Herald of Steel-Chapter 207 Gelene’s Challenges (Mass Release)
Alexander was an ass man, though he loved boobs as much as the next man, finding the mammary globules rising out of the chest and their way of bouncing and jiggling very sexy.
But he had always felt the way a woman would swing her butt was much more hypnotic and much more erotic than boobs.
And while he very much enjoyed kneading and sucking breasts of all shapes and sizes, for him, the butt offered all those and something more, a hole to mate with its owner.
And it would be a rough, raw, brutal, animalistically mating that was kinky and somewhat immoral, something that seemed absent with breasts according to Alexander.
That too was one of the many reasons for Alexander to fall in love with Cambyses, who had a pear-shaped body which he found very attractive.
And thus, as a connoisseur of beautiful, sexy lingerie, Alexander wanted to see Cambyses and by extension, all of his harem girls in panties of all colors and shapes, decorating their creamy butts and also their breasts with such sexy fabric.
Alexander's passionate and articulate lecture on the virtue of a simple triangular loincloth surprised the girls for a moment, especially his 'Viva panties' declaration.
"Phhfff, hahaha, oh Alex..hahaha," Cambyses was the first to break, as she couldn't hold back her laughter at Alexander's fetish.
"So is that what you are into, hahaha?" She then asked while rubbing tears from the corner of her eyes.
"Hehe, master is a man of great taste," Gelene too tittered.
"Now that I think about it Master took my rear before my front, hehehe," Ophenia too giggle with a sly smile.
The only one left was Mean, who due to her petite size had little assets and just pouted and sulked.
"Hmmph, we will see who's laughing when you actually put on the clothes," Alexander swore to the girls with a 'wait and see' look which caused even more strings of laughter.
After the girls had finally finished finding Alexander's particular preferences risible, and the room calmed down, Alexander again addressed Gelene, "Who do you think we should target these clothes towards?"
"Hmmm," Hearing the question, Gelene put her hand on her chin and ruminated with a small frown.
Because, unlike modern times, where clothes were quite cheap, clothes of this time were expensive.
For context, in the US, one could buy a decent T-shirt for fifteen (15) dollars, something that would cost just half an hour of someone's minimum wage.
But here, a simple tunic would cost hundred and twenty to hundred and thirty ropals!
Almost an entire month's pay!
Even just the raw fabric to make the tunic, without any stitches or tailoring would cost half as much.
When Alexander had first seen the prices he had a minor heart attack and it was only then he could really relate to his knowledge that people long ago would have one or two good clothes, and they would repeatedly mend clothes rather than buy new ones.
And this was what Gelene considering, which people would buy this fancy 'dress'.
Farmers? Peasants? Day laborers?
'No, too poor,' She estimated that just buying and tailoring costs of the two pieces would be sixty to seventy ropals.
And then there was the dyeing, transportation, labor, and rent.
Plus taxes.
"Ninety to one hundred," Gelene subconsciously muttered loud the price of the twin clothes.
Then turning to Alexander, Gelene replied, "We will target primarily nobles and high-level government employees. Also, rich merchants and affluent townsfolk like well-to-do artisans."
"Umm," Alexander nodded, then asked, "And?"
"And?..." Gelene looked in askance, trying to think which category she had missed.
"Priestesses and whores!" The answer came from an unlikely but also reasonable source, Ophenia, the girl having spent her time with many girls to were both and herself too almost becoming one.
Alexander turned to give Ophenia a slight smile, and said with a nod, "Yes, Tayin is correct. The temple and by extension the priestess' have a lot of money and will certainly want these fashion accessories. And the brothels are self-explanatory."
'Fuck…I can't believe I forgot about the brothels,' Gelene cursed herself.
Her innate desire to forget her past had subconsciously made her forget about the red-light district's existence.
Alexander started again, addressing Gelene, "Since we will be targeting the upper echelons of Adhania, the rich and the uber-rich, the product must be equally worthy."
