I am Lloyd di Saloom, the Seventh Prince of the Kingdom of Saloom.
I’m a ten-year-old magic fanatic. In my previous life, I was a lowly, dirt-poor mage. During my student days, I caught the eye of some nobles and ended up being subjected to a lynching they called a "duel."
I was so carelessly entranced by the advanced grade magic I saw there for the first time that I forgot to defend myself. I lost my life, only to realize I had been reincarnated.
Since I was the Seventh Prince and had nothing to do with the succession, I was told to live as I pleased. Thus, I’ve spent my days in carefree tranquility, researching the magic I love.
"Honestly, you’re always doing something outrageous!"
Grimo, the Majin currently in the form of a young goat, interjected while brewing tea.
He’s a Majin from the Demon World who was sealed in a Forbidden Tome hundreds of years ago. When I unsealed him in the castle's Underground Library, he became my familiar.
All I really wanted was for him to teach me Ancient Magic, though.
"Indeed. It may be carefree, but your days are far from tranquil."
Jiriel, the angel in the form of a small bird, let out a sigh as he stacked the books he had carried onto the table.
When I visited the Celestial Realm previously to learn Holy Magic, he somehow ended up becoming my familiar too.
Apparently, he was interested in the surface world, but he’s a troublesome fellow who casts lecherous gazes at every girl he sees.
All I really wanted was for him to teach me Holy Magic, though.
By the way, I usually keep both of them attached to my palms, but when I need errands done, I have them separate like this.
"Sheesh, Master Lloyd is really something else, using a Majin and an angel as gofers. But... hehe, just you wait. I’ll steal that body of yours one of these days!"
"Fufu, when I consider it my own future body, doing a little caretaking is nothing. Ahh! Master Lloyd, if you touch that piping hot teacup so carelessly, you’ll get burned!"
The two of them were muttering something or other, but it was a common occurrence, so there was no need to pay them any mind.
As I was diligently reading as usual, I heard a knock at the door.
"Come in."
"Excuse me, Master Lloyd."
The ones who opened the door were Sylpha, my silver-haired maid, and Ren of the Poison Moth, the small, tanned maid.
Sylpha is a master of swordsmanship, and Ren has the ability to manipulate poison. Both are my personal maids and always look after me.
"Morning. What do you need so early?"
"Yes. Master Albert is calling for you."
"Albert-niisan is...?"
Albert di Saloom, the Second Prince. He’s my older brother—a perfect, handsome man who’s a triple threat: good-looking, kind-hearted, and brilliant.
He is the most likely successor to the throne of the Kingdom of Saloom and the person who dotes on me the most among my siblings.
About half a month ago, I was allowed to work as his Vice Commander to stop a monster Stampede. Thanks to that, I managed to learn military magic and bloodline magic, which left me quite satisfied. Man, a capable older brother is really something to be grateful for. I didn't know what he wanted, but I wondered if he was going to let me do something interesting again.
"He seemed to be in a bit of a hurry," Ren added.
"I see. Then let's head over."
Nodding in response, I made my way to Albert-niisan's office.
"Albert-niisan, I’ve arrived."
Reaching the office, I called out and knocked on the door.
...But there was no answer. Was he not there? Just as I thought that, I strained my ears and heard voices speaking inside.
"I’m coming in, okay? Albert-nii—"
I opened the door mid-sentence and immediately noticed the strange atmosphere in the room.
Looking inside, I saw Albert-niisan sitting on the floor.
His profile, as he looked down, wore a truly pained expression.
...I might have seen something I wasn't supposed to see. Just as I instinctively tried to close the door—
"No need to close it. Step inside."
A bright voice, the polar opposite of the heavy atmosphere in the room, called my name.
Since I couldn't exactly pretend I hadn't heard it, I entered the room.
"Oh, hey there, Lloyd. It’s been a while, ain't it?"
The woman standing in front of Albert-niisan grinned at me.
She wore a balaclava with sunglasses, gold earrings, and a tight skirt. She had a black jacket draped over her shoulders with a tiger embroidered on the back.
