Translator: Nox

Chapter 38

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Ranking Determination Battle.

It was one of the Yudia Ducal Family’s major events, one that anyone who had summoned a divine beast had to attend, regardless of age.

In the Ranking Determination Battle, which was held only once a year, the divine beasts would face off against each other and be comprehensively evaluated to determine their rankings.

“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to, Bunny.”

Kiriel, who had explained it all, stroked Bunny’s head as she sat on his lap.

“Why? Bunny gotta get first so Daddy becomes super king.”

“Even if Bunny doesn’t get first place, I’m already super king.”

Bunny’s eyes widened round at Kiriel’s response—he’d learned that “super king” meant something like amazing or impressive—and she nodded vigorously.

“Doesn’t Daddy get even more super?”

“I’m already even more super.”

Bunny blinked. It didn’t seem believable no matter how she looked at it.

She got that super king made sense, but even more super king? She couldn’t wrap her head around it at all.

“You’re not lying?”

“It’s not a lie.”

Kiriel chuckled softly and rubbed the child’s cheek lightly.

Children were honest. At a single touch or stroke from him, her face would flush pink with joy, a smile blooming across it.

‘This must be why people raise kids.’

Thanks to the diligent Bunny and Allen, Kiriel had lately been getting up on time to eat breakfast with the children and even having dinner together with them.

“You’re selling food again today?”

“Yup!”

“Why do you sell it?”

“Bunny has to be able to do everything alone. Luriel said we gotta prepare ahead ’cause you never know what’ll happen with people.”

At Bunny’s words, Kiriel’s eyes widened slightly before slowly narrowing.

Perhaps because she’d had to handle so much on her own, the child was always trying to do things by herself.

“How’s the letter studying going?”

“Yup. I memorized eight.”

“Want me to help?”

“Bunny’s a genius, so I can do it super-duper alone.”

Heh.

Bunny laughed and stuck out her thumb proudly. A child who could do everything by herself was independent in the best sense of the word—a commendable kid who didn’t bother him—but in a slightly less flattering light… she seemed like she didn’t know how to rely on others.

“Bunny.”

“Yup.”

“If there’s anything you don’t know, ask me anytime. If something’s hard, tell me anytime.”

Bunny blinked, then grinned brightly and nodded.

“By the way, you always wear the same clothes.”

“The nursery director gave them to me as a present. Bunny’s favorite number one clothes.”

Her cheeks puffed out in an expression that seemed to say, Pretty, right? It made a strange ache twinge in one side of his heart.

There were so many better things out there, so why was she satisfied with that?

Come to think of it, Bunny almost never asked him for anything. Except that one time she’d asked him to scold the knight.

“…….”

Kiriel reached out and rubbed her head a couple more times.

“Bunny, want to go shopping with me?”

“Gasp, me too?”

“Yeah. Your big brother too.”

Bunny thrust up her thumb.

“Love it! I’ll call Allen! I’ll bring Marmy and Elephant too!”

“Elephant?”

“Yup. Bunny’s treasure box!”

Oh, right—there was that elephant-shaped piggy bank.

Kiriel paused, looking at the child with a subtly strange expression, then shook his head.

“You don’t need to bring Elephant. I’ll buy you a new one. I’m Daddy, after all.”

Bunny blinked a couple times, then cried “Ah!” and nodded enthusiastically.

“Yup!”

Soon after, Allen rushed back to the main residence as soon as his lessons ended upon hearing the news.

It was their first outing together as the three of them.

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Ting-a-ling—

The first place the three of them arrived was a grand building towering in a flashy street.

The two-story building was an entire clothing boutique, said to be the most famous even among the streets frequented by nobles.

“Welcome, Young Master Kiriel Yudia.”

As soon as they entered, the shop attendants lined up in a row and bowed in greeting.

‘Ducal family miss!’

Sparkle, sparkle!

So many people! So many clothes!

Bunny’s eyes widened a little.

Allen, too, seemed to be visiting a place like this for the first time; his mouth hung open wide, his eyes round just like Bunny’s.

“Wow…….”

“Whooaa…….”

When Kiriel set down the Bunny he’d been holding, she dashed across the marble floors—pat pat pat—circling widely around them.

“Daddy, so many clothes!”

“Yeah. It’s a clothing boutique. Pick out as many as you want, Bunny.”

“Yup!”

“You too, Allen. I should’ve thought of this sooner—sorry.”

“……N-not really.”

At Kiriel’s words, Allen’s eyes widened, then he shook his head, his face turning a bit red.

Bunny, who had been rummaging through the clothes on the racks, quietly stood on tiptoe to check a price tag, then froze in place.

Suddenly, a conversation with Luriel flashed through Bunny’s mind.

“Luriel, what’s expensive, what’s cheap?”

“Hmm, if there are more than five zeros at the end, it’s expensive. Six zeros is super super expensive.”

“What if it’s super super expensive?”

“Hmm. The family finances collapse.”

Bunny started counting the zeros on the price tag from the end, one by one.

‘One, two, three four, four… five, s-six…, seven?!’

Bunny’s eyes went perfectly round.

Five zeros is a lot, six zeros is super super expensive.

‘Then seven zeros…?’

World-collapsing expensive?!

Luriel, why didn’t you tell me how expensive seven is!

‘Daddy’s store will collapse!’

If Daddy’s store collapses, we become beggars.

If Daddy becomes a beggar… does Bunny become a beggar too?!

Bunny’s eyes widened hugely.

She crept back and grabbed Kiriel’s leg. When Kiriel looked down, Bunny tugged hard at his clothes.

“What?”

When he crouched down to meet her eyes, Bunny brought her lips right up to his ear.

“Here, seven zeros, so Daddy’s store collapses.”

“Store…? I don’t run a store.”

“Huh?”

Bunny blinked.

Weird?

If no store, where does money come from? Luriel said the strongest daddies all have big stores that spew fountains of money.

“How do you pay if no store? Bunny doesn’t want debt-mountain daddy. Scary people come chasing…”

At Bunny’s words, Kiriel paused.

Sometimes, the child said things that made no sense.

On days when those fragments of her past stood out especially sharp in her words, it particularly got under his skin.

“Daddy has lots of money. I earned a ton before. I could say ‘everything from here to there’ and it’d be fine.”

Kiriel met her eyes, smirking as he replied, and Bunny’s eyes went round.

“So buy whatever you want, as much as you want. No store, but tons of money.”

At his smirking, laughing voice, Bunny’s eyes went perfectly round.

“Now go on.”

“Yup!”

And that day, every single item Bunny even glanced at was delivered to the ducal residence.

“Rich Daddy!”

“Yeah.”

It was the day Bunny’s trust in Kiriel grew even deeper, with his unwavering voice.

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“Goodbye! Please visit us again!”

After a long shopping spree for clothes, Bunny—held in Kiriel’s arms as they passed the shop attendants calling out hearty farewells—suddenly perked up her ears.

All at once, Bunny looked around.

“Bunny? What’s wrong?”

At Kiriel’s question, Bunny blinked a couple times.

Zing.

A strange gaze.

Bunny tilted her head and looked around, but there was nothing.

“Alright, next up—chocolate?”

Gasp.

Choco!

“Yesss!”

Bunny answered energetically.

As they rode away in the carriage, someone among the attendants slyly lifted their hat, slowly curling up the corner of their mouth.

“To think you’d arrived while I was away on a long mission.”

The man’s lips split into a savage grin, and the eyes beneath his hat flashed red.

“O King of Hell.”

With that, the man vanished completely into the thick shadows of the darkness.