Chapter 9: Laila’s Top(2)

When I told Liriel unnie that I thought the painting was a fake, her red eyes turned to me.

Her usual gentle atmosphere was replaced with a cold and chilly one, as if she was lying.

Liriel unnie was different, even though she could have ignored what a five-year-old child said.

‘That’s why she runs a trading company of this size at the young age of 12.’

I approached the painting and pointed to the lower left corner with my finger.

“Liriel unnie, this artist is famous for leaving his signature.”

“I know that. I also know that the signatures are different for all the works that have been revealed.”

I shook my head and denied that.

“That’s not true, Liriel unnie. When you gather the signatures, they make a single pattern.”

“…What do you mean?”

I excused myself to Liriel unnie and started taking out the photos from my bag.

They were photos of all of Neorardo Dobanchi’s works in existence.

To be precise, photos with the signature parts enlarged.

I arranged the photos in the correct order, and a single pattern was created.

And there was only one empty space.

I said to my unnie, who was staring blankly at the pattern.

“If that work is real, the pattern will be completed when you put the photo in this empty space.”

Hearing that, my unnie immediately went out and came back with a camera.

If you take a picture with a high-performance camera sold at the Magic Tower, the photo is printed immediately.

My unnie, who had enlarged only the signature part, put the photo into the empty space, but it didn’t match at all.

Liriel unnie, staring at the pattern with a blank look.

I took out the last photo from my bag and put it in the empty space, and the pattern was completed.

Liriel unnie stared blankly at the pattern, and then suddenly rushed at me!

“W, where did you get that photo!?”

“Hiiiiik!?”

“Our good youngest will tell unnie, right!?”

She was pressing me with intense eyes, and to be honest, I was really scared.

Was it because of the large gap? It was true that it was scary when a person who is usually gentle got angry.

‘…But I still have to do what I have to do.’

I glanced at my unnie’s head, and the pure white heart finally began to fill.

Even if only a little bit.

I calmed her down and opened my mouth.

“What’s the basic principle of commerce, Liriel unnie?”

“…Give and take.”

Commerce isn’t just something you do.

The basic principle is that if you receive something, you have to give something.

If not, you’re a thief.

I looked at Liriel unnie, who was pondering with a serious expression, and took out another photo with a smile and handed it to her.

Liriel unnie, who received the photo, stared at it with a blank look, then turned to me and opened her mouth.

“Is this really Neorardo Dobanchi’s work…?”

“Yes, it is! And that work is currently in our family’s treasure vault!”

“……”

My unnie stared at the photo blankly for a long time, and just as I was about to leave, my unnie hugged me.

“…Thank you. If I had revealed it without knowing that it was a fake, I would have been in big trouble.”

That’s true.

Before my regression, when this painting was revealed, it was a huge hit at first, and many people gathered.

But soon, rumors spread that it was a fake, and it was said that the trading company was shaken.

The company’s most important credibility dropped to the bottom, and she said it was hard for a while.

Later, I heard that it was due to a conspiracy by another trading company, and she had crushed that trading company with the power of her family.

I heard it, not in detail, but I did eavesdrop. And I confirmed it in the newspaper…

Anyway! With this, I expected that her likeability would have risen a lot.

But… Arara?

Why is the heart only filled up to that extent!?

It’s only about 20%.

It’ll take a long time to conquer Liriel unnie if it’s only this much, despite this much happening.

While I was lost in thought, Liriel unnie turned to me and opened her mouth.

“More than that, how do you know all of this?”

I flinched and looked at Liriel unnie, and her eyes were not ordinary.

I overheard most of the events, or confirmed them in the newspaper, but I heard from my unnie that the real work was in the treasure vault.

I can’t say, ‘Liriel unnie told me in the future.’

“I, I’m too tired, I want to go home.”

“……”

Fortunately, that day, Liriel unnie didn’t ask any more questions, so I could get away with it.

She looked at me very suspiciously, but well, what can I do?