...Who was she again? Her voice sounded familiar, though.
As I stood there bewildered, Sylpha leaned in and whispered to me.
"Master Lloyd, that is Big Sister Birgitte."
"...Ah!"
As I let out a small exclamation, the woman in front of me lowered her sunglasses and removed her headgear.
Her beautiful blonde hair fell smoothly over her shoulders, and her round eyes locked onto mine.
"Finally remembered me, I see. Even if I was in disguise, it makes your big sis sad that ya didn't recognize her."
"Ah—that... I'm sorry, Birgitte-neesan."
"Mm, I'll forgive ya."
Seeing the woman nod with satisfaction, Grimo spoke to me via telepathy.
"Another older sister I've never seen before, I see."
"Yeah. Birgitte di Saloom, the Second Princess of Saloom. She's an amazing person who's been pouring her energy into reselling, stocks, and futures trading since she was a kid. In no time at all, she brought every merchant association in this country under her control."
There were various legends about her—like how she wouldn't let go of a gold coin right after she was born, or how she used gemstones as pacifiers. She was truly a child of wealth, and her skill in being the first to introduce paper money was highly regarded even in other countries.
The banknotes Birgitte created were said to be impossible to counterfeit, and she was reportedly raking in ridiculous profits from patents and various rights.
She was the undisputed number one on the Saloom Rich List, and it was even said that Saloom had achieved rapid development thanks to her financial power.
As for her unusual way of speaking, it was apparently because her dialect had gotten mixed together after traveling around the world too much... Or so Albert-niisan had told me.
"Hmph... The classic gap of being a beautiful girl when she takes off her glasses! And the dialect girl trope is good too! As expected of Master Lloyd's older sister, she is quite something..."
Jiriel was muttering with an ecstatic look on his face, but I decided to leave him be as usual.
"Even so, you've returned surprisingly early this time."
Since she was naturally busy, she only returned once every few years. However, I felt like it hadn't even been a year since the last time she came back.
"Well, there're various reasons, but the main one's that. Look, that Stampede we had a little while ago."
The Stampede. A major incident about a month ago where a swarm of monsters that covered the land attacked Saloom.
It was a crisis said to be enough to destroy the country, but after a desperate defense by the entire Saloom army led by Shneider and Cruse, they had managed to repel it.
"I was too busy to come back myself, but I sent a whole lotta money to help out at Albert's request."
Birgitte-neesan continued, looking down at Albert-niisan.
"Logistics, equipment repair costs, special pay for the soldiers... everything else included, it comes to one hundred billion Grandol! I lent it to ya as a favor between siblings. But since ya didn't look like ya were gonna pay me back whether I was awake or asleep, I came here to collect."
"Lent? Didn't you just call it aid?"
"What're ya talkin' about? No matter if we're siblings, there's no way I could just hand over money that's more important than my life. Of course it's a loan. I made it interest-free and collateral-free as a favor to my little brother, but normally, if I calculated it at twenty percent every ten days over thirty days, it'd be one hundred seventy-two billion, eight hundred million. Add in miscellaneous expenses, and it'd be two hundred billion G$ by now."
Birgitte-neesan nodded to herself.
"Two hundred billion... It's doubled in a month! And those miscellaneous expenses are too demonic! What could possibly cost that much?!"
It was no wonder Grimo felt the need to interject.
The amount was so large that even I, a prince, couldn't wrap my head around it.
"Hmph, humans are truly foolish to be bound by money. If this weren't Birgitte-tan, I would have handed down judgment," Jiriel muttered, nodding to himself.
...But it was strange. I had caught a glimpse of the estimated expenses Albert-niisan had calculated for the Stampede countermeasures before, and I thought it was around eighty billion. Even if it increased a bit, I didn't think it'd be something he couldn't pay back.
"Master Lloyd, this is the settlement report for the Stampede that was completed a few days ago."
My eyes widened as I looked at the paper Sylpha handed me.
Inscribed there was an amount that far exceeded the estimate: the numbers 1 and 8, followed by ten zeros.
