“Ugh, seriously! I stayed up all night making this! I’m exhausted! I need sleep! I’m going to sleep! I’m sleeping for the next 24 hours straight!”
“Do you want me to help you sleep forever?”
“You idiot! Who brings a sword into the Magic Tower? Weapons aren’t allowed here!”
“Stop talking nonsense.”
“Hey, hey! People should know what you’re really like! Everyone thinks you’re kind and gentle, but you start cursing and drawing your sword the moment something annoys you!”
“That’s because no one else makes me angry the way you do, you brat!”
Knock, knock.
At that moment, someone stepped inside with a soft knock. It was Luca, Cheion’s secretary.
“Lord Cheion.”
“What is it?”
“We’ve found them.”
“Who?”
“The owner of the Ice Mana Stone.”
As soon as Luca finished speaking, Cheion shot to his feet and closed the distance between them.
“You found them? Where? How? What about the stone? What are you doing standing there? Move! Take me there right now!”
“...Didn’t you just say you were going to sleep?”
“I said let’s go!”
Ignoring Aseraian’s exasperated remark, Cheion stomped his foot and urged Luca forward.
“They say it’s been lost.”
“...What?”
“They say the mana stone has been lost.”
“...Say that again. I think I misheard you just now.”
“They say it’s been lost. The mana stone.”
“.....”
All the excitement drained from Cheion’s face in an instant, as if cold water had been poured over him.
Seeing his reaction, Luca carefully explained the situation again.
“The owner lost it. They said it happened while leaving a magic shop that day.”
“.....”
Cheion’s eyes trembled in disbelief before slowly growing moist.
“M-my... my blue stone...”
***
“Ceres.”
“What is it?”
With some rare free time on her hands, Ceres headed into town with Julia, who insisted there was something she really wanted to buy.
The place Julia led her to was a bookstore. She picked up a rather thick book and brought it over. Apparently, these days, there was hardly a child who didn’t own a copy.
...That kind of book is popular now?
《Magic Isn’t Hard!》
It was said to be written by the Master of the Magic Tower himself, but Ceres couldn’t understand why anyone would bother reading something like that.
I have to pay three gold for this?
Her irritation flared for a moment, but since the child wanted it, she still bought it.
Because they were already out, they looked around the city for a while and bought some ice cream. After finishing hers, Julia looked up with bright, expectant eyes and asked for another.
“Can’t you buy me one more ice cream?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m scared of Colin too.”
If anything, Colin’s nagging was far scarier than those pleading eyes.
Did she have any idea what would happen if he caught them wasting money like this, when he spent all day checking the house just to make sure there wasn’t any unnecessary spending?
At the very least, I’ll be hearing about it for a week.
He would trail after her with a sorrowful expression, going on and on about how they needed to save money to survive.
“Tch.”
As if understanding how frightening Butler Colin could be, Julia stopped asking for more ice cream.
“Huh? That’s Dave’s dad.”
“Dave?”
Julia, who had been walking along with an ice cream in one hand and holding onto Ceres with the other, suddenly halted her steps and looked off somewhere.
“My friend Dave. You’ve seen him before, Ceres.”
“Mm.”
Was she talking about that boy from before?
Not long ago, Ceres had personally taken Julia to the academy. Back then, a boy had come running up, greeted them politely, and then grabbed Julia’s hand before heading into the classroom with her.
The way Julia had casually let go of her hand and left with him was strangely cold at the time. It honestly stung a little.
“Dave hasn’t been coming lately.”
“Why? Did he quit the academy?”
“They say his mom ran away after falling for another man and took Dave with her.”
“...What?”
“I guess Dave’s mom liked someone else more than that man.”
“.....”
Watching Julia nod like it were no big deal, Ceres hesitated over where to begin.
Rumors like that already reached the kids?
As she wondered how Julia had heard something like this, her gaze shifted to a nearby scene. A man stood surrounded by people while receiving quiet words of comfort.
