The Mysterious Child: An Adventure Tale Beginning with Numerology

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Author Notes:

  [I'm sorry for posting a day late.]

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"Allow me to introduce myself again. I am Monon, the chairperson of Luney Trading Company, and my real name is Lilith Muuteru."

To think that Empress Monon was Lilith...

...Well, come to think of it, it's not strange at all. Rather, wasn't I the fool for not realizing it until now?

Besides Saaya, there couldn't possibly be any other exceptional underage girl in this country—no, in this world—who could use both magic and mystic arts other than Lilith! (Brother's bias)

Lilith bowed and said,

"I apologize to those of you who already know me for having kept this hidden. It was dangerous to reveal my identity, so I kept it concealed until preparations were complete. Especially for the heads of the ducal families, you may not have understood why His Majesty was so friendly with a new trading company, but I believe you can now understand."

As she said this, Lilith turned her gaze behind me.

The four heads of the ducal families who had been watching the audience were standing there.

Duke Flinrad, Duke Lunatia, Duke Istomurk, and Duke Barehill.

By the way, there were no other nobles at this audience. Apart from us, there were only a few knights.

Lilith smiled and admonished the dukes, who were all making difficult faces.

"Please don't be so wary. I am a daughter of the Muuteru family, but the Muuteru family itself has no involvement with the company. Our family is still just a knight duke family as before. Please feel free to think of us that way."

"...And why does the head of this world-renowned company preside over this occasion? Isn't that the prime minister's job?"

"I understand your concern, Duke Barehill, but I was deeply involved in this matter as well."

Saying that, Lilith produced several sheets of paper from thin air.

"I believe you all know that I was engaged to Savey Akuninaru over there. Although I officially broke off the engagement recently. During our engagement, I visited the Akuninaru family several times, and on those occasions, I discovered things like this. Please take a look. Prime Minister, please show these to everyone."

"Certainly."

The prime minister received the papers from Lilith and held them up in front of us.

What was written there was information about the royal capital addressed to the Maguu Empire's underground guild. It detailed the jobs and personalities of citizens with specific characteristics. If they were to be kidnapped, it included escape routes, patrol schedules of soldiers, working hours of guards susceptible to bribes, and the location of safe houses in Yaba, the capital of the Akuninaru domain.

Incidentally, among the potential kidnapping targets was the name "Nichika the dancer." It was marked in red with "High potential."

I don't know what kind of potential, but various things are starting to connect.

"Wha—!"

Duke Akuninaru was speechless.

"Please look at this as well. This is evidence that it wasn't just one-sided correspondence."

Lilith produced another paper and showed it to everyone.

This one was a secret letter addressed to Duke Akuninaru. It included the date and time imperial troops would infiltrate the royal capital, requests for support supplies, meeting locations, hiding places after stealing the dungeon core, and so on.

Many detailed instructions were written.

"I happened to discover these when I visited the Akuninaru residence before. I ended up stealing them, but please forgive me."

"Th-That's impossible! I'm sure I burned those... Ah!"

Duke Akuninaru let it slip.

It was too late. In addition to the written evidence, the duke, who had made a decisive confession, turned pale.

"We at Luney Trading Company were wary of the Akuninaru family. Needless to say, the Akuninaru ducal family was involved in the recent kidnapping incident. They were the ones who leaked the location of the 'Magic Sealing Jewel.'"

"...I, I didn't..."

"Did you think these were the only remaining instruction documents? It seems you thought you had disposed of all the evidence, but you weren't aware of what had been taken, were you? Now, do you still intend to deny it?"

When Lilith coldly questioned him, Duke Akuninaru, as if all strength had left his body, dropped his forehead to the floor and muttered.

"...I... admit it."

"There you have it, Your Majesty."

"I see. It's regrettable that it has come to this, Honmani."

"Y-Your Majesty! It's true that I've done things that betrayed you! But my wife, at least my wife has nothing to do with this! Please, I beg for your mercy!"

