Chapter 84: Chapter 85: Having Lots Of Fun During Exams (2)

༺ Having Lots Of Fun During Exams (2) ༻

The midterms at Graham Academy lasted for about three days.

Even first graders in the elementary division had no exceptions to this three-day testing period.

Question 5. You have one round strawberry cake (see Figure 1). Use a knife three times to divide it equally among Hans, Jack, and Mir. +5 points.

A problem about sharing cake.

It was a problem of dividing a shape into four equal parts with three cuts.

“How am I supposed to cut it three times…? Hmmm…. I think Teacher Salome had mentioned that it would be on the test. Naru doesn’t know… Molumolu, what’s the answer?”

—Grrrr…!

“Hmmm… I got it. Because it’s a test, Naru has to think for herself, right?”

Naru was deeply troubled by the problem.

“Dividing the strawberry cake…”

Naru’s mind was filled only with thoughts of strawberry cake.

Naru liked both cake and strawberries.

It was like choosing between Mom and Dad.

If asked to choose one, it would be quite a dilemma.

But for strawberry cake, no such dilemma was necessary.

After all, it was a combination of strawberries and cake!

Combining is generally a good thing.

That’s why Naru likes addiction.

‘Come to think of it, Dad said so. Naru is also a combination of mom and dad. Am I like a strawberry cake?’

“Okay, there are five minutes left for the exam. Start wrapping up.”

“Hiiiik…!”

“Naru Barjudas, be quiet please.”

Teacher Salome gave a stern warning, and the children laughed with a hearty ‘hahaha’.

Naru, who had wasted time thinking about strawberry cake, finally wrote her answer on the paper.

“Hans, Jack, and Mir each use the knife once. Then Naru eats the remaining cake alone, dividing it equally.”

After using the knife three times, the remaining person gets to eat the cake, all having equal parts.

No matter how Naru thought about it, this was the only answer in her mind.

With that feeling, the first day of exams ended.

Math and Science.

The day ended after just those two exams, so school was out before lunchtime.

All the children were happy to leave the classroom early, celebrating the end of the school day.

“…Is there no school lunch today?”

Only Naru was shocked to find out that today’s school lunch wouldn’t be served.

Because the joy of eating school lunch had been taken away.

“Ugh, Naru hates exams.”

Naru was grumbling.

Watching her, Tywin Cladeco chuckled.

“Well, you’re a fool, so it makes sense you’d hate exams.”

Rustle— Rustle—

Tywin skillfully packed her bag and left the classroom.

Like a beach deserted by the tide, the classroom quieted down until someone approached Naru and offered her a bun.

“Naru, do you want this cream bun I bought from the store earlier?”

“Oh wow, holy shh…! I like Elizabeth!”

Clasp—

Naru hugged Elizabeth.

The kids murmured at the sight.

“Naru makes Elizabeth buy her bread even during exams.”

“Truly a fearsome kid.”

Of course, Naru couldn’t care less about the murmurs.

She just tore open the cream bun wrapper and devoured it.

“Delicious! Thanks, Elizabeth! Is there anything Naru can help you with?”

“Really? Then, um… do you want to come over and study for the exam at my house today?”

Elizabeth asked tentatively.

She had never invited a friend to her house before.

Inviting a friend home to study for an exam was quite a challenging task.

Soon Naru asked.

“Is there more bread at Elizabeth’s house?”

“…No. Probably not… But if needed, I could buy some with my allowance…”

“It’s okay even if there’s none!”

Naru raised her hand enthusiastically.

Elizabeth let out a small sigh of relief.

She was thankful, as her allowance was almost gone.

‘She’s willing to come over even without the promise of bread. Naru is kind.’

Soon Naru looked around like a vigilant meerkat. Then, spotting someone, she opened her eyes wide and shouted.

“Cecily! Do you want to study together at Elizabeth’s house? But there’s no bread!”

Cecily Von Ragdoll.

The small blond noble girl turned her head at Naru’s words.

She imagined herself gathered with the children, studying together.

Surely it would be a fun time.

But regrettably, Cecily could not join them.

“I can’t.”

“Because there’s no bread?”

“No, I have other things to attend to.”

“Looking for your parents?”

“Yes. I feel like there’s not much time left. Soon, the last cherry blossoms of the year will fall.”

Cecily’s eyes wandered outside the classroom.

The Freesia cherry blossoms start blooming from the end of March to early May.

By the time the midterms were over, it was clear that the cherry blossoms would have faded.

‘I need to find Mom and Dad before then.’

There were important words she had to say to her Mom and Dad.

And she needed to tell them before the last cherry blossom faded.

