Chapter 15: A Day Without Lessons

Today was a day off from teaching, just as mentioned yesterday.

Of course, it wasn’t something agreed upon with Elin.

It was entirely my own decision.

“This should be enough.”

I left a note along with a meal by Elin’s side, who was still asleep.

[I have urgent matters today, so there won’t be a lesson.

The meal has a warmth-preserving spell on it, so it will stay hot. Please eat well.]

Quietly, I opened a portal and stepped into the plaza.

Even though I woke up early, today was going to be a truly busy day.

Even starting now, I’d barely make it back by lunchtime.

Ding—

My first stop was the bakery.

“Welcome—… Oh! You’re here!”

The baker’s face lit up upon seeing me.

“Is the order ready?”

“Ah… oh no, what should I do?”

The baker looked troubled.

“There were so many ingredients involved that I haven’t been able to gather everything yet.

But it’s just the final ingredient now, so if you wait a little longer…”

“Will it be completed today?”

“Yes, absolutely! I can stake my shop on it!”

No need to go that far.

Still, his determination was reassuring, as he seemed to truly care about his bakery.

“I’ll come back for it later, then.”

“Thank you! Please take care!”

The baker bowed at a perfect 90 degrees.

His overly polite attitude likely stemmed from my special custom order.

“Now I have some time to kill.”

Originally, I had planned to pick up my order and head back right away since there was still a lot to prepare.

But with this delay, I had to figure out how to pass the time.

As I scanned the area, my eyes fell on a toy shop.

“Welcome!”

Bright, colorful toys immediately caught my attention as I stepped inside.

“Do children in the Empire play with these nowadays?”

Wandering through the store, I stopped by a section filled with rabbit-themed items: parchment adorned with rabbit illustrations and carrot-shaped pens.

Elin would need parchment and pens for her magic studies in the future.

But these designs… they felt a bit frivolous.

Despite only spending four years in this world, I was a proper wizard—a top graduate of the academy, no less.

Such trivial magical tools felt beneath me.

“…But if it’s for Elin.”

I imagined her tiny hands clutching the carrot pen, scribbling runes on rabbit-themed parchment.

Her silly hair tuft bouncing as she concentrated, and her small, round lips slightly parted in focus.

Just picturing it made me smile.

“How much is this?”

Despite my initial hesitation, I ended up making an impulsive purchase and returned to the bakery.

“Ah! Perfect timing—it’s done!”

The baker seemed to have poured every ounce of effort into the task after I left; his clothes were caked in flour.

“Excellent work. Here’s a tip.”

“Thank you, thank you! Please visit again!”

Handing over a silver coin, I carefully wrapped the item to ensure it wouldn’t get damaged and snapped my fingers.

Snap.

The portal brought me back to my room’s entrance.

I was ready to start preparing everything when…

“Ummm…”

“Hm?”

There she was—Elin, lingering in front of my door.

“Miss Elin?”

“Uh-huh…?”

She turned to me with a peculiar noise, her body stiff like a child caught doing something wrong.

“What are you doing here?”

“Uh… well…”

Had she come looking for me? Then why was she frozen like this?

This was Elin Bertein, the young lady who had woken up feeling gloomy that morning.

And it was my turn to bring some light to her day.