"One hundred eighty billion?! That's more than double the estimate!"
"That's 'cause that estimate was way too optimistic," Birgitte-neesan said, cutting over my voice.
"Albert, that Pidona Association ya dumped everything on. They're certainly a major player, but they sub it out sloppily and take an insane middleman cut, so the final cost is no joke. The subcontractor they picked was the worst, too. The Manzella Armed Fleet can certainly carry a lot of cargo, but 'cause it's by sea, it costs that much more. The Galley Mercenary Corps is just a bunch of weaklings despite their numbers, and Bolinda Foods has caused food poisoning multiple times and is a terrible place that hushes it up with hush money. Normally, I'd tell ya to use your feet and compare, but if ya couldn't do that, ya should've at least put in a request with the Yanmar Association. They're still somewhat conscientious. Either way, if ya don't decide on a direction, it's hard for the other side to handle. At any rate, just dumpin' the whole thing on someone else is a no-no. Also—"
Birgitte-neesan continued to speak, her anger mounting.
Despite her rapid-fire speech, her words strangely sank into my head. I suppose this was what they called a merchant's skill.
After a long lecture, Birgitte-neesan suddenly glared at Albert-niisan.
"Can someone who uses money borrowed from others so carelessly really use the people's taxes to their maximum effectiveness? Honestly, ya lack awareness as a member of the royal family!"
"...I have no excuse," Albert-niisan replied in a small voice.
"Man, she's an incredibly harsh person. Well, it is one hundred eighty billion, so I guess I can see why," Grimo whispered.
"Yes, even Master Albert can't say anything back. But I also feel a bit like I want to be scolded... pant, pant."
Grimo and Jiriel were looking at Birgitte-neesan with shock. Well, I felt like Jiriel was actually enjoying it... Regardless, Albert-niisan always looks after me, so I should probably lend him a hand here.
"Um, Birgitte-neesan."
I raised my hand and cut into a slight gap in her words.
"I think Albert-niisan really worked hard to respond to this Stampede. From the preparation period to the post-war processing, he's been running around almost without rest. It's precisely because it was Albert-niisan that it only cost this much. I don't think someone who wasn't there like you has the right to say that much..."
"Lloyd."
This time, Albert-niisan cut into my words.
"Thank you. But Big Sister Birgitte's rebuke is justified. Those who stand at the top must act in a way that everyone can accept. Saying 'I did my very best' isn't enough. As someone entrusted with the people's hard-earned taxes, it's only natural to pay the closest attention to their application. If I had been keeping an eye on the state of the world regularly, I wouldn't have committed such a blunder. Besides..."
Albert-niisan gave a single wink and lowered his voice.
"Big Sister Birgitte is teaching me. She's telling me specifically which merchant associations are good to trade with. Information like this could only be known by her, having traveled the world. She seems strict, but she's actually a kind person."
"Ah..."
Come to think of it, Birgitte-neesan's lecture had been peppered with the characteristics of various merchant associations. She had included stories about what to look for and how to trade.
Noticing our whispering, Birgitte-neesan let out a weary sigh.
"...Fuh, sharp as ever, Albert. Well, that's how it is. Since ya're called the top candidate for the throne, ya gotta know at least this much as a matter of course."
"You are absolutely right."
Man, even after doing all that work, he still got scolded so harshly. That's rough. I guess I was glad I was the carefree Seventh Prince.
As I was thinking that, Ren whispered in my ear.
"...Hey, Lloyd. By the way, why were we called here?"
I had completely forgotten, but we had been called here by Albert-niisan.
Almost at the same time I thought that, Birgitte-neesan clapped her hands.
"Oh, I completely forgot! Lloyd, come over here for a sec."
"Ren and Sylpha too."
Beckoned by Birgitte-neesan and Albert-niisan, the three of us looked at each other.
Seeing our curiosity, Birgitte-neesan grinned.
"The reason I called the three of ya is none other than this. You guys—how'd ya like to attend William Academy?"