Chapter 158

At the same time, in a small confectionery shop built in the remote courtyard of the Mage Tower, a party was underway. While I was busy with the stationery store, the five children—Carat, Axion, Mirissa, Henry, and Danny—had planned a surprise celebration.

They rented the courtyard of the Mage Tower and used their magic to conjure a candy house. The inside was also decorated with sweets: the floor was made of hard dark chocolate tiles, the walls were soft marshmallows, the table was made of crunchy crackers, the chairs were pink marshmallows, and a chocolate fountain sprayed rich, warm chocolate.

That wasn't all. They had a fresh cream cake with my name and a congratulatory message written in icing, and even an ice cream statue with a mint chocolate flavor! This place was a true paradise for anyone who loved sweets.

"Phew, this is really difficult." Carat was frowning in concentration, adding the finishing touches to the mint chocolate ice cream statue.

Henry, standing next to him, poked the statue's left cheek with his plump finger. "Ugh, the combination of mint and chocolate is weird, Carat..."

Carat, who had grown to love mint chocolate, pouted. "What? Don't you dare insult mint chocolate! This is my rare masterpiece!" he declared, puffing out his chest.

Henry, however, just let out a sigh, not listening at all. Next to them, Mirissa, who had just finished inspecting the congratulatory cake, said calmly, "Quiet down, everyone. Let's not fight on a holy day like this."

"That's right! It's been so long since we've seen Mel!" Axion chimed in, puffing out his chest as if he deserved credit for the entire party.

Henry, who was watching Axion, clicked his tongue and dipped a rusk into the chocolate fountain. "You're all so silly."

"I'm not silly! I'm just excited for the big celebration party to start!" Carat insisted, his heart throbbing with anticipation.

Just then, a small voice intervened. "Proud of what? What are you even celebrating?" It was Danny, the baby dragon, who had been lying on the cracker table.

Carat quickly replied to the little dragon. "Why, Mel's great success, of course! And... her love... with Isaac?"

"That's just an excuse," Danny said. "You just like Mel and want to keep seeing her, so you're throwing a party."

Danny's accurate jab left Carat speechless. But there was someone who was even more shocked.

"Love?" Axion, who was seriously performing magic against the wall, snorted like a cow. The moment the word "love" was mentioned, a dark cloud seemed to fall over him. But the boy immediately raised his head proudly and declared, "You can't have bad thoughts on a happy day like this!"

Axion shook off his mood and went back to decorating. He conjured sweet chocolate chips onto the wall, spelling out, "Congratulations, Meldenik, the Best Boss."

"Great, it's perfect!" he said.

"Well done, Axion!" Mirissa high-fived him.

Axion then began to tidy up the cracker table. The young and sickly prince had become quite good at all kinds of chores since he'd met me. He carefully examined the forks and spoons on the table and the plates made of hardened white chocolate before turning to Mirissa.

"Is everything ready now?"

Carat folded his arms and declared seriously, "Listen up, everyone, did you prepare the mini firecrackers?"

"We did!" The children lined up in order of height, wearing hats and holding mini firecrackers. They were so adorable I could have eaten them up.

"I can't wait! When will she get here?" Carat exclaimed. All the children here loved the childlike world I had created for them. That's why they wanted to give their favorite Meldenik a wonderful world of her own.

"I think she'll be here soon." Mirissa, with the most serious expression in the world, opened the door of the confectionery shop slightly and shouted urgently, "She's here, everyone! My sister is coming!"

"Really?"

"Yes! Are you ready?"

"The chocolate fountain is complete!"

"The mini firecrackers are complete!"

"The sign is done!"

The children moved in unison, then turned off the flickering lights. Mirissa opened the door and walked briskly towards me.

"Sister!"

"Mirissa?"

"I missed you, Sister!" Mirissa waved and ran toward me.

It was time for the surprise party!

I had been so engrossed in my conversation with Cassian about business plans that I was almost late. We had talked until dusk. If we create a stationery store on each street according to the urban development plan, it will be familiar to the people of the empire. It will also help children who can't go to school...

