Chapter 185. The Calm Before the Storm (2)
There is a maxim that clergy commonly put to their lips. For a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven is harder than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle.
Serena had been feeling that maxim keenly in her bones lately.
Heaven? There was no way she could go. When this present life was this sweet and exhilarating, why on earth would she want to die and go to heaven.
"Hmm, hmmmm~"
Serena lay face-down on the bed, kicking her legs and humming to herself. Her cherry-blossom-pink side hair swayed gently in the meantime.
In her hands she held a bankbook wrapped in red velvet.
In Britannia, where banks have yet to become widespread — setting aside investment firms and trust banks — a bankbook was not something just anyone could have.
It was, so to speak, a Rich Person Certification Item bestowed only upon the truly verified wealthy.
"Eheheheh, shall I have a look then? Let's see how much it's grown~"
Serena licked her lips and opened the bankbook.
This particular month had especially high expectations.
Having survived a massive event in the Birthday Banquet, and then weathered a full month in a North swept up in culinary fever — this was the day of the long-awaited settlement.
―Shwrrr
Deposit entries.
Fabrication fee for special-purpose equipment at the Birthday Banquet. Patent Royalties for special waterproof-coated paper cups. Maintenance of Cola automated Bottling Machine and travel expenses for North factory visits.
And finally, the grand finale — Y&P Trading Company dividend, 5% incentive.
Serena's eyes moved busily across the page. No matter how many pages she turned, the deposit entries went on without end.
Not merely numerous items, either. The number of zeroes appended to each entry was nothing short of surreal.
"One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand… hundred thousand…."
Serena swallowed hard.
It already didn't feel real.
Money that the Renoir family would have had to spend ten whole years grinding steel and greasing gears to earn — she had earned in a mere month.
No, it might have been even more than that.
"Eheheheh… eheheheh…."
Overwork and overtime, field work and business trips. The one thing that made all this exhaustion disappear was money, money, and only more money.
Serena pressed her cheek against the bankbook and smiled.
Of course, in terms of sheer assets, Penelope and Jurgen would be far wealthier.
But 'assets' and 'cash on hand' are fundamentally different things.
Those two were too busy reinvesting every penny they earned straight back into factory expansion and raw material procurement. Which meant that, in terms of liquidity, the undisputed cash queen of Y&P Trading Company was none other than Serena Renoir.
"If you've got money, naturally you've got to spend it."
Today was the blissfully sweet holiday she'd been waiting a whole month for.
Serena finished getting ready to go out, with a look of grave resolve on her face.
***
The first place Serena headed, naturally, was……
The dedicated showroom of Caliburn Company, famed makers of automobiles.
―Ding.
"Welcome! This is Caliburn Motor… hk!"
The moment she stepped inside, the branch manager in his formal suit came running out in his bare feet.
"And who should it be! Is this not Viscountess Serena Renoir!"
"Oh my, Branch Manager. How have you been?"
Serena accepted the greeting with a deliberately elegant curtsy.
"Good gracious! Of course, Viscountess! You should have given us advance notice before coming. I'm rather embarrassed we weren't properly prepared."
The branch manager made a great fuss.
"That's quite all right. I just popped in since I had some time."
"Yes! Then please, take your time and have a look around!"
Serena walked into the showroom, her heels clicking away.
"Your beauty is truly radiant today as well."
"Hm~ Is that so?"
"Wh-why, of course, Viscountess."
"Never mind vague qualitative assessments like that — quantitatively speaking, what top percentile?"
"Um… 5%?"
"Lower than I expected."
"Kehaha! I was joking! Top 1%! You are absolutely top 1%!"
The branch manager followed at Serena's heels like a goldfish's tail, all bows and scrapes.
Serena savoured every moment of it to the fullest.
The branch manager couldn't help but adopt a deferential posture.
The fact that Serena had been a devoted devotee of Caliburn Company from well before was widely known. In practice, Serena had poured the bulk of her income into cars and car upkeep.
She had been, by Britannia's standards, a virtually unprecedented Car-poor.
But an automobile was a precision masterpiece of Mechanical Engineering, a special luxury item produced only in limited quantities.
Even Serena, who led Renoir Workshop, had found it a taxing hobby.
In the past she would come into the store, practically drooling, and leave with nothing but a catalogue. Or she'd pay for the cheapest model in installments, her hands shaking all the while.
But now?
"Oh, is this fellow the newly released 'Caliburn R'?"
Serena pointed to the red vehicle on display in the centre of the showroom. Sweeping curves, gleaming gilt finish, fitted with the latest Mechanical Engineering engine.
"Yes, that's correct, Viscountess! Khh, your eye for these things is truly exceptional as always. This model delivers a 30% improvement in engine output, and the seats are the finest grade leather……."
"The options?"
"Pardon?"
"How much if I spec it out fully?"
"Ah, that would be… fully optioned, approximately… something in the range of……."
The branch manager stole a careful glance at her expression, then quietly wrote a number in his notepad and handed it over.
That much would be the price of a Villa in the outer reaches of the North. An amount that would make even a noble hesitate before opening their wallet.
Yet Serena didn't bat an eye.
"Hmm, is that all?"
"I beg your pardon…?"
"I'll take it."
"Ah, the estimate, you mean?"
"No. Just take my money. I'll drive it out today."
Serena took her chequebook from her breast pocket and scrawled with a quill pen.
"Take off the delivery fee. I'll be driving it myself. No need for change."
The branch manager looked at the figure written on the cheque.
"……."
