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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Introductions and Library Lessons
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"Don't point at people. And instead of saying you'll train him, how about saying you'll help him out?"
"Then help!"
"What a great idea."
Muniel affectionately stroked Nibelria's head, praising her.
Nibelria puffed up with pride and declared her ambitions.
"Rank is important! I'll show him how scary I can be so he doesn't try to climb over me. Nini will step on him good!"
"You mean you'll help him adjust from the side, right?"
"The battlefield was the problem..."
Ardores Dayamor muttered to himself with regret.
Anyway, since things had turned out this way, they decided to have the kids introduce themselves right then and there.
The most composed one, Solles, spoke first.
"I'm Solles, ten years old. Let's get along from now on."
"Y-Yes, let's get along..."
The boy hesitated before taking Solles's outstretched hand. Solles flashed a bright smile.
Next up was Nibelria.
"Nini! Four years old!"
"Fingers are supposed to be five."
"Oops."
At Solles's correction, Nibelria hurriedly folded down one finger.
"Nini makes money. Hunting hard to feed Wolf."
Nibelria said this while staring straight at the boy.
"...For my sake?"
The startled boy asked.
Being around Nibelria always left him bewildered and at a loss. Why on earth was this kid taking care of him like this?
"Make lots of money! So listen well!"
Nibelria strutted proudly.
Conveniently skipping over any mention of debts.
"And this is Dether. Nini's subordinate."
"You can't call people 'this,' young lady. And it's an honor to meet you, Sir Wolf."
Dether gave a polite curtsy, lightly pinching the hem of her black maid dress.
Finally, it was the boy's turn.
"...Wolf, eight years old."
"So you're matching Nini after all?"
Solles gave a wry smile, saying there was no need to. Nibelria shot her brother a betrayed glare from the side.
But the boy shook his head.
"Wolf is fine. Really."
"Hmm..."
Solles realized the boy before him was a kind child who knew how to be considerate of the weak.
"How about we pick a name that includes 'Wolf'?"
"......"
"Nini's real name is Nibelria, which means 'white cat.' It'd be nice if you had a name like that too."
"Why don't we head to the library then?"
Ardores Dayamor, who had been watching the chattering children with a warm smile, made the suggestion.
"We'll tour the main house on the way. You'll be spending a lot of time there from now on. Nini, you can show him around, right?"
"I can!"
"Then let's make that your final debt repayment task."
And so, Nibelria's final labor to clear her 1.28 million Uba debt was decided.
Nibelria and Solles immediately took the boy to the main house.
They introduced him to the mansion's interior, just as Ardores had suggested.
"Here, Nini naps sometimes. It's warm and nice."
"To be precise, it's the hallway in front of the living room. Only Nini lies there. That room is where the family gathers to relax, so come play with us there from now on."
"The living room is where family gathers!"
"Grandma named it that, and now everyone calls it that."
Whenever Nibelria gave her utterly subjective tour, Solles added normal supplementary explanations.
The boy listened quietly to both of them.
Living room, parlor, dining room, study.
And finally, they arrived at their destination: the library.
Nibelria knocked on the closed door with her little fist.
"This is the library."
"......"
For the first time, curiosity flickered in the boy's red eyes. Nibelria quickly picked up on it and asked.
"Wolf, wanna go in?"
"Ah, no..."
The boy shook his head. He had no choice but to confess his embarrassing secret.
"I don't know how to read."
"Nini doesn't either!"
Nibelria declared it so boldly that the boy, who had been ashamed of his illiteracy, ended up feeling awkward instead.
"How about we use this chance to learn letters?"
Solles suggested.
"Studying is fun. Once you know how to read and write, the possibilities are endless."
"Big bro is smart and gets almost everything right. Wolf should study too!"
"You have to do it together, Nini."
"Huh?"
At the unexpected proposal, Nibelria made an innocent face.
The boy inwardly thought it was hilarious. Of course, he kept it to himself without showing it.
"How old are you now, Nini?"
"Four."
"And you're gonna make money, right?"
"Yeah!"
At the question about earning money, Nibelria's expression turned deadly serious.
"Gonna earn money to feed and take care of Wolf."
"......"
Why does she keep talking like she's raising me?
The boy looked at Nibelria with a face full of confusion about what was going on with her.
What was even stranger was how everyone in this house accepted the nonsense ambitions of this little kid as if they were perfectly natural.
