Alex wasn't one for sunny days. Everyday in the Star Seeking flower field, now renamed as Aurora's Garden, was a sunny day where no clouds blocked the beauty of the blue sky, much to her dismay.

Nevertheless, it was all for the sake of profit, and Alex sat in the living room of the floating home of the garden.

Aurora was the Chief Product Officer. Her job was to create products that mixed the fruits or plants she chose with caffeine water. Once it got approval from Alex, it would be sent to Fraser for further optimization of the taste profile, which would then require another round of approvals.

It was what Alex called 'late-stage capitalistic bureaucracy'. She wasn't having any of the bullshit that came from endless meetings about what to talk about in meetings. In this world of Nulfrae, she had a new start on how things should be.

Just thinking about having to sit through another nightmare of a meeting about how often to take washroom breaks during an all day meeting made her blood boil.

Once again, fuck the United Knights and their endless stream of utterly meaningless bureaucracy that wasted precious minutes of her life.

"My Lady," Aurora bowed. "How about a cup to calm your mood?"

The mixture was done, and somehow, Aurora had been starting to see through her mood lately. It did manage to steer her off a downward spiral.

"Thanks," Alex said. "And what is this one?"

"This cup is exactly 250 millilitres, consisting of 27 millilitres of sugar syrup from Hadstead Stalk, 20 millilitres of Latia Berries Extract, 100 millilitres of melted brown Piker beans, topped with three swirls of what the Lady calls 'caramel'. The rest is water plus 4 grams of energy powder that contains exactly 175 mg of caffeine."

Taking a sip, Alex tasted something similar to a thick mocha with caramel syrup. The Piker beans came from Pandor and had the taste of raw cocoa, but not bitter enough, and more on the creamy side. This meant that Latia Berry extract was needed to get it as close to chocolate as possible. What made it a good choice was the way it acted as a slight thickener.

It was about slightly half as good as a normal frappuccino. The remaining ingredients would be a bit more milk and ice, but those were a problem for a different time.

"What do you think of this taste, Aurora?"

"To be honest, I've never had such fine drinks in my life before. The drinks that my Lady has come up with are nothing short of a miracle. To be able to mix such different ingredients together to create a seductive cocktail without using alcohol would be a miracle," Aurora said. "I believe this drink would be very popular for both adults and children."

"And why do you think children would like it?"

"It reminds me of what my father used to make for me. Hadstead Stalk syrup, a bit of Latia berries, mixed into hot water." Aurora smiled as she looked at the cup in Alex's hand. "It'd help calm me down during restless nights when all I wanted to do was go out and play under the bright stars."

"Good," Alex said, taking a larger sip of the drink. She was completely correct. Cafe mocha was the first go-to drink to introduce children to coffee back on Earth. Without the introduction of such a drink, children would become adults as 'leaf water drinkers.'

The very fact that leaf water dominates this world was an act of heresy in and of itself. How dare the they think that mixing leaf and hot water was an actual drink? None of the 'leaves' that Grey gave him that were popular within Dragus kingdom had any caffeine at all.

If it weren't for the civilians and children who were to be Star Cubs' future customers, the thought of blowing up the king's castle had already crossed Alex's mind.

There would be no tree hugger in this company.

"Put this in the approved recipe list," Alex said.

"Yes, my Lady!" Aurora smiled widely, taking her notepad and putting a checkmark next to the recipe. "Shall I give you a refill, my Lady?"

Alex downed the rest of the cup and then gave the cup to Aurora. "Yes, please."

Aurora went back to the mixing table in the kitchen and started gathering the ingredients to mix.

Out of 7 others that were approved, Alex liked the cafe mocha the best. She'd need to make an ice machine and a mana powered blender for the frappucino roll outs in the future retail stores. For now, it was best to keep it simple.

Have a hot or warm drink lineup for the masses as the initial menu. Once people are bought in, expand the product line and watch the profits roll in.

Three knocks sounded from behind the door.

Grey pushed the door open and knelt on the ground with one knee. "My Lady. There are two diplomats at our headquarters' walls."

"Diplomats from where?" Alex asked.

"They hail from the Dukedom of Tanison, a member of the Kingdom of Lyra."

"You're telling me diplomats trudged through the Hadstead mountain paths just to visit our camp?" Alex asked. In addition, the Dukedom of Tanison was located in the far north, where the Port City of Kite was.

