– The Empire and the Great Forest have entered negotiations for the division of the Southern Colony. Is there a possibility of war?
– The Elf chiefs declared, “We have not intervened in the independence movement of the Desert Development Area. It’s merely a voluntary expression of the citizens.” This stance has sparked controversy.
*”Hmm. It’s peaceful. So peaceful.”*
In the von Byrne Mansion.
Sitting leisurely in his office chair and sipping coffee, Aintz tossed aside the newspaper with a satisfied smile.
Truly, peaceful days continued.
The fanatics who brainwashed people into self-destructive attacks had disappeared, and the transcendent beings trying to disarm humanity’s army and take over the continent were gone too.
The fact that the races were fighting amongst themselves was evidence of the continent’s peace.
The strange sight of races that had been at odds for millennia coming together in cooperation was something to be seen only when the continent neared its doom.
*”Well, how terrible could a war between humans be?”*
He could not forget the flashes from the dark night sky showering down.
A single blow could wipe a massive city off the map without a trace.
Such was the power of the Majin.
But now, that Majin’s power was entirely subordinate to Schlus, so he felt at ease.
There was no chance Schlus would suddenly go insane and start slaughtering humans.
After all, a person who had already lost their mind could not lose it again.
*”Hmm. Hmmm.”*
Taking another sip of coffee, Aintz turned to look outside the large window, snorting.
Now that the all-out war of humanity had ended, the economy was transitioning from wartime to peacetime.
It was as if all the shackles had been released for the von Byrne family, who had barely dipped their toes into businesses like steel and weapons; they were not even running a mercenary company.
By now, the von Byrne family should be enjoying a great boom, but…
*”So what do we do now?”*
He was at a loss.
Of course, there were plenty of things to do.
Too many, in fact, that it was a problem.
The massive industry encompassing mana stone mining, refining, and distribution was beginning to resume, and there was more than one thing to pay attention to.
Due to overflowing money, unprecedented large-scale investments were being directed into research and development, and magic could leapfrog to advancements greater than what had been achieved in the last century in just a month.
Of course, that was just the usual scenario where Schlus, who was still undergrad, would carelessly scribble a few papers while bored and submit them to the conference—turning the technology secretly developed by von Byrne into useless junk, but still, a boom is a boom.
Yet, Aintz was getting anxious because he couldn’t find a way to leverage that boom.
It was fine to monopolize the mana stone industry, but it was hard to move beyond that.
Lichtenburg was showering money all over, expanding its business here and there, while Flechette had already dived into creating the Schlus Church, seeking its expansion.
Only the von Byrne family among the Three Great Magical Families was stagnating.
*”If this continues… von Byrne will become obsolete…”*
The burden of being the family head weighed heavily on Aintz.
No matter what he tried, it was futile.
As if it were von Byrne’s destiny.
A restraint seemed to be acting on him, preventing any progress from happening.
*”Ugh. Is this my destined fate? Is von Byrne destined to decline?!”*
*”Stop with the fate nonsense!!!”*
At that moment, the door to the office burst open with a loud bang.
Aintz flinched, nearly falling from his chair before regaining his posture.
At the door stood a girl holding a stack of documents, wearing an annoyed expression.
It was Ella, Aintz’s half-sister.
*”Huh? What are you doing here?”*
*”I’m on my way back from rejecting all the business plans you submitted yesterday, family head.”*
*”Huh? Why? More importantly, how?! How did you manage to reject my business plans?”*
Aintz slammed the desk and stood up abruptly.
It was nonsense.
How could a command from the family head be rejected from below…?
It was impossible.
No, it should have been impossible.
*”How did I reject them? Everyone was terrified of your octopus leg-style business expansion, so when I said I’d take responsibility, they all agreed and burned the business plans.”*
*”That can’t be…”*
*”What kind of ridiculous thought goes into such a business? Opening cafes nationwide? What is this? A Maid… Cafe…? Who would go to a place like that?!”*
*”Schlus hinted that it would be a hit!”*
*”Please don’t trust the nonsense that came out of his mouth… The thing he said would be a success, what was it again? Octopus bread?”*
*”Are you talking about takoyaki? I don’t know what that word means.”*
*”Yes yes! That! But it flopped miserably! What kind of crazy person would eat a pastry with octopus in it? I was able to talk them down to just opening one store for a trial run after nearly dying trying to franchise it nationwide, and it failed spectacularly! Then, what was that? Is it fish bread or carp bread? That flopped hard too. And then there was the noodle dish called jjajangmyeon? Not a lullaby, but some nonsense noodle dish that was a disaster! And then! And then…”*
*”Alright, I get it, just stop there!”*
Ella, fired up to the max, yelled so loudly that the walls shook.
The family members who had been eavesdropping in the corridor felt the unbelievable tension release and quietly cheered inside as all the words they wanted to say to Aintz burst forth from Ella’s mouth.
