If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, Anna Via would never have believed that the only son of a Grand Duke would actually haggle with a roadside stall owner over one or two academy points.
Although academy points were indeed only awarded through academy coursework and activities, that didn't mean there were no loopholes to exploit.
On the surface, all new students were treated equally, starting with only one hundred academy points.
But in reality...
Anna looked down at her academy badge.
【Current academy points: 2760】
For a member of the imperial family like her, this wasn't an exaggerated amount. On the contrary, she had been rather restrained, only exchanging for a mere two thousand or so points.
After all, as the face of the imperial family at the academy, Anna had a vast number of things to be mindful of.
Maintaining a good social network, building her own faction, and recruiting outstanding talent... and none of these could naturally be done without an exchange of benefits.
And at the Imperial Royal Magic Academy where gold coins did not circulate, academy points naturally became the only hard currency. She had only asked for a mere two thousand academy points, which had already prompted her mother to drop hints and subtly remind her several times, “Nana, you asked for a bit too little.”
Aside from her, most noble children, great and small, had also prepared several hundred spare academy points for themselves. If nothing else, if those pampered young masters were truly forced to live the meticulously calculated life of a commoner, letters of protest would probably have piled up in the dean's office long ago.
Had the Reinhardt family not prepared any academy points for Lynn?
Anna was somewhat puzzled.
‘Donating ancient texts, magic materials, or research equipment to the academy can all be converted into a portion of academy points based on their value.’
The primary basis for this was Section 273 of the Campus Rules: 【For individuals or groups who make special contributions to the construction of the academy, the academy will award a certain amount of academy points depending on the situation.】
Although this channel was not blatantly written into the freshman handbook, it was hardly a secret.
Furthermore, as far as the students were concerned, this was a one-time opportunity when they first entered the school where the academy would turn a eye. They would never be able to exchange for academy points through similar means in the future. Any noble with even a shred of power shouldn't have missed this opportunity, right?
...Could it be a test from Grand Duke Reinhardt for his only son?
‘...It couldn't be that their entire family, from the oldest to the youngest, completely forgot about this, right?’
(A certain mighty Grand Duke on the border and the Head Maid leisurely drinking tea in the manor suddenly sneezed.)
Despite her doubts, Anna understood the wisdom of not speaking too deeply with a casual acquaintance, so she did not rashly ask.
The bargaining war between the youth before her and the shopkeeper had finally reached its end.
“That will be eight academy points.”
The youth before her held his neck high like a victorious rooster, while the middle-aged shopkeeper hung his head in utter dejection, his eyes dim as he muttered to himself:
“...I've been in business for over ten years, yet I couldn't even out-bargain a green brat...”
“Haha, you're far too green to go up against this young master!”
Watching the laughing Lynn, who behaved in such an unbridled and unseemly manner, Anna couldn't help but hold her breath.
‘Nobles, in the end, are creatures who worry about gains and losses for the sake of honor, for the sake of their so-called "face."’
But... the man before her seemed as if he didn't even know what this so-called "honor" was. Or perhaps... his honor was never pinned on such hypocritical "face" to begin with.
“Miss Sasha? Miss Sasha?”
Snapping out of her thoughts, she saw the handsome, blonde youth had already leaned in close.
He didn't make any presumptuous physical contact, merely keeping a polite yet comfortable distance that wasn't too distant, calling out softly.
“...Sorry, I zoned out for a moment just now.”
“Is that so...” The youth held the snow-white snow fox, shamelessly pinching its chubby little face.
Snowball rubbed against Lynn affectionately, letting out a lazy, whimpering cry.
“It's still early. Sasha, do you want to keep looking around together?”
Anna was momentarily dazed.
Dusk quietly arrived, the thin twilight casting a golden rim over the youth's smiling face.
...
Just as Anna had said, she was indeed very familiar with the academy's layout. She could even occasionally share bits of trivia she had gathered from upperclassmen.
For instance, which shops were highly recommended, which unscrupulous merchants to avoid at all costs... Lynn also took careful note of every single word.
Strolling slowly through the bustling, shouting market, peering in to inspect strange and unique buildings, and secretly whispering complaints about eccentric passersby...
The eye-catching pair of a handsome youth and a beautiful girl drew the attention of many staff members, until—
“Dong—”
The melodious evening bell rang out from the tower.
Anna suddenly snapped back to reality.
She touched her own face in disbelief.
What... what was I originally planning to do?
Did I really just spend the entire afternoon wandering around with this guy?
Unbeknownst to her, she had quietly let down her guard, no longer recalling those irritating, troublesome matters. It was simple and pure.
In her identity as “Sasha,” she had encountered a “friend” she had met for the very first time.
“...I won't admit this guy is my friend.”
She turned her face away, the tips of her fair ears turning slightly red.
