"......If everything went according to plan, our product should have reached that noble by now, Boss."
Rang looked at me and spoke.
The Empire's capital. Gathered in Sian's office.
This was truly the beginning. Whether all our efforts would bear fruit or not would be decided by today's results.
Everyone was so tense they were drenched in cold sweat.
I looked at my employees and spoke.
"Let's not all be so stiff."
Of course, being nervous was natural. Everyone's lives depended on this, so it was only normal to be on edge about the outcome.
"You all gave it your best, didn't you? I know better than anyone how hard you worked. So have some confidence."
I was certain we'd succeed.
This wasn't just a vague feeling. We had talented kids, future knowledge, and every cheat in the book thrown in for good measure.
"Wasn't our goal to cleanse the world? People who've declared they'll change the world -- getting this anxious over one noble is hardly a good look, is it?"
"......As expected, Boss is different. You're always gazing at a place so far beyond anything we can imagine."
Rang's usual fuss. But thanks to her, the stiff atmosphere loosened up a bit.
And then, right on cue, came the sound of footsteps.
Someone was running this way in a hurry.
The office door flew open.
It was Sian.
Panting heavily, as if he'd sprinted the whole way.
"The capital is in an uproar! The whole Empire is in turmoil over the news about Yulia. In other words......"
What formed on his lips was a smile.
Sian spoke in a voice trembling with exhilaration.
"......We've succeeded."
The tense atmosphere flipped in an instant.
Seeing the employees looking proud made me happy too. The opening act had been more than satisfactory, and a smile was forming, but.
"Don't tell me any of you are thinking of being satisfied here."
I posed the question to every one of my employees.
Our marketing was a success? That was certainly wonderful news. The whole Empire was buzzing? Definitely exceeding expectations.
But I had no intention of settling for a small victory.
If we were going to do this, we should do it right.
"What we're aiming for is this world. Not settling for this success, but using it as a springboard to go further -- toward our ultimate ambition. Wouldn't you agree?"
Thirty-plus chain stores!
Expanding beyond the Empire into the Holy Kingdom!
Until the day we standardized one shower a day for these medieval people whose heads could probably wring out a full bucket of grease!
I had absolutely no intention of stopping.
"The tide has come in, so it's time to start rowing."
I grinned and spoke.
Our product promotion was a hit? The word of mouth was so strong the entire Empire was buzzing?
"The timing couldn't be better."
Wasn't this the perfect moment for a launch?
I'd been agonizing over how to publicize something like a grand opening event. And now was the ideal timing.
"......The time has come for us to show ourselves to the world."
The mood around me shifted in an instant.
Rang swallowed hard, tense.
Sian asked me cautiously.
"Leader, does that mean......"
"That's right. The time to officially commence operations has arrived. We will make our name known to the world."
Trends came and went quickly, so there was no time to waste.
Miss this window and I'd regret it later. With the Empire buzzing about us right now, we had to act.
I spoke in a serious voice.
"We need to carve into people's minds a memory they will never forget. So they never forget our name."
I'd already made preparations for going public. This had been in the plan to some extent from the beginning.
I'd even prepared countermeasures against identity exposure.
"......Here is your robe and mask, Boss."
Being a rich commoner made you an easy target. Walking around with my face showing would get me mugged by bandits every day.
Items I'd had made for precisely that purpose.
I donned the robe handed to me by my employee.
"Won't it be dangerous, Leader? Even with a mask hiding your face, going public like this......"
Sian sounded worried.
I turned to him and said.
"We're afraid of being exposed, so we keep our voices down? You think we can accomplish great things with that kind of half-hearted attitude?"
Promotion obviously had to be done on a grand scale.
After going to all this trouble, not even handing out flyers? What was the point? Were we selling soap or not?
"......You're right. I was foolish. We've already resolved to give our very lives for our ideal."
Sian looked up at me squarely.
He looked at me with a serious expression and declared.
"Give one to me as well. A robe."
"Are you sure? Unlike us, you're a noble. A fairly well-known one at that. If you happen to get found out......"
The Yulia operation had mostly been handled by Sian. He'd already done his part, so there was no need to feel obligated.
I tried to dissuade him from stepping out, but.
"Did you not say it yourself? That we'd change this world together. After saying that, I can't very well sit this moment out."
Sian spoke with sincerity in his eyes.
His resolve seemed firm.
In that case, it wasn't my place to argue further.
I smirked and said.
"I actually prepared your portion too, figuring you'd say that."
"......Ha, as expected of you, Leader. You've already anticipated everything. It's almost frightening sometimes."
They shared a laugh and a grin.
With this, all preparations were complete.
