Chapter 8
In this world, a bank account was a little different from one in the modern age.
When you opened an account, you didn’t receive a passbook—you were given a personal vault.
Moreover, opening an account required a considerable sum of money up front as an “account opening fee.”
There were initial costs for renting the vault, forging its key, registering it with the magical security system, and various other expenses.
As a result, banks mainly served nobles and wealthy merchants.
The banks themselves were operated by the Mage Tower. Since everything there was protected by magic and mana, it was considered the safest place in the world.
Each private vault was secured with triple-layered magic and magical barriers, and only its owner was granted access.
Erno Etam tapped the table lightly with his index finger as though considering my request.
Then he smiled.
“It’s not difficult. Since we’re talking about it anyway, shall we go together after breakfast?”
He’s going to do it right away?
My eyes widened in surprise.
Erno gently lifted me onto his lap before speaking again.
“If it’s what my daughter wants, I can give you anything. If you wanted an island bearing your name, I’d buy you an island. If you wanted a house, I’d buy you a house. Land or even a mine would be fine as well. So if there’s ever anything you want, don’t hesitate to tell me.”
He listed those extravagant gifts as though they were everyday purchases.
But I didn’t want presents on that insane scale.
The problem wasn’t the gifts themselves.
At first glance, they sounded amazing.
But there was a massive catch.
Someday, I intended to part ways with him peacefully.
Assuming nothing unexpected happened, everything he gave me would legally remain under my name.
And from the moment we separated…
I’d be responsible for maintaining it all.
Which meant…
I’d need an astronomical amount of money just to cover the upkeep.
In other words, even if Erno handed me a fortune, the money would flow through my fingers like sand.
Still, gratitude was gratitude.
I should at least thank him.
“Th-thank you, Fa—”
No.
I had to keep playing the role of the adorable daughter.
“Daddy!”
Beaming, I threw my arms around Erno before quickly letting go again, afraid he’d find it unpleasant if I hugged him for too long.
“…”
Normally, he would have at least patted my cheek.
Instead, he froze stiff, lips pressed into a straight line.
“…Now this is… refreshing.”
He muttered something under his breath.
It was so quiet that I couldn’t quite hear him.
“Would you say it one more time?”
“Hm…?”
“What you called me.”
What I’d called Erno…
“D-Daddy…?”
His eyes widened just a little.
“Again.”
“D-Daddy…?”
He slowly nodded once.
Is he unhappy that a fake daughter dared call him ‘Daddy’?
Having survived my life by carefully reading people’s expressions, I thought I understood what that meant.
“F-Father…”
The moment I changed my form of address, assuming that was what he wanted, his eyebrows shot upward.
Erno stared at me for a moment before finally speaking.
“Yes? What is it, my daughter?”
“…?”
You’re the one who told me to say it, you lunatic!
Apparently, he hadn’t liked the change after all.
“N-Nothing…”
“Is that so?”
He gently ruffled my hair before cutting my meat into bite-sized pieces and placing them neatly on my plate.
Sometimes…
He really did feel like a caring father.
Even knowing this was all an act, those moments still caught me off guard.
Shaking those thoughts away, I quietly finished my meal.
Sitting beside him still felt like sitting on a bed of nails…
But the food was incredibly delicious.
“Whew… that was yummy… Thank you for the meal!”
After happily finishing an entire bowl of pudding, I patted my full stomach.
* * *
“Come here, little one.”
After breakfast, Erno carried me into a carriage.
It was the first carriage ride of my life in this world.
He set me down on a soft sofa before taking the seat opposite me.
I stole a glance at him.
The more I looked, the more impossibly handsome he seemed.
And every single time, he gazed at me with eyes overflowing with sweetness.
He’s seriously the god of acting…
If he’d lived in the modern world, he’d have won Best Actor without question.
“I’m worried.”
He crossed one leg over the other.
“My daughter seems intelligent… but she doesn’t seem greedy.”
“…Me?”
“Do you like toys?”
“Toys?”
Without a second thought, I shook my head.
A look of genuine surprise crossed his face.
“I didn’t expect you to dislike toys.”
“I’ve never had any toys before… so I’m okay.”
I shook my head like a mature child who had grown up too quickly.
Adults usually think that’s admirable.
And honestly…
It was true.
Considering both my mental age and my previous life, I’d never really played with toys.
After all…
Only things you’ve experienced become irresistible.
Food you’ve never tasted might look delicious, but you don’t desperately crave it.
Toys were the same.