I was so excited about the various business ventures I would be able to create with Cassian that I had nearly forgotten about my promise to the children. Luckily, I had arrived just in time thanks to a teleportation scroll that Isaac had generously given me.

I walked through the courtyard of the Mage Tower, about to enter, when a loud greeting welcomed me.

"Sister! Sister! She's here!" Mirissa, as cute as a little puppy, ran out.

"Mirissa!"

"Come here and give me a hug!" I was about to hug the girl I hadn't seen in a long time, but to my surprise, Mirissa pulled away.

"No!"

I froze, shocked. Did Mirissa just say no? Our sweet Mirissa?

Unaware of my dismay, Mirissa raised her hands and placed a black blindfold over my eyes. "There! Perfect!"

"What?"

"There's a place I need to take you, Sister!" she said seriously, grabbing my hand tightly.

I was pulled along by Mirissa's determined grip. "Mirissa, I can't see anything right now."

"That's the secret! You only need to take a few more steps. Sister, we worked so hard to prepare this for you!"

"Prepare what?"

"A great party!"

A great party? What on earth is it? I allowed Mirissa to guide me forward. It seemed we had arrived at the party venue. The sound of a door swinging open echoed in the small space. At that moment, Mirissa took off the blindfold.

"Voilà!"

Mini firecrackers exploded in front of me. I looked around in amazement. A large table made of crunchy sweets was in the center, and the walls were studded with chocolates and candies. The chairs looked fluffy, like they were made of marshmallows. Next to me was a statue of my face... made of mint chocolate. My face is green... I tried to look away. When I saw the placard with the word "Congratulations" on it and the chocolate fountain, my heart swelled with emotion.

"You guys made all this yourselves?" I said, looking at the little wizards in front of me.

"We did!" The children, beaming with pride, sat me down in the seat of honor and took their places on either side.

Axion, holding a cake in both hands, shouted with satisfaction, "We made it all! I even wrote the message on the cake!"

"Oh my goodness..." Tears welled up in my eyes. I was more excited than when I'd succeeded in defeating the pope.

"Let's all sit down! We have to have the cake cutting ceremony!" Mirissa ordered. The children obediently took their seats. With me in the center, Mirissa, Carat, and Henry sat on my left, and Axion and Danny on my right.

I looked around the table and burst into laughter. My babies' feet are dangling! The dining table and chairs were adult-sized, so the children's feet couldn't touch the floor. It was so cute. The very young Danny and Henry even wore bibs, and the three older kids had napkins on their knees. So lovely! My heart was full.

I cleared my throat and spoke to the children. "Guys, thank you so much for the celebration!" I cut the cake with the words "Congratulations, Meldenik" with all my heart. "I'll enjoy this!"

It was a fun time with the children. Just then, Axion sighed, biting a piece of candy with his front teeth. "Whew... What a shame. I was born in the wrong era."

"He's starting again," Mirissa muttered, shaking her head.

Axion, pretending not to hear her, muttered as he bit into a gummy candy. "Even though Mel is in a relationship with that awful Mage Tower Lord, she likes me so much... She'll come back to me eventually!"

...He was talking about me. I smiled and stroked Axion's head. "Axion, you'll surely find an even more wonderful fated person for yourself."

"Really?"

"Of course! And if you don't find someone in a few decades..."

"What if I don't find anyone?"

"You can live with me, what else?!" My simple answer caused laughter from everyone. Well, almost everyone.

"Damn it! My player was stolen! That villain! I was going to ask you to live with me!"

...It was Carat. I smoothed down his hair and smiled. "You too, Carat."

His eyes widened, and the corners of his mouth turned up, revealing all his rabbit-like teeth. Does that make him that happy? Showing such a pure and loving reaction makes me so happy!

"Great! Isaac is my rival now!"

I wanted to ask who the heck he thought was whose rival, but everyone was so lively and happily laughing that I couldn't bring myself to say anything.

"Let's eat a lot of delicious food and grow up big and strong, everyone!" I cut sweets and cakes and placed them on Carat and Axion's plates. My heart was warmed by the happy and friendly party the children had prepared. It was a truly lovely snack party.