What is love?
I also love gold, but I don’t understand the mindset of wanting to buy a collection of books made from demon leather for profit.
Even though they’re classified as demons, it’s just a matter of whether their ears are pointy or not, so they’re basically human.
Ugh.
It’s a completely ugh collection.
But it doesn’t seem like there’s really any bad motivation behind it. It seems more like an action to seize cultural heritage by judging the historical value of already created books highly.
It’s just that the items are strange, and it’s a typical investment activity for someone interested in history……?
Phew…….
At this point, could love be a bad thing?
I didn’t want to worry the demon lord, so I purposely didn’t ask, but shouldn’t I ask the demon lord what love is once?
A lecture on what unrequited love feels like.
Maybe I should listen.
“Viscount?”
The Count of Makenas, who was holding a cigar and reading a secret contract, looked puzzled.
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
Business, business.
“I’ve been pondering whether I should start sponsoring art soon.”
Pastel hastily pointed to one side before the discussion returned to the subject of the Inphi Book, which felt unnecessary. There was a painting of a golden flower decorated with a gold frame among the gold collection.
“I’m sponsoring the painting.”
The Count of Makenas took the cigar out of his mouth.
“Well, it must be time for the Viscount to have some cash management troubles too. Has it been less than a year? Truly, business performance is impressive.”
The cigar pointed to the painting.
“This side is where connections revolve, so I imagine it must be quite the dilemma.”
It sounded like he understood the situation of the fallen clan, separate from personal abilities.
“If the Viscount wants, I can give you an invitation to the art gallery. Although many invitations come, I’m not much of an art enthusiast myself.”
“Thank you for your kindness.”
The trivial chatter about how to recycle the excessively piled up cash into art pieces for tax evasion quickly ended.
The Count of Makenas took the cigar back into his mouth. He scanned the secret contract with sharp eyes.
This contract contained plans to backstab the Empire Bank and collude for auctions. The Craft Guild was supposed to acquire the products at a low price, and in return, the Demon Realm Corporation would collect secret commissions.
The point was that the Count of Makenas had already colluded with the Empire Bank to designate the products at the set auction price, all while plotting to double-cross them.
The contract was laid on the table.
“This is troublesome.”
The Count of Makenas leaned back on the sofa. Cigar smoke drifted from his mouth.
“The duty of a merchant is surely to be faithful, isn’t it?”
A principle I had never heard before.
Completely principled.
Pastel pondered how to persuade the Count, who was rejecting the invitation to collude while having invited him to a villa.
Since he had set a high fee for the commission, did it mean that the part about the Craft Guild acquiring the Railway Guild was the hurdle?
Inviting him to collude seemed to be a plan to bid for the products at a lower price than the one agreed upon with the Empire Bank, leveraging the unexpected appearance of the Craft Viscount at the auction.
It didn’t seem like he genuinely intended to betray the agreement with the Empire Bank.
The goal at this meeting was to change this mindset.
I would need to persuade him to choose the Craft Guild over the Empire Bank.
According to information Melissa had gathered at the briefing banquet, the royal will might have been reflected behind the Empire Bank…….
Could it really be that a bank that should be separate from the government according to the principles of credit was acting like the arms of the royal family?
It wouldn’t make sense for the Count of Makenas and the Demon Realm Corporation to be struggling with a decision between the Empire Bank and the Craft clan, but rather with a direction between the royal family and the Craft clan.
Yes, yes!
Because life is too easy for Pastel!
Objectively speaking, if a bank were swayed by government coercion, it would end in a collapse of credit.
Pastel stood up from the sofa. She carefully looked over the gold collection. The Count of Makenas was watching her while leaning back on the sofa, smoking a cigar.
The girl’s hand moved as if she were about to touch the golden bird sculpture.
“It’s lovely.”
She didn’t touch it because it was a piece of art, merely gazing dreamily at its golden beak. It felt like it could start chirping at any moment, yet it was a solid piece of gold.
The Count nodded his cigar.
“It is lovely. It’s the late work of a master. Thanks to his timely death, its value has already increased to about twenty times the auction price. It was worth the trouble of estimating his lifespan.”
The pink-toned girl nodded her head.
“Love is greater than anything else.”
Cigar ash fell into the ashtray.
“Is that so?”
The Count of Makenas stood up from the sofa and moved toward one side. He picked up a treasure chest filled with gold coins and brought it to the table near the girl.
