The Camellia Tattoo - Chapter 89
“Well… he might be back late tonight… or perhaps tomorrow morning… Why do you ask?”
She had barged into the office only to find Jean happily writing his records, with no sign of Igmeyer.
Normally, this wouldn’t be an issue. Igmeyer wasn’t one to announce his comings and goings, and Amber had never demanded it either.
But right now, she was frustrated. She wanted to discuss this idea immediately!
“Jean, listen to me.”
“What is it you want to say…?”
With Igmeyer’s absence, Amber grabbed Jean and spoke without pausing for breath.
“Do you know about skiing?”
“Skiing? I’ve never heard of it.”
Of course, he didn’t know. That’s why no one had thought of it until now.
Unable to contain her excitement, Amber plopped down in front of Jean.
He looked a bit overwhelmed by her intensity but showed a strong curiosity about this new word.
“Skiing is similar to riding a sled on the snow. But instead of a sled, you attach it to both feet.”
“What? How is that possible?”
“Imagine attaching sleds to the bottoms of your shoes. Very long sleds. You ride down the slopes on them. In distant lands, there are even skiing competitions; it’s a popular sport.”
When Amber was young, she had met a delegation from another cold country far from here.
The people were tall, with long beards, blue eyes, and spoke a very unique language.
Young Amber had tried to learn their language, and the delegation found her efforts charming and endearing, teaching her various things.
Although they couldn’t communicate directly, there was a translator, so they managed to convey the meanings, and Amber enjoyed hearing about different aspects of their world.
‘One of those things was skiing.’
This sport, played in snowy mountains, wasn’t exactly safe. As you descend, you gain speed, making it difficult to stop or control yourself.
But mountains aren’t just snow. There are trees, vines, even animals.
The challenge is to avoid all those obstacles and see who reaches the bottom first. That’s the thrilling and dangerous sport of skiing.
And most people who ski are drawn to that ‘danger.’
“I never thought there were people who wanted to risk their lives for fun.”
“Right? But there really are such people.”
“Amazing.”
Jean, listening to Amber’s story, nodded in agreement.
Thinking about it, it could be a perfect tourist attraction for the North with no drawbacks.
“But the problem is still the monsters. We deal with about 90% of the monsters that stray from the gates. The rest hide in the snowy mountains. Some are easy to find because they travel in groups, but some hide alone.”
“Yes, but it doesn’t matter. This is a plan for after Nidhogg is dealt with.”
“So, it’s a self-sufficiency plan?”
“Exactly.”
Amber nodded, looking at Jean with eyes full of expectation. Her eyes were asking him to help flesh out the details.
“It’s worth trying as a pilot project.”
“Right?”
“Yes. But how and when to start the final war isn’t my responsibility…”
“I know. We’ll also need to convince the people of the North that this can help us become self-sufficient.”
This was a hard-won hope.
With Jean seeing some potential in the idea, Amber decided to cherish and nurture it.
“You know, in Shadroch, they have something called branding.”
“What’s branding?”
“It’s about convincing buyers that your product is more valuable than others. You promote it based on facts but make it look even better. You tell them to buy this, that owning this will make them a better person. It’s about explaining and persuading.”
“Interesting. That sounds fascinating.”
Jean’s eyes gleamed.
The prospect of money made Jean more enthusiastic than ever.
Seeing his eagerness reminded Amber of the desperate pleas she had read from the aides over the past few days, making her flinch a little.
If this works out, she thought, she’ll give Jean a raise. She spoke up.
“We could use the camellia flower as part of our tourism product.”
“For example?”
“Remember how I said skiing involves attaching sled-like things to the bottoms of shoes? Those are called ‘skis.’ We could have local artists paint camellia designs on them.”
These camellia-painted skis would be exclusive to Niflheim, attracting skiing enthusiasts to the area.
The presence of monsters wouldn’t deter them; as long as no one actually gets eaten, the thrill would likely appeal to them even more.
Considering the characteristics of skiing, the personalities of skiers, and the thrill of the sport, Amber believed this was a viable plan.
“Interesting. We could also add Frost Giant symbols to the skis.”
“Exactly! Or we could paint stars from the night sky. This way, even those who don’t want camellias or Frost Giant symbols have options.”
