“Haha, haha, really.”
Cherno, who had been silent for a long time as if he had nothing to say, burst into laughter.
Only then did Sephiel finally breathe a sigh of relief.
“Yeah, when Elton said you were a genius, I thought he was crazy and talked nonsense. Yeah. You’re definitely a genius. That’s right.”
Cherno stroked his chin and nodded.
‘Phew, it worked.’
Sephiel looked at Cherno with sparkling eyes.
“If you’re going to be the future daughter-in-law of our family, and grow up as one of our own, then you should be this talented.”
Cherno added cheerfully.
“Well then, little baby genius raccoon.”
“Yes?”
“Let’s go eat something.”
Now that was the best thing Sephiel had heard all day.
“Yes!”
Sephiel nodded and jumped up.
* * *
‘Whoa.’
Sephiel looked at the table, holding back her drool.
‘So this is what they call a high-class restaurant in the Volun!’
The Allied Kingdoms were generally wealthy, but the wealth flowing through the Volun was on another level.
Cherno was being very generous.
As a reward for Sephiel’s hard work, he treated her to a nice meal and ordered whatever food Sephiel liked.
‘Except for the food that’s too spicy, of course. But they all look delicious.’
—Tak
Sephiel took a big bite of the honey-glazed grilled pork.
It was so delicious that it melted in her mouth.
‘What should I try next? This bread I’ve never seen before?’
Then Sephiel noticed Cherno had been lost in thought for a while.
“Gyandpa, ywou don’t like it?”
“Oh no, it’s delicious.”
“Then why do ywou look sad and not eat?”
“Hm. I was thinking about what happened this time. There were no losses, but there were no gains either.”
“But no more pyoblems now, wight?”
“Yes. Thanks to you, I was able to catch the scammer. This isn’t the first or second time I’ve been fooled like this. Maybe this is where business should end.”
Cherno said nonchalantly.
Sephiel opened her eyes wide.
“Why? Gyandpa, you don’t like making mowney now?”
“No. I really like it. But adults have to stop even things they like, sometimes.”
“……”
It was a bit of a difficult topic for Sephiel. But it made her genuinely curious.
“Then Gyandpa, why make mowney? You said the Gyand Duke’s family is already rich….”
“Because it’s fun, of course. Running this merchant guild has nothing to do with the Grand Duke’s estate. The current Grand Duke isn’t even me, remember?”
Sephiel had worried that if the Golden Dragon Merchant Guild went under, the Grand Duke’s family would suffer too.
‘So the finances of the Grand Duke’s family and the Golden Dragon Company are completely separate! I was mistaken.’
But thanks to this, she’d taken down the 9th-ranked person on the Death Note and grown closer to Cherno, so it wasn’t all bad.
“And that’s not the only reason,” Cherno added.
“The reason I make money is simple. I’m tired of being strong with this body.”
“Hmm? What does that mean?”
Cherno chuckled and explained slowly.
“Three hundred and fifty years ago, when I was just born, the people of this land were fighting fierce battles against the demons. Back then, strength was everything—you needed it to survive. But the times have changed.”
“Then what kind of pewson is styong now?”
“Someone with money.” Cherno answered shortly.
“The rule of this world right now is money. Earning money through my own power, and winning in the world of merchants—That’s my goal now.”
“Really?”
That’s the goal.
Sephiel suddenly recalled the decision she’d made, long ago.
In the dark prison, Sephiel had once thought:
<I want to be rich, live well, and be happy. I don’t want the Allegro royal family to ever be able to touch me again.>
That was Sephiel’s dream. But to achieve that dream…
‘I need power.’
Though she’d never considered exactly what kind of power that meant.
“Gyandpa.”
“Yes.”
“Does having mowney make ywou a powerful and strong pewson?”
Chernor looked at Sephiel with a curious expression, then gently patted her head.
“Little raccoon.”
“Yes.”
“The Allied Kingdoms have shared the same currency and systems for 300 years and are practically one country. But each kingdom still has its own laws and territories. How do you think I would have united these Kingdoms before?”
