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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: My First Investment
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"N-Nini isn't scared. It's just... a little uncomfortable."
"Yes. It won't be as uncomfortable now."
"……."
Nibelria stared at the outstretched hand for a moment before grabbing it firmly.
In front was her big brother's back.
To the side was Arep's hand.
Gathering her courage, Nibelria took a step forward.
The employees who spotted her widened their eyes in surprise.
Having heard tales of the little girl with the white silver hair, this was their first time seeing her in person, so they waited for Seletrina's introduction.
"These are my children."
Seletrina introduced them one by one.
"This is my eldest son, Solles. This boy has done our family a great service—Arep. And finally…."
"Nini!"
Nibelria introduced herself first.
"Nibelria Dayamor, four years old!"
The employees smiled warmly at her proud self-introduction.
"Nice to meet you."
"Welcome to Lubeo. Ah, Madam President. Should we escort the children to the 'Take Your Child to Work Day' event?"
"I'll take them later myself. Right now, we have some important business to discuss."
"Nini didn't come to play. Nini came to work."
"Haha, I see."
Seletrina headed to her office with the children in tow.
Having learned at kindergarten how important greetings were, Nibelria waved to the employees. They waved back.
"They waved back!"
Nibelria looked at her hand and grinned.
"I greeted, and they greeted back."
"Greetings are a very important courtesy. It's a promise to respect and consider the other person."
Seletrina emphasized that manners were essential for making money.
The Lubeo headquarters was a vast and towering building, though not quite as grand as the Magic Tower. There were as many as five elevators, just like the ones she'd seen at the Magic Tower.
Nibelria rode one up to the top floor, the President's office.
"Big brother, Arep."
Entering the office, Nibelria put on a stern expression and called the two in front of her. Solles and Arep followed her lead for now.
Nibelria declared,
"Nini is going to make money now. Nini's going to do a really hard and important investment with Mommy. So you can't interfere. Got it?"
"Got it."
"Yes."
Solles swallowed a laugh, while Arep answered seriously.
But Seletrina had called all three children.
Growing anxious, Nibelria asked,
"Why big brother and Arep? The investment is only for Nini, right? Only Nini makes money?"
"You little honest, materialistic cutie."
Seletrina lightly pinched Nibelria's soft cheek.
"Of course Nini will invest. But don't big brother and Arep need to learn about economics too?"
"But big brother's smart. What if he secretly invests and makes money without Nini…."
Solles finally burst out laughing at Nibelria's genuinely worried pout.
"Hahaha! Nini, big brother won't invest. I promise."
"M-Me too. I won't."
Even Arep, who didn't know what investing was, chimed in to reassure her.
Only then did Nibelria relax and beam happily.
Seletrina wondered if she should let it slide like this.
The drive to make money was commendable. But using that greed to block others' attempts wasn't right.
It could easily become an abuse of power, harming others.
As Seletrina pondered how to teach her this,
"But, you know."
Nibelria suddenly said,
"If you want to, you can do it too."
Eh?
Seletrina looked at Nibelria in surprise.
"Good kids shouldn't bully or bother others. That's what they said at kindergarten."
Oh my goodness!
Deeply moved, Seletrina covered her mouth with both hands.
For the first time, Nibelria—who never hid her greed—showed consideration and fairness.
'Sending her to kindergarten really worked!'
Solles was just as shocked as his mother.
"Really? I can invest too? Arep too?"
"Yeah. But, um, Nini wants to earn a tiny bit more…."
She still had some of her greedy side, but Seletrina decided that was enough.
She was deeply touched by how much her daughter's inner self had grown.
"Then shall we talk about investments?"
Seletrina gathered the children and showed them the list of potential investments she'd prepared.
"Economics means things related to money and making money. To make money, you have to understand the flow of the world."
"Because money is closely tied to daily life?"
Seletrina smiled, as if Solles had given the perfect answer.
"Exactly. People now sustain their lives with money. So to make money, you need to know about people's lives. That's what understanding the world's flow means."
Seletrina explained patiently.
Solles nodded, focusing intently.
"……."
"……."
On the other hand, Nibelria and Arep looked a bit overwhelmed.
Still, Nibelria didn't get annoyed and tried her best to remember what she could understand.
