Chapter 2

The truth was, I’d already considered the extreme scenario where the Dibs business failed completely.

In that case, my plan was to meet someone through Dibs and cause a scandal. Anyone would be better than that perverted Duke, after all.

Then I changed my mind. Asid was the one I should meet.

For one thing, our boy was an angel unlike any other in this world. And being a genius, if we lived together, at least we’d never starve.

The problem was that I still had no idea what Asid looked like.

He never once pushed his bangs back in front of me. He guarded his face so fiercely it was as though his hair was physically glued to it. He even wore pitch-black leather gloves on his hands at all times.

“I, I’m ho, horribly ugly. If I sh, showed my face to you, Miss, I’d be so embarrassed I mi, might die……”

With that kind of reaction, how could I force his bangs aside. I couldn’t make him cry.

Because of that, I still didn’t know what Asid looked like, but it didn’t matter.

Asid was incredibly adorable.

‘Right, I’ve made up my mind. If Dibs fails, I’ll cause a scandal with Asid!’

And then, of all things, Duke Vientai Manzajak went and died out of nowhere.

Setting aside the joy of the engagement falling through, I was deeply shaken. No matter how much I’d disliked him, a person had died.

It wasn’t even an accident. The Duke had been killed in an extraordinarily gruesome manner. His body, I was told, could not be identified by its shape alone.

The culprit left not a single trace of evidence. That was the most terrifying part.

Even so, the Datinggale trading house master had only this to say.

“If the wedding had been just a little sooner, we could have secured at least a portion of the mana crystal mine!”

Unbelievable. Was that really something to say at someone’s funeral?

Anyway, the plan to run away and escape the marriage was no longer necessary, but after some deliberation, I decided to continue the Dibs business.

There was no telling when Father would drag home another strange suitor, so I needed a backup plan ready in advance.

Decision made, I resolved to rescue my adorable Asid first.

“I want to learn magitech engineering. Please assign me a tutor from the research lab.”

Since no one knew about Asid’s genius, he was kicked out of the lab without a second thought and came to me.

My father, seeing him, made no objection either. He muttered something about how surely I wouldn’t fall for someone so dim.

Calling my precious boy dim. I was furious, but I held it in to avoid suspicion.

But you know what, Master? We didn’t fall for each other, but our minds did meet!

Using lessons as cover, we threw ourselves into Dibs development. In the meantime, I completed the business registration under a pseudonym. Selling Dibs under the Datinggale name would mean having all the profits taken away.

Before long, our lovely Asid finished the sample Dibs.

“Asid, you really are a genius!”

“Y, you’re the one who t, told me what to make, Miss.”

Now, since this world had neither the internet nor mobile phones, Dibs was produced in magitech device form rather than as an app.

Special mana crystals embedded in each device connected all Dibs units to one another. Users simply registered, created an anonymous nickname, and logged in.

The palm-sized device came with a screen and a keyboard. Through it, users could browse for someone they liked within Dibs and enjoy chatting to their heart’s content.

The first month’s usage fee was free, and the device itself was loaned at no charge. After one month, however, a choice had to be made. Continue using Dibs, or return the device.

Those who wished to continue had to pay for the device. Installment payments were available, naturally. The monthly subscription fee was billed separately.

I emptied out the allowance I’d been quietly saving, produced several sample devices, and ran a beta test.

A few days later, Asid reported the results.

“Us, usage among commoners is decent, but no, noble response is notably lo, low……”

“That’s a problem. Nobles are the best at opening their wallets.”

Was there a way around it? Then it came to me. A premium service.

Young people across the kingdom had long been starved for the freedom to choose their own partners in love. But the weight of public perception had made discreet meetings impossible.

And then Dibs appeared.

Young people were going wild over this entirely new kind of service.

The issue was the children of noble families. Those distinguished individuals had no desire for outsiders intruding on their world.

So I prepared it, premium marketing exclusively for nobles.

First, we divided the Dibs device into two versions. The standard Dibs was priced at half the original cost, while the premium Dibs was encrusted with jewels and gold leaf, priced at twice as much.

Then we introduced a new system. The noble verification program.

