And at that moment, Isaac realized that Meldenik’s condition was quite unstable.
The flow of mana within this woman was unstable. It felt like a small bonfire that could go out at any moment.
‘This is an unusual flow of mana…’
And he knew one more person who had such mana.
It was Meldenik’s mother, Countess Kinnoa, the former Duchess of Babeloa. In the past, a woman claiming to be the daughter of the Kinnoa family used to visit the orphanage where he was and perform volunteer work.
“I’m pregnant. Maybe my child can become your friend later, Isaac.”
“Congratulations.”
“I hope you can become a friend to our daughter.”
“I will.”
Young Isaac simply nodded his head nonchalantly toward her.
It was an action without much thought. He simply thought she was a good person. He found out later that she was the Duchess of Babeloa.
The reason Isaac vaguely remembered Meldenik’s deceased mother was because of the strange flow of mana she possessed.
‘Is the strange flow of mana related to Kinnoa’s lineage?’
Isaac stared intently at Meldenik.
Those of the Kinnoa bloodline, who were said to have been cursed by dragons, usually died young.
Would this woman meet an early death too? It’s hard to imagine such a vibrant person dying.
Isaac, while receiving a beer candy, lightly continued the conversation.
“I don’t remember.”
“Huh?”
Meldenik tilted her head at the tone that suggested familiarity.
It did sound like a voice she had heard before. But she couldn’t remember who it was.
“We’ve seen each other before, haven’t we?”
Isaac replied with a cheerful smile.
“That time?”
He clearly didn’t remember.
But it didn’t matter to him how they first met. He looked at her with a languid smile.
“Yes, that time.”
Meldenik tilted her head at the sentence missing its subject, then whispered quietly with a realization, as if speaking out of the corner of her mouth.
It was clearly a customer service attitude.
“Whenever it is, if you visit ‘Mel’s Stationery’, you’ll find better items. We can share more details when you visit our store.”
Meldenik didn’t forget to promote as she politely clasped her hands and bowed in greeting.
“See you again, sir. Bye, Henry!”
She even waved to Henry before leaving.
Henry stood there with a dumbfounded face until Meldenik’s figure disappeared into the distance. His confidence was nowhere to be found.
The kid, adjusting his glasses, hung on to Isaac.
“Uh, about what you said earlier. You said, ‘Dad!’ right?”
Isaac, being quick-witted, had a rough idea of what the child was going to say.
So, he easily resolved Henry’s curiosity.
“I think I am your dad.”
“…What?”
“I raised you, didn’t I.”
A child who grew up in a magic tower from a very young age.
Henry, who spent his childhood in an orphanage, just like him.
Isaac lightly lifted Henry into his arms. He was quite gentle with children.
“Dad, try it.”
“……Dada!”
After a moment of hesitation, Henry, with a shy smile, rubbed his face against Isaac like a cat.
Isaac, holding the small child in his arms, turned around without regret and walked away.
However, Henry, being a curious little one, nestled in his embrace, began to pester him with questions one by one.
“Then, who is my mom?”
“……I’ve never really thought about that.”
Henry glanced at the ancient-script-covered pencil case and stub pencil Isaac was holding in his hand.
If, if he could choose his mom…
Henry’s ear tips turned red with warmth.
***
As I walked, I thought of the very handsome man and the cute little kid, feeling pleased.
Oh dear, I’ve already managed to succeed in advertising.
‘Sigh… He must be a man raising a child alone without a wife.’
It’s odd to say this to a dad, but he was really handsome.
‘The dizzying feeling when he brushed back his hair with those black, obsidian eyes…’
Just thinking of the glimpse of the man’s solid body through his shirt made me feel twice as happy.
‘I hope he becomes a regular customer.’
While walking excitedly, I suddenly remembered something I hadn’t told him.
‘Wait a minute. Now that I think about it.’
Shouldn’t I have told him that candy messes up your voice?
…I hope he doesn’t come back with complaints later?
‘First, let’s deal with the beer candy matter.’
I postponed my thoughts, scratching my head.
