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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: A Father's Advice
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Marquess Kaleo Dayamor rushed to his daughter's room upon hearing the news of Nibelria's bankruptcy.
"Oh dear, my little girl."
What greeted him was the motionless back of his daughter, sprawled out on the floor.
The shoulders of the four-year-old president, left with nothing but debt and unsold stock, looked terribly heavy.
Kaleo carefully sat down beside his prone daughter.
"Sweetie, did you go bankrupt?"
"Totally bankrupt..."
Nibelria answered listlessly.
"Life isn't easy..."
"That's life for you."
Kaleo nodded and made a suggestion.
"Sweetie, want to have a drink with Daddy?"
Such sorrows were best washed away with a cool glass of milk, he said, as he helped the limp Nibelria to her feet.
"Nini, your heart's all hot and bothered right now. Let's have some cold milk."
"Cold stuff gives me a tummy ache, so let's have it lukewarm."
"Can I have it with chocolate cookies?"
"Let's dunk cookies in lukewarm milk."
"...Can I have two?"
"Just one."
"Hing."
Clutching her daddy's hand and wobbling along toward the dining room, Nibelria looked just like a hopelessly drunk reveler.
Upon arriving at the dining room, the kitchen staff wisely served up a glass of milk and one large chocolate cookie.
They had already heard the news of the young lady's bankruptcy.
"Same for Daddy."
As per Nibelria's order, a slightly larger glass of milk was placed before Kaleo.
Father and daughter clinked their glasses together.
After taking a refreshing sip of the nicely chilled milk, Nibelria broke her cookie in half and dunked it in.
She submerged it so deep that it soaked all the way to her fingertips, melting into gooey bliss in no time.
"Daddy!"
"Yes?"
"We have chocolate cookies and milk, right?"
"Yep, cookies and milk."
"You do it like this, see? It tastes amazing! And chocolate cookies are round and pretty, aren't they?"
"They sure are. Just like Nini."
"Heehee, that's why Nini loves them!"
Nibelria chomped down on the milk-soaked cookie and beamed.
Kaleo wiped the milk dripping from her fingers with his handkerchief and asked,
"Feeling better now? Is the sadness gone?"
"Still a little sad."
Nibelria mumbled around her cookie.
"Nini worked so hard, but didn't make any money. It hurts."
"I see. That's understandable."
"I hate the world. I hope nobody makes more money than Nini."
"...That's a bit too extreme, sweetie."
Kaleo waited until Nibelria finished her cookie.
"Nini."
"Yes?"
"So, are you done with business now?"
"No way, I'm doing it!"
Though today was a failure, Nibelria's grand ambitions still burned bright in her chest.
"Gotta make lots of money. That way I can buy yummy treats for Wolf!"
At the word "Wolf," Kaleo thought of his daughter's beloved stuffed toy.
It was the doll she'd carried everywhere since she was too young to even hold her head up. Named "Wolf."
Made of luxurious golden-dyed fabric and the finest rubies, the custom doll had started out pristine but was now a ragged, filthy mess.
Sometimes it even looks like the doll's begging for death...
Any attempt to wash or mend it sent Nibelria into hysterics, so it hadn't been cleaned in at least half a year.
Her maid Dether was always on the lookout for a chance to sneak it away for a wash.
"Wolf would be in big trouble without me. He'd starve and go all skinny!"
"I see."
"But making money is hard."
"That's life."
"Nini learned about life today. Life is harsh..."
"You worked so hard making those cookies to sell. Must hurt."
To his daughter, who rested her chin on the table and sulked, Kaleo asked,
"Want some advice from Daddy?"
Nibelria's eyes went wide.
"I'm not as good as Mommy, but Daddy knows a thing or two about business too. I help her with all sorts of things."
"Daddy...!"
Overjoyed, Nibelria hopped down from her chair and hugged her father's leg.
"Daddy's more useful than I thought!"
"Thanks for the compliment that kills any desire to help."
The Dayamor father-daughter duo moved to her room first.
"To Nini's room!"
Once there, Nibelria prepared a notebook and crayons to jot down her daddy's words.
Kaleo began.
"First: The cookies' shapes are too sloppy."
He placed one of Nibelria's cookies next to one identical to the one they'd just eaten and compared them.
