“That’s that. Come forward and explain the businesses you’ve each proposed.”
A ruckus ensued as those who had been arguing—voices raised and tempers flared—sorted themselves out. One by one, they stepped forward to pitch the ventures they hoped would secure investment.
“This is a truly tremendous business. If it succeeds, you’ll earn hundreds of snacks…”
*Liar.*
“This business involves importing thick, fluffy clothes from a foreign land. It even features this adorable rabbit drawing…”
*Liar.*
Bunny tilted her head.
She could sense malice in others. Malice was a dark, jagged thing in the heart, and it always traveled hand-in-hand with dishonest words.
In other words, Bunny could tell when someone was lying.
And here, there were only people who did nothing but lie.
Bunny’s eyes grew listless. Having listened to a parade of elaborate fabrications, she collapsed limply into Ludbreed’s arms.
*Not Grandpa, but Bunny is the one who’s limp…*
With a heavy sigh, she pointed a tiny finger at the mountain of documents stacked on the corner of Ludbreed’s desk.
“Harabuji, what is dis?”
“Hm? Those are applications from people asking me to send them money. You haven’t finished learning your letters yet, have you?”
“Yes. But I know fifteen of them.”
Bunny held up her fingers to show him, then began to wriggle and clutch the document, squinting at the ink. As she fluttered through the pages, her lips pouted. Most of the text was a mess of difficult, squiggly lines, but among them, a familiar character jumped out.
*Oh? I know this one!*
Her eyes sparkled, and she froze.
*Little Lady, the letters I’ve written here are for things that will hit the jackpot—meaning, make you rich—if you buy them now. Tell people that your divine beast told you this information, and make it into a super-big, jackpot-hitting divine beast! I’ll tell you about the king-of-all-jackpots business you should invest in later.*
Below the text Luriel had written, there were various squiggly human characters. One of them looked exactly like the one Bunny had just recognized. She had a knack for imitating anything she’d seen once—though studying to understand was a far cry from simply mimicking.
Regardless, she knew the letters were the same.
“Dis!”
Bunny held one sheet of paper high. It was a thin, modest document, only two or three pages long, tucked away in a corner, forgotten beneath the pile of long-winded, self-serving proposals.
“Dis is a jackpot.”
“A jackpot?”
“Yes. Super rich. Bunny’s Heugyeomryong told me.”
She pointed a finger squarely at the red *baebsae* perched on her shoulder, which was currently preening its feathers.
“A jackpot…?”
“What on earth is that business that makes you say such a thing?”
The people who had been narrowing their eyes at Bunny scrambled to check their own stacks, then scowled.
“Magic engineering? A magic stone air conditioner?”
“No, if it’s a magic stone, aren’t those from the fellows in the Magic Republic? I’m talking about those tower mages.”
“Surely the young lady isn’t suggesting we help those people.”
Ludbreed took the document from Bunny’s hand, inspecting it. With his granddaughter in one arm and the paper in the other, he flipped through the pages with practiced ease.
“It seems they are not mages affiliated with the Magic Tower.”
“Can a mage be unaffiliated with the Magic Tower…?”
“Regardless, this fellow clearly doesn’t know how the world works. How dare a person tainted by mana ask for an investment, and at the Judia Dukedom at that!”
“This is nonsense. Do you not have anything else, Miss Bunny?” one of the men asked, his tone laced with impatience.
Bunny shook her head firmly, crossed her arms with a serious expression, and opened her mouth.
“Nun.”
To be precise, it was because there wasn’t a single word on the other papers that she recognized.
“Miss Bunny, why don’t you reconsider? Look, here are clothes with very cute drawings on them.”
“Bad.”
Bunny stared blankly at the clothing mockup.
“Rabbit is cute. Cat is not cute.”
“But…”
“No, don’t change. Go back.”
Bunny shook her head. There was nothing more to say to liars. She rummaged through the remaining pile in her hand and stopped abruptly. Another familiar letter.
“Harabuji, dis too!”
“Umm? A clothing business? It’s related to a boutique.”
Ludbreed picked up the second document Bunny pointed to and inspected the contents. It seemed to be a boutique seeking capital.
“It seems it wasn’t right to leave this to Miss Bunny after all. One cannot just pick any random thing for such a large business…”
Seeing an opening, one of the collateral family members who felt the choice disadvantaged them quickly changed his tune.
“No, we will go with these two for this year’s support.”
After reading both the concise, three-page magic engineering proposal and the boutique’s portfolio, Ludbreed handed them to Pel. Both had potential, the documents were organized, and he felt supporting them would be infinitely more meaningful than siding with his greedy relatives.
“Understood. I will process it immediately.” Pel replied, taking them.
“This is ridiculous! Duke! Even if we set aside the clothing business, those mages! Do you not know how treacherous they are? They’ll do inhumane things without a second thought for the advancement of magic…”
“Yes, I know.”
Ludbreed, who had been glaring at the vassal, cut him off sharply.
“Looking at it, these aren’t Magic Tower mages, and they truly seem to need the funds for research. Besides, what my granddaughter picked is much better than something reeking of you lot.”
“But… they are mages!”
“And what’s wrong with that? I was aware that magic stone research has been progressing in various fields. The purpose of this project is useful, too.”
The vassals opened and closed their mouths like dying fish. One man took a deep breath to argue, but the icy weight of Ludbreed’s gaze silenced him.
“I started this to help those with ability but no means, not to shove money into your pockets to keep you fat.”
“But to trust the word of a mere child…”
“Those are your words, not mine. Once you’ve spoken, keep them. Otherwise…”
*Boom!*
The air in the room grew heavy, suffocating. The vassals’ faces turned deathly pale.
*Hiiing—!*
The faint neighing of a horse echoed from somewhere, followed by the sound of wings flapping. The density of holy power surrounding Ludbreed spiked. It was a power of purification, but at such high pressure, it made the very air difficult to breathe.
“I find my granddaughter’s words more trustworthy than you lot, whose mouths are greased with lies.”
*My, granddaughter?*
The vassals’ pupils trembled. Ludbreed had never once called even Calvad Yudia—the only son of the direct-line Kline Yudia—by such an endearing title.
“I will investigate thoroughly before providing support. If there are no grounds for disqualification, we will proceed with this for the quarter.”
“Yes, understood.”
Pel replied with a faint smile, bowing low.
In the future, the magic stone air conditioner that Ludbreed Yudia invested in thanks to Bunny’s choice would go beyond the empire, sweep the entire continent, and become a massive development, leading to the coining of the term ‘one magic air conditioner per household,’ the first of its kind in history.