This Must Be What It Feels Like to Have a Nuke Drop in Front of You
Time flew by, and before I knew it, I had turned eighteen.
A lot had changed in that time.
The Lorend estate was now far grander and more spacious than when I was first born.
Two new annexes had been built, and the gardens were teeming with rare flowers from both the East and the West, which my mother adored.
This was all thanks to my tireless efforts—even if those efforts had earned me a truly dreadful nickname.
I was now officially an adult.
While I wouldn't call myself a breathtakingly gorgeous man, I had a face I didn't need to be ashamed of, neat black hair, and stood at a solid 180 centimeters.
In my past life, being short due to malnutrition had been a major sore point, so I was glad that in this life, at least, no one would be making fun of my height.
By the standards of the empire's nobility, my only flaw was my black hair, inherited from some distant Eastern ancestor. But since I couldn't care less about such things, it didn't bother me in the slightest.
As I stepped into the mansion, my maid, Elina, was waiting for me.
"Welcome back, Young Master Kyle."
"I'm back, Elina."
With her icy beauty and striking platinum blonde hair, she was my exclusive maid.
She was an incredibly competent maid who had briefly appeared in the original novel. When the opportunity arose, I had swooped in and secured her services immediately, and now she worked as my personal aide.
"Young Master, Lord Gilbert has requested your presence."
"Father?"
My heart skipped a beat the moment she said he was calling for me right as I got home.
Ah, crap... What is it this time?
Did he find out I went to Outerloon to gamble?
Or is it... because I dumped our entire liquid capital into buying up Blue Stones?
The more I thought about it, the more guilty consciences I had.
"Elina... did Father look very angry?"
"...He did seem a bit displeased, yes."
"I knew it... Alright. Whew, I'd better mentally prepare myself."
Blessed are those who are prepared!
Steeling my resolve, I headed toward my father's office.
The office, thick with the scent of aged parchment, hadn't changed a bit from eight years ago.
Well, actually, that wasn't entirely true. The only difference was the sheer mountain of paperwork piled on his desk, a direct result of our guild's rapid expansion.
"You're here, Kyle."
"Yes, I just got back, Father."
Gilbert, my father, greeted me with an expressionless face as I stepped inside.
Perhaps because eight years had passed, I could see that he had aged a bit.
...Or maybe his wrinkles had just multiplied because of the sheer stress of dealing with my antics.
He silently gestured for me to sit, and I took a seat.
Frowning deeply, my father spoke.
"I heard the news, Kyle... I was told you signed a contract to purchase Blue Stones at forty thousand Zenon per kilogram."
"That is correct, Father."
Ah, so it really was about this.
Just yesterday, I had swept up the entire supply of Blue Stones—one of the North's primary specialties—at the mineral auction.
It seemed word of my shopping spree had already reached my father's ears today.
Slam—!
"Have you lost your mind?! Blue Stones are valued at thirty thousand Zenon! What on earth do you plan to do with stones you bought at such an outrageous premium?!"
Yikes, what a temper.
Still, I could understand why he was so furious.
The quantity I had purchased represented literally every single Blue Stone currently available in the imperial capital.
It was a staggering five hundred tons, amounting to a grand total of twenty billion Zenon.
Since one Zenon was worth about ten Korean won, I had essentially burned through two hundred billion won in a single day.
With this, our guild's liquid capital was completely wiped out.
He had every right to be livid.
"And I heard that three months ago, you expanded our warehouses in the North to hoard wheat."
"Yes, I did."
"And you stockpiled ten thousand tons of it?!"
"Yes, I did."
At my nonchalant reply, my father massaged his temples as if a massive headache was coming on.
Three months ago, acting entirely on my own authority, I had expanded our northern warehouses and stockpiled ten thousand tons of wheat.
To put ten thousand tons into perspective, it was enough grain to feed the entire northern region for three whole months.
Letting out a heavy sigh, my father asked,
"What do you plan to do with all that wheat and Blue Stones? Are you trying to start a war?!"
His brow was furrowed so deeply that he looked like a wrinkled ninety-year-old grandfather.
I replied with absolute confidence.
"What else, Father? I'm going to make money."
"And how exactly do you plan to do that? Unless a meteor suddenly strikes the North, the price of Blue Stones is only going to plummet from here on out!"
It was currently spring.
The snows were melting, monsters were becoming active, and the northern warriors were about to begin their hunting season in earnest.
A massive supply of Blue Stones would soon flood the capital. Consequently, production of potions, magic tools, and barrier reinforcements would ramp up to take advantage of the cheap prices.
But at least for this year, things wouldn't go according to plan.
I looked my father in the eye and spoke with absolute certainty.
"It might not be a meteor... but something far worse is about to drop."
"Do you... actually have a plan here?"
