Do you know the feeling of helplessness when you see something you can’t change with my power?
So, for example…
The size of the money the Emperor is collecting seems to be getting bigger day by day. At this point, I wonder if it’s economically possible, but the problem is that it’s actually happening.
And I have no justification to stop the Emperor.
The money the Emperor earns is ‘actually’ being used helpfully for us.
In the end, we gave up looking for part-time jobs.
We don’t need to stress ourselves with work when we have enough money to get by. Just the money the Emperor has given me so far could let us lounge around in a room for months.
The problem is that the money is directly from the ‘Emperor to me’, and that’s the source of my stress.
In the Empire, I did not receive money ‘directly’ from the Emperor. The amount of money I could spend was decided within the budget managed by the finance minister, and I just had to take out what was there. Sure, strictly speaking, it was money I spent thanks to the Emperor, but at least he never smiled at me while handing it over.
Yeah, I know. If you’re this stressed and your pride is hurt, then just don’t take it.
Even though I could…
Honestly, if someone just hands me hundreds of thousands won saying I don’t need to pay it back, why would I refuse?
“None, right?”
Alice cut in sharply.
“I think so too.”
“Your pride is hurt because you lack the ability compared to the Emperor. Remember how we defeated Father on the battlefield.”
“That’s true, but…”
I closed my eyes tightly and pressed my fingers to my forehead.
“Are you saying that you think we’ll move to a bigger house if this continues?”
Claire asked with a laugh.
“What’s wrong with that?”
“…No, how should I put it?”
I… well, there’s something I’ve been thinking about since arriving in this world, especially since Alice and Claire have been hanging around with the Emperor since I got here.
So, the story is…
“Doesn’t it seem like we’re a little too much of a cozy family?”
That’s right.
No matter how I complain, I just look like a rebellious teenage girl. Or maybe a twenty-something living off her father without going to college or getting a job in this world.
But Father, in the role of Emperor, just easily smiles and hands me pocket money. Sometimes in the hundreds of thousands won, sometimes even in millions.
In all my previous experiences of earning money, I’ve never received as much as the pocket money the Emperor gives me.
“…”
“…”
And after finally bringing that thought up, Claire and Alice stared at me blankly.
“Well, I think I understand a bit of what you’re feeling. I didn’t live here as long as you, but… I was also mobilized to earn money when I was very young, right?”
But Claire just shrugged.
“But even after becoming a noble, I’ve never felt pride hurt saying, ‘This money isn’t my earned money.’ I just lived gratefully with what was given.”
“I feel the same. I did think about pushing out Father and becoming Emperor someday, but that’s about it—I just thought of the money as mine and spent it.”
Well, that’s understandable, considering Alice has been a princess since birth. Even if there were differences due to the Emperor’s power, she had no choice but to adapt to a life of luxury.
“Above all, all the money the Emperor is earning right now is thanks to the money you’ve worked hard to gather in this world, right? If you think about it that way, isn’t it a big problem? Instead, if you lose money, Father should be apologetic.”
No, that’s not how it works!
“By the way, did you buy a lottery ticket because of that?”
“…”
That’s right.
I impulsively bought it when I went out with Alice and Claire for some fresh air.
We’ve been here for about a month now. We still haven’t started any internet broadcasting. We’re still living in a one-room apartment.
Although the Emperor is earning money, using all that money to buy an apartment is still a bit problematic. I’d have to take out a hefty loan and, no matter how well he’s earning, since it’s stock earnings, there is always risk.
Even without doing anything, the living situation was slowly brightening. I don’t really understand why.
…I think the Goddess purposely sent me here. And the living situation is basically a device that allows someone whose blood flows thickly from the royal family to steal the Goddess’s power.
So the Goddess is pretty much intervening in this world, but why?
Is the Emperor working so well that attention is being drawn here?
As I gloomily stared at the lottery ticket, Claire patted my back.
