Chapter 87: Officially Distributed!
The first day of July arrived beneath clear blue skies.
Even before sunrise, the loading yard of Helmarte Soap Works was already busy. Wagons stood in neat rows outside the warehouses while workers carried wooden crates stamped with an entirely new seal.
**Helmarte Personal Care.**
The name had only existed on paper a few weeks ago.
Now thousands of bottles, jars, and wax-wrapped sticks were being loaded onto carts bound for every major city in the kingdom.
Ernest stood near the warehouse entrance with his hands behind his back. Beside him, Hollen was checking manifests while occasionally glancing toward the growing piles of products.
Shampoo.
Conditioner.
Toothpaste.
Deodorant.
Even after seeing the products every day for the past month, the older man still found it surreal.
Three years ago they had celebrated selling a few hundred bars of soap.
Today they were launching four entirely new industries simultaneously.
"You look nervous," Ernest said.
Hollen didn’t deny it.
"I am nervous."
"You weren’t this nervous when we built a fifty-horsepower steam engine."
"The steam engine couldn’t sit on a shelf and refuse to sell."
Ernest laughed.
That earned him a glare.
"I’m serious. What if nobody buys these?"
"They’ll buy them."
"You sound very confident."
"I am."
The forge owner sighed.
"That’s exactly what worries me."
A clerk suddenly approached carrying a ledger.
"The first demonstrations are ready, Masters."
Ernest nodded.
"Good."
Throughout Helmarte, Northport, Ravenford, and Eastgate, dozens of bathhouses and barber shops had agreed to participate in the launch. They had been supplied with free samples and instructed on how to use the products.
The strategy was simple.
People trusted their own experiences more than advertisements.
If they tried the products once, many would return.
At least, that was Ernest’s theory.
He hoped he was right.
---
By midmorning, the largest bathhouse in Helmarte had become crowded.
Curious citizens filled the entrance.
Some had come because of the advertisements.
Others because they had heard rumors.
Many simply wanted to see what Helmarte Soap Works had invented this time.
The owner of the bathhouse, a stout man named Bernard, stood beside a long table displaying the new products.
A large sign had been erected behind him.
**Try the New Helmarte Personal Care Products Today!**
The crowd stared at the table.
One man pointed toward the shampoo.
"That’s soap?"
"No," Bernard replied.
"It’s called shampoo."
"What does it do?"
"It cleans your hair."
The man frowned.
"Soap already does that."
Several others nodded.
That seemed reasonable.
Bernard smiled.
"That’s exactly what I thought."
He picked up one of the ceramic bottles.
"Then I tried it."
"And?"
The bathhouse owner ran a hand through his hair.
"It feels wonderful."
Several people blinked.
That was not the answer they expected.
A woman stepped forward.
"What about that one?"
She pointed toward the toothpaste.
Bernard lifted a clay jar.
"This cleans your teeth."
The woman looked horrified.
"You put paste inside your mouth?"
Laughter spread through the crowd.
The bathhouse owner chuckled.
"I thought the same thing."
He lowered his voice conspiratorially.
"But my breath smelled better afterward."
That immediately attracted attention.
People didn’t often discuss bad breath.
That didn’t mean they didn’t care about it.
More and more citizens began moving closer.
Curiosity slowly replaced skepticism.
A few minutes later, the first volunteers stepped forward.
A young man agreed to try the shampoo.
Another agreed to use toothpaste.
A woman volunteered to test conditioner.
By noon, the entire bathhouse had become a spectacle.
The young man emerged first.
His hair was still damp.
He looked confused.
Very confused.
He kept touching his head.
Again.
And again.
Finally, someone asked.
"Well?"
The young man blinked.
"It feels... soft."
The crowd laughed.
He touched it again.
"No, seriously."
Another touch.
"It doesn’t feel like soap."
A woman approached and touched his hair.
Her eyes widened.
"It really is soft."
Another person tried.
Then another.
The situation quickly became ridiculous.
Within moments, half a dozen strangers were touching the man’s head.
He didn’t even seem to mind.
Because he was still touching it himself.
The crowd’s mood changed immediately.
