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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Stone Mushroom Venture
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During breakfast, the whole family turned to look at Nibelria.
"Gonna make some money?"
Solles asked, recalling her payroll account.
"I'm already making money."
"No! I want to do business!"
After spectacularly failing at the cookie business, Nibelria's entrepreneurial itch had stayed quiet for a while.
But today, the urge to start up again had suddenly bubbled up.
It was time to pull out the cherished Meow Shop sign she'd stashed away in a drawer.
"Hmm..."
Kaleo responded skeptically. He forced a gentle smile to avoid hurting her feelings and said,
"But it flopped hard last time."
Seletrina shot Kaleo a light glare. Smiling didn't make the words sting any less.
"That's true!"
But Nibelria wasn't upset at all. Instead, she boldly owned up to her failure.
"It tanked completely, and I racked up a ton of debt. 1.28 million Uba..."
"O-One point two...!"
Arep's eyes nearly bugged out.
That much debt?
But Arep didn't know.
The day he'd first arrived here, when Nibelria had given him a tour of the main house—that had been her final labor to pay off that 1.28 million Uba debt.
"NiNi, why the sudden urge to do business?"
Seletrina asked.
Nibelria replied,
"I invested, but no money's coming in."
She'd poured a whopping fifty million Uba into that pharmaceutical company. But the business hadn't even opened yet, so she hadn't seen a single profit.
In other words, Nibelria hadn't earned a dime from her investment.
Sure, thanks to Monatos, she'd secured a notarized contract in advance, but just sitting around waiting was making her antsy.
To a cat, hunting was instinct.
To Nibelria, hunting meant making money. She had to feed Arep, and later, when they got married and had kittens and lived happily ever after, she'd need to hustle.
Otherwise, she'd end up like the Magic Tower Lord—living two hundred years and still not owning a house.
"NiNi wants to be the one collecting rent. Not paying it."
"That kid's got grit,"
Armifera admired her niece's fierce determination.
"So, what are you planning this time?"
Muniel asked.
"Making cookies to sell again?"
"Heh."
Nibelria smirked, lifting one corner of her mouth.
"You're underestimating NiNi."
She clucked her tongue in mock disapproval, wagging a stubby finger. It looked like a little white sausage wiggling around.
"Where'd she pick that up from?"
As the adults murmured at how adorably sassy Nibelria was, the child laid out her business plan.
"Auntie!"
Armifera's eyes went wide at being singled out. She hadn't expected her name to come up here.
"NiNi will sell it for you."
"Huh?"
Sell what?
Armifera was flustered, unable to keep up with Nibelria's momentum, but a smile soon bloomed on her face.
"...Ah!"
She understood what that cheeky, lovable niece meant.
"What's this? A rock?"
"Oh? Yeah, that's there. It's a stone mushroom."
On Armifera's first day here.
While showing the kids the contents of her bag, she'd pulled out a lumpy rock from the deepest corner.
It was a mushroom as dark and deep as the night sea.
"It's beyond some really rugged cliffs in Latro. Grows right on those cliffs. You can eat it raw or cooked."
"Tasty?"
"Super tasty, but... mm, harvesting's a pain, and the color's off-putting, so most people skip it. We mercenaries pick 'em when we're bored and use 'em as emergency rations."
Dried in sea breeze, the stone mushrooms shriveled into round, pebble-like shapes, which deepened their flavor and richness.
But its looks and the fact that mercenaries ate it as rations kept it from catching on.
Armifera sliced it up herself and let the kids try a bite each.
Chewing a few times made the pieces melt like cheese.
And thanks to the sea saltiness from drying, it had this addictive quality that made you crave more.
In the end, the kids begged for seconds and polished off the whole thing right there.
"Stone mushrooms..."
Ardores nodded as he recalled the story.
"Ate 'em during the war. Not bad at all."
"They bring out the flavor in any dish. Made wartime meals just a bit happier."
Muniel reminisced fondly, giving it her approval.
"They'd pair great with salads or pasta too. That unique aroma and texture... no wonder it's not circulating."
Nibelria beamed and nodded, thrilled by her grandparents' endorsement.
Armifera's eyes sparkled too, but she soon shook her head.
"We've tried selling them before."
"Too hard to harvest?"
