And at that moment, Isak noticed that Meldenik was in a very unstable state. The flow of mana in this woman was unstable. It felt like a small bonfire that was about to go out.
"It's a peculiar flow of mana..." And he knew one more person who possessed this kind of mana. It was Meldenik's mother, the Marquis of Kinnoa, and the previous Duchess of Babyloa.
In the past, a woman named the daughter of the Marquis of Kinnoa often came to the almshouse where he was and did volunteer work.
"I have a child. Maybe we could be your friends later, Isak."
"Congratulations."
"I want you to be my daughter's friend."
"I will."
The young Isak nodded casually at her. It was an act that he did without much thought. He just thought she was a good person. He later learned that she was the Duchess of Babyloa.
The only reason Isak had a faint memory of Meldenik's dead mother was because of the strange flow of mana she carried.
"The strange flow of mana has something to do with Kinnoa's bloodline." Isak stared in Meldenik's direction. Kinnoa's blood relatives, who were cursed by dragons, usually died early. Will this woman also pass away? It was hard to imagine a person so full of vitality dying.
Isak took the beer candy and continued lightly. "I don't remember."
"What?" Meldenik tilted her head as if she knew him. It sounded like a voice she'd heard before. But she couldn't remember who it was.
"You saw us back then." Isak smiled and replied.
"At that time?" She didn't seem to remember it clearly. But the first meeting was fine. He looked at her with a lazy smile. "Yes, then."
At the omitted sentence, Meldenik tilted her head and whispered softly. It was a clear attitude towards customers.
"No matter what time you visit, you can find better products at 'Mel's Stationery Store'. We'll talk about the details when you stop by our stationery store." Meldenik, who didn't forget to promote it, politely folded her hands and greeted him. "See you next time, father. Hello, Henry!" She even waved to Henry and left.
Henry remained dumbfounded until Meldenik's back became a dot. The confidence he had before was missing. The little boy flipped his glasses up and clung to Isak.
"Mister, that's what you said earlier. Father! That's what I say."
Isak was quick-witted, so he knew roughly what the child was going to say. So he answered Henry's curiosity lightly. "I think she meant your dad."
"...What?"
"I raised you." A child who grew up in a tower from a very young age. Henry, who spent his childhood in an almshouse similar to himself. Isak lifted Henry lightly and took him into his arms. He was quite kind to children.
"Dad, try it."
"...Appa!" Henry hesitated for a moment, then smiled bashfully and rubbed his face like a cat into Isak's arms.
Isak hugged the little child and turned around and walked without hesitation. However, Henry was curious like a child. He was in his arms and began to babble about his questions one by one. "Then who is my mother?"
"...I haven't really thought about that."
Henry glanced at the pencil case and pencil with ancient writing that Isak was holding. If you could choose your mother... The tips of Henry's ears were red.
I thought of a very handsome man and a cute little boy, and I walked happily. Oh no, oh dear. It has already succeeded in promoting it.
'Who... He must be raising a child alone without a wife.' I don't know what to say to my dad, but he was so handsome.
'When I slick my hair over a black eye like a pitch-black obsidian, I feel dizzy...' Thinking of the man's firm body that I could see through his shirt made me feel doubly happy. 'I want you to be a regular customer.'
As I was walking excitedly, I suddenly remembered something I hadn't told him. 'Wait. Come to think of it.' Should I have told him that eating that candy makes your voice weird? ...You won't come to filter out complaints later, right?
'Let's deal with the beer candy case first.' I scratched my head and postponed my thoughts to the next time.
After that, there was a series of strange luck. When I arrived at the bar and offered him a beer candy, Ressa was happy as if it were her job and slammed the contract with a stamp! I took a picture of it. When I asked him how he could develop such a mysterious thing, he said he wanted to get an autograph from Dominic, who is a beginner mage, and I thought he was going to die of embarrassment. When they found out that I was an alchemist, they were ready to praise me as a god who created the heavens and the earth.
'Let's not reveal our true identity for the time being. It's a burden.'
On my way back to the stationery store after signing the contract, I walked into the stationery store, thinking about how to promote the beer candy. The problem was that no one came to our stationery store.
'How can I attract children?' After all, there were still flies flying inside the stationery store.
However, isn't there a law that says people should die? When I entered the stationery store, I saw Dominic holding a large newspaper and smiling wickedly.
"Dominic?"
"Oh, yes. Did you sign the contract well?"
"Hmph! I agreed to pay 5 percent of the selling price, and instead I would give the beer a 30 percent reduction." Thanks to defeating the Red Shemit Pirates, Ressa's trust in me was sky-high.
'I barely resisted giving it away for free.' I smiled and sat across from Dominic.
"Okay. By the way, there is even better news." Dominic laughed and continued. "The reporter told me about it. It seems that your hot performance was published in the newspaper today."
Dominic continued.
Eng? I finished reading the article.
Mel, a commoner who runs a stationery store at the academy, defeated them 17:1. He possessed a powerful force. According to Ressa (owner of Ressa's Bar, 51 years old), Mel's kicks were very dazzling. According to a man who requested anonymity, Mel said "Don't threaten our business rights" and gave a nice flying kick. There is also a merchant's testimony that he felt like he was watching the birth of a hero. It was the birth of a truly real man. I regretted that I couldn't capture this situation on canvas.
On the strip below it was a newspaper promotional phrase like a grain of sesame.
The Times, a newspaper that competes only with truth and honesty.
"...Isn't it a newspaper that competes with incitement and fabrication?" I felt wronged. I never told you not to threaten our commercial area!
Dominic, who was looking at my cheeks flushed by the newspaper's fabrication, hinted at me. "More is written after that."
At Dominic's words, I hurriedly flipped the paper back.
On the other hand, the stationery store of the commoner 'Mel' sells not only various school supplies but also various foods. For example, beer candy. As a result of my research, this candy was very mysterious. Each of these candies, which resembled the shape of beer, had a mysterious spell. The voice will change!
I'm sure everyone was surprised at this point, but there's something more surprising. Drinks made with unique ice are also sold at a low price. There is no one who does not know about 'ice that will never melt' and 'ice caps'. As a result of the interview, it was not surprising that the drink called 'slushie' sold at Mel's stationery store actually embodies the ice that does not melt.
When I read this article, my heart calmed down. "What a truthful article. He's a true reporter. It's true journalism." I thought this was the best article. I smiled and praised him.
But then I suddenly remembered that some daily newspapers that had published good articles about stationery stores had posted corrections right away.
"...One minute. Hessmann or the Duke of Babyloa will publish a rebuttal article, right?" Even if a PR article is a quick rebuttal in Babyloa or Hessmann, it will be buried.
"But it's a good article, so let's scrap it for now..." I sighed and stopped. Dominic slid his shoulders up and smiled at the corners of his mouth.