Hans gave them a shockingly good deal. He promised to reveal the identity of the student who had opened the “strange door” for just 3 Tilon—by the end of the week.
Adrian and Mikhail sealed the deal and resumed their walk toward their next class, Magic Studies.
“What are you thinking about right now?”
Adrian turned to the prince, who had been silent and seemed deep in thought.
“…Just thinking that Tilon might end up being more useful than we’d expected.”
“Same here. I just hope the number doesn’t keep going up.”
Adrian ran his fingers roughly through his slightly disheveled hair, irritated. Including what Mikhail had contributed, they had a total of 25 Tilon. Okay, at most… we could meet maybe eight people with this. Adrian tried to stay optimistic.
He paused for a moment, frowning.
When the hell did I end up in an economic alliance with this guy? The Gold Dragon clicked his tongue mentally. He didn’t like it one bit, but with their coin purse as light as dust on the floor, he didn’t have much of a choice. The only silver lining was his faith that this amount of money should be enough—for now.
When they arrived at the Magic Studies class, they took seats a little toward the back of the central rows, just like they had during the previous lecture. That was the one thing they’d learned so far—where to sit.
Soon after, Sigrid Owen entered the classroom and stood at the podium in front. Picking up from his last lecture on mana, he began to dive deeper into the topic, speaking to the first-year students before him.
Of course, Adrian and Mikhail stared blankly at the professor while each remained lost in their own thoughts.
Luckily, Professor Sigrid seemed too focused on the lecture to notice who was actually paying attention. He never realized the two of them weren’t following along at all.
“Hello, Professor.”
A confident voice rang out just as the Magic Studies class ended. A new student entered the room with a bold stride. Judging from the color of her tie, she was an upperclassman.
“Yes? What can I—ah.”
Sigrid scanned over the students’ heads and gave a small nod. He had just noticed the Tilon sigils floating above several students’ heads.
“So, it’s that time of year again.”
Setting aside his lecture materials, Sigrid stepped down from the podium, making room for the newly arrived student. As a professor in the Magic Department, he took a strong interest in the social clubs run by the department. He always allowed them to do their yearly recruitment pitches during class.
“Good luck with your presentation.”
“Thank you, Professor.”
With a curt “Well then,” Sigrid exited the lecture hall. The students still seated in the classroom all had the same thought: Who’s she supposed to be?
The moment the professor left, the upperclassman who had taken the podium finally spoke up.
“I’m Illiya Heiner of the Magic Department’s social club, Amber. Professor Sigrid Owen graciously gave me this time slot. I’ll be telling you about what we do in Amber.”
With a bright smile, Illiya Heiner, president of the social club Amber, began her pitch.
***
Adrian and Mikhail entered the academy cafeteria looking slightly worn out. After the class, they’d sat through the whole spiel about Amber, and by the time it ended, it was already mealtime. Not that either of them had the slightest interest in the Magic Department’s social clubs.
As they stepped into the academy’s cafeteria, a friendly staff member welcomed them.
“What would you like to have today?”
“Course A.”
“Certainly.”
The prince pulled a meal ticket from the breast pocket of his academy uniform and handed it over.
Then, a strange moment of silence passed as the staff and the prince stood there, facing each other wordlessly. Mikhail tilted his head slightly, confused.
That was when he noticed—the staff hadn’t sent the order to the kitchen yet, despite acknowledging their request.
With a gentle smile, the staff member spoke.
“I’m sorry, but meal tickets are no longer valid.”
Really? The prince slid the paper back into his jacket pocket without a word.
So, if we don’t need meal tickets anymore, does that mean we can just order straight up? Mikhail was lifting his head again when—
“Also, there’s an additional charge for Course A.”
“…What?”
Mikhail’s brow furrowed in disbelief. Adrian looked just as puzzled. They’d been ordering the same Course A set with no issues until now. But now, suddenly, there was an extra charge?