"The penalty for treason extends to relatives up to the second degree. Neither wife nor children can escape it. Even if it's a ducal family."

"Please... please..."

Duke Akuninaru pleaded, shedding tears.

Savey, still kneeling beside me, looked at his father's back and then glared at me.

"...It's all your fault."

His gaze was filled with a poisonous hatred.

"It's all your fault! Everything went wrong since you came to the royal capital! Are you satisfied? Huh, are you satisfied?! You've taken everything from me—Lilith, my family, everything! Are you satisfied?! Everything was going well until now! I was born into a ducal family, I had talent, and my future was promising. I had a fiancée everyone envied, I had everything... but because of you... if I hadn't been interfered with by a filthy commoner like you, everything would have gone well!"

Savey tried to lash out but was immediately restrained by the knights.

I couldn't say anything to Savey, who was now sprawled on the floor.

Even if I hadn't been here, it would have fallen apart. The Akuninaru ducal family had been informants for a long time, and there's no way Lilith would have left that alone.

But Savey wanted to blame me. He must have wanted an excuse.

I'm still his teacher.

At this point, he can't escape execution. I thought I should at least accept the hatred of such a pitiful student in his final moments.

But—

"Don't misunderstand."

It was Lilith who didn't overlook it.

"Haven't you realized yet? The reason why Teacher Ruruk is here?"

"...What do you mean, Lilith...!"

"This is a special trial hearing. You know the system of special trials, don't you? It's a trial conducted in secret when a ducal family or royalty commits a first-class crime. It's an iron rule not to leak anything to outsiders from the hearing until the sentence is carried out."

"So that's... ...Huh?"

Savey, still pinned down, looked up at my face.

I didn't know about such a system either, but if those words are true, it certainly makes sense.

The only ones attending this audience, apart from the knights, were members of the ducal families.

There was only one thing that could mean.

Lilith announced in a cold voice:

"I told you many times, didn't I? That being close to or having secret meetings with Teacher Ruruk wouldn't be infidelity, that I had no impure feelings. But you weren't willing to listen. Regarding the broken engagement, Teacher Ruruk didn't take me away from you. I simply gave up on you. Teacher Ruruk has nothing to do with it. Because, to begin with, he is my brother... Ruruk Muuteru."

"...That's a lie."

Savey muttered as if groaning.

At this point, I have no intention of hiding it either.

"It's true. My real name is Ruruk Muuteru. I'm the sixth child of the Muuteru ducal family, the third son of the first wife. Lilith is my sister."

"..."

"This is the truth. Savey-san, you have a good family background, talent, and you're not bad-looking. I didn't mind you as a fiancé. But what dissolved the engagement was your own way of life and behavior. If you had shown your loyalty to the country when you learned of your father's collusion, I was prepared to help you and accept you. But you didn't do that. You went along with it for your own benefit, and even stooped to becoming an accomplice. If your loyalty hadn't been a mirage that disappeared due to greed, I would surely have accepted you."

At Lilith's words, Savey gritted his teeth and pressed his forehead to the ground. Tears quietly fell down his cheeks.

Lilith had clearly rejected the image of both father and son betraying the country without showing any loyalty.

After a while, the king clapped his hands and ordered the knights.

"The conclusion is clear. The audience is over. Take them away."

"Yes, sir!"

"Everyone else, please leave the room. Ah, all members of the Muuteru family, please stay. I have something to discuss."

As the king commanded, the dukes immediately left.

All the knights also left the audience chamber.

Only four of us remained: me, Lilith, Digray, and the king.

I immediately bowed my head.

"Your Majesty, allow me to greet you properly. I am Ruruk Muuteru."

"Call me Bured. The official part is over, so feel free to be informal."

King Bured waved his hand dismissively.

Even if he says that, he's still the top of the country. I really didn't want to meet the king, but this was probably Lilith's arrangement.

If so, as a brother, I should accept it graciously. That's what you call a brother's magnanimity, right?

"Father, it's been a long time. I'm glad to see you're in good health."

"...Yeah."

