IWDFLSB 134

Chapter 134…………………………………..

“Then that won’t work.”

“Snort!”

I picked up the divine beast and tried to soothe it, but it only snorted dismissively.

“I’m fine.”

The parrot, which had fallen after being kicked by the divine beast, wobbled back to its feet.

“More importantly, Baron Luciviu, I have a request. Would you allow me the opportunity to study that child?”

“My baby?”

“Yes, please. It’s partly a personal desire, but I’m certain it would help advance magical knowledge.”

“I understand what you’re saying. But my baby is very precious to me.”

I tightened my arms around the divine beast protectively.

“I acknowledge your genius and abilities, but I don’t yet know whether you’re a good person. If it were money or magic stones, that would be one thing—but I can’t entrust my baby to you.”

“B-But it wouldn’t be any dangerous research—!”

Kais began to protest but soon closed his mouth.

“I understand. You care deeply for that child.”

“Of course.”

The divine beast gave me a suspicious look, but I showed no sign of embarrassment.

“I understand your feelings, Baron.”

There was a reason Kais’s clone took the form of a parrot.

According to the novel, it stemmed from his personality—he disliked humans but loved animals.

“I was too hasty. I should have asked only after building enough trust with you…”

Soon, the parrot extended one wing.

Inside, I smiled with satisfaction.

Showing the divine beast as a final push to the hesitant Kais had been an excellent choice.

“Baron Luciviu, I will accept your proposal. I look forward to working with you.”

I placed my hand on the wing as if shaking hands.

“The feeling is mutual.”

And just like that, the eccentric inventor Kais had become my collaborator.

Afterward, we discussed the details of the contract we would form.

The parrot perched on a portable stand brought by Kais’s senior apprentice and spoke apologetically.

“To be honest, there aren’t many inventions that can be commercialized immediately. Most of the ones suitable for mass production are already under contract with Lady Cassius. The contract period hasn’t ended yet…”

I sipped the freshly served tea and spoke.

“But the Iber Merchant Guild that used to manufacture and sell those artifacts has already collapsed.”

“Yes. According to the lady, she plans to establish a new merchant company soon and resume sales.”

Just as I expected.

I savored the taste of the tea for a moment before asking the eccentric inventor a question.

“You said there aren’t many inventions suitable for commercialization right now. Doesn’t that mean there are at least a few?”

“Ah, yes. That’s correct. There are a few inventions whose contract periods have already ended—mostly from my early days.”

“Then let’s start by selling those.”

“But Baron Luciviu, do you operate a merchant company yourself? I haven’t heard of one.”

“No, I don’t. But there’s a merchant company that will act on my behalf. It’s called the Matima Company.”

“Matima? I’ve never heard of it.”

“The owner is Cecil Iber. It’s the company newly established by the former members of the Iber Merchant Guild.”

The eccentric inventor’s expression filled with surprise.

“Aren’t they Lady Cassius’s people?”

“They were before. Not anymore.”

“Well… how should I say this… I’m a bit hesitant to say it…”

He hesitated before continuing.

“I’ve worked with them for a long time, so I know they are capable and good people. But when it comes to Lady Cassius, they’re extremely devoted—so much that their actions sometimes go beyond common sense…”

“Haha, it’s fine.”

I lightly tapped the parrot’s shoulder with my finger.

“I know what you’re worried about. You’re afraid they might betray me and return to their former master, right?”

“T-That possibility is quite high.”

“Don’t worry. I know this much—if there’s any place in the world least likely to betray me, it’s the Matima Company.”

“…Is that so?”

“It seems they had a lot to think about after being abandoned once. That’s the conclusion I reached after talking with Cecil and several other members.”

This wasn’t just something I said to reassure Kais.

Because the people of the Matima Company had once fallen under Liena’s blessing and later broken free from it, they were less likely to fall under its influence again compared to ordinary people.

I recalled the conversation I had with Cecil.

“Looking back, I think I must have been crazy. Miss Liena was clearly the benefactor who saved our merchant guild from bankruptcy. She was very charming, and personally I liked her a lot.”

She bit her lip in regret.

“But even so, how could I immediately agree to the illegal act proposed by Deputy Leader Elliot…? At the time I thought it was fine because it was for her sake. But now I can’t understand why I would risk the entire guild like that.”

Unlike Roland or Isaac, Cecil didn’t harbor hostility toward Liena.