People became interested.
Genuinely interested.
Another volunteer emerged from the bathhouse.
This one had used toothpaste.
He looked equally confused.
A friend approached him.
"How is it?"
The man frowned.
"My mouth feels strange."
"Bad?"
"No."
Another pause.
"Clean."
He frowned again.
"I’ve never noticed my mouth before."
That answer made the crowd laugh.
But several people moved closer to the table.
Then more.
Then even more.
The first sales happened only minutes later.
A woman bought shampoo.
Another purchased toothpaste.
A merchant bought both.
A young couple purchased an entire set.
By the middle of the afternoon, the table had lost nearly half its inventory.
Bernard stared at the rapidly shrinking supply.
Then he looked toward the assistant beside him.
"We may have a problem."
"What?"
"We’re running out."
---
Almost identical scenes unfolded across the kingdom.
In Northport, barbers quickly discovered that shampoo and conditioner made hair noticeably easier to manage. Several immediately purchased entire cases.
One barber reportedly bought twenty bottles after using it on only three customers.
In Ravenford, toothpaste proved unexpectedly popular among merchants and wealthier families. Once people learned that it freshened the breath, curiosity exploded.
In Eastgate, the miners became enthusiastic customers of deodorant.
That surprised everyone.
The product had originally been intended for nobles.
Instead, miners purchased it because they worked long hours in heat and coal dust.
One mining foreman reportedly bought an entire crate.
His explanation was simple.
"If I smell better after work, my wife will complain less."
The merchant selling the products laughed so hard that he nearly dropped his ledger.
---
Back in Helmarte, Ernest and Hollen were reviewing paperwork when a clerk burst through the office door.
"Masters!"
Both looked up.
The young man was out of breath.
"The bathhouses need more inventory!"
Ernest smiled.
"Already?"
"Several have nearly sold out!"
Another clerk appeared.
"The barbers are asking for more shampoo."
Then another.
"Northport sent a message. Merchants want additional shipments."
A fourth arrived moments later.
"Eastgate requests emergency deliveries."
The office became chaotic.
Clerks moved in and out continuously.
Ledgers appeared.
Orders accumulated.
Requests increased.
For nearly ten minutes, nobody had time to sit.
Eventually, the room quieted.
Hollen stared at the stack of papers covering his desk.
Then he looked at Ernest.
Then at the papers again.
"I’ve seen this before."
Ernest smiled.
"So have I."
The forge owner slowly leaned back.
"This is exactly what happened with soap."
He wasn’t wrong.
The confusion.
The skepticism.
The curiosity.
The demonstrations.
And finally...
The sales.
History was repeating itself.
A knock interrupted them again.
The production manager entered carrying the first sales report.
He handed it over.
Both men read it.
Then read it again.
The numbers were absurd.
The first day had exceeded every projection.
Shampoo had become the best-selling product.
Toothpaste followed closely behind.
Conditioner performed surprisingly well.
Even deodorant had sold beyond expectations.
The manager smiled.
"I think people like them."
Hollen looked up.
"I think that’s an understatement."
The older man suddenly began laughing.
It started quietly.
Then became louder.
Finally, he leaned back in his chair.
"We’ve done it again."
Ernest couldn’t help smiling.
Outside the office window, workers were already loading additional crates onto wagons.
The products had been available for less than one day.
And they were already struggling to keep up with demand.
The familiar rhythm of the steam engine drifted through the open window.
Hiss.
Clank.
Hiss.
Clank.
Hollen listened to it for several moments.
Three years ago they had introduced soap and accidentally created an industry.
Today they had introduced four more products and apparently created another.
He looked at Ernest.
The fourteen-year-old was already reviewing production schedules and calculating inventory requirements.
Another expansion.
Another product line.
Another absurd success.
The forge owner shook his head and laughed again.
He no longer understood how the boy’s mind worked.
But after three years, he had finally accepted something.
Whenever Ernest introduced something completely ordinary from his previous world, it had a frightening tendency to become revolutionary in this one.
And judging from the sales reports scattered across the desk...
Helmarte Personal Care was well on its way to becoming the kingdom’s next obsession.
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