/
“Well, then

 can I give it a little more thought?”
“Of course, absolutely.”
“Whatever you say, kid!”
“But don’t put too much pressure on yourself. All right?”
The three dads smiled at me, in unison. Their smiles were so warm, I felt a tug at my heart.
‘Oh my gosh, I’m going to cry.’
In order to hide my expression, I buried my head in Cesar’s arms.
His hands were so gentle as he stroked my back.
* * *
There’s a saying that when a person accumulates wealth, they also want to acquire fame. The saying seems to be true.
Lately, I’ve been obsessed with a new business idea.
‘Well, the more money the better, right?’
In addition, the amount related to sticky notes is disclosed too transparently.
It’s a problem I can’t help but have since Kirios is in charge of producing and distributing the sticky notes.
That means.
My dads can look into my palm and see how much money I make from sticky notes.
But I needed my own money to be independent, and I needed it to be money I could control.
I needed to create a fund that wasn’t influenced by anyone else.
In other words, I’m not interested in the business because I’m getting praise and support from my dads.
Geez, am I really not?
‘It’s just that I can’t 

 think of anything.’
Whew.
I slumped down on the sofa and let out a huge sigh for what might have been the second time.
‘Actually, it’s a sticky note, so that’s about as close as

 you can get.’
It was already a big hit in my previous life. And that’s what I’m aiming for this time.
Can’t I somehow suck the honey out of my past life memories? Please!
Just as I’m saying a prayer in my conscience.
“You look troubled again today, Tati.”
An affectionate voice spoke to me.
I lifted my head up from the couch to find Lakius looking down at me with a wide grin on his face.
“What are you doing here? Isn’t it time for your swordsmanship lesson already?”
“I decided to take the day off, Master Siegfried couldn’t seem to concentrate in class.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s bragging about you.”
“

Aha.”
I was at a loss for words at what Lakius said.
I knew it.
A hobby of the three dads these days was bragging about how successful my sticky note business was

.
“Ha, give me a break

.” I made a pained sound as I covered my face.
Then Lakius tilted his head.
“Why? I think you’re pretty amazing, too.”
“The sticky note business, that was more my second dad’s idea than mine.”
“No, Master Kirios just handled the production and distribution. I was under the impression that the basic idea was yours?” Lakius replied flatly. Then he added in a blunt tone. “Of course, the master has to be acknowledged for being able to turn that idea into a reality in such a short time.”
“That, Laki?”
“Still, if it weren’t for your idea, sticky notes wouldn’t exist,” Lakius cut me off. He leaned over to the couch where I was sprawled out, looking down at me at an angle. “So, what are you thinking about this time?”
“

hmm.”
Honestly, I don’t think I’d get a straight answer if I asked him, but, they also say a drowning person grabs for straws.
I turned to him, without any expectations.
“You know, Laki. In your opinion, what are the essential ingredients to selling a lot of stuff?”
“What, you’re already thinking about increasing sales?” Lakius smiled weakly. It was a smile that seemed a little bitter somehow. “You’re amazing, so sometimes I think you’re

.”
His voice was so tiny and thin that I could barely make it out.
I tilted my head and asked Lachias back, “Huh? What did you say, Laki?”
He shook his head.
“Nothing.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
I watched him carefully.
He returned the questioning look with a gentle expression.
His expression was as calm as ever.
‘Am I mistaken?’
A little, maybe just a little.
I thought he looked lonely somehow

.
I narrowed my eyes.
At the same time, Lakius opened his mouth.
“Anyways, Tati, to answer your question.”
Lakius hesitated for a moment, thinking.
Then he shrugged and continued.
“This is just my opinion, but wouldn’t it be more effective to stimulate the desire to collect?”
“Collecting?”
I pricked up my ears.
Lakius nodded.
“I mean, like, a hobby of collecting stamps. I hear they even go to auction houses to get rare stamps.”
Suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind like a bolt of lightning.
I could combine the technology of sticky notes with something that would satisfy the collecting urge

!
“Oh, my goodness, Laki! Thank you so much!”
It’s like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders!
I jumped up from my seat and hugged him tightly around the neck.
He stiffened in response to my enthusiastic embrace.
“Ta-Tati?”
His face turned bright red.
Awww, so shy.
Aren’t we supposed to be friendly?
I patted him on the back and exclaimed again.
“Laki, you’re a genius!”
* * *
Once the blockage was cleared, the idea came together.
What I came up with was a series of different stickers.
You know, those sticker series that you can get with your bread from Pokémon or Kakao Friends.
Back in my day, didn’t I have a huge collection of those stickers?
Those sticker series were so popular that it became a social problem for kids to buy the bread, throw it away, and collect the stickers.
Since I had already developed a glue that can be used to make sticky notes, I thought it would be a good idea to make a sticker series with this glue.
The problem is there’s one thing you really need to make these stickers popular.
It’s the characters they’re based on.
The reason why Pokémon and Kakao Friends stickers were so successful was because the characters were already popular with people.
In other words.
We need to make popular characters first, and then move on to making stickers

..
“Hoho.”
I laughed like a rogue.
Don’t worry, I already have a solution to that problem!
I picked up the music box I’d left on my bedside table.
I opened the lid, and a sweet lullaby rang out.
In the center of the music box, figures of Siegfried, Cesar, and Kirios danced round and round.
‘Look, this is it.’
I gazed at the figures in awe.
‘The most popular figures in the Empire, and even the entire human race!’
The three heroes who saved humanity from the clutches of demons.
The popularity of the three heroes was beyond belief.
The emperor’s hold on them is almost understandable, isn’t it?
By the way, I’ve already asked the dads for permission.
‘Well, if Miss Tati needs it, it doesn’t matter, but
.’
‘Honestly, I’m not sure we will be that popular.’
‘Don’t you think we’d better pick some other characters?’
The responses from the clueless dads were a little dismissive, but they didn’t know.
You can be confident. The sticker series will be a much bigger hit than the sticky notes.
But with just three dads, there’s only so many stickers you can collect

.
‘In order to secure more characters, I’m going to draw a comic about famous people in the empire.’
My eyes shone with enthusiasm. In this world, there is no such thing as comics yet. And the people who actually open their wallets are adults, not kids.
So, if this sticker series is going to be successful, it must be approached in a way that appeals to adults.
It’s basically an appeal to them.
“Hmm, hmm.”
I nodded in satisfaction. I had a rough idea of the selling points.
‘By studying the lives of the greatest people, I gain knowledge of history and improve my educational background.’
Shouldn’t that do the trick?
And the characters of the great people created for the comic book will be made into stickers.
With every book purchase, you get a random sticker.
This would encourage kids to keep buying the books just to collect the stickers.
Adults will also be drawn to the idea of learning about the lives of great people rather than just a toy, right?
‘Let’s start with the three heroes.’
After that, we could continue to add new characters and make sequels

!
“Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo

.”
I giggled like an evil little devil.
I can hear it, the sound of money piling up!