Time Healer Ceres
Chapter 17
「I am so sorry. The little lady insisted on seeing Seres-nim before leaving…」
「It is quite alright. Please, come inside.」
Once Yulia’s health had recovered to a certain extent, Seres enrolled the child in the Academy.
Though she was a clever girl who had taught herself to read, she needed a proper education.
Usually, noble families would hire private tutors, but the Drow Barony was in no position to afford such a luxury.
Fortunately, there was an Academy in the capital that educated young children. As it was an institution directly operated by the Imperial Family, the tuition was not overly burdensome.
Having entered the Academy under those circumstances, Yulia often visited Seres here after her classes ended.
「Yulia agassi, are you not feeling a bit hungry?」
「I am hungry.」
「Just a moment, please.」
Nod.
Thanks to her frequent visits, the small chair Mark had specially prepared for Yulia had been seeing quite a lot of use lately.
Settling into her seat, the child swung her feet and observed the interior of the shop.
「Hey! You son of a—!」
Blink, blink.
「…Look here, friend. Isn’t that my food?」
「What are you talking about, you f—!」
Blink, blink.
「…Don’t talk nonse— I mean, please don’t say such things. I ordered this.」
「Hahaha. Oh, is that so?」
「Hahaha!」
During the time Yulia appeared, the coarse language that usually filled the shop vanished.
Even those who were about to lose their tempers had no choice but to swallow their words at the sight of Yulia watching them with wide, sparkling eyes.
「Yulia?」
While the customers were restraining their conversations and burying their noses in their stew bowls, someone entered the shop, breaking the silence.
「Unnie.」
Even before entering, Seres had guessed the cause of the unusually quiet atmosphere.
Finding Yulia munching on a piece of cake Mark had given her, Seres let out a silent sigh.
「I told you not to come here.」
「Why?」
「Because it’s dangerous.」
「Why is it dangerous?」
「Look closely.」
Seres pointed toward the mercenaries having their meals.
「Do those people look kind to you?」
「Hack!」
Suddenly, the sound of flustered mercenaries coughing echoed from all directions.
‘Hey! Cover your face! You’ll make the baby cry with that nasty look.’
‘You cover yours, you bastard!’
While several men buried their faces even deeper into their stew bowls, Yulia nodded her head repeatedly.
「Those ahjussis smile every time they see me.」
「……」
「They are kind.」
At the child’s answer, Seres’s head slowly turned.
Awkward smiles bloomed on the faces of the mercenaries as they met Seres’s narrowed eyes.
Among them were quite a few who had caused a scene by throwing things in front of Seres on the first day.
I suppose they have enough shame to feel embarrassed.
「Still, don’t come here anymore.」
「……」
「Answer me.」
「Okay.」
Watching the child nod, Seres let out a short sigh to herself.
‘She’s only good at answering.’
She had a feeling the girl would stop by again tomorrow.
For such a little thing, she was surprisingly stubborn.
「Unnie, ahh.」
Seeing the child hold out a spoonful of cake, Seres eventually burst into a chuckle.
Fine, I’ll let it slide because you’re cute.
「Find it… find it for me… hic.」
The Magic Tower—a place where countless magicians dream of entering, and where many already reside.
This was the room of the Magic Tower Master, located on the very top floor.
It was a space where sunlight poured in through large floor-to-ceiling windows. In that neatly organized room, there was only one existence that was out of place.
「Uwaaah… my ice magic stone… find it.」
Long, wine-colored hair that reached down to his waist fluttered as if sweeping the floor.
Luca, his secretary, watched the man who was not only whining without even shedding real tears but also crawling around the floor throwing a tantrum. Luca’s lips parted.
「Cheion-nim, how about you stop cleaning the floor and wrap things up.」
「I don’t want to! I’m going to keep doing this until you find my magic stone!」
「The cleaning staff will be very pleased.」
The man kicking his feet and being obstinate was none other than the master of this Magic Tower, Cheion.
Cheion de Debrica.
Though he held the status of a prince of the Debrica Empire, he had set his heart on magic at a young age, left the Imperial Palace, and joined the Magic Tower.
In his early teens, he had already drawn everyone’s attention with his effortless control of mana. He earned the title ‘Guardian of Mana,’ given only to the greatest magician, at the mere age of twelve. Furthermore, two years ago, as soon as he turned twenty, he ascended to the position of Magic Tower Master.
It was all thanks to the Magic Tower’s tradition of choosing its leader based solely on skill, regardless of age or seniority.
「My magic stone…」
Knock, knock.
Click.