Kaleo asked.
"That's part of it, but no—it's just pluck 'em off while climbing. If you can't handle Latro's cliffs, you're no mercenary. Truth is, people hate it just 'cause it's mercenary grub."
Mercenary bias.
Food for mercenaries only.
That was the biggest barrier blocking stone mushroom sales.
"NiNi, sorry, but stone mushrooms might not..."
"No."
Seletrina jumped in quickly.
Her green eyes, which had been silently observing, shone brilliantly like fresh spring leaves in sunlight.
"I think it'll work."
"Mom!"
Nibelria called out to her savior.
"NiNi can do business right this time! NiNi buys stone mushrooms and sells them to Mom!"
"Sounds good. Let's sign a contract in three days. Figure out a solid plan on how to buy those stone mushrooms and sell them to me by then."
"Mom."
"Yes?"
"When's three days?"
"After sleeping three nights."
"Got it!"
"So, how long are you sticking around?"
Kaleo asked his sister, now a wild rose of a muscle beauty.
Armifera sat on the office sofa, stroking a pitch-black kitten like some villainous boss, folding and unfolding her fingers repeatedly.
"Planned to stay a week, but with this business popping up, I'll hang out longer."
"You can just bail on your duties like that? Being Mercenary King must come with responsibilities."
"I'm good for a bit. The elders there like me."
More precisely, they feared Muniel and Armifera.
Kaleo felt a spark of curiosity—Just what kind of lives did our parents live?—but quickly dismissed it.
Even as their child, prying into parents' pasts wasn't right.
Especially not theirs—he knew he couldn't handle it.
"Plus, I've got a money-maker now."
Armifera grinned.
No major wars on the continent meant mercenary work was declining bit by bit. Bias against mercenaries didn't help.
That's why Armifera had stepped away from Latro—to figure out solutions.
Can't just start a war to fix it, though.
And then Nibelria had found a way to open the floodgates.
"This niece of mine is giving her useless aunt a huge gift. Bro, you raised some great kids. Wait, Selri did most of it?"
"Selri and I together. Solles was a handful from day one, but mostly self-sufficient."
"Magic Tower Lord calls Solles 'Dayamor's Miracle.'"
"Pera, keep that up and you'll lose your spot? He said Solles could be his first favorite rascal."
"Gotta ask Solles. And I'm always Grandpa's sparkling water. He loves me most when I stir up Dad."
"...Stop stirring up Dad."
As the siblings bantered idly,
the real kitten—or Evil Dragon Ater—purred contentedly in his sleep, ears twitching.
Then he slowly opened his eyes and hopped off Armifera's lap.
"Ater?"
At her call, the evil dragon mewed.
"Take the honey lump made from my scales."
The dragon's gaze toward the office balcony window was ominous.
That afternoon.
The Degladis family, back from their long summer vacation, visited the Dayamor estate.
"NiNi! Been good?"
Rubens flashed Nibelria a bright smile.
"Rubens!"
Nibelria bounced over to greet him.
They spun in circles, hopped in place, clapped hands, and giggled.
"......"
Arep watched, itching to join, stealing glances.
"Arep! You been good too?"
"Have you been well, Lord Rubens?"
"Yep!"
Arep tentatively held out his hand.
Catching on, Rubens grinned and clapped with Arep too.
Spinning and hopping included.
"Whew, Arep, this is fun with you!"
"I was jealous watching you with the young lady earlier. Looked so cool."
"Heehee, yeah? Check this out then."
Promising an even cooler fist bump, Rubens showed Arep some intricate hand moves.
Nibelria watched with a dopey grin, then went to Al, who was greeting Solles.
"Al!"
"NiNi."
Al welcomed the approaching Nibelria warmly.
"You good? Whoa, did you grow?"
"Yeah!"
"Impressive! Oh, cookies from our territory. Only available there, with fruit inside."
Nibelria nodded at Al's claim that they were tasty, if not quite chocolate-level.
"But, NiNi."
Al asked,
"Who's that behind you?"
Nibelria turned.
Armifera stood sturdy as a wild rose, smiling sweetly.
"NiNi's auntie."
Nibelria introduced her.
"Ran away long ago, came back as queen. Brought a black lizard and does all sorts of stuff."
