Chapter 52 – Doll Maker Luca 6
The words “Great Magician” that I just heard made my ears instinctively perk up.
I eavesdropped on the conversation of the magicians next to me while having breakfast.
Aix changed his job to thief.
“That’s not all. Apparently, no one knows the mysterious Great Magician’s background. They even set up counter magics to track him back.”
“That’s elaborate. It’s like the way of showing off a sinister power, fitting for a Great Mage. It’s been about 10 years since we had a new certification. What’s the person’s name?”
“That’s elaborate. It’s like the way of sneaky demonstration of power that a Great Magician would do. It’s been about 10 years since the last certification, right? What’s the person’s name?”
“It’s Aix… No, I think it’s Aeix?”
Cough.
I hurriedly drank the soup to expel the bread stuck in my throat and patted my chest.
Phew.
That suprised me.
Our name are too similar.
Well, I’m the kind of useless guy who was rejected when I tried to register at the Magician’s Hermitage and was told, “Ha! So you can only use beginner magic? Your Adventurer’s Guild is over there.”
Congratulations on becoming a Great Magician, Aeix.
When I went to the workshop to surprise Luca with self-deprecating jokes, I was surprised to find that she beat me to it.
“Luca… what is this?”
There was a fancy cake, decorations in the room, and even a banner saying “Congratulations on the Inauguration of Great Magician Aix!”
Come on, this is too much for a joke.
“Congratulations Aix!”
“As expected of my partner!”
Seeing the two of them smile earnestly made me understand.
Oh, this is serious.
Looks like they came to the wrong conclusion.
“Oh, by the way, Luca please read the newspaper again. The Great Magician’s name is Aeix, right?”
The moment I pointed that out, her bright smile turned into a frown.
Sorry.
But perhaps Luca would be too embarrassed to come out of the back room if anyone pointed out her mistake.
“Aix, it’s been a long time since Hero Newspaper’s credibility was lost, but there’s still some truth behind it. Take a look.”
Despite that, Luca covered the ‘e’ in Aeix from the Hero Newspaper with her slender fingers and presented it to me. I mean, that won’t work, right?
“Hah?”
“What? Got a problem?”
Maybe she couldn’t back out after prepared this cake?
But this cake, if you look closely…
You can tell just by looking at it.
It must be delicious.
Gulps
My stomach growled.
I’m sorry.
“I was wrong. You noticed it well, I am the Great Magician Aix. Now, shall we start the inauguration celebration?”
“Haah, what a disappointing Great Magician. Let’s start.”
Luca pityingly looked at me, who sold my soul for a cake. Even though Luca prepared the cake.
The stuffed rabbit that had received the order walked on the table and served the cake. Tea was served and the tea party began.
“Thank you.”
When I thanked it, the rabbit bowed. … I feel like this individual’s intelligence is increasing.
Oh well. When I cut the cake with my fork, the lustrous fruit layers were visible, raising my expectations. When I took a bite, happiness spread throughout my mouth.
Mmmmmhh!
It was filled with luxury and sweetness.
The fresh acidity of the fruit brought a sense of depth and emotion to the taste. The fruit played a role in adding sourness to complement the sweetness, taking it to the next level.
“So Aix, when are you coming? We have to make preparations.”
“Huh?”
Luca said something, but the sweetness erased the question.
It’s blissful.
After drinking tea, the aftertaste lingered.
Ah..
“You don’t have any money, do you?”
Luca is sweet, just like the cake.
“I got the money. I won’t be struggling for a while.”
“Are you working for it!?”
I took a sip of tea and shook my head slowly.
“No, I sold this warm stone for a gold coin.”
I handed it to Luca and he began to touch it curiously.
Huh?
She ignored the gold coin? That’s a lot of money.
“That’s not fair. I want this too.”
“That’s mine. I’ll give you something in exchange.”
Luca started looking around the room, so I returned to my task of slowly scraping off the cake, revealing a layer of different colored fruits that shimmered like a vein of gold. Oh, this is delicious too.
“Master! How about this?”
Crazy Bear barked and showed me a pair of earrings. The color of the stone was similar to the one Luca had.
“You see, Crazy Bear, humans don’t like their heads getting too warm.”
Right?
But Kumakichi didn’t seem to understand.
Necklaces, rings, bags…
Crazy Bear made suggestion after suggestion, but none of them passed muster.
“Sorry. I’m just too powerless.”
He seemed to give up dejectedly.
As I enjoyed my second cup of tea, I mentally praised Crazy Bear for his efforts.
“You’re amazing, Crazy Bear. Oh, how about this, Aix?”
“Oh, it might get too warm, so I can’t recommend it.”
After much deliberation, Luca presented me with a pocket watch. The metal case made it somewhat questionable, and Luca seemed disappointed.
“This is tough! If we turn it into a stone, and someone asks about it, the story of it falling in the room would be a total downer.”
“I see.”
Luca is a designer, so she has certain considerations. It has to be something that can be easily put on or taken off, and something that doesn’t feel out of place. It has to be an item that suits Luca…I look around the room. Thanks to the sugar, my mind is working at full capacity.
“Oh!”
“What’s wrong, Aix?”
Luca looked at me with surprise.