So important, she hadn’t forgotten them even though she had forgotten other things.

‘I need to tell my parents before the cherry blossoms fade. If I keep this up, I’ll end up not saying it before they’re all gone. Then…’

Cecily felt a wave of sadness for some reason.

She had a feeling that if she couldn’t find her parents in time, something incredibly sad would happen.

Piiiiiiik—

Then, a high-pitched sound came from somewhere.

Turning her head, she saw Naru holding a recorder.

Elizabeth said.

“Naru, tomorrow we have the music and runes exams, so make sure you take your recorder home today and practice. Tomorrow will focus on practical exams.”

“Naru likes music! Want to see Naru play the recorder? Naru Style, Play the Recorder Wildly!”

Pilililili— Doomchit— Doomchit—

“Naru, how did you just make drum sounds with a recorder…!?”

“…Naru doesn’t know!”

Chatter—

While Naru and Elizabeth were chatting, Cecily seemed to have a sudden realization.

Recorder.

Instrument.

Something clicked in Cecily’s head.

“How could I have forgotten something so important?”

* * *

“Today, I’m going to wander around the tool shops a lot.”

Cecily grumbled.

These past few days… well it’s only been about four days.

Anyway, I’ve been wandering the streets and forests with Cecily these days.

Of course, it was to look for traces of Cecily’s parents.

I, Cecily’s father, was wandering around looking for Cecily’s father.

Quite the funny situation.

But no matter how many times I said, “I’m your Dad,” Cecily would respond, “If you say that ridiculous thing one more time, I’ll bite your finger…!” and she would get angry.

I’ve been bitten on the finger, and it hurt more than I had expected.

So, for now, I was going along with Cecily’s pace.

It was a form of process where she was wandering around with me, trying to regain her memory.

Is today’s theme ‘tool shops’?

I asked.

“Why tool shops?”

“I, Cecily, am looking for an instrument. If we go to a tool shop that sells instruments and can buy that instrument, it will be easier to find mom and dad…!”

“An instrument?”

Why an instrument?

I really have nothing to do with instruments.

If I had to find a connection, it would be that when I was young, my mom sent me to piano lessons to make me smarter.

Still, I don’t see how piano lessons relate to becoming smarter…

Anyway.

With that in mind, I took Cecily from shop to shop in the tool market.

Freesia was a city with its own artistic flair, so there were plenty of places selling instruments.

We arrived at a place called the Street of Art.

Bards gathered in every park to sing, and people sat on quiet benches to rest.

A peaceful space.

Soon, Cecily pointed to a tall building as if she had realized something.

“Opera House! Cecily remembers eating cotton candy there on the way home from the opera with her family…!”

I see.

That I watched an opera.

An unbelievable truth about the future.

“Cecily, did your Dad like opera?”

I asked as if I knew nothing.

Then Cecily said.

“Cecily’s Dad would always close his eyes and meditate when watching a performance. Closing his eyes and listening with his heart and ears. It’s a very noble way of appreciating it.”

…No, I’m pretty sure that’s a joke.

I felt like I could vividly imagine a scene from an opera house I’d never seen before.

Cecily continued.

“But, Cecily’s Mom never blinked once when watching operas and plays, totally immersed from beginning to end.”

“Really? Not blinking even once, that’s impressive.”

“Yes! Mom told Cecily so much about the opera’s spirits, Romiette and Julio, the Merchant of Verrenise, and other plays! She said she went to see them a lot with Dad. That’s an elegant cultural life of nobility for you.”

It seems that in the future I have seen quite a few plays.

It’s unlikely that I, accustomed to 21st-century entertainment, would have found the plays of the Pangaea continent genuinely thrilling…

It must have been Cariote who enjoyed them.

Did Cariote like watching plays and such?

I made a mental note of it.

That’s how our journey through the tool shops continued.

Cecily asked the shop owners, “Do you have a small, bone-made instrument shaped like a signal flute?”

Each time, the shop owners shook their heads.

When we had visited most of the shops, Cecily’s shoulders slumped.

Another bust today-.

She must have thought that.

“What instrument are you looking for?”

“It’s something Mom gave to Cecily. In order for Cecily to find her, that instrument is absolutely necessary… I’m sure I brought it with me, but I can’t remember where I could have lost it…”

Lost it?

I see.

If I had to guess, it seems Cecily had something with her that she lost.

And that thing is supposed to help her find her mother.

“When did you lose it?”

“About three months ago? Four months…? When I came to my senses, I, Cecily, was in this city of Freesia. I remember wandering around because I was so hungry…”

I see.

