"Is this that olive oil everyone's talking about?"
"Yeah, I went to the Sergius Bathhouse yesterday, and they had it there too."
A small workshop located in an alley in Subura.
Chatting with a coworker, Cataina hefted an amphora of urine.
The pungent smell of urine and acrid sulfur.
And togas and tunics piled up like mountains everywhere.
Just looking at this scene, one could immediately tell what kind of work they did.
It was one of Rome's many laundries.
"This olive oil is supposed to wash clothes?"
She said, looking at the amphora her colleague handed her with suspicious eyes.
"I don't know, the man who brought it said so."
A unique emblem engraved on the top of the amphora caught Cataina's eye.
Although there were letters written below, Cataina couldn't read.
"A wheel and an eagle?"
"He said it would help with laundry and gave me two bottles. Said young Caesar made it."
"That young Caesar who started the insurance business? But I've never heard of washing clothes with olive oil before."
"Me neither."
Cataina shrugged and headed towards the pool where laundry was piled up.
It was a well-known fact to any Roman laundress that there was no better cleaning agent than urine.
Otherwise, why would they painstakingly collect amphoras full of urine every morning and set them up on the streets again?
Thinking that, Cataina poured onion peels into the urine pool.
Anyone else would faint just from the smell, but Cataina was already used to this kind of stench.
Stirring the onion peels in the urine pool with her foot, she asked her colleague.
"Is it olive oil with onions in it?"
Onions, like urine, were one of the important ingredients for thoroughly washing clothes.
"I don't know, but it doesn't seem like it after smelling it."
"Then what exactly is so good about it?"
Cataina had never heard of washing clothes with olive oil before.
"Giving olive oil for free, what a strange person."
Unless the purpose was to ruin the clothes in this laundry, what fool would give away perfectly good olive oil for free?
"Cataina, don't be like that, let's try pouring some water. Maybe it'll clean the clothes like magic."
"How can oil and water mix? Even a child knows that."
Cataina replied with a playful laugh.
"Just think of it as wasting a bucket of water."
"Alright, alright."
Eventually, she picked up an amphora filled with water as if she couldn't refuse.
"Oh, wait?"
The moment she poured in the water, both of them froze. As soon as the water touched the olive oil, white foam immediately began to form.
"It's foam...?"
"What? What?"
They stared at the clothes pile, stunned.
"I've never seen olive oil that foams."
Reaching out, she picked up a toga and vigorously scrubbed it with her hands.
The harder she scrubbed, the more white foam appeared all over the fabric.
And that wasn't all.
Along with the white foam, black filth bled out, and the clothes gradually turned whiter.
It took a while of scrubbing the clothes before Cataina finally came to her senses.
By then, the pool was already full of white foam and grime that had flowed from the clothes.
Cataina brought the toga she had been scrubbing to her nose.
There was only a faint walnut scent emanated from the clothes; there was no other smell.
Looking at the whitened toga, Cataina asked.
"What's this called again?"
***
"Is there no more of that new olive oil?"
"I heard there was still some here and walked all the way from the opposite neighborhood."
The bathhouse owner, Cerinthus, couldn't help but be flustered by the throng of customers.
"We're out for now. More stock will arrive tomorrow."
"I ran over as soon as I heard the rumor, but it's already all gone, good grief."
"Why don't you try the bathhouse next door? I heard they still have some left there."
Disappointed customers poured out of the bathhouse.
Cerinthus stared blankly for a moment, then called his young son.
"You go to Caesar's mansion right now. Go get more Palmolive—whatever it takes."
This was an opportunity he absolutely couldn't miss.
A golden opportunity to gain an advantage over other bathhouses.
To do that, he needed more Palmolive.
"Okay, Father."
The young son nodded and asked.
"By the way, what's it called?"
***
"The laundries are clamoring for even one more amphora of Palmolive, Young Master."
"And the bathhouses?"
"Bathhouses keep coming back, asking for more. They say it's incredibly popular among customers."
Felix said, putting down the papyrus he was holding.
"It seems the goddess Fortuna truly favors you, Young Master."
"It's not thanks to fate, but our strategy worked perfectly."
As expected.
Once they used Palmolive, they'll never go back to what they used before.
But not all problems were solved.
"We're making it faster than we can sell it."
"To think we have surplus even after supplying bathhouses and laundries."
Although rumors about Palmolive were spreading, people still only used Palmolive in bathhouses.