「Here are the documents you requested.」
「Sob.」
「Yes, you may leave them there.」
「It was radiating cold air… hic… my magic stone…」
「Then, please have a productive day.」
Even while the Magic Tower Master, Cheion, was whining, people were constantly coming and going from the room.
Some left documents, while others frequently entered to clean or organize the room.
However, no one paid any attention to the Magic Tower Master who was scouring the floor.
Everyone tried their best to avoid eye contact with him and left the room quickly.
Some even performed noise-cancellation magic on their own ears while working, as if they refused to hear the Tower Master’s voice.
「We are searching diligently right now, so please wait a little longer.」
If I don’t give him a carrot, he’ll be like this all day.
Luca, the secretary of the Magic Tower Master, let out a sigh. He approached Cheion, who was now practically wailing, and poked him in the waist with a stack of documents.
He had rolled him toward the wall so that no one would trip over the fellow, but Cheion’s crying echoed along the walls of the entire Magic Tower, making Luca’s head throb.
Perhaps thanks to the cold water he had gulped down to calm both Cheion’s crazy temper and his own boiling insides, a fairly composed voice came out.
「There will be news soon.」
「A little? How much?」
At the secretary’s words, Cheion, who had been lying flat on the floor, lifted his head slightly.
His eyes were sparkling, full of anticipation.
「In the near future.」
「When is that near future?」
「Soon.」
「When is that soon?」
「……」
Deciding that further conversation was meaningless, Luca pulled the reclining Cheion into a sitting position.
After dusting off the back of his clothes, he quickly tidied his nemesis’s disheveled hair.
「Aseraian-nim will be arriving shortly.」
「And when will my magic stone be arriving?」
「……」
Watching him, who had now even personified the magic stone, Luca kept his mouth shut.
「Sniff.」
Ignoring Luca’s efforts to tidy his clothes, Cheion flopped back onto the floor and whimpered.
「What’s wrong with him now?」
「You’ve arrived.」
A familiar voice rang out at that moment.
At the man’s appearance, Luca bowed his head respectfully in greeting.
Aseraian de Debrica.
He was the Crown Prince of the Debrica Empire and the older brother of the Magic Tower Master, Cheion.
「My magic stone…」
「Magic stone? Did he lose a magic stone?」
Aseraian tilted his head.
He didn’t know what kind of great magic stone it was, but if he lost it, he could just buy another one. Why was he making such a scene?
「He’s been like this ever since he saw a video a few days ago.」
「A video? What video?」
「It was a ball started by a newly joined magician. He stopped by a magic shop in the city and found an interesting magic stone, so he captured it in a recording orb.」
「And?」
Then shouldn’t he just go and buy it immediately?
「Apparently, it was a magic stone someone brought to the shop to sell. In the end, they left without selling it.」
Since the day Cheion accidentally saw that video, he had been in this state. He wasn’t eating or sleeping, doing nothing but watching that video to death.
「Hic, my Blue Stone…」
「This is driving me crazy, seriously. He’s throwing this much of a fit over something that isn’t even his, even giving it a name?」
「It’s not just a day or two. You just have to accept it.」
Crown Prince Aseraian’s eyes narrowed at his younger brother’s behavior—whining for someone to find it after giving a strange nickname to something that wasn’t even his.
It was true that this wasn’t the first time he’d acted like this, but…
「Is it not an ordinary magic stone?」
「Yes, it was a magic stone with the ice attribute.」
「Ice attribute, I see.」
If that was the case, he could roughly understand why Cheion was acting this way.
Magic stones with the ice attribute were currently almost impossible to find within the Empire.
It was said they were occasionally circulated in the past, but at some point, such items became extremely difficult to find.
「This is all because of that damn frozen human!」
As if he were thinking the same thing, Cheion sat up abruptly and exploded in anger.
「How much longer is that man going to keep the North closed off!」
「Who knows.」
「Ugh, ice attributes only come from there!」
That cursed Grand Duke Persha!
Because the ruler of the North had kept the gates tightly shut for 300 years, ice attribute materials, which used to appear occasionally, were no longer being released into the market at all.
「Still, he’s doing his job.」
The corners of Aseraian’s mouth curled up.
「He’s definitely taking care of the Black Forest that appears in that region. He’s not slacking off like someone I know.」
Flinch.
Cheion, who had been venting his frustration, began to crawl slowly toward a corner. As if trying to escape Aseraian’s gaze by any means necessary.
「Did you hear that a Black Forest was generated even on the outskirts of the capital, or did you not?」
「I-I don’t think I heard…」
「I reported it to you at 10:30 AM a week ago.」
