Pricing
Then Yumia asked a question.
“Thank you very much. Then I’ll gladly use them. But may I ask just one thing?”
“What is it?”
“There are… three of these, right? What’s the difference between them?”
In this world, skincare consisted of using just a single cosmetic product.
So having three separate products, lotion, serum, and emulsion, felt strange to her.
“Oops… I almost forgot to explain that part! If you’re going to use these skincare products properly, I really should explain them first.”
After saying that, Maryne continued.
“Though… if I explain everything properly, it’ll take quite a while, so I’ll keep it simple.”
“Yes.”
“Lotion is moisture.”
“Hmm.”
“Serum is nourishment.”
“Ohh.”
“Emulsion is oil.”
Maryne explained while Yumia nodded along.
Asha silently listened, committing the information to memory.
Then Maryne summarized it all.
“In other words, the role of these three cosmetics is to lock moisture and nourishment in with oil.”
The lotion gave the skin moisture…
The serum gave the skin nourishment…
And the emulsion coated the skin’s surface with oil. By covering the skin with oil, it trapped the moisture and nutrients inside.
That was why the lotion, serum, and emulsion came as a set, and why they only showed their true value when all three were used together.
“I see… so each one has its own role and order!”
“Skincare is surprisingly deep. This is really educational.”
Even Asha sounded impressed.
“Well then, Miss Yumia, Miss Asha! I’ll be looking forward to hearing your thoughts in three days!”
Maryne beamed brightly.
---
Three days later.
Noon. Clear skies.
The three gathered once again at the Maryne Company office.
The first to speak was Asha.
“Lady Maryne! This stuff is incredible! My skin… my skin feels completely different!”
Asha excitedly patted her own cheeks as she spoke.
Then she continued.
“It’s so soft and bouncy! My skin feels like a completely different person’s compared to three days ago! Please let me keep using this!”
Next, Yumia spoke.
“M-Me too…! When I looked in the mirror after waking up this morning, my skin was all glossy and smooth, and it shocked me… Umm, I seriously can’t live without this anymore…”
Both of their skin textures had clearly changed.
Their skin had become soft and supple.
(I think it’s safe to say the effectiveness of my skincare cosmetics has now been proven.)
Maryne smiled in satisfaction.
“By the way, how much do you intend to sell these for?”
Yumia asked.
Asha leaned forward too.
Maryne smiled and answered.
“The lotion will be sold for 200,000 dirin, the serum for 220,000 dirin, and the emulsion for 190,000 dirin.”
“…………”
“…………”
Asha and Yumia’s faces instantly stiffened.
Yumia spoke in a strained voice.
“T-Two hundred thousand…!?”
Asha added,
“If you buy the full set, that’s 610,000 dirin…”
Asha and Yumia had both grown up in relatively well-off merchant families…
But they weren’t daughters of great merchants, so their sensibilities were still fairly close to commoners.
From that perspective, 610,000 was not an amount of money you spent on cosmetics.
Yumia timidly spoke up.
“Th-That’s expensive, isn’t it…? Ordinary people could never afford that…”
Asha nodded too.
“I think so as well. I do think these cosmetics are amazing, but at this price…”
Seeing their reactions, Maryne nodded.
“Indeed. To begin with, these products are not meant for ordinary people. They are high-priced goods targeted toward upper-class ladies.”
The population of this country was around fourteen million.
Of those, the upper class made up the top 0.05%, which meant roughly seven thousand people.
For example…
Female nobles, or the wives and daughters of male nobles.
Female great merchants, female knights, female court magicians.
… And many others.
There were all kinds of upper-class women.
Then Asha muttered in understanding.
“I see. In that case, the pricing makes sense.”
“I-It does!?”
Yumia cried out in surprise.
Asha nodded and explained to her.
“For luxury cosmetics aimed at wealthy customers, around 100,000 is the normal range. Around 200,000 each is on the expensive side, but for products this high in quality, I think the pricing is reasonable.”
“I-I see…”
Yumia looked completely overwhelmed after learning the pricing standards of the upper class for the first time.
“I place great importance on quality. Raising prices for no reason would be dishonest to the customers. I have no intention of conducting anything but fair business.”
If it wasn’t a business she personally found acceptable, she had no intention of doing it no matter how profitable it might be.
And if she set the price at 200,000, then she would stubbornly create a product worthy of that price no matter what.
That was Maryne’s creed.
“And so, we’re going to make an absolute fortune with these cosmetics! Ohohohohoho!!”
Her loud laughter echoed throughout the company office.
What do you think about this chapter?
