My Uncle is the Strongest Dark Mage

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 6

Grant, Grant, GrantGrantGrantGrantGrantGrantGrantGrantGrant!!!

The name that stole everything from me, a name I loathe no matter when it’s called.

“Unforgivable.”

I resented their continental success.

That was originally mine.

The glory I achieved.

Everything was a right I should have enjoyed.

But it was all taken away.

“Heh, heheh.”

So, I will take everything from them.

If I can’t have it, neither should you.

A deeply pulled-down black hood.

Underneath it, a scruffy, unevenly grown beard.

Had he been using drugs or something?

With pupils blurred and distorted, he suddenly burst into laughter and put his hand in his pocket, walking slowly.

Blending into the crowd to hide his suspiciousness.

Moving along with them, he stepped into a building.

‘I’ll destroy everything. Grant.’

The building he entered.

There, the name “Grant Department Store” was boldly engraved in large letters.

＊＊＊

Having a workaholic boss who never lets go of work is harder than having an incompetent one.

As Nell worked as the Demon Lord’s secretary, she painfully realized this fact.

One of her ways to relieve stress after long hours by his side was to treat herself on her days off.

Sometimes, she would indulge in luxurious and delicious food, and other times, she would travel to scenic places.

This time, the gift she prepared for herself during her leave was to buy something expensive.

Whether it was a luxury bag or clothes.

Or even cosmetics or perfume.

She wandered through the department store, shopping for whatever caught her eye.

She had deliberately taken her leave today, the day after payday, for this purpose.

“Hmm.”

The Demon Lord’s secretary.

Given how significant her position was even within the royal court, her salary was not small.

No, it was actually quite substantial, even among public officials.

If she wanted, she could easily afford one or two luxury items without a second thought.

But perhaps because she was usually frugal by nature.

Even though she had decided to gift herself, buying something was proving to be quite difficult.

‘What should I buy to make it at least somewhat efficient?’

It was absurd to consider efficiency when indulging in luxury, but even this kind of deliberation was a form of healing for her.

She was finally taking a leisurely outing away from work.

If she got tired, she thought she might even have a cup of coffee at an expensive café she usually wouldn’t dare to enter.

Excitedly, she wandered around the department store, looking at this and that.

“From here to here. Give me everything in my size.”

And then she saw it.

Something completely different from her, yet a scene she had always dreamed of.

Like a rich heir in a drama.

A man in shabby clothes pointing left and right with his fingers, engaging in what could only be described as a “money splurge.”

“Uncle, I don’t need this many clothes….”

“I have no interest in styling or fashion. I’ll just buy whatever, so make sure to wear them well.”

“Uncle?!”

“Ah, right. I suppose they won’t all fit in the wardrobe. We’ll have to visit the furniture store later.”

“How much are you planning to buy?!”

Were they uncle and niece?

It seemed like a wealthy uncle was taking care of his niece, buying this and that.

‘I’m jealous.’

Normally, envying a child was a disgraceful act for an adult.

But in this situation, it was impossible to suppress her envy.

If only someone would buy me everything like that.

Then I wouldn’t have to agonize over what to buy.

“Sigh.”

Yeah, just move on.

Feeling envious or jealous will only ruin my mood.

Look, just a moment ago, I was happy just browsing around.

Now, I’m lamenting my situation out of envy.

It’s no wonder—no matter how much of a Demon Lord’s secretary I am, as a public servant, I could never utter such a grand line in my lifetime.

‘Unless I win the lottery, maybe I could say it once.’

With a bitter smile, Nell quickened her pace to pass by them.

Without even glancing back, Cain looked at the neatly wrapped pile of clothes and opened his wallet.

“…….”

And his brow furrowed slightly.

Inside the wallet was a black card.

It was the card given to him by Huren Grant, the second son of the Grant Association.

Claiming that he would provide financial support, at least formally, for raising Arina.

Since this place was a business under the Grant Association, presenting this card would surely bring significant benefits.

“Here.”

Yet, despite that, he handed a different card to the clerk.

That man spoke of offering help and whatnot.

But in the end, he was one of those who dared to try sending his niece somewhere.

Even giving this card was just to save face.

He had no intention of owing anything to such a person, not even a little.

“Sir, you have quite a lot of items. Would you like to use our pickup service to deliver them to your home?”

Perhaps because he had spent so much money.

The clerk approached Cain with an even more polite attitude than before.

“No, not really.”

He had a lot of items and planned to buy even more, but he didn’t think it was worth the trouble.

Thinking that, Cain casually waved his hand toward the items.

Then, a black portal opened in the air and swallowed all the items.

“Ah, do you have a Subspace Pouch?”

A Subspace Pouch.

Simply put, it was one of the Magical Engineering Products engraved with spatial magic.

Of course, it required high-level enchantments, making it more expensive than most luxury items.

From the clerk’s perspective, it was only natural to assume a wealthy customer would own a Subspace Pouch.

“Well.”

And Cain didn’t bother correcting that assumption.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a Subspace Pouch but Dimensional Space itself that he possessed.