There wasn't particularly any change to give back. True to brilliant engineer Serena, she had written down exactly the amount he had shown her with a glance at his notepad.
But keeping a straight face was a fundamental qualification for anyone in sales.
"Th-thank you! Viscountess! You truly have an exceptional generosity of spirit! I shall put what remains to good use!"
The branch manager took the cheque and kept on bowing and bowing.
Serena climbed into the driver's seat with a satisfied air.
The smell of new leather seats. The cold, solid grip of a new car's steering wheel in her hands for the first time.
She was planning to take it home and shortly thereafter take it apart and tune the components here and there, but……
'Ahhh, this is exhilarating……'
In the past, buying a car like this would have meant days and days of agonising over it before she could bring herself to sign, hands trembling.
But now? She'd paid for a brand new car in full, and felt not the slightest burden.
―Vwroaaarrr!!!
Serena's new red beloved car launched itself ferociously off the road surface of Nortaris.
An open-top convertible with the roof thrown wide open.
"Hoooooo!!!!"
Since there was nobody around to hear her anyway, Serena gave a whoop of joy and revelled in the speed.
But that, too, lasted only a moment. Serena pursed her lips.
"Hmm……."
Driving alone wasn't as much fun. How to put it — it might have been more enjoyable back when she was buying the car and feeding that approval-hungry side of herself to the brim.
"Hmm, is there anyone I could show off to?"
She desperately needed someone to react.
Penelope was busy and would say she had no time for such frivolous nonsense. Jurgen — well, if pressed, he'd probably go along with it, but…… it was obvious Penelope would fix him with a withering glare.
"Oh well, I suppose I'll just go home and tune the car."
And so, vroom vroom, as she drove the car back toward the city centre. A familiar figure came into view, hunched over on a battered, lopsided wooden bench.
Shoulders pulled in tight. A small girl holding something close to her chest as though it were precious.
It was Brigitte.
Perfect!
―Skreeeee!
Serena wrenched the wheel. With impeccable drifting skill, she came to a stop right in front of Brigitte's nose.
"Brigitte, what are you up to?"
"Eek! Wh-who… ah, Sister Serena?"
Brigitte poked her head out tentatively. Her gaze travelled from Serena's face to the gleaming red vehicle.
"Wh-what car is this?! It looks incredibly expensive……."
"Just got it. What do you think? Isn't it gorgeous?"
"Wooow!"
Brigitte couldn't close her mouth. She knew it was childish, but……
It swelled her heart! This was precisely the reaction Serena had been after.
But that, too, lasted only a brief moment. Brigitte clutched the bag in her arms tightly again and began looking anxiously around.
Serena tilted her head. Brigitte wasn't the type to stutter and hesitate like this. Young as she was, she was always bold and lively — the mood-maker of Y&P Trading Company.
"What's the matter? Brigitte, has something happened?"
"It's just…… I'm a bit scared……."
"Of what?"
Brigitte made a tearful face and showed just a sliver of the bankbook tucked in her arms.
"Master Jurgen gave me a bonus this time, said I'd worked hard…… but it's such a large sum……."
Brigitte's voice trembled.
"I'm scared someone might steal it…… and it feels like everyone around me is staring at my bag……."
"Ahh……."
Serena gave a nod of understanding. Well — Brigitte was of commoner origins, and on top of that had been running a failing restaurant all on her own.
The amount she had just glimpsed was nearly enough to open a small shop. Even someone as bold as Brigitte would falter in the face of a windfall that had come all at once.
A convenient excuse had presented itself.
"Ahem."
Serena cleared her throat and said grandly.
"Brigitte."
"Yes?"
"There's exactly one reason why money feels so heavy to you."
"What is it?"
"It's because you don't know what to do with it yet."
Serena played the big sister, putting on airs in front of her younger companion.
"Money, in the end, is something you can only learn to handle by spending it."
"Is that so?"
Serena gestured toward the passenger seat with her chin.
"For now, get in. Is there anything you've been wanting to buy, Brigitte?"
"Me? There's a place I've wanted to go……."
Brigitte trailed off, mumbling in an uncharacteristically hesitant way.
Brigitte was someone who would splash Y&P Trading Company money without a second thought on ingredients, but was otherwise remarkably frugal by nature. She had a clear goal, after all — to one day strike out on her own and open her own restaurant.
Going by how much she was hesitating, it was obviously a place she'd looked at the price tag for and fled from in advance.
"Is it expensive?"
"Yes, a little."
"Then all the more reason to go. Get in!"
Before she knew it, Brigitte had climbed into the passenger seat.
Serena took hold of the wheel with a warm, satisfied feeling.
'Reaction recruit, secured!'
Though of course it wasn't simply a matter of wanting to show off her money.
Who was it, after all, that had always packed her a warm Late-night Snack for every all-nighter she'd pulled cooped up in the workshop? Who had been Serena's drinking companion when she was exhausted and low from overwork? And who had been the one to brew her a dried pollack hangover soup the morning after? That was Brigitte.
It was thanks to the food Brigitte made that she had been able to endure the murderous workload.
Compared to that gratitude, buying her one little thing was nothing at all.
She had money to spare. And a sweet little younger sister to stand beside her and say 'Wow, sister you're so cool! The best!' Not a thing more to wish for on a day off.
Serena grinned and threw the gear into drive.
"Let's go, Brigitte!"
"Yes! Sister Serena! Are you really sure it's okay?"
"Of course! I've been raking in money!"
Serena's new beloved car roared to life and charged up the hill roads of Nortaris.