Chapter 125
“I, Your Highness.”
Daniel, who had been standing there open-mouthed and dumbfounded, stammered out his greeting.
“Forgive my rudeness, Your Highness, I’m…”
Pession frowned. He’d come out here to make himself comfortable, not to draw attention to himself.
“Who?”
“The…”
He tried to introduce himself, but his throat closed up and he stuttered again.
Daniel turned bright red with a rush of shame and cursed the twins.
Why is the Crown Prince here, the one the twins have to enter the palace to see!
He swore, Daniel never expected to see the Crown Prince here!
‘If you were going to bring him here, you could have at least said something!’
The twins had also caught Arellin, and they were resentful that Pession had come along for the ride, but Daniel had no way of knowing that.
“That’s our cousin’s.”
“Daniel Sperom.”
The twins, who had joined him at a leisurely pace, grinned at Daniel.
‘Those bastards did that on purpose.’
Pession shrugged.
“I, Your Highness…”
“Lower your voice.”
“Yes.”
Luckily, they thought they were playing and didn’t pay any more attention.
Daniel was suddenly frustrated. He’d thought they were friends.
‘Wait a minute.’
On second glance, the quiet one next to the Crown Prince was Mubisk’s second.
‘And who is that girl?’
Daniel was mesmerized by the pale pink, rose-stone eyes that met him for a moment.
Pession’s gaze sharpened as soon as he laid eyes on the girl.
“…?”
The twin stepped forward.
“This is Arellin.”
“This is Aaron.”
After a quick introduction to Daniel, the twins tried to get his attention again.
“We were thinking of hanging out.”
“What do you think?”
The twins emitted an aura that said please get lost, which Daniel, unfortunately, took as a desperate signal to join them.
Daniel had wanted to run away ever since he’d disrespected the Crown Prince, but the twins had other ideas.
“Well, yes. His Highness is here, and you’ll need to show him around even more.”
“?!”
Daniel took the lead, feeling like crying.
“Just follow me!”
Despite his loud shouting, Daniel was in tears.
The twins’ expressions darkened sharply.
Pession gave him a look that said, “What are you doing here?”
The twins returned the glare with a look of resentment of their own.
It was the birth of a tragic time that no one wanted and no one enjoyed.
***
The Sperom Business Exhibition, despite its dull name, was full of fun and excitement.
All of them were the result of wizards’ tears for research grants.
“There’s a lot of wizards trying to sell their inventions, but most of this stuff is useless. It’s all toys.”
“Why, they look fine.”
“It only looks that way because you’re young and don’t know any better. They cost a lot of money and are no good.”
Daniel Sperom had grown up fast for a 15-year-old and looked like an adult.
Perhaps that’s why he was briefly intimidated by the Crown Prince. Daniel quickly regained his confidence. Daniel’s momentum was uneven.
‘What do kids know?’
“Oh, have you seen this? It’s a secret, but this is the deal that will make Sperom’s next business.”
“I’m going to invest in it.”
Daniel said smugly.
In truth, Daniel didn’t have the money.
Even when he started his first business at age 14 with the help of his father, Philip, he hadn’t yet turned a profit. In fact, he’s still dipping into his pocket money.
That’s why he couldn’t understand the twins’ behavior.
‘How can they be in business when they’re so broke themselves?’
‘Well, they’ll make a killing.’
Daniel decided to take this opportunity to release some of the pressure he’d been under from his father to “outdo” the twins.
“Have you guys thought of any business ideas?”
Noel and Ciel shook their heads.
“The first business is important, I know because my brother did it, but it’s really hard.”
Daniel sighed.
“Everyone has such high expectations. I had it, but you guys won’t have it worse, because you’re direct descendants.”
“Right?”
“You can’t afford to fail. You’ve got a lot riding on you! So I’ll help you. Just trust me.”
Ciel blinked.
Duke Sperom’s approval of the twins’ business plan in the first place had been more for the purpose of training their senses than any expectation of success.
