Chương 25: Chapter 24 A Fragrant Rivalry

A week passed while Karath continued promoting soap to the uncles leaving for their daily hunts. Changes gradually began appearing throughout the settlement. One evening, the male orcs returned from hunting. Splash. Galon, the first hunter Karath had persuaded to use soap, began washing himself immediately after returning. This time, he was bathing after the hunt rather than before it.

"Krahahaha! Galon, are you planning to go hunting again tonight?" The orcs who had accompanied him laughed loudly when they saw him.

"Ahem. No. I simply feel somewhat uncomfortable." Embarrassed by their teasing, Galon scratched his head and smiled, exposing his sharp tusks.

"Ahem. To be honest, I feel a little uncomfortable as well." Several of the orcs who had sweated heavily during the hunt joined Galon and began washing themselves with soap. After becoming accustomed to its scent, they had started noticing the odor of their own bodies. The hunters who had benefited from soap during their work were particularly sensitive to the difference. They were already experienced hunters who understood the importance of scent.

When tracking prey, they sometimes followed the creature's distinctive odor. When attempting to avoid detection, they watched the wind and approached from the proper direction. When that was impossible, they covered their bodies in mud or crushed plants to conceal their scent. Soap removed the natural odor of an orc and reduced the need for such efforts. Before long, the hunters began showing signs of dependence upon it. As a result, they became uncomfortable whenever their bodies smelled like orcs instead of soap.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. That discomfort was not limited to their own bodies. After washing himself, Galon returned to his earthen house. As always, his wife welcomed him.

"You worked hard again today." Her voluptuous figure was as alluring as ever when she approached him. Galon stiffened. The moment she embraced him, the thick odor of an orc entered his nose. His expression twisted uncontrollably. Ten days passed after Karath began promoting soap to the hunters. By then, the uncles no longer needed him to persuade them. They washed themselves with soap of their own accord. Nearly every hunter bathed before leaving on a hunt or patrol.

Beginning with Galon, several of them also started cleaning their bodies after returning from work. Then, at last, another change occurred.

"Karath, do you have any of that soap left?" One after another, the women of the settlement began approaching him with the same question. Their husbands had rejected them because of their odor, so they had come to Karath seeking a solution. The orc tribe practiced polygyny. It was not the result of male supremacy, but rather a natural consequence of their living conditions. Adult male orcs risked their lives every day while hunting and scouting.

Female orcs sometimes died when monsters attacked the settlement, and many also died from childbed fever. Even so, among adult orcs, women outnumbered men by ratios ranging from two to one to three to two. Under those circumstances, households with one husband and several wives formed naturally. Once the adult males became accustomed to soap and more sensitive to smells, the women had little choice but to use it as well.

Another woman might wash herself with soap and seduce their shared husband while they were rejected for smelling unpleasant. That would be a terrible fate.

"Of course I have soap. Which fragrance would you like, Auntie?" Karath eagerly began selling his product to the women.

"Which fragrance? Are there several kinds?"

"Of course. There is the clean scent of Solin grass, the sweet and gentle fragrance of Duran flowers, and the stronger scent of Kenen wood that lingers afterward. There are also several others." Karath had expected the situation to develop this way. He had continued producing soap in advance. Using different grasses and flowers, he had created soaps with a variety of fragrances.

His goal of creating a cleaner settlement had combined with his experimental instincts as a former developer who wanted to test every possible scent. Before long, the results of those efforts became visible.

"Oh? Are you using Solin grass soap? Is that fragrance not a little too plain?"

"Men prefer subtle fragrances to strong ones."

"You still have much to learn. There is a difference between a subtle fragrance and having no scent at all."

"The Kenen wood soap you use is far too strong." While the adult males were away from the settlement performing their duties, the women gathered to complete their household work. They began engaging in fierce battles of nerves over the fragrances drifting from their bodies. The exchanges became particularly hostile between women who shared the same husband. Their lips remained curved in bright smiles, but the blunt tusks visible between them were strangely frightening.

"Look at her! She is washing with soap again instead of doing her work!"

"She cannot even prepare troll hide, so she is trying to seduce him with her scent! A woman should know how to manage a household properly!" A peculiar rivalry began spreading among the women of the previously peaceful primitive society. Karath had attempted to turn modern cleanliness into a fashion. Somehow, he had caused something else to become fashionable alongside it.

"Well... At least everyone is cleaner now." That was enough. It had to be enough. There was nothing else Karath could do. He knew absolutely nothing about solving problems like these.