How Can You Sleep?

[Holy crap, that was textbook villain talk!]

[It sounds so badass when Boss Caro says it, but hearing someone so young say it is kind of cute.]

[My rules are the rules!]

[Will Boss Caro tell the Duke about the bullet comments?]

[Knowing Boss Caro, probably not.]

Caroso left the room. Along the way, the servants all bowed to him in greeting.

Caroso did not spare them a second glance and headed straight for the elevator.

Though it was called the City Lord's Mansion, it was actually the size of a large estate, the grandest building in all of Azure Wolf Province.

Whether in terms of technological sophistication or magical array defenses, it stood at the pinnacle of Azure Wolf Province.

At that moment, Osiris was reading a newspaper on the sofa in the main hall, with several money bags laid out before him.

When he saw Caroso come downstairs, he glanced up at him. "What kind of card did you make?"

"Father, it's a new type of card, completely different from the priest style." Caroso walked over to Osiris and handed him the card.

Osiris swept his eyes over the card, narrowing them slightly as a faint smile appeared on his face. "Not bad. If cards like this were issued on a large scale, priests should like them very much. Did you come up with this yourself, or did someone teach you?"

Caroso fell into thought.

He did not know whether he should tell his father about the bullet comments.

If he told him about his future, his father probably would not believe him.

The people in these bullet comments spoke strangely, and many times, even they could not explain certain things themselves.

There was no need to mention anything you were not completely certain of unless it would cause serious trouble that you could not handle yourself. Osiris had said that before.

"If you don't want to say it, you don't have to. You should have your own secrets too." Osiris spoke softly. "You didn't bring your luggage down. Is there something you need to do?"

"Yes, Father." Caroso said, "I need one day. I have a new idea I want to put into practice."

"How certain are you?" Osiris asked quietly.

"If I use Pandora's Eye, fifty percent."

"Fine. I'll have the airship depart tomorrow instead." Osiris picked up the card Caroso had given him. "Kolia does not like failure. This card is enough to make me tolerate you once."

"Yes, Father."

Caroso returned to his room and found Nimel asleep with her head on the desk.

Caroso frowned slightly. Nimel was a mage to begin with, and her constitution was on the weaker side. Sleeping like that would make her catch a cold easily.

Just as he was about to wake Nimel, the bullet comments began scrolling rapidly.

[Don't wake her. Let me look at her a little longer.]

[Sleeping Nimel is so cute!]

[Um, Boss Caro, your adorable little sister is asleep. What are you planning to do?]

"Of course I'm waking her up and having her go back."

[She's been helping you make cards this whole time, and now she's exhausted enough to fall asleep. Don't you want to put some clothes over her and let her sleep properly at the desk? If you wake her up, won't she get startled?]

"It isn't healthy to sleep like that." Caroso explained solemnly. "I won't wake her up roughly."

As he spoke, Caroso walked over to Nimel and patted her on the back.

"Mmm..." Nimel murmured, lifting her head in confusion.

When she saw Caroso had returned, Nimel immediately stood at attention like a startled rabbit. "Brother."

"Is your magic power the best among those your age?" Caroso looked coldly at Nimel.

"N-No..."

"Then how can you sleep? Go back and meditate!"

"Yes, Brother..."

Nimel lowered her head and hurried to the door in tiny steps.

As if she had suddenly remembered something, she bit her lip and only slowly turned around after gathering tremendous courage and resolve. "Brother, Father's side..."

"The card passed. I'll give you two hundred Magic Crystal Coins." Caroso said.

"Thank you, Brother..."

With that, she rushed out of Caroso's room.

[Holy crap, could you be a little gentler?!]

[She can't even sleep? That's way too villainous!]

[She's still a child!]

[You've gone too far. Keep this up and I'm defecting back. What's wrong with sleeping?]

"As a mage, meditation restores you better than sleep." Seeing that all the bullet comments were criticizing him, Caroso could not help explaining.

Normally, he never explained himself, nor did anyone need an explanation from him.

But these bullet comments had just helped him produce a decent piece of work. Caroso saw the Netizens as partners, so naturally, he had to get along with them properly.

"Other than being comfortable, sleeping offers no improvement whatsoever. It is completely a waste of time."

[But sleeping makes you happy!]

[You're depriving her of happiness.]

[I finally understand why future Nimel always looks like she can never wake up...]

[Do you never sleep?]

[You said she's the best among her peers. Have you achieved that yourself?]

"Ever since I learned meditation, I have never slept."

Caroso sat down in his seat. He did not think there was anything wrong with either his actions or his words. He was merely stating the facts. "Among people my age, in terms of mental strength alone, I am the greatest in three hundred years. That comparison includes all known data. Part of my mental strength is innate, but more of it was cultivated bit by bit through my own training."

[...]

[Damn, I have nothing to say.]

[Boss Caro is Boss Caro after all. He isn't just demanding too much of others—he's strict with himself and with everyone else!]

[But isn't that too cold?]

[The kind of family you grow up in shapes the kind of child you become. Just look at the Duke...]

[If I had an older brother like Boss Caro, I might have gotten into Peking University by now.]

[Don't kid yourself. Studying sometimes requires talent. Nimel was taken in because her bloodline and talent were simply too outstanding.]

[What's with the two hundred Magic Crystal Coins?]

"It's simply a task Father gave us." Caroso said. "If she completes her meditation, Father will give her two hundred Magic Crystal Coins. If she fails, she won't get even a single Bronze Coin."

"If she assists me in completing the task, I get an extra five hundred Magic Crystal Coins. Two hundred goes to her, and three hundred goes to me. A win-win."

[???]

[Do you have some kind of misunderstanding about what a win-win is...]

[What she needs isn't money, but the Duke's approval, right?]

[I feel like Boss Caro has already gone off the rails.]

"We both need Father's approval, so remove that known condition and look only at how to maximize benefits."

[I'm dizzy! You can't calculate it like that!]

"Is the person who helped me make the card just now still here?" Caroso stared at the bullet comments. "Tell me what reward you want."

[Huh? You're giving me a reward too?]

"There is no love without cause, nor hatred without cause. If someone helps me, I naturally should give them an appropriate reward."