Chapter 7

* * *

"Cashy Runs to the Roban - Chapter 7 (7/353)"

☆ Chapter 7 ☆

My pupils trembled violently.

On the cold duke's face, a pink heart that didn't quite fit sat shyly and cutely.

'Well, it kind of suits him...'

Xiaonan is truly amazing. To be able to pull that off.

'But this isn't the time to think about that!'

Why did hearts suddenly pop up on the duke's cheeks as a hint?

The reason is very clear.

My extensive experience with Roban games tells me.

It means to kiss those hearts.

In other words,

'You're supposed to give a peck on the cold, stern cheek of the duke!'

Is this really a hint? What?

The devil's words, which constantly warned me to be cautious, echoed in my mind.

'Sure enough, I shouldn't have trusted this damn devil!'

I screamed silently.

* * *

"Hmm?"

The duke looked down at me, his face turning pale.

"You look pale. You look like a strangled frog."

Ha? What frog?

Damn it, do you want to kiss a strangled frog? If you do, be careful with your mouth!

"Why?"

In response to the duke's question, I couldn't answer and sighed.

Well, I just received a very nice quest from you.

But if I fail, I'll die, hahaha!

Damn.

This is a zero-star world!

'Let's calm down first.'

The hint is just a hint; the condition isn't related to kissing.

It means I need to persuade the duke and get the book somehow.

'The duke is human, so we can communicate. I'll ignore this damn hint.'

I pretended not to see the pink heart on the duke's cheek.

The dice have already been thrown.

"Ah, Da...Dad..."

I will! I will persuade the duke!

I grabbed the duke's clothes tightly.

"I'll be very careful. Just once, can I take a look?"

Blink, blink.

I looked at him with innocent eyes that could fool even the maids.

However,

'Huh?'

For some reason, the duke's face hardened even more, and his eyes became sharper.

'Ugh...'

If you say no, and I still insist, you'll kill me.

It can't be, right? It can't be. Sob.

I moved my trembling lips and said as innocently as possible.

"There is, Dad. Songs are meant to be sung, and books are meant to be read."

Why.

"If it hasn't been read by anyone for hundreds of years, that book must be very sad."

The more I spoke,

"I'll be gentle and pet it, okay?"

His expression became even sharper.

His gaze felt like a knife stabbing my forehead. Ugh.

'And his arms seem to be tightening...'

It wasn't just my imagination; the duke's arms around me tightened.

He's not going to crush me to death, is he!

Save me, sob!

The duke's eyes grew even more murderous, and I found it harder to keep smiling.

Am I going to die, not from the quest but from the duke's hands?

Moreover,

'W-What? The hearts are multiplying?'

Not kissing him made small hearts pop up, and they even started to sparkle!

Plop, plop.

Chu, chu, chu!

I can hear a ringing in my ears from the hearts.

'Ugh!'

Damn devil, what are you thinking!

Not kissing him makes it seem like something terrible will happen.

"Ah, Dad!"

I gave up on persuasion.

I clenched my teeth.

Then I lifted my face to the duke.

When there's no way out, you have to grab even a rotten rope!

Come on!

I charged straight at the duke's face.

Thud!

"Ack!"

My nose, which hit something hard, stung.

〈Valcon〉

Reader, were you Valcon?

No, I can do better even with foot control.

How could you miss the target when it was so clearly marked?

This is not the behavior of a great 〈Aftanes〉 contractor.

I'm really disappointed! Ashamed! Embarrassed!

'...?'

Why did I get this notification?

Are you just teasing me? It's not helpful at all!

I could imagine the person who sent this notification laughing somewhere.

Damn, so embarrassing.

"…What are you doing?"

A low, cool voice descended over my head.

I rubbed my nose, which was caught on the duke's shoulder. I knew it must have turned red.

Duke, your shoulder is really hard.

The duke was frowning as he looked at me.

His face is very cold, but with so many hearts, well, he still looks good. That works.

"Dad."

This isn't because I'm Valcon. It's because the duke is so tall.

When I stretched out my arms toward the duke, he kindly lowered his face.

What is it? His expression said.

Huh, look at the face of someone who doesn't know what's about to happen to them.

'Should I not know, after all?'