He's as unfriendly as ever.

Well, it can't be helped since he dislikes me.

"What's this, Digray? The atmosphere is pretty bad for your family. Were you on bad terms?"

"...No, that's not the case."

"It is, isn't it? How many of your family members do you think I've seen?"

When Bured said that, Digray awkwardly averted his gaze.

They seem to be quite close. Come to think of it, wasn't my father the leader of the current king's faction or something?

As I was thinking that, Lilith explained:

"Father, His Majesty, and Margrave Pancourt are childhood friends. They get along very well."

"Is that so?"

"Speaking of childhood friends, Koneru wants to meet you, Brother. She says she has a lot to talk about."

"Koneru? That yuri gi— *ahem* Lilith's best friend?"

"Yes. You might know her as 'Jin'."

"Ah~ I see. In that case, I might want to see her after a long time too."

Well, it's more like Saaya and the others would want to, though.

Koneru Pancourt. In other words, Tachibana Moe.

Honestly, I don't even remember the faces of my classmates clearly, let alone talking to them, but if she was a fellow reincarnated person who I've known since childhood in this world, I do have things I want to talk about.

To think that one of my few childhood acquaintances, who could be counted on one hand, was actually a former classmate.

"So, Bured, what's the reason for keeping us behind?"

"Right, about this matter, the Akuninaru ducal family can't escape having their title stripped, right? Relatives up to the second degree will be executed, and no one would want to bear the name of a family that committed treason. So the problem becomes the territory. Even you with your muscle-brain should understand this much, right?"

"Don't mock me."

"Oh? What's wrong with calling an idiot an idiot?"

"Alright, I'll give you a lesson. Draw your sword."

"Father, Your Majesty, please stop your jesting. Let's talk about the title and territory."

Scolded by Lilith, the two looked sheepish.

The king straightened up and said,

"So, this matter is full of troublesome things. We've decided to make the Akuninaru family bear all the disgrace and dismantle them."

"By troublesome, you mean the Maguu Empire and Prince Grill, right?"

"Yeah. That idiot's responsibility is my responsibility, but I love shifting blame, so forgive me."

"...Prince Grill? Wasn't he the one who was kidnapped and died?"

He's the Third Prince we were asked to search for. Wasn't he supposedly killed by the Maguu Empire?

Lilith shook her head.

"No... he's actually alive. But His Majesty said to pretend he's dead."

"Can't be helped. Even if we brought him back alive, it wouldn't benefit the country."

"Even though he's the Third Prince? Why is that?"

"Because he was an informant."

Bured said in an ill-tempered manner.

"There were too many things that couldn't be explained just by the Akuninaru family's betrayal in the dungeon core theft and kidnapping. When I had Lilith investigate, it turned out that idiot Grill was leaking confidential information to spies. Just now, the Maguu Empire infiltrated the royal castle, but they used the royal family's evacuation route. It seems Grill leaked that too."

"...So that's why you're pretending he's dead?"

"It's for the country. This time, the citizens have caught on that the Maguu Empire was behind it. But thanks to Lilith, the Maguu Empire has withdrawn. The risk is too high to fight now, but the citizens whose territories were ravaged are dissatisfied... yet they have nowhere to direct their dissatisfaction and anxiety. Imagine if it became known that Grill betrayed us and defected. The people's dissatisfaction would turn to anger directed at the royal family, right? Even without an outright rebellion, governance would certainly fall into disorder. As for the rest... I'm tired of explaining, Lilith, please."

What a lazy king.

I feel a bit of kinship, but Lilith, who was thrown the task, gave a wry smile.

"So we're pretending that Prince Grill, who defected to the Maguu Empire, is dead to hide the royal family's blunder. And we're pushing all the anger onto the Akuninaru family who committed treason. Naturally, they'll bear all the disgrace and the Akuninaru territory will become a very ill-omened place. No one will want to inherit the territory. However, people still live there, so someone has to govern it. The problem becomes who inherits this territory. ...Is that alright, Your Majesty?"

