I’m Quitting Everything and Selling Cola

Chapter 120

Chapter 120. You're Perceptive… (2)

The second floor of the factory, a rest area set aside for the workers.

"Are you quite sure about coffee at this hour?"

"For the sake of my body's homeostasis, I require caffeine intake……."

Serena accepted the cup of coffee Jurgen had poured her.

She was the same Serena who had levelled the sharp accusation of 'you're deceiving innocent Penelope—what are you plotting?!' but…… Soothed by Jurgen's composed manner, she seemed to have settled somewhat.

"……Slurp……."

Though she was still watching him through narrowed, suspicious eyes as she sipped her coffee, it must be said.

Now that his identity as Hanbin had been uncovered, getting things sorted was a necessity.

"To put it plainly, the reason I came to the North was for the Culinary Revolution. Nothing more, and nothing less."

If he simply corrected Serena's misunderstanding, not much would need to change. Serena's suspicion of Jurgen as 'an exceptionally capable Technical Noble' would merely be recalibrated to 'Hanbin'—was that not all?

And so he explained, from first to last, with complete candour.

How he had set off for Nortaris, worn down by relentless work, wishing to spark a Culinary Revolution.

How, given his politically sensitive position, he had concealed his identity. And so on.

One by one, without omission, as he laid out the journey until now, he found that two hours had passed before he knew it. Once the broad outline of the explanation was complete.

"Well…… if what Hanbin is saying is a lie…… then you'd be the greatest liar in the world……."

Serena appeared to have had a fair portion of her suspicion lifted as well.

Perhaps it was because every 'does this even make sense?' moment in the story was answered with the catch-all reply of 'because it's Hanbin'? In fact, the pieces that had not quite fit together were now slotting into place with satisfying clarity for Serena.

"Then, if you have questions, ask them one by one."

"In that case…… Branch Manager Belheim and Baron Keystone don't know either, do they?"

"Belheim made a similar mistaken assumption to you, but he does not know."

"I see……."

"So there are no more misunderstandings between us now?"

Serena fell silent.

The truth was, there was no clear-cut evidence to speak of. But she had the measure of Jurgen's character from all the time she had spent watching him. And she had now heard such detailed particulars of his circumstances.

The misunderstanding that he was simply using Penelope had dissolved. If anything, he was concealing his identity out of concern that Penelope might become entangled in a political fight.

"Yes, I trust you completely now. And the truth is…… Brigitte also knows. W, will this be a problem?"

"Nothing to be concerned about. Just keep a close watch on loose lips."

"Yes, sir……!"

Serena resolved to trust Jurgen.

Now that she thought about it, she found herself seeing him fresh. She had always thought she was working alongside a remarkable person, but……

To think it was none other than Hanbin—not even in her wildest dreams.

Now that room had opened up in her heart and she was perceiving reality with clear eyes once more, there was one thing she suddenly realised.

'Tell me if there is anything in particular you want.'

He was not a man who said things he did not mean. He had handed Serena what amounted to a golden ticket.

Perhaps she could even have asked to be placed in the position of chief engineer at Caliburn—her most beloved company in all the world—and he might have granted it! Perhaps she could have asked to become a Baroness and he would have granted that too!

And yet somehow the atmosphere had drifted into something warm and heartfelt, and it seemed the moment was simply going to pass her by.

Had she just let an enormous opportunity slip through her fingers?

Then again, she had just been playing the role of 'the splendid noblewoman Viscountess Serena, devoted to her friend,' and to abruptly pivot to 'Serena making an improper solicitation through personal connections'……

Was actually quite a lot more mortifying than she had anticipated.

But she couldn't let it go like this either……

"U, um…… most esteemed Hanbin……."

Jurgen flinched at Serena, who was squirming with a heavily nasal voice.

"What's gotten into you all of a sudden? Just be as you normally are."

"Oh, right, of course. It's a secret after all, isn't it. But…… well, there's a thing, you know? If you ever restore your public position later…… I, I, I……."

Serena hesitated right up to the very last moment. The Serena who wanted to cut a dashing figure and leave only a fine impression, and the Serena who was doggedly determined to rise in the world, collided head-on and made a grinding noise.

"……Could you perhaps find me a good position?"

At the solicitation Serena had finally managed to squeeze out, Jurgen burst out laughing.

***

After Cecily had recovered a measure of stability. He set out to find Saint Stella in order to convey his gratitude.

"The Saint is not staying within our diocese."

"Your Grace, this is the woman who saved the life of my one and only granddaughter. It is not befitting of a man to sit still and do nothing in such a circumstance. Might you privately let me know where she is residing?"

"I extend my deepest respect to Sir Hector's unwavering faith. However, the Saint's visit to the North was made for personal reasons rather than an official itinerary, so on our end as well……."

Yet the Saint he had assumed would be staying at the Nortaris chapel was not to be found there.

With no other leads to go on. He obtained the information with some difficulty.

For reasons unknown, there was a rumour that Saint Stella came and went to a factory district on a regular basis.

"Why would the Saint be here……?"

Following the directions he had asked for, he arrived at a factory of considerable scale.

There were no employees at work, but the door was open, and so Hector stepped inside, blinking.

Once inside, Hector could not trust his own eyes.

"What in the world……."

A floor wiped clean without a single speck of dust, so clean one could see one's own reflection. A level of hygiene so immaculate it beggared belief.

And that was not all. The precision of the machines, set out in neat rows, struck even Hector—a complete outsider to the industry—as remarkable.

Just what on earth did they make here to warrant facilities such as these?

