“Come here.”
Cherno gestured.
“Elton, bring me a mirror.”
“Yes.”
Elton went into the next room and brought out a mirror.
After saying that, Cherno sat Sephiel on his lap.
“Look. Do you see me in the mirror?”
“Oh!”
Sephiel let out a surprised sound.
“Gyandpa is really in the miyyor!”
“That’s right. I can change my appearance to look older or younger if I want. I made myself look older so that Erga could distinguish me from his father.”
“Ah…”
Daihan looked to be in his mid-thirties, so in truth, Cherno looked more like an older uncle.
‘He can change his face at will? I didn’t know that.’
This was a fact unknown to both Sephiel and the Allegro royal family.
The Remdragon were a family that had long since fallen into seclusion, so their greatness remained only in legend.
Dragons had extraordinarily long lifespans, and it was only known that the first Grand Duke was still alive.
“Do you understand now that I am Erga’s grandfather?”
“Okay, now I’ll remember you in my heart as a gyandpa now. But your previous look…..”
Sephiel nodded obediently.
“You changed your words so easily. You’re quite an interesting child, aren’t you?”
“That’s the highest compliment a dragon can give you, Miss Baby. That you’re an interesting human being worth talking to.” Elton said.
“Elton, don’t say unnecessary things. More importantly, what does this child like?”
“She enjoys having her head patted.”
Sephiel didn’t know when that misunderstanding started, but she just kept her mouth shut.
Because no one had ever given Sephiel warmth in her previous life, she secretly liked being hugged or feeling the warmth of another person.
Cherno gently patted Sephiel’s head.
“It’s cute that you talk so freely, but if you want to live your whole life as a noble, you’ll have to study. Humans seem to value etiquette, after all.”
Sephiel’s heart ached as she heard that.
She was speaking and acting appropriately for her current age, but In her past life, Sephiel had never properly learned etiquette or even how to speak formally.
It was natural. She had been locked away until he was sixteen.
She had spent so much time talking to the walls that her speech patterns had become strange.
Because of that, she had been severely beaten and forced to correct her speech, and only learned to speak properly just before she died.
“I undeyr… stand…”
“Hmm? You get scared of strange things. We dragons don’t care about that kind of thing.”
“Yes.”
Sephiel, momentarily anxious, quickly responded again.
“Well, well, what an interesting child,” Cherno said.
Then there was a knock on the door.
The door opened and the attendants Cherno had brought came in.
One of them spoke.
“Sir, preparations are complete. The merchants from the trading company have met with the negotiator.”
“Mm. Alright, I should get up then.”
Cherno nodded.
“Tyading company?” Sephiel blinked.
“Ah, Elder Master enjoys business as a hobby.”
Elton whispered.
“Oh….”
Sephiel recalled the story she had heard from Berry a while ago.
<But why does the Gyand Duke train with a swoyd? He does it so diligently.>
<Yes?>
<If he fights a human, he will win anyway.>
<Oh. That’s a good question. Do you know about dragons?>
<No.>
<Dragons have very long life spans. And they’re strong. Unless it’s a demon, no ordinary creature can kill a dragon.>
<Hmm.>
<But sometimes, dragons die from lethargy or depression.>
<Really?>
<Yes. That’s why dragons need hobbies to keep them from falling into lethargy for long periods. Once they have a hobby, they enjoy living like lower species while immersing themselves in it. That’s why they live in the human world.>
<Just for a hobby?>
<Yes, that’s called ‘Dragon’s Play’. One life. One hobby. That’s how dragons describe their amusement. For Grand Duke Daihan, his hobby is training in his combat skills. And his goal is to become the world’s strongest swordsman.>
The Kingdom Alliance’s intelligence guild regularly published rankings for various fields.
Swordsmen, mages, trading companies—even rankings for the most beautiful men and women.
‘Hmm, so he’s aiming for the number one spot? The Grand Duke has an unexpected hobby!’
Sephiel understood those words without difficulty.
<And the Grand Duke tries not to use magic or his dragon abilities. He competes against humans with only a sword.>
That was Berry’s final explanation.
‘Right. For dragons, hobbies are like their purpose in life.’
In other words, it was close to the reason they continued to live.
‘Hmm. If they can change their appearance and age freely, no wonder people don’t recognize the Remdragon family.’
That means Daihan and Cherno can freely act as merchants or mercenaries.
Sephiel understood.