"Yes, my Lady. They've come to negotiate on trade," Grey said.

"And why's that?" Alex asked. They haven't even begun marketing yet, unless...

"If I may remind you, the day my Lady took ownership of this bandit camp, you saved Princess May from being robbed. That may have been the cause."

"Right, I do remember doing something like that," Alex said. Guess that Princess wasn't so sheltered after all, to come and send a duke's diplomat pre-emptively to gain relations, not that it was a bad thing. "And what do you think they're after?"

"Knowing they are citizens of Lyra, they would be looking for trade or monetary benefits. They could even be after safe passage."

"Safe passage, eh..." Alex said. "And the eastern bandits are still a problem. How's the situation on that?"

"After the destruction of the southern, western, and northern Hadstead bandit camps, the eastern bandits have relatively been quiet. They've since pulled back from the northern ranges of the mountain."

Aurora came by to give Alex another cup of cafe mocha. Sipping on it, there was a slight difference in taste from the previous cup.

It was generally fine. The taste profile was still almost the same. But for predictable supply consumption and brand identity, the formula must be exactly the same. Fraser would need to finalize mixture technique.

On the other hand, if Grey said that the eastern bandits have pulled back, yet mountain path civilian, merchant, and general traffic throughput remained the same, and on some days, even declined, then there was another issue.

Monsters and beasts roamed more freely.

Alex could smell the opportunity from a far way.

"Good," she took another sip. "Aurora, please make two more of these cups and send them to the main building."

"Right away, my Lady," Aurora said, bowing.

Time to see what these schmucks want.

☕︎ ☼ ☕︎ ☽ ☕︎

Terrance was already annoyed at how the Duke sent him on a 25 day travel to the Hadstead mountains. Find the southern bandit camp, the Duke told him. The negotiation with Earl Chekov at the Fraedium mines of Pandor had to be delayed because of this.

The Duke did say this could still potentially bear monetary fruits should he succesffuly accomplish the negotiations with the bandit camp.

A pack of 16 Night Howlers moved in to block the way of their caravan. Terrance yawned. The knight guards around them already moved in to block the oncoming threat. Six of them to be exact, at an average prowess of 140. But what made them a threat was their coordination.

Each of the guards even stretched and yawned as they approached the cautious howlers.

The first howler pounced on the lead guard. Water erupted from the bottom of the howler. A sudden chill froze the first howler in a snap by the lead guard. As the first howler fell onto the ground, it shattered into tiny ice shards.

None of the guards moved, not that they couldn't. All of them looked to be bored out of their minds at how this pack was too weak.

The first howler suddenly ran away from the caravan, followed by the rest of them.

"That's it?" Terrance waved his hand for the guards to proceed.

A guard whistled, and the caravan continued moving towards the southern part of the mountain range. Neither of the guards even cared about the hilarious result that just happened in front of them. To all of them, this was just an ordinary day.

And that's what Terrance didn't understand.

"The Princess's Royal Frozen Brigade..." Terrance muttered.

"I know, Sir Terrance. This mission wasn't given by the duke," Revy said, his diplomatic assistant.

That much was obvious. But then why would the Princess herself order the Duke to send a diplomatic force to a mere bandit camp? There had to be a reason.

It could be an anomaly. The bandits they were going to be a budding nation that would lead them to riches in the future. But what good was that when he was already half a foot in the grave?

The deal with the Earl was a fruit hanging lower on the tree than this current mission that may not even be a fruit.

"Revy," Terrance said.

"Yes, sir," Revy replied.

"Was there any news when the Princess came back from Dragus?"

"From the rumours, it seems the Princess met a fortunate encounter by the mountain range path. Could be related, but rumours are just rumours."

"Anything more detailed than that?"

"Not that I know of. Most detailed thing that was said was that the Princess gave 4 gold to the poor."

"Heh," Terrance scoffed. For most people, 4 gold was basically more than a year's worth of living, yet the Princess would simply give it out as money for beggars. "It seems Lyra's royalty live too comfortably these days, what say you, Revy?"

"I mean, we don't really know how many beggars she chose to spend it on," Revy said, eyes watching one of the guards who was side eyeing him.

Terrance smirked. The guards could watch all they wanted. Nothing from the carriage could be heard from the outside. "And?"

