Ch.234234. A Wish in the Snowy Winter (8)

The night market gradually lifted the evening darkness, illuminating the capital Levrant with bright lights.

Though evening came earlier due to the shortened days as winter approached, the night market was still brilliantly lit.

However, beneath its bright exterior, if you peeled back the layers and looked inside, you could see the chaos within.

“Good grief! Don’t you have eyes? Walking around without looking straight ahead!”

“It… it’s not that serious, my lord. We just bumped into each other by accident…”

“Ah, you’ve just ruined my mood!”

The situation was this:

A commoner and a nobleman were examining various goods.

The parade night market was densely packed with people, and with vendors moving carts full of merchandise, collisions were common.

So these two had bumped into each other due to unavoidable circumstances.

But.

“Damn it, because of you, this red stuff got on my clothes!”

“That… I’m sorry. I’ll take care of the cleaning myself…”

“What? Cleaning? This garment cannot be hand-washed by the likes of you, nor is it made of material from which stains can be easily removed! It was made by a famous brand in Mirpark, so it’s not something your hands should ever touch!!”

When accidents happen between commoners and nobles, it’s usually the commoner who suffers greatly.

Nobles can restrain others with force or exert pressure using their wealth and status.

Yet paradoxically, in this case, only the nobleman had suffered direct damage.

Neither of them was injured, but there was financial loss—and it was on the nobleman’s side, not the commoner’s.

Looking at just the surface, the fault seemed to lie with the commoner. After all, it hadn’t escalated into a fight, but clearly only one person had suffered financial damage.

“What’s going on here?”

The disciplinary committee arrived at just the right moment. Though they appeared at an appropriate time…

“This fellow bumped into me and ruined my clothes!”

“I’m sorry. You see…”

Resolving the situation wasn’t easy. It was difficult to mediate when there was clearly an identified victim, making it challenging to determine who was at fault.

But then, a clue to the solution appeared.

“You. I saw you deliberately stick your elbow out just now. I saw it!”

“Wh-what nonsense…”

“Look, if your arm was positioned this way, wouldn’t food normally fall away from you? Isn’t it strange to move your arm like that?”

Because witnesses who had seen the entire situation inevitably appeared. Given the scale of the parade, there were bound to be people who could correct the cause-and-effect relationship.

The incident was eventually resolved, though the troublemaking nobleman had wasted a considerable amount of time.

‘But even this time-wasting process isn’t always so smooth.’

Just turning one’s head slightly revealed similar situations everywhere.

“Hey! We were here first, but you took it!”

“What’s wrong with us offering to pay for it?”

“No. You’re clearly not together with this person.”

“Besides, this person was already in line and purchased it earlier!”

The sound of people murmuring could be heard everywhere. What did this mean?

That’s right—incidents and accidents were occurring throughout the night market, not just here.

And the best solution was to have a witness appear and give a warning to the nobleman pretending to be a victim before sending him away.

Wouldn’t this be too much for the parade security to handle? Their fatigue would accumulate twice as fast as usual, and considering how much time remained before the night market closed, it was already worrying to think about the next day.

‘At this rate, the parade will be ruined.’

I certainly didn’t want such a future, especially with someone right beside me who should be enjoying themselves.

“Renias. Can I whisper something to you?”

“Huh? Um, sure.”

***

‘I guess we’ll only be able to move once all these people clear out?’

Renias secretly sighed, pouting her lips as she stood in the same spot for several minutes.

Watching people bump into each other at the night market, the path forward was blocked, and there wasn’t much she could do about it.

She might end up separated from her senior at this rate… but there was no helping it.

Just as Renias was about to resign herself to this fate.

“Renias. Can I whisper something to you?”

“Huh? Um, sure.”

For some reason, she tilted her head toward her senior when asked to listen.

“Right now, nobles are deliberately causing trouble in various places. That’s why we can’t move forward.”

“Eh? Really? If that’s the case…!”

“Shh. Don’t speak too loudly.”

Oops, the conversation wasn’t over yet.

Hurriedly covering her mouth with her palm, she returned to her original posture.

With her mouth covered, she asked in a voice only her senior could hear to continue the explanation.

“While the nobles are causing problems, they’re cunningly leaving no evidence. Only witnesses can confirm they were being unreasonable. So there are only witnesses. They’re deliberately picking fights and causing trouble, creating constant friction.”

“Then… it must take a lot of time to resolve each issue, right?”

“Exactly. The disciplinary committee is trying to prevent incidents during the parade, but I think they won’t last long. Maybe two hours at most? By then, everyone will be tired and lax. The worst case is that the parade gets suspended.”

“That, that can’t happen…!”

How many people were looking forward to this parade?

People of all ages and from various professions had come from all over to fill the space, making the Real Winter Parade’s significance beyond question.

