“Anyway, not Noel.”

“Princess, you answered so sternly, but you seem to have forgotten that you fell asleep in front of me yesterday? With your mouth wide open.”

“Ugh.”

When he pointed that out, she had nothing to say.

It was fortunate that the rustling started again.

“There’s the sound again.”

Noel knew that Rieta was just trying to change the topic, but he decided to move on anyway.

“Let’s go.”

He led Rieta about a step ahead.

As he reached the statue of the man with the book, the sound became clearer.

Noel quietly put one ear on the statue.

Rieta copied him.

“. . . For some reason, it doesn’t seem like it’s here, either.”

The sound didn’t seem to come from the statue.

It seemed that there was such an illusion as the sound echoed.

Then they heard someone mumbling nearby.

At first glance, it sounded like the cry of a ghost with deep resentment, giving them goosebumps.

“Huhuh, huhuhuh.”

But as they continued to listen, they heard mischievous laughter between the cries.

Who the hell was playing these pranks?!

Noel and Rieta followed the cries with angry faces.

It was behind the statue.

“Hukhuh.”

There, a man was laughing at Noel and Rieta.

Fortunately, the two knew each other.

“The Gatherer, BB.”

When Rieta called, he grinned.

“We met in such a place. Princess, Lord.”

Noel pursed his lips.

It was because it reminded him of the terrible first kiss.

“Only those with permission can come in, so why are you here?”

He answered Noel’s question with a shrug of both shoulders.

“Since when would I need permission to cross boundaries?”

That was true. He was a man who even crossed country borders without permission.

It was unlikely that he would ask permission to visit each of those places.

“I’m kidding. Wizards are practically scholars. They are my precious customers.”

“Not only the professors at the academy, you’re also accepting requests from wizards?”

“I’m young, and this job earns well. I want to buy at least one building and retire, so I’m willing to cross any lines as long as there are customers who will pay for it.”

He grinned. He had a face full of mischief.

“Then, did you come to hand over a request today?”

“Yes, that’s right, Princess.”

“You’ve been through a lot of trouble, BB.”

“Wow! The moment the Princess said that, all my fatigue melted away. It’s the first time I’ve heard that! The Princess is an angel! If I had a higher status, I would have asked you to marry me!”

As he approached Rieta with ecstatic eyes, Noel quickly blocked his.

Because he had a bad feeling.

That man named BB . . .

Didn’t he kiss Noel without asking permission?

He couldn’t let Rieta experience the same thing.

“Go away, do you think we’ll be beaten twice?”

“I can’t?”

When BB asked with a very sad face, Noel let out a groan.

“You can’t! You pervert!”

“BB is not a pervert. I just fall in love easily. But I think the Lord is serious, so I’ll stop today.”

Who is being serious? Noel was about to ask that question, but then stopped.

He felt that if asked that, the answer would come back to dig into Noel’s heart.

“More than that, BB, did you not hear anything?”

Rieta, who happened to be standing behind Noel, quickly asked an important point.

She poked her head over Noel’s shoulder.

“What are you talking about? The sound of young lovers hugging each other? BB didn’t see anything.”

“. . . Not lovers, childhood friends. Friends who have seen everything. Other than that, something has been rustling.”

After Rieta corrected the misphrasing, she made the question a bit more specific.

Finally, BB nodded his head.

“If that’s the case, it must have been the sound from that guy.”

He pointed the tip of his chin at a small angel statue nearby.

It was luxurious, with a sparkling jewel embedded in its forehead.

“Don’t joke around.”

“I’m not kidding, it’s real. That’s the sound from those wings.”

“The wings are made of marble.”

“Ah.”

BB pursed his lips and went directly to the angel statue.

“Here.”

Then he pointed at something that was only half visible, hidden by the statue.

“. . . ?”

Noel and Rieta followed him, and were soon confronted with the identity of the sound.

“A bird?”

This time, it was not a sculpture, but a live real bird.

Every time the bird moved around the cage, it made the sound they had heard.

“What’s this . . .”

Noel is somewhat disappointed with the identity of the sound.

He thought there was some great secret hidden.

“What is this, it’s a gift.”

BB faithfully answered Noel’s disappointed words.

“Because beautiful birds are loved by high-ranking people.”

Saying that, he took out a piece of fruit from his pocket and slipped it into the cage.