Five years passed like that.

Sien turned ten, but her daily life hadn’t changed much.

If there were a few things that had changed…..

Perhaps that the trading company Sien had nurtured had grown into a major one?

And the most important thing.

‘The reincarnator penalty applied to my body is almost gone!’

The five-year-old with a lisp and relatively small stature compared to others was now gone.

The current Sien looked like a properly grown ten-year-old.

[This is the timeline separator]

Inside the modest two-story building now used as the Mirmod Trading Company branch.

‘I’ve grown the Mirmod Trading Company into a major company in just five years!’

I, now a child, sat cross-legged in the center of the interviewer’s table.

Of course, I couldn’t quite cross my chubby legs properly yet, being only ten years old.

I diligently checked the resumes.

‘So many resumes have come in that it’s hard to review them all!’

From the time the problems of the past Sien-Mirmod Trading Company were resolved until now!

I had been happily screaming at the endless love calls from magicians, pouring in like summer monsoon rains.

It’s still the same after five years!

The ‘Sien Trading Company’, which had grown splendidly without anyone’s interference, was steadily growing as a cash cow for our father, who would conquer the villain family.

‘Hee, I feel a bit like a CEO!’

Fortunately, noble ladies who had become my guardians were sitting in a row on either side of me.

Likewise, resumes of various magicians were laid out on the table.

Not only that! Newspaper articles full of stories about me were also clipped.

——————————————————————————————————————————

[Breaking News] The last child trading company, who is Sien Mirmod, the founder of ‘Sien Mirmod Trading Company’?

[Front Page] ‘Sien Mirmod Trading Company’ already has 10 guardians….. Conquering the continent?

[Breaking News] Who is Sien Mirmod? Daughter of Matthias Mirmod

——————————————————————————————————————————

It seemed the noble ladies had sent the article materials.

‘These foolish temple people.’

Now people will remember the ‘victorious’ me of the present more than the past me.

It’s the same principle that a come-from-behind victory is better remembered than a game you expected to win easily.

I brought my hand to my mouth and tried to hold back my laughter.

Of course, there was a rival trading company.

It was the Yote Trading Company established by Count Yoter, the Crown Prince’s closest aide.

Recently, they’ve been selling items that strangely overlap with my company’s items, which was quite irritating.

“Young lady, there’s about an hour left until the interview time, aren’t you going to review the resumes?”

“I’m done! And I told you I’m not a young lady anymore.”

“Yes, baby CEO.”

The term ‘baby CEO’ is annoying, but I’ll let it slide since it’s said with such adoring eyes!

“Sigh……”

“Oh, and I heard that Count Yoter is making something quite amazing this time. Have you heard?”

“Really? I’m certainly curious.”

Count Yoter, who is actually my rival despite our enormous age difference.

I was curious about what scheme he might have, and it was also a situation where I needed to find out.

But I yawned, “Haaaam.”

Maybe because I’ve been using my brain too much lately, I’ve been dozing off every day recently.

I got up to take a break.

“I’m going for a short walk!”

[This is the timeline separator]

On the way to take a walk.

Even if it’s called a walk, a small child’s body can’t walk for long. So I was circling the small garden in front of the building a few times.

The warm sunshine was making me sleepy, but…..

Just then, I had to stop because I saw someone coming in through the main gate of the building.

“Father!”

It was my father.

Thinking that father had finally returned, I jumped up with a big smile.

But……!

“My daughter.”

Father’s expression seems a bit scary……?!

“I told you to quit the trading company work, how are you working so hard like this?”

I shook my head looking at father.

I was about to puff out my chest to show off my cool boss attitude, but father grabbed my collar and I flailed for a moment.

‘Father is ruining my boss-like aura!’

I looked at father with squinty eyes and emphasized.

“What’s hard! I’ve been doing it for five years!”

Then father let out a soft sigh.

“I guess you really are a genius, my daughter.”

“Of course!”

He seemed a bit half-convinced, but it looked like father was going to believe my words and let it go.

That’s how it should be with father.

After all, the thing father always emphasizes to me is the trust between daughter and father.

“Alright. Let’s eat lobster today. I’ll cook it for you myself. It’s a special day. To think so much time has passed since my daughter became a CEO….. Father is so happy he could cry.”

Crying from happiness. Father really was soft-hearted.

I nodded solemnly as I looked at father’s reddened eyes.

“Hee! Okay! I love lobster!”

I nodded vigorously.

‘Our father’s cooking is definitely reliable!’

But right at that moment.

A man in imperial knight’s uniform quickly entered the building.

“Sir Matthias.”

“……What’s the matter?”

“The Imperial Princess has come to see you.”

The Imperial Princess…… was the woman who would become Axel Mirmod’s wife in the future.

She was the younger sister of the Crown Prince, and in “The Life of Melodia,” she also played the role of Saint Melodia’s friend.

