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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Nini's First Investment
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I hadn't understood a single thing.
It wasn't just Nibelria.
Arep wore a troubled frown in his confusion, and even the clever Solles had only grasped about half of it.
But no one scolded the children for it.
Seletrina asked,
"It's difficult, isn't it?"
"Yeah...."
Nibelria replied in a deflated voice.
The adults had deliberately walked them through every detail of the business dealings, even though it was obvious the kids wouldn't understand.
There was a reason for it.
"You have to listen a lot and experience a lot."
Even if it didn't make sense now, piling up these experiences would eventually lead to a day when it all clicked.
From then on, she'd see things she hadn't noticed before, and the world would look entirely different.
"It's okay if you don't get it now."
"When will I understand?"
"If you keep at it diligently, like today, for a long time... someday."
"......"
"Does it seem too hard?"
Nibelria nodded hesitantly after a moment's thought.
"Yeah."
She couldn't lie about it.
"But I'm still gonna do it."
Nibelria was a four-year-old who didn't know the meaning of giving up.
"I'm gonna be a cool lady who makes tons of money!"
"That's my brilliant girl. Come here."
Seletrina planted kisses on her cheeks and finally got to the point.
Nibelria's investment.
"Running a company takes money. You used money when you ran the Meow Shop, right, Nini?"
"You mean when I went totally broke selling cookies?"
"Why did you go broke?"
"I spent way too much money making the cookies...."
How many sweat drops had she shed to pay back that 1.28 million Uba?
Even now, thinking of that purple-stamped debt clearance document filled her with sorrow.
Seletrina said that was exactly it.
"Starting something new always takes a lot of money. That way, even if you mess up, you can try again and succeed."
"So I'm putting my money into the company? They'll pay me interest, right? Like, 'Thanks for lending us the money'?"
"Exactly! You remember so well!"
Praised, Nibelria flashed a toothy grin.
And so, Nibelria's fifty million Uba was decided for investment as initial capital in the pharmaceutical company.
In return, she'd get shares later when they went public.
"Not now?"
Nibelria asked, suddenly anxious.
"We can't give them now because the shares don't exist yet."
"When will they?"
"Hmm, next year at the earliest? Around your fifth birthday, Nini?"
"......"
Doubt flickered across Nibelria's face.
To ease Nibelria's doubts, the adults immediately drew up a contract right there, promising to give her the shares no matter what.
Even that wasn't enough for the still-worried Nibelria, who went so far as to demand notarization.
"The law is scary, so promise with that! You have to give them!"
"We'd give them even without that."
"How can I trust you, Daddy? You lost my money gambling on cards. Weren't you embarrassed?"
"...Your vocabulary has gotten remarkably advanced."
Money had skyrocketed Nibelria's language skills overnight.
In the end, Monatos was urgently summoned for the notarization.
"......"
Monatos shot Kaleo a look full of unspoken words.
Because today was his day off.
"Why did you call me?"
Monatos, a muscular giant rivaling Ardores, didn't hide his irritation. The air around him even crackled with prickly energy.
Kaleo explained the situation with his usual affable smile.
"Nini asked for notarization. I'm truly sorry to bother you on your day off."
"That little squirt knows an awful lot."
Monatos's annoyance vanished in an instant.
"This house has always been too soft on kids."
"Thank you for understanding."
"Handle the fee properly. And 1941 vintage whiskey."
"Don't you prefer the 1940?"
"That's not whiskey anymore."
He didn't want to share tastes with trash like the Plaud couple.
The pint-sized Nibelria declared with a determined expression,
"The law is scary! Break it and you go to jail!"
"That's right. So follow the law."
Soon, the table was lined with the necessary documents and seals for notarization.
Monatos meticulously straightened one slightly crooked document.
And Nibelria had just nudged it with her finger.
"Hey, didn't Nini get thrown in jail before for violating child labor laws?"
"We hired a lawyer."
Monatos glared at Nibelria disapprovingly but didn't bother fixing the paper again.
"What's a lawyer?"
"When it looks like you're going to jail, you call a lawyer and they help you. You might not have had to go."
Nibelria's mouth fell open at this bombshell revelation.
In the meantime, Monatos swiftly prepared the notarization document.
Stamps thudded down, and he filled out the complex paperwork Nibelria still couldn't read.
"Here."
Monatos handed the completed notarization to Nibelria.
Her tiny hands clutched the paper tightly.
"Now the law will protect you."
