What kind of summer can it be without ice cream?
When Luke saw Lux still using ice to cool off, he finally remembered the thing that had been hovering at the edge of his mind.
Making ice cream was hardly difficult for Luke.
His cooking skill was at Lv.6 proficiency—he could even handle higher-difficulty ice cream if he wanted.
With Lady Crownguard watching him eagerly, the end-of-school bell finally rang.
After the two of them left the academy, they climbed into the carriage Yurna had parked at the entrance, waiting for them.
They headed straight for the capital's commercial street.
The area was packed with people, noisy and bustling with that lively street-market vibe. The road was full of foot traffic—so crowded it felt festive.
Once the carriage reached this area, it was hard to move at all.
So Luke had Yurna stop at a convenient spot, and he and Lux prepared to walk the rest of the way.
After getting down, Lux looked down the street, her eyes sparkling. "It's so lively today! Let's browse around first!"
Shopping was a woman's natural hobby.
And this trip was fully covered by Lady Crownguard.
So of course Luke put the sponsor's mood first and nodded along. "Whatever you say."
The two walked side by side down the street, drawing plenty of glances.
One was House Crownguard's precious jewel, the other was a prince. With identities like that, it was impossible not to attract attention.
But the looks weren't rude—people just glanced once, then went back to whatever they were doing.
As they walked, Lux suddenly spotted something interesting. She quickened her pace and started trotting ahead.
Luke followed at an unhurried pace. When he caught up to her—
She was standing in a spot where the crowd wasn't too dense, leaning in to watch whatever commotion was going on.
Luke stepped up and looked over.
Right in front, a person in a black cloak, wearing a tall hat and holding a cane, was putting on a magic show.
He twirled the cane, then slowly stopped. Resting a hand on the cane's top, he snapped his fingers—
And a dove appeared out of thin air.
The surrounding crowd immediately burst into surprised sounds, and Lux enthusiastically applauded.
Next, the magician took off his hat and flipped it upside down, placing the dove inside. His hand swept slowly across the opening, perfectly flat, as if smoothing the air.
Then he flipped the hat back over again—nothing fell out.
He even turned the hat toward the audience so they could see inside.
The dove was gone.
In the next second, he snapped his fingers again, and the dove flew straight out of the hat, landing on the magician's shoulder.
The audience erupted into another wave of astonished cries.
After two tricks, the magician put the hat back on and bowed to everyone.
The performance seemed to be over.
Lux walked away, still wanting more. As she and Luke continued down the street, she sighed in admiration, "That person is so amazing!"
Such a sheltered little girl.
To avoid shattering her beautiful illusions about the world, Luke yawned and nodded along. "Yeah, yeah."
In reality, it was just a type of flexible "magic dove," a standard prop magicians used all the time.
And Lux still didn't catch that Luke was humoring her. She remained absorbed in the show. "I don't get how he made the dove appear—whoosh, like that."
Seeing how interested she was, Luke suddenly thought of something and smiled. "Lady Crownguard, want to see the same kind of show?"
Lux lifted her head and looked at him, puzzled. "What do you mean, the same kind of show?"
Luke said, "Magic."
Now Lux looked even more suspicious. "You can do magic too?"
"I know a little," Luke said modestly. "Just tell me—do you want to see it?"
Still doubtful, Lux nodded anyway. "I want to see. What are you going to do?"
"Take out a gold coin."
Luke spoke as they walked.
So Lux pulled a gold coin from her little purse and handed it to Luke.
Luke took the coin and held it up, showing Lux both sides, even tugging his sleeve up a bit.
Lux, meanwhile, noticed Luke's fingers were long. His hands were nice—pale, with distinct knuckles and a rare kind of refinement.
"Watch closely," Luke said. "The magic trick I'm going to perform is making this coin disappear."
Lux stared for a couple more seconds. Only when Luke's voice finished did she remember the point was the magic trick.
She immediately focused her attention on the coin.
Luke tossed the coin into the air. His hands moved in a blur, then he grabbed—
And finally closed both hands into fists, as if trapping it inside.
He asked, "Which hand do you think it's in?"
"This one!" Lux pointed right away at his right hand. She'd seen him catch the coin with his right hand.
"Nope."
Luke smiled and opened his right hand—empty.
Lux instinctively looked to the other hand. Luke opened that one too.
Still nothing.
Lux froze, confused.
She had clearly seen Luke grab the coin. But now both hands were empty.
"Where did the coin go?" Lux asked, voicing the question in her head.
Luke lifted his hand near Lux's ear and gently snapped his fingers.
When he pulled his hand back, a gold coin was pinched between two fingers.
The girl's eyes lit up, brimming with intense interest.
"How did you do that?"
"Just basic sleight of hand," Luke said, still fairly modest as he smiled. "Do you believe I can make five coins disappear at the same time?"
Lux thought for a moment, then shook her head. "No!"
"Hand over the money," Luke said, holding out his hand.
So Lux took out four more gold coins and placed them in his palm.
"First is the first coin."
Luke laid the five coins in a straight line, flat across his left palm.
Then he held his right hand flat and waved it back and forth over his left, one pass after another.
Lux stared without blinking. Her serious, totally focused expression—like she didn't dare get distracted for even a second—was adorable.
But even so, as Luke waved his hand, Lux realized the five coins in his left palm became four—
And then, in the blink of an eye, they became three.
"Wait!"
Lux immediately stopped him. "I want to see your right hand!"
Luke wasn't afraid at all. He smiled, moved his right hand away, flipped it over to show the back, then flipped it again to show the front.
Lux inspected it again and again, but she couldn't find anything wrong.
Luke asked, "Can I continue?"
Lux nodded, her eyes full of confusion.
This time Luke switched to a new technique.
He pinched the remaining three coins between the gaps of three fingers, then tossed one up, then tossed another, then tossed the third—
Like a trick, the three coins spun in midair in continuous circles.
Lux's eyes almost got dizzy from watching, but soon she noticed something—
One of the spinning coins was gone.
Her eyes widened immediately.
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