CHAPTER 592: HAUNTED BY MARKETING

Well, apparently, he could muster his own version of a sense of urgency with the elders staring at him like that.

If anything, who wouldn’t, when left with no real choice?

At this point in time, Steward Han actually felt like a man holding wealth comparable to that of the four dukedoms.

Although technically, he was only in charge of logistics, while everyone else handled making sense of the elders’ demands to silence the naysayers.

But how?

See, there were several things to consider when selling products in the online store.

One, they would have to be something they could continuously produce, and at a quantity large enough to cater to the masses.

However, in this case, they also had a giant culinary issue. The problem was that most people’s cooking skills were probably on par with Duke Leander’s.

Or worse.

Not that it could get worse than that, but somehow yes.

Although at this rate, maybe the Duke could be rated better because at least he had one dish he could fall back on. For most people, many wouldn’t even have kitchen equipment. Or a kitchen, for that matter.

Therefore, they might have to rely on selling straight-up fruits and ready-to-eat items while slowly introducing the population to the simplest dishes.

An endeavor that Steward Han never thought he would have a say in during his lifetime.

So he called an emergency meeting. One so desperate because, ironically, the elders, who now had physical bodies, felt like ghosts haunting him. Ghosts with far too much enthusiasm about quieting down the netizens.

And what do you know, after locking themselves up inside the kitchen for who knows how many hours, they actually came up with a menu they thought they could make.

Well... provided Cece came through with her share of the work. Which was, well, most of the work.

Because how could they expect to do everything without any form of mechanical automation? While they could probably attempt to cook like Luca, the truth was that most of the kitchen staff’s hands would be faster than their spiritual tendrils. And they couldn’t expect Luca or the elders to stay there when they had better things to do.

And so the staff embarked on their efforts to prove to everyone that their Young Lord’s store was still the best in the land.

Although who would have thought that one unassuming, sleepy blonde would ever be involved in something this grand?

See, when all was said and done and the proud people of House Kyros, along with the overly eager elders, finally managed to churn out their products, everyone realized they were once again faced with issues common to their age.

"How come our products look like this when we all know it’s actually this good?"

"How would anyone think this is appetizing when the photos look like this?!"

"Look at the vegetables, they look depressed! Even worse than us!"

Steward Han stared down at the store materials he had been planning to hand over to Luca. Then he looked up at the elders, who were practically clutching their chests in despair over the unappetizing photos.

But what was he supposed to do? He had never been someone with an artistic eye.

The release was already set for very soon, and yet after grueling hours of preparation, they were faced with a problem as modern as it was infuriating: photos and marketing. Surely the products would still sell even without pictures, right?

However, the elders weren’t having it. Even Elder Pao Xi, who was usually the calmest of the group, declared that they needed to go all out so the masses would have no reason to complain.

What if someone dared to say the products didn’t match their images?

Steward Han was certain the food was good—far better, really—but with so many accusing eyes fixed on him like he was supposed to fix the world, or at least their social media pages, the steward caved. He went to the right age group for answers: the cadets.

Only for the results to turn out far worse.

The elders were scandalized. The cadets’ photos somehow looked even less appetizing than the originals.

Finally, Ada raised the obvious question: why was this even a problem?

The elders then revealed the real nightmare—other stores had upped their marketing. Luca’s star mall store was under fire.

The competitors had started working together to post listings that looked mouthwateringly delicious. Sure, the elders knew those products were likely fake or disappointing in reality, but desperate netizens wouldn’t know that. They would buy anyway.

And how unfair was that?!

Meanwhile, House Kyros had stellar products... but photos that looked nothing like them.

Kyle crossed his arms. "We’ll need someone with a real interest in photography or marketing. Someone who can make this look good. Maybe also someone to help with the tutorials we need to upload."

"While we’re tapping Streamer Dylan for the tutorials, we probably need to set up something better than just sending him packages," he continued. "After all, we need to assure him of his safety, too."

Then, out of nowhere, Ollie’s expression shifted as if something clicked. "Well, if it’s someone like that, then... I might know someone. But I’m not sure if we’d want to work with him."

"Huh? Is there a problem, brother? Is this person hard to contact?" Luca asked.

"Well, not hard to contact, but he may ask for too much compensation." Ollie’s expression grew darker by the second.

Luca looked aghast. Too much compensation? That was dangerous! Still, the elders’ eyes were now gleaming like vultures. He had to ask. "How many star coins do you think the person would ask, brother?"

"Ah, no, no, brother. I doubt this person would ask for star coins."

"What? Not star coins? Then isn’t it basically free?"

"Ha! If only, brother. But no. This one would ask for something worse."

"Worse?! Then what kind of payment?" Luca’s voice was an octave higher as he wondered just how bad it would be. Surely it won’t be an organ, right?

"Food. He’d ask for food!" Ollie declared, wearing such a tragic, anguished expression that half the room nearly collapsed on the spot.

"Wait, just food?! Then that’s not bad at all, brother!"

"No, no, you don’t understand! We might not have enough to eat once he does that!"

"Oh no! But who is it? Have you had bad experiences before?"

"Well..." Ollie sighed like a man about to sign away his soul. "It’s because it’s someone I’m very familiar with."

"???"

"It’s Owen."

The room fell silent. The elders gasped. Steward Han nearly fainted before anyone remembered to ask, "Who was this Owen, anyway?"