‘But wait, Grandpa Cherno’s trading company… where is it?’
Could it be the Cherry Trading Company, known for being small but solid?
Or the Rummora Trading Company, the dominant force of the seas?
Or perhaps Mia Trading Company, the top seller of swords?’
Because dragons are strong and have great abilities.
It was sure to be an impressive trading company.
Sephiel felt a bit excited.
“Then…”
“Yes, here is the contract for the investment deal.”
The emblem of a trading company is faintly visible on the contract.
‘Which company is it?’
Sephiel unconsciously leaned forward, tilting her head to see.
‘A golden emblem?’
“Here, we’ve brought the funds for the final payment.”
Then another man came in and placed a small treasure chest on the table. It was a box that looked heavy at first glance.
“They are all physical diamonds. The transaction volume is large.”
‘Huh…?’
Sephiel was at a loss for words when she saw the emblem stamped boldly on the treasure chest.
‘This emblem… No way…’
A golden dragon mark was prominently displayed at the center of the chest
‘I’ve seen this mark before. Grandpa’s trading company… was called the Golden Dragon Trading Company.’
Sephiel couldn’t hide her shock.
That’s understandable, that company, the Golden Dragon Company, was very famous.
‘A symbol of certain failure, the epitome of ruin, a company with an absurd amount of money that went under due to poor investments.’
That was the reputation that followed the Golden Dragon Company.
To be precise, it had followed it. Because…
‘It’s a company that’s about to go bankrupt!’
And not just any bankruptcy—a total collapse.
In her previous life, Sephiel had read a paper about the Golden Dragon Company.
It contained the following passage:
[They have a lot of money, but they tend to invest it in strange places. They have had one major success, but when they fail, they fail spectacularly.
They have a monopoly on high-quality magic stones, but given that they do not increase mining production, they do not seem interested in aggressive profit-making.
They lack the cold-blooded nature of a true businessman and sometimes follow noble causes over profit.
If only they had hired reliable external advisors and listened to their advice, they would not have gone bankrupt.]
‘Nevertheless, there was a joke that they had so much money that they must have a dragon behind them.…’
‘Now I see that the joke wasn’t a joke.’
‘The dragon is right there! Grandpa is the one backing them!’
And judging by the fact that they were openly using the Golden Dragon mark, they weren’t even trying to hide it.
‘That’s right. This old man was the Golden Dragon, after all.’
Three hundred years ago, the war with the demons.
It was already a well-known fact that Cherno, who played an extremely active role in the Kingdom Alliance Liberation War, was a golden dragon.
‘Traits of a gold dragon: highly dominant personality, loves wealth. Collectors of precious gems and exceptional researchers of magic!’
These were all things Sephiel had read in her past life.
While Sephiel was in shock, Cherno and his attendant continued their conversation.
“What’s the status of the company’s bank vaults?”
“The funds are nearly depleted. However, if this deal goes well….”
“I know. If this deal succeeds, our trading company will skyrocket to the top of the rankings in no time.”
For a moment Sephiel raised her head.
‘In a previous life, not too far from now. Wasn’t there an incident that led to the collapse of the Golden Dragon Company?’
It was such a famous incident that even Sephiel knew about it.
“Oh no, this is that moment!”
“Hm? Miss Baby, you’re still here?”
“Mo….Sa? Candy…?”
“Candy?”
Sephiel pretended not to know anything and spoke innocently.
“No, I want to buy something better than candy,” Cherno said.
“Ah, I see!”
Sephiel spoke with innocent enthusiasm.
“Something bettyer than candy!”
“Do you know what that is?”
“Yes! A hwouse made of candy! You’re buying a hwouse, right?”
The people of the Golden Dragon Company and Cherno’s attendants all burst into laughter.
“I guess you want a candy house. That’s a really cute idea. But adults don’t buy houses made of candy.”
Cherno’s attendant answered.
He was the one who brought Cherno the contract.
“Then what’s bettyer than that?”
Sephiel asked innocently again.
“Yes. Instead of just buying a house… there’s something even better….”
The man continued:
“Buying land. A massive piece of land where you can build houses, buildings, and shops.”
Sephiel was horrified.
‘This is it. The real estate investment scam that would go down in history.’
‘No—This wasn’t just any real estate scam.’
The <Planned City Mutrah> incident.
The largest real estate fraud in history.
And right now, Cherno was about to invest in it.
* * *
