IWTTSMD Chapter 99

"Is it true that a reporter from the Daily Sunrise went out to cover the story? Did Ambassador Lucian Alexis agree to an interview?"

"Yes. I saw it myself."

"Wow!"

Hearing Jackjack's words, the corners of my mouth curled up on their own.

Today, with Mr. Damian's help, I sent a telegram from the Investigation Bureau to Baron Oldman's representative, Ms. Jena.

<Sweet Sweety>. The candy shop in Hispoth Town run by Jena Chaser, a rabbit beastfolk half-blood. It was a quiet store, usually staffed by a single clerk, with the owner rarely in sight.

"Berry, should I send a telegram asking them to deliver the Honey Bear Jelly here?"

"Yes! The shop clerk said they were expecting a jelly shipment today!"

"...Oh no. They just replied that they're out of stock."

"Gasp."

Whenever I ordered Honey Bear Jelly from them, the reply would always be that it was out of stock.

Then, Jackjack would show up at the location where the delivery had been requested.

That was how I made contact with the representative.

"What's the matter?"

"I want to make an anonymous tip to the Daily Sunrise newspaper."

I told Jackjack, who had come to the Investigation Bureau, the contents of the tip.

Then Ms. Jena anonymously passed it along to the newspaper.

The fact that Dad said he would send clothes to Lucian Alexis also helped a lot with this plan.

Thanks to that, Lucian was tied up at the Investigation Bureau until the outfit from Trang's Boutique arrived, giving the reporter enough time to get there.

"I'm off."

"Yup."

I saw Jackjack off as he flew out the window, humming to myself as I stepped on the chair to close the window.

Lucian Alexis is the type who always gets photographed by the press, so I'm sure the outfit Dad picked will make the front page!

I hadn't seen what the outfit looked like, but I knew better than anyone about Dad's taste.

I could guarantee that tomorrow's edition of the Daily Sunrise would be buzzing with three keywords.

Trang's Boutique, Lucian Alexis, and...

Reytan Quartz Travel's First Family Sponsorship Program!

Mr. Victor had already suggested several promotional ideas to Dad about launching the program, but Dad had refused every time.

It was the result I'd expected.

Promoting the program could lead to actual results, and achieving results could threaten his place at the very bottom rank.

But right now, this is the perfect chance for a big promotion.

And then, the following evening.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••

Yesterday (the 13th), at the 17th Branch of the Central Investigation Bureau in Goldport, an unbelievable incident occurred.

…(omitted)…

It was later revealed that it wasn't a kidnapping at all, but that they had actually come looking for Reytan Quartz Travel.

The three children who accompanied Ambassador Alexis were models for the second son of the Travel family's newly launched children's clothing business…

•••••••••••••••••••••••••

Heh.

On the front page of today's newspaper was a photo of Lucian Alexis leaving the Investigation Bureau, wearing the outfit Dad had sent.

The promotion was such a success that there were no copies of the paper left on the stands.

***

"The second son of the Travel family's newly launched-"

"Berryberry, how long are you going to keep reading that article? It's been three days now. You'll memorize it at this rate."

"Hehe. But Dad's name and mine are in the paper. I'm just so happy~"

"You're that happy?"

"Yup!"

I smiled innocently as if I knew nothing, and Dad lightly tapped my cheek.

He wore a faint smile, but his eyes were full of worry.

'He's worried my relatives might start paying attention to me, isn't he?'

If they think you're going to be a thorn in their side, they'll nip you in the bud early.

Uncle Hevant, Aunt Marian, Uncle Yossel. Every one of them was capable of that.

The only reason they didn't stir up trouble with Stone House too much was because they believed that neither Dad nor I could possibly threaten their position in the line of succession.

However...

'If you start worrying about getting hurt because of that, then you won't be able to do anything at all.'

I was sorry to Dad, but his goal and mine were different.

Living quietly and safely in the Travel family held no meaning for me.

"Miss Berry, your guest should be arriving soon. May I hold onto the newspaper for you for now?"

"Oh, sure."

And today was an important day to lay the groundwork for that very goal!

Sitting across the table from me, the manager of Trang's Boutique took the newspaper from my hands, neatly folded it, and slipped it into his bag.

His movements were tidy, the kind you'd expect from someone who had worked in customer service for years but the tips of his fingers were trembling slightly.

The same went for the person two seats to my right.

Jeffrey was shaking as if he were sitting in a vibrating chair.

Unlike his usual carefree hairstyle, Jeffrey had combed all his bangs back and fixed his entire head neatly in place with wax.

His shirt buttons were fastened all the way up to the collar, and he had even put on a small bow tie.

"Hoo-ha, what do I do?! I'm so nervous!"

"Jeffrey, calm down. The chair's shaking with you."

Next to him, Theon wore his hair half-combed forward in a more relaxed style.

His outfit was similar to Jeffrey's, but with small differences that highlighted Theon's own charm.

In any case, both of them looked as if they were attending a formal concert.

And just like them, I was also sitting here, tense and nervous.

"Dad, aren't you nervous?"

"What's there to be nervous about?"

Dad replied indifferently.

I knew the children's clothing business didn't matter much to him, so that reaction was expected.

"But it's 30 billion Kona."

"Berryberry, I told you before. Money isn't everything in this world."

"Still, money's always good when there's a lot of it."

Thirty billion Kona.

Just thinking about that amount made my heart race.

It was the enormous sum Mr. Victor said a potential investor had offered after the article was published.

Even though the children's clothing business was something I had no memory of from my other life. The fact that our Quartz family could receive 30 billion Kona in investment money was beyond shocking.

I'd been so surprised that I'd lost sleep over it.

"They said they wanted to meet the people involved in person before making the final decision."

That was why we had all dressed up early in the morning and gathered at the most luxurious restaurant in Hispoth Town.

The people gathered were: my dad, the president of the children's clothing business; the three of us as models; the head designer from Trang Boutique, who would be working with my dad on the designs; and the manager of Trang Boutique, who would be in charge of sales and promotion of the children's wear.

The head designer swallowed nervously and said.

"But Manager, if we get an investment of 30 billion Kona, we could aim for the overseas market, not just the Hayshal Empire."

"Overseas? You mean that market we talked about before…?"

"If that happens, Trang's Boutique could come under Mr. Reytan's umbrella…"

The head designer and the boutique manager lowered their voices, whispering to each other, when...

"Well, well, everyone's here, I see?"

Mr. Victor opened the restaurant door. He swept his eyes over us sitting at the elegant rectangular table, then narrowed them in amusement and smirked.

"But why is everyone dressed up so much?"

"…Huh?"

"What do you mean 'why'…?"

"…B-because the investor is putting in thirty billion Kona…?"

His tone was teasing.

Everyone except Dad stared at him in confusion.

"I just thought you might be overdoing it a bit. It's not as if this is the first time you've met the person."

I heard Dad click his tongue softly beside me. It was clear he already knew the investor's identity.

'Huh? Who could it be?'

Then, from behind Mr. Victor, appeared...

Not an actual flower deer, but a man whose handsome looks resembled one.*

His pink hair, the same shade as mine, swayed lightly with each step.