Chapter 123
Five hours ago, in an outbuilding owned by Sperom.
A business exhibition was in full swing.
Arellin and the kids were looking at a different world.
“Lots of people…”
She thought it was just a Sperom family event, but it wasn’t.
It was a festival of its own, with merchants flocking to spend the enormous sums of money they had earned at the World’s Fair, and the budding businessmen of the future who had been preparing for this moment.
“I see you’re here again today.”
“This is the best-selling item. The cute shapes are popular after all.”
“The more complicated the pattern, the more popular it is. It sells very well!”
… She doesn’t know why so many people are all wearing stickers on their cheeks.
She got misty-eyed and desperately pretended not to see it.
The elderly man in her house was still asking for a sticker today.
He snatched the “Good job” sticker from her.
She ran out of <Try harder!> stickers, so she had to give him one, and he was so happy to receive it.
‘I wonder if it was actually a sophisticated ploy on his part.’
She wonder if this #blackmailer #dad is good.
“Arel?”
“Ah. Yeah.”
Pession, who’d been distracted for a moment, rushed over and looked at her with concern.
“Are you sick again?”
“No. I was just thinking about something else.”
“You should tell me if you’re sick.”
“Yes.”
Was it really such a shock to realize that she was sick and he hadn’t realized it?
Pession’s examination of her became a little more thorough.
“I’m glad you’re feeling better soon, though.”
Pession looked at her with pride.
“How can you get healthy in such a short time? It must be exercise!”
No.
It was the result of a combination of items the twins had gotten their agent to buy for them on their last outing to the auction house.
It was originally a trick item used by the sorceress in the novel to outwit the knights Aaron and Pession, but now it’s her secondary item.
‘Temptation’s the best.’
She should have used it sooner!
She curses the days she spent without this nectar.
‘The nurserymen protested that it would cause muscle degeneration.’
The human need for convenience has long driven technological advances.
Humans are tool-using animals!
‘Hoo-hoo, I’ve taken a Combat Support Potion here, and it’s temporarily boosted my stamina to a level that mimics that of a normal person.’
Agility support, strength support, stamina support potions!
Potions were the best invention ever.
Potions are gods, and she is invincible.
She shook her head, remembering the moniker she’d used in her previous life.
“I’m glad you’re healthy!”
Whatever it was, as long as Pession was happy and she was comfortable.
She was the only one who needed to know the truth.
She grinned at Pession, who smiled back.
“But why are there so many wizards here?”
As she spoke, another wizard swept past her.
His robes were impeccable, perhaps because he was being hunted by the tower.
“…?”
Aaron looked at her strangely, but she pretended not to notice. Pession spoke up.
“Wizards are always in need of research grants.”
“So you come out here to make money?”
“They make random things and sell them to fund their research.”
She found out some adult stuff she didn’t really want to know, but that’s okay,
‘But at least they’re made by wizards, and they’re all coveted.’
It was only her eyes.
The others looked at it, then shook their heads and walked away.
“But when are the twins coming back?”
The twins, who were supposed to come back after saying goodbye to the adults in the house, never did.
***
The twins were facing a crisis, not a time.
A business exhibition, an event where the entire Sperom clan gathers.
Today was supposed to be a casual browse of the goods on display and a business meeting with only a few items of interest to the clan members.
Some of these would be Sperom’s own businesses, while others would be affiliated companies or partnerships.
“Yes, twins.”
The patriarch, Duke Simon Sperom, was currently away at an Imperial & Grahamwort-sponsored antiquities auction, so the business meeting was organized by Philip Sperom, the current second in command of the family and Simon’s younger brother.
The twins’ ordeal began there.
“Haha, a business in your name, already? Hahaha.”
They quickly bowed and tried to leave, but were caught.
“You’re so young, so young, already wanting to try your hand at commerce, that’s so Sperom. It’s like watching your childhood… You were amazing then…”
Although Philip Sperom was outclassed by Simon Sperom in every way, he was a huge figure within the Sperom family.
However, he was also a somewhat overzealous father who wanted his children to win, perhaps due to the trauma of always losing to his older brother.
That was a problem.
“You’re so much like him, huh.”
Ciel whispered.
“We don’t look alike, Dad.”
“Dad always says he doesn’t know who we look like.”
Noel shook his head.
Regardless of the twins’ opinions, Philip Sperom seemed to have a lot on his mind.
There was no history of bone headedness in the Sperom family, but it was hardly surprising that a family that was like a giant gold mine of money should be free of squabbles.
It was just done in a different way.
Only those who have proven their worth have more.
Anyone in the immediate line who manifested their talents was eligible to become a patriarch. Natural competition would separate the winners from the culls, an old Sperom tradition.
Philip Sperom’s eyes lit up.
“My Daniel is thinking of setting up another business, and I think we should take a look at it together.”
The twins’ expressions died down sharply.
“Haha. Daniel already has a business, so he’ll be able to help you guys with your first business venture.”
“Ehh…”
He swallowed hard to say he didn’t need it, and Noel and Ciel exchanged a troubled look.
Daniel, Philip’s son, was now fifteen years old, a cousin of the twins, and a good deal older than them.
The Duke, Simon Sperom, had had children late in life due to a love marriage.
As a result, the twins saw Daniel often and knew each other very well. He couldn’t help but notice.
“Just trust me,” he said, “I’ll pick your business!”
The good old boy.
The twins sighed.
“We’ll just…”
“We want to see our friends…”
They didn’t need their cousin’s help. The twins had no intention of running a business on their own.
‘I’ll have Arellin pick it out.’
The guts to chuck dragon byproducts, the flair to create a sticker fad!
The twins were sure. Arellin would surely be able to pick out an amazing business idea.
“What can we do…”
The twins, who had unintentionally added a hump, wondered.
“Dad told us to be good if we want a lot of capital.”
“Isn’t this enough?”
The twins have improved a lot lately. To the point where the vassals and users of Sperom were crying and overjoyed.
There’s even a strange custom of bowing in the direction of Halbern Manor every morning and evening, blaming it all on Arellin.
Indeed, Arellin’s influence was real.
He used to be so bored that he couldn’t stand it if he didn’t find something new to do every chance he got, but these days, anything involving Arellin was fun.
“Daniel, we promised our friends.”
“Yeah, and I brought some friends to see the show with me.”
For the first time in a long time, the twins tried being nice before they tried being evil.
If you’re smart, you get out.
But Daniel wasn’t having any of it!
“Friends? You’re fine, let’s go see the show!”
“Huh? Huh?”
That’s not right.
Noel pouted his lips. It was one of those times when he wished he hadn’t been so nice and just done what he was told.
Suddenly, Ciel grabbed the hem of Noel’s.
“Why?”
“You’ll see.”
Ciel giggled, and Noel shook his head.
Daniel, noticing a group of kids barely above the average age wandering around the fairgrounds, approached them with a converted smile.
Daniel nearly fainted at the sight of the wild Crown Prince.
‘No, why is the Crown Prince here!’