But there was no need to explain or boast about it.

After all, it wasn’t someone he’d meet again.

“Alright, next.”

With that, Cain left the first store and moved confidently to the next.

Had everyone seen what happened in the first store?

All the clerks were anxiously watching his steps, desperately hoping he would enter their store.

“…….”

Strange.

This wasn’t the kind of shopping I had in mind.

Arina, staring blankly at the scene, trudged along behind him.

＊＊＊

Approximately two hours later.

Arina, who had essentially looted the entire department store rather than just exploring it, plopped down onto a café chair with a tired expression.

‘He really bought everything.’

Everywhere they passed.

Everything in sight.

Not leaving a single thing behind.

He had practically swept up the entire department store.

Even though she had mentally prepared herself before coming in, his spending far exceeded her expectations.

“Was it a bit too much?”

Cain seemed to have realized it too.

Scratching his cheek awkwardly, he glanced into the dimensional space.

This wasn’t something that could be solved by just buying a wardrobe or two.

No, if they brought all of this home, Arina’s room would undoubtedly disappear entirely.

‘And there aren’t any spare rooms either.’

One kitchen, one living room, two bathrooms, and three bedrooms.

Cain and Arina each occupied one room, and the remaining room was being used as Cain’s study, leaving no extra space in the house.

If he had known this would happen, he would have moved to a bigger house.

Even though he thought the house was spacious enough for the two of them, he hadn’t imagined they would run out of space so quickly.

“Should I buy a house just to use as storage?”

“Get a grip, Uncle!”

Unable to hold back any longer, Arina shouted at Cain, who had arrived at yet another absurd conclusion.

It was such an outrageous suggestion.

Who in their right mind would buy an entirely new house just because they lacked storage space?

How could someone’s thought process even lead to such a conclusion?

“That’s absolutely not happening! Don’t even think about buying a new house, not even for a second!”

“Well, yeah, going to another house just to change clothes would be a bit much.”

“No, that’s not the issue here…….”

His way of thinking was truly extraordinary.

Shaking her head at her uncle, who seemed incapable of having a normal conversation, Arina took a sip of the vanilla shake in front of her.

Still, perhaps because the cold drink went down her throat,

her overheated mind seemed to cool down a bit.

“Then how about we just buy a subspace pouch?”

While she was calming herself, Cain seemed to have come up with a new plan.

Was he recalling what the clerk at the clothing store had said earlier?

Come to think of it, getting Arina a subspace pouch didn’t seem like a bad idea.

Unlike him, who already had a dimensional space, she didn’t have access to such a convenient item.

“Yeah, that’s better than a house.”

Of course, the price of a good subspace pouch was comparable to the cost of a house in a provincial estate, which was far from reasonable.

But if he were to buy a house, he would likely purchase an expensive one near their current home.

Compared to that, a subspace pouch was definitely the better option.

“I was planning to visit the artifact store anyway.”

At his casual remark, spoken while sipping a light iced Americano, a cold sweat ran down Arina’s back.

Artifacts—a term referring to the luxury items among magical engineering products.

In simpler terms, they were items that allowed ordinary people to use magic, much like smartphones or similar devices.

For example, the subspace pouch Cain had just mentioned buying for her.

In other words, artifacts were incredibly expensive.

Though perhaps not as costly as a subspace pouch,

buying a few artifacts would likely cost more than the money Cain had already spent today.

And Arina knew.

Judging by Cain’s actions today, there was no way his shopping spree would end with just a few artifacts.

He would probably do the same thing as earlier.

Pointing from here to there and saying, “I’ll take everything.”

“…….”

The mere thought sent shivers down her spine.

The cold sweat running down her back had now soaked through to the point of dampening her seat.

“Hey, Uncle.”

She had to stop him.

Of course, she was happy.

How could she not be, when he was buying things for her?

But the problem was that it was overwhelming.

Even with just the things he had bought today, it was already too much.

Anything more, and her heart couldn’t take it.

“I’ll go to the artifact store by myself.”

So, she spoke firmly.

With the resolve of a hero preparing to face the Demon King.

After all, persuading him not to buy artifacts for her was impossible.

In that case, it would be much better for her to go alone and quickly pick out a few items.

“Well, I don’t mind.”

As expected, her uncle responded nonchalantly to her request.

“I’ll wait here, so go ahead.”

Cain casually pulled a card out of his wallet and handed it to Arina.

It was the same terrifying card that had been used to empty out the entire department store earlier that day.

Though it bore Cain’s fingerprints, to Arina, it was the most fearsome and extraordinary item imaginable.

Accepting it with trembling hands, she forced a smile at Cain.

“Thanks, Uncle.”

“Don’t hold back. Buy whatever you like. It’s a hassle to come back again.”

“…….”

A subspace pouch and one relatively inexpensive artifact.

She was absolutely not going to buy anything more than that.

Resolutely making up her mind, Arina carefully placed the card deep into her inner pocket and zipped it up securely.

Arina, twelve years old.

A prospective student of Benedict Academy.

She had learned the terrifying power of money all too well at a shockingly young age.