From then on, a series of fortunate events occurred strangely.
When I arrived at the pub and offered the beer candy, Lesa was delighted as if it were her own business, and stamped the contract with a bang!
She wondered how such a wonder was developed, and wanted to get an autograph from Dominic, the novice magician, making me almost die of embarrassment.
Knowing that I was an alchemist, she nearly praised me to the skies as if I had created the earth.
‘Let’s keep my identity secret for a while. It’s too much pressure.’
Thus, after concluding the contract and on my way back to the stationery store, I entered, pondering how to promote the beer candy.
The problem was that no one ever came to our stationery store.
‘How can we attract children?’
As expected, the stationery store was still only attracting flies.
But perhaps, is there really no law that says a person must die? Stepping inside the stationery shop, I could see Dominic holding a large newspaper and smiling sinisterly.
“Dominic?”
“Ah, yes. Did the contract go through okay?”
“Yeah! I agreed to pay 5 percent of the sales price, and in exchange, they said they would give us beer at a 30 percent discount.”
Thanks to dealing with the Red Priest Pirates, Lesa’s trust in me was sky-high.
‘I barely managed to prevent them from giving it for free.’
I sat down opposite Dominic with a satisfied smile.
“Good. Just so you know, there’s even better news.”
Dominic continued with a grin splitting his face.
“A journalist passed it along. They said they’ve published your fresh exploits in today’s newspaper.”
Dominic hinted at more with a sly tone.
Breaking News: Commoner ‘Mel’ in front of the Academy has subdued the Red Priest Pirates!
Huh?
I continued to read the article to the end.
Mel, a commoner who runs a stationery store at the Academy, took down the pirates with a ratio of 17:1. He was a possessor of formidable physical strength.
According to Lesa (owner of ‘Lesa’s Tavern’, 51), Mel’s kicks were incredibly dazzling.
Borrowing the words of a man who wished to remain anonymous, Mel reportedly did a spectacular flying kick, saying, “Do not threaten our commercial district.”
Furthermore, it is said that Mel, the commoner, even returned the unfairly extorted protection money back to the merchants.
There’s testimony from a merchant who felt like they were witnessing the birth of a new hero. It was truly the birth of a real-life great figure.
The author regretted not being able to capture this scene on canvas directly.
Below that, there was a promotional slogan for the newspaper written in tiny letters.
The newspaper that competes with only truth and honesty, “The Times”
“Isn’t that the newspaper that wins with incitement and fabrication?”
I’m wronged. I never said not to threaten our market!
Dominic, seeing my cheeks flushed with indignation at the newspaper’s fabricated stories, gently said,
“There’s more written on the back.”
Following Dominic’s words, I hurriedly flipped the paper over.
Meanwhile, at the commoner ‘Mel’s’ stationery shop, not only various stationery items but also a variety of foods are sold.
For example, beer candy. According to the author’s investigation, this candy was quite mysterious.
This candy, which resembles the shape of beer exactly, was enchanted with a mysterious magic in each piece. That is, it changes the eater’s voice!
At this point, I believe everyone would be surprised, but the actual more astonishing thing exists separately. A beverage made with unique ice is also sold at a bargain price.
Nobody would be unaware of ‘everlasting ice’ or ‘perpetual snow.’
According to the investigation, it would not be surprising to say that the beverage named ‘Slushie’ sold at Mel’s stationery shop actually materializes that non-melting ice.
Reading this article made me feel calm and settled.
“Such a truthful article. A true journalist. This is real journalism.”
This part made me think it was the best article. I smiled satisfactorily and praised it.
But then I suddenly remembered that several newspapers that had published good articles about the stationery shop had quickly posted corrections.
“…Wait. Wouldn’t Hesman or the Babeloa Duchy publish rebuttal articles?”
Even if a promotional article is published, a quick rebuttal from Babeloa or Hesman buries it.
“Still, it’s a good article, so I’ll save a clipping of it for now…”
I sighed and then hesitated as I noticed Dominic mysteriously lifting his shoulders and wearing a smile on his lips.