"If you were a customer, which would you pick?"
"This big one!"
"What about the one you made?"
"......"
"Don't avert your eyes like a guilty kitten. Be honest."
"It's... kinda..."
Having confessed honestly, Nibelria snuck a glance at her own cookie.
"But it's yummy too..."
"Customers don't know that, though."
Kaleo stressed that was the key point.
"First-time buyers don't know the taste, so they pick the prettier one. That's human nature."
"I see."
Nibelria scribbled in her notebook—a wobbly circle slathered in brown crayon for a cookie.
"What's the second one?"
"How much did it cost to make the cookies, Nini?"
"Hang on..."
She hopped up and pulled something from her desk drawer.
"Receipts."
They were from when she'd bought the ingredients.
Examining them, Kaleo asked,
"How much did you sell them for?"
"3 thousand Uba for three!"
"That's five fingers spread out."
"Oops, mistake. 5 thousand Uba!"
"How many cookies did you make total?"
"Lots!"
"Oh dear, we'll need Dether."
Dether, waiting outside, came in and explained.
"The young lady made a total of 72 cookies. She secretly ate 3 because she was hungry, so..."
Total: 69.
Packed in threes: 23 sets.
"She sold 4 sets, leaving 19. She made the dough, but I did the baking. You need to factor in my labor too."
"Dether's my friend, so I hired her cheap."
"Friends deserve premium pay."
After all the calculations, Kaleo gave a wry smile.
"As expected, the selling price is way too low compared to material costs."
Factoring in labor and department store rent, Nibelria's prices were absurdly cheap.
"You need at least 25 thousand Uba per cookie."
"25 thousand is five times 5 thousand!"
"Eek!"
Shocked by the huge sum, Nibelria cupped her round face with her tiny hands.
She squeezed so hard her lips puckered like a crucian carp, chubby cheeks bulging between her fingers.
"S-such a big sum... Can Nini really touch that...?"
"It's fine. You already owe even more."
Dether offered consolation that wasn't very consoling.
Then Kaleo pointed out the final mistake.
"You have to sell the cookies to people, but the president can't hide."
This was the biggest error, he said.
"The president has to sell confidently. That's how customers trust and buy."
"That's 'cause Dether couldn't sell."
"You little rascal."
Kaleo gave her a gentle flick on the forehead.
"Customers feel secure when the president sells directly."
"But Mommy doesn't sell at the store."
"Mommy did at first."
"Sigh..."
A sigh far too mature for a child escaped her.
With drooping eyebrows, Nibelria realized anew that making money wasn't easy.
"So what now?"
"Pay off the debt first."
"Clearing it means wiping it clean, solving it," Dether added helpfully, and Nibelria nodded.
"Debt clearance!"
"Looks like about 128 thousand Uba..."
Kaleo looked down at his daughter with a grave expression.
"Nini, if you can't pay this back, you might end up on a fishing boat."
"Nooo!"
Nibelria fidgeted in terror.
"On a fishing boat, I-I'd never see Mommy and Daddy again!"
"Or you could run errands diligently, help the staff, and pay it off slowly."
"No way to pay it all at once?"
"Nope."
"Life's tough."
"......"
Kaleo glanced up at Dether with a look that said volumes.
Dether quickly denied it.
"I didn't teach her that."
Her head starting to throb at the thought of what lay ahead, Nibelria suddenly remembered something.
She jumped up and rummaged in a drawer again.
"Daddy, write your name here."
"Huh?"
"Here!"
"What's this?"
"Grandma and Grandpa gave it to me. They said use it when I need to pay debt!"
Her grandparents were currently away on a trip to the forest with her brother.
Kaleo examined the paper she held out.
"...Heh, well now."
A dry chuckle escaped him.
"Our daughter wants Daddy to co-sign her debt."
The paper from her grandparents—Kaleo's parents—was a co-signer agreement.
But Nibelria had no idea.
"What's that?"
"If you can't pay, the person who signs pays instead."
"Whoa, such a cool way!"
"Not cool at all."
Kaleo refused to sign.
The 128 thousand Uba debt remained squarely on Nibelria's shoulders.
There were no shortcuts to making money.
In the end, Nibelria began paying off her debt one coin at a time, running errands for the family and helping the household staff.
