"My money, my beloved money. What am I supposed to buy with three coins?"
Our work at Baron Lettuce's shop was over.
"Don't worry, Kaela. I liked the work you did in my shop."
We were all standing outside the shop.
"Hmm. You really liked it?"
I had thought the opposite.
"Of course I did! You completed the job far better than I expected, and as a bonus, I only had to pay you three coins! Ha ha ha!"
I'm leaving. . .
I don't want any more of this.
"Whenever you need money, come work for me again."
THWACK!
Baron slapped me on the back.
"Go find yourself another slave."
I walked away from the shop without looking back.
"Let's go, everyone!"
"Kaela, where are we going?"
"We need to return to the guild and deliver our report."
"Oops! Kaela, why did you stop walking? Did you get stuck too?"
Donkey tripped and crashed into me.
But that wasn't the problem.
"Everyone, haven't you noticed anything different about the streets and the shops?"
"Let me see which of these shops belongs to the Demon King."
Lyra climbed a tree and stood on its highest branch.
"None of these shops belong to the demon. Hey, Donkey! There's imperial grass beneath this tree!"
"Really? I'm coming, but not because you told me to."
Was I the only one who had noticed that the shops were still open?
"Edward, what did you do that forced you to hide inside the bathroom?"
"I owe you no explanation, peasant. I have never worked a day in my entire life."
He looked completely exhausted.
Dirt from the garden covered his body and stained his clothes.
"Is that my fault? You invaded the shop and used its bathroom as though it belonged to you."
He sat on a bench and reached into his pocket.
"Just wait until my father discovers that I'm being humiliated like a slave. You might be rather cute, Kaela, but no man will ever want you when you behave like one."
I was going to shove a rock into that prince's mouth.
"The greatest humiliation is having to walk around with you, idiot. . ."
SWOOSH!
What was with that gust of wind?
I needed to hold on to something.
FLAP!
"The letter King Asterium gave me!"
SNATCH!
I managed to catch it.
That was close.
What could be written inside?
Since it had come from the King. . .
Could it contain a secret reward for straightening Edward out?
"Hey, make room for me. I don't want your madness to contaminate me."
"You're the crazy one!"
I sat on the bench.
"Donkey, I can't find any grass, and my back is beginning to hurt."
"Keep looking, Seraphine."
Should I open the letter?
What if it contained a monetary reward?
Yes, that had to be it.
However, I couldn't let these beggars see the letter. . .
I turned toward Edward's left side and positioned myself so no one else could see what I was doing.
How many millions would I receive? . . .
SNAP!
I broke the seal.
But before I could read the letter. . .
"Ahhh!"
"Edward, why did you scream in my ear?"
"Huh? Forgive me!"
They couldn't see what was written.
"Are you reading the letter my father gave you?"
"Get your hand away from it, you entitled prince."
SNATCH!
He took it from me. . .
"My brother, are you certain there's imperial grass here? I can only see rocks. Forget about this and let's go after the girls. I've already put Mortar to sleep."
"Keep searching, Dorian—and try being more faithful to Mortar."
I needed to recover the letter.
"Give it back!"
"Beware. . ."
Don't read it aloud.
"Beware of the darkness."
Was that all?
What about my millions of Asterium?
"Let me see the letter. You must have read it incorrectly."
That bastard had stolen my money and thought he could deceive me.
"Slackers by day, writers by night."
". . ."
"Argh! What kind of joke is this?"
What did the King mean by slackers during the day and writers at night?
And, most importantly. . .
I sighed.
"Edward!"
"What?"
"Open wide and say, 'Ah!'"
"Ah."
"Now swallow the whole thing."
"Mmph!"
I knew what we were going to do.
"Everyone, we're returning to the guild."
"Find my imperial grass!"
"What are you two doing?"
Dorian and Seraphine were crawling on all fours, searching for Donkey's food.
"Lyra said there was grass here, but I've searched everywhere and haven't found any."
"You've been standing there doing nothing for quite some time."
"Kaela, do you truly expect me, a noble, to exert myself when I have all of you to work for me? Ha ha ha!"
"Where is Lyra?"
"She's up there."
I raised my head.
"Lyra, climb down from that tree immediately. We're returning to the guild."
Look how high she had climbed.
I would never have the courage to go that far up.
"Kaela, I'm not coming down."
"Why?"
"She just tore something off the tree."
THUD!
"What are you throwing at me? Are you trying to put a hole through my head?"
"That's not it! I was throwing it at the demons down there."
Now I understood the entire situation.
"Lyra, you can't climb back down, can you? Hey, everyone, let's go."
"Kaela, what about my imperial grass?"
Donkey sounded desperate.
"Donkey, did you actually believe Lyra?"
". . ."
"Don't leave me here! They're going to climb the tree!"
"Let's go, everyone."
We needed to find some way to make easy money, or we would end up sleeping on the streets.
"Come back!"