With that,
Nibelria's first investment was safely sealed.
The next day.
Monatos submitted the notarization to the government office.
The witches broke ground on the new land with their first building.
Nibelria and Arep skipped daycare for the day and visited the bank with Kaleo.
Solles unfortunately had tutoring and couldn't join.
Stepping down from the carriage, Nibelria said,
"A bank is where you save money, right?"
"Yes. This is the Petra Bank, the largest in the Drameno Empire."
Kaleo explained their purpose.
"Today, we're opening accounts and passbooks for you two."
"Nini already has a passbook!"
Nibelria took off her bright yellow Wolf bag slung over her shoulder and pulled out her wage passbook.
"Me too...."
Arep shyly showed his from his white cat bag.
One every day, sometimes two.
Proof of their steady, diligent work was meticulously recorded in the notebooks.
Kaleo looked at them fondly.
"Now we'll convert these into real money and deposit it into accounts. Real savings passbooks."
The Lapis Bank was already bustling with people early in the morning.
"Want me to carry you, Nini?"
"Yeah...."
Tucked willingly into his arms, Nibelria buried her face in Kaleo's shoulder.
Her shyness had improved a lot, but crowds like this were still overwhelming.
Arep gently patted Nibelria's leg.
"Hold my hand, Arep."
"Okay."
"First, let's get a number ticket. Banks are busy, so you get a ticket with a number and wait your turn."
In the center of the bank, staff handed out number tickets.
They asked customers' purposes, then dispensed paper from a strange machine.
Pulling one sheet made another pop out like a tongue.
"Do you know who made this?"
Kaleo asked the kids as they sat in the waiting area.
"Grandma."
"Lady Muniel?"
Arep was startled.
"The Magic Tower made it, of course. But yes, it's my mother's invention."
"Wow...!"
"Mother helped in so many places. Our family lives so well thanks to the Saintess."
Pride shone on Kaleo's face as he spoke.
You could really feel how much he revered his mother.
"Gimme! Give Nini the paper!"
"Say 'please'."
"Pleeease!"
"Aigoo, here. Don't lose it."
Kaleo handed the number tickets to the kids.
Nibelria and Arep examined theirs together.
Nibelria asked,
"What's good about this?"
"It confirms who came first, so no fighting. Makes waiting more comfortable."
That's why number dispensers were used in busy places like banks, hospitals, offices, and shops.
"It's cool for stopping fights!"
Nibelria beamed, pleased.
While they waited,
"That's our number!"
Arep pointed to the counter displaying their number.
"Our turn."
"Let's go! Ready, set, go!"
Nibelria cheered energetically.
"Arep, tell them why we're here when you hand over the ticket."
"Okay."
Tension rippled across Arep's face as he received the mission.
He walked stiffly to the counter and handed the ticket to the staff.
"W-We came to open an account!"
"Understood. Please wait a moment."
The polite bank teller quickly provided the forms.
"Just for your son?"
Arep's eyes widened at the question.
Kaleo continued,
"My daughter's too, please."
"Then write the children's names here and here, and the guardian's name here...."
"Nini wants to write her name! Nini!"
"No. You can't write in these small boxes yet."
Nibelria, who had just learned to write her name, whined.
But Kaleo didn't allow it, and her lips puffed out like a duck's bill.
"I... I wanted to write mine too...."
Arep felt a bit disappointed too.
But when they received the passbooks with their names on them, the kids' sulks melted away like snow.
The passbooks listed the money they'd earned from their labors.
Nibelria: 3.2 million Uba.
Arep: 53 million Uba.
Nibelria had worked more actively than Arep, who included the 50 million Uba reward from before.
It was generous compared to their actual work; Kaleo and Seletrina had padded it a bit.
The kids' eyes sparkled as they checked their passbooks.
Arep especially teared up gazing at his very own fortune for the first time.
'Today is such a happy day...!'
He had his own passbook now.
And Kaleo had called him his son.
Of course, he didn't delusionally think he was truly family. But he now believed an adult would protect him.
"Thank you!"
Arep bowed energetically.
"Thank you!"
Nibelria echoed.
"You earned it through hard work, so no need to thank us."
"True."
Nibelria nodded in agreement.
Kaleo chuckled, at a loss for words.
"Alright, let's head home. Or shall we stroll the square? You haven't seen it yet, right, Arep?"
"Yes. I want to look around."
"Then lunch out too...."
Marquess!
Kaleo's gentle expression hardened in an instant.