However, she regretted her past actions and vowed never to repeat the same mistake.

That was the only way ordinary people could resist the blessing—vigilance.

Therefore, entrusting Kais’s inventions to Cecil was currently the best option available to me.

More importantly, the merchant company itself isn’t my main concern.

My primary objective was to stop Liena’s new business plan, not to make money by selling Kais’s inventions.

Just by becoming the owner of the Luciviu mine, I was already rich enough to live comfortably for the rest of my life.

“Kais.”

Deciding it was time to move to the main topic, I called the mage’s name.

“You had a new business planned with Liena, didn’t you? A large-scale and groundbreaking one.”

“H-How did you know that?”

“I have my own sources of information. But I’d like to hear it from you directly.”

“I wasn’t trying to hide it. It’s just that I wasn’t very enthusiastic about the lady’s proposal…”

Kais then explained everything that had happened between him and Liena after the Iber Merchant Guild collapsed.

After the conversation ended and the sun was beginning to set, we left the leather workshop.

The parrot followed us to the entrance and waved its wing regretfully toward the divine beast.

“Goodbye! Someday I’ll definitely come see you again!”

Even though the divine beast completely ignored him, he still stopped me before I left.

“Wait! Before you go, could you at least tell me that child’s name?”

“My baby’s name?”

“Yes! Besides calling it ‘baby,’ it must have an actual name!”

…It didn’t.

But after saying I cherished the divine beast so much, I couldn’t admit I hadn’t even given it a name yet.

Maybe I should have just stuck with the name I tried before.

Since calling it “divine beast” all the time felt too impersonal, I had once tried to give it a name.

“Since it’s fluffy, how about Fluffy?”

“…Master, are you serious?”

“You don’t like it? Then how about Chubby, since you’re so plump?”

“For the first time, I feel like I want to cancel our master-servant contract.”

The divine beast had been extremely picky.

So, glancing at it cautiously, I came up with a new name on the spot.

The divine beast lived in the Luciviu mine. That was also where I first met it.

So…

“Lucy.”

“Oh! That’s a wonderful name!”

“….”

The divine beast climbed back into my handbag without saying anything, but since it didn’t protest, it seemed to accept the new name.

Thus, it was the historic moment when the divine beast came to be called Lucy.

“Vineta, good work!”

“I didn’t really do anything.”

When we stepped outside, Vineta was waiting for Terence and me.

Once we had walked far enough away from the workshop, I looked at the two of them and said:

“The operation was a success!”

Thanks to their cooperation, I had managed to leave a positive impression on the eccentric inventor.

“Thank you both.”

“Not at all. Thanks to you, I was able to make the acquaintance of such a talented individual. And I even gained this.”

Terence smiled and shook the sack slung over his shoulder.

It was a gift Kais had given us before we left.

Inside were various useful inventions he had created—most of them not yet revealed to the world because they weren’t suitable for mass production.

These will probably come in handy.

I gazed at the sack with satisfaction before leading the two of them toward the city center.

“Well then, since we still have time before the train, how about we go eat a delicious dinner?”

But Vineta suddenly held out her hand to me.

After taking the handbag containing Lucy, she stepped back and calmly said:

“I’ll pass. Why don’t the two of you spend some time together?”

“Vineta has a point. Don’t you still have an important schedule?”

From the way Terence said “important schedule,” I could guess what he meant.

“A date… right? I didn’t forget.”

Summoning my courage, I grabbed Terence’s arm.

“There’s a beautiful lake nearby. Would you like to visit it together after dinner?”

“A lake?”

“It’s about a twenty-minute walk. We’ll have plenty of time to go there and come back before the train departs.”

Terence looked slightly surprised.

“You seem to know quite a lot about it.”

“I researched it… for our date.”

At those words, a smile bloomed on his face—surely more beautiful than any lake we were about to see.

“Gladly.”

* * *

Two days later, in Mikhail’s palace.

“W-What?!”

Liena, who had been calmly getting ready in her residence just moments earlier, suddenly shouted.

“What do you mean by that?! Kais!”

Despite her frantic tone, the parrot perched by the window remained calm.

“Since it seems you didn’t hear me properly, I’ll say it again, Lady Liena Cassius.”

His voice was firm and resolute.

“I said there will be no further business between us. And I also reject the proposal you previously made.”