Chapter – 03
About two hours passed.
Early afternoon. The port city connected to Salvator Academy’s main gate.
On the main street lined with shops, Mikhail walked along carrying a sack that reeked of grass. His destination was the windmill in the square.
‘I need to dry the mushrooms I picked in the cold wind. Then I’ll use them to create an item to resolve the runaway magic tool incident.’
He’d reached the area near the square. Mikhail suddenly stopped and turned his head toward the center.
An elegant fountain engraved with a leaf pattern.
The expensive magic tool was spouting water at irregular intervals.
Creak. Creeeak.
‘As expected, the signs of trouble are clear.’
Who knew the world he’d created would be this identical. Mikhail let out a small laugh and moved on.
Five minutes of walking later, Mikhail stopped in front of the windmill. He set down his sack and tilted his head back.
“…”
Seagulls cried above the clear sky.
As the windmill blades turned leisurely, the scaffolding walkways and stairs surrounding the exterior were roughly three stories high.
And—
‘That guy’s here too.’
Mikhail’s eyebrow twitched as he looked at one spot. A familiar silhouette loitering near the top of the scaffolding.
Anyone hanging around the windmill at this time was obvious without needing to look.
The kingdom’s first noble without a king, and the restorer who established order.
The one and only young master of the Cloelle family.
Lloyd Cloelle.
At this point in time, he’d only show an attitude of constant idling, but in truth, he wasn’t someone to take lightly.
After all, he was one of the main players in the game.
Acting like a careless person made it generally easier to obtain what he wanted.
And when it came to swordsmanship, he was skilled enough to be mentioned as the protagonist Ethan’s only rival.
‘As the episodes progressed, he revealed his true face. Whether as a competent combatant, a useful hidden card. And…’
…Politically as well.
“Yaaaaawn.”
That’s when it happened. A lazy yawn echoed all the way to the bottom of the windmill. Mikhail stopped his train of thought and looked up at Lloyd.
‘But anyway, that’s all for later.’
Whatever abilities he possessed and whatever his future settings were, Lloyd right now was nothing more than a loafer killing time.
Any interesting rumors? When will the storytellers come? He’d just repeat those words like a parrot while waiting for the semester to start.
So—
‘You’re going to have to help me a bit.’
Mikhail tilted his head and pulled up one corner of his mouth slightly.
Unlike Lloyd who had time to spare, Mikhail himself was pressed for time. He had quests to complete too.
It would be perfect to assign him work that required lots of effort but had no real substance. For example—
‘Like watching over mushrooms.’
…And while he was at it, he could handle other troublesome matters later.
“Heave-ho.”
Mikhail slung the sack over his shoulder again and moved up the stairs. With each floor he climbed, cool wind brushed his cheek.
Step.
He’d reached the third floor. Mikhail walked toward the silhouette at the end of the walkway and stopped.
The boy lying on the ground had an open book covering his eyes, sprawled out comfortably.
“…Mm.”
The boy seemed to sense someone’s presence before long.
He removed the book covering his eyes and sat up, stretching broadly. He slowly turned his head toward Mikhail.
Their gazes met.
The boy spoke first.
“You are.”
Eyes shining as blue as the early summer sky. His wavy hair was the color of a ripened wheat field.
The moment Mikhail recalled the name Lloyd Cloelle, Lloyd—who’d been assessing him—also smiled.
“Hello, troublemaker. Didn’t expect to see you in a place like this.”
It was a rather rude greeting. But Mikhail nodded without showing any particular concern.
It was deliberately provocative language.
Just as Lloyd viewed Ethan favorably, he’d be negative toward Mikhail who stood in opposition—that was the current reason.
Plop.
Mikhail sat down right there. He began taking mushrooms from the sack and threading them one by one onto leather strings.
Rustling sounds settled between them.
“Hm? These are windbell mushrooms, aren’t they?”
Lloyd, who’d moved closer and sat down at some point, casually struck up conversation. He picked up one of the teal mushrooms on the ground and examined it from various angles.
“Judging by their condition, looks like you just picked them… Why are you drying them? They’d taste better just roasted.”
Mikhail glanced at Lloyd and answered.
“I’m not using them as ingredients. I’m using them as weapons.”
“Huh? Weapons?”
Lloyd asked back immediately, but Mikhail just silently continued threading mushrooms. There was no need to answer. Not yet.
‘Better to make him more curious.’
When Mikhail persisted in silence, Lloyd leaned forward impatiently.
“Hey, why are you stopping mid-conversation…”
“If you want to know.”
Lloyd’s words were cut off by Mikhail’s raised voice.
Mikhail’s face remained expressionless as before, but he held out the mushroom he’d been about to thread to Lloyd.
“Either buy a clue from me.”
“…”
Lloyd blinked at the mushroom, then looked back at Mikhail.
An expression that clearly showed his disbelief.
Mikhail tilted his head calmly and added a word.
“It’s not trivial enough to tell you for nothing.”
“Pfft.”
A hollow laugh escaped from between Lloyd’s teeth.
Lloyd raised his hand to sweep back his hair, then moved his sky-blue eyes to look Mikhail up and down.
Then suddenly, he narrowed his eyes to thin lines.
“Hmm…”
A small interjection flowed out. Lloyd stared straight ahead and recalled the reputation of the person before him—Mikhail Senit.
An unprecedented troublemaker.
A young master who was both selfish and irritating.
And even the accident he’d caused quite recently—
[Did you hear? He was walking around with a glass shard, blood dripping from his hand! He didn’t respond even when people called him, just laughed like he was crazy.]
[Right now he’s especially violent toward Ethan… but who knows when he’ll act like that with us. Ugh… I really hate it.]