Oh, except for one thing.
"Come to think of it, we never settled on a name for our organization."
"Do you have anything in mind?"
I thought about it briefly and opened my mouth.
I did have something in mind, actually. A company name I'd been eyeing since the planning stages of this venture.
"Squeaky-Clean Adam's Scrub-a-Dub Hygiene Supply Shop."
I said the company name with full confidence, and.......
"......Pardon?"
Everyone stared at me with vacant faces.
Their expressions ranged from bewildered to outright flabbergasted.
"......Is it really that bad? I was going for something approachable. My name is Adam, and we're selling hygiene products, right?"
I thought it was a fairly decent name.
It felt friendly, and you could immediately tell what it sold. I'd thought it was a pretty solid naming job.
Somehow, no one seemed to like it.
"U-um, I don't think that one's going to work."
Ren, who was usually the quiet type, cautiously voiced his objection.
"......So Boss does have a weakness after all. But I think it's nice to see a human side like this."
Even Rang, who praised me to excess every single time, was telling me my naming ability was a serious issue.
"Then how about something safe like Cloud Cleaning?"
Now this was truly inoffensive.
I thought it was a name no one could object to.
"The White Cloud Society. Let's go with the White Cloud Society instead. We'll just keep the meaning of 'white cloud.' That would be far better."
Rang hurriedly jumped in with an alternative.
Fair enough -- I was a 21st-century person. My aesthetic standards and my employees' standards were bound to differ.
"Well, if you all prefer that, let's go with it."
The White Cloud Society.
A bit too grandiose for a soap company name.
......But it wasn't that bad, either. If the kids said it was better, I had no complaints.
"What matters more than our name is what we accomplish under it."
Making the world a little cleaner.
The goal I'd wanted to achieve for a long time now.
......Today, we would take the first step toward it.
The time to throw our hat into the ring had come.
***
A guard of the Empire's capital.
He felt like he was going to lose his mind.
Even the most brazen criminals normally didn't commit crimes in a place like the Empire's capital.
Hard to get posted to, but low workload once you were in -- the ultimate position. That was being a capital guard.
......Then a noble got killed in the capital.
And not just any noble. A bigshot so famous that it was harder to find someone in the Empire who didn't know the name.
Renowned for both power and notoriety.
Yulia Cromwell had been murdered by someone.
And by a bombing, no less -- a spectacular method.
Yulia's death alone would have caused an uproar. Add to that a brazen bombing carried out right in the heart of the capital?
It would have been stranger if the Empire hadn't been turned on its head.
"......Did the Holy Kingdom kill her to keep the Empire in check?"
"Let's be honest, she wasn't exactly well-liked. Maybe a servant with a grudge did her in? It was a bombing, right? Someone inside the estate obviously smuggled it in."
"If that were the case, they've investigated everyone in the estate and can't find the culprit. Even with lie-detecting magical devices, nobody who brought in a bomb or helped with the assassination turned up."
The din of people talking could be heard.
A crowd swarming near the crime scene.
......If it were only commoners, he'd just chase them off with a spear. But nobles were in the mix, making it awkward to threaten them into leaving.
Just as the guard was sighing.
"Good day, citizens of the Empire."
......A voice came from somewhere.
He turned his head, and what he saw was a bizarre sight.
A man clad in a pure white robe.
A strange figure hiding his face behind a mask.
"Quite the atmosphere here. I imagine the topic is Lady Yulia. No doubt her story is spreading across the Empire as we speak."
The man, having drawn the attention of all.
He declared it as casually as one might comment on the weather.
"All of this was our doing."
That they were the mastermind behind this incident.
The guard's mind went blank. It couldn't help but go blank.
'What did I just hear?'
The one who had plunged the Empire into chaos.
The unidentified mastermind behind an incident of this magnitude.
"I hadn't expected such a warm reception. To tell the truth, I'd been wondering if we should go bigger. I've been deliberating for quite some time, you see. If you want to make a name for yourself, shouldn't the stage be a bit grander?"
He had revealed himself in person.
Casually announced that he was the one behind it all.
"I'm glad everyone seems to appreciate our handiwork."
The guard's head was spinning. He couldn't comprehend the situation.
But he knew what he had to do.
The guard leveled his spear at the man.
"......You! What's your goal?! Why did you do it?!"
Yet the man was unfazed, even at the point of a spear.
A voice unnervingly calm.
"Because...... it's fun, isn't it? Wasn't it an entertaining surprise? Poor Lady Yulia, drawing the short straw and getting the bomb."
He spoke with a playful smile.
"I'm planning to give gifts to other nobles too. I do hope this makes the world a little cleaner!"