If you didn’t know how fun they were, you never really wanted them.
Besides, toys were a luxury.
Not because only nobles could afford them…
But because if you had no parents—or parents who didn’t care—you simply never received any.
In this life, I had been raised by maids.
In my previous life, I’d only been able to stand in front of toy stores, sucking on my fingers while watching other children.
“…”
Without saying anything, Erno looked at me with an unreadable expression.
Then he snapped his fingers.
The carriage suddenly changed direction.
A short while later, it came to a stop.
Before I knew it, I was standing in front of an enormous toy store that left my mouth hanging open.
“F-Father…?”
“My daughter shouldn’t grow up without even playing with toys once. Go ahead and choose whatever you like.”
“I-I’m really fi—”
“Or perhaps I should simply buy the entire store and give it to you.”
The moment he casually raised his hand as if he truly intended to do it…
I panicked and threw myself at his leg.
Thump.
I grabbed him so quickly that my face buried itself against his thigh.
Rubbing my reddened nose, I forced out a bright smile.
“Father’s the best! I’ll pick one!”
I changed my mind immediately.
Please, I don’t need an entire toy store! I can’t manage something like that!
As I looked up at him with desperate eyes, Erno’s eyebrow twitched slightly.
Unlike usual, he slowly nodded.
“They’re just children’s toys, after all…”
Suppressing a sigh, I wandered through the enormous shop.
“Wow…”
But these weren’t ordinary toys.
Many moved on their own.
Some wooden figures even walked around.
There was a snow globe with an actual little wizard inside.
When the tiny wizard waved his staff, snow began falling inside what had previously been an empty globe.
There were even figurines that assembled miniature golems.
The advertisement proudly claimed:
“Made with fragments of real golems!”
Fantasy worlds really are different… Even the toys are on another level.
I spent ages looking around before finally stopping at a display of stuffed animals tucked away in one corner.
There were all kinds.
But one black tiger immediately caught my eye.
The tiger had jet-black fur, white paws, and elegant white clothing.
For some reason…
It looked exactly like Erno Etam.
“I wike this one.”
After thinking for a long time, I hugged the black tiger plush and held it up to him.
“Nothing else?”
Erno asked with a strange expression.
“…This one?”
I raised the tiger again.
“Only one? You can choose more. You’ll get bored of a single toy soon enough.”
I shook my head.
Several others had caught my attention…
But if someone asked whether I truly wanted them…
Not really.
I’d always wanted one stuffed animal.
And this was exactly the one I wanted.
“It… wooks wike Daddy! I wike it!”
I smiled brightly, saying exactly what a father pretending to be a doting parent would probably love to hear.
Erno fell silent.
Then he tilted his head.
“…Really?”
“Yes.”
“Well, then it can’t be helped. My daughter says nothing except the one that looks like me satisfies her.”
Smiling a little more brightly than usual, he scooped me into one arm and carried me toward the checkout.
“Welcome! I’ll ring that up for you.”
“Are you the owner?”
“Eh? Ah… yes, I am. Will you be purchasing this tiger plush?”
“Yes. And I’d prefer it if no more dolls identical to this one were ever sold again.”
He made the “suggestion” with a light, pleasant smile.
For some reason, the owner shivered.
“W-What do you mean? We only put this product on display today, so—”
Before he could finish…
Erno calmly set down a heavy pouch of coins.
With a slight tilt of his head, he wordlessly urged the owner to look inside.
The hesitant shopkeeper peeked into the pouch.
Immediately afterward, he quietly closed the front door and hurriedly replied,
“I-I’ll remove them from the shelves immediately!”
Erno smiled.
“Oh, there’s no need for that.”
He snapped his fingers.
Whoosh!
Flames instantly erupted from the shelf displaying the tiger plushies.
“I simply don’t like the fact that they exist.”
“AAAAAH!”
“F-Fire!”
Customers screamed and scattered in every direction.
Then—
Fwoosh.
Like a candle being snuffed out, the flames vanished.
All that remained were blackened ashes.
Only the tiger plushies had burned.
Nothing else.
Cradling me—and my tiger plush—in one arm, Erno casually walked out of the store.
“Now my daughter is the only person in the world who owns a doll that looks like me.”
He sounded thoroughly satisfied.
This… this complete psychopath…
“Th-thank you… Daddy.”
Can I really survive living with this psycho…?
That very afternoon…
I became the owner of a bank account containing 10 million Lost.
…Yep.
No matter what happened, I just had to keep living.
