"I’m back, Sir." The Archon who had trailed after Zion bowed respectfully to his superior.
"Did you find anything suspicious?" Zen asked.
"I don’t know if it’s suspicious or not, but according to their records, they came from the Town of Wyr," the Archon replied.
Zen frowned. "If I remember correctly, the King returned with the Mayor of Wyr, who had escorted him from his domain. Are they perhaps his people?"
"The possibility exists, Sir," the Archon answered. "It was a town located in the far east. If not for the fact that its Mayor has personally escorted His Majesty, the Town of Wyr might have remained unknown to most people."
Zen nodded and no longer pursued the matter.
This was the first time he had seen such an interesting toy, and the fact that the young man came from a very distant place was a good alibi for its uniqueness.
"Where is he staying?" Zen inquired.
"He is staying at the Primea Inn with another man," the Archon reported.
"Send someone to monitor his movements," Zen ordered. "He promised to sell butterflies to my niece. He must not be allowed to run away."
"Yes, Sir!" the Archon bowed before leaving the room to enact his superior’s order.
Inside Carina’s room in the palace...
"Hah..." A sigh escaped the young lady’s lips as she remembered the magical scene she had seen earlier.
The butterflies, the bubbles, and the glittering lights all seemed surreal.
But as she thought about these things, she remembered the young man whose kind smile widened as he watched the children jump and dance around him under those glittering lights.
In her eyes, the young man wasn’t extremely good-looking. Thanks to her status, she had seen countless men, each one more handsome than the last. Zion even seemed plain in comparison. However, she had to admit that he possessed a certain charm that she found appealing.
The way he talked back to them without any hint of fear in his stance was something very commendable.
Usually, the merchants in the Bazaar wouldn’t hesitate to try to impress and flatter her whenever she came to take a stroll.
But the young man she met didn’t do anything like that.
As she recalled that moment, she also realized that the teenage boy named Zion didn’t seem to be intimidated by her Uncle, who could make even grown adults cry the moment his glare landed in their direction.
"Such an interesting person," Carina muttered as she hugged her pillow. "I can’t wait to play with those butterflies tomorrow."
As soon as her classes ended, Carina went to look for her Uncle, so they could go back to the bazaar to see the young man who had made a promise to her.
"Calm down. He’s not going anywhere," Zen said helplessly as he looked at his niece, who was pulling his hand in a hurry. "Besides, we’re too early, and he’s still not there."
Zen had sent people to monitor Zion’s movements, and so far, none of them had made any report that the young man had left the city.
Since the promised time was around sunset, there were still three hours until they met him.
"It’s fine, Uncle!" Carina insisted. "Let’s just pass the time taking a stroll at the bazaar."
"Fine." Zen chuckled.
Carina didn’t act like a spoiled child, but everyone spoiled her because she was the only young lady in the family.
Just as they were about to leave the palace, a young man three years older than her blocked her path.
"And where is my darling sister going today, hmmm?" Carina’s older brother, Alnair, asked. "Don’t tell me you are going to the Bazaar with Uncle."
"Brother, are you free today?" Carina immediately found someone to accompany her and used her free hand to grab her brother’s left hand. "Come with me to the Bazaar. I want you to see something good!"
"Something good?" Alnair smirked. "And what is that? I have seen everything that I need to see in the Bazaar. There is nothing there that can surprise me anymore."
"Oh, really?" Carina arched an eyebrow. "How about we make a bet?"
"Interesting, what are we betting?" Alnair smiled with confidence.
"A favor!" Carina replied.
"Deal." Alnair nodded. "Prepare to lose, sister. I hope you won’t tell Mother that I bullied you or anything."
"Of course not." Carina grinned. "But the one who is going to lose isn’t me, Brother. You’re the one who’s going to lose."
"Such confidence, we’ll see if you can back it up." Alnair chuckled.
He had never seen his sister act this way, so he understood that something was up. However, he didn’t believe that something in the bazaar would be able to impress him enough for him to lose a bet with his sister.
When they arrived at the bazaar, there were still two hours before sunset, so Carina dragged her brother around to look for some interesting trinkets for the time being.
Alnair followed his sister, making sure that no perverts would try to get close to her. Still, he was a bit disappointed since there was really nothing to see in the bazaar that piqued his interest.
When the sun had finally set and the sky was dyed in orange and purple, Carina hurried towards the location where she had seen Zion yesterday.
"Prepare yourself, brother," Carina said proudly. "I saved the best for last."
"We’ll see if this thing you are talking about is worth the wait," Alnair commented.
Zen’s subordinates, who were tasked to monitor Zion, escorted their group toward the fountain of the Bazaar.
Several children were already there, looking at the young man with great expectations.
However, he didn’t make any butterflies fly around him.
Instead, he was busy putting some small toys that looked like monsters beside the fountain, which made the kids wonder what they could do.
There were two toy Blaze Skunks, a Black Puppy, two little birds, one long steel snake toy, one black tiger beetle, two ogres, and ten trolls.
"Zion, I’m here!" Carina greeted, which prompted everyone in the surroundings to pay their respects to her and her entourage.
"Hello, My Lady," Thirteen replied. "Well met."
Alnair sized up the young man named Zion from head to toe before looking at his sister’s expression,
Seeing that Carina was more focused on the toys instead of the young man made Alnair nod in satisfaction.
"I know you are here for the butterflies, My Lady," Thirteen said with a smile. "But will you allow me to show you a little presentation before I sell them to you?"
"A presentation?" Carina blinked.
"Yes," Thirteen nodded. "Something that you haven’t seen before."
"Okay! But this better be good." Carina stated. "My brother and I made a bet, and I bet that he will be amazed, so make sure to amaze him, okay?"
"I’ll do my best, My Lady." Thirteen smiled before glancing at Alnair, who looked skeptical at the moment. "Everyone, please, focus your attention on the fountain."
When everyone’s attention was on the fountain, Thirteen raised his hands as if he were a conductor of an orchestra.
As if waiting for that signal, the toy monsters placed on the fountain suddenly transformed into demi-humans, with some of them holding musical instruments.
The Honey Badger transformed into a Honey Demi-Badger that was wearing a red hat, red clothes, and holding a small black stick in its hand.
"Ladies and gents, this is the moment you’ve waited for..."
The Honey Badger toy sang, which made Carina blink in surprise.
The two chanted in the background. "Ohhh ohhh ohhh~".
The other toys then tapped their feet on the ground, while making cool poses.
One of the hit songs in Thirteen’s memory was called "The Greatest Show," so he decided to go all out to make this presentation a mini concert!
The upbeat music made the children look at the toys dancing in front of them.
When the Honey Demi-Badger sang the lyrics "So tell me, do you wanna go?!"
The two birds flew around the fountain and showered it with glittering lights. Follow current novels on N()velFire.net
The water of the fountain sprang up, illuminated by different colors, adding aesthetic value to the performance.
"What in the Copyright God..." Alnair muttered in disbelief. Meanwhile, his sister joined the kids as they raised their hands and cheered for the singing toys, which they were seeing for the first time in their lives.
The people in the bazaar who were just observing in the distance went a little closer to get a better look at the dazzling display of colors that fitted the upbeat song perfectly.
When the song ended, a round of applause echoed within the bazaar, which made Carina look smugly at her brother, who was still looking at the toys with a dumbfounded look on his face.