"I don't know. I feel like these times of peace have made the royalty soft. Just four decades ago, none of the royalty would even give 1 silver to the passing beggars, let alone to citizens of Dragus."

"Maybe they were robbed," Terrance said.

"The king of Dragus promised they cleaned up the mountain paths, though," Revy replied.

"Then why are we going to a bandit camp?"

"Or at least, made the bandit camps more compliant with Dragus laws."

"Possible."

"What about the summoning?"

"Not a chance. The Princess of Dragus would likely fight to keep their summoned in their garden."

"That's true, but they could still leave. 100 gold is a lot."

"Think, Revy. Summoned heroes do not know the lay of the land. There is no chance they'd leave the safety and comfort of those who summoned them. Princess May would have already been a day on the road after the summoning anyways."

Revy shrugged. "We've got nothing we can do then. We're just sent to a backwater dump of a bandit camp. Not even a promise of reward once we get back."

"Maybe 4 gold once we get back if we ask nicely," Terrance smirked.

The caravan suddenly stopped. One of the guards came up to the window of the carriage and knocked.

Opening the window, Terrance first turned off the silencing gem.

"Why'd we stop?" Terrance said.

"We've arrived at the fork, Sir Terrance. The slope leads to Dragus. The path to the right leads to the southern bandit camp," the guard said.

Terrance turned and saw the path. Last time he went to Dragus for a diplomatic mission, this path was certainly not here. From the way the trees were freshly cut, it looked like the dirt path was freshly constructed.

"Take the right path. Be on guard in case the bandits do bandit things," Terrance said.

The guard bowed before moving back to the front of the caravan. Waving once, the horses once again pulled the carriage, turning to the right path. Terrance once again leaned back in his seat as he turned on the silence gem once more.

As they moved through the path, the dirt path turned into a cobblestone road. An arch greeted the caravan with a label that said 'The Path Headquarters'.

"Hmph. The bandits themselves are now trying to be fancy," Terrance said.

"Kind of expected with that kind of king after all," Revy said.

"Princess Alizia though..." Terrance muttered. That witch was one of the more fearsome parts of Dragus. She almost had Stormbringer under her grasp, all ruined by the fat slob of a king.

"If the roads are this good, the bandit camp might even be better than Dragus," Revy laughed.

"A good jest," Terrance laughed as well.

The caravan stopped once again, this time in front of the large wooden log gate of the bandit camp.

The lead guard stepped to the front. "We come from the Dukedom of Tanison of Lyra. Sir Terrance requires an audience with your leader. Have your men receive us at once!"

A man with the prowess of 72 came out of the side door of the gate. He had completely black hair, eyes as sharp as a hawk, and a single scar on his collarbone. He wore plain clothes, not even a speck of armour except for the sword on his hip.

Before Terrance was about to call him amateur, the man's face was clearly familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Greetings, envoys of Lyra. This humble one's name is Grey," the man said. "We were not expecting any envoys from Lyra or any kingdom for that matter. Please state your business and your reception will be forthcoming."

Terrance turned off his silence gem once again. "We require an audience with the leader of this bandit camp as requested by our Dukedom. Our purpose is for negotiations of trade."

"Have you sent a messenger before to schedule a negotiation?" Grey asked.

"No. I believe customers of whatever product you may have do not need to schedule an appointment, right?"

"Alright. If that's the case, then please fill out this form as best as you can," Grey extended a piece of paper to the main guard. "While you fill out that form, let me inform the Lady of your arrival."

"The Lady?" Revy asked.

The lead guard came towards the carriage and handed Terrance the form through the window.

Reading the form, what he saw baffled his mind.

Name. Age. Gender. Prowess level. Purpose of Business. Kingdom Affiliation. Noble Affiliation. Net worth. Vendor or Customer. Duration of meeting. Time of day. Recurring or not.

Terrance didn't read the rest. The form was clearly just to waste his time with nonsensical requests for information.

"Shall I fill it out, Sir?" Revy asked.

"Go ahead." Terrance handed him the paper.

While Revy filled it out, nothing happened. Not even a slight movement from the gate as they were left to wait there. The sound of the common folk moving, hauling, and going about their daily activities could be heard from beyond the gate, making Terrance all the more curious.

With so much bustle, what could bandits possibly be doing?

The door opened once again, and the man named Grey walked towards the carriage.

"Have you filled out the form?" Grey asked.

"Yes, I've filled it out. Here." Revy handed the document over.

