Chapter 18
“Don’t play dumb. Who do you think you’re fooling, trying to hoard dragonflies, the research material, just to mess with me? Do you think my eyes are knotholes?”
He raged, saying that because Paiki bought dragonflies at a higher price, all the children who used to sell dragonflies to him had gone over to Paiki.
“Despicable bastard! You were always like that! Just you wait. Someday I’ll crush your arrogance!”
Marius yelled and banged his head against the stairwell wall. It seemed he had more than just dragonflies building up against Paiki.
He seems insane.
Aniella thought in terror. Should she have run away when little Philip did?
She regretted the effort she’d put in today and was trying to assess the situation, but she seriously doubted she could safely sell the dragonflies and return home with this man.
It seemed best to escape while he was out of his mind. The moment she resolved to do so, the man who had been banging his head against the wall suddenly stopped dead.
“How many dragonflies did you catch?”
The man, now suddenly calm, asked. If not for the blood trickling down his forehead, she would have thought he was a different person.
“Uh, twenty-one.”
“That’s quite a few. Come on up first.”
Marius went up the stairs and entered his workshop.
Now is the only chance to escape. Aniella thought, but if she went back now, all her hardship today would be for nothing.
It was just a momentary loss of reason. He seems to have regained his senses now, so it should be fine, right?
Aniella cautiously followed him.
The workshop was messy and dirty. Multicolored flasks were placed not only on the desk but also hung on the walls, and the floor was soaked, as if something had been spilled while moving them. To avoid stepping in the liquids, she had to leap with her legs stretched wide apart.
“Where did I put the ledger?”
Marius rummaged around, not caring what he stepped on.
No wonder it’s such a mess, Aniella thought to herself.
“Here? No, maybe there?”
As if he couldn’t remember, Marius fumbled about. He searched the cluttered desk, piled with books and objects, then looked over the bookshelf again. When he didn’t see the ledger there either, he scowled and put his hands on his hips.
“Hey, where do you think I put the ledger?”
As if asking her would help—Aniella, who was here for the first time, couldn’t possibly know. She scanned the workshop and then pointed to a bookshelf behind a large cauldron, simply because it was a place Marius hadn’t checked yet.
“Oh, here it was.”
The ledger was indeed on the bookshelf. Marius spread it open on a pile of books.
“What’s your name?”
“Aniella.”
“Aniella, 21 dragonflies.”
Marius scribbled in the ledger, the pen scratching. He gestured for her to hand over the goods, and Aniella quickly stepped forward and gave him the box.
He opened the box and meticulously counted each one, verifying that there were indeed 21 dragonflies.
“21 confirmed. One gold per dragonfly, so 21 gold.”
“One gold? Not three gold?”
Aniella asked, surprised. Marius clicked his tongue, as if this situation was familiar.
“Originally it was one gold for two dragonflies, but that guy suddenly interfered and drove the price up to one gold each. I can’t go any higher than that.”
If you want to sell for three gold, go to Paiki. Marius was firm. Aniella had no choice but to sell all the dragonflies for 21 gold.
It was much less than she thought she would get, but after deducting her initial investment, she still made a very small profit. Aniella consoled herself, thinking it was better than nothing.
“If you’re done, get going now.”
Marius shooed her away as if swatting a fly. She had no intention of staying long in this chaotic, dirty place either. She bid him good night and was about to leave when a thought suddenly crossed her mind.
Her father’s condition was ‘educational work.’ She had thought the only applicable job was a teacher, but if she worked as an assistant, wouldn’t she learn about magic? Couldn’t that be considered educational?
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