Every now and then, words like “affair” and “ran away” drifted over. Judging by his dark expression, it did seem like the woman had left, just as Julia had said.
But... would someone who runs away after an affair really take their child along?
Wouldn’t they usually leave alone? Or... was she someone who loved her child that much?
“Dave said you’re pretty, Ceres.”
“That boy has good taste.”
“Hmph.”
Julia puffed out her cheeks and reached toward the book Ceres was holding.
“I’ll carry it.”
Now that she’d finished her ice cream, she finally seemed interested in the book.
As soon as Ceres handed it over, Julia opened it right to the first page while still walking.
“It’s dangerous. Read it when we get home. Don’t walk and read.”
“Alright.”
Even so, she made no move to close the book.
After a small sigh, Ceres glanced at the open page. The first page showed a portrait of a handsome man with long, straight black hair neatly combed back, wearing a bright smile.
Is that the current Tower Master?
Ceres tilted her head. It wasn’t exactly common to see someone put their own face on a book like this.
...He seems like he’s a bit full of himself.
“He’s handsome, right?”
“Huh?”
Where did that come from? Ceres blinked at the sudden remark.
“You know him. They say he’s really amazing at magic. He’s the one who made the Black Forest alarm device they distributed this time. Isn’t that cool?”
“...That thing that makes a weird crying noise?”
“Yeah, that.”
A few days ago, alarm devices were distributed to several households on a trial basis. When the person explaining how to use one activated it—
—Screeeeeeeech!
Ceres almost smashed the device on instinct. If the person who delivered it hadn’t been watching, she might have actually broken it.
What kind of sick joke is that?
Why did the alarm sound like that? She seriously questioned the sanity of whoever had made it.
...What a waste. Three gold.
To think she had spent three whole gold on a book written by someone like that.
Was this Colin’s influence? Ceres was starting to take the idea of wasting money far more seriously than before.
“Ceres, are you going to the stew shop again?”
“Yeah. I need to get things ready for tomorrow, so listen to Antonian, alright?”
“Tsk.”
“Why are you clicking your tongue now?”
“Antonian always makes me study. He never plays with me.”
Sounds like he’s doing his job.
“If you just fill your workbook with drawings again like last time, you’re going to get in trouble.”
“.....”
“Answer me.”
“...Alright.”
Julia was a smart kid, but her focus was terrible. Antonian had complained more than once that whenever she didn’t feel like it, she would absolutely refuse to study.
When Ceres checked one of Julia’s worksheets, it was filled with drawings of animals and flowers instead of answers.
“Julia.”
“Yes?”
“How much did you say this worksheet cost?”
“One gold and twenty silver.”
“Right. Colin bought it for you while practically in tears, didn’t he?”
“Yes.”
“And you think it’s okay to draw pictures instead of studying on something like that?”
“It is.”
“...Do you want to redo it, or stand with your hands up for an hour?”
“...I’ll redo it.”
Less than ten minutes later, she came back with every answer completed, leaving Ceres unsure whether she should praise her or scold her.
In any case, after dropping Julia off at home, Ceres headed straight for the shop.
Business hours were already over, but there was still a mountain of work to do. She had to prep the ingredients and get the broth going ahead of time.
Jay had offered to help, but Ceres couldn’t keep her tied down at the shop when she also had duties as a maid of the Drow barony.
It’s not exactly a simple dish.
It was impressive that Mark had managed to handle all of this on his own until now.
Acknowledging his competence, Ceres made her way toward the shop as darkness began to settle in.
“......”
But when she arrived, she couldn’t step inside right away. Something large and black was sitting right in front of the door, blocking the way.
...A beggar?
Anyone would’ve thought the same. His clothes looked like he’d been rolling around in dirt, as if he’d fallen straight into a pile of dust. His hair was full of twigs and random bits of weeds.
The man sat with his face buried in his knees, looking completely exhausted.
Tap.
Ceres nudged him with her foot.