Grey looked at it for a couple of seconds, raising one eyebrow as his eyes flowed down the page. "The form is satisfactory, and the Lady said that she will receive you at the town hall."

"Great," Terrance said. "Bring us in."

The giant log gates opened with a shudder as bandits pushed it open. It revealed the activity of the camp to Terrance's eyes. People moved about barrels and boxes all around.

The boxes didn't look heavy, but the barrels were filled with something. There was a strange symbol on it that looked like a hand being burnt by something. Another barrel had the fire symbol on it marked with red ink.

Weird designs, but Terrance didn't really care if those things had the value that Princess May wanted.

After the carriage stopped at what looked like the town square, or in this case, a circle, Terrance exited along with Revy. Grey led them towards what looked like the bandit camp's town hall along with the 6 knights as his guards.

Terrance smirked. The bandits had no idea of the prowess of these 6 knights alone.

Entering the town hall, the walls were covered with fur. Multiple dining tables were situated in even rows from left to right, split down the middle.

A towering man stood at the front just before the bandit throne. That must've been their leader. The man also wore fur clothing with a metal shoulder guard that was bigger than Terrance's whole torso.

"Ah, you must be the bandit leader," Terrance said to the man. "My name is Terrance Degroif. Shall we have a seat?"

The man just stared at him. "You may call me Sir Rand. However, please take a seat. I shall call forth the Lady to address your negotiation."

As Terrance and Revy took a seat by the front most table, Sir Rand took a step up onto the bandit throne's platform and moved towards a door just behind. He knocked twice. "My Lady. The envoys have arrived."

"Hold on. Not yet," the female voice said from behind the door.

Looking beside him, even Revy was as baffled as Terrance. Both of them had glasses that could see prowess levels. The burly man in front of them was at least 210 prowess, not that he couldn't be killed by 6 of their knight guards.

However, that wasn't the surprising part. The female behind the door could have a higher prowess that would reach the prowess of Rankers. Or maybe she was a fallen noble or princess... Stormbringer came to mind based on the appearance of Sir Rand and Grey. Confirmations of their deaths had been lauded by the nobles of Dragus.

When the door opened, a Lady came out of the room. A prowess of... 20. But that wasn't important. Her appearance was exquisite.

Black flowing hair, tied in a ponytail at the back with a fringe at the front. Her skin was immaculate, white, pale that would've made nobles and kings fight for her hand. The dress she wore was an odd one, yet made of fine thread that Terrance hadn't seen before. It must've been worth at least a thousand gold to produce such tightly packed thread count.

"Just call me Alex," the lady said, stepping down the steps and then sitting on the bandit throne. "Now, what do you want?"

Terrance cleared his throat, trying not to look distracted by her expensive clothing. "Lady Alex, we've come from the Dukedom of Tanison, a member of the kingdom of Lyra. We request to seek trade as ordered by our Duke, but we do not know what materials or products you may have."

"Oh shit. Business, eh? Now we're talkin'." Lady Alex said, glancing at Grey and extending her hand. "Form."

Grey gave the filled-out form to her hand. Her eyes scanned down the form, making Terrance gulp in tension as he didn't even review Revy's work.

"Whatever. You seriously need to learn how to fill out forms," Lady Alex said, handing the form back to Grey. "What're you offering?"

Terrance's eyes still glanced at Lady Alex's blazer. "We offer gold for your products, and we can buy in bulk to trade to the larger world. The Duke of Tanison controls the Port City of Kite and will allow your products to reach far and wide, even to the continent of Mir where citizens value fine linen and fabric."

"Linen and fabric?" Lady Alex said. "We're not in the business of clothes."

"Then what products does the Lady delve in?" Terrance asked.

"Drinks."

"Alcohol?"

"Not alcohol, but simply drinks."

"That would pose a problem for transportation. Non alcoholic drinks have short shelf lives. However, due to the Duke's grace of sending us here, we'd still be willing to buy as long as the price is correct."

"Perishability wouldn't be an issue if the base product is non perishable. Raw ingredients could be sent to specific locations, but I do have a preference for keeping quality control in check."

"What would... that entail?" Terrance asked, almost not finding the words to utter.

"We'd set up stores at your fiefs, dukedoms, capitals, or whatever you wanna call it and have our own people serve our product. All you have to do is pay a licensing fee."