‘It’s been quiet for a while, why are palace people suddenly appearing at Mirmod?’

Even that Axel Mirmod was rumored to be engaged in a prolonged civil war near the demon realm for 5 years.

The villains threatening Mirmod had been forgotten in the corners of memory.

But the sudden appearance of the Imperial Princess here meant that another unexpected event was about to occur.

The palace and the temple were on the same side, and were hostile to Mirmod.

Nevertheless, they hadn’t shown their faces to the Mirmod family for the past five years.

Except for small fry like Count Yoter, the Crown Prince’s aide, they hadn’t particularly interfered with me, which is how I was able to grow the trading company so well.

As I tilted my head in curiosity, father raised one corner of his mouth and asked back.

“So?”

“……The Imperial Princess has come…… She says she must see you, Sir Matthias.”

“Tell her to wait. If she didn’t make an appointment.”

I looked at father and the person presumed to be father’s aide, tilting my head.

I had a bad feeling.

“……Father?”

I quickly realized the reason.

Come to think of it, father was showing some strange way of speaking.

It was a tone that didn’t seem like our father. It was like the cold, villainous tone of someone who had become evil!

‘Father is using villain speech……!’

For the past 5 years, I had been closely observing father’s suspicious behavior.

Father seemed to be gradually assimilating into this villainous family, slowly developing a taste for villainous speech.

‘As expected, the 5 years weren’t entirely fruitless! Very commendable!’

How long had I suffered, receiving etiquette training from father during that time! Just as I realized this fact with a satisfied expression, father’s face froze like the ice Alaskan penguins ride on.

“No, no. No……”

I tilted my head.

Then father opened his mouth. His lips seemed to tremble slightly.

“So, please tell her I’ll see her soon. I’m hungry as I haven’t eaten yet, so I’ll see her after having a quick meal. Let’s go, Sien.”

The aide’s expression seemed to become despondent.

But with my brain overloaded from reading countless resumes, it was hard to pay attention to the aide as well.

I blinked, trying to sort out the situation.

“……Is that okay?”

“Yes, she’s a kind person, so she’ll wait.”

‘I don’t think she’s a kind person…..’

Even as I tilted my head, I remained still because father was firmly holding my hand and pulling me along. Now, no matter how I listened, it was back to the polite and naive sucker father’s tone of speech.

But my worry about father’s strange tone was only momentary.

The Imperial Princess coming to see father.

That was a bit strange. Because the Imperial Princess was supposed to have an arranged marriage with Axel Mirmod.

“Why did that person come to see father?”

“Who knows. Maybe she’s coming to do something good.”

Father was carefree again.

‘But unlike father, I can’t be carefree.’

I looked up at father and gripped his collar tightly.

“Father.”

“Yes?”

“I want to see the Imperial Princess!”

Father quietly asked me back.

“……Hmm?”

I smiled brightly, pretending to be a harmless child. My snow-white cheeks puffed up plumply.

Of course, I had the very dark intention of ‘needing to uncover the Imperial Princess’s scheme’, but outwardly I must look incredibly cute, right?

“No.”

……Father was very firm.

I looked at father and drooped my shoulders. I’m so curious why the Imperial Princess suddenly came to see our father, and what tricks she’s trying to pull! I need to know so I can prevent any possible storms!

“Really can’t……?”

As I drooped my shoulders as if upset, father spoke sternly.

“Sien, are you curious?”

“Uh-huh!”

After saying that much, I tried to think of more to say.

I sincerely wanted to persuade father. To go meet the Imperial Princess together.

But…..

The Imperial Princess was Melodia’s best friend.

Melodia really disliked the Mirmod family.

However, it would be suspicious for a mere ten-year-old to know about the power struggles of the empire. So, I couldn’t openly tell father that I was worried the Imperial Princess might do something bad to him.

Father gently pinched my restless cheek as if pinching a bit of sugar and sweetly whispered.

“Don’t worry. Father will explain to you later what happened.”

Of course, father was an adult too, so he would have his own business.

I know well that he can’t just dangle me along to a meeting with the Imperial Princess.

No matter how much this is my second life, adults are adults and children are children.

What if it was a different father? Wouldn’t he have scolded me for trying to tag along with adult business?

But our soft-hearted father, seemingly unable to bear my silence, gently coaxed me again.

“My daughter, father will be back soon, and I’ll tell you while buying you cotton candy.”

“……Okay, I understand!”

There are other ways to find out anyway.

I said, holding tightly onto father’s hand that was still pinching my cheek with my small, soft hand.

“Have a good trip!”

This time, I decided to respect and trust father’s decision.

“Okay, Sien.”

After all, father is an adult too.

I nodded vigorously while holding onto father’s calloused hand tightly.

It was time for me to go hire a magician too.