“How much did you earn?”
Brantley was still young, maybe he earned pocket money worth the amount. He smiled and whispered into my ears. His answer startled me.
“Oh my!!”
It was a considerable fortune. Brantley had the wealth equal to an upper-middle-class family.
“You’re lying, aren’t you?”
“Is trusting me that hard?”
“But how did you make so much money?”
“Mercenary income isn’t as bad as you think, and I have accepted a lot of missions. That helped me earn some extra money.”
According to his explanation, hunting monsters in the borderlands also brings in a considerable amount of money.
This is because the byproducts like monster skins or cores can be sold at high prices.
“Where is all that money now?”
“I’ve deposited it in the bank. Some of it has been invested.”
“Wow, Sir Knight!”
“…”
“Please teach me the way!”
I clasped my hands together and blinked my eyes to convince him to share the art of investment.
He was no longer the naive Brantley.
“Nevertheless, it’s just mercenary work that you can’t proudly boast about,” Brantley said bitterly.
I got annoyed, “Why can’t you boast about it? Even His Majesty praises the mercenaries who contribute to the borderlands. Sir Knight, you don’t have to…”
“That looks delicious.”
Interrupting me, Brantley took me somewhere. It was a place selling various fruits.
“Sir Knight, please listen to me…”
“Have you seen this before?”
Brantley spoke first without answering my question and picked up a fruit. I was trying to tell him not to divert from the topic, but the fruit caught my eye. The peel was pitch black, and the flesh was white.
“What’s this? It’s my first time seeing it!”
He peeled the fruit and gave it to me.
“Try it.”
I hesitated for a moment, then took a bite of the fruit. Instantly, my mouth was filled with sweetness.
“Yum..”
I chewed on the fruit again. The flesh, as soft as whipped cream, melted sweetly on my tongue.
“Wow!”
It was so delicious that I couldn’t help but hop around like a rabbit.
“It tastes like ice cream!”
“Why don’t you try the peel too?”
“The peel?”
With some doubt, I bit into the hard peel. For a moment, my vision blurred with excitement.
“Ahhh!”
“What happened?”
“It tastes like… chocolate!”
Even after trying it again, it still tasted like chocolate.
“How can something be so delicious? How can both the peel and the flesh be tasty?” I looked at Brantley with admiration.
“It’s for you. You can finish it all by yourself.”
“Umm..”
I eagerly finished eating the fruit. In the meantime, Brantley bought a handful of fruits.
“What fruit is this?”
“Larankula.”
“I’ve never heard of it. How did I not know about something so delicious? It feels like I’ve missed out on half of life.”
“Since it only grows in small quantities in the borderlands, it’s rare to see it in the capital.”
“Oh.”
But the surprises didn’t end there.
“Isn’t that the morning glory? How come it’s in this rural area?”
Brantley frowned at my surprise. For the past few years, the empire had been cultivating these flowers.
‘The cultivation method became known last year.’
People hoped the price would go down, but it had the opposite effect.
‘Nobles started collecting the flowers as a means of flaunting their wealth.’
Furthermore, to compete, those who cultivated morning glory created hybrid varieties.
“That one has twisted stems. It’s a hybrid.”
They even invented variations that would bloom early. The latest hybrids are even more expensive. The existence of such plants here was a rare occurrence.
“Come on, pay if you want to see.”
The merchant covered the jar containing the flower with a cloth. People reluctantly paid the merchant despite their complaints.
“I’ll get you one.”
“It’s okay. I don’t want it.”
I firmly refused Brantley’s offer. But he seemed ready to pull out money right away.
I quickly changed the subject, “Do you know why there are so many rare items at such a small rural village festival?”
“Why?”
“Originally, it was just a day for setting up stalls. Because of the favorable weather conditions, even merchants from outside the area arrived to sell their goods.”
As it’s called a ‘festival,’ more and more merchants started coming. It was a simple story, but I was hearing it with interest.
“I didn’t know because I was always stuck in the classroom.”