Six years later, when coming from the future to the past, it seems Cecily landed in the Duchy of Freesia.

Then, as if Cecily remembered something, she said,

“Come to think of it… It seems I wasn’t alone… The children… Ugh… It feels like I’m about to remember… Who…?”

Cecily grimaced as if suffering from a severe headache.

I placed my hand on her head.

“There’s no need to force yourself to remember.”

“Don’t touch me without permission…!”

“Oh, right. But wasn’t it similar to how your father would stroke you?”

“Not similar at all!”

Cecily growled like a cat that had been splashed with cold water in the street.

Still, she prattled on, seeming to feel a bit better despite her headache.

“My father is a master of 「Ruthless Stroking」. He was a person who could stroke one’s head fiercely yet gently.”

I had no idea what a ‘Master of Ruthless Stroking’ was, but I had a rough idea of what it meant to stroke someone fiercely yet gently.

I am the King of Thieves.

I was confident in my dexterity.

Like this?

Swish— Swish— Swish— Swish—

I stroked Cecily’s head recklessly.

Then Cecily melted, saying, “Hmm, this might be somewhat similar…” before she snapped back to reality and moved away from me, as if wary.

“Don’t stroke a noble lady’s head as you please, thief…!”

“I see. Anyway, you’re looking for a lost item, right? Then it’s useless to go around tool shops like this. You’d have better chances with the fences.”

Swish—

I took Cecily to the Shadow Council in the underground market.

In the underground swarming with thieves.

Seeing it, Cecily complained, “To think such a vulgar place exists under Freesia. It’s not nobility-friendly at all.”

But then she added.

“However, there are many people wearing masks? It reminds me of a masquerade ball, which is somewhat pleasing. They look like the Phantom of the Opera.”

Masks.

There were indeed many people wearing masks underground.

I bought Cecily a white mask.

She seemed to like it because it resembled the one from ‘The Phantom of the Opera’.

“Do you feel like you’re attending a ball?”

Cecily, masked, hummed a merry tune as if in good spirits.

I couldn’t tell the song, not that I could focus on that considering our situation.

“Hold my arm tight. This is a place where little kids like you could vanish in a blink, even with a mask—your princess aura can’t be hidden.”

It was a light warning.

Fortunately, Cecily, reasonably clever, clutched the hem of my clothes tighter.

With Cecily in tow, I entered the Council of Shadows.

The old thief, the council’s steward, greeted me with open arms.

“Welcome, Lord Judas. Our Council of Shadows always welcomes you. And this one is…”

The old thief’s gaze then shifted to Cecily, clinging to my trousers. Interest flickered in his eyes before fading.

He probably didn’t want to probe too much.

“Lord Judas, what brings you here today?”

“I’m looking for a musical instrument. Likely expensive and stolen by now, so there’s a good chance it ended up here. Some kind of ocarina made of bones. Supposed to be very precious. Seen anything like it in the past three months?”

I sketched the picture as Cecily had described.

An instrument of bone.

A bit broad in description, but the veteran thief caught on quickly.

“A bone instrument? There are a few leads from the past three months. I do have a list of bone instruments sold…, just give me a moment.”

Pat—

The old thief vanished swiftly.

After about five minutes, he reappeared and unfurled a scroll.

“First, there’s the Nymph’s Fingerbone Recorder. Made from the hand of a honey water nymph, they say you can control bees by playing it.”

I looked at Cecily.

Cecily frowned and asked me.

“A recorder from a nymph’s fingerbones? Why would anyone do that?”

Why, indeed?

“Nymphs are unwittingly valuable.”

That’s also why I have kept Sifnoi around.

She’s like, what, hmm, emergency funds.

Of course, I didn’t share such thoughts and continued browsing the list.

Items with pictures of the instruments.

Cecily’s eyes widened as she carefully scanned them.

“Here! This is it!”

Dragon King’s Flute – Allegedly made from the bones of the Leviathan, a dragon king said to have swum the primordial seas.

“I’m certain this is it!”

Cecily jumped up and down as if she were incredibly happy.

After several days of futile attempts, it was natural to be excited about finally seeing some tangible results.

The old thief also seemed to have remembered something.

“Come to think of it, about three months ago, the underground market was abuzz with this item. It was auctioned off for an enormous sum. A whopping 1.5 billion Arcs.”

1.5 billion?

1.5 billion for an instrument?

While I was marveling, the old man added.

“However, it might be best to give up on this. It’s the Shadow Council’s iron rule not to reveal information about buyers, but I’ll tell this to Lord Judas alone.”

Swoosh—

The old man whispered in a voice that only I could hear.

“That flute was purchased by a demon.”

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