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"What to do...?"
"What do you mean, 'What to do'!"
Bellum smacked Luna's back.
Her voice remained lowered.
"You have to strike first."
"Strike first?"
The day after the capital tour.
The academy dormitory was quiet on the weekend.
The Gray Bear Expedition Team gathered at Davian's house.
They were going to find the last, 12th relic next weekend.
The final meeting for the last relic exploration.
Of course, Karin came along too.
But Luna and Bellum stayed at the dormitory, using the excuse that they had things to do in the morning.
There wasn't actually anything to do.
Their own meeting was in progress here.
"So, what should I do, Bellum?"
"What do you mean, what should you do? You have to confess before someone steals him away!"
"C-Confess?"
"Yeah, confess. Are you going to let someone take Davian? Davian O'Nair is Luna Pueri's man! You have to declare it."
Suddenly, Luna screamed.
"That can't happen!"
"Exactly. You have to confess. What if Davian rejects you?"
"Uh... I didn't think about that."
Bellum, the ultimate in human friendliness.
Friend to everyone in the academy's first year.
But she had never been in a relationship either.
"Bellum! Don't just give me a half-assed answer, think about it seriously."
"Then let's do this."
"How?"
"First, you need to show off your charm. So that when you confess later, Davian will fall head over heels for you."
"Show off my charm?"
"Yeah! What kind of girl does Davian like?"
Luna stared at Bellum for a while.
Bellum also thought hard, but...
"Ah! I don't know! He doesn't seem interested in girls."
Luna hung her head.
"Right?"
"Should we ask Nubes? They're roommates. Nubes might know something. They probably talk a lot in their room, like we do. Like, Davian is interested in someone..."
"What if it's not me!"
"What do you mean, 'What if'! You have to show off your charm and take that spot!"
"So, how do I show off my charm?"
"That's..."
Unfortunately.
Bellum had never been in a relationship or shown off her charm either.
"L-Let's do this! Luna."
"How?"
"First, I'll try to pry some information out of Nubes. What kind of girl Davian likes. Then we'll decide what kind of charm to show off based on that."
"Thank you, Bellum..."
"You can't just sit still during that time, either."
"Then?"
"You have to start expressing yourself more actively. Davian will be surprised if you suddenly confess. You have to drop hints little by little."
Luna's face quickly turned red.
"Everyone says I'm already showing that I like Davian."
"That's just for us! Davian doesn't seem to care."
"That's true..."
"Make Davian aware of you. In the meantime, I'll find out what Davian's ideal type is."
"Okay! I understand!"
Bellum made a fist and stretched it forward.
Bellum tapping her fist with her finger.
"Ah."
Luna raised her fist and tapped Bellum's fist.
"You can do it! Luna Pueri!"
"I... can do it!"
"Let's go! Now. To Davian's house. If you want to catch Davian, you have to go into Davian's den!"
"Yeah!"
Davian's safe haven was completely finished.
A high wall was built around the entire building.
Magic stones were densely embedded in the wall, allowing for defensive magic to be cast immediately in case of emergency.
And stairs were placed inside the wall like ramparts, allowing people inside to climb onto the wall.
A major construction project that Davian poured all his wealth into.
"Okay, then let's leave early Saturday morning next week. We'll find the last relic according to the plan we made today."
Liber raised his hand high.
"Finally! We're going to find all 12 relics of the Great Magician! The Gray Bear Expedition Team led by me, Liber Specula!"
Bonita shook her head.
Then.
Ding-dong.
Because there was another door outside the front door, a specially ordered bell rang.
"I'll go see!"
Bellus quickly ran to the front door.
"Bellum unni! Luna unni!"
"Hello, Bellus."
Liber looked at Bellum and Luna, who were now entering, and said.
"We just finished the meeting. What are you doing here now?"
"Ah, sorry. Luna and I had something important to do."
"Okay. I can tell you what was discussed in the meeting."
Davian stood up.
"Then I'm going out because I have something to do."
Luna asked urgently.
"W-What do you have to do?"
Davian looked at Luna.
"I'm going to make some money. I've spent all the money I had. Ah, Luna. Do you remember? The thing we rescued from the Demon Realm."
"Venenum 풀?"
"Yeah. I'm going to sell that today."
"Ah, I see..."
Bellum, who was listening from the side, nudged Luna.
Bellum whispered.
"What are you doing, Luna."
"Huh?"
"You have to follow him!"
"Ah, yeah!"
Luna Pueri, clenching her fist, suddenly shouted.
"I'm going with you!"
Davian, who was grabbing his school uniform jacket, looked at Luna again.
"Luna, you're going too?"
"Yeah! I helped you dig it up! I have rights too!"
Luna closed her eyes tightly.
'Ah... I didn't mean to argue about rights or anything. I was just trying to say, "Let's go together," but...'
Davian nodded slowly.
"Is that so? I didn't know you were interested in money either, Luna. You should have told me sooner. I almost ate it all by myself. Let's go together, Luna. We'll split the money half and half."
"Really?"
"Yeah. You said you have rights too."
"That's right! I have rights too! The right to go with Davian!"
Karin Ovelia stood up from her seat.
"I don't know what's going on. But I'm going too."
Luna asked in surprise.
"Karin, you too?"
