serious expression just like that time when I spoke about the blood serum of the bloody slime.
At that, I brought him the greatest boon of my recent trip, a small box with the pearl of the pearl slime.
In the next moment…
“Ahh…” [Serge]
“Serge-san!?” [Ryouma]
Serge-san collapsed limply into the back of his chair as if he’d just suffered anemia.
He extended his hand and said that he was fine, but… He seemed to be muttering something.
Serge-san seemed to be calculating something, and it took a few minutes before he finally returned to normal.
“Excuse me.” [Serge]
“It’s alright, I was shocked myself, after all.” [Ryouma]
“Right. It gave me a shock, quite a shock indeed.” [Serge]
Serge-san nodded as though to say being shocked was a given.
“This is clearly pearl. Just you having one of these would have been enough to surprise me, but you said you could make this?” [Serge]
“Precisely. Recently, a slime that evolved came to possess the body of a pearl as well as the skill to make pearls. Of course, you’re the first one I’m talking to about this as I know the importance of discretion in such matters.” [Ryouma]
“That’s good to hear, really.” [Serge]
“By the way, how much is the market price for pearls? All I know is that they’re really expensive since you can’t get them from this country.” [Ryouma]
“You’d need at least a small platinum coin to acquire one of these.” [Serge]
A small platinum coin… If I recall correctly, that should be an unbelievably large sum of money that’s about a million suits worth.
“Is it that expensive?” [Ryouma]
“There’s plenty of reason why it’s so expensive.
For starters, you need to search the seas to acquire shells, but there are monsters there too, so it’s really dangerous. And then of the shells gathered, only one out of ten thousand would have a pearl in them. What’s more is that there’s no end to the differences in color and shape of the pearls. The ones that could pass for jewels are even rarer, making their price go up even more… But of course, purchasing them from the country where they are procured would make the price much lower.
But since you can’t get the pearls from here locally, merchants who want to sell them have to go to other countries to stock up and then go back here to sell them. By then the price jumps up even more due to all sorts of fees being added from taxes, transport, guards… etc. Naturally, they can’t sell them at their original price without also charging for their expenses in acquiring them; otherwise, they’ll incur a loss.
The annual yields of the fishery also affect the market price, so if anything, consider the small platinum coin as the lowest possible price.” [Serge]
S-Serge-san sure is talkative today. There’s also a strange pressure about him.
I suppose that just goes to show how profitable and precious this topic is.