Seeing my expression, the wrinkles on my father's face began to smooth out as if they had been ironed.
Who was I?
The man who had propelled the Lorend Merchant Guild into the top one hundred... the Milk King!
I had made a fortune while enduring that humiliating moniker, and if there was one thing my father trusted, it was my ability to generate wealth.
That was precisely why he had granted me full authority over the guild's finances in the first place.
Reading my face, a flicker of anticipation sparked in his eyes, as if thinking, Is this kid about to pull off another miracle?
I poured two glasses of Blue High 18 Years, the ultra-premium whiskey sitting on my father's desk.
I handed one of the glasses to him.
*Pour— clink!*
"Just sit back and watch, Father. It's going to be quite a show."
"Very well... I'll trust you, my son."
*Clink!*
Savoring the rich aroma of the whiskey swirling in my nose, I felt my brain cells instantly wake up.
Ah! There really is a reason expensive alcohol is expensive!
This is exactly why I make money—so I can flex like this.
That evening, I was getting dressed in my formal evening wear.
Today was the day of the imperial family's regular social gala.
It was a banquet designed to give newly graduated noble ladies and gentlemen a chance to make their official debut in high society. Naturally, every noble of any repute in the imperial capital would be in attendance.
"Well, I'm off."
"Yes, have a safe trip."
"And if you see a nice young lady, make sure to give her a flower, alright?!"
"I... I get it, Mother. So please, calm down."
My mother had apparently met my father at this very imperial gala.
Because of that, she had been nagging me for weeks, practically wearing my ears out, telling me to bring home a proper young lady.
I'm sorry, Mother. But I doubt I'll have the chance to do that tonight.
"Shall we go, Young Master?"
"Yes, let's go."
I headed to the imperial palace with Elina.
The carriage rolled smoothly toward the palace.
The palace grounds were already a sea of carriages belonging to other noble heirs.
Guided by the imperial guards, we arrived at the banquet hall, which was already bustling with guests.
Mana-powered chandeliers cast a brilliant glow over the hall, where young lords and ladies flaunted their wealth and status in extravagant dresses and glittering jewels.
I quietly grabbed a glass of champagne and slipped away to a quiet corner.
Following close behind me, Elina spoke.
"Young Master, are you not going to mingle with the young ladies?"
"I don't really care to. Besides, I don't know anyone here."
I had barely attended the Academy, focusing instead on learning the ropes of the merchant guild.
As a result, I had almost zero acquaintances in this crowd.
To be precise, while I recognized a few faces from the novel's character settings, I didn't actually have any personal relationships with them.
And... I secretly hoped no one would recognize me, especially because of *that*.
Just as I was sipping my champagne and thinking this, I felt a gaze on me.
A group of young ladies in the corner looked my way and began whispering.
"Who is that gentleman standing in the corner?"
"Him? Oh, he's... Ah! He's the heir to that merchant guild."
"Which merchant guild?"
"You know, the family responsible for supplying all the milk in the empire!"
"Ah! The Milk King!"
*Pffft! Cough, cough!*
Aaargh! Stop calling me by that nickname!!
The young ladies, seemingly finding it highly amusing, continued to gossip about me using that dreadful moniker.
My face flushed red with sheer embarrassment. Glaring coldly at them, Elina murmured,
"It seems quite a few people recognize you, Young Master."
"Yeah, unfortunately... Let's move further into the corner."
"Understood."
Honestly, about seventy-eight percent of the reason I had avoided the Academy all this time was because of that stupid nickname.
Desperately trying to escape the embarrassing whispers, I hurried deeper into the shadows, only to accidentally bump into a young lady.
"Oh!"
"Ah, my apologies."
I quickly caught her before she could fall.
In that instant, my breath caught in my throat.
Dazzling golden hair that shone like spun gold, and a lavender dress.
I had seen plenty of beautiful girls since becoming Kyle, but she was on an entirely different level.
The girl in lavender flusteredly spoke.
"I-I'm fine. I wasn't paying attention either. I'm so sorry."
The lavender beauty hurriedly smoothed down her dress in embarrassment.
Well, since we've bumped into each other, maybe I should introduce myself?
"I am Kyle Lorend of the Lorend family. And you are, my lady?"
"Ah, I... I am..."
She lightly pinched the hem of her skirt and curtsied.
Though her movements were slightly clumsy, her sheer beauty made the gesture look incredibly charming instead.
"I am Meriel Erents of the Erents family."
"Meriel... Erents...?"
The moment her name left her lips, goosebumps erupted all over my skin.
It was only natural.
Because Meriel Erents was the female protagonist of the romance fantasy novel, Stop Loving Me!
The very siren who would soon bewitch the hearts of every man in the empire had just dropped right in front of my eyes.