"This is no good either."

I fling another Lego manual aside.

In my collection of Lego manuals, there's not a single set which is simple enough. Finding all the pieces related to an overly complicated Lego set is nigh impossible; I have been trying for three hours now.

"This is frustrating..."

I sigh as I head to the computer.

Perhaps I could buy a simple Lego set?

It's a rather bizarre idea coming from me, since I only spend my money on ordering video games. Still, I could probably spare some cash on a cheap Lego set.

Ordering from the net isn't the best solution though. If it takes a week or so for the goods to arrive - that'd be pretty pointless.

If I really want this idea to work, I'll have to... ugh, to go and buy it myself in a shop. This is an unthinkable idea for someone like me, but that’s the best solution I can think of.

The weekends begin tomorrow, so I'll have the free time to handle this business.

Can I really do it though...? Well, if it's for my cute daughter...

I head to the living room and sit down in my sofa chair. Mother and Amy are watching some romance-comedy flick, a piece of entertainment which I appreciate a little more than their soap operas.

"Say, Amy."

"Hm?"

Her eyes stay locked on the TV, but she give a weak reaction.

"You said there's a mall somewhere around here, right?"

"Yep."

"How do you get there? Which bus lines?"

"Huh...?"

She turns to me with a baffled expression.

"You wanna go to the mall or something?"

"Even I can go outside from time to time, can’t I?"

"Huh? No. You, like, never do."

For some reason, her reaction irritates me. True, I’d rather not go outside if I can help it, but I'm a human being too, you know!

"Finally decided to crawl out of the house for a change?"

Mother chuckles as she throws me a glance.

"So are you telling me or what?"

"I'm going with friends to the mall tomorrow, you could come along and I'll show where to drop and stuff."

"Okay, fine by me."

If she's already going there anyway, I could try asking her to buy Lego for me. However, if I ask for her help, this pampered sister will make me return the favor for the rest of my life.

"Are you going to buy something?"

Gah, here it comes. I knew mother would interrogate me about this matter.

"I-it's not like I'm sure that I'll buy anything, but..."

I already blubbered to Amy that I'm trying to teach Lego to a robot, might as well admit that I'm going to buy Lego.

"I'm considering buying some Lego..."

"Don't you have enough of it? You aren't even playing with it or anything, you outgrew it many years ago."

"Y-yeah, but..."

It's for my adorable daughter!

... of course, I can't possibly toss this sort of reason.

"There's this... robot in the company, which I'm trying to teach Lego. But it's not going smoothly, so I need to buy a simple Lego set."

"Are you going the spend money on your own job? Will the company refund you for this?"

"Ugh..."

Spending money for my own job... I didn't even think of it in this way. It really sounds like a silly endeavour from this angle.

"It's something I want to do myself. So no, they won't refund me."

I lower my head, avoiding mother’s piercing gaze. From her tone alone, I can already interpret that she isn't happy with this.

"Don't you have enough Lego? Why can't you use any of it?"

"I tried, but it didn't work."

"Is there even any guarantee that this robot can learn how to use it?"

"... y-yeah, other guys at work say that the robot should be capable of that much."

In truth, I have no idea if Lily is capable of such a feat. However, to grant my little daughter a chance - I must fight the Money Serpent in front of me...!

"I-I just need a simpler Lego set. I only have complicated sets of castles or spaceships. I checked on the net, there are a couple of fitting sets that should be on sale these days."

"What are the prices? It might be cheaper to order them from eBay."

"T-that's true, but..."

Gah! Of course she'd bring up eBay and cheaper prices!

"I-I want to get it as soon as possible, so I'd rather buy it on the spot without waiting for the delivery."

"Hmm..."

Mother stares at me for a couple of seconds with her dark brown eyes.

Gulp.

"If you are so persistent, then I assume you know what you are doing."

Mother crosses her arms and shrugs. D-does that mean...!?

"Fine, you rarely ever buy anything anyway."

Yes! The money tyrant gave her approval!

"Do you have enough money in the wallet? I'll lend you some if you need."

"It should be fine, I have at least 100$. Even if I end up buying something, no way it'd be more than that amount."

For the better of the worse: I'm my mother's son. Being a cheapskate about money is clearly a genetic trait.

Once the money war ends, Amy turns to me.

"I'll be heading out at 10:00 or something tomorrow."

"Got it."

With that, my next Lego scheme is set into motion.