The burly man approached Mel’s ear and whispered something. They were communicating so quietly that no one but the two could hear what was being spoken.
Mel first thought a bit, and then nodded as a sign of approval. Hereupon, Big Joe shouted to his assistant.
“Go with my chap and take them to the academy!”
“But boss, I have…!”
When Big Joe’s assistant tried to object, Joe’s meatball-like five big fingers snapped on the bald area on his head.
“This is the most important thing! Move right now!”
The man, whose head was reddish, did not dare to object again. He hurriedly opened the curtain behind the table and disappeared. He came back in less than five minutes. He was dressed for the journey and was wearing a ring that was not there before.
After leaving the shop, the young children quickly proceeded with the person who just joined them. They were heading to the hill where the Spirit Boats took off.
“Mel, I can’t believe it. How did Big Joe give us this boat without asking for any money? Even if we had convinced him to give, he would normally have asked for hundreds of gold!”
Mel continued to run without speaking, infuriating the man who was following them from behind.
“Slow down a little! My heart will come out of my mouth!”
The man’s tongue was out of his mouth as the hairless opening on his head was glowing red. He could hardly speak in between gasps.
“We are in a hurry, red-headed uncle. You can rest as much as you want on your way back!”
The man did not speak against the remark on his redhead as if he had learned the necessary lesson from what had happened to him before. Indeed, the startling of humans was not like the startling of animals.
Fortunately, the target was not far away. Upon arrival, he got down on his knees and began coughing. The children waiting for Mel and Nalt immediately formed a circle around them and started a rain of questions.
“What happened?”
“Where did you go, Mel?”
“Nalt, have you found a solution?”
As everyone was saying something, Mel roughly cleared his throat and this sound silenced others.
“Friends, a salesman agreed to help us. Uncle Big Joe sent his assistant to accompany us to the academy!”
Thunder-like applause shook the ground as tears and joy meddled with each other. Meanwhile, as the assistant removed the Spirit Boat from the handling ring, the enthusiasm increased more.
Children quickly jumped into the boat as if they were scared that it would move away without them.
As the boat, which could easily accommodate ten more groups like them, took off slowly, the area resounded with applause once more.
While the boat merged into the clouds without disturbing its calm progress, all eleven children drifted into the view from the sides of the boat. Mel now had a top view of the outer forest.
“Thank you, Spirit of the Forest! I will never forget the lesson you taught!”
As the voice coming out of his muttering lips meddled with fresh air, he began to examine the landscape. Green Shadow Academy had really deserved its name.
Wherever he looked, he came across completely different tones of green; the emerald green lakes among the dark spots formed by the intertwined thick trees and the short plants drowned in the colorfulness of the fruit trees were all green.
Mel also saw the creatures roaming between those plants and trees. Each time he saw that he turned and looked at Nalt. Although he did not have tremendous talent as a Botanist, he was standing out among his peers with his accumulation of knowledge. Mel’s smile was telling that he liked how fate made them meet each other.
The man, whose red spot on his head was disappearing, did not leave the Spirit Boat’s prow for a moment. Mel understood why Big Joe insisted on sending him.
At regular intervals, he was putting a monster core in the altar-like place at the prow of the boat. If Big Joe just gave them the boat, it would be very difficult for them to meet this fuel consumption.
As the Spirit Boat continued to advance, in a place not far away, two men were confronting each other and almost getting into a fight.
“What do you mean we forgot to tell you? How come this boat comes here without other children?”
When his yelling was over, Grumpy Hanry slammed down his right hand on the hull of the next boat. The Spirit Boat, in which no one was left, got cracked with the blow.
“Take it easy, Master Hanry. How would I know they couldn’t rent a boat? Doesn’t everyone know that the Plant Department students should rent their own boats?”
As much as Grumpy Hanry was tense, Young Master Louise was just as calm. They were fighting before the eyes of the directors of the other two departments and their new students. Of course, the Head of Plant Department could not remain indifferent to this situation. He immediately pulled Grumpy Hanry aside by catching his arm.
“Take it easy, Hanry!”
The tone of his voice was both stimulating and calming, but Hanry’s temper was too fresh.
“How can I be calm? If I go to buy it now, they’ll miss the reception ceremony, which means they can’t attend the academy. Please talk to the Second Great and save me some time!”
Although the sentence ended with ‘please’, Grumpy Hanry was almost ordering.
“I can’t, Hanry!”
“Why is that?”
The Head of the Department did not want to push on the explosive powder keg any further.
“Louise explained the situation while on board and I got in touch with the Second!”
Grumpy Hanry frowned. The man with years of experience seemed to sense something.
“What did he answer?”
He said “The academy doesn’t need men who cannot manage themselves. Especially in the Plant Department!”
Hanry left his place and went to the edge of the rocky ledge where the Spirit Boats were anchored and began to watch the horizon. Whispers of gossip rose from behind as if there were a flock of mosquitoes.
“Brother, will Mel really not come today?”
While the young children getting off the boats were standing together, Marvina approached Edgan and began to talk about this unexpected situation.
“People here may not know Mel, but you know very well that he has enough money to buy a Spirit Boat Fleet if he wants to!”
Edgan was right, but what he didn’t know was that Mel didn’t pay a penny for the boat that would soon appear on the horizon.
“They’re coming, they’re coming!”
It was not Grumpy Hanry who was shouting. One of the noble children recognized what was inside the barely visible boat. The Old Master was laughing with delight, but Louise Gloove was pulling a long face in the back.
