Chapter 25
“Ugh, why?! I stayed up all night making this! I’m tired! I’m going to sleep! I’m going to sleep for 24 hours straight until tomorrow!”
“Want me to help you sleep forever?”
“A barbarian who draws swords in the Tower! Swords are banned here!”
“Stop talking nonsense.”
“P-people should know your true nature! Everyone thinks you’re kind and righteous! But they don’t know you curse and draw swords at the slightest provocation!”
“Unlike you, most people don’t make me this angry, you brat!”
Knock knock.
Just then, a knock came at the door, and someone stepped in.
It was Chaian’s assistant, Luka.
“Master Chaian.”
“What is it?”
“They’ve found her.”
“Who?”
“The owner of the Ice Mana Stone.”
Jump!
Chaian shot up from his seat as soon as Luka finished speaking and rushed over to him.
“They found her? Where? How? What about the mana stone? What are you doing? Lead the way already!”
“…Didn’t you just say you were going to sleep?”
“Hurry up and take me there!”
Chaian ignored Aserian’s exasperated remark and impatiently stomped his feet, urging Luka to move faster.
“She lost it.”
“Huh?”
“She said she lost the mana stone.”
“…Could you repeat that? I must have misheard.”
“She said she lost the mana stone.”
“……”
The excitement drained from Chaian’s face, leaving him frozen like he’d been doused with ice water.
Luka, calm and precise, continued explaining the situation.
“She said she lost it as she was leaving the magic shop that day.”
“……”
Chaian, trembling in disbelief, suddenly looked teary-eyed.
“My… my blue stoneeeeee!”
***
“Sister.”
“What?”
Taking advantage of some rare free time, Ceres had gone into the city with Yulia, who said there was something she really wanted to buy.
The place Yulia led her to was a bookstore.
There, Yulia picked out a rather thick book and brought it over.
Apparently, every kid these days had one of these books.
‘…Is this kind of book trendy now?’
『Magic Is Not Hard!』
It was written by the Tower Master himself. Why would anyone read something like that?
‘And it costs 3 gold for something like this?’
Annoyed by the price, Ceres reluctantly bought it since Yulia wanted it so much.
“Can I have another ice cream?”
“No.”
While wandering around the city, they had already bought an ice cream to eat. Enjoying it, Yulia asked for another, her wide, shining eyes pleading.
“Why?”
“Because I’m afraid of Colin.”
Her glittering gaze was nothing compared to Colin’s scolding.
Could Yulia even imagine what would happen if Colin, who scrutinized the household for unnecessary expenses, found out about this?
‘A week of nagging, minimum.’
He’d follow her around with teary eyes, reminding her to save money, lamenting her wastefulness.
“Fine.”
Understanding the fear of Colin’s wrath, Yulia gave up on her request.
“Hey! That’s Dave’s dad!”
“Dave?”
As they walked, Yulia stopped abruptly, still holding Ceres’ hand, and pointed at someone.
“My friend Dave. You met him before.”
“Oh.”
Wasn’t he that little boy?
A while ago, Ceres had accompanied Yulia to her academy. A boy had run up, greeted her politely, and held Yulia’s hand as they went into the classroom.
Yulia had coldly let go of her sister’s hand and left without a backward glance.
That stung a little.
“Dave hasn’t come recently.”
“Why? Did he leave the academy?”
“Mom ran away with Dave.”
“…What?”
“Guess Dave’s mom liked another man better than that man.”
“……”
Ceres hesitated, unsure how to explain the situation to Yulia, who seemed to take the news in stride as though it was perfectly normal.
‘How did gossip like that even reach kids?’
As she wondered how Yulia had heard such a story, her eyes caught a scene that made her nod in understanding.
A man was surrounded by people offering him consolation. Words like “affair” and “ran away” floated through the air.
The man’s dark expression suggested that Yulia’s words about the woman running away might be true.
‘But who takes their kid along when they run away because of an affair?’
Wouldn’t most people just leave alone?
Maybe the mother really did care for her child.
“Dave said you’re pretty, Sister.”
“That little guy has a good eye.”
“Humph.”
Yulia pouted and reached for the book Ceres was carrying.
Now that she had finished her ice cream, her interest seemed to shift to the book.
When Ceres handed the book to her, Yulia immediately opened it to the first page as she walked.
“Don’t read while walking. Wait until we get home.”
“Okay.”
Despite the warning, Yulia didn’t close the book.
Sighing, Ceres glanced at the open page.
On the very first page was a portrait of a handsome man with long, smooth black hair and a bright smile.
‘So that’s the current Tower Master?’
Ceres shook her head slightly. It wasn’t common for someone to plaster their face in a book like that.
‘He must be pretty full of himself.’
“He’s handsome, isn’t he?”
“Hmm?”
What kind of comment was that?
Ceres raised an eyebrow at Yulia’s sudden words.
“This guy. He’s really good at magic, too. The Black Forest alarm that was recently distributed? He made that. Isn’t that amazing?”
“…The one that makes those bizarre wailing sounds?”
“Yeah, that one.”
A few days ago, some households had been given the alarm device as a trial. Someone had demonstrated how to use it, activating it.
-Kiiieeeeeeck!
Ceres had nearly smashed it to pieces on instinct.
If the person handing it out hadn’t been watching, she might have actually destroyed it.
‘What kind of logic is this?’
Why does an alarm have to sound like that?
She seriously doubted the mental state of whoever had created it.
‘What a waste of 3 gold.’
Buying a book written by such a person felt like an incredible waste of money. Perhaps she was starting to take Colin’s frugality too seriously.
“Are you going back to the stew shop again, Sister?”
“Yeah. I need to prepare for tomorrow. Listen to Antonion while I’m gone.”
“Humph.”
“What’s with the attitude now?”
“Brother only makes me study. He never plays with me.”
Good. He’s doing his job.
“If you doodle on your workbook again like last time, you’ll get scolded.”
“……”
“Answer me.”
“Yes.”
For such a smart kid, her focus was seriously lacking.
Antonion had complained more than once about how she refused to study when she didn’t feel like it. A glance at Yulia’s workbook had revealed pages filled with drawings of animals and flowers instead of answers.
‘Yulia.’
‘Yes?’
‘How much did that workbook cost?’
‘1 gold and 20 silver.’
‘Right. Colin bought it for you while crying, remember?’
‘Yes.’
‘Do you think it’s okay to draw on something that expensive instead of studying?’
‘Yes.’
‘…Do you want to redo it or hold your arms up for an hour?’
‘…I’ll redo it.’
Not even ten minutes later, she had completed the workbook perfectly, leaving Ceres genuinely conflicted about whether to praise or scold her.
After dropping Yulia off at home, Ceres headed straight for the shop.
Although business hours were over, there was still a lot of work to do.
Ingredients needed to be prepared, and the broth had to be made in advance.
Jay had offered to help, but Ceres didn’t want to keep her tied to the shop when she also had her duties as a servant of the Drow household.
‘This isn’t simple cooking.’
It was amazing how Mark had managed to handle everything alone for so long.
Acknowledging Mark’s skills, Ceres headed to the darkened shop.
“……”
However, when she reached the shop, she hesitated to go inside.
A shadowy figure was slumped against the door, blocking the entrance.
‘…A beggar?’
The person’s disheveled appearance made it hard to think otherwise. Their clothes looked like they’d been rolling in dirt, and leaves and twigs were tangled in their hair.
Their face was buried in their knees, and they sat motionless as if exhausted.
Without a word, Ceres lightly pushed them with her foot.
—
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