Volume 2, Chapter 8 – The Concept of Distilled Liquor

Accepting the coachman’s kindness, Yisi put down the carriage curtain, and the noise from outside immediately softened.

Across from her, Camilla glanced at the sky through the small window on the side of the carriage—after a day of travel, the sun had already dipped to the west and would sink below the horizon in just a few hours.

“Onee-sama, should we find an inn to stay at for today? Choosing a location for a tavern isn’t something that can be done in a day or two. If we want to run it successfully, we’ll need to find someone well-informed to ask about available properties first.”

“No need for all that trouble. I plan to build the tavern here,” Yisi shook her head, adding before Camilla could speak, “Running a tavern is just to cover our living expenses. My real goal is to collect blood. If we pick a location that’s too good and attracts too many customers, it’ll draw unwanted attention and make blood collection harder.”

“What about setting up in a sparsely populated area where the first-class citizens live? I remember you saying that the blood of healthy people tastes better than those who’ve been starving for a long time. The people here don’t seem very lively.”

As she spoke, Camilla glanced out the window. Perhaps driven to the brink of starvation, a demi-human collapsed on the street just then. The residents walking along either side of the road simply stepped around the fallen figure as if it were an everyday occurrence, their expressions unchanging.

Camilla reacted the same way—such scenes were common in her time with the vampire clan.

To prevent Yisi from noticing the collapsed figure, Camilla subtly lowered the curtain and lit the magic lamp hanging from the carriage ceiling.

Rеαd οn КаtRеаԁіnɡCаfе

Thanks to Camilla’s cover, Yisi didn’t notice the scene outside. She lazily leaned back against the carriage wall and yawned.

“That’s true, but what I’m considering is the temptation relative to the same amount of gold. We only have 500 gold coins from Refina. After deducting the cost of buying the property, we’ll have very little left. Once we account for hiring staff and purchasing supplies, there’ll be almost no gold left to spare. And compared to wealthy families who don’t worry about food and shelter, those barely surviving on the edge of starvation are more likely to trade with us.”

“Take offering a silver coin, for example. If I say, ‘Give me a cup of blood in exchange for a silver coin,’ the former group would hesitate for a long time, might refuse outright, and could even report me to the authorities.”

“But the latter would agree immediately, then use that precious silver coin to solve their immediate needs. Moreover, since all it takes is a cup of blood—something they don’t value—to earn a silver coin, which is otherwise hard to come by, they wouldn’t report me. Instead, they’d actively keep my secret and might even protect me, the person who gave them a lifeline, in critical moments.”

“More importantly, for these demi-humans—no, that term is too discriminatory. It’s better to call them non-human species.”

“For these non-human species, they’re already rejected by humans and classified as lower-class citizens. If I offer them help now, they’ll naturally side with me. When someone is in dire straits and receives aid, even if the helper has a terrible reputation or is hideously ugly, they’ll seem like an angel in the eyes of the rescued.”

“That’s the angle I’m considering.”

After speaking at length, Yisi felt her throat dry. She took out a water flask from her storage—certainly not the one used to hold the ice wolf’s blood yesterday—and gulped down a few mouthfuls.

Reαd on KаtRеαⅾіnɡCаfe

“But what about the taste? And I don’t think demi-humans—non-human species—would have the leisure to drink. For them, survival is already a struggle.”

“Hmm, taste is indeed a problem, but out of ten people, there’s bound to be at least one who satisfies me. As for how to attract them to drink, I have my ideas—like improving the types of alcohol or offering more dishes.”

What Yisi didn’t say was that she wanted to replace this world’s fermented liquor with the distilled liquor of later generations. Back in the Niru parish, she’d noticed that all the alcohol here was fermented, with an alcohol content of only around 10-20%.

Compared to traditional fermented liquor, distilled liquor has a higher alcohol content and gets people drunk more easily. For some, strong liquor is a throat-burning poison, but for others who naturally crave alcohol, it’s the most delicious drink in the world.

Moreover, considering the living conditions of the non-human species nearby, she didn’t need to distill exceptionally fine liquor—just increase the alcohol content to make it more intoxicating.

Alcohol numbs the nerves and helps people forget their troubles, even if only temporarily. It offers a moment of solace to those stuck in the mud of life. The harder life is, the more likely people are to develop drinking habits. Once addicted, they can’t escape alcohol’s allure.

And since she alone knew the process of making distilled liquor, its scarcity would only enhance its appeal. If even one person fell in love with it, it wouldn’t be long before even men—who weren’t allowed in the tavern—would beg their wives or even strangers to buy it for them.

Camilla wasn’t ready to give up.

Rеаd оn КаtRеadinɡСаfе

“But how does Onee-sama plan to approach them? Though I wouldn’t suggest something as foolish as buying a group of slaves outright, I also can’t allow you to take risks.”

“Hmm…” Yisi hadn’t considered this question. She subconsciously bit her right thumb, frowning slightly. “Using my current identity is too dangerous—it’d be easy to expose myself. If Refina and the others were here, I could ask them to act as intermediaries…”

“Onee-sama means you’d still stay in the open, while someone else disguises themselves and handles nighttime transactions?”

“Exactly.”

“Then let me—”

“No, Camilla, you’ll have to stay in the open with me. Ah!” At this point, Yisi suddenly thought of a solution. “I can just revert to my vampire form, can’t I? If I wear a hood and mask but deliberately reveal my vampire wings, no one would connect it to me.”

Just as Yisi finished speaking, the carriage slowly came to a stop.

The merchant Nix’s voice came from outside.

Rеαⅾ on КаtRеaԁiոgСafе

“Miss Yisi, are you available now?”

“Yes, what is it?”

“You mentioned earlier that you wanted to buy a property in Celtic City to run a tavern. There happens to be a well-informed person nearby. Though it’s getting dark and we’d have to wait until tomorrow to discuss it—”

“No need to wait. I’ll go now.”

Blinking at Camilla across from her, Yisi couldn’t help but smile. With Camilla’s cleaning magic and the furniture stored in her inventory, they might even spend tonight in their very own new home.

Translator Note

Helloo Guyssss! If you’re enjoying the story, please take a moment to drop a rating on NovelUpdates ⭐

(its just one tap the star at the review panel, no need to write review if you dont want to)

It only takes a few seconds, but it helps a LOT with visibility

Your support really makes a difference <3

Thanks in advance for helping out!!