“It’s a decent job… We each get 25 Tilons, you know.”
Adrian spoke up after casting a sideways glance at Mikhail, who was walking beside him with an annoyed look on his face.
“You could buy your favorite A-course meal five times with that.”
“…Only five times, though.”
The prince let out a sigh, recalling the luxurious lifestyle he’d left behind at the royal palace. No matter how he looked at it, enrolling at Basamiel Academy—of all the academies—had to be part of the royal family’s ploy.
“So where are we even going right now?”
“First, we need to head back to the dorms and change into something comfortable.”
“And after that?”
“Then we head to the lake.”
No way… The prince’s pupils trembled slightly.
“Don’t tell me we have to go into the lake?”
“C’mon, let’s get it over with before it gets dark.”
The dragon let out a small yaaawn and casually brushed off the prince’s concern.
Back when he ran a mercenary company for fun, he often had no choice but to accept the trash jobs humans tossed his way. That’s just what running a new mercenary group was like. Honestly, the cleaner requests—like assassinations—were something he’d almost felt grateful for.
The dragon could freely hate humans, whom he already didn’t care for much to begin with.
Compared to that, Mikhail walking beside him with an I hate this look on his face was actually kind of cute.
***
Adrian and Mikhail arrived once again at the all-too-familiar lakeside within the academy grounds—a place that had grown almost tiresome.
“Alright, now there’s something you’ve gotta do.”
“What is it?”
Mikhail stared listlessly at the still surface of the peaceful lake. All this just for 25 Tilons? The damn Tilon system had made it practically impossible to get any serious sword training done these days.
“The client requested five Tadpolies. Since Tadpolies feed on mana, we should be able to lure them out easily.”
Adrian first filled the blue bucket they’d brought from the dorms with lake water. Tadpolies were a peculiar type of spirit—extremely docile and highly adaptable to new environments. Even moving them temporarily into a small bucket like this wouldn’t stress them out.
“So what am I supposed to do?”
Mikhail didn’t exactly look thrilled, but since they had accepted the job, he intended to follow through. If they were going to catch these so-called Tadpolies, he’d have to go along with Adrian’s plan.
“We need a mana signal. Stick your hand in the lake and cast any spell.”
“…Alright.”
Since Adrian couldn’t use magic, it was up to Mikhail. He rolled up the sleeve on his right arm a few times, then slowly plunged it into the cool lake water. After clenching and unclenching his fist a few times under the surface, he closed his eyes and began murmuring an incantation.
The lake began to ripple gently, centered around the prince’s hand. Small waves radiated outward, the water slapping softly against his submerged arm.
“Perfect. Now let’s wait a bit.”
Adrian peered intently into the water and then gave the prince a subtle signal. Mikhail gave a slight nod and pulled his hand out. Droplets dripped from his fingertips as he lightly shook off the water in the air.
The mana signal he had released should draw them in—those little creatures, fluttering their tails as they swam toward the source. Just as the ripples calmed on the lake’s surface after Mikhail had withdrawn his hand…
“…There.”
Adrian leaned forward, peering deeply into the lake with a sly grin.
“What? Where?”
Mikhail, standing right next to him, leaned in as well to look. But Adrian quickly shushed him, bringing a finger to his lips with a quiet “Shh.”
“We need to stay quiet,” he whispered.
The Tadpolies are here.
Mikhail glanced toward the shallow water with a skeptical look, as if to say, Really? In the transparent lake, tiny fish-like creatures that resembled tadpoles were swimming peacefully. Those are the Tadpolies? he muttered softly to the expert beside him.
Gotta catch them to be sure.
Adrian carefully took off his shoes and placed them neatly on the grass, then rolled up the cuffs of his uniform pants. He’d have to scoop them up gently and transfer them into the bucket.
Slowly, he stepped into the clear water, making sure to keep noise to a minimum. And in a single, fluid motion, he plunged his hand into the lake and made his first attempt to scoop one up.
A small tadpole poked its head up, wriggling inside Adrian’s pale palm. He gently adjusted the little creature to check its underside—there was a blue spot. Thankfully, it was a Tadpolie.
Splash. The clear water rippled as Adrian lowered the spirit into the bucket. The Tadpolie squirmed lazily through the transparent water.
Mikhail nodded and rose to catch one himself. But due to the earlier commotion, the Tadpolies that had gathered in the shallows had all scattered.
“I’m going to catch the remaining four in one go.”
