/
[Still, at least answer my call. You clearly know I’m waiting.]
The mumbling voice was heard intact through the communication device.
That voice was the only thing that rang in the dark room.
While turning down his breathing, Zenin Arcadia listened to the voice that grumbled again today.
[I know that there’s a lot of eyes watching in the academy, but you don’t need to ignore me so extremely.]
Of course I have to do that.
[We can introduce ourselves as if we don’t know each other.]
It was clear the cold appearance he barely maintained would crumble and shatter when he talked with her.
Pretending to not know her was the best choice rather than that.
If a problem happened with him, he alone wouldn’t be the only one in trouble.
She also would be in trouble.
[You can at least come to me once outside the academy, can’t you? At least I . . .]
“. . .”
Right at that time, the grumbling voice was faintly mixed with someone else’s voice.
It seemed like one of the workers in the mansion called her.
In the end, her voice ended earlier than usual.
Even so, the less than fifteen minutes only reduced a bit, but it was enough to sour his mood.
Someone entered through the opened door without knocking.
“Are you acting pitiful again?”
“Shut up.”
“That’s why I told you the academy is dangerous. Why make trouble?”
“You’re not in any position to say that.”
Bertin smiled and accepted his friends’ criticism.
Zen opened his mouth at the end of the thick silence.
“Is there still nothing you can find out from the abbey?”
“Nothing. Turns out, it’s an unregistered abbey. In the first place, it is absurd that a child of the noble stayed in that poor place.”
“There must be someone who recommended that place to the Beryl Family. It must be someone with high status or wealth they trust whose few words was enough to make them send their son.”
Bertin, who plopped down, had one of his feet uncomfortable.
As Zen sent his gaze to the limp leg, Bertin smirked while pointing to his leg.
“How powerful she is, that this lasts longer than a whipping?”
Smirking as if he found it absurd, Bertin shook his head.
Raynia Rocke, who fled her fists as soon as they met, hit him thoroughly without even asking about the situation.
She didn’t ask anything as if she knew from the start that he wouldn’t say anything.
“After hitting me, she gave me this.”
The thing he showed was a letter of credit.
A letter of credit that allowed them to use as much money as they wanted, regardless of which branch of Rocke Merchant Guild they went to.
She free-handedly gave the item that couldn’t be owned by anyone other than her, who was no different from the real successor of the guild after giving him a few punches.
“Where did our Rany learn to pay with money after hitting people?”
“She must have learned it by herself.”
Replying aloofly, Zen quickly reached out the letter of credit.
The shining gold letter of credit fell on top of his palm.
As Zen stared intently at that, Bertin parted his lips.
“It seems like there’s pressure on the guild nowadays. I think someone is consistently working to bring down the reputation of the Rocke Merchant Guild.”
“What did she say?”
“Of course, nothing. Just like you.”
“. . .”
For the time being, Marianne wouldn’t have time to think about anything else thanks to the damned disciplinary action.
“It seems like she’s thinking of solving it alone for now, but I think her opponent is a high-noble. Perhaps their target isn’t Raynia.”
It was still on the annoying level, but if this continued, they would certainly get a blow.
In the end, since a merchant guild was a credibility-based business, reputation also had a great impact on its operations.
“Find out her opponent first.”
Looking at Zen who left the room after saying that, Bertin didn’t ask where he was going.
Because it was obvious even though he didn’t ask.
After bringing up his throbbing leg, he comfortably lay down.
He couldn’t believe that the chair in this narrow research room was more comfortable than his family’s luxurious bed.
It was a hilarious thing.
* * *
In the late night, a stranger entered the big mansion.
The knights with good senses turned their heads, but they couldn’t find the figure who invaded secretly.
The mansion was overly vast.
If they hadn’t been here once, they wouldn’t have thought of finding the room at all.
As they reached out their hand and let out the mana, people who were standing on guard in the hallway began to sleep.
The time they bought was only for a very short moment.
Although he was walking around while snickering, Orion Miller, also Bayhan who was protecting him weren’t easy opponents.
The time he bought was only five minutes at most.
Zenin Arcadia opened the door and entered the room.
There was Marianne Miller who was sleeping while clutching into the pendant inside.
In the simple room with no particular furniture except for the bed, she was so sound asleep that she wouldn’t notice if someone carried her.
He could see the slightly furrowed brows as if she was grumbling she was tired.
The time went fast while looking at the face shoned by the faint light that entered through the window.
He was on the way walking in the hallway after covering the tossing body with a blanket.
There was a sound of someone walking in the mansion where everyone was asleep.
The one who entered Zenin’s gaze as he reflectively turned his body was unexpectedly someone he knew.
He froze when his gaze met with the prince who was walking in the hallway while holding a small pot in his arms.
“Hello.”
It was hard to find languidness in the prince who greeted him through his trembling lips.
Zenin glanced at his side.
There was a sleeping knight who was supposed to be on guard.
Although he was neglected, he was a member of the imperial family.
It wasn’t weird if he had an artifact that could resist magic.