CH 8

“Oh my, welcome!”

From inside the store, a red-haired woman greeted the two with her head sticking out.

“I’m here to see the Aurora Academy public robes.”

“Academy robes? Oh, I’ve never seen anyone come so late… Wait. Please sit there.”

The inside of the dressmaker was ordinary except for the stairs leading up to the second floor. The two sat down on a sofa arranged on one side. As the two of them sat down, a teacup and a teapot flew from somewhere, then sat down on the table in front of them. Melkiel, quite naturally, took the teacup and quenched his throat. Nathan also followed Melkiel, taking a sip from the cup he took.

‘Oh, it’s not tasty.’

As expected, the tea wasn’t good. The fragrant smell deceived his nose, and the bitter taste only bothered his tongue. He’d rather had some sugar. What Melkiel gave him yesterday was like honey water, so it was fine, but this wasn’t it. Nathan frowned, put a couple of sugar cubes in front of him and stirred it with a teaspoon.

“Have you been waiting for so long?! I’m sorry~”

A woman who appeared to be the owner of a dressmaker appeared with a navy blue fabric. She had a name tag [Lily Felian] (릴리 펠리안) on her chest.

“I don’t have any readily made robes right now, so I’ve only brought cloth. Doesn’t the new semester start the day after tomorrow? So we don’t have any robes in stock. If you order today, we can ship it tomorrow!”

“It doesn’t matter as long as you send it before the start of the new semester.”

“Oh, I’m glad. So, who’s going to wear it?”

“Oh, it’s me.”

Nathan, who was sitting quietly, raised his hand.

“Is a robe enough? Shouldn’t we make the school uniform too…”

“No. The robe is enough. There’s still a lot to look around for, so we can’t waste time here.”

“Oh, that’s a shame. Shall we move on quickly? Can you come here to take some measurements, Student?”

“Huh? Yes, ma’am…”

Nathan glanced at Melkiel and hesitatingly walked towards Lily. Lily had a tape measure in her hand. The tape measure started moving on its own, just like a teacup a while ago. Next to it was a wooden board with a quill pen and paper. The tape measure moved freely around Nathan’s body. Every time, a flying quill pen next to it wrote down its measurements on paper. Nathan managed to hide his eyes, which were wide open at the strange sight, from view. And Lily herself showed him the fabric she brought along and said:

“I’m going to make a robe from this fabric. One of the most commonly used fabrics for Aurora Academy’s robes is ‘Dawn’s Ulay’ (새벽의 율레이). Robe basically has [Defense], [Warmth], and [Cleaning]. In this way, three magic formulas will be engraved. If you have any magic you want, you can add it!”

“Hmm, those three should be enough for now.”

“Then I will proceed like this. The student worked hard too. It ended quickly, right?”

Lily winked her eyes and retrieved the tape measure.

“Should I put the one who’ll pay as the Academy?”

“Go ahead. Ah, the recipient is Nathan Norbert.”

“Alright~ I’ll send it to Student Nathan Norbert by tomorrow afternoon.”

“Student Nathan, let’s go.”

“Yes, Professor.”

“Please come again next time!”

Bid farewell by Lily, the two left the dressmaker. Nathan was excited about his shopping and realized one thing he had forgotten. The main purpose of the shopping was to buy things for Nathan to use. But Nathan had no money at all. However, Melkiel and Lily put the price on the academy as if it were natural. Of course, that was a good thing if he didn’t spend his own money because Nathan’s wallet didn’t have much money either. In a situation where you don’t know what will happen in the future, the more money you save is better. But even if that’s the case, Nathan couldn’t help but ponder.

However, he was not confident to ask Melkiel directly, “Is the school going to pay for everything?” Nathan just shut up and didn’t know what to do.

“As you may know, all items used in the academy are billed to the academy. You shouldn’t buy or do anything that doesn’t make sense. There’s always one guy every year who says they’re going to use it at the academy, buys outrageously expensive items, and charges the academy without thinking. Buy that at your own expense. Otherwise, you have to get permission from the professors.”

