Chapter 14
World Donation Day
“Tutu, sir? What is that?”
‘Tutu’ was an imperial custom.
It was a tradition to celebrate the 22nd day after starting a relationship. No one knew exactly why it existed, but it did.
“They say if you celebrate it properly, many good things happen.”
Terian offered his junior at Elche this heartfelt advice.
“You collect 2 harc from 2 people, 22 people, like that.”
Seeing Royce listen attentively made Terian feel proud.
“Thank you, sir.”
“Think nothing of it.”
Terian chuckled proudly.
But he didn’t know.
That young people in the empire no longer kept such customs.
Nor did he know that his advice was fundamentally flawed.
Conversation with Enia
“So? What happened?”
I was sitting with Senior Enia at the park in front of the dorm, eating shaved ice while telling her about the puppet show I’d seen.
But Enia seemed more interested in Royce’s reactions than the show itself.
Well, as Royce’s close friend, she was probably curious about his first puppet show experience.
At that moment, I saw Simon walking over.
“Enia! Serdin, you’re here too. Hey.”
“So you finally remember me.”
“Haha, of course.”
Simon laughed heartily, then asked Enia,
“Did Royce take money from you too?”
“What do you mean?”
They spoke a bit away from me, but I could hear every word.
“He asked me for 2 harc.”
“Why would Royce do that?”
“I don’t know, but when I gave it to him, he handed me this as a return.”
“Isn’t that worth 200 harc in Triden Street?”
Apparently, Royce took 2 harc but gave back an item worth 200 harc.
“……?”
He truly was extraordinary, but this made no sense.
Taking 2 harc and giving 200 harc in return… what was his intention?
Did money mean so little to him that there was no difference between 2 and 200 harc?
If so, I wished he’d give me some too.
As I pondered Royce’s motive, Enia suddenly covered her mouth.
“N-no way…”
She looked as though she’d just realized something shocking.
“What is it, Enia? What’s wrong?”
“No, it’s nothing…”
She glanced around nervously, then leaned in to whisper,
“Serdin, have you… experienced anything… sweet lately?”
‘Sweet?’
The only sweet thing in my life right now was this shaved ice.
When I answered so, Enia just smiled awkwardly and waved her hand.
“Never mind! I was thinking nonsense.”
“About what?”
“Nothing!”
She quickly got up, dragging Simon away.
I finished the shaved ice alone and returned to the dorm.
There, I found Royce waiting.
“Senior Royce?”
“Serdin.”
Suddenly, I remembered what Simon and Enia had said earlier.
Would he take 2 harc from me and give me something worth 200 harc too?
It was a small amount, but the profit rate was 10,000%, so I wouldn’t mind.
As I was about to ask, Royce spoke first.
“Are you free tomorrow evening?”
“I should be. Why?”
“It might seem a bit much to celebrate something like this…”
Celebrate?
“Tomorrow’s a special day. I wanted to see you.”
We met often anyway, even on ordinary days.
But him saying it like this meant tomorrow really was something.
“What’s tomorrow?”
When I asked, Royce smiled softly and asked back,
“What do you think it is?”
What could it be?
No matter how hard I thought, nothing came to mind.
“What day is it?”
But he didn’t answer directly.
“You’ll find out tomorrow.”
He simply smiled, like someone preparing a wonderful surprise.
World Donation Day
The next day at lunch, I waited for my classmates on Triden Street.
We’d planned to watch a chess tournament, and I’d arrived early to stroll around.
I saw people with donation boxes talking.
“Thanks to the young lord of Velkerente.”
They were talking about Royce.
I stopped walking and listened.
Did Royce know how often he appeared in random conversations like this?
“He donated 100,000 harc so willingly.”
“Really? That’s such a relief… truly a blessing.”
Apparently, he’d done a good deed. 100,000 harc was no small amount.
“And he said just 2 harc was enough in return. Such a generous man.”
Again with the 2 harc? Simon and Enia said the same.
Was it some kind of certification gesture?
As I continued walking past the cathedral, I overheard people saying,
“The young lord of Velkerente donated 200,000 harc on the spot.”
“When we offered a token gift, he just took 2 harc instead.”
Again?
While I was processing this, Haeryl and Mina arrived.
“What are you doing, Serdin?”
“Hmm, nothing… How’s Risher?”
Risher had taken a leave of absence from Eudelin, but we still saw him often.
“He’ll be here soon. Shall we go?”
The chess tournament was held in a hall affiliated with the central chess association.
As we sat down, I overheard the people next to us.
“There was a charity party at the Velkerente estate.”
Another Royce-related topic.
“Yes, even though it was announced suddenly, over 500 people attended.”
“The participation fee was unusual. You only had to pay 2 harc to join the auction.”
2 harc again?
As I listened, the match began.
Watching the intense game, I forgot about everything else.
The clash of pieces felt like the clash of swords – thrilling.
When the match ended, it was almost time to meet Royce.
He’d said today was special. But what was it?
“Guys, is today some special day?”
“You mean today, not tomorrow?”
Haeryl asked, then added,
“Tomorrow’s your birthday, Serdin.”
“What? It’s Serdin’s birthday? Party time tomorrow, everyone gather!”
“How did you know it’s Serdin’s birthday, Haeryl?”
“She told me at the start of the semester.”
“Haeryl, you’re such a good friend.”
Haeryl smiled proudly.
Now that she mentioned it, I had forgotten – tomorrow was my birthday.
I never cared much for it, having rarely celebrated since childhood.
But that was tomorrow. I was curious about today.
“Then what’s today? Don’t you know, Haeryl?”
She was knowledgeable about social matters, so I thought she might know.
“I’m not sure if this is what you mean, but…”
Haeryl tilted her head, thinking.
After hearing her answer, I felt like someone slapped my palm and I jumped up.
“What!”
‘This is it.’
“But are you sure this is what you meant…”
“No, Haeryl, you’re right. This is it!”
Evening with Royce
When I arrived at the place he mentioned, Royce was already waiting.
The evening lights flickered on as dusk turned the surroundings bluish.
He wore a dark fitted shirt with a vest of matching tone, looking neat and refined.
In his hand was a small pouch.
“Serdin.”
“I’m hungry. What shall we eat?”
“There’s a restaurant I saw on the way.”
Royce had Michelin-level taste, so I followed without question.
He took me to a beautifully designed seafood restaurant I’d heard of before.
But despite it being peak time, there was no one inside.
“It’s so empty. Is this place really good?”
“Do you prefer crowded places?”
“No, as long as it’s tasty. Have you been here before?”
“Once, by chance…”
Before he finished, the restaurant owner rushed out.
“Young lord, welcome. Two days in a row, thank you so much.”
Royce cleared his throat awkwardly as the owner continued.
“Yesterday, you tried every dish we offer!”
Every dish?
Royce really was a gourmet.
He whispered something to the owner, who zipped his lips shut and composed himself.
“Today we’ll serve the dishes you selected yesterday.”
Then a waiter led us inside.
‘So he came yesterday and returned today?’
He must have really wanted to come back.
I glanced around as we sat down and saw a sign near the counter.
「5% of profits are donated to the cathedral welfare society.」
Ah, of course.
There was a reason he chose this place.
I thought back to what Haeryl had said earlier.
‘Today is World Donation Day…’
At that moment, Royce handed me the pouch he had brought.
“To commemorate today.”
Inside were countless 1-harc coins.
“I collected it from 2,222 people.”
