Unlike the excited prince, the other children looked at each other, puzzled.
"I'll take this newspaper!"
"Oh, yes…"
"Hmph, I wonder if His Highness the Prince is interested in a stationery store, huh, huh."
Axion glanced at the children, who rolled their eyes in confusion, and began to read the newspaper again.
"Yes, I'm very interested."
He was a skeptical boy, and all the children in the class admired him. Every one of his movements was of great interest. If he was interested in stationery stores, there must be something great about this stationery store!
The children were all confused and trembling at the unexpected situation.
And at that moment, when no one dared to open their mouths, there was one boy contemplating the situation. It was Carat, a boy who resembled a silver fox, watching the scene with his chin resting in his hand, a look of interest on his face. He was about ten years old, and with an icy expression that didn't look like a child at all, he fixed his eyes on the group of children.
He was different from Axion, who was obviously a noble by birth and a hot-blooded boy. Carat had moved in suddenly, and his origin was unclear, so he couldn't easily blend in with the others. Yet, he didn't care at all, and he truly didn't look like a child. He lived quietly and inconspicuously, but he couldn't hide the sharp look on his face.
'An ordinary stationery store owner overpowered the Red Cult Pirates?'
The Red Cult Pirates were by no means ordinary. As could be seen from the fact that their name included 'Cult,' they were gangsters from a cult that had begun to spread like cancer cells in the capital. It was still only a small organization, but many of them could use magic, so no one could easily check their activities...
'I'm sure he's not an ordinary stationery store owner. What the hell is he doing?'
Carat was actually a child wizard secretly sent to the academy from the Magic Tower. The Magic Tower was basically an independent institution that had nothing to do with the aristocracy, but it often received requests from nobles.
Carat had only one request he was working on: he was asked to prevent the abduction of noble wizards at the academy. Carat went undercover for this purpose and had already prevented two covert kidnappings.
'Is this a kidnapper? If you can suppress the 'Red Cult Pirates' at once, you can certainly abduct nobles.'
The Lord of the Tower who sent Carat to the academy had said: "If you are suspicious around the academy, you should test it yourself."
Carat's gaze sharpened again.
"The owner of the stationery store is hiding his power! It's suspicious."
He had to check everything suspicious around the academy.
'It's my turn as a genius wizard who receives orders directly from the Lord of the Demon Tower!'
Of course, the Lord of the Demon Tower didn't know that Carat was interested in this place, nor did he even know that a stationery store existed. But he had told Carat to check everything that was suspicious!
Determined, Carat jumped to his feet and headed toward Prince Axion. His footsteps were full of resolve.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince."
"…Huh?"
When a boy who had never spoken to him before addressed him, Axion felt embarrassed. He glanced up and down at the boy. He wore clothes that were in accordance with the academy's rules, and his black hair was raised above his eyebrows. His face, which would be cute when he was playful, was now fiercely hardened.
"Are you going to 'Mel's Stationery Store' now?"
Axion tilted his head at the half-submerged, drowsy, and doubtful voice.
"Uh, I… I speak."
"Then, come with me."
Perhaps it was the morning study time, but there was still time before the professor came. Axion thought about what Mel had said.
"I told him to come with a friend."
Oh, but more than that…
"What… But I was punished… I might not be able to go right now." Axion slumped his shoulders. His lips were about to pout.
However, the child, whose name he didn't know, shook his head and looked at him. Come to think of it, what kind of name did you say? Blush…? Can a person's name be Blush?
While Axion tilted his head in confusion, the cold-faced child didn't care.
"It's okay."
"What's okay?"
Carat replied without hesitation. "You can send a letter to His Highness Prince Cassian and ask him to release you for the time being, right?"
"Will he do it?"
"Maybe he can help me? If you tell him it's necessary for my studies, will he help you?"
The Emperor had eight children, but most of them died of illness for unknown reasons, leaving only two: Axion and Cassian. Perhaps because of this, the imperial family was particularly soft on the youngest prince. The smart Magic Tower child, Carat, clearly pointed out the loophole.
No wonder the naive Axion opened his eyes wide. What, what is it? He must be a genius!
"Then I'll send a messenger to you. Come with me!"
Seeing Axion happy, Carat laughed very grimly to himself. He thought he could finally find out what the owner of the stationery store was up to. If he made a good effort this time, he might even be elevated to the status of the favorite disciple of the Lord of the Demon Tower.
Just as he laughed wickedly as he thought about it, several children who had come near him spoke up cautiously.
"Tell us a review!"
"What kind of place is that stationery store?"
"Seeing that His Highness the Crown Prince is obsessed, I'm sure you can't make an objective judgment either."
Carat snorted. He was different from Axion. He would never fall in love with such a trivial stationery store.
"I, Carat, am a special genius mage."
"I'll try to get an objective review."
Carat replied with extreme arrogance.
Prince Cassian's Concerns
Ten minutes later, Prince Cassian received a messenger from Axion and pressed his forehead. There was an aide in front of him, but he couldn't manage his facial expressions well.
Brother. The woman I'm going to marry (remember Mel at the stationery store?) but I want to go with you!Today! Let's go together. I attach a great achievement of Mel!- Axion
Even in the letter, he could feel the boy's excitement.
Cassian looked at the crumpled newspaper folded next to the letter.
Breaking News: Stationery Store Manager, Commoner Mel, Defeats the 'Red Cult Pirates'!
'Definitely a suspicious woman. She's not just a commoner…'
It was a mistake to postpone finding out about Mel just because he was busy with hard work. The prince, who was rolling the pen with his fingertips, wrote a letter as if he had come to a conclusion.
Go beforehand. I'll follow you.
After tying the letter to the bird, he stroked the bird's tiny wings and let it fly.
'Why would a woman as strong as me hide in front of the academy?'
'Why would a woman with such force run an ordinary general store in front of the Academy? I don't understand it.'
'If she had approached him with bad intentions, he had an obligation to save his youngest brother, who was losing a lot of trouble.'
He raised the silver glasses he wore for work and said to his aide, "I'm going to Maltend Academy, so get ready for the teleport scroll."