Chapter 21
“Huh…?”
The conversation had drifted off topic for a bit, but Nivellia still managed to explain to Aref, quite seriously, how to do the job properly.
Aref looked at Nivellia with a mix of amazement and admiration.
It was surprising to see someone from a noble family working to earn money, and it was impressive that someone so young was willing to do it.
“Alright, let’s get started!”
“Yes.”
The two of them began pulling weeds.
Today’s task was weeding.
With summer just around the corner, weeds had started growing wildly in every flowerbed. Nivellia and Aref carefully picked out only the weeds the gardeners had shown them.
“Wow, you’re really good at this, Aref!”
Nivellia praised him as he neatly pulled out the weeds, roots and all.
“You’re doing great!”
“You’ve definitely done this before…”
“I’m a little jealous!”
Even the gardeners nearby were impressed.
“I-I did it a lot at the orphanage,” Aref said shyly, explaining where he’d learned.
The gardeners’ faces briefly showed sympathy.
But Nivellia clapped her hands and cheered with admiration.
“That’s awesome! Nini wants to get better too. Can you teach me?”
“Here, hold it firmly at the base like this.”
“Like this?”
“Then gently dig around the roots and pull hard.”
“Heave-ho!”
Nivellia gave a strong tug, just as he showed her—and promptly fell flat on her back.
Startled, Aref rushed to her side.
With her silver-white hair scattered across the dirt, grass, and flowers, Nivellia blinked in surprise, her eyes wide.
She slowly raised her hand. In it were two weeds, completely pulled out by the roots.
“Heehee!”
Nivellia held them up close to Aref’s face.
“I did it! Nini did it!”
“A-Are you okay? Did you get hurt?”
“I’m fine. Nini doesn’t cry over something like this.”
She stood up on her own and brushed the dirt off her clothes without hesitation.
Aref fixed her hat, which had gotten crooked, and gently brushed the soil from her hair.
But Nivellia didn’t seem to care at all about how messy she looked.
“Let’s keep going!”
“……”
“Today’s snack is chocolate cookies! Let’s finish this and eat cookies!”
Dunky, dunky, dunky.
Chunky cookies!
Nivellia hummed a little work song she made up on the spot.
It wasn’t much of a song—more like a chant—but she was clearly enjoying herself.
“……”
Aref watched her, fascinated and a little bewildered, then quietly went back to pulling weeds.
“…Dunky, dunky…”
Chunky cookies.
At some point, he had started mumbling the strange little chant too.
The gardeners inspected the flowerbed that the two children had worked on.
“It’s very tidy. Well done, both of you.”
“But what happened here? This part’s flattened. Did someone fall?”
“Should we deduct pay for this…?”
Despite the small mishap, the two of them had done a great job.
The only issue was a few flowers that had been crushed when Nivellia fell over.
Nivellia waited nervously as the gardeners gave their final evaluation.
Aref’s heart was pounding too.
“Hm.”
One of the gardeners looked at them with a serious expression.
“We’ll take responsibility for these flowers. It was our fault for not supervising closely enough.”
“D-Does that mean we still get paid in full?” Nivellia asked with a tense voice.
“Grown-ups shouldn’t take money from kids…”
“Wise words.”
“My dad once used Nini’s money to play cards when I was two. He lost everything. Nini was so sad…”
“Oh no…”
One of the gardeners, looking sympathetic, pulled out a pen.
“Alright, then. Can you both take out your salary books?”
Nivellia and Aref pulled out their little notebook ledgers.
They were the “salary books” Celletina had made for them.
When working to pay off debt, they earned stickers. But when they worked to earn money, it was recorded in these books.
[Weeding – Completed]
Once the date, task, and result were written down and signed by a supervisor, they could receive their pay.
Nivellia looked at her book and smiled brightly.
“We earned money!”
“What are you going to do with your savings?”
“Invest!”
“Oh? That’s quite the plan!”
“When you’re Nini’s age, it’s time to try something big.”
“Hahaha! Fair enough!”
After saying goodbye to the gardeners, Nivellia and Aref cleaned themselves up, washing off the sweat and dirt.
They changed into fresh, soft clothes and sat down to enjoy the snacks Dettere had brought.
“Hehe, chunky cookies!”
Nivellia picked up a big, round cookie and broke it in half.
“Yum.”
As she carefully picked up the crumbs that had fallen onto her skirt and the table, she suddenly glanced to the side.
“……”
Aref was still staring at his salary book.
“Aref, what’s wrong?”
Nivellia asked.
Startled, Aref quickly set the book down.
“I-It’s just…”
“Yeah?”
“It feels strange… but kind of amazing.”
“What does?”
“That I… earned money.”