'To make money, you have to know people.'
In other words, figure out what people need to make money.
"Mommy."
"Yes?"
"To make money, you have to sell what people need. Right?"
"Yes, exactly. You understand well."
Praised, Nibelria grinned.
"What about you, Arep?"
"I…."
"Was what Auntie said a bit hard?"
Arep hesitated but answered honestly.
He'd only just started learning letters and basic knowledge, so it was hard to keep up.
Seletrina thanked him for being honest.
"It's your first time learning this, so it's natural not to know. Nothing to be ashamed of. Ask anytime if you don't understand."
Arep, blushing, nodded slowly.
It wasn't shame that made him blush.
He was happy that learning something new had filled even a tiny bit of his ignorance with knowledge.
"Learning something you didn't know is fun."
Arep finally understood why Solles enjoyed it.
The children focused on Seletrina's lesson for their own reasons.
Seeing them so attentive, Seletrina taught them even more, covering various topics.
And then.
"Hmm, so…."
After careful thought, Nibelria made her first investment choice.
"This one!"
Her chubby finger pointed to one spot on the investment list.
"Flower shop!"
"The flower shop is this one."
"Oops."
Unable to read yet, Nibelria hurriedly moved her finger.
Anyway, Nibelria's first investment was decided.
It was the Flower Farm.
Back at the mansion, the children chattered excitedly at dinner about their day at Lubeo.
"Mommy was so cool! She's the boss, the big boss!"
"All the employees move according to Mother's decisions, and you could feel how much they trust her skills."
Not just Nibelria and Solles,
"She was... so cool…."
Even shy Arep mustered the courage to praise her.
Seletrina had left a huge impression on the children.
"That's enough now. Mommy's embarrassed and can't eat."
Blushing like she'd caught a fever, Seletrina fanned herself with her hand.
Kaleo looked proudly at his wife.
"Now you kids finally know how amazing my wife is. Daddy's known for a long time."
"Why are you joining in too?"
"No, our daughter-in-law really is incredible."
"Shall we raise a glass to Selri then?"
Muniel and Ardores joined in praising Seletrina.
"To Seletrina Dayamor, hero of the family."
"To her!"
"To her!"
"Mommy's the coolest!"
Nibelria stretched her arm highest but held her glass lowest, shouting loudly.
"You all…."
Seletrina grumbled for them to stop teasing, but her lips curved happily.
In the warm atmosphere, Muniel asked,
"By the way, did our little kitten pick an investment?"
"Yes!"
Nibelria, sharing a piece of meat with Arep, replied.
"Flower shop!"
"To be precise, it's the Flower Farm."
Seletrina explained in more detail. Beside her, Kaleo cooled her still-warm cheek with the back of his hand.
"It's not a knight, but they invented new technology. A nutrient solution that keeps pruned flowers fresh for a long time."
"Oh."
Muniel paused her knife.
"That's wonderful."
"They're starting to go public after announcing the tech. I thought it'd be perfect for Nini's first try."
"First tries are done like that."
"Grandma!"
Nibelria grinned, her mouth smeared with sauce.
"Nini will make lots of money, okay?"
"Ahaha! Yes, make lots."
"Lots of money for Grandma and Grandpa, Mommy and Daddy, big brother and Arep!"
Nibelria folded six of her maple-leaf fingers.
"Ah, Dether too!"
She hurriedly folded one more.
"I'll buy presents! Good ones!"
"Really? What present for me?"
Kaleo asked in an exaggerated tone.
Hmm-ing and crossing her arms in thought, Nibelria said,
"Mouse!"
"…Mouse?"
"Mice are tasty!"
"……."
Kaleo smiled weakly, thinking there was still much to teach her.
With a new investment target found, Nibelria had no time to rest.
The child jumped straight into the workforce. She needed to earn funds for the Flower Farm investment.
This time, Arep joined her.
The two kids, wearing aprons prepared by Dether and wide-brimmed straw hats, stood in the garden flowerbed with determined expressions.
They had thick gloves on their hands.
"Arep."
As the senior laborer, Nibelria said,
"Making money is hard."
"Yes."
"No slacking. You have to sweat to earn money."
"Yes."
"And no gambling. Daddy lost all Nini's money on those... card things. Nini's broke now."
