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Chapter 74: To Children, Parties Are Like War! (2)
Chapter 74: To Children, Parties Are Like War! (2)
Chapter 74: To Children, Parties Are Like War! (2)
? To Children, Parties Are Like War! (2) ?
Salome didn’t like children.
They always did whatever they wanted, and it was hard to guess what they were thinking.
Some would even cry at the drop of a hat.
Still, the students of the Graham Academy were considered high-level.
There were hardly any criers, and most were quiet.
Of course, there were troublemakers too.
“Teacher, Naru is sleeping after lunch again!”
“Leave her be. She’ll start blabbering about her dreams if you wake her up.”
“Oh, holy shh…! Naru is awake now! Is it time to go home?”
The children laughed heartily.
Salome no longer felt like scolding the kids.
But.
The kids were even more willful today.
Rustle— Rustle—
Midterm exams were very close.
The kids should have been focused on their lessons, yet they were engrossed in something odd.
‘Notes.’
Salome realized that her students were secretly passing around small ‘notes.’
No matter how much the kids tried to hide it, nothing could escape the eyes of Salome, once known as the Princess of the Back Alleys.
“You there, stop. Hand over what you have in your hand.”
“Hii!”
Salome swiftly caught a student’s hand, she seemed very accustomed to trying to catch cheaters.
Then, a note fell from the child’s hand.
It read.
??Tonight at 7 PM. At the garden of the residence at Freesia’s 4th Street, Naru’s housewarming party??All attendees get a 100% chance of a handshake from Naru?? 100% free ? Gift of Naru’s doodle?Molumolu photo as a gift? A chance to get Naru’s autograph@@@ Take the carriage in front of the school gate for immediate departure.
‘What the hell.’
It was clearly an invitation to a party.
It was hard to recognize due to the fancy decorations on the small note.
‘Now that I think about it, wasn’t there a birthday party today at the Duke’s Villa on 3rd Street? Caesar Von Freesia’s.’
Salome was a cultured and socially savvy thief.
Where nobles gathered, ‘money’ was always flowing.
Normally, Salome would have also disguised herself as a noblewoman to attend such parties to swipe the wallets of the rich.
But tonight, Judas was throwing a party at his residence.
Salome planned to attend Judas’ party even if it meant losing out on some money.
‘The atmosphere between the mage and Judas has been strange lately. Damn, I should not have told the truth about the mage being kidnapped to Judas.’
Anyway.
Salome confiscated the note as she organized her thoughts.
“You guys have exams soon. Just so you know, our class ranked first in the recent mock test.”
“Oh, holy shh…! Naru thinks first place is good!”
“First from the end.”
“Hiiiik…!”
* * *
It was gradually time to leave school.
As the children were packing their bags, the door opened with a clatter.
“Who is that?”
“Isn’t that Naru from the next class?”
“Wait, it can only be that Naru, right? I see, that’s who it is.”
“Everyone come to Naru’s party! Molumolu will be there too!”
?Meoww.
Naru opened the door to the other class and invited the children at random.
The children tilted their heads at the sight of the black furry lump in Naru’s arms.
“Molumolu? What kind of animal is that?”
“Don’t know. Can we find out at the party?”
Naru’s party invitation went smoothly.
To the composed Elizabeth, the odds of Naru versus Caesar were a solid 50-50.
Although Caesar tried to lure the kids with ‘toys’ or ‘rare cards’, his reputation wasn’t good among them, making Naru’s success possible.
“That sounds fun.”
“I heard that at Naru’s party, there will be Brigitte, the Mage of The Black Jewel, and the Monk Enkidus?”
“Really? That’s so cool…! They are the heroes who defeated the Demon King…! Can I meet them if I go?”
“Will the Warrior also come? I like the Warrior the best.”
Again.
The children purely adored the great heroes and warriors.
When word spread that joining Naru’s party might mean meeting the warriors who breached the Demon King’s castle, the children flocked to get an invitation.
Naru, on the other hand, was taken aback.
“Cecily, what should we do? Friends are swarming in!”
“Naru, you invited too many! My arm hurts from stamping the invitations!”
Cecily was handing out pretty invitations decorated with flowers as proof of being invited,
but her arm was starting to hurt from the sheer number of them.
Soon, even Elizabeth joined in to help make invitations, but it was not enough.
Chatter—
Seeing the long line of kids at Naru’s side, Caesar clicked his tongue.
“Such fools.”
He spoke calmly with his arms crossed, but inside, he was filled with tension.
‘What to do? If this continues, I’ll lose…! Then, all the guests I invited to my party will be snatched away by Naru! Then, I’ll be the one being laughed at….’