Terrance was at a complete loss. Was she saying that the Kingdom or the noble would have to pay for their service rather than just being sold the product?

"Yes, I'm saying exactly that. Whoever requests our product needs to pay for our products to be sold in their territory," Lady Alex said.

"I see... then we may have an issue. I do not yet know of your product that you designate as 'drinks.' May we try?"

Lady Alex snapped her fingers once.

The door to the town hall opened, and in came a woman as beautiful as the Lady herself. Terrance instantly recognized this woman. Her wavy auburn hair gave it away.

Aurora Sayon.

She walked forward through the middle of the hall and placed two cups of hot brown liquid in front of them. Both drinks did not look appetizing at all, and they had a slight acidic smell that had the hints of a familiar fruit.

Latia berries.

Terrance's eyes peered back to Lady Alex. Revy also couldn't believe it. Was the Lady poisoning them? As an envoy for a different kingdom, killing a diplomat would cause a war. Even if she held a man of 210 prowess under her, they'd all be trampled down under the might of the Duke.

"Try it. It's good," Lady Alex smiled sharply.

Putting his hand on the cup handle, Terrance gulped. Death by Latia berry wasn't very common. It would act on the airways first, causing excruciating pain before killing the consumer.

Out of the corner of his eye, it seemed the knight guards weren't moving. At their prowess, they'd be able to smell the scent of Latia berry right away. So then why?!

Terrance and Revy pulled the cups to their mouths and took a sip, closing their eyes as they did so. But what came wasn't pain. Instead, immeasurable pleasure from the hot warm drink splashing on his tongue. It was both sweet and bitter at the same time, a paradox of complex notes.

Downing the whole cup in one go, even though it was hot, Terrance let out a big sigh of relief as he finished his cup. It was that good.

"Lady Alex, I understand the drink is phenomenal," Terrance said.

"But?" she said.

"But we still must discuss with the Duke before creating an agreement. This drink would still count as perishable. During transport, it would be incredibly difficult to move without at least more than half of the product being spoiled."

"Sure, then you'd propose to get hold of the raw products and make it yourself?" Lady Alex asked.

"Ideally, yes. We will pay your subjects to teach our people the method to create the drink. We'd even give you a royalty per drink sold within the borders of Lyra."

"Now, you see, that's not attractive at all," Lady Alex said.

"I believe our offers are plenty generous, Lady Alex. Lyra beats Dragus and Pandor in terms of commerce and economic power due to our vast land and ocean trade routes. The royalty you will enjoy would be able to feed your subjects for as long as they live."

"You came here seeking trade and you give me a shit deal," Lady Alex said.

"I believe our deal provides you with an abundant amount of gold in your coffers at the end of the day."

"Randy, see these men out. The trade negotiation's already broken," Lady Alex said.

The bulk of a man moved forward, his eyes menacingly staring down Terrance. Knight guards moved to block him. A tense standoff occurred. Revy's eyes darted side to side to see what the warriors of both sides would do.

The woman, Aurora, was closer to his side than the Lady's. If worst comes to worst, the woman would be used as a hostage to get out of this bandit camp. Surely, they'd value one of their most beautiful women in the camp.

Suddenly, the town hall doors opened.

"My Lady!!" a man, barely in his 20s, shouted.

"Fraser, sup?" Lady Alex said.

"A worker has spilled acetic acid on himself. Please! My Lady, save him!" Fraser shouted.

"Move," Lady Alex said, moving at a high rate of speed towards the door, ignoring Terrance and his crew.

Terrance followed quickly, running at full speed. The knight guards and Revy followed him as they arrived at three distinct large storage houses. A man on the floor writhed in pain. His skin was blistered and completely red from a burn that looked like it came from a dreaded orange dragon.

Lady Alex crouched down onto the man. A look of annoyance flashed on her face briefly before returning to her deadpan expression. Soft green light engulfed the man, and the look of pain on his face gradually vanished as if being comforted.

That skill that she used was part of the Saintess class. Grand Healing. But that wasn't possible. She wasn't a Golden Generation, let alone someone with the class of a ranker who would've left the man to die a horrible death.

"Sir Terran-"

"Shut up. Don't talk," Terrance clicked his tongue.

The man's wounds began to vanish as his muscle fibres reconnected and skin grafted itself back together. Terrance also noticed the water on the ground below the man had completely frozen.

"Are you ok now, Perry?" Lady Alex asked.