“…How much is the additional fee?”
The prince asked the staff softly, with a sliver of hope. Adrian was no different. Sure, they had their suspicions about the answer… but there was still a chance the surcharge might be payable in gold.
“It’s 5 Tilon.”
The cafeteria staff’s response casually shattered what little hope the two had. At the same time, a familiar statement flashed through both Adrian and Mikhail’s minds:
‘The currency used within the Academy is not the Gold of the Rustavaran Kingdom. While Basamiel Academy provides the bare necessities for living—such as essential supplies and meals—any additional services or goods must be paid for with the Academy’s currency, ‘Tilon’.’
It was something a professor had explained during their Administrative Studies class.
‘The bare necessities for living in Basamiel…’
The Gold Dragon’s brow furrowed slightly. Hold on. There was a particular word that stuck in his mind.
“Minimum.”
Damn it…
“Shit,” Adrian muttered under his breath.
Mikhail sharply turned his head, eyes narrowing at the profanity.
“Looks like the Academy really meant it when they said they’d only provide the bare minimum.”
He then turned to the staff member taking orders and asked:
“What menu items don’t have a surcharge?”
Still smiling pleasantly, the staff member answered right away.
“We provide today’s menu item as the standard meal.”
“What? Today’s menu?”
Mikhail looked up at the cafeteria’s rotating daily menu as if it was the first time he’d ever heard of such a thing. And it was. His eyes scanned the list, reading each item one by one.
━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━
Course A ✧ T-Bone Steak (+5 Tilon)
Course B ✧ Lightly Seared Cod (+3 Tilon)
Course C ✧ Basil Pasta (+1 Tilon)
Today’s Menu ✧ Tomato Lasagna
━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━
The prince froze mid-read. Tilon. Until now, they’d always used meal tickets, so he’d never even noticed that word before.
The “today’s menu” the staff had mentioned was the last item at the bottom. The menu helpfully clarified that today’s option was Tomato Lasagna—the only item without a surcharge.
Lasagna. The prince clenched his jaw. It wasn’t that Mikhail hated lasagna and was furious because of it. It wasn’t even about the fact that getting the steak he actually wanted would cost half of everything he owned.
What infuriated him was the fact that he couldn’t even freely choose what to eat.
He stood there staring at the menu for quite a while. A few students filtered past the two unusually tall first-years and placed their orders.
Adrian gave the prince’s stiff shoulder a light tap. Born into a royal family that raised him with extraordinary care, Mikhail looked utterly thrown by the situation. Adrian offered a word of comfort.
“What do you want to eat? I’ll pay for it.”
The prince turned to Adrian with an incredulous look.
“You’re just as broke as I am. With what money?”
“You helped me with the assignment for Catherine, didn’t you?”
Adrian was confident he could earn more Tilon somehow. He wasn’t about to struggle over something as trivial as lunch—not with the life he’d lived up to this point.
But the prince wasn’t so quick to accept charity.
Mikhail, born of noble blood, was far more used to offering generosity than receiving it. Crossing his arms, he stared at the confident Adrian and replied bluntly.
“Forget it. I’m paying. Two Course A sets.”
He extended his right hand.
What? He’s seriously gonna blow everything the professor gave him? Adrian looked shocked and tried to stop him, but Mikhail’s stubbornness was unmatched.
In the end, the staff checked the sigil on Mikhail’s hand, tapped it lightly with their index finger, and smiled as they sent both orders to the kitchen.
“Your meals will be brought to your table once they’re ready.”
Just like that, 10 Tilon were gone. Clearly, they needed to study this currency and the Academy’s prices a little more closely.
“I was leaning toward Course B, honestly… but thanks. I’ll enjoy it.”
Steak’s not a bad consolation prize.
The Gold Dragon walked alongside the prince to one of the tables. Dozens of tables, suited to the prestige of Basamiel Academy, filled the room, and several were already occupied by students quietly enjoying their meals.