I suddenly felt sorry for myself. The hearts seemed to be urging me on.

I get it, I get it!

I closed my eyes tightly.

Peck!

Unlike before, a cute, small sound echoed—

My lips left a stamp on the duke's smooth cheek.

Uh, it felt...

Strange.

In my entire life, both in my past and present, I had never kissed anyone like this.

This was my first time.

"..."

I couldn't look at the duke straight, so I turned my head to hide my blushing cheeks.

I saw the butler and maids silently scream.

Hmm, Munch must have seen such an expression and painted 〈Scream〉. I thought it was artistic exaggeration.

After I finished my intense escape from reality, the duke, who had been kissed on the cheek, showed no reaction. He looked like a statue.

No, Duke Dad, how can you look so good even as a statue? Like a statue carved by God.

I'm glad the hearts are gone. I almost thought they were graffiti on a work of art.

Just as I was trying to escape reality again,

Crack.

A thin sound echoed in the silent stone room.

Did I hear it wrong? I tilted my head.

Crack!

This time, it was a clear and definite sound.

I turned my gaze to the glass tube that had been covering the book, and saw cracks forming.

"Huh?"

Just as I thought it was breaking, the glass... no, the dust scattered in all directions as if hit by a shockwave.

Crack, crack. I opened my mouth wide as I watched the dust, which was once glass, scatter.

Did the glass tube explode... or rather, disintegrate without a trace?

What's going on here?

At that moment, a book suddenly appeared in front of me.

I looked up at the duke, who was holding the book out to me.

"Y-Your Excellency!"

I heard the butler exclaim.

I snapped out of it and quickly reached out. But—

Swish!

Just before my hand touched it, the duke pulled the book back.

What, are you teasing me?

Even if I puffed out my cheeks, the duke calmly held the book and turned it around.

Then he tossed it lightly upward.

I opened my mouth wide.

'My book...!'

It's old, and the pages might fall out!

'Is it fun to tease me! You bad guy!'

I glared at the duke, and the book stopped in mid-air.

A black aura swirled around the floating book like a slow whirlpool.

"There's nothing wrong with it."

As the duke spoke, the black aura disappeared, and the book fell into his hand.

"Even though it's a seal book, it's empty now. There might be some residue left."

Huh?

Surprised by his unexpected words, I blinked.

Could it be that he hesitated not because of the book's condition, but—

'Because of my safety?'

Am I interpreting this too positively?

The butler, who has been with the duke for a long time, would know better than I do.

"Your Excellency, even so, it's a family treasure that has been with the Phaeraton ducal family for generations and a gift from the first duke. If the youngest lady touches it—"

"Is this yours?"

The butler's words were cut off by the duke.

Well, it's the duke's... no, our dad's!

If the owner says it's fine, don't make a fuss, sir!

"Wow! Dad is the best!"

I smiled widely and stretched out my short arms toward the book.

Give it to me quickly.

"Best?"

The duke glared at me with a terrifying look.

But, "Best" is a good thing, right?

Why are you doing this when you were doing so well? It's scary.

"Yes, best..."

I subtly grabbed the book, but the duke wouldn't let go.

Ah, getting this book in my hands is so difficult.

'Should I turn him into a statue again...?'

Earlier, my kiss seemed like Medusa's kiss.

It was a joke, but something appeared on the duke's cheek.

Could it be...

Looking at the new heart on the cold, handsome duke's cheek, I chuckled.

'If this devil is caught, he's dead!'

I leaned in and kissed the duke's cheek again.

Peck.

After kissing him again, the duke's hand holding the book relaxed.

For some reason, his shoulders seemed to tense up.

'Oh?'

I opened my eyes wide.

He's happy about his daughter's kiss.

Is this a typical sign of a doting father?

Now that I look, his lips seem a bit relaxed... no, they're even stiffer.

He looks really unhappy.

It's as if he's asking, "What kind of strangled frog touched my sacred cheek?"

Maybe he was angry about the tension in his shoulders!

'Sigh, that's how it is.'

Anyway, I got the book.

I fondly brushed the cover of the old, old book.

At that moment,

A notification appeared.

'Sigh, I escaped the life-threatening situation. And...'

5000 cash draw ticket.