"Yes, my Lady. I'm sorry for causing you trouble," Perry said.

"Good. Get some rest first. You're off for today."

Perry stood up and bowed to the lady before leaving the area and going back towards the houses of the bandit camp.

"Are you done watching?" Lady Alex asked.

"Our apologies, Lady Alex," Terrance said. "Since our business is done, we shall take our leave."

"Are you sure?" Revy asked.

"Let's go," Terrance left to the town square first where the carriage waited.

Entering the carriage, he commanded the knight guards to part immediately. The lead knight guard waved, and the coachman whipped the horses, starting the forward movement of the carriage.

Terrance turned on the silence gem as the carriage turned left from the fork that led away from the cobblestoned path and back towards Lyra. The Lady of the camp even knew of the lowly peasant's name. Everything about this camp was truly ridiculous.

"We must report back to the Duke," Terrance said.

"But she only had a prowess of 20. How was that possible?!" Revy asked.

"The Princess may have known." Terrance paused. The possibility wasn't off the table. "A fortunate encounter, huh?"

"Did you also see how she treated her subject?"

"That's not what matters, Revy," Terrance said.

"Then what?"

"That drink itself would change the culture of the royal houses. Do you know what that means?"

"She'd get a lot of money if she sold it to us," Revy said.

"Wrong, you imbecile," Terrance said. "She knew her product was worth more than what we were buying it for. And her business proposal was something I've never heard of, as if..." Terrance trailed off.

The deadpan look in her eyes during that whole negotiation already told him that she did not care one bit at all for any of their negotiations or offers. No matter what they said, she'd only accept a business deal in her favour.

"As if?" Revy asked.

"She saw through us all along. From her business plan alone, she'd make exponentially a lot more money even if it was a 50/50 split on store revenue."

"That doesn't make sense. If it's 50/50 split, then it would be even."

Terrance sighed. "Who do you think would pay for the cost of goods if it's operating within the Duke's territory? It's all about the smaller details that would put the deal in her favour, regardless of whether it feels fair to us."

Revy shut his mouth after that. The thoughts probably ran through his mind. Whoever Lady Alex was, the Duke must be informed. He might know who she is.

The carriage suddenly took a right at the fork.

Terrance turned off the silence gem. "Coachman. You missed the turn and went the wrong way. Take us back in the correct direction to Duke Tanison."

But the only thing the coachman did was smile. "Princess May waits for your arrival at the capital's castle, Sir Terrance."

Terrance turned the silence gem back on. Then this journey was truly Princess May's order to the Duke, huh.

☕︎ ☼ ☕︎ ☽ ☕︎

Alex looked down from the bandit throne at Grey and Fraser. A clear look of annoyance was on her face that she tried her best to control.

"How did the incident happen?" she asked.

"I asked for help to carry the acid to my staging area for testing. It was a batch that Elador requested for use in his experiments."

"Experiments for what?"

"Disinfectant, my Lady," Fraser said.

Oh, right. Alex completely forgot vinegar could be used for disinfecting things. Elador did mention the need for routine industrial sanitation in passing.

"Fine," Alex sighed. "But we need to make some changes."

"Yes, my Lady!" both Fraser and Grey shouted at the same time.

"Fraser, if you need someone to carry something, just ask Yulka. That's their job."

"Understood, my Lady!" Fraser shouted.

"And Grey," Alex said. "Gather up 10 of your best men. We're going to set up an Occupational Safety and Health Administration committee."

"May I ask what that is?"

"Just a committee to inspect safety measures, protocols, and routines are followed all around the camp. I'll have documentation to you by end of day on what the job entails and also the guidelines on how to do inspections on a regular basis," Alex said.

"I understand, my Lady. I shall gather 10 employees and present them to you by end of day," Grey bowed, exiting the town hall. Fraser followed him as well.

It was Alex's nightmare. One of these days, they're going to start complaining about workplace safety. Next thing she knows, they'd probably try to use that as an excuse to get more money from her.

Injuries would also become an issue if too many were down for the count. Productivity would lower, which would become a disaster if they had retail stores asking for supplies but the production couldn't keep up. If production can’t keep up then it would have to take from her personal stock piles of caffeine. And finally, if her caffeine stock pile became empty, her sanity would break.

That was absolutely a no-no.

OSHA guidelines must be followed at all costs for the sake of the company.