He couldn’t become a Grand Duke like his grandfather.
A person who is laughed at has a hard time becoming a leader.
For Caesar, who dreams of becoming a Great Duke of the Freesia Duchy, this was a disaster.
‘What can I do? How can I resolve this situation?’
Caesar was a clever boy.
He thought of a couple of underhanded ways to resolve the situation.
‘Spread a rumor that the children invited to Naru’s party might be kidnapped by Judas…?’
It seemed like a very effective method.
If such a rumor spread, the people flocking to Naru’s party would surely stop.
“……”
However, Caesar ultimately did not let such slander escape his lips.
It was a clear lie and baseless defamation.
“Young master Caesar, if it goes on like this, we will lose! Shall we spread a rumor that people going to Naru’s party might be kidnapped?”
Caesar’s childhood friend and right-hand man, Bluetooth with blue hair, whispered anxiously to him. Yet Caesar shook his head calmly.
“That’s a cowardly act. A person who commits cowardly acts and tells lies cannot stand as a public figure above everyone else.”
It’s better to lose with honor than win by cowardice.
And to Caesar, losing a bet and having to attend Naru’s party didn’t seem so bad.
Honestly, Caesar also wanted to meet the bald monk Enkidus and get his autograph.
Because even for the grandson of Duke Freesia, meeting great heroes wasn’t easy.
A loss is still a loss.
With a heavy heart, Caesar apologized to his friend Bluetooth.
“It’s my lack of virtue that has led to my defeat. Bluetooth, I’m sorry to you too, for you supported me. I hear you bet a Green-Eyed Dragon card with the kid next door on who would win?”
“No, I actually bet on your loss, young master. Thanks to you, I now have three Green Dragon cards and can fuse them into the Ultimate Green Eyes Dragon!”
“……”
“You’re not friendly, young master. It was never a fight you could win. You knew that, didn’t you?”
“Arghh-. Even you, Bluetooth….”
As Caesar was stewing in his defeat,
someone whispered softly.
“Going to Naru’s party might get you kidnapped?”
“They say it’s a gathering to kidnap kids.”
“Really? Is that true?”
“……!”
Caesar quickly realized that a strange rumor was spreading among the kids.
Looking at his friend Bluetooth for answers, Bluetooth shook his head.
“I didn’t say anything…!”
“Then who did?”
Who would spread such a lie?
Could it be one of Caesar’s followers?
Caesar went straight to the children to ask.
“Where did you hear that story?”
“Me? I just heard it too. Don’t know who said it.”
“……”
As Caesar frowned, Tywin, who was packing her bag to prepare for home, clicked her tongue.
“It’s a rumor from class H’s Horohoro. That girl is spreading it everywhere. Horohoro, that girl, she’s a bit… No, more importantly, be careful. Caesar Freesia. Today, an ill-omened star is shining above your head.”
“An ill-omened star?”
* * *
“Ugh, the invitations I worked so hard on are discarded…! Everyone’s so rude…! I feel like swearing…!”
Cecily was fuming.
Because the invitations she had painstakingly drawn with flowers were discarded in the trash or on the ground.
Invitations to the ?Junk Mansion? were strewn on the ground.
The reason the invitations everyone had received were now scattered on the ground was clear.
It was because of the ‘rumor’ that was spreading.
“Naru worked so hard to invite them.”
Even the always cheerful Naru looked downcast today.
Was it because the invitations were carelessly thrown away?
When Elizabeth gently placed her hand on Naru’s trembling shoulder, she thought, “Naru has her girlish side too.”
“If there are fewer guests… Naru can eat more strawberries alone… And melons too. Melons are expensive, so I can’t eat them all the time. Hehe…”
In fact, Naru was quietly happy about the prospect of eating more of the leftover fruit by herself!
‘Naru is not ordinary, after all.’
Watching her, Elizabeth felt a bit relieved.
Then, picking up an invitation from the ground, she said,
“If you go to Naru’s house, you get kidnapped… Who spread such a nasty rumor? Even if it’s Naru’s dad, he wouldn’t kidnap an invited guest, right?”
“…N-Naru doesn’t know…”
When Elizabeth asked, Naru averted her eyes sneakily.
Her expression was like a guilty puppy with more white showing in her eyes than black.
“……”
As Elizabeth’s hands were getting damper.
Cecily said.
“If it’s about the rumor, I know who spread it. I, Cecily, learned a bit about ‘tracking’ from a hunter. The rumor is coming from class H. From Horohoro!”
Horohoro.
A name imprinted in the mind of Elizabeth, who ranked second in her grade.
It was a name she first heard when she went to visit the ‘Priestess of Gluttony’.
