Brunnen World’s Fair (1)
Vlad captured Clayo, wrapped in water, through his night vision telescope.
It was a magical tool that made dark places appear bright for a few minutes when equipped with an ether battery.
Beyond the lens.
Clayo, who had fallen into a deep sleep without even taking a breath, did not surface for a long time.
If the red-haired girl who jumped into the water after him had not caught him, Cleo would have drowned.
Paget.
As the telescope’s batteries died, Vlad’s suspicious eyes appeared through the blackened lenses.
Despite being a wizard who wielded such powerful magic, Cleo seemed clearly afraid of water.
My younger brother, who was much older than me, was weak and prone to depression, but he had no particular fear of going to the water. After all, he was born and raised by the sea.
The moment when the suspicion in those affectionate blue-gray eyes transforms into dark certainty.
Dione, who had discovered Vlad, quickly cast [Defense] magic. This was because he had caught sight of the water spray rushing towards the dock.
“Be careful! [The light of protection is faint, but it will not go out, and it will be as firm and solid as my will!]”
The wave that swallowed Clayo finally reached the harbor.
Choaaaah! Choorulsuk!
The wave was not strong enough to destroy a building, but it was still strong enough to knock over a person.
.
.
.
Cleo slowly regained consciousness to the sound of men and women talking.
It was an unfamiliar room.
‘Is this a hotel near the port?’
It was everything you’d expect from a hotel room with a living room, from the wallpaper and furniture arrangements to the linens with initials on them to the view of the harbor from the bed.
Only then did the meaning of the words exchanged at the bedside begin to enter my head.
The man is Vlad.
“Lady, you have protected me, so I will repay your debt for the rest of my life.”
The woman was Dione.
“It’s a very tempting offer, but I think it would be a bit awkward for a weaker man to enter into a lifelong contract as powerful as marriage, Mr. Aser.”
Even in my half-asleep state, I could feel the sharp thorns in Dione’s beautiful voice.
at that time,
Dione was the first to notice Cleo’s drooping eyelids.
“Ah, ah! Your Highness, are you awake?”
At Dione’s scolding, Vlad turned towards the bed and smiled brightly.
He was a person whose facial expressions were top-notch.
“Are you awake, Ray? How are you feeling?”
Cleo felt a little sick at Vlad’s behavior of calling her by her nickname without even forgetting.
‘Anyway, I’m telling you, he’s a guy who’s good at picking on people.’
“…it’s okay.”
“Lady Dione’s healing magic seems to have worked well. Of course, your magic was great too. But did you trade your swimming skills for your magical powers? You became afraid of water.”
Compared to my past aversion to water, my current aversion isn’t that great… but even that seems to be seen as strange in the eyes of my blood relatives.
Cleo had just woken up and even with his hazy mind, he could tell that this was some kind of test.
His quick-witted mind quickly came up with the answer.
“I think it’s because I just used a great spell and my body feels weak, brother.”
Isiel flinched slightly.
In her view, today’s incident was not caused by ether depletion, but by a fear of water.
“Oh. I hope you recover quickly in every way. I wish I could take better care of you, but I can’t delay any longer, which is a shame.”
‘What do you mean take care of me? Isiel and Dione did all the work?’
Anyway, he was a person who often said things he didn’t mean.
Wondering how he could get Vlad out, Kleio looked at the clock on the mantlepiece.
Before we knew it, time was approaching midnight.
Dione, who had been observing Cleo’s expression, cleverly folded his seat.
“I, as the guardian, will take responsibility for taking care of the young master. Company Aser is opening the largest booth among the companies participating in the Albion exhibition. There is nothing more important than that. Vice President, don’t worry and go to bed.”
“Then, I will properly thank you next time. I am touched by your generosity, Lady Dione. Ray, I will see you at the fair.”
“Take a look, brother.”
Click.
We ended up talking only about good things with smiles on our faces, but something felt strange.
Vlad’s behavior was incredibly disturbing.
However, more than the discomfort, fatigue came over him and he collapsed face down.
“Clayo!”
Isiel quickly stretched out his arm and wrapped it around Clayo’s head, which was about to hit the headboard.
“young master!”
Then Dione casted the [Inspector] spell and caused chaos.
Although Dione looked refreshed after changing out of her wet clothes, she probably didn’t have much ether left.
Didn’t you use magic to evacuate the people and restore Kleio?
After much struggling, Cleo was finally able to persuade Dione.
“Ah, no… I’m not terminally ill, so please save Aether. Yes, Isiel, is Arthur okay?”
“Master Arthur is safe. He just went to bed early due to fatigue. Your older brother came later.”
“Your companion, Mr. White, is staying in the same room as the prince. He said he would let you know if there were any problems. He said he was a lab assistant? He looks young, but he is very smart.”
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Isiel, who couldn’t hide his expression, just stared out the window where there was nothing to see, and Cleo pretended to be sleepy to hide his embarrassment.
When leaving the Hyde-White mansion, Fran herself burned all of her own portraits and never took any pictures, so Dione seemed unaware of Fran’s true identity.
‘It’s all good.’
“I see. That’s good. So let’s get some rest. It’s been a long day.”
“Yes. I will also step aside, my lord.”
Perhaps because she was tired, Dione quickly left the room, clutching the hem of her skirt.
Finally, Isiel, who was left behind, turned off the gas light in the room.
Isiel spoke solemnly, holding a lamp in one hand and covering Clayo with the blanket with the other.
“Are you sure you’re okay after using such great magic and falling into the water? Your complexion is bad.”