"Yeah, that's right. As expected of Lilith. So, about who to entrust this territory to... Hey, Ruruk—"

"I refuse."

I refuse before he even asks.

The previous conversation was clearly a lead-up, so I was able to react quickly.

"Hey, hey, I haven't said anything yet, you know?"

"I just expressed my intention before you could ask."

"...Tch, well, it was a long shot anyway."

"I told you, didn't I? My brother would choose freedom over status."

"Unfortunately, that's exactly right."

Bured looked frustrated.

He glared at me resentfully.

"I thought if we made an S-rank adventurer from a direct line of a ducal family into a new duke, others would accept it."

"I wouldn't accept it. And I have no intention of letting someone use an adventurer's fame for their own purposes."

"...What, you understood?"

"At least that much."

It's a well-known fact that I annihilated an army of 100,000 monsters, and it will probably remain as a historical feat of arms. I've already given up on that itself.

If there's a city governed by the person himself as a lord, we can't stop adventurers from gathering there. My fame could easily cover up the bad reputation of an ill-omened land.

Furthermore, if I have a territory, it could serve as a deterrent - if another country were to invade Mataisa, they might think that my military power would be turned against their country.

Overwhelming military power can become the power of the country itself.

I'm not about to let myself be used for such political machinations.

To think he had considered all of this from the start. As expected of a king renowned for his wisdom.

"Then we'll divide the Akuninaru territory into smaller parts. We'll give it to the officers who performed well in this incident, and some adventurers too. If I remember correctly, [Undersea] was SS-rank in terms of ability? Then I'll tell the guild to promote them and make them a full noble instead of an honorary one."

"What about Yaba, the capital of the territory? We can't divide that, can we?"

"Hmm~ ...I'll just leave that to the Minister of Internal Affairs. I'm tired of thinking about it, and problems will arise no matter who we give it to."

Is that really okay, wise king?

But Lilith just nodded silently, perhaps not feeling the need to intervene further. His Majesty the King really seems to trust Luney Trading Company - or rather, Lilith.

"Still, to think that Lilith was Empress Monon..."

"I'm sorry for keeping it from you, Brother. I wasn't prepared yet."

"That's fine. If that's what Lilith wanted, I'll support it... but, prepared for what?"

"For behind-the-scenes arrangements and independence."

Lilith turned to me and bowed.

"Luney Trading Company has now been able to transition from a consignment company to an independent company. We've converted all our store locations, including the Luney Trading Company main store, from leases to purchases. We've repaid all the loans and consignment funds from banks and our family, so that even if Luney Trading Company incurs any debts, the Muuteru family won't be affected."

"Um... so? You mean Lilith has become independent?"

"Yes. Lili has finally, truly fulfilled her promise to Brother Ruru!"

"I-I see. Congratulations on that."

"Thank you very much!"

The angel's eyes sparkled.

"...Huh? How does that relate to me?"

"Fufu, haven't you noticed yet, Brother? The name of our company."

"The name? It's Luney Trading Company, right? Luney Trading Company... Luney... Ah!"

Luney... Runi... Ruru-nii.

It's my name!

"Luney Trading Company is your company, Brother. I hold the management rights, but you also have the right to profit distribution. In fact, from the beginning, the representative registration in the registry is in your name. In other words, Brother Ruru is the owner."

"Does that mean..."

"Yes! With our independence, Luney Trading Company has officially become Brother Ruru's personal asset! We currently have sixteen stores, and total assets of about 18 billion Darks! It's... it's a token of Lili's l-love for Brother Ruru! Please accept it!"

Lilith's face turned bright red as she produced and presented the deed.

The deed to Luney Trading Company... indeed, I'm listed as the owner.

...This can't be real.

After the ultra-luxurious mansion, now I'm being presented with a company worth 18 billion yen at market value?

Can I say one thing?

What is this?

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Author Notes:

  [A man who received assets worth 18 billion from his sister.

  The birth of a top-level gigolo protagonist in the world of web novels!]

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