“Let’s visit more often. We can go to other places together too.”
I glanced over at Brantley, “Wouldn’t it be better for the Cult to come clean, instead of just hiding?”
“If we reveal ourselves. Most likely we’ll be accused of being a demonic cult.”
“That’s why I have made a ‘strategy’!”
I shared the plan with Brantley. But he looked reluctant.
“I don’t see why we should do this”
“Someday things will come to light.”
“I can’t deny that if we’re not being careful.”
“Won’t taking action in advance be more efficient?”
Brantley turned and glared at me, “Why are you suddenly so keen to reveal the order’s existence? I suspect you have something else up your sleeve.”
‘Looks like I’ve been caught!’
Brantley’s eyes narrowed at my lack of denial.
“If the order becomes public, you can come out of the hiding too”
“Why would you want that?”
“Because I want to go to the capital with Sir Knight.”
Brantley frowned, “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Please reconsider.”
I looked at him and said, “I’m graduating from Barbetz after this year. I’ll be leaving for the capital.”
Perplexity flashed across Brantley’s face, “Already? Don’t you still have another year to graduate?”
“Because I’m smart.”
“I know.”
“That’s why I’m graduating early.”
“Can’t you put that off, do you really have to?”
Brantley asked, unable to hide his impatience.
I nodded sadly, “Yes. My grandfather, that is, His Majesty the Emperor, wants me to. He wants me to graduate early and work at the Imperial Academy.”
“If it’s His Majesty’s wishes…”
Brantley sighed slowly. He knew that if it was the Emperor’s decision, he had to follow it.
I took advantage of his defenselessness and clung to him, “So you’re coming with me!”
“…….”
“If the Order does as I say, they can be safe without your protection! Or do you want to take them with you?”
My face was near his. So close that our breaths could mingle. My heart started beating loudly. So much that it felt unfamiliar.
Brantley tried to take a step back. But before he could, I wrapped my arms around his waist and hugged him tightly.
“Ha, Hanelope…!”
He exclaimed in surprise. I rubbed my cheek against his chest.
“Don’t run away. Are you fine with parting with me Sir Knight?”
“That’s…”
Just then-
“Hanelope!”
A familiar voice shouted from the crowd. Brantley jerked away from me at the shout. I was also startled by the unexpected call.
Soon, Fritzka appeared through the crowd.
“Fritzka?!”
“Why did you come alone?”
“Weren’t you sleeping?”
Fritzka stammered, in embarrassment “Well… I dozed off for a bit, but my roommate woke me up, and he knew I was going to the festival with you today.”
He was still overwhelmed with fatigue.
“Sorry. I didn’t fall asleep on purpose.”
“I know. You look really tired.”
I stroked his cheek in concern. Fritzka’s face turned red in an instant.
“I took a potion before I came, I’ll be fine.”
“Thomas gave you a sleeping potion on purpose.”
“What? That b*stard?! I’ll deduce his points. How dare he!”
Brantley stepped closer to Fritzka.
“I took care of her while you were sleeping.”
“Who….”
Fritzka’s face went rigid as he glanced sideways. He seemed to recognize Brantley.
“Y-You…”
“Don’t worry about Hanelope. I’m here as her partner.”
“What?”
Fritzka was puzzled.
Without answering, Brantley pulled her hand away from Fritzka’s cheek. It was a gentle, careful touch, but he looked terribly uncomfortable.
“You can return.”
“What do you mean.. Why are you..?”
Fritzka protested, in confusion. Unlike Katherine, I didn’t get to inform him beforehand.
“What happened to you… Why didn’t you…”
But Brantley didn’t give Fritzka the explanation he wanted. Eventually, Fritzka exploded with anger.
“Whatever! Hanelope promised me first that she would come to the festival with me!”
“You broke your promise and didn’t show up on time, so that promise is null and void.”
“That’s because I was tricked!”
“Don’t make excuses. You’re the one who missed the opportunity. Hanelope will…”
Brantley glanced at me, “She will spend the day with me today.’