“The Viscount must know this feeling too, so our conversation will be easy.”
As the Count spilled the treasure chest, gold coins cascaded onto the table, clinking against one another.
“This is a message from the Empire Bank. They said if you quietly withdraw from this auction, they would let you go without hard feelings.”
The pink-eyed girl looked down at the pile of gold coins.
“This is just my opinion, but that Craft clan doesn’t seem to blame their ties with the demons. If they share what kind of plot they are preparing against the demons, it might also be a good opportunity for the Craft clan.”
“Do you think I’m preparing a plot?”
The Count of Makenas silently smiled.
“Count.”
The girl shook her head. She slowly glanced around the gold collection.
“If you love all of this, then embrace that love as much as your heart can hold.”
The Count’s eyes glimmered with interest.
“How much are we talking about?”
“What is your dream, Count?”
The ultimate rejection of one on Mana’s level?
A wealthy person of the infinite vault?
The girl pointed at herself.
“My dream is to be an omnipotent ruler.”
She reached her hand toward the chandelier on the ceiling.
“A possessor of power that none can blame, none can criticize, and none can look at.”
She lowered her hand.
“Is that childish?”
The girl chuckled softly and swept her arm across the table. The pile of gold coins shifted with a clang. Magnificent gold fell to the floor. A golden wave burst onto the white marble. A fierce echo spread.
The pink-eyed girl winked playfully.
“Dream big.”
The Count of Makenas stared blankly at the opponent in front of him.
What is omnipotent power?
A flash struck in his mind.
Slowly, he turned his gaze toward one of the gold collection pieces, a world map. It depicted the shape of the Empire, Sky Islands, and the Demon Realm.
Countless thoughts flitted through his mind.
What does it mean for the one who owns the strategically vital Sky Islands to talk of power to the business manager of a company with a massive private army and a distribution network for military supplies?
The Count of Makenas’s voice trembled slightly.
“Can you do it?”
The girl answered leisurely.
“I don’t concoct failed plots.”
A smile slowly spread across the Count’s face. His hefty body trembled with greedy laughter.
“Viscount Craft! I see! Yes! No matter who the opponent is, that Craft will never forget their grudge!”
His palm slammed onto the table.
“What amount of funding do you need for that dream?”
The girl beamed.
“As much as the entire world.”
The Count of Makenas laughed.
“How brazen.”
The cigar was back in his mouth.
A brief silence passed.
From the Count’s mouth, the cigar smoke billowed thickly.
“I will invest, as much as the entire world.”
Wow.
The verbal agreement has little meaning in reality.
Even if I say the entire world, if I don’t pull out the contract, that’s just like saying I’ll invest while watching the situation.
But Pastel was wrapping her cheeks in the kitchen of the Sky Island while returning to the academy and giggling.
“The demon lord should have seen that scene! Totally business~ it was Pastel!”
“How many times are you going to say that?”
The demon, who had been rolling out dough with a rolling pin, looked a bit weary, as if dragged along for shopping. The difference from shopping was that Pastel kept following and talking.
Pastel officially began her eleventh brag.
“I managed to succeed in sales just by throwing a mere promissory note!”
That was also an achievement of maintaining her friendship by flipping the reverse offer of betraying the demon Ellie!
V! V!
Pastel: Count! Dream big! You shouldn’t be satisfied with the pittance from the Empire Bank! If you betray the Empire Bank and choose me, I’ll give you more than just this pile of gold coins!
But didn’t say how much.
Because I don’t have cash right now.
I’ve returned it all to smuggling.
Hehe.
But, but!
The Count was intrigued by Pastel’s confidence, saying he would invest in the Craft Guild beyond the auction box he had aimed for?!
How much he was charmed, even indulging in the absurd joke of “the entire world.”
“I know this! He’s a kind-hearted asset owner who is moved by the confidence of the youth and decides to invest a large amount!”
With the age gap as big as that of parent and child, I can sense what kind of emotion arose in the Count’s heart!
It must have been a feeling of nostalgia and reminiscence that perhaps he once was like that!
Pastel clenched her fist.
“Count! I will repay that expectation! I, Pastel, will put all my strength into smuggling!”
I will show you the magic of compound interest!
“Don’t have such determination.”
The demon tapped Pastel’s head with the rolling pin.
“Ouch!”
Ughhh.