The method was simple. Noble users photographed an item that could prove their family lineage using the device and uploaded it. Their nickname would then display an [Verified Noble] mark.

All user information, of course, was kept under strict protection.

The result was that Dibs finally began spreading by word of mouth.

❀❀❀

“Father, the magitech device called ‘Dibs‘ has been gaining unusual popularity lately.”

At dinner, my brother Lark brought up the topic.

“I’m aware. Dibs trading house…… Never heard the name before.”

The Datinggale trading house master frowned. Fortunately, no one knew I was the owner of the ‘Dibs trading house.’

I quietly kept eating. The Datinggale trading house really did serve the best food. That was the one thing keeping me from leaving immediately.

“Lark, look into the Dibs trading house in detail.”

“Yes, Father.”

Those two would never find out anyway. Embarrassing as it is to say myself, I had more business talent than I’d expected.

Lark, the heir, on the other hand, had no head for management whatsoever. And judging by his attitude toward my dreadful engagement, his character was just as bad.

He, too, had expected me to sacrifice myself for the trading house.

Then the trading house master spoke to me.

“I’m looking into a new marriage prospect for you, Raphindel. Behave yourself until then.”

“Yes, Father.”

Not wanting the tedious conversation to drag on, I gave a vague answer. The moment I got back to my room, I planned to turn on Dibs.

If I wanted to save up money and get out of this house, there was no time to waste.

‘I should try participating in the test myself today.’

Experiencing it firsthand was the only way to grow the business further.

❀❀❀

My nickname inside Dibs was [Rafi]. Asid didn’t know this, for the record. My operator account was separate.

First, I opened my profile. To get started on Dibs, users were required to fill in their ideal type.

[Someone kind……]

Then I shook my head. It was just a test anyway. Might as well write down something a little more honest.

[Someone I can actually talk to, who is incredibly, devastatingly handsome!]

Ideal type filled in, I scrolled through the list of users available for conversation.

“Oh, the user count has grown even more since last time.”

Feeling pleased with myself, I scanned down the list. An alert chimed.

[‘Eggplant’ has requested a conversation.

Accept? Yes/No.]

Without hesitation, I pressed yes. My heart fluttered. My first Dibs match!

Hoping it would be someone easy to talk to, I waited for the other person’s message. But……

[Eggplant: (photo)]

“Wh, whaaaat!”

The device slipped from my hands in shock. The absolute lunatic had sent a photo of himself completely n*ked.

To think a user like this existed in my sacred business. I was so relieved I’d done the test in person.

Eyes half-open, I stretched my arm out as far as it would go and jabbed the button.

‘Block, block!’

Then I immediately messaged Asid from the operator account.

[CEO: Asid Asid!!]

The unread count beside my message vanished at the speed of light and a reply came through.

[Developer: Yes, Miss.]

[CEO: User nickname ‘Eggplant,’ give him an immediate warning and ban him.]

[Developer: Understood. What happened?]

I hesitated briefly, then typed out exactly what had just occurred.

[CEO: ‘Eggplant’ has been sending female users photos of himself n*ked.]

[Developer: Banning him immediately.]

Swift and decisive. Good. Satisfied, I switched back to my personal account.

But every message that followed was worse than the last.

[@@: How old are you? Send a photo.]

[##: I’m more of a see-first-then-meet type, personally. See each other first, then pursue something.]

[$$: I have a product with guaranteed returns, would you like to hear about it?]

[(Verified Noble)**: I do prefer commoner women.]

[&&: Oh, I’m so sorry, I just agreed to date someone else a moment ago. Enjoy your Dibs!]

H, how could this be. The reviews were nothing but stories of people finding their fated love through Dibs.

‘I had no idea there were this many bad-faith users. This won’t do. Major improvements are clearly needed.’

Tomorrow was going to be extremely busy, so getting to bed early tonight was the sensible thing to do. Just as I thought that and moved to turn off the device.

Ding!

Another alert rang out, and I paused to consider. Check this one, or go to sleep.

‘More samples are always better, right?’

Just this one last message, then bed.

[‘Hid’ has requested a conversation.
Accept? Yes/No.]

I pressed ‘yes.’