If people start thinking Palmolive is supposed to be free, the number of consumers who will pay for it themselves will decrease.
The Palmolive currently being produced in the factory was continuously accumulating in the warehouse.
Considering the cost of warehouse rental, we had to increase demand as quickly as possible.
Thanks to the division of labor, production has actually increased too much.
But at this point, we couldn't just go back to inefficient methods.
Just as I let out a low sigh, someone opened my door and walked in.
It was my younger sister, Julia.
"Brother, Mom says to come out for dinner!"
"Okay, Julia. Let's go together."
I headed to the living room with Julia.
On the table were meat, milk, and various breads and vegetables.
"Lucius, don't you get bored talking about business all day at home?"
Mother said, looking at Felix.
"Felix, you should go rest now too."
"Oh my, thank you, Mistress. Thank you so much."
As if afraid I would stop him, Felix hurried away.
At his retreating figure, the three of us all burst into laughter.
"Sometimes, let Felix rest too, Lucius."
"But I do give him plenty of money for the work he does."
After sitting down, the three of us began to eat together.
Many people believed Romans always ate lying down, but that was somewhat different from the truth.
Eating lying on couches was usually only done at banquets.
For everyday meals, Romans also used tables and chairs normally.
Of course, during the Imperial era that followed the Republic, many people began to eat all three meals lying down.
When our plates were halfway empty, mother asked me.
"So, how is that Palmolive business you mentioned earlier going?"
"It's not going as well as I thought."
I replied honestly.
"Is there some problem?"
"Not everyone immediately accepts new things. Palmolive must be one of those."
"To be honest, I was a little uneasy when I first used the one you gave me too."
Mother said with a smile.
I had given Mother a few bottles of the first Palmolive produced as a gift.
"But after using it once, it certainly smells good, and my body feels cleaner."
"That's a relief then."
"I tried it too, and it was really soft!"
Julia said, munching on a piece of bread.
"Then how about offering a sacrifice?"
"A sacrifice?"
At her words, I tilted my head.
In fact, Romans offered sacrifices for almost everything.
Every Roman citizen would wake up in the morning and pray to Lar, the god of the household.
Wealthy people even set up a separate shrine in their homes for this purpose.
Not only that, whenever there were various family events like weddings and funerals, Romans would divine omens from animal entrails and offer sacrifices to various gods.
However, as someone who lived in the 21st century, I didn't attach much importance to such superstitions.
"I know you're not very religious, but sometimes asking the gods for help can be the answer."
I unconsciously murmured her last words.
"Asking the gods for help..."
Perhaps that could be the answer.
I stood up from the chair, approached mother, and kissed her cheek.
"I'll try as you say, mother."
"That's good. As it happens, I know a capable priest. We could even go tomorrow for..."
"Ah, no sacrifice is needed. I'll ask the gods in my own way."
I grinned at her, who was tilting her head.
The insurance business achieved unexpected success thanks to the rumor of divine revelation.
Religion was a very powerful tool in this era.
Then there must be a way to use it more actively.
"After all, my father is Pontifex Maximus. Wouldn't the gods help me even more?"
***
After Caesar's insurance business became sensationally popular, a strange rivalry sprang up among Rome's temples.
Everything that happened in Rome was the domain of the gods.
For war: the gods Mars and Minerva.
For family happiness: Vesta and the Penates.
For commerce and trade: Mercury and Fortuna.
Then which god's revelation did young Caesar receive to start the insurance business?
"Young Caesar visited our temple of Jupiter and received a revelation. Therefore, the insurance business was naturally started by the revelation of Jupiter."
"Nonsense! Elder Caesar is Pontifex Maximus. All gods can visit the family of the Supreme Priest!"
"Then which god delivered the revelation to young Caesar?"
"Shouldn't the Pontifex Maximus decide when he returns from Hispania?"
"Clearly, Goddess Vesta gave him guidance."
Temples were maintained by the offerings of numerous devotees and state budgets.
The temple corresponding to whichever god delivered the revelation would enjoy greater popularity.
While young Caesar remained silent, each temple engaged in a fierce underground struggle.
Among them were strategies to win young Caesar's favor.
But Caesar was not easily swayed by various offers.
What he actually chose was something nobody expected.
The Temple of Vesta.
The sacred temple that guarded Rome's undying fire.
The rumor that he went to meet the Vestal Virgins spread throughout Rome.