An hour later.
Here, a little boy felt his world falling apart at the news of Meldenik's excommunication. It was Henry, a baby wizard who subscribed to all the newspapers every day.
"What do you think…?"
Wearing a hat on his head, Henry carried a bag as big as his body and ran to the top floor of the Mage Tower.
"Isaac, are you busy, Master?" The little baby, who was only five years old, opened the office door awkwardly and tucked his head in.
Isaac whispered lightly, still holding the papers. "I'm not busy, Henry. What's going on?" It was not very common for a little wizard to visit his private study. Wondering if something had happened, Isaac closed the pen and looked forward.
"Ugh… Because it's like this…" Henry covered his eyes with both hands as if he was ashamed.
"Huh?" The genius little wizard pursed his lips as he spread his fingers slightly and peeked at Isaac through the gap. He was going to say something embarrassing for some reason. But the words didn't come out of his mouth.
"…Uh-woo. Uh-woo." Henry, who was twisting his body around, looked out the door and pulled his plump lips forward.
"You can speak slowly."
"Because… Niaa…" A voice that seemed to echo in a cave echoed. The child lowered his hand and glanced behind his back, as if he couldn't speak. Then he tugged at the strap of his bag and pursed his lips.
"Oh, it's frustrating!" Henry came in and shouted in a loud voice through the crack in the door.
"Carat?"
Carat, who was hiding outside the door, quickly ran out at the same time as Isaac questioned in confusion.
"Yes, Master of the Magic Tower! I, Carat, the closest aide of the Master of the Magic Tower, have arrived!"
"It's not the closest aide! That's Carat!"
"Hmph!"
The combination of Carat and Henry was unprecedented. The two little wizards used to scold each other, saying that they were better little wizards.
"Hey, that's not the point!"
"Oh, Master!"
Why were these two great rivals, who had a history of breaking the walls of the Mage Tower, now exchanging glances with each other? At the ominous premonition that was rapidly approaching, Isaac quietly brushed his hand through his hair.
"If you have an accident, I'll give you a chance to correct it." Isaac leaned back comfortably and looked at the papers in his hand. It was true that there must be something about the two of them avoiding his gaze.
Henry patted his small hand on his chest and shouted, as if frustrated, "Did you listen, Master?" Henry grabbed Carat's arm tightly.
Isaac shook his head as he heard the serious voices of the two little ones. The next speaker, Carat, clenched his fists.
"Our kind, honest, wonderful friend, Mel, was excommunicated!"
He guessed it was a story about Meldenik. But truly, these children would come to his office for Meldenik.
"…Oh, I heard you. Are you here because of Meldenik?"
"Yes!"
"Our friends need to comfort Mel and go find out the truth of the case!"
He nodded slowly and looked at the children. Isaac already knew that Meldenik had been excommunicated.
Because Rasmus has already been talking about it for a long time.
Meldenik had stayed in the Mage Tower for just a week. In that short period of time, she had left a great mark on the people of this place.
Isaac crumpled the papers in his hand and lost himself in a brief memory. Rasmus was a clumsy but quite clever mage. He had said that Hildegard must be preparing something to counterattack, and that the scandal would not be over. Hildegard Babyloa was openly saying that she would ruin Meldenik, and he had noticed that. It seemed that she would not step forward even after this.
However, Isaac sent Rasmus back. And he handled political affairs comfortably from this place. Because he didn't hear from Meldenik at all.
…I told her to contact me at any time if she was in danger.
The bird that he had given her to contact in case of emergency did not fly, not even once. Was she not in danger? Or did she not contact him even though it was dangerous? He erased the second hypothesis that was scattered in his head. She was a smart woman, so if she needed help, she would definitely have contacted him somehow. Perhaps it was the person named Dominic who always stood by her side as if escorting her. Whatever it was, it was considered a trivial matter. She might not ask him for help. Because they didn't actually have a very close relationship. It was just a moderate acquaintance.
So he did not head to Meldenik's stationery store. He was a little curious… There was nothing more rude than unexpected help that had never been asked for.
"By the way, Master…" It was Henry's small voice that awakened Isaac from his thoughts.
Henry's white, bread-like hand pointed towards Isaac and scratched his lips. "Yes, what's going on?" A languid voice mixed with gentleness.
Henry mustered up the courage to point out, "Master, you're holding the documents upside down now! And you used a lot of strength to crumple the paper!"
"My hands are strangely stiff." He put the torn papers down on the table and gently raised the corners of his mouth.
Let's be honest. He was always strangely concerned about Meldenik. Even though he had never done that to anyone before.
I thought it was because it was strange… I'm worried and annoyed.
His languid eyes flickered softly. Isaac unbuttoned a few buttons on his shirt and whispered softly, "I made a mistake."
"Yes?"
"No. I thought I'd go to Meldenik too."
Henry opened the door of his bag and took out a pencil case and a pencil. "Wow, it's worth it! Let's stir and spoil all the blood! I'm going to give you new blood!" It was an overly clean pencil case that was so precious. In particular, the part where ancient words were written was even enormous.
Carat lied without even putting saliva on his mouth. "Not a single one was broken… No, no. That's right! I should go quickly!"
"Let's go!"
"That's right, Master. Although Henry is not as good as me, he is showing a very smart opinion this time."
"No! I want to grow more! But! It's worth it to me!"
Isaac smiled and nodded. "Yes. Let's go together."
The children's sparkling, innocent eyes all contained pure goodwill. How on earth could Meldenik be loved by these children? Most of the children here were abandoned wizards. Just like himself. They were children with a high threshold of heart and strong vigilance, but she broke their vigilance in no time.
"Yes!" Henry walked on top of Isaac's lap and jumped on it.
"Master."
"Yes."
"Why does Isaac call Mel 'Meldenik'?"
Isaac, who was caught off guard, tidied up Henry's hair without answering. He gently lifted Henry's small body, placed it on the desk, and whispered in a low voice, "Actually…"
Gleam.
He could see Henry's eyes shining. There was no doubt that they were looking forward to it. He didn't mean to say anything grand. Turning around the point of thought, Isaac gently stroked Henry's hair.
"I have a more special nickname than 'Mel'."
It was a grumpy remark he had made on stage (perhaps a previous interaction). A little grumpy towards Meldenik, who had not yet allowed him a nickname. However, as soon as they heard the words "special nickname," Carat and Henry finally made eye contact with each other. Carat was almost on the verge of collapsing on the carpet, to put it bluntly.
"Don't you like it too much?"
"Huh, heh." Carat nodded so much that her head seemed like it would fall off and put her hands together in prayer.
"Come on, come on, Master! Heading to Mel's stationery store! Let's go!"
"Yes, let's go right away." Isaac reached out to Carat, who was unusually excited, and briefly took a look at the dragon egg on the table.