As if they truly believed this toddler could raise him.
'...Ah.'
Could it be I ended up as that kid's pet?
'Then I have to do as she says.'
Only then did everything click for the boy.
The orphanage hadn't taught the kids anything properly, but it had beaten street smarts into them, so he could read situations perfectly.
Solles continued explaining to Nibelria why she needed to learn letters.
"If you know letters, you can keep your own ledger and read contracts. Letters are essential for making money."
"But Dether does all that?"
The kids turned to look at Dether at the same time.
Dether, who had been quietly following behind Nibelria, let out an "Oh dear" and smiled mysteriously.
"Then later, I could steal your shop, young lady? Since you won't know letters, you won't catch my lies."
Was that something to say to a four-year-old?
'But that's Dether for you.'
Solles thought, glancing at Nibelria.
Just as expected.
"...I'll do it."
Feeling a sense of crisis, Nibelria suddenly declared.
"Nini will learn letters too!"
Nibelria Dayamor.
This was her first declaration of studying in life.
In truth, Nibelria hadn't completely avoided studying.
Ever since she resolved to make money at age two, she'd gathered knowledge by listening to the adults' stories.
"A penny saved is a penny earned—let's start by filling the piggy bank."
"Oh, you've saved quite a bit? Want to entrust it to Daddy?"
"Nini, where's the money in your piggy bank? Huh? You lent it to Daddy...? He said he'd multiply it tenfold?"
"...Sorry. Daddy thought he'd win this time."
It nearly damaged their family bonds badly, but she'd received some education nonetheless.
One, saving money is hard.
Two, money disappears easily.
Three, Kaleo is weak to gambling.
In fact, Kaleo hadn't squandered Nibelria's money on gambling.
He'd put it into a separate account in her name. And whenever she lost money after that, the adults deposited the equivalent amount into the account.
To give it to her as a gift when she pursued her dreams later.
Of course, unaware of this, Nibelria kept endlessly working: earning, losing, and re-earning money.
"But Nini won't fail anymore!"
Nibelria said energetically, sitting at the desk in the library. Her chair had no less than four cushions stacked on it.
"Wanna know why, Wolf?"
The boy sitting beside her answered. His chair had two cushions.
"'Cause we're learning letters...?"
"Yeah! Learn letters and get super smart!"
"Nini, you have to be quiet in the library."
Solles warned, emerging from between the bookshelves. He held a thick dictionary of names.
Sitting in the empty middle seat, Solles didn't use any cushions.
He opened the dictionary and said,
"Everything written here is people's names."
"I can't read..."
"Pick any with your finger. I'll read it for you. Watch closely. This is studying too."
"What's study?"
The three kids, who had been peering into the dictionary, snapped their heads up.
There stood a boy with neatly combed black hair, smiling. Beside him was another boy who resembled him.
"Al! Rubens!"
Solles jumped up from his seat with a beaming smile.
On the other hand, Nibelria slyly hid behind the boy.
'Scared?'
Even at the orphanage, little kids would hide like this from strangers.
'And she says she'll take care of me...'
Just as he felt a bit pathetic about it, Nibelria suddenly jumped up and shoved the boy behind her instead.
She even stretched out her short arms to the sides.
To keep anyone from approaching the boy.
"......"
The surprised boy was speechless.
'She's really trying to protect me...?'
In the meantime, Solles finished talking with the guests and turned toward Nibelria.
"Ni..."
About to call her Nini, Solles flinched. Nibelria was growling with a face full of wariness.
"N-Nini? What's wrong all of a sudden?"
"Seems like it's because of us?"
Al grinned as if it were amusing. It was a relaxed, gentle smile that belied his twelve years.
"Don't you remember us, Nini?"
Rubens pointed at himself and Al.
"We're the brothers from next door."
"Nini only has one brother."
Nibelria mustered her courage.
"Go!"
"We brought your favorite chocolate cookies as a gift?"
Al pulled out a paper box he'd hidden behind him.
Nibelria's not-so-fierce glare softened a bit.
Everyone saw the hesitation in her blue eyes. They didn't miss the gulp she swallowed either.
"...L-Leave that and go!"
"We'll leave it if you say hi and play with us."
"But Nini's too busy to play with the likes of you."
Al and Rubens burst out laughing at suddenly becoming "the likes of you."