Because a mere five-year-old knows facts that not everyone in the world knows.

The next day, Liriel unnie visited my home and, after making a deal with my parents, took the painting.

She didn’t forget to visit me and give me a hug, even though she was busy.

‘If her likeability is only 20%, what will happen when it’s full…?’

I should start planning my next plan instead of worrying about that.

“Anna, could you get me a map? A map of the whole continent.”

“Alright, Miss.”

No matter how much I think about it, there’s only one way to raise Liriel unnie’s likeability.

It’s very simple to win over a merchant’s heart.

Wouldn’t she like the person who brings her benefits!?

‘…Will there be someone who doesn’t like it? No. Liriel unnie is a merchant through and through, so this is right.’

I marked the map Anna had brought with a red pen.

The order and reason for the purchase.

If I tell her to buy land here without any reason, she’ll never buy it.

Even if it was me, I wouldn’t believe it, so who would believe a five-year-old’s words?

Anna, who was carefully watching from the side, was heard exclaiming.

“Oh my, Miss, how do you know those facts?”

“Uhm? Ah, I heard Dad say it.”

It’s not a lie. Because Dad definitely said it. In three years.

Three years later, the land prices had already soared, and there was a commotion for a while.

“Can you deliver this map to Liriel unnie?”

“Alright, Miss.”

It was strange when I confirmed the map I received from my youngest.

She wasn’t the youngest I knew from the start, but now I don’t know how to express it.

I feel like I know the future, is this a delusion…?

Otherwise, this information could never be known.

It was written on the map, starting from the real estate outlook and the order in which to buy.

I, too, know a little bit by exchanging with various trading companies, but how does the youngest, who is always at home, know…?

Did her parents tell her? The information they don’t even tell me, to the youngest…?

That couldn’t be. Her parents are definite about public and private matters.

The more I think about it, the more it feels like I’m going down a rabbit hole, but there was a final method.

I decided to investigate the youngest properly and moved to ask the Information Guild.

‘I thought I would quickly get a clue back then, but the situation has turned out like this…’

I could enter the red door with a nameless sign hanging in a dark alley by knocking twice.

Inside, a young-looking girl greeted me.

It was definitely the first time I’d seen her, but she seemed to know me somewhere, and it was a little strange that she welcomed me as if she knew me well.

“Welcome. Liriel Liberica-sama, right? What information are you curious about?”

“Aria Liberica, that is, regarding my sister, I’d like you to investigate any information.”

At that moment, the girl’s eyes, who had welcomed me with a bright atmosphere, turned cold and refused the request.

“I’m sorry. I won’t accept that request.”

“Why are you refusing the request? I will pay several times the amount if you want.”

“Even if you are Liriel Liberica-sama, I cannot tell you about our Miss.”

“……”

“If you have any questions, please ask her directly.”

“I, if that were possible, I wouldn’t have made this request!”

With that, I was kicked out of the Information Guild, saying there was nothing more to say.

There’s no good to cause friction with the Information Guild ‘Crimson’, which controls the underworld, so I withdrew obediently, but something’s strange.

More than that, the Information Guild is calling the youngest ‘Miss’, could it be that the Information Guild is also the youngest…?

As I thought, the thoughts followed one after another, and I even imagined, ‘Is the youngest actually controlling the underworld…?’

‘…That doesn’t make sense. How can a five-year-old child control the underworld, in terms of common sense.’

However, if that’s true, I felt like all of her actions so far were possible.

The next day, I went to see my youngest to have a direct conversation.

“Liriel unnie…? What’s going on so early in the morning?”

Liriel unnie visited me early in the morning. With a haggard face, enough to see dark circles.

‘More than that, why did her likeability rise…!? Ah, did she come because she was moved by my information!?’

“…Youngest. Let me be honest. Are you controlling the underworld, by any chance?”

“…Eh? What did you say?”

Unbeknownst to me, my image has become a mastermind controlling the underworld.