No, she couldn't let this go on!
Anna cleared her throat. “The ball is about to start soon, so it's about time...”
The closing remarks she had been preparing for a long time were abruptly interrupted.
“Wah—”
A sudden, unprovoked burst of crying echoed from a nearby stall.
The girl was crying incredibly sorrowfully, her voice almost drowning out the hawking of the surrounding shops.
Behind the cloth curtain was a small resting area.
A little girl of about six or seven years old was squatting on the ground, with several clay pots of various colors placed beside her.
She wore a slightly oversized apron, her messy brown curly hair draped over her shoulders, and her small hands were covered in damp soil.
The flowers in the clay pots had all withered.
The once-fresh stems and leaves drooped over the rims of the pots, the petals crumpled into balls, and even their color had turned dark and dull.
The girl had clearly tried watering them.
A large patch of the ground was soaked, yet the little flowers still showed no sign of perking up.
“Daddy...”
She choked out, wiping her tears.
“The—the flowers are all dead...”
“I clearly took care of them every day...”
The merchant at the stall squatted down, looking at the several pots of completely lifeless plants, momentarily unsure of how to comfort her.
This ornamental flower, called the “Morning Dew Lily of the Valley,” was delicate to begin with.
Perhaps the temperature change last night had been slightly too drastic, or perhaps too much mana had been mixed in during watering, causing the entire plant to quickly wither.
Dead plants could not be revived through ordinary healing spells. Unless one could hire a high-tier mage proficient in shaping magic, but for a few pots of ordinary ornamental flowers, no one would obviously pay such a price.
“Let's buy a few new pots, alright?”
“It's not the same...”
The girl cried even harder, sobbing intermittently, “They... they were given to me by Mama...”
The stall owner opened his mouth, but in the end, he could only silently rub his daughter's head.
Pedestrians bustled past on the crowded Traveler's Street. Lynn watched this noisy scene with an expressionless face.
He simply stared at the stall owner's familiar face.
“Well, isn't this a coincidence?”
Isn't this the stall owner who fought me for three hundred rounds earlier, ultimately lost, and disgracefully sold me the item at a low price?
That was truly a thrilling battle; I probably won't forget you for the rest of my life.
“Since I'm already here...” He rubbed his head, muttered a few words, and then strode toward the crying girl.
He walked up to the girl and squatted down.
“Hey, little one.”
The girl raised her head, her eyes misty with tears.
“W-what is it...”
“Stop crying first.”
Lynn extended a finger, lowering his voice to sound mysterious. “Have you ever seen a flower that only blooms in fire?”
The girl's crying paused slightly.
“Can... can flowers really bloom in fire?”
“Of course.”
“You're lying...”
“Then watch closely.”
Lynn flipped his palm.
A tiny, crimson flame leaped from his fingertip.
The girl shrank back in fear, and the stall owner instinctively wanted to stop him, but the cluster of flame did not release even a hint of scorching heat.
It floated quietly in Lynn's palm.
Then, tiny flecks of fire separated from the core of the flame, one after another.
A slender stem was the first to extend. Immediately following, the flame unfolded layer by layer, condensing into a beautifully blooming red flower.
The petals were nearly translucent, yet bright veins like molten gold flowed within them. As Lynn gently moved his fingers, a shower of fine sparks scattered into the air.
Those sparks did not burn anything. Instead, like a swarm of glowing red fireflies, they slowly danced around the girl.
The little girl forgot to cry. She opened her eyes wide, staring at the flower of fire gently swaying in the youth's palm.
“So pretty...”
“Do you want to touch it?”
She hesitated before extending a dirt-covered finger, tentatively tapping the dazzling petal.
There was no burning pain like she expected.
Only a soft, warm sensation, like a quilt that had been basked in the sun.
The flower of fire gently dispersed. Dozens of crimson petals circled the girl once, finally regrouping above her head and turning into a little bird flapping its wings.
The fire bird landed on the girl's shoulder and tilted its head.
“Chirp.”
The little girl finally couldn't help but burst into laughter.
“It can even chirp!”
“Of course.”
Lynn said with a serious face, “This is a very precious fire bird. It usually only goes near children who don't cry easily.”
“I—I don't cry easily.”
The girl sniffled, quickly using her sleeve to wipe away the tears on her face.
“Very good.” Lynn snapped his fingers.
【Emotion Points +300】
Anna said nothing, merely gazing at the youth's side profile as he smiled helplessly.
In her blurred vision, the face beneath those drifting, dazzling golden locks seemed to change.
Finally, it gradually overlapped with the gentle smile of the Saintess in her memories.
So alike.
She was momentarily dazed.
Veronica, the guy you've been pining over...
He really is... just a little bit...
...like you.
Rate on N.U.
