The four kids looked at the wizard, who stood in front of them with arms spread out wide as he revealed the true form of his project. Instead of cheering, as Manuel expected, all he got was silence.

"Well, I sure expected a different outcome."

"A delivery service? As in postal service? Don't we already have that?" Jin asked, disappointment turning his voice a bit rougher.

"Bah, those slowpokes? That's nothing! Post offices rarely let anyone send anything magical, and if they do, it usually costs an insane amount of money. Not to mention it always takes them ages. But with my newly developed portal system, I can get you almost anywhere. Just imagine! Magical supplies anywhere and everywhere! Adventuring through the jungle and in dire need of a potion? No problem! Just order a quick delivery via a scrying scroll! Need a new staff but your town doesn't sell them? Order with us!"

"So we'd be selling them?"

"No no, just delivering. I would deal with the purchases and commissions. Your job would simply be to travel where is needed and to deliver the package."

The kids looked at each other.

"That's not really what–" Kaili was quickly interrupted by Manuel.

"It's a lot to think about, I know, so I will give you some time to think it over. There are some cookies in the jar over there, if you'd like. I'll be patiently awaiting your response downstairs." He took off his hat, bowed, and disappeared into a shower of tiny golden sparks. The quartet was now left alone in the dining hall.

"Apprenticeship, huh?" Airo remarked.

"It sounded like an apprenticeship!" Jin defended his intentions.

"Well, this is a bit disappointing," Cia added and Kaili soon joined her.

"Yeah. I don't really know if we are cut out for something like this."

While three of the friends discussed and agreed that delivering packages was not something either of them wanted to do, an idea was slowly pushing its way through Jin's mind.

"I think we should still take it," he eventually spoke.

"Huh? Why should we? This is not at all what we talked about." the young dryad remarked.

"I know, but think about it! This is a chance to be incredibly close to magic! We could learn a thing or two here anyway. Plus, we'd see the world!"

"I don't want to see the world. That's why I live alone in a grove far away from most people. It's peaceful."

"But... Ugh!"

"Why don't you accept it? If you want to do it, you don't need our approval," Airo said.

"Because we've always been a team! And I... I don't want to face this alone, okay? Everything's easier when you've got someone you trust watching your back."

A brief moment of silence followed. Eventually, Cia shrugged. "Well, sounds good enough for me." Everyone's attention turned to the little imp.

"Really? You'll join me?" Jin's eyes lit up.

"Yeah. I mean, what else are we doing with our free time? You're always avoiding work, Airo works for an hour every day, Kaili just takes care of herself and paints, and I make inventions with no real situations to test them in. Besides, we've done stuff like this before. When I made that sonic cannon, remember?"

"How could we forget. We had to repair all the windows it shattered." Kaili rolled her eyes.

"Exactly! You didn't have to help me, but you did! Or when Airo's family was out of town and we had to help clean up all that cloud water he got into the villa?"

"I did appreciate the help, yeah. Pretty sure my parents would've killed me otherwise.

"See? We're always doing stuff together. Besides, back then, we couldn't just quit. Not with the windows, nor with the water. Here, we can always just resign, right?"

Manuel was sitting in a small living room downstairs. His fingers were dancing through the air with little glowing strings attached to them. He had been waiting for someone to at least consider his offer for far too long now, so the uncertain future made him feel uneasy. Therefore, to pass the time without going insane, he tried knitting a small, magical scarf.

"Umm... Manuel?" Jin called out to him. At the very next moment, the wizard reappeared before the boy, having dropped the knitting mid-progress.

"Yes? Have you decided?"

"We'll take it, but we want to know a few things first."

"Please, ask away. I am an open book." He smiled and winked.

"Will you teach us magic?"

"What? Magic? Why?"

"Because... we want to? And don't you think we'd need it if we were to be delivering magic supplies?"

"Hmm. An excellent argument. Well, I am not much of a teacher, and I find the idea of having an apprentice to be incredibly stupid, but I do possess countless books on magic. My library will be open to you during your free time."

"What about the payment?" Airo asked the next question.

The wizard looked around as if he was expecting someone to eavesdrop on them in the middle of his own home. Then, he leaned closer and whispered.

"What?!" all the kids yelled in unison. Their parents combined would maybe make as much money in a week, and here, they were offered exactly that much per person for just one day of work. For a moment, they wondered if there was perhaps a catch to the wizard's offer, but he simply assured them that the payment would be fitting, given how much travelling would be required for the job.

"Any objections?" Jin asked and looked at his friends, who shook their heads. "Okay, we'll take it."

"Splendid!" Manuel called out and disappeared in a flash of light, only to reappear a moment later, saying "don't go anywhere", and then disappearing once again.

He was gone for perhaps three minutes before finally bringing the kids their first assignment. "Here. This will just be a simple delivery. For the local bakery." He handed Jin a cardboard box.

"What is it?" the boy asked and tried to open it, but the wizard quickly stopped him.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Careful! We are discrete as well. If someone doesn't wish their package to be seen, we do not open it. You wouldn't want the postman to read your letters, right?"

