Chapter 6

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Translated by Sylph

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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That night, at the campsite.

Basto muttered as he took a waterproof sheet from the belongings he had with him.

“This area is dangerous. There are still two magic stones nearby. So at night, it’s best not to let your guard down.”

She had planned to stand night watch all night, but because Astie was young, she was worried.

Astie, who had been listening, shot her hand into the air.

“It’s Tie!”

“……?”

The child flapped her raised hand.

“Mister Basto, you have to say, Yees, Child Tie, go ahead.”

Basto was flustered, but somehow barely managed to continue.

“R-right. Child Tie, go ahead.”

“The monsters that come out of magic stones, are they really strong?”

“Monsters? Do you mean monsters?”

It was definitely a question fitting for a four-year-old child.

Stroking his thick beard, Basto answered in a low voice.

“If you really get into it, it varies wildly.”

The combat power of monsters differed by individual creature.

Even so, it was not on a level where it was completely impossible to predict.

Usually, the lower the grade of the magic stone, the lower the combat power of the monsters too.

In truth, the place monsters poured out from was not the magic stone itself, but the rifts around the magic stone.

Around low-grade magic stones, shallow rifts generally formed.

And the monsters that appeared from inside were often just weaklings.

On the other hand, when the grade of the magic stone was high and the rift was large, the monsters that appeared also grew stronger in proportion.

That was why magic stones were divided into small, medium, and large.

“The monsters that come out of large magic stones are very strong. You can tell just by looking at ‘The Fall of Actis.'”

Actis was a small duchy located inland in the western lands across the sea.

The king of that duchy mobilized his entire army to conquer the large magic stone that had risen on the mountain behind the royal castle.

‘The whole order of knights, including the king, was annihilated.’

It was the horrific defeat of an entire nation and of humanity.

The fall of the Duchy of Actis spread by rumor across the whole continent in an instant.

That incident was that cruel and terrifying to everyone.

“That doesn’t mean we just get beaten helplessly every day.”

“Then what?”

“Now that the age of mercenaries has arrived, there are many experts across the continent who are said to be the best of the best. It’s different from the old days, when large magic stones absolutely couldn’t be conquered. Also, no matter how strong a monster is, it isn’t free during the daytime.”

Even strong monsters weakened when day broke.

And each and every one of them was busy returning to the rift it had come from.

The problem was that a few times a year, there were days when they could move around even during the day.

Mercenaries called that day, in their own slang, “the Day of Ruin.”

But no one had yet figured out why the Day of Ruin occurred.

“It takes five days to reach the imperial capital. Even if we don’t count tonight, that means we have to spend four more nights in the forest. Don’t let your guard down, Tie.”

He was not expecting the child to be able to do much.

But it was always better to do something than nothing at all.

“I’m not saying this to scare you. It’s all for your safety.”

He had been worried that the tiny, suspicious little thing might get scared on her own, but.

“Mister. Tie is not stupid, you know?”

The child puffed out her cheeks and then sat up with her chest thrust out.

“Tie is gonna go to the imperial capital and find Daddy! I’m not scared of monsters like that at all!”

A faint smile rose to Basto’s lips.

He tied the waterproof sheet in his hands to a thick tree to make a roof.

Next, he folded an extra blanket three times and laid it underneath.

A space large enough for Astie alone to lie down was made.

“Come here and sleep.”

“What about you, mister?”

“Adults naturally sleep late. You’re a child, so you sleep early.”

Astie nodded and obediently got up from the rock.

Then she carefully took her pink bag and lay down on the blanket.

Blinking as she looked up at the ceiling, the child whispered softly.

“But mister, the blanket smells like a doggie that got rained on.”

Basto covered Astie with a comparatively clean outer garment.

“……Just sleep for today. I’ll wash the blanket tomorrow.”

The child who nodded closed her eyes.

Long moon-shaped shadows fell beneath her lowered lashes.

Perhaps because she was tired, the child’s peaceful breathing soon echoed steadily through the forest.

The next day.

Astie woke up very early.

And she was surprised.

“Gasp! Mister Basto doesn’t sleep!”

Because Basto was already awake.

‘Adults really are amazing.’

To sleep later than me and wake up earlier.

Now that he thought about it, Daddy had also slept late and gotten up early like Mister Basto.

It