The next day, at the Rose Prison, Workshop No. 1 in the regular district’s textile factory.
“…Currently, the most common types of disposable sanitary products on the market include this type of tampon. It uses highly absorbent hemp or cotton cloth wrapped around a smoothed wooden core. Higher-end ones use cores made from polished horn or ivory. When in use, you simply insert it. The outer wrap is replaceable, and the core can be reused multiple times,” a prisoner from the regular district explained to Aiden, holding the product as she spoke. She had been recently incarcerated and previously ran a small workshop that produced female hygiene products. “However, many people aren’t comfortable inserting things there, so they still prefer using cotton pads. This type has a layered structure: an outer layer of woven cotton fabric, a bottom layer of coarse, absorbent material, and the middle is filled with cotton and dried moss. The diapers used for babies are similar, but they use peat as the filling.”
“Looks pretty thick,” Aiden commented.
“Yes, the absorbency of cotton fabric is limited and can easily leak, so it needs a certain thickness,” the prisoner explained, holding up the cotton pad. “It does feel bulky when worn, so it’s only practical with skirts. It’s also inconvenient in hot weather since the pad can be quite stuffy and sometimes even causes rashes.”
Aiden was conducting market research for a new business venture. Although he felt the materials provided by the Witch gathering had great potential, making a profit in the market was a different story. If he made any unauthorized changes to the prison’s workshop production and ended up with a substantial loss, as the warden, he would be held responsible.
He inquired further about the market costs and pricing of existing women’s hygiene products, then mentally calculated his own production costs.
Based on his research so far, his proposed product looked quite competitive. While it couldn’t compare to the modern products from his previous world, it was an invention ahead of its time in this one.
Compared to a typical factory, labor costs in the prison were incredibly low. Even if they had to compete in a price war against similar products, they’d still hold a distinct advantage.
If he introduced this to prospective sales partners, there’d likely be a bidding war at the tender.
“So, with our current equipment, would it be feasible to make a pad in this shape?” Aiden asked, showing the prisoner a diagram of the sanitary pad he envisioned.“It’s doable… but with this size, you can’t fit in much filling,” the prisoner noted.
“That’s fine. I have a better filling material,” Aiden waved his hand dismissively.
With that, he only needed a few days to adjust the facilities in the textile workshop and train the prisoners. Once the raw materials from the Witch gathering arrived, they could start production.
Entering a new market always came with some risk, but the potential profit was equally significant. If this product sold well, Rose Prison could completely resolve its funding issues.
At that moment, a commotion of shouts and clattering sounds reached Aiden’s ears, making him frown instantly—the noise seemed to be coming from the textile workshop in the Core area.
He promptly stood up and strode toward the source of the noise.
The mercury-alloy golem stationed at the door of Workshop No. 1 automatically fell into step behind him, mirroring his pace precisely, like his shadow.
When Aiden burst into the noisy workshop, the alarm bell had already been sounded.
Four prisoners were grappling with each other, knocking over several sewing machines. The other prisoners merely watched, some even cheering on the fight from the sidelines, while the inmates who usually helped Aiden maintain order were absent from this workshop.
The prison guards on duty were blowing whistles and waving batons as a warning, but to no avail. Except for Veronica, who could handle herself well, guards rarely intervened directly in brawls involving multiple prisoners. Instead, they usually called the specialized riot squad to handle such situations.
This time, however, Aiden was nearby and had arrived first.
“Four targets, restraint mode,” he commanded, and snapping his fingers.
At his command, the mercury golem sprang into action, rushing toward the center of the scuffle. It lunged at the fighting prisoners, instantly transforming into several interlocking iron rings bound by chains. The rings snapped open, clamping down on each prisoner’s neck and wrists, with the chains tightening to pull their hands in front of their necks, immobilizing them.
In just a blink, the mercury golem had each of the four prisoners securely restrained, the iron rings around their necks connected by chains. Another portion of the golem transformed into solid metal weights chained to the prisoners, anchoring them to the ground without putting excessive strain on their necks.
With the core provided by Vera, the mercury golem had become more intelligent and controllable, no longer requiring precious metals to ensure its loyalty. It was now an extremely efficient tool for maintaining order.
“Huh? What’s going on?”
“What is this thing?!”
The fighting prisoners were momentarily thrown into confusion, some turning to notice the warden, only to go pale with fear.
Only one prisoner, restrained but still furious, tried lunging toward another. “I’ll kill you!”
“Ophelia,” recognizing the prisoner instantly, Aiden called out coldly from behind her.
Ophelia froze, her whole body stiffening as she heard the familiar voice.
It took her a moment, but with movements as stiff as if her neck were rusted, she slowly turned her head. “Y-you…”
“Eager to see the sun again, are we?” Aiden gave her a “friendly” smile.
Ophelia instantly fell silent.
Clearly, the punishment he’d given her after her failed escape attempt had left her with a lasting psychological scar.
“What’s going on here?” Aiden turned to the guard on duty for an explanation.
The guard quickly saluted and stepped forward to report the cause of the conflict.
The three prisoners fighting Ophelia were her cellmates. That morning, she’d had a minor dispute with one of them. While working, they had mocked Ophelia, calling her “the queen of groundhogs” and “a wild dog licking up slaughterhouse pig’s blood.” Of course, this level of trash talk wasn’t unusual among prisoners in the Core District.
But today, they’d pushed the wrong button. Ophelia, who was prideful by nature, had already been under immense stress from the punishment and was in a state of pent-up frustration. Their taunting had hit a nerve, and snapped her, making her grabbed a tool nearby and smashed it at one of them.
Once the two started fighting, the other two prisoners immediately jumped in, leading to the scene Aiden walked in on.
Just as Aiden had expected, Ophelia, after all her restraint, finally erupted over something trivial.
“All right, that’s about what I figured!” Aiden nodded at Ophelia. “You really didn’t let me down.”