Jin agreed and confirmed with the wizard who the package was for. His heart sank a bit when he heard the name Wayland Pecca. The young farmer was pretty sure that given the fact that he had robbed the baker of a small pastry just this morning, he would not be very happy to see him, let alone if he were bringing him a package from the wizard he disliked.

"Like, it or not, that is your first job," Manuel shrugged. Sometimes, we'll have to do things we may not be fond of. But don't worry, usually, if something scares us, it tends to be the best thing we can do." The wizard gave him a wink. "Now, before you come back, I shall prepare your rooms."

"Our rooms?" Airo asked.

"Yes. I will need you to be here early every morning, so I plan on giving you all rooms in the tower where you can stay. Breakfast will also be free of charge, of course."

The kids looked at each other nervously.

"But what about–" Cia got quickly interrupted.

"Your parents? Don't worry, I will tell them everything and explain how things are." He gave them another wink and disappeared.

"You think he went there right away, or..." Airo scratched his head.

"Heh, guess living alone has some perks," Kaili smiled. This was one of the rare few moments when she liked the fact that her parents lived so far away.

Since the wizard showed no signs of returning, the team set out towards their destination. For a first job, this didn't seem like a very difficult task. They could navigate their home back and forth blindfolded, so getting to Pecca's bakery was only a matter of time.

As they passed under the kitchen window, Jin briefly considered climbing up there, leaving the package on the table, and simply running, but something told him that the old man would be even angrier if he saw the boy infiltrating his establishment once again. The front entrance it was.

Going through the main room felt like a walk of shame to the young farmer. The door flew open and a little brass bell let out a faint clink as the kids entered. Almost immediately, Pecca's head peeked out through the kitchen window.

"Oh course. Wherever there's trouble, there’s bound to be your four. Have you come to steal something else from me, boy?” The baker left the kitchen and towered over the kids with his arms crossed.

Jin stepped forward. The guilt of returning to a crime scene was gnawing at him, but he didn’t let it show.

“Here. I have a package for you?” he mumbled and pushed the small box into the man’s hands.

“A package? Who sent it?”

“Umm… Manuel,” the boy said truthfully.

“The wizard? Oh god, is this a bomb?” Pecca said, only half-jokingly, and carefully opened the box. His expression went from concern to relief as soon as he saw the contents.

“Jin?” he asked.

“Yeah?”

“You know, if you want to apologize, you can just say it. You don’t have to bake anything.”

The boy didn’t understand. “What?”

Pecca reached into the box and pulled out a small, strawberry pastry of the same kind Jin had stolen that morning.

“I…” the boy wanted to say something, but words were not coming out. He was expecting many things, but not this.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to make up any stories of the wizard sending me stuff. Apology accepted.” The old man smiled and bit into the pastry. His face suddenly scrunched up. “Hmm. Yeah, next time, please, just apologize normally. I appreciate the gesture, truly, but you really can’t bake.”

As the kids left the bakery and celebrated their first successful assignment with cheers, Jin’s mind was full of the strangest of thoughts. There were far too many questions he wanted to ask the wizard.

“Hey, you okay?” Kaili eventually asked him.

“Yeah. Just kinda… Feels surreal, I guess.”

“Is this better than being a cloud farmer?”

“Oh, one hundred per cent.”

“Hehe, then that’s great! I really hope Manuel didn’t mess things up with your parents.”

Back at the tower, the wizard welcomed them while holding a bag of ice to his head. The hat, once pointy and stylish, was sitting on the table in the living room, scrunched up and folded beyond recognition.

“What the hell happened to you? Jin asked.”

“Your mother hit me with a vase,” the wizard explained.

“Sounds like you weren’t very lucky with our parents?” Airo added.

“I was, but not as much as I expected. Maybe I shouldn’t have just appeared inside the homes without knocking. But well, you live and you learn. Anyway, neither of your parents would really mind you working here or staying in the tower, but they want to see you all and speak to you about this first. Something about not taking my word for it.”

The children promised to go and calm down any situation the wizard may have caused in their homes. With the idea of a potential argument and scolding awaiting them at home, their previous cheer and celebration faded into nothingness. Jin’s thoughts, however, were concerned with something else. When everyone finally headed back home, he stayed for a moment longer.

“Can I speak with you in private, Manuel?” the boy asked.

“Well, sure. What’s on your mind?” the wizard replied. His hands slid over his mangled hat, which soon smoothed itself out back into its original shape. He then put it back on his head to hide the large bump left by Mrs Cloudhopper.

“The package. For the baker.”

“What about it?”

“How did you know?”

“Know what?”

“About the pastry and such? Why did you send me there?”

The wizard smiled. “When you’re as old as me, you know and see things left and right. Sometimes, you wish to pull a string or two to fix a certain situation. Other times, it’s just to see what would happen.”

“And this time?”

“Hehe, this time? I’ll leave that to you to decide.”