Mikhail declared with confidence. If he could scoop up a large enough amount of water with magic, he wouldn’t need to repeat the process four times. Adrian responded with a nonchalant “Yeah?” and stepped out of the lake to give the prince space to work alone.
Standing by the lakeshore, Mikhail dipped his arm into the water again up to the wrist and chanted a spell, just as he had before. As ripples spread across the surface, a few Tadpollies wriggled their way toward him.
He waited for the right moment, then slowly raised both hands into the air and activated the spell. It was a levitation spell. His bright silver hair swayed softly with the movement of mana. With graceful hands, Mikhail guided a large mass of water above the bucket sitting nearby.
This feels like a bad idea…
The Gold Dragon, who had been standing near the bucket, instinctively began backing away from both Mikhail and the hovering water mass.
And then—it happened.
One Tadpolie darted through the levitating water, swimming fast before plop!—it dove back into the lake. The sudden movement startled Mikhail, who had been concentrating. “Ack—!” He lost focus.
The dragon’s hunch was spot on.
SPLAAAAASH—!
The huge ball of water, once suspended by magic, came crashing down—right onto Mikhail’s head. While a decent amount of it had made it into the bucket, the rest had absolutely drenched him. At least he didn’t collapse under the weight.
That’s why they say you should never lose focus while using levitation magic. Adrian didn’t even glance at the soaked prince and instead walked over to check the bucket.
“You can use magic. Just dry yourself off,” he said, completely unfazed by the mess.
Miraculously, they’d still managed to catch the Tadpolies despite the chaos. It even looked like more than five.
Mikhail’s red eyes gleamed with something unspoken at Adrian’s smug comment. As if remembering something, he flicked his hand—and cast a spell.
Wait, hold on—ugh! Adrian groaned, shielding his face with his arm.
A massive splash followed. The Gold Dragon muttered curses under his breath as he lifted his head, soaked from head to toe.
“…You are so annoying.”
Adrian gritted his teeth, forcing a strained smile as he slicked back his wet hair. Mikhail let out a short snort and couldn’t help but laugh.
“What? I’ll dry you off with magic too.”
Haha. Sitting in the shallows, still drenched, the prince laughed as he looked directly at Adrian. The two of them, soaked to the bone by the lake—it reminded him of Dohenia Volcano. Moments like this often happened when it was just the two of them.
“…Immature brat.”
The Gold Dragon grumbled as he pushed his heavy, wet body up and picked up the bucket.
***
“…You really did catch them?”
The student who had contacted Adrian and Mikhail came out to meet them, eyes widening as he stared at the blue bucket on the ground.
“Mind if I check?”
He knelt down in front of Adrian, gazing curiously at the small creatures swimming leisurely in the clear water.
“Of course.”
It was the client’s right to verify the goods. The dragon gave a brief nod.
With that confirmation, the student scooped out a few Tadpolies and held them up close to inspect. Each had a clear blue spot on its belly.
“They all check out.”
After confirming the markings on every Tadpolie, the student nodded and turned to the two of them.
“Ah, I’ll transfer your Tilons right away.”
He opened a Tilon contract interface and handed over the payment. Then, with a quick “Well then,” he lifted the bucket carefully and walked off across the courtyard.
Mikhail watched the student’s back until he disappeared, then gently blew on the back of his hand.
A golden shimmer of mana flickered, displaying the Tilon crest and a number.
25 Tilons.
Mikhail stretched out his arm and stared silently at the back of his hand. The diamond-shaped Tilon crest flickered faintly, reacting to his gaze—then vanished.
This was the first money the prince had ever earned for himself. He said nothing for a while, simply staring at the hard-earned Tilons in quiet contemplation.
“Proud of yourself?”
Adrian’s warm brown eyes settled on Mikhail. The prince’s crimson gaze sparkled in the fading light.
…He really does look his age at times like this.
Adrian quickly suppressed the look in his eyes, the one you give a baby bird just hatched from its shell. Mikhail caught that glance and frowned.
“…”
The prince had a surprisingly sharp eye for these kinds of things.
“What’s with the annoying face?”
“This is my usual face.”
Adrian shrugged. “Alright, let’s go eat.”
Only then did Mikhail realize he’d skipped dinner, too busy messing around at the lake. As if on cue, a wave of hunger hit him.
“Damn it. Come to think of it, this’ll barely cover a few meals.”
Later, the prince would mutter that realization with a hollow sigh.
25 Tilons really wasn’t much at all.