As Hector stood with his mouth hanging open in astonishment.

Clump clump

A woman appeared, dressed in a white ceremonial robe. She was some distance away, but there was no possibility of mistaken identity. That sanctity, that compassionate air—this was unmistakably Saint Stella.

"Hector Rosemore presents himself before God's representative."

Hector strode forward and dropped to his knees without a moment's hesitation. A person of Hector's station and standing had no need to show such deference even before a Saint, yet he did so willingly.

It was the genuine heart of a devout believer who had received an immeasurable act of grace.

Stella, who appeared briefly taken aback, answered in a gentle tone.

"Please rise. Sir Hector, has your granddaughter recovered her health?"

"Yes, indeed she has. Indeed she has. Thanks to the Saint's grace, she came safely through the crisis."

"It is the guidance of God. I merely walked the path He showed."

Stella took the hand of the tearful Hector, visibly moved, and helped him to his feet.

"I wish dearly to repay you."

"The one you must repay is not me."

"No. Whether as a donation or contribution, please allow me to return this grace. If nothing else, I would like to offer you even a single meal."

At Hector's earnest beseeching, Stella gave a somewhat uncomfortable smile.

"If you insist, very well. However, I have duties I must attend to. This visit to the North was made for that very purpose."

Duties she must attend to? Come to think of it, he had heard that Stella's visit to the North was for personal reasons.

"If it is something I can assist with, I will do so."

As he said this, an unfamiliar man came into Hector's view. No—not unfamiliar. It was a face he had seen once before.

"Hmm? What brings Sir Hector here?"

What was the name……? He could not recall.

But he was the commoner man who had stood at Penelope's side when she had visited the family home. Hector had taken him for a prospective bridegroom Penelope had brought along, and had flown into a temper upon being told he was in fact a commoner business partner.

That he had emerged from within this factory meant……

"Could it be…… this factory, Y&P Trading Company's……?"

"Indeed it is. The Cola Factory."

"The reason the Saint has been staying in the North……."

"Yes, I had been staying here for the Consecration Ritual for Cola."

Stella, standing quietly to one side, gave a nod.

Hector felt a shock as though struck by lightning and his jaw fell open.

"Though it is a place that produces worldly goods, is it not one in which a benevolent will to bring people joy resides? It is a place more than worthy of being Consecrated."

Stella, who seemed to have something of a guilty conscience, hastily added these words, but they did not reach Hector's ears.

There had been a reason Stella happened to be passing nearby at the very moment Cecily collapsed.

Hector let out a low, heavy sigh.

"My goodness……."

The ways of the world could be so capricious at times. The grand-niece whom Hector had held down in the name of the family, and the seeds she had sown. Had saved Cecily's life.

Not Hector's convictions.

"……."

Perhaps it was something that could be dismissed as simple coincidence. Yet within Hector's heart, a great resonance stirred that he could not look away from.

The name of that resonance was…… Shame at his own conduct—the way he had turned his eyes from someone's pain beneath the banner of acting for the family.

Having gathered his composure, Hector approached Jurgen.

"You—what is your name."

"Jurgen."

"You are, along with Penelope, the joint representative of Y&P."

"That is so."

Hector slowly closed his eyes, then bowed at the waist. Very deeply—almost to a right angle.

"Thank you. I owe a great debt to you as well."

"……?"

"I was imprisoned by a narrow view and was unable to make the right judgement. It was all my fault."

For Jurgen, this was something whose beginning and end he could not grasp. He had not yet heard a word from either Penelope or Stella. He could not understand why Hector was here, nor why the man who had poured such contemptuous words upon Penelope had so suddenly changed his manner.

"I will pay a proper visit to Penelope before long. As for Y&P Trading Company…… do not worry greatly."

His repeated words of gratitude delivered, Hector departed.

"Did you have a hand in any of this?"

Jurgen received the full account from Stella, and only then did he understand how the situation had come about.

"Oho."

Providence. There was no other way to describe what was an extraordinary stroke of fortune.

And around that same time. Penelope, who had recently been keeping largely to herself, sat at her desk composing a letter with quiet composure.

Letters to be sent to Jurgen, Serena, and Brigitte.

Having received Hector's offer and turned it over at length, Penelope had reached a conclusion.

Let us settle the business, as Great-Uncle says. Penelope stepping back here is the path that serves everyone who remains. That was her conclusion.

"……Right, it's done."

Penelope neatly folded the letter and placed it in an envelope, then looked around her.

The office, converted from the second floor of a run-down warehouse. Memories of the precious time spent in this place with her dear colleagues came drifting back, one after another.

The memory of stretching out on the sofa and falling asleep after working through the night. The memory of making a great commotion together when Serena spilled Cola on the carpet. The memory of installing the Wood-burning Stove together with Jurgen.

It had all been so recent, yet it already felt like a memory from some far and distant past.

Days that Penelope had never even dared to dream of. Beautiful days they had been.

"……I wanted to go on a trip together one last time."

Penelope smiled, with a touch of bittersweet.

There was resentment, and there was reluctance, and regret left behind.

But between stubbornly digging her heels in and plunging all her precious colleagues into danger. And accepting Hector's ultimatum and envisioning a bright future for Y&P Trading Company.

Which was the wiser decision—there was nothing to deliberate.

A beautiful parting, as it were.

"Right then, shall I go?"

Having confirmed the stake transfer documents to hand to the lawyer and gathered her travelling bag, Penelope. Turned back one last time before closing the door.

"Farewell. Everyone."

In Y&P Trading Company's building, with the door now closed, only a quiet silence hung in the air.