"What's this four-week adjustment period?"
"Oh, that. You just stay apart for four weeks, and then you're supposed to meet your family and reconcile."
"It doesn't mean much to you."
I nodded and looked at the remodeled building. I thought it would take a long time because it looked like an abandoned building, but fortunately, only the exterior needed to be repaired thanks to the strong frame of the building itself. The exterior wall was painted, and the interior was repaired and cleaned neatly.
The exterior wall of the stationery store was painted in a bright yellow. The windows on the first floor and on this floor were shaded with red vertical stripes. 'It's really so pretty. It will never look like an abandoned house now!'
The wizards I hired at my own expense remodeled the stationery store neatly and went home. It cost a lot of money to repair it quickly, but I was satisfied that the stationery store was clean and pretty. The small front yard of the stationery store was covered with grass, and benches were placed. They were wooden benches, implying that any child could come here and play comfortably.
I sat next to Dominic on the bench. "Now if you put in the goods, we'll be able to open soon!"
"That's amazing. This abandoned house has changed."
He chuckled. I scratched my temples and continued, looking up at the clouds floating in the sky. I began to peacefully and carefree plan the future.
"If we succeed, let's bring a chef and a chocolatier. And..."
"And?"
I started talking about the staff I had in mind when I decided to open a stationery store. "Bring a mage, a spiritist, or an alchemist." If we had a spiritist or alchemist, it would be easier to create things. Then my stationery store would flourish luxuriously!
But then I laughed and fell into a dream for a while. Dominic, who had a hobby of assaulting facts, tilted his head at me. "It's hard to find a spiritist or alchemist." Elementalists were rare, and I knew that alchemists were rare talents on a continental level. "An alchemist would have to be at the level of the Demon Tower Master before they could be brought in." Objectively, I was far below the Demon Tower Master.
"But I won't give up." I clenched my fists and shouted as if I was punching the sky. "I brought a thousand-year-old sword, so why can't I bring a spiritist or an alchemist?"
Dominic, who listened to me, nodded solemnly and replied proudly, "That's right."
I looked at the slushie bucket with regret and muttered, "...I wish I could bring the demons in your sword back."
"I don't know if it's possible to work with them without breaking the seal." Seeing that Dominic didn't know, it was probably unlikely that I'd ever see the demon again.
"I must try my best to find a way to work with the devil." I hid my deep regret and said vigorously and energetically, "Finally! Dalgona will be sold tomorrow to commemorate the opening, so I have to make it tonight."
"I won't wear an apron when I make dalgona. Never."
I laughed cheerfully as I watched Dominic squirm. "I'll let you." After saying that, I turned my head from the bench and looked behind me. Beyond the large glass window, memorable items filled my stationery store. There was a black box with a slushie barrel and a gacha enchantment, castanets and xylophones, square notebooks, sugar for making dalgona, and a round pan. Due to lack of funds, we weren't ready to open in a flashy manner. But as time went by, I would be able to fill this space with beautiful memories.
"The important thing is that we're finally ready to open a stationery store." I smiled proudly and stretched my mouth open. "I don't know if it will sell well... It's definitely my favorite."
"That's enough. I like it too."
A boy who sacrificed himself for the Empire and was trapped in a sword for nearly a thousand years. And me. We were together at this moment with the same tastes.
"I hope the promotion goes well." In this world, I didn't know how to promote it. 'It's too expensive to put an advertisement in a newspaper...'
Dominic looked at the remodeled building in admiration. "That's the one we healed then."
"Oh, that academy noble kid?"
"Yes."
"...She'll bring her friends." When I thought of her, her eyes seemed to sparkle. Young children are fickle and forget everything quickly. Still, it would be nice if she could remember it at least a little.
"I'm confident that the children will do really well when they come." Four weeks of deliberation and the excommunication trial of the emperor were still ahead. But now I was preparing to legally become a stranger to the Babelloa and Hesman families. The dream of separating myself from bad people and being with children was coming true.
"I want them to bring a lot of friends." I was still looking forward to the arrival of my first customer... But if we worked hard, we might be able to instill dreams and hopes in all children someday.
But why did my ear itch so much? Who was talking about me?
At that moment, there was indeed a story about Meldenik playing in the Tower.
On the top floor of the Tower, in the office where the Master of the Demon Tower stayed, there was Rasmus, the chief mage, with an emaciated face. "...There is no face." The person Rasmus was looking at was Isak, the Lord of the Tower. "I will take responsibility for the security of the tower. I'm sorry, Lord of the Devil."