All the children were once kidnapped by a thief who suddenly appeared in the cabin, and only Horohoro had slipped away somewhere.
She had let it go at the time due to various incidents.
But with today’s rumor incident.
Cecily, being a noble, thought she had to get to the bottom of it.
“I must find out why she is spreading such a nasty rumor!”
Pop—
Thus, she went to H class.
She heard that Horohoro had already left the school gates 10 minutes ago. Heading straight for the gates, she learned that Horohoro had taken the circulating magic vehicle.
“Did she go to Provence village?”
While Elizabeth was wondering, Naru suddenly raised her hand.
“Maybe she went to meet Hina! Come to think of it, Hina is also Naru’s friend. I’ll invite her to the party today! Everyone, get on the magic vehicle!”
Ding— Dong—
The kids all boarded the arriving magic-driven vehicle with the sound of bells.
About 30 minutes had passed.
“Ah, I forgot Sifnoi was coming to pick us up…! Hmm… Well, it’s Sifnoi, so it should be fine…?”
Cecily spoke to the giggling Naru.
“Are you talking about that strange nymph, Sifnoi?”
“Ung, ung! Ah, we’re almost there! Provence Village!”
Suddenly, the vehicle arrived at its final destination, Provence Village, halted, and the children alighted, making their way to the hut where Hina lived.
“Shh-.”
Then Cecily stopped in her tracks.
It was because her noble intuition, a ‘sense’ that caused her hair to stand on end, had triggered.
“We should stop for a moment. There’s someone in the hut. It could be a thief again. If you get kidnapped again, Cecily, you’ll be grounded from going out. Let’s listen to who’s inside first.”
Cecily had a noble’s unique sense that allowed her to eavesdrop on others’ conversations with grace, a noble ability.
In other words, it was ?Cecily Style – Lavish Eavesdropping?.
In the social circles of the nobility, all sorts of rumors and stories were always afloat.
Pretending to be uninterested while eavesdropping was an essential skill for nobles.
This skill was something Cecily had learned from her mother, who was also of noble birth.
Though she could not remember her mother’s face…!
Anyway, Cecily stood in front of the hut and listened in on a quiet conversation.
?So today’s the day? The Duke’s grandson, Caesar, is going to stand on the platform at the party on 3rd Street. Shall we proceed with the plan then? A substantial amount of research data from the Walpurgis has been sent in.
?Today… the day of action… A 97 percent chance of success… If the plan succeeds today… We can secure the funds… Enough to support your research…
?Is the secrecy assured?
?Certainly… In the shadows… Mara will begin to move… I, the Priestess of Gluttony, guarantee his abilities… You just need to prepare the new vessel as promised…
?Understood. Then, as promised, make sure the kidnapping of Caesar goes smoothly. I’ll be on my way now. I have an evening engagement.
Bang—
At that moment, the door opened.
Because of it, Cecily’s face bumped into the opened door.
Thud—
“Hyaaaek…!!!”
Cecily clutched her bumped head, groaning in pain.
“Ow, it hurts…!”
“Von Ragdoll…? Maybe she heard the story just now… No, that can’t be.”
A woman in a black robe passed by Cecily with the click-clack of her heels.
Those footsteps.
To the sensitive Cecily, they were familiar.
“Elle Cladeco? You hit someone on the head and don’t apologize? How incredibly rude!”
Cecily grumbled as she watched the woman in the black robe disappear into the distance.
Then she blinked, touching her forehead which was turning red and swollen.
“But more importantly, you said something about a kidnapping. Why would Headmaster Elle Cladeco want to kidnap Caesar von Freesia, the Duke’s grandson?”
Elizabeth was truly shocked to hear Cecily’s muttering.
“What are you talking about?! Tywin’s mother is trying to kidnap Caesar! How could such a thing… Why…?”
Elizabeth became increasingly confused.
While Cecily and Elizabeth were tilting their heads in wonder, Naru burst back in through the door, exclaiming loudly.
“If you’re curious, just ask Hina! Hina, hello! There’s a party today, do you want to come? There’ll be lots of melons and grapes! And what’s this about kidnapping Caesar?”
As Naru entered the cabin, Hina, who had been wearing a black robe, removed the hood over her head and opened her thin eyes.
Her eyes were indifferent.
“Naru… Cecily… Don’t interfere with today’s plan… If you want to help your fathers and mothers… If you interfere… I won’t forgive you… Even if it’s you…”
The Priestess of Gluttony, Hina, quietly drew a dagger from her waist.
The blade was a crescent moon-shaped dagger that looked eerily curved.
“This time… let’s settle this properly… Naru Barjudas….”
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