“Hmm… War… maybe?”
“Correct. Back then, it was all about taking up swords and iron to conquer and kill. But once Florentine was banished beyond the abyss, that era ended. Now, it’s the era of money.”
“……”
“If you want to conquer another country, you can do so by ruining and oppressing it with money. It’s a much more elegant way to do it, with fewer casualties than before.”
“But still..…”
If even one of the Four Lords’ territories went bankrupt…
‘People would starve, children would die, and someone would lose their homeland.’
“That’s bad too.”
Sephiel’s hands trembled slightly.
Cherno’s story reminded her of Allegro’s recent actions.
‘Why does the Allegro royal family do all kinds of illegal things to collect money?’
The answer became clearer. Maybe…
‘Are they planning for war?’
It costs a lot of money to fight a war.
‘If something like that happens…’
‘But even so, there’s nothing I can do about it, right?’
For now, surviving was the priority. Sephiel was still just a five-year-old child.
“Unlike violence, which only brings death, money is also something people need to live,” Cherno said.
“So I decided to make money and gain power. I wanted to use my wealth, not my power, to save people, create jobs, and build cities. But after almost getting fooled this time… I’m having second thoughts.”
Sephiel looked at Cherno.
‘A 350-year-old grandpa who opens his heart to a little kid like me.’
‘He was such a strange person.’
‘He could probably wipe out half this kingdom if he wanted to. But he still gets hurt by people, and he doesn’t even fully use his talent.’
Sephiel looked at Cherno and then tapped his elbow.
“Gyandpa. Remember? Ywou asked me how I knew it was a scam.”
“You realized that because you’re a genius. You said it yourself.” Cherno said nonchalantly.
‘Well, it’s true, but it’s a bit strange to hear it from someone else.’
Sephiel almost blushed at the thought.
“Well, that’s not all.”
“Then what is it?”
Sephiel said with a big smile.
“There’s one diffeyence between Gyandpa and me! And that ‘diffeyence’ is the only thing Gyandpa lacks.”
“Please keep talking.”
“Gyandpa is smart and cool. But you’re too…..”
“Too?”
And Sephiel said brightly,
“Gyandpa is too nice!”
Cherno went silent.
“Little raccoon, what are you saying to me right now?”
“Gyandpa.”
Sephiel looked him in the eyes, unwavering.
“The tyuth is, even if I wasn’t a genius, I should have known right away that Gate was a lie.”
“And how on earth would you know that?”
“Because….”
Sephiel spoke seriously, unlike any child.
“If the Gate had really been perfect and usable by anyone then…..”
“Then?”
“Then the mayor of Polun would never have left it alone.”
Cherno’s eyes slowly sank.
“If you’re talking about the mayor of Volun, you mean Morohan, who’s ruling temporarily. He is a very greedy man.”
The Free City of Volun.
A city-state with a natural advantage, connected by Gates to the lands of the other three lords.
So it was the smallest but richest city-state.
“I read it in a book. Polun’s a rich city because of the Gate that lets ywou go anyvwhere easily.” Sephiel said.
“That’s right. That’s why land prices are so expensive.”
“Then who owns the most land?”
“Of course, it would be a noble from Volun. For example, Morohan. He even owns a merchant guild under his name, and he focuses on real estate investment.”
Even as he spoke, Cherno had an expression on his face as if he was realizing something.
“Wait a minute, little raccoon.”
“Yeah.”
Sephiel nodded.
“Somvething spewcial is expensive. Polun is spewcial. But…”
“……”
“What if there’s a place that can replace that ‘speciaylness’? Then the value of the Polun will fall. That’s right. The land price will fall. So, if I were the mayor….”
Sephiel tapped her chin with her tiny finger, pretending to think.
“If somevwhere really popped up that could replace Volun, he’d either try to destyoy it or take it. But he just left it alone!” Sephiel said.
“And that’s when I started wondering. Is this Gate really real?”
Cherno said nothing.
Sephiel was scared he might be angry, but he didn’t seem to be.
“So what you’re saying is—I was too nice to see something that simple?”