Magic Department dropout, Mikhail Senit.
Sure, he was putting on an appearance of being reasonable right now, but he could turn in an instant—that kind of person.
So the rational choice was one thing: leave without even making conversation. However…
‘Anyway, he’s someone I won’t see after a few weeks.’
The fact that he wouldn’t be seeing that peculiar temperament soon brought about a slight hesitation.
Besides, he was bored at the moment.
Making a weapon from ordinary mushrooms was quite intriguing talk.
‘Then, well… it wouldn’t matter to humor him for a day or two, would it?’
Lloyd tilted his head sideways and rolled his eyes toward the mushroom in his hand.
Staring at the teal cap, he began in a rather indifferent tone.
“Really? Then how much are you selling it for?”
Mikhail, who’d been watching Lloyd from the corner of his eye, subtly pulled up the corner of his mouth. If this was the reaction he got, it wasn’t bad.
“I’m not selling it for money.”
Mikhail replied immediately and stood up.
Then, looking down at Lloyd who sat on the ground, he crossed his arms and said.
“Today and tomorrow. Watch the mushrooms dry for me. If you do, I’ll show you not just how to use them but something interesting too.”
“Something interesting? Ha, what’s that supposed to mean?”
“I can’t explain the details yet. …Anyway, will you do it or not?”
At Mikhail’s urging, Lloyd touched his chin thoughtfully, but soon answered.
“I’ll do it.”
Lloyd stood up and met his eyes.
“However, only if our troublemaker young master answers my question.”
“What is it.”
“Weapons and all that aside, what should I believe about what you’re saying?”
Mikhail stared quietly at Lloyd.
Lloyd’s question continued in a light tone, but beneath it lay a rather difficult request.
Trust that had hit rock bottom due to past actions. He was asking Mikhail to persuade him with content substantial enough to recover that.
‘Honestly, it’s pretty unreasonable.’
Unless he could overturn a hundred words with one action, the reverse wouldn’t be easily accepted.
Especially when trying to persuade someone who wasn’t clumsy with the calculations between people.
Mikhail’s eyebrow twitched.
‘This guy who knows better than anyone that you can’t prove credibility through smooth talk alone is saying this…’
That moment, the previous scene flashed through Mikhail’s mind.
Lloyd had readily accepted the proposal Mikhail offered first.
In reality, if the additional question contained important content for making a decision, it would be normal to accept after hearing the answer.
But Lloyd didn’t do that. And he was in a position where nothing was urgent. He wasn’t inexperienced with deals either.
By this point, there was an underlying motive. Lloyd Cloelle—
‘Didn’t ask the question to resolve his doubts. He just threw it out to raise the value of his own actions.’
The unwritten rule of trading: the more effort put into obtaining something, the more valuable it seems.
If that was the reason, it also explained why he’d chosen a question that would make this side uncomfortable regardless of the answer.
‘Really a funny guy, just like his setting.’
After a brief silence, Mikhail let out a faint smile and touched his cheek where the swelling hadn’t fully gone down.
Anyway, it seemed better to give a decent answer. Better to maintain the arrangement than break it.
Mikhail paused as if thinking, then opened his mouth.
“First, I no longer have the luxury of playing tricks on Lord Cloelle.”
“…”
“Second, there’s no one in this academy who’s stirred up as many places as I have. I don’t call just anything interesting.”
Mikhail closed his mouth again.
Silence continued with a gust of wind. Lloyd didn’t express any particular objection.
As if deliberately pondering, he tilted his head and crossed his arms.
“Hmm…”
The pondering was brief.
Lloyd’s eyes slowly traced a semicircle.
“Well, that’s what you’re saying?”
His answering voice was particularly cheerful. Lloyd lightly tossed the mushroom in his hand into the air and caught it.
A smile like a child who’d gotten a toy spread instantly.
“Alright, I’ll do as you say. Not bad as a pastime.”
Leaving the windmill, Mikhail walked toward the main gate. Next was proceeding with a personal quest.
‘There’s a quest that intertwines with the side event and the early flow. Progressing them together is more efficient in many ways.’
Mikhail stopped in front of an old notice board.
Though it looked like a graffiti board for immature students, it was actually the place where the personal quest function was first unlocked.
Mikhail placed his hand on the notice board. System text immediately appeared before his eyes.
Pop!
【Notice: Personal Quest function partially activated.】
- [Divine Beasts] Divine Beasts of Haeohreum Forest
- Main Reward: Shop Currency
Mikhail scanned the displayed text and turned around.
Two young foxes with fluffy fur appeared in his mind.
Divine beasts with outstanding abilities but far too soft-hearted.
Because their peace-loving nature manifested somewhat strangely, they absolutely refused to fight.
Even as the opposing ravens stole all their territory, hiding places, and food.
[Ethan Welton][How can this be… Sky foxes appeared at the forest edge? And why are you two so thin?]
The start of the quest was when Ethan, who’d been wandering by the lake at the forest’s edge, coincidentally met the sky foxes.
Around this time, Ethan’s behavior patterns were roughly: being called by combat department professors for career recommendations or settling his thoughts alone by the lakeside.
“Hmm.”
While recalling a scene from the game, Mikhail’s steps continued in the direction away from the school.
‘At this point in time, the sky fox siblings will be exhausted from long hunger… I should get them food first. Something so delicious they won’t know even if one dies while they’re both eating.’
There was only one place that could satisfy the sky foxes’ picky taste.
Near the square. A tavern where numerous useful connection points were concentrated.
Established by the resourceful Bitron with the limping Denver as head chef, and also related to the side event he’d be intervening in.
Commonly known as ‘Fioned’s Early Autumn’.
He had to go there.
