Unlike the excited prince, the other children looked at each other with puzzled faces.
“I’m taking this newspaper!”
“Oh, okay…”
“Wow, it seems His Highness the Prince is interested in a place called a stationery store…….”
“……Huh, huff.”
Axion glanced at the children rolling their eyes in confusion and started to read the newspaper again with a smirk.
“Yes, very interested.”
Being a boy of strong chivalry, all the children in the class admired Axion.
His every move was of great interest.
That he was interested in a stationery store! Surely, there must be something incredible there!
Faced with an unexpected situation, all the children were too bewildered and thrilled to continue speaking.
And in that moment, when no one dared to speak, there was a boy observing the situation. Carat, a boy who resembled a silver fox, was watching the situation unfold with great interest, resting his chin on his hand.
Around ten years old, he had a youthful look but his expression was cold, not childlike at all, as he fixed his gaze towards the group of children.
He was clearly of a noble birth unlike the passionate Axion.
A newcomer whose origin was unclear, he didn’t mix well with the others, but he didn’t mind, unchildlike.
He lived quietly without drawing attention, but the sharpness in the boy’s eyes was something he couldn’t hide.
‘A normal stationery shop owner subdued the Red Priest Pirate Gang?’
The Red Priest Pirate Gang.
They were anything but ordinary.
Just by the fact that the word ‘Cult Leader’ is included in the name of the urban underbelly, it was evident that they were the minions of a cult religion that began to spread like cancer in the capital.
They were still just a small, scattered organization, but because many of its members were capable of using magic, no one was able to easily counteract them…
“Surely she’s not just an ordinary stationery shop owner. What kind of person is she?”
Carat was actually a young magician secretly dispatched from the Magic Tower to the Academy.
The Magic Tower is an independent institution with no relations to nobility, but it often received requests from nobles.
Carat was given one such task.
To prevent the kidnapping of noble magicians occurring at the Academy.
For this purpose, Carat infiltrated and had already thwarted two secret kidnapping cases.
“A kidnapper? If one could suppress the ‘Red Priest Pirate Gang’ in one go, they’d definitely be capable of kidnapping nobles as well.”
The Lord of the Magic Tower, who dispatched Carat to the Academy, said to test out any suspicious individuals lurking around the Academy.
Carat’s eyes sharpened again.
“The stationery shop owner, she was hiding his power! Definitely suspicious.”
Everything suspicious occurring around the Academy needed to be checked.
“It’s time for me, a genius magician who receives direct orders from the Lord of the Magic Tower, to take action!”
Of course, the Lord of the Magic Tower probably doesn’t know that Carat, himself, is interested in this place.
He probably doesn’t even know the existence of the stationery shop.
But since he said to check everything suspicious!
Determined, Carat abruptly stood up and headed towards Prince Axion. With each step, his determination was evident.
“Your Highness.”
“…Hmm?”
Axion was taken aback when the boy, whom he had never spoken to before, addressed him.
He gave the boy a quick once-over.
The boy’s clothes were appropriately matched to the academy’s regulations, and his black hair spiked above his eyebrows.
His face, which could have been cute with a hint of mischief, was stern.
“Are you going to ‘Mel’s Stationery Shop’ now?”
Axion tilted his head at the boy’s voice, which sounded half-asleep yet sly.
“Well, yes.”
“Then, let’s go together.”
Perhaps because it was morning self-study time, there was still time before the professor arrived.
Axion tried to recall what Mel had said.
‘She definitely told me to come with a friend.’
But then again…
“Well… okay, let’s do that. But I’m currently under disciplinary action… I might not be able to go right away.”
Axion’s shoulders slumped, and his lips unwittingly pouted.
However, the unknown boy simply shook his head calmly and looked at him.
Now that he thought about it, wasn’t his name something like Radish? But can someone really be named Radish?
As Axion contemplated this random thought, the stern-faced boy, seemingly unconcerned, replied, “It’s okay.”
“What’s okay?”
Carat responded without delay.
“Just send a letter to Prince Cassian, asking him to lift the confinement order for a while?”
“Would my brother do it?”
“He might help, right? If you tell him it’s absolutely necessary for your studies, don’t you think he would?”
Although there were eight children of the emperor, most had died from an unknown disease, leaving only Axion and Cassian.
Maybe that’s why the royal family was particularly lenient with the youngest prince.
Smart child mage Carat sharply pointed out that weakness.
It’s no wonder that the innocent Axion’s eyes widened at those words.
Wow, wow. Is this kid a genius?
“Then I’ll send a message to my brother. You, come with me!”
Watching the happy Axion, Carat smiled very sinisterly.
Thinking, now he could properly uncover the secret motives of that stationery shop owner.
If he manages to make a significant contribution this time, his status might be elevated to the favorite disciple of the tower lord.
Thinking this, Carat chuckled malevolently, and a few children cautiously approached him and spoke.
“Tell us the aftermath!”
“About that stationery shop, what kind of place it is.”
“Seeing how the prince is so captivated, you might not be able to judge objectively, but.”
Carat snorted. He was different from Axion. He could never fall for such a trivial stationery shop.
‘I, Carat, am a special genius magician.’
“I will bring an objective review.”
“Carat answered extremely arrogantly.”
***
A few minutes later, after receiving the messenger orb sent by Axion, Prince Cassian held his forehead.
There was an aide in front of him, but he apparently struggled to control his expression.
Brother. I’m planning to go to the woman I’m going to marry (you remember Mel from the stationery store, right?) and I want to go with you!
Let’s go together today. I’ve attached Mel’s great achievements!
-Axion
Even within the letter, one could feel the incredibly excited heart of the boy.
Cassian looked at the crumpled, wrinkled newspaper folded next to the letter.
Commoner hero Mel, managing a stationery store, defeats the ‘Red Priest Pirate Gang’!
“Definitely a suspicious woman. Too much for just a commoner…”
It was a mistake to have postponed looking into Mel due to being overwhelmed with urgent duties.
The prince, rolling the pen in his fingertips, seemed to have come to a conclusion as he wrote the letter.
I’ll go ahead. I’ll follow you.
After tying the letter to the leg of the thrush, he tapped the bird’s small wings and sent it flying.
“What could be the reason for such a strong woman to hide in front of the academy?”
Why would a woman with such strength run an ordinary grocery store in front of the academy?
It didn’t make sense.
If she had approached with ill intentions, he had a duty to protect his much younger sibling.
He pushed up his silver glasses, worn for work, and spoke to his aide.
“Prepare the teleport scroll; we’re going to Maltend Academy.”