“Ah, yes!”

Melkiel said in a timely manner as if he had heard Nathan’s thoughts. Only then could Nathan rest assured. By the way, it was a very good school. Everything used in school seemed to include things to buy from now on as well as school uniforms. Of course, they also bought robes, but they would buy school uniforms too. He was relieved that if he was taller here or his school uniform was torn, he wouldn’t have to worry about empty wallets.

“Then let’s go see the magic tools now.”

“Yes, Professor!”

The next destination, the two of them decided, was the Magic Tool Shop. Of course, there were magic tool shops all over the place, but Melkiel passed all those shops and entered a quiet street with few people. Rupelham was not such a crowded place. Rather, it was a quiet place because there were not many people. Melkiel stopped at a fork in the road.

“Remember this from now on.”

He quickly knew what to remember.

“Turn left here.”

“Left again.”

“Remember this vine rose. Next to this, we’ll climb the stairs and go left again.”

“It’s good to remember certain things. Can you see the tiles on the floor in the shape of a cat’s paw? From here, go down the stairs below.”

“This time to the right.”

“Remember the old bell with an angel in the middle here.”

“Once again to the right.”

“Next is the first way.”

“Did you memorize it?”

Nathan shook his head as he responded habitually to Melkiel’s endless comments.

“Pardon?! Yes, uh. No? Not yet…”

“Well, I won’t tell you twice, so you’ll have a hard time next time you come.”

Melkiel shrugged his shoulders and started walking again. Nathan made a crying face in the back. Following Melkiel, Nathan was busy trying to remember the way he had come, but it was very difficult to memorize the long string of directions without getting confused.

“If you don’t come in this order, this place won’t show up.”

The two were standing in front of the store that soared high above them. This place was strange because there was no one passing by around this place. Space itself seemed different. Silence surrounded the area. Then Melkiel hit the floor with his staff. A magic formula glowed in gold from the floor.

“This is the magic formula engraved on Rupelham Street. It can be said that it is a spell that allows you to reach <Linas> (리나스).”

The light appeared for a moment and then disappeared. Nathan’s eyes lit up at the marvellous sight. Like the dressmaker, the door of the magic tool shop opened silently. The bell on the door resonated in silence.

“Welcome, Melkiel.”

“Hello, Thionan (티오난).”

The sound of a squeaky, swaying chair was heard. The door of the store was narrow, so it was wide enough for only one person to enter. So Nathan, who was standing behind Melkiel, was blocked by his back, making it difficult to see inside. Only the sound of a rocking chair could give a sense that someone was sitting in a rocking chair. The store’s owner mentioned Melkiel’s name, convinced it was him even though he didn’t take off the robe’s hood.

“Right, is there a problem with <The Blessing of the Sage>?”

“Not at all.”

Thionan was even more puzzled by the resolute words that were uttered as if that would never happen.

“But if not, you wouldn’t be here at this time…”

“Today, your customer is my student, not me. Come in.”

“…excuse me.”

Then Nathan could see the inside of the store as Melkiel entered it. The old woman’s gaze on this side was also the same. The owner of the store called Thionan was a kind-looking person who sounded like a ‘grandmother’.

“Oh my, you’re a new little guest. It’s no big deal, you brought someone.”

“I brought him with me while I was on my way to do my errands. Say hello, Student Nathan.”

“Hello.”

Thionan got up from the rocking chair. She gestured to Nathan as she reached for a wand studded with jewels like Melkiel’s. When Nathan hesitated to approach Thionan, Melkiel’s hand hit his back and pushed him.

“Then I’ll leave him to you for a while, Thionan. Student Nathan, I’ll be going for a little while. Please wait until I come.”

“Yes, please go ahead.”

With those words, Melkiel disappeared from the store. Now, in <Linas>, there were only the two of them, Thionan and Nathan.

“Well then, let’s see, since you’re at the magic tool shop, it’s obvious that you want something. What did you come here to buy?”