Author’s Note:

Today’s chapter is a bit short. Sorry about that. I am not feeling that well. I had taken half a day off from work.

Chapter 37- Second Breakfast

***June 6th, 965 A.F.***

***Belhern Village***

***Ajax McGuire***

I headed out the door and walked south. I didn’t need the education, but I was going towards to the school in Caedona. They offered free mandatory education to all children, where they teach basic math and writing. I have always skipped class and hide in the library reading books. My teacher, Richard Ferguson, doesn’t mind that I skip class. He understands knows that I don’t need to be taught. In return, I help him out with the class from time to time.

“MOM! DAD! I AM HEADING TO SCHOOL NOW.”

“ALRIGHT, BE CAREFUL ON THE ROAD.”

I went over my business plan in my head once again while on the road. The alcohol beverages that everyone brew are disgusting. They are cloudy and skunks easily. This is because they don’t have proper filtration techniques. Being a bit of an alcohol lover myself, I couldn’t let this stand.

The easiest way to profit off of this is to create a distillery for the ale. What I can do is buy the ale from the producer, distil it into whiskey, and sell it back at a much higher cost. I have thought of brewing my own beer at first, but it seems too much trouble. Not to mention, by buying the ale from the local producers, I can create a relationship with everyone involved. I can use their existing customer base as a mean to distribute the whiskey, rather than trying to find the customers on my own. Even though it would cut into my profit, it will save a lot of time, time that I do not have.

The whiskey fits the three criteria that I set for my product. First, as long as I keep the method of distillery a secret, it will be impossible for other people duplicate what I do. Second, it is relatively cheap to make. I can jerry-rig a distillery from existing parts. All I need is a pot, a funnel, and some metal tubings, all of which are very common. And lastly, everyone and their mother would want it. If the dwarves are anything like the classical dwarves, they would love alcohol. On top of that, because it is a consumable, I can quickly sell the whiskey to the same customers over and over again.

I borrowed some money from dad so that I can buy the necessary equipment since I am headed to Caedona anyway. I am planning to buy all the necessary equipment and start a test batch as soon as I return home.

I even thought about the brand logo for my whiskey. Taking inspiration from old moon shines jugs that have triple x on them, I decided to base my logo on that. I shifted the center x up, creating a triangle. Seeing that it was a bit plain, I decided to use a cursive x instead. I was pretty happy with the result. (Author’s note: See here) The name of the brand was pretty simple and straightforward, Belhern Whiskeys, taking the name of the village since I will be selling it using my father’s name.

I was still deep in thought, trying to criticize my plan from every angle when I heard someone calling my name.

“Ajax! I have been waiting for you!”

It was Cecilia MacKenzie, daughter of the neighboring village chief. She was waving at me, standing next the fork in the road: one road leads to Caedona and the other leads to Cecilia’s village. She is slightly older than me, 9 years old, with beady emerald eyes, and long wavy blonde hair. About a year ago, I saved her from a pack of wild dogs while traveling to school. She has been waiting for me at the fork ever since.

“Morning Cici. Sorry to make you wait.”

“Um... Ajax did you.. umm… eat breakfast yet?”

I feel a bit guilty since this seems a bit like pedophilia. My mental age is of a young adult, but my body is only 8. Regrettably, this is a flag that I will have to take no matter what. This is because all dwarves after puberty bulk up in muscle mass. Unfortunately, this includes girls as well. Female dwarves look almost the same as male dwarves, except they don’t have beards, a slightly larger breast, and a squeakier voice. I can’t imagine myself developing any romantic interest with another fully grown dwarf. My only hope for any future love life is if I can be together with Cecilia right now before she hits puberty. That way, I hopefully wouldn’t notice the gradual change and will have no problem staying with her. It will be just like those old couples that grow old together that don't mind the change.

“Yes, I did have breakfast.”

She looks slightly dejected at this point. Seeing that, I quickly corrected myself

“But I am still hungry. I didn’t eat much.”

“That’s great! I mean, that’s terrible you are still hungry. I made some extra sandwiches. Would… would you like some?”

Her face tints with a slight shade of red as she pulls out a sandwich from her bag, wrapped in a handkerchief, I took the sandwich and broke it in half, offering it to her with a smile. I am pulling out all the tricks for my "ikemen" act.

“Only if we eat together.”

Not expecting my answer, she panicked a bit before accepting the half of a sandwich. I took a bite of the sandwich. Her face turned completely red when she saw me eating. After a while, she began to nibble on the food. We walked towards Caedona once again, in a tender, yet awkward silence