Isak was sitting at his desk, casually flipping through Rasmus' report. "Several magic artifacts were stolen, including a mana bowl." The Mana Bowl was a magic artifact that the dragon himself blessed and contained the essence of mana. Although it was a one-time thing, it was said to increase the amount of mana in the user, so it was a valuable item.
Isak, the owner of the tower who recently returned from wandering, grinned low with his chin up. His black eyes, as black as obsidian, were full of boredom. "Rasmus, let's punish you for shoplifting." In short, it meant not to bother to report it.
"Well, I want to tell you about the suspect! I'm sure I'll catch him."
"Then go on." Isak, who didn't bother to flirt anymore, closed his eyes and nodded appropriately. Maybe it was because he left the window open. A cool breeze tickled the tip of his chin.
"..." Rasmus was at a loss for words. His dark hair fluttered in front of his forehead because of the wind. It looked like a painting. "I am not immune to seeing that beautiful face." Rasmus expressed his admiration for a moment.
"Recently, we have narrowed down the suspects to three people who have been exhibiting suspicious behavior. The first is Count Eli; it is rumored that the flow of mana has become strange in Count Eli."
"And?" Isak was already bored. He thought it would be more interesting and enjoyable to hatch a dragon egg he had brought from his wandering not long ago.
"The second is Duke Lennox Hesman. It's unlikely that he's the culprit, but he's been experimenting with magic at Duke Hesman's estate. But that's a common thing. And the last suspect—this one is the most suspicious." Duke Hesman knows that too. It was a perfect work to be the envy of the imperial people. When they met for a while, Isak thought his twisted judgment was disgusting. Looking at the yawning list, he asked half-heartedly, "Who is the last?"
"Princess Meldenik of Babelloa. Apparently, her recent behavior is a bit suspicious."
It was at that point that Isak truly paid attention. It was a pretty familiar name. "Meldenik?"
"Yes, the item I lost this time must belong to a dragon, so I investigated Princess Meldenik, who is said to be cursed by the dragon."
"Hmm."
"It's amazing. She's making a weird shop. She even came out of the family not long ago. The name of the shop is 'Mel's Stationery Store,' and I suspect that they are working some strange magic there. I think we should investigate this one properly."
"Really?" Isak's interest was piqued. He grinned wryly and leaned back against the backrest.
'Meldenik Babelloa... Speaking of which, the sword she was holding was suspicious, and the flow of mana in her body was unusual for the daughter of Kinnoah, who was cursed by dragons.' He had thought she was an interesting person. 'I was going to check it out someday.' He didn't expect her to appear as a suspect in a theft case like this.
Isak nodded earnestly and turned to Rasmus. "That was very important to hear."
"Yes? Suddenly? You said it was just a shoplifter."
He tapped the floor a few times with the toe of his shoe. Just like his heart beat every time something unfortunate happened, this was his long-standing habit. "I changed my mind."
Rasmus looked at Isak with a puzzled face. Isak's delicate mouth curved into a beautiful half-moon. "I'll take care of the third suspect." There was one more reason why he was interested in Meldenik, who was full of suspicious behaviors. He was the only witness to see Meldenik kick Duke Hesman. She had turned to the coveted Duke Hesman and declared, "Will you get out of my life now? It's dirty." When she said that, Meldenik's voice was full of genuine disgust.
Turning to Isak, who was reminiscing about the past, Rasmus expressed his opinion for the last time. "The Mana Vessel is a great artifact, but it's not the Lord's job to do it himself." This was clearly a thinly veiled way of saying "don't cause trouble."
Isak lowered his voice and said with his eyes drooping downward, "Actually, I had memories of Mana's bowl." It was a foul to make a sad face with a beautiful expression. If it were someone else, he would have been deceived. However, Rasmus had been deceived by his acting for more than a decade.
"...You forgot the lie, even its existence!"
"Uh, I'm not coming over." Isak, who lightly ignored Rasmus' words, laughed heartily and happily.
Rasmus scratched his ears with a worried sigh. "No, if the Lord of the Demon Tower went out like this, something bad would happen to him..."
"I don't think so." He declared again as if singing, "I'm going to make something good."
Rasmus cautiously turned to Isak. "Are you going to visit her soon?"
"Yes, I thought of something to repay the favor." His eyes sparkled like a curious child, and he brushed back his hair, as dark as his pupils.
Rasmus said to himself, "What favor?" But he kept his mouth shut. It wasn't just once or twice that the Lord of the Tower had done something unique.
"...I really don't know." Rasmus inwardly expressed his condolences to Meldenik. 'Whether it's a thief or something, Isak's eyes are really bad...' he thought.