One of the noble children put his hand on the Spirit Boat and shouted with a tone everyone could hear. Then the laughter began to fade away as he was the last to ride.
The ten children could just stare behind the sailing boats. No one told them about this on their way here, but one of them was shaking his head.
“I heard about it but didn’t think it could be true!”
When Nalt spoke, eyes turned to him. The kid with crooked fringe was looking down.
“Because only the children of noble families have ever won the Plant Department test, it was said that they have been covering their own transportation costs since the time Second Great began to manage the academy. I couldn’t believe it because I didn’t think such servility would be possible, but it seems that what was said was true!”
The faces of kids fell. It was clear that one could not go to the academy without a Spirit Boat. They had done an impossible job. It was astonishing that so many people of folk descent managed to get into the Plant Department, but once again poverty was beating them.
“Hey, wait for me too!”
As the gloomy atmosphere was pierced by an enthusiastic voice, a burly young man approached the hill where the Spirit Boats had been anchored.
“Mel, where have you been?”
Nalt was the first to talk, and the others spoke after Nalt as if they were waiting for him.
“We were very worried about you!”
“Are you okay?”
There were four girls among these ten kids, and naturally, in their eyes, Mel was no different than the prince on a white horse. This hero, who made them pass the test, had abandoned them and everything had gone wrong.
“Fortunately you came. We are in big trouble!”
Finally, one of them explained the situation to Mel. Given the wrinkled face of the burly young boy, it was obvious that Mel didn’t expect that much either.
“So, you say we definitely need a Spirit Boat.”
“Yes, otherwise we have to go through the forest which will lead us to death. When compared to this forest, our Outer Forest remains as safe as the garden of a mansion on the settlement!”
Bitterly, Nalt explained that they had no other choice. It was in this child’s nature to be realistic. Mel’s smiling face fell. He began to walk back and forth for a while in deep thoughts.
Then, for some reason, they started running towards the settlement as he grabbed Nalt by his arm. At the same time, he called out to those who remained behind.
“Wait here! I think I have an idea!”
As they were running at full speed, Nalt asked Mel where they were going by daring to bite his tongue.
“Mel, where are we going?”
Mel did not answer. He ran at the same pace until he entered through the settlement gate. He stopped when they arrived at the square where the Fighting Department test took place.
“Nalt, do you remember that we met a man here? When you told him that I broke a record, he said ‘Come to me if you need anything.”
The boy with the crooked hair, gasping for breath, could not lift his head from the ground until he heard what was being said.
“Are you talking about Big Joe?”
“Yes, that was the name. He said ‘if you have time, I can give you a gift or two!’”
Nalt didn’t make Mel repeat his words. This time he started running as he grasped Mel. Even a tiny crumb of hope gave life to the boy who was dying of exhaustion.
They entered one of the streets leading to the square, ran for a short while, and stopped in front of the sign protruding from the wall of Big Joe’s shop.
“Mel, we came in a hurry, but how is this man going to give us that huge Spirit Boat?”
Unable to think rationally because of excitement, Nalt’s sanity came back when he was standing at the door of the shop. But contrary to him, Mel grabbed the handle of the door without hesitation and entered inside.
“Have a nice day!”
Mel barged in. The sound of the door that he pushed harshly, echoed inside the large and single-section store. The man sitting in his armchair behind the table awoke from his sleep.
While wiping his burred eyes, the two children stood up in front of him. He lifted his head and looked in a very unpleasant way.
“What do you want?”
His irked attitude was also understood from his voice. He slightly bowed his bald head and without even looking at them, he snubbed the kids.
“Mel, let’s go!”
After seeing the man’s attitude, Nalt turned towards the door and tried to pull Mel, but the big boy did not move even an inch.
“I came to see Big Joe!”
Preparing to go back to sleep; the man stood up a bit, just glanced at Mel, and sat down in his armchair.
“You want to see him? What business would the boss have with you?”
This time the man had a sneering tone in his voice. But Mel continued to speak.
“If he is here, can you tell him that this year’s Plant Department Exam winner has come?”
Although he spoke politely, when the words reached the man’s ear, it was enough to change the shape of his face. Then the shop howled with the sound that followed.
“Get up from there you pander and greet our guests properly!”
A hand coming out of the curtain right behind him hit the head of the bald man so hard that even though he was told to get up, the man fell in his place. The besotted man was standing on all four legs, but Big Joe, who was pressing his back with his big foot, came out behind the curtain.
“Mel, my chap! I have been waiting for you for a long time. I thought you forgot me!”
The atmosphere resembling a dark winter turned into the most joyful days of spring in two breaths of time. Big Joe was laughing by twisting his mustache that looked like a brush under his potato-like nose.
Since this situation had encouraged Mel, he immediately got to the point.
“Uncle Big Joe, could you rented me a Spirit Boat?”
One eyebrow of the big-faced man lifted, but then came back to its old place with a soft pace.
“What are you going to do with a Spirit Boat?”
Mel, who did not get a negative answer yet, had no choice but to tell what happened. He told whatever he knew without hiding anything.
“So, the Noble Children set off without taking you. Your predictions are correct. Even though other departments use the facilities of the Academy, the newcomers of the Plant Department survive in their first year in the Academy with the support of their families!”
Nalt’s knees started to tremble as what he was afraid of was happening to them. But in contrary to him, with his head held high, Mel was staring into the mouth of the man, who was as big as him.
“I can rent you the Spirit Boat and do not even want money for it. But I have one condition!”