"I told you outright what my purpose was for coming to the academy, right?"
Luna's voice shrank at Karin's sharp tone.
"No, I... I was just wondering if you really needed to follow him all the way to where he's selling herbs..."
"Who knows what you're plotting or what kind of power you're trying to build outside the academy."
"No... Davian, plotting something? Building a power?"
"Anyway. That's my mission."
Karin got up and grabbed her school uniform jacket.
Not wanting to lose, Luna quickly packed her things too.
"Let's go, then."
Davian walked out the door first.
Luna followed closely behind him, and Karin left the house last.
On the way to the city.
Luna asked.
"Um... where are you going, Davian?"
"Portus City."
"Portus City? The port city, Portus?"
"Yeah."
"Wow! I wanted to go there."
Karin asked.
"Portus City doesn't have a connected magic circle, does it?"
"No."
"Then how are you going to get there?"
"We have to go to Cometh City, the closest city with a magic circle, and then take a carriage. We'll have to camp in the middle."
"It'll take a whole day just to get there? If we have to do that on the way back too, we won't be back by Monday."
"We'll borrow a carriage from Cometh City. And when we come back after we're done..."
Davian took out a neatly folded scroll from his shirt pocket.
"With this."
"You said you don't have any money, but you're using expensive scrolls so freely."
"I made a lot of scrolls to get back home. And, I'm only broke until today."
"What, did someone promise to buy that Venenum 풀 thing from you?"
That's not it.
"No. But I'm sure they'll buy it. And for a very high price."
The three of them headed to Elton City's private magic circle terminal.
If you go to Elton Academy, there's a huge warp chamber connected to cities all over the continent, but you can't use it for personal purposes.
Luna asked.
"But Davian, why isn't there a magic circle connected to Portus City?"
"Because it's a port city, but also a military stronghold. You can't install warp magic circle terminals in military strongholds."
"Ah! Because it could be misused?"
"That's right."
The three of them arrived at the magic circle terminal.
"Cometh City, three people."
"Are you magicians?"
"All three of us."
The clerk at the counter, after receiving the money, gestured, and an attendant approached.
The magic circle terminal fee is not cheap.
Moreover, you have to have at least one person who can handle magic to use it.
It's practically the exclusive property of magicians.
Ordinary people can't even get close.
Davian could only afford one ticket if he sold all his remaining possessions.
Karin only had basic living expenses.
So Luna bought all three tickets.
"I'll pay you back for the tickets, Luna."
"Ah, no, Karin. It's okay. I can afford this much."
Karin held out her palm towards Luna.
Always with a prickly tone.
"It's not costing me any money, and I can contact the royal family to process the expenses, so I don't want to be indebted to you."
"Oh... I understand."
Following the attendant for a long time, they arrived at the magic circle connected to Cometh City.
"You can use this warp magic circle. I don't need to explain how to use it, do I?"
"No."
"Then I hope you have a pleasant trip."
Cometh City.
Luna, who was constantly looking around, shouted.
"The city doesn't seem that big, but it's very lively!"
"It's a pretty famous commercial city even though it's small. Portus City is right next door. Most of the goods that go in and out of there also pass through Cometh City."
"Ah... I see. Davian knows so much."
This time, Karin asked.
"Who are you going to meet in Portus City?"
"Marquis Espin Elina."
Karin looked at Davian with a surprised expression.
"Marquis Espin Elina? The Witch of the Battlefield, Espin?"
"Yeah."
"Um... I don't know. I don't think it's a good idea to go there. The rumors are too bad."
"I don't care about rumors."
"And why would the Witch of the Battlefield need to buy herbs from you?"
In the beginning of next year, the Witch of the Battlefield, Espin, will publicly search for Venenum 풀 across the continent.
And she will buy all the genuine ones, no matter how much they cost.
Instead, those who tried to make a quick buck with fake ones all had their heads chopped off.
Of course, she is still looking for Venenum 풀 along with other treatments.
But soon, she will put everything else aside and only seek Venenum 풀.
Davian and his group went to the largest post station in Cometh City.
Uber Post Carriage.
A large sign welcomed guests from outside.
As the largest post carriage company in the commercial city, dozens of carriages were waiting to be dispatched.
Even borrowing four horses, a coachman, and a carriage didn't cost even one-hundredth of the magic circle terminal fee.
"I've never ridden in a post carriage before!"
Luna Pueri, who was unusually talkative today.
But that didn't last long.
The post carriage was not the kind of luxurious carriage that you would ride in the territory.
The ride was so bumpy and bouncy as it raced down the rough mountain road that you felt like jumping out at any moment.
She wanted to ask the coachman to slow down, but she had no choice but to swallow the pain when Davian told her that they wouldn't be able to return to the academy by Monday morning if she did.
Then.
"Aish."
Karin, unable to bear it any longer, spat out a light curse.
"What kind of carriage is this that shakes so much."
The rough ride was a world apart from the luxurious carriages of the nobles, which were equipped with suspensions made by adding layer after layer of wood tamed by artisans.
Karin stretched her arms straight forward.
Her palms facing down.
She began to concentrate and manipulate magic.
"Huh? Huh?"
Luna Pueri was surprised.
Davian was also surprised.
Davian's gaze was fixed on Karin's fingertips.
'This kid is...'
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