Chapter 42
Chloe shrugged her shoulders as if it were no big deal and said,
“It’s a product enchanted for mid-to-long-distance teleportation. Dad said it’s okay to share with friends, so I brought it.”
“R-really, it’s okay to give it away?”
Jericho Ululka, the youngest of the children and an owl beastman, stammered as he asked.
“What if we get scolded for giving away something this precious?”
“Nope. Dad made them himself so we could take them today! When I worried about meeting friends from other territories for the first time, he told me to just take this with me. Oh, and—!”
Chloe placed a pendant with a soft thud on the table, then rummaged through her bag again.
Everyone let out a shriek at how casually she handled such a high-grade magic stone, but Chloe just smiled innocently.
“More importantly, there’s something else!”
“What is it?”
When Jericho asked, Chloe playfully covered her eyes and replied,
“Don’t be surprised… it’s…”
The children all focused on Chloe’s bag, hands clasped. They felt both excited and nervous about what might come out.
But what Chloe pulled out, making a drumroll sound with her mouth, was…
“Caramel!”
It was a small caramel wrapped in golden foil.
“Ehh…”
Seeing Jericho’s disappointed expression, Chloe quickly added,
“Try it. It’s called salted caramel. It’s so good, you’ll be amazed!”
The children, still skeptical, quietly took the caramel Chloe offered and put it in their mouths.
“Wow.”
Soon, their exclamations followed.
“This is really good!”
“See? It’s salty and sweet at the same time…”
Their eyes sparkled as they chewed, as if they’d never doubted it.
Chloe handed out one pendant along with the box of caramels and said kindly,
“Take this and eat it. Ah, but since the magic stone pendants are a new product, you might not know how to use them, um…”
Chloe paused, hand on her chin, tilting her head, then suddenly clapped her hands as if she’d found a solution.
“That’s right! When you give it to your parents, make sure to ask the Leander family about it! They’ll explain it kindly.”
“Yes, I’ll definitely tell them! Thanks, Chloe!”
“You’re welcome.”
Chloe smiled shyly and shrugged.
“Actually, it was meant as a promo, so no need to be so thankful.”
Here, the “promotion” had two purposes:
To show that she wasn’t being mistreated and to promote the Leander family’s new product.
While the children busily took the pendants, Chloe thought back to last week.
“You want a prototype of the mid-to-long-distance teleportation magic stone…?”
Lucian looked puzzled at Chloe’s words.
“If you want, I can craft it properly into an accessory. The prototype isn’t fully finished, so it’s inconvenient to carry around.”
“No, the prototype is enough!”
Chloe shook her head in response to his offer to make it into a bracelet or necklace she could wear.
“I want to give them to friends I’ll meet next week.”
“Friends?”
“Yes. The friends I’ll meet at the continental conference next week.”
Chloe pretended to be oblivious as she spoke to Lucian, who was quietly observing her.
“Didn’t you say all prototypes would be destroyed even though they’re perfect products? Magic stones are extremely rare, so it would be a waste. I want to give them to the friends I’ll meet!”
Even after hearing that, Lucian simply continued to watch the child silently.
Could it be… he won’t give them? Chloe looked at him anxiously.
“Chloe.”
Lucian sighed softly, bent down, and met her eyes.
“I’ll make them into pendants and give them to you.”
“Pendants…?”
“Yes. You can’t give the prototypes as raw stones to your daughter’s friends.”
Lucian gently smoothed Chloe’s hair, careful not to mess it up, and asked,
“You want to get along well with the new friends you’ll meet, huh?”
“…Yes.”
“Then give them the caramel you enjoyed last time too. They’ll definitely like it more.”
Chloe recalled Lucian’s warm voice and lightly touched the spot where he had affectionately patted her last week.
The reason Chloe chose the prototype of a new product to show her situation was clear:
She wanted to help the Leander family in any way she could.
She wanted to give back to the people who treated her well, who showed her love and care.
“And also… I feel a little guilty.”
Chloe slowly lowered her hand that had been touching her head, recalling the people who were almost being manipulated by her ability.
The children here would return to their territories, give these pendants to their parents, and recount everything that happened today.
Even if the children didn’t say anything, parents who wanted to understand the relationships would surely interrogate them.
Then they’d know. How she had handled the magic stone pendants.
Unlike the children who would have overlooked it, the adults would immediately notice:
Even the daughter of the Leander family can’t just casually handle high-grade magic stones.
“They’ll realize it naturally. How much care I’m receiving.”
Any nonsense about abuse would definitely be dismissed.
Naturally, misunderstandings about the Leander family from other houses would be cleared up.
Of course, some adults might try to take advantage…
“But that could also turn into a good opportunity.”
Chloe smiled cheerfully, looking at the sparkling pendants.
“Biases will vanish, rumors will disappear, and it promotes the product for free. How great is that?”
Unlike short- or long-distance teleportation magic stones, mid-to-long-distance ones were new to the market.
The beastmen who had to use expensive long-distance stones even for moderate distances were expected to react explosively.
“Hurry and give the promo items to your parents, you innocent children!”
Chloe wanted to make the already wealthy Leander family even richer!
At that moment, as she watched the children carefully handling the stones, Jericho spoke.
“But Chloe’s dad is really, really cool.”
Having already finished the caramel, Jericho licked his lips.
“My dad gets really mad if I lose a magic stone. He even said he’d hit my butt a hundred times.”
“R-really?”
“Yeah. But Chloe’s dad even lets you give them away. I want to trade dads! I’m so jealous, Chloe!”
Chloe felt shy as Jericho raised his thumb in praise, and she instinctively reached into her bag.
“Here, Jericho, have one more. It’s a bonus!”
“Wow, thanks!”
Pleased to see Jericho so happy, Chloe turned to Diana.
Diana quietly held the box and pendant Chloe had given her, staring at the floor.
“Diana, aren’t you going to eat one?”
“Oh, I’ll take it home and eat it with my mom. She’ll love it.”
Ah, that’s right. Diana Grevis’ mother was still recovering from that incident.
“How kind.”
Recalling the original story, Chloe smiled warmly at Diana.
“Then let’s share mine!”
Chloe took two caramels from her pocket, giving one to Diana and keeping one for herself.
“Try it. It’s delicious!”
“…Okay.”
Diana unwrapped the caramel as Chloe instructed and put it in her mouth.
She closed her eyes and murmured thoughtfully.
“It’s good.”
“See?”
“Yeah.”
After a moment, Diana opened her eyes and looked at Chloe.
The child reflected in her pomegranate-red eyes wore a joyful expression.
“I’m glad, Chloe.”
“Huh?”
“This is really good for you, right?”
Chloe looked at Diana’s gentle smile and understood immediately, returning a bright smile.
“Yes. It really is.”
Especially for me.
As Chloe beamed at Diana, the previously quiet meeting hall began to stir—perhaps the first meeting had ended.
From somewhere came a loud roar:
“Chloe!”
“Chloe! Where are you, Chloe!”
The children, happily nibbling on caramel, looked around in alarm like prey spotting a predator.
Soon, the beast’s identity became clear to their round eyes.
“My baby, my niece, uncle’s here!”
Even from the hill below, the massive figure was clearly visible.
“A b-bear beastman!”
The children instinctively hid behind a tree at the roaring predator.
They were predatory or venomous beastmen, yet none were older than ten.
Faced with a beast large enough to uproot a tree, the children had no choice but to be scared.
But not all the children hid behind the tree.
“Uncle!”
Chloe Arusman, however, ran excitedly toward the giant.