“Yup.” Sephiel said.
“Gyandpa doesn’t understand. Human selfishness.”
Even if it meant turning his own daughter into a living corpse, or imprisoning royal heirs with prophetic appearances and eventually poisoning them—Such ruthless greed to maintain power.
‘Grandpa is a dragon. A being born strong and perfect can’t understand that kind of ugliness.’
Only now did Sephiel understand why the once-promising Golden Dragon Guild went bankrupt.
Cherno lacked that greed.
“Gyandpa is a dragon. Dragons are diffeyent from humans. A tiger only hunts when it needs to. It eats prey like rabbits only when it’s hungry.”
“……”
“But humans aren’t like that. They always want more. No matter how full they are.”
Yes. Sephiel understood now. The world of money runs on selfishness and greed.
‘Now I can see that I have become evil.’
These are facts that Sephiel of her previous life did not know.
“Hah…..”
Cherno’s expression turned complicated.
“So this kid isn’t just a genius—she’s got a grasp of the world, too.”
“Yup.”
Cherno stroked Sephiel’s soft cheek.
Cherno was suddenly smiling brightly.
“So, you clever and cute little thing. What should I do to make up for what I lack?”
Sephiel hadn’t expected him to ask.
She knew people of high status like Cherno usually hated taking advice from those younger or female.
“Hmm. The thing ywou lacked… is….”
Sephiel tilted her head as if thinking for a moment.
“Nothing anymvore!”
“Didn’t you say earlier I lacked something?”
“I said ywou almost got tricked. But ywou didn’t get tricked. So ywou don’t lack anytwhing now.” Sephiel replied.
Cherno chuckled, not minding the wordplay.
“What kind of riddle are you talking about, huh? If you tease an adult, you’ll be punished.”
He gently tapped her nose, just like Berry would play the “Coco mouth-mouth eye-eye” game.
So instead of crying, Sephiel just laughed.
“I read this in a book too, it said, ‘A pewson running a guild doesn’t need to be omnipotent. They just need to borrow strevngth from someone else.’”
That was a fundamental lesson in both business and royal studies.
“So, what you’re saying is…..”
“Yes!”
Sephiel said confidently.
“Gyandpa, when ywou don’t know something, just ask a human. That’s ywour strength too. This time, I wanted to help ywou ‘cause I like ywou. That’s how I figured out the scam.”
“…..”
Sephiel recalled the report she read in her past life about the Golden Dragon Company.
‘The only thing that Golden Dragon Company lacks is the absence of trustworthy experts and advisors.’
Yes, that’s what it said.
“Are you saying that you helped me today because I looked good to you?”
“Yup, it’s that….”
Sephiel tapped the back of Cherno’s hand with her small hand.
“Because Gyandpa’s a good gyandpa. So I started to like ywou too. Getting peovple to like ywou—that’s a super important human skill.”
Then Sephiel stretched out both arms to draw a big circle.
“If ywou gain this much favor, ywou get this much mowney in return! See? That’s what they call ‘business’ in the human world.”
Sephiel’s father, Wittegar III, was a terrible person but…..
<Everything in this world is tied to money—War, diplomacy, even petty affairs of the heart. Affection and trust? They’re just money. Buy them if you must, use them, and stab them in the back later if needed.>
He understood the nature of money and power all too well.
‘Grandpa Cherno is right. My father was ultimately obsessed with money, and it was because he was greedy for power.’
“Well I’ll be… ha, haha!”
Cherno finally burst into laughter.
“The Allegro royal family has produced a great child. How did someone like you come from that pack of fools?”
“…….”
Sephiel blinked.
‘Well, I thought maybe I went too far.’
She was relieved he didn’t seem to hate her.
“Little raccoon. I take back what I said.”
“Yes?”
“About how this mission had no results. That’s the one. But it did have results. I discovered that our family now has an incredible little genius among us.”
Cherno’s eyes softened a little.
“Right, little raccoon?”
Sephiel’s cheeks slowly turned red.
‘Grandpa acknowledges me.’
Sephiel felt really happy.
* * *