*”Anyway, your business sense is utterly terrible, so don’t even think about doing anything!”*
*”What do you mean by that, Ella? That’s too much!”*
*”What’s too much is the business costs you’ve thrown away so far! How about you step down? If I sat in that position, von Byrne would regain its glory.”*
*”Wha, what…?!”*
Aintz’s eyes twitched a bit from the shock.
He thought Ella had given up her ambition for the family head position after the attempt to seduce Schlus for the title failed.
While her tone had spiked with irritation, she at least had been respectful.
Yet, to think she had been sharpening her knife behind his back…
*’A coup…!’*
Ella revealing her true colors meant she had finished preparing for a coup.
It was blatantly clear that it was too late for him to respond now.
Ella had already pulled in all the inner circle as allies, quietly taken control of the businesses and secured the cash flow, and based on that, she must have won over the elders one by one.
Now, all she had to do was lean on the overwhelming support of the von Byrne family people to bring him down.
Aintz trembled as he realized this.
*”Please, please… can you at least spare me the confinement in the North… I can’t handle the cold…”*
*”What are you talking about, you stupid idiot family head.”*
*”Huh? Were you trying to kick me out?”*
*”Tsk…”*
Ella clicked her tongue while looking down at Aintz’s foolish expression.
She wanted to kick him out.
While Aintz kept doing stupid things, she wanted to slowly invade the family and gobble it up.
She wanted to see Aintz shivering and panicking in the streets.
But that was impossible.
*”What? Intentionally bankrupt a business?”*
*”It’s a failing business anyway; doesn’t it feel like a waste of capital and time to be so uselessly wasted? It would be better for the family to quietly downsize and roll it over before it ever gets off the ground…”*
*”That’s not possible. There is no option to not follow the decisions made by the family head. I shall ignore what you just said, young lady.”*
*”Haha… I sincerely appreciate the goodwill you offered in a box, but I’m afraid I cannot accept it, Ms. Ella. I’m very sorry, but we apply strict regulations regarding greetings and cannot give special benefits to any specific employees.”*
*”I trust that person. I will take responsibility, so please promote them to CEO of the mining subcontractor.”*
*”Hahaha. If you say so, then they must be a great employee. If you bring me the family head’s approval for that, I’ll promote them without hesitation.”*
Despite probing various sides of the family over the months, there had been no reactions whatsoever.
Ella could no longer bring in even a small subcontractor with her strength.
The loyalty of the family members toward Aintz was incredibly high, even to the point that it felt excessive.
No matter how carefully she approached, no matter what sweet proposal she made, everyone firmly rejected anything that could harm Aintz.
The only feedback family members had for Aintz was to express dissatisfaction over his ridiculous business plans.
Even that was rooted in genuine concern for Aintz and the family.
Now, she had to admit it.
Even if Aintz was hopeless with business, he was definitely a genius when it came to controlling this huge family.
Ella could never reach even a hair’s breadth of respect that Aintz commanded over the people.
It seemed that all his potential had been poured into political acumen.
If that were the case, there was no more road left to walk.
There was nothing else she could do.
*”I’ll let you be. I am willing to overlook being ousted, since we’re half-brothers.”*
*”R-really…?”*
Aintz, sniffling, looked utterly pitiful.
With a pained head, Ella moved closer and dropped the stack of documents she was holding onto the desk with a *thud.*
*”Your business plans are all a mess, family head. So, I spent all day yesterday with experts discussing and overhauling them. First of all, if you apply the Maid Cafe concept as it is, it will be overwhelming for no one to come. So let’s gradually apply just the concept until the public becomes familiar, and then introduce parts of the original draft bit by bit—”*
*”Wait, wasn’t that just scrapped?”*
*”How could we throw away something precious that the great family head prepared…? Everyone had that reaction. I don’t know much, though. Anyway! Schlus hinted that while the business item you planned might seem destined for failure at first, it isn’t entirely ridiculous. If there’s someone next to you who can refine it into something realistic.”*
*”Ella…?”*
Aintz’s eyes widened.
Ella’s blunt tone sounded strangely pleasant to him.
You should keep being the family head.
I will refine your ridiculous business plans and make them succeed as your advisor.
It felt as though she was saying something like that.
*”B-but! Don’t get the wrong idea! I haven’t given up on the family head position! I’ll always be watching for an opportunity, so stay alert!”*
*”Kuh! Ella, you’re so touching!”*
*”I said stop misunderstanding…”*
From that day forward, Ella formally became part of Aintz’s advisory group by joining the newly established business planning department.
However, despite Ella’s selfless dedication, the Maid Cafe never succeeded in the Freya Empire.
Instead, the Beastman Cafe founded by the Flechette family, which benchmarked off of it, became wildly popular, spreading to the desert and beyond!