No crisis, no growth.
It was in keeping with Sperom’s long-standing maxim, but the twins were treating the idea of their own business like a new prank.
“Your brother is helping you?”
“Yes!”
Daniel led the twins on as if he’d been waiting for them.
“Here’s what I’d recommend.”
Daniel’s recommendation was face jewelry.
“You guys know that stickers are all the rage in the capital these days, everyone’s into fashion.”
Daniel’s golden eye is the Eye of the Market, which is a sub compatible version of Ciel’s Eye of Value, but it’s useful.
“Wait and see. It’ll catch on!”
Ciel shook his head.
He would.
[A well-crafted facial ornament (business trade show entry)]
[Value: 542]
Ciel’s <Value Eye> popped up with a decent value.
“Uhhh…”
When an object is an object, its value is determined by a different standard than a person.
Considering that the value of sticker products, which are trendy these days, has increased dramatically from 102 to 654, 542 is a pretty big number.
“Sounds good.”
The twins looked at Arellin as if they’d made a promise.
“How about that, Arellin?”
Arellin glared at the face jewelry. The look on her face was blatantly obvious: who buys that shit?
“I don’t like it.”
“What?!”
Daniel exclaimed.
“That’s what I’m saying.”
“Then we don’t like it either.”
The twins had decided to go all-in on the Arellin Pick from the start, so they had no regrets about their attitude.
Daniel couldn’t believe it, and he blurted out, red-faced as if he’d been insulted.
“What do you know!”
This was an item that would surely skyrocket in value.
The next big thing after stickers!
“You twins, are you saying you’re going to listen to a kid with no golden eyes, leaving your cousin behind?!”
But the twins got it.
It was Arellin who had turned the sticker into a fashion item.
“Yikes, that’s ridiculous!”
They couldn’t deny it.
Daniel, dismissed by a girl barely older than him, stormed off.
“So what are you going to invest in, then? If your choice is more useful than mine, I’ll back off.”
Arellin looked at Daniel with a look that said, ‘Why should I bother?’
“Shall I?” asked Pession, but Arellin shook her head as she pondered something.
“Are you really going to get out of here if my pick is worth more?”
“Okay, I’ll admit your discernment is better than mine and back off.”
Ciel’s <Eye of Value> will decide the valuation.
Arellin nodded.
Daniel smirked.
‘Impossible, because of all the items in this business show, the face jewelry I just picked out for you has the highest appraisal!’
Daniel was smug, thinking he had already won.
“Now, go ahead and take it.”
Or not.
“This one.”
Arellin picked up a strange artifact.
[RRR Horsepower Engine Mrk.1 (Prototype)]
[Value: 56]
“Pfftttt…!”
Daniel couldn’t hold back the laughter that escaped him. Ciel was equally baffled.
Based on sheer value alone, Daniel’s chosen facial ornament had won.
Arellin, however, was nonchalant.
“If it were me, I’d sign an exclusive contract with the wizard who invented it, keep him working on it, and buy all the patents.”
Her voice was confident. Ciel couldn’t understand it anymore.
‘If it’s worth fifty, it’s of little practical use.’
Apparently thinking the same thing, Daniel spoke back in an arrogant tone.
“You’re paying for this garbage?”
The mage’s face crumpled at the openly mocking tone and the fact that he’d just made a piece of junk out of Zulzi, but Daniel didn’t see it.
Arellin replied nonchalantly.
“Of course it looks like trash to you.”
“What?”
“This is the foundation stone of a building.”
Arellin set the horsepower engine on the ground.
“I’d build something ‘newer’ with it.”
“Something new?”
“A horseless carriage.”
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, the wizard’s illusionary magic surrounded the horsepower engine and it took on a shape. It was the shape of the automobile Arellin had foretold.
At that moment,
Ciel’s eyes widened.
[RRR Magic Engine Mrk.1 (Prototype)]
[Value: 167]
The value of the horsepower engine has changed.
