"Nella, come here."

"..."

Lucas stood in a corner of the garden and called Nella gently.

The Naiads hovering around Nella were not visible, except for the one she had summoned herself, but their energy could be felt.

"What's wrong?"

But no matter how long he waited, Nella just fiddled with her feet and didn't move.

"Naias... says she's scared of you..."

"What do you mean by that?"

The corner of Lucas's mouth, who was forcing a smile, trembled.

'That damn moth-like thing is talking about me being scary?'

He wanted to unsummon the Naiad in front of him right away, but he held it in.

"I don't know... she says she's scared..."

"Haha! What do you mean by that? Shall I talk to Naias separately?"

A small vein popped out on Lucas's forehead.

"N-no. I'll tell her... that you're not scary..."

"Right, then will you come here?"

Lucas planned to raise Nella's magic skills to the beginner level before she entered the academy.

Whether it was light magic or a small electric magic, he planned to teach her simple basic magic.

"Now, Nella. The fact that you can call Naias is a secret between you and me."

"Why?"

"Hmm... if people find out that you can call Naias, they'll try to take you away."

"...Me?"

It would surely be tiring if it became known that Nella was a spirit summoner. People would be clamoring to take that little child from all over the place.

"Yes. If they take you, you'll be separated from us."

"I don't want that."

Nella shook her head violently, as if the thought alone was terrifying.

"Right. I don't want that either. So let's keep it a secret that we can call Naias. Okay?"

"Okay. I'll keep it. A secret."

"Good girl. Then let's practice magic with me today."

"Okay!"

The little brat's genius was amazing. She could already easily summon a small light just by imagining it.

"Now, this is fire magic."

Lucas spread his hand and summoned a small flame on his palm.

"Okay. Fire."

"Try to follow me."

"...It's hard."

"Try to think of summoning a small flame. You're pulling a little of the mana in your heart to your fingertips."

"Ugh..."

It was a rule-of-thumb teaching, but it was difficult to explain it better to a child.

He could have taught her simple magic by teaching her calculation methods or formulas, but Nella was too young for that.

It was also easier to move on to the next step if she could manifest simple magic without formulas or chants.

Starting with basic fire magic, she would be able to summon hellfire or meteors.

The size and power would depend on how many circles she could draw.

"You're doing well."

Mana began to gather at Nella's fingertips. All she had to do was turn that mana into a flame.

"Now, create a flame."

"...Ugh."

Nella groaned for a long time, as if it wasn't working well.

-KABOOM!

"Cough, cough!"

It was instantaneous. The mana that was gathering in her palm grew larger and larger, and the moment Nella summoned the flame, it exploded with a bang!

It was a pretty big explosion, but neither Nella nor Lucas were injured. He was momentarily puzzled, and then a voice came from behind.

"Oh my, children! Playing with fire is dangerous."

"...Aman?"

How did he appear so perfectly on time! It seemed that Aman had cast a defensive magic just before the explosion.

Aman, who winked one eye, walked over, waving his hand to clear the hazy smoke.

"I've come to pick you children up. It's time to go to school now."

***

Aman had returned to Citata a few days earlier than planned.

As soon as he arrived, he inspected the mine with the Count. His stomach churned for a moment at the sight of the mana stones from his land being dug up, but he soon soothed his churning stomach by thinking of Lucas's warehouse.

"It's all thanks to Aman-nim. Ah, and when will the trading company that was supposed to come from Vamaras arrive..."

"Ah! They should be arriving soon. I came at that time for that reason."

"Ah, I see. Hohoho. This is... I feel sorry for being indebted to you."

"Not at all."

The Count's face, who was talking to him, was noticeably brighter.

And for good reason, the value of the mine was enormous, and the county's situation had not just improved, but had blossomed.

In the mine that Aman had given him, mana stones came out every other foot, and precious gems poured out every other foot.

Silver and gold were a bonus. So it was only a matter of time before the county sat on a pile of money.

In addition, the trade of expensive gems and mana stones was very important, and Aman had even connected him with the Gold Nine Trading Company.

The Gold Nine Trading Company, based in Vamaras, was enormous in scale.

It was no exaggeration to say that they were the ones who had made Vamaras, an island country between the continents, a hub of trade.

Gold Nine had built a logistics warehouse in Vamaras, which had been an island country where sailors who were moving between the continents would just stay for a while, and had opened a place for intercontinental trade, showing their amazing business acumen by receiving trade commissions from them.

"Thank you so much. And you can revise the contract at any time. I can give you more than 20 percent of the shares at any time."

"Hahaha, not at all. I am a scholar who studies magic. I don't need that much. This is enough for now."

The Count was expressing an excessive amount of affection, to the point of being burdensome, every time he saw Aman.

He could fully understand the Count's feelings. If it weren't for Aman, he wouldn't have been able to dig up and sell even a single passing stone, let alone a mine.

"Ah, and do you know about that? The red boars that live in Citata."

"Ah, yes. They're a big nuisance. Not only do they ruin all the fields, but they're also ferocious... the farmers' complaints are not just a few."

"Yes, that's right. And they're hard to catch."

"Yes. That's right. But why the red boars all of a sudden...?"

"There's a specific medicine for those red boars."

"Is that really true?!"

The red boar, one of the animals that lived in Citata, was three times larger than a normal pig, and its personality was also ferocious, so it was one of the residents' objects of avoidance.

The red boar meat was also known to be a delicacy, but since hunting was not easy, it was as good as catching a lot if they caught about two a year.

