Published: August 1, 2025
The first time I visited Luhab Island—the whole island felt as calm as a windless sea, and the people seemed to live life at a slow pace.
They didn’t keep appointments, for one thing. If you arrived while the sky was still bright or already dark, they considered themselves “on time.” The concept of valuing time was nonexistent—something that made me, a businessman used to a cutthroat industry, feel like my veins might burst more than once.
But that was only partly true. They weren’t always calm; they simply acted according to their moods. In other words, when they wanted to move, they moved immediately. If they were in a hurry, they’d urge others to hurry too. They were fine with being habitual latecomers because they believed so. When action was necessary, they were quick, and at heart, they were rather hard workers.
—With that said, the island chief of Luhab was straightforward. While the landlady placed a still-steaming Manzanilla on the table, the island chief promptly cut to the chase.
“So? What’s this about you wanting to buy all the pearls on the island, according to the documents we received first?”
“Pfft.”
The rude manner of speech froze Marie more than it did me.
The attendants of Granado Castle were all friendly, and although many foreigners spoke Dilz poorly, they never spoke so roughly. But on this island, it was normal, so I nodded without concern.
“Yeah, well, more precisely, it’s not buying the pearls themselves but acquiring the rights and management.”
I responded frankly to the impatient island chief.
He tilted his head in puzzlement. I took a small cloth bag from my luggage and inverted it on the table—then, with a plop, a large pearl dropped out.
As it rolled away, Marie hurriedly chased and caught it.
“Ah, that was close…”
She picked up two pearls. Looking closely at the ones in her right and left hands, they were identical in color and size, two perfectly round pearls.
“The one on the right is natural, the left is cultured.”
“Eh? Wh-what’s the difference?”
Marie whispered, staring intently. The island chief also peered in, wearing the same expression.
“It’s hard for an amateur to tell; the materials are exactly the same. Differences show up in color, luster, and shape—but there’s an overwhelmingly big difference beyond that. Marie, do you know what it is?”
Testing her, the clever girl immediately realized and looked up sharply.
“The quantity harvested?”
“Exactly. Whether natural pearls can be harvested is mostly a matter of chance. That’s why people seek pearls and why they've historically been traded at high prices.”
“The value of a gemstone isn’t just beauty but rarity. You told me that before.”
“Exactly.”
I smiled and nodded. Marie’s memory was excellent, and she grasped concepts quickly and thoroughly. When she nodded like this, it made my presentation to the island chief much smoother.
—Well, I didn’t bring her along just for that.
Still comparing the two pearls, the island chief furrowed his thick, white eyebrows.
“So? What do you mean by saying you want to manage all that?”
“Island chief, how do you price the pearl trade?”
“…We go by the buyer’s offer. We don’t understand business. We don’t really know the value of pearls. To us, they’re just somewhat pretty stones—not so special.”
“That might be true for the people of Luhab, but when you sell to foreign countries, please don’t lower the price below a certain point.”
My words clearly displeased the island chief. He leaned back in his chair and scoffed,
“What’s wrong with that? We want to make money too. But lately, cultured pearls have flooded the market, so high-priced natural ones don’t sell as well.”
“That’s true. You’re right.”
“The merchants said they can’t buy at the usual prices. We have tons of these, but it’s meaningless. It’s better to trade them for cheese or jam than to let them go to waste.”
“Tr-trading pearls for cheese and jam…!?”