“You never know, right? If this lottery ticket hits and we get a huge investment, your thoughts might change a bit. It’ll be a ‘sure’ massive help, right?”
Could that actually be?
I seriously fell into contemplation.
*
And on the day the lottery results came out.
I was once again sitting face to face with the Emperor.
Neither of us spoke for a while.
Alice and Claire, who were a little ways behind me, were also silent.
Just to note, I had a slight sweat on my forehead.
“I’ll get straight to the point.”
The Emperor finally opened his mouth.
“How much can you invest?”
“……”
Uh, that…
Actually, my concept of money in Azernar wasn’t that solid.
No, I wouldn’t say I couldn’t calculate. I’d think, “Oh, this must be expensive for regular folks, and with this much I can afford to eat,” while buying things.
But… to be honest, I’ve never felt a sense of reality while spending money.
Of course, there were times when I struggled to live in Azernar, but back then, I couldn’t spend money directly, so I ‘didn’t have’ the experience of ‘saving up.’
To me, the currency of Azernar felt like something that wouldn’t come to me. Even when buying things, I thought of it as getting cheated on the price, but I never actually haggled.
But the ‘won’ in Korea is different.
I’ve lived through tightening my belt, having had experiences of putting a 100,000 won figure in my cart, taking it out again, and finally giving up. I’d carefully pick and choose even for a movie, thinking it was too wasteful to go to the theater and waiting for it to upload on OTT.
Right after I returned to this world, I tried to live a little more comfortably.
Having some housemates might make it a little more relaxing to live together. I also had savings. And I thought I’d be able to go back before the money fell short because of the living conditions.
So to me, a winning amount of 2 billion won was an enormous sum. It was a sum that remained after taxes with the first prize amount, all of which I matched.
I swallowed hard.
The Emperor… only managed to accumulate close to 100 million won in a month from 10 million won.
So, what would happen if I invested that much more money with the Emperor?
“…How about 100 million?”
I cautiously asked.
If it weren’t for the Emperor, I wouldn’t even be dreaming of investing.
I’d just have bought an apartment to move in with them, and I would have kept all the remaining money in the bank to earn interest.
Honestly, using 100 million for ‘investment’ is a bit hard to comprehend for me. Isn’t it possible for it to just disappear?
The problem is, despite considering such a premise, I was still partly thinking, ‘What if it’s the Emperor?’
“Hmm.”
The Emperor leaned forward slightly while resting his hand on the ground.
“Since you’ve got money, how about investing more?”
“……”
“I’m not saying you should invest all your money. Not even half. How about around 500 million?”
500 million.
That was money I’d never touched in my life.
“…Um.”
As I hesitated, the Emperor thought for a moment before speaking.
“Sure, larger amounts of money can bring various problems. For instance, if you just ‘give’ me money, you’d have to pay gift tax. Given that I’ve already deducted tax from your lottery winnings, if there’s more deducted, you’d get angry.”
At the Emperor’s words, I suddenly remembered the gift tax I had forgotten about.
“Then how about this? Write a loan document, and you lend me the money. Then I’ll grow that money and pay you back. This way, the gift tax problem is resolved. You can receive interest at the legal rate, and I’m obliged to pay you back.”
“…But we will eventually have to go back.”
“So you think I won’t pay you back?”
The Emperor laughed.
“Let me tell you one thing. I also plan to return when you all do. Honestly, I’d rather enjoy being in power even if I step down.”
“……”
That’s annoying in its own way. It means he won’t give up power even after going back.
“But if I were to fail to pay you back, you’d be able to sue me. You could even possibly get me locked up. In that case, I wouldn’t be able to return to my original world with you. Right? Because my living situation is linked to you.”
Ah.
“So, I would be legally obligated to pay you back regardless of the circumstances. Alright, what will you do? Even if I calculate with the legal maximum interest rate, I’m confident I could return the amount. No, perhaps I could even return more.”
“……”
In the end, after pondering for a while, I had no choice but to nod.
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