Although they were eaten by predators like orcs or werewolves, their numbers did not seem to decrease because of their reproductive power.

They would often come down to the private houses and ruin all the fields, and even break the fences by ramming them with their heads.

But to think that there was a specific medicine for such red boars? The Count's heart began to pound.

"Yes. There's a specific medicine for the red boars..."

"A specific medicine..."

"The Gold Nine Trading Company will tell you!"

"Pardon?"

Aman, who smiled brightly at the Count who had opened his mouth in disbelief, pointed to the entrance of the county estate.

"Look. The trading company that will give you the specific medicine is coming in."

A carriage was coming in. But the shape of that carriage was like...

"What is that...? A pumpkin... carriage?"

The appearance was like a huge pumpkin. And it was a dazzling pumpkin carriage, all painted in gold.

"The head of the trading company is a little peculiar. But it's better than last time."

"What in the world was it last time..."

"It was the shape of an eggplant. A golden eggplant."

"...Is such a carriage possible?"

The Count, whose mouth was wide open, quickly came to his senses when he saw the carriage that had already come right in front of the county estate.

The head of the trading company had come. The head of the Gold Nine Trading Company, who would bring a lot of money to his territory, had come in person!

As the carriage door opened, the Count quickly went down the stairs and prepared to greet the head of the trading company.

"Huuuh~ the air is nice!"

A woman got out of the carriage and stretched.

"That person...!"

"Yes. That's right. The head of the Gold Nine Trading Company. Allie Orineus."

The head of the Gold Nine Trading Company was a completely different person from the Count's imagination.

She, who had blonde hair and golden eyes, looked to be in her early to mid-twenties at most.

"Oh my, hello? It's a very simple and airy territory!"

The woman walked over with long strides and held out one hand.

"Ah, yes. Hello. I am the lord, Count Cibie Rodrigo."

"Hoho, yes. Oh my, you handle a sword, I see? Your hands are very rough... and you're reliable~"

Unlike the Count, who carefully held her hand, Allie turned his hand over and over and gave her impressions.

"S-stop it. Allie? You have to introduce yourself."

"Ah, Aman! I really missed you, you know?"

As if she had just noticed Aman, she shook off his hand and hugged him tightly.

"Ugh, I can't breathe."

"Ah~ so good. Ah! Right."

Allie, who had lightly kissed Aman's cheek, moved away from him and approached the Count again.

"My introduction was late. Hello. I am Allie Orineus. Gold Nine is mine."

"Yes. It's a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for coming all this way. Please come inside."

"Hmm~ I'll go inside later. Where's the mine?"

Even if she was a merchant, there was no formality to be found in Allie.

To think that she, who seemed so innocent, was the head of such a large trading company... the Count couldn't believe his eyes and kept glancing at Aman.

Aman, who felt the Count's sharp gaze, just smiled awkwardly and nodded his head.

'Is that woman really the head of the trading company?'

The head of the Gold Nine Trading Company, who was only rumored about, was in front of him, but the appearance he had imagined was nowhere to be found.

It was the first time he had known that the head of the trading company was a woman, and that she was so young and beautiful. And that she was so innocent...

"Ah, you mean the mine? This way..."

As if he had been caught up in her pace, the Count was leading her to the mine without realizing it.

Allie and Aman, who were following the Count who was leading the way, were in the middle of a chat.

"So~ there I..."

"Allie, tell me later. Later."

"Hmph, you never let me do anything!"

Listening to their conversation, it was like watching a couple.

A feeling like a childish and clumsy girlfriend and a boyfriend who was gently comforting her.

'Are they a couple...'

***

They, who had returned from seeing the mine, were sitting in the drawing room and sipping tea.

"Ah, the mine was amazing, you know? Well, with that quality, selling it won't be a problem."

Allie, who was sipping tea, sparkled her eyes.

"Is that so? Then that's a relief."

"Yes. Well, with that much, it seems like it will be a very profitable business for our trading company. Now, would you like to take a look?"

What Allie handed over was a bundle of documents that looked like a contract.

"Ah, is this a contract?"

"Yes. Well, you can sign a contract elsewhere, but as you know, it will be difficult to handle that much volume at once. If you sign a contract with us, we can also connect you with processing and manufacturing and sell it if you want."

"You mean even processing and manufacturing?"

"Yes, well. Our trading company is connected to quite a lot of companies. It's also possible to have dwarves make them into magic tools... we can discuss various profitable businesses together."

She was the head of the trading company. She, who had already planned all the profitable businesses in her head, began to explain all the business procedures without a hitch.

"First, if you sign a contract with us, the contract fee is this much..."

Allie, who had picked up a quill, scribbled a few numbers on a napkin next to her and pushed it in front of the Count.

"This much means...?"

"Ah, not in shillings, but in gold."

"...In gold?"

"Yes."

The Count's surprised heart could not be calmed. The Count, who had counted the zeros in the number Allie had written down several times, even began to tremble.

"Is it too little?"

"N-no, no, not at all."

10 million gold. It was an amount that could buy this entire Citata and still have some left over.

The price of a two-story house in the capital was about 100,000 gold. Even the O'Neil Duchy, which was rumored to be the largest, could be bought for 1.5 million gold and still have some left over.

'T-ten million gold!'

"The contract fee can be paid now... what will you do?"

"I-I'll sign the contract!"

"Yes, good. You won't regret joining Gold Nine."

Allie, who smiled brightly, held out her hand, and the Count took her hand.

(End of Chapter)