A smile naturally spread across my face. There's no Roban reader who would refuse cash.

The notification didn't end there.

Oh?

The quest reward was originally one 5000 cash draw ticket, but I earned an additional 500 cash.

'Do they give more cash for reactions from people?'

I don't understand the principle, but it's good for me.

'But why are they admiring and respecting me...?'

I couldn't understand.

But what I couldn't understand the most was the next notification.

'Huh?'

I rubbed my eyes and checked the notification again.

The content was the same.

'The duke's satisfaction is at its highest?'

It's hard to believe.

He looks like he's thinking about squashing this frog flat.

"Are you done looking around?"

"Yes, yes!"

I quickly answered the duke's question.

I saw a new notification, but I'll check it later.

As I thought that, the notification disappeared from my view.

The duke returned to his office.

He carried me with him.

Unlike before, in the open room next to the duke's office, the nobles were waiting.

It must be time for their reports.

They gasped and seemed to have trouble breathing when they saw me in the duke's arms.

'Do they all have asthma?'

They did the same last time.

The nobles, receiving the duke's gaze, tried to catch their breath and cautiously followed him into the office.

In the midst of this, someone noticed the book I was holding and was startled.

"Th-That book, could it be...!"

"Book? What book? Huh!"

Even the other nobles were surprised.

'Hmm, is it more valuable than I thought?'

Still,

'It's my book!'

I hugged the book tighter, and the nobles chuckled at me, as if I were cute.

'Huh?'

I thought for a moment and nodded.

'Right. It's cute when a child does that.'

I thought it was cute when I saw a child hiding chocolate behind their back.

But I never expected to be the object of that cuteness.

'I never received that kind of cuteness, even as a child.'

In my past life, in my current life.

I fidgeted with the hand holding the book.

For some reason, I felt embarrassed to face the nobles.

* * *

The duke sat me on his lap and listened to the nobles' reports.

'I want to go back to my room and check the cash draw ticket and additional rewards. I want to look at the book and test the ability to see if it's real.'

As I awkwardly shifted my gaze, I heard a piece of news that made my ears perk up.

"The marquis Taranka's mana stone mining project is attracting many investors. However, there's something strange... There are also rumors that our Phaeraton ducal family has invested. Of course, it's not just a rumor."

Marquis Taranka.

"That good-for-nothing, trashy woman! A woman like you needs to be beaten to come to her senses!"

The face of Marquis Taranka, who whipped me, flashed before my eyes.

I looked up at the noble who spoke.

"If Your Excellency hadn't instructed us to keep an eye on the Taranka marquisate, I would have ignored it. It was just a single comment from the drunk Marquis Sherodell. He denied it the next day when he sobered up."

The duke instructed them to keep an eye on the Taranka marquisate?

I glanced at the duke.

"However, there's a point of concern... Despite the many variables in mana stone mining, many investors have flocked to it. Excessively. Here's the list of investors."

Thanks to sitting on the duke's lap, I could see the list.

Duke Delbarten, Duke Iskamil, Marquis Sherodell...

The list continued onto the next page.

Even I, who knew nothing about this world, could tell that these were big names.

"The heavyweights are moving."

"Isn't it strange? If the mana in the mined mana stones is empty, it's just a waste of money."

"To invest, they must be confident that the mana stones are full of mana. And the one who can give them that confidence is—"

"The information that the Phaeraton ducal family has invested in the mana stone mining project."

The duke's voice was low.

"It seems Marquis Sherodell wasn't just talking nonsense when he was drunk. Where did he hear such a lie?"

"Although Marquis Sherodell's drunken words are unverified, tracking the movements of Duke Delbarten and Duke Iskamil revealed that all three invested around the same time."

"While Marquis Sherodell was active in parties and clubs, Duke Delbarten and Duke Iskamil were quiet. There's no record of them meeting privately."

'Oh? So it's one of the two.'

As I thought that, the duke leaned back in his chair and said lazily.

"So it's one of the two."

Eh, did we think the same thing?

"Either they invested regardless of the false rumor about Phaeraton's investment, or—"

Right, or.

"Marquis Taranka told them directly."

Everyone's gaze focused on me.

Huh!

Did I just say that out loud?