She herself had hoped to enjoy the parade night market with her senior, so suspension was absolutely not what she wanted.

“In my opinion, the parade won’t be suspended. However…”

“However…?”

“The problem is that this parade might fall into the hands of the nobles.”

There was no need to explain what would happen then.

What would happen if the watchful eyes disappeared for those who were forcefully causing trouble?

The nobles were causing the friction, but they would pretend to be victims and blame others or act maliciously.

Just like at Levrant Academy, things happening in the shadows become difficult even to detect.

“Is there a way to stop it?”

But there must be a reason her senior brought this up.

Junon was flawless, quick to respond to incidents, and always chose the best option when problems arose.

And proving this right, her senior smiled slightly and said:

“I need your help, Renias.”

“Eh…? My help?”

At that moment, she had no idea why her senior wanted her help.

The ingenious plan her senior whispered in her ear was truly…

“Thumbs up.”

Worthy of two thumbs up.

***

It’s not just the Real Winter Parade, but each season has its special products, and commemorative items produced in limited quantities can’t be purchased once the season passes.

Even setting aside their rarity, everyone wanted to enjoy the parade and commemorate this day.

Crack.

“You insolent…! You grabbed my arm and made me drop it! What are you going to do about it?!”

“I, I did grab your arm, but I didn’t mean to make you drop that…”

“So. Are you saying we who bought it first are at fault? Huh? Are you going to pay for it?”

A struggle ensued, but looking at the result, only the nobleman who had paid money suffered a loss.

Of course, that would have been the case if no one had stepped in.

“Excuse me, mister.”

“What is it, brat?”

“Brat… Hah, never mind. Why are you blaming that person when you deliberately dropped the model yourself?”

“Pfft. Why would I deliberately drop something I paid for? That’s nonsense.”

The nobleman snorted at the female student and feigned ignorance.

But when a wind spirit appeared before him, the nobleman suddenly found it hard to breathe.

“Are you saying my spirit is lying? A wind spirit that responds more sensitively to the flow of wind than humans or even magical beasts?”

“Ah, well, that’s…”

“I’m Rana, an exchange student from Sirah Roadschool to Levrant Academy. Though temporary, I have the status of an academy student. I think it would be best if you apologize to that person quickly.”

The deception ended there. The nobleman had to leave without further excuses.

A spirit that could sense even wind magic would certainly detect the subtle breeze created when something was deliberately dropped.

The same happened on the other side.

“This product contains sufficient magical power. Do you still not understand?”

“That…! Ahem! I, I must have been mistaken!”

Ethan personally drove away the nobleman who had questioned the product, marking two successful resolutions.

Why could they perform the role of vigilantes at the parade?

Simply because they were academy students.

Academy students stationed throughout the parade were helping to ensure its smooth progress by pointing out the nobles’ nitpicking.

Renias, who was confirming the successful resolutions through a telescope, smiled at Junon.

“Mm-hmm. It’s being resolved well, just as you said, senior.”

“How about the disciplinary committee?”

“After taking a break, they’re working in shifts again. Their activity has visibly decreased compared to before. Numerically, about 1/4?”

“Hmm… if it’s about 1/4, then it seems mostly resolved.”

Junon stood up from his chair and looked down at the night market with a satisfied expression.

Renias immediately snuggled up beside him and giggled.

“Well done, my junior.”

“I think you should pat my head~”

“Of course, as much as you want.”

.

.

.

Meanwhile, from Dahlia’s perspective, an inexplicable situation had unfolded.

“What on earth is going on?”

She had thought she would need to deploy knights to supplement the insufficient personnel, but reports of complaints and incidents gradually decreased, and soon the overworked disciplinary committee was given rest time.

It didn’t make sense.

How could the complaints and quarrels that had been erupting in dozens of places suddenly become quiet?

Jake, who had just entered, informed the puzzled Dahlia about the outside situation.

“Dahlia. It’s the students.”

“Students? We didn’t recruit that many, did we?”

“No, I mean academy students are working together like vigilantes. That’s why there are no more incidents to report.”

“What? Then there must be someone acting as a leader, giving instructions…”

Suddenly, a male student came to Dahlia’s mind.

“Hmm. Someone with that capability would need to have some reputation. Someone like…”

A boy also came to Jake’s mind. A black-haired boy who had recently become quite famous, who was once his disciple.

As the two continued to review the possibilities…

Indeed, only one likely candidate remained.

“Hmm… Renias might be capable, but he wouldn’t think of this. It must be… Junon.”

“I can’t think of anyone else either. Plus, with Renias right beside him, he could probably call on most people.”

The idea that those two had communicated with academy students to prevent the parade from falling into the nobles’ hands…

Nothing else came to mind.

“Hahaha! Well, that’s fine. Wow, this Junon. Is he a commander now or what?”

Jake couldn’t hide his pride as he let out a hearty laugh.