"The quality of the clothes is a must, but also have to be of beautiful design. The bras should be very sexy to look at, drawing one's eyes to the breasts and the panties should hug the hips, attenuating the curves. And all this must happen without compromising on comfort." Alexander gave Gelene a list of criteria that the underwear must qualify for.
"And that's why I asked you at the very beginning if you knew how to design clothes. Because you will need to design new and sexy lingerie regularly to attract these customers repeatedly." Alexander finished.
'*Sigh*, so detailed and far-sighted,'' The four girls began to understand that Alexander's success was no fluke.
Behind every action laid many hours of rumination.
"I will try my utmost. Please guide me, master," Gelene had a steely, determined look as she said such.
"Haha, sure," Alexander smiled, adding, "I will give you twenty thousand roplas and two months to test, advertise and then make the final product. So your shop opening deadline is the day after New Year's day."
"Thank you, master," Gelene stood up and gave a full bow just like a commoner would give to a noble, truly grateful for giving her the opportunity.
Done with the product, Gesturing to get up, Alexander then asked the ebony beauty, "So, how much of the business do you want?"
'How much?' Gelene wondered.
Then she spoke with a smile, "I'm happy with whatever master gives me."
"Gelene, don't give me that diplomatic crap. Speak a number that you want!" Alexander firmly instructed.
"That…" Gelene's eyes darted around as she hesitated to say the number in her mind.
'Should I ask for so much? What if he takes everything back?' Gelene feared.
But then inwardly she convinced herself, "No, no, this is a negotiation. It is normal to ask for more and then reach an appropriate amount by bargaining.'
Greed having won the struggle, Gelene, with anticipation and a trace of fear in her voice, said shakily, "That….then… five percent?"
The statement sounded more like a question than a demand.
'You money-grabbing ungrateful whore' Cambyses's heart burned with rage at the huge demand, Gelene's image in her head changing from a human to a greedy shark.
According to her reasoning, it was Alexander who was doing everything, giving her a brand new, very lucrative invention, the start-up capital, the land, the shop, and the labor.
What was Gelene giving unique to Alexander?
Nothing.
She was just an ordinary woman that Alexander happened to find near hand.
'One percentage. No, half a percent. Alex should give her half a percent,' Cambyses clenched her fist as she cheered for Alexander in her heart.
"Five percent?" Alexander repeated, raising an eyebrow and looking at Gelene in askance.
"..." Gelene fought her instinct to look away from Alexander's penetrative gaze and instead gazed directly into his azure eyes, and answered Alexander with a nod.
The stand-off lasted for what seemed like an eternity to Gelene, though it was only for a few seconds.
And Alexander was the first to break it off and then smiled at Gelene, "Five percent is too small. I will give you fifty percent!"
"What!" This was shouted by Cambyses, who was outraged at Alexander's offer.
But before she could get off on a tirade, Alexander sent her a scary glare that made the girl shut up and obediently sit.
'It is my decision and you are not to interfere,' The blazing eyes told Cambyses. 𝐟𝘳𝑒𝗲𝘸e𝒃𝘯𝒐𝐯e𝚕.c𝒐𝒎
"That…master, fifty is too much. I…I'm happy with five," Gelene stammered, not knowing what Alexander's game was.
He was being uncharacteristically generous to her.
"You will get fifty percent of the profits because I said so." Alexander firmly asserted.
And added, "What's more if you make me a million roplas in profit I will set you free. If you make me a further ten million roplas I will make you a shordar (Baroness). And if you make me a further hundred million, I will make you a talukder (viscount) and sell the business to you."
Alexander's terms were so attractive that they left not just Gelene but the other three as well with gaping mouths.
Alexander let the girls slowly work the terms he offered, who found the eleven million ropal price for freedom and nobility a steal.
Especially Gelene, who had more business experience than the others and knew the kind of profit boundaries she could run serving nobles.
A hundred percent to even a thousand percent was not impossible, and so she conservatively estimated that in twenty years she could go from a slave to being part of Adhania's top one percent.
A preposterous thought even a few minutes ago.