“No, it was okay because you saved me in time. You saved my life twice. I owe you.”
The moment Arthur lost sight of Clio, Isiel, who had been waiting nearby, jumped into the water.
Isiel, who was originally much better at swimming than Arthur, bravely crossed the howling sea and rescued Clio.
“This is not something you should do because you owe it to someone. It’s something a person should do.”
Isiel’s answer was not at all unexpected.
The corners of his ears turned slightly red, as if he was embarrassed to hear Chiha’s words.
Isn’t he a truly upright knight-errant?
While Clayo was smiling, Isiel took something out of his pocket.
“Well, Arthur said that it is your fault for defeating the demon, so it is yours to take.”
After placing the magic stone in his classmate’s hand, Isiel turned around politely and left the room.
‘Promise’ revealed the identity of the magic stone.
In the darkness, the white agate’s brilliance stood out delicately.
[Agate of the Mist
:The Magic Stone of Clouds and Fog]
As I held the warm agate, a corner of my heart tingled.
Left alone, Clio fell into a deep sleep with a faint smile on his face.
***
The party arrived in the capital of Brunnen a day later than originally scheduled.
From the steamer going up the River Brek, the city’s main buildings were visible at a glance.
Köneburg was a city built in a very different style from Lundein. The roads and buildings were all large and newer than Lundein.
The city, built of limestone with a grayish tinge, had many square buildings, giving it a somewhat exaggerated and crude impression.
‘It’s neoclassical. Well, it’s said that the foundation stone was laid on the riverside where there used to be only a trading post after the monarchy was established, so it’s only been around thirty years. It’s a completely new city.’
While Cleo was lost in thought, Arthur leaned over the railing as if he had discovered something.
“Ray, Ray! See? I think that’s Chepel Island.”
“Chepel Island?”
“Yeah! Originally, there was a Mnemosyne gate there too!”
The three princes showed off their diligent study of the tourist guidebook.
Where his fingertips pointed, there was a small island dividing the Brek River into two.
Clio used “Perception” to sharpen his vision.
Inside the small island, covered with steel and glass as if in a greenhouse, the walls of an old ruin remained.
‘Is that the closed gate of Mnemosyne?’
It certainly appeared to be a simple stone wall, with no etheric reaction whatsoever.
Fran clicked her tongue behind her as she watched Cleo and Arthur stick their heads out of the bow of the ship to admire the ruins of the Gate of Mnemosyne.
“It was worth the midnight escape from Tergesti. I had time to sightsee before entering the exhibition hall.”
Fran’s reaction was cold, as she had been sweating profusely trying to avoid the attention of others after becoming a member of the ‘Young Heroes Who Saved the Harbor’ group.
The large steamer he had originally booked left at dawn the same day as it cleared port, so Cleo, who was still not fully recovered, had to arrange for another ship.
The ship the group took to Köneburg was a tourist cruise ship.
So instead of going straight to the pier in front of the exhibition hall, there was a course that went around Cepel Island.
Arthur, who was very satisfied with the situation, joked.
“Hey, Fran. It was just a bit of an early departure. Running away in the middle of the night was too harsh.”
Cleo also joined Arthur in protest.
“Well, the ferry departure time was set early anyway. It’s peak season.”
“Ha! Who was it that was lazily lying on the bed, and then hurriedly got out when Mayor Tergesti was awarding him an honorary citizenship and a medal? Wasn’t it you, Aser?”
Cleo flinched, his shoulders shaking as he was stabbed.
What Fran said was true.
He had already gained attention and fame with just that one ‘Capital Defense Commander’, so he couldn’t afford to suffer the same fate in another country.
Of course, I understand Mayor Tergesti’s position.
Tergesti was a logistics hub not only for Brunnen but also for the Carolingian west and the Pedrian east.
If the harbor there had been damaged by the devil, it would have been a disaster that would have caused trouble for the entire adjacent area for years.
I understood, but it was annoying. I had to stop my name from being sold.
Cleo had already paid his room rate and jumped on the first ship leaving before the mayor could send another aide.
As I was scratching the area under my ear, wondering what to say, the steamer soon passed the side of Chepel Island and began to increase speed.
Huh?
The water splashed up onto the deck. While Kleio struggled, Fran cleverly dodged the water and disappeared into the cabin.
“Clayo, hold on tight. You’re going to fall.”
Seeing that sight, the trainee reporter, worried that his colleague might fall into the water again, stretched out his strong arm.
“Oh my… Thank you, Isiel.”
“Even though you’ve grown taller, you’re still thin and can’t stand up properly.”
“Hahaha. I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep at night if I hear something like that from Isiel. Are you okay, Ray?”
“It’s not that I’m weak, it’s that you guys are too strong… Anyway, I’ll go in before I cause any more trouble.”
Leaving Arthur and Isiel, who were still busy sightseeing in the city, Cleo quickly went inside.
We will soon arrive at the exhibition hall.
There was something Cleo was doing earlier that he couldn’t finish because Arthur dragged him outside.
He sprawled out on the armchair in his room and opened up the official exhibition guidebook he had laid face down.
It was the introduction page for the food and beverage establishments in the International Hall.
The full-color lithographic prints were filled with heart-pounding descriptions and illustrations.
‘Yes, the Serika Country Tea House! No matter how I look at it, it’s Chinese-style. Doesn’t it look like dim sum and jasmine tea? Is that the one I know?’
My mouth watered at the prospect of eating dumplings for the first time in years.