Of course, the salary book wasn’t real money.
But Celletina and Caleo had promised to give them real pay if they filled it.
And Aref believed them.
Aref no longer doubted the sincerity of the adults here at Deiamor.
“I still can’t believe it. What if this is just a dream…?”
“It’s not a dream. No way!”
Nivellia placed half of the cookie she had just broken onto Aref’s plate.
“Eat this and stay strong. Let’s work hard again and earn more money!”
“B-But that’s your cookie, miss…”
“It’s fine! Nini already ate a lot. I had some yesterday, and, um, more than enough!”
“……”
A half-cookie placed neatly on top of a whole one.
It wasn’t cut cleanly—her small hands didn’t yet have the strength for that.
Still, Nivellia had given Aref the bigger piece without any hesitation.
“It’s the captain’s job to look after her crew.”
She patted her chest proudly, as if to say everything was under control.
“Eat up, and let’s get strong so we can keep working!”
“……”
“And if this really is a dream… um…”
What should you do if it’s a dream?
Nivellia hadn’t thought that far ahead. She paused for a moment, thinking hard.
“…Then let’s dream it again! We can sleep together!”
“……”
“Nini will snuggle up next to you.”
She grinned and picked up her smaller cookie.
She dipped it carefully into her warm milk, making sure it didn’t fall apart. Since the cookie was smaller, it could easily drop into the cup if she wasn’t careful.
Aref watched her nibble at her damp cookie and then quietly picked up his own.
Tap.
“Miss.”
Aref gently held out his half of the cookie.
It was the bigger piece—just like what she had given him.
“Please take this.”
He set it down on Nivellia’s empty plate.
“P-Protecting the captain… that’s the crew’s duty too.”
“……”
“I have to protect you, Miss Nivellia. That’s why I’m here. If a crew member can’t protect their captain, t-then something’s wrong!”
His face flushed red, and his voice shook a little, but Aref spoke with complete sincerity.
That’s right. I have to protect her.
A child even smaller and younger than her was saying he would protect her.
Then I have to protect him too.
I’m older. I’m bigger.
I can’t just be the one being protected.
Aref looked straight into Nivellia’s bright blue eyes.
“This time, I’ll protect you. I promise.”
“……”
“…Wait, what?”
This time?
Aref tilted his head slightly.
Haven’t I felt this way before?
When Soles had suggested he try learning swordsmanship—he remembered feeling something very similar back then.
What is this strange feeling?
Just as he started to think about it more deeply, something warm and soft suddenly wrapped around him.
“Thank you…!”
Still sitting in her chair, Nivellia stretched out her short arms and hugged Aref tightly.
Her voice wasn’t her usual cheerful tone.
It trembled, soft and fragile, like she was about to cry.
Always so energetic, always so brave—why was Nivellia suddenly like this?
Aref didn’t understand. But this time, instead of freezing up, he gently patted her trembling back.
It felt like the right thing to do.
No… it felt like…
It was something he had wanted to do.
For a very long time.
Maybe even before he was born.
News of the Deiamor children earning their own pocket money through “salary books” soon reached the nearby estate of Duke Kallaroff de Gladius.
“How admirable,” the Duke said with a smirk.
“Nini really is amazing,” replied Aldo, who was helping him with paperwork.
“She’s only four, but she works so hard just to earn a little money. That determination—it’s impressive and honestly quite touching.”
“If anyone heard you, they’d think you were her father or grandfather.”
“I just think there’s a lot we could learn from her.”
No laziness.
No lies.
…The exact opposite of someone else I know.
A head of glossy pink hair flashed through Aldo’s mind.
He used to love that color.
It reminded him of his mother—and his younger sister.
But now…
“Father.”
“Yes?”
“I’ve been thinking… maybe we should try the salary book idea too?”
Duke Kallaroff raised an eyebrow at the suggestion, clearly intrigued.
A few days later—
“Here. Take one.”
Duke Kallaroff called the children into his office and handed each of them a notebook designed to look like a bank ledger.
Rima took hers and held it tightly with both hands, tilting her head in confusion.
“Lord Gonja, what is this…?”
“It’s called a salary book.”
“A… salary book?”
Is it some kind of magical tool I don’t know about?
Rima’s eyes sparkled with curiosity and hope.
“From now on, your allowance will be given in exchange for labor.”
“…What?”
Rima’s excitement crashed to the floor.
She stared up at Duke Kallaroff, her face full of disbelief.
“L-Labor…?”
“I heard something quite interesting from our neighbors,” Kallaroff replied, looking straight at her.
“Especially you, Rima. One day, you’ll grow up and live independently. It’s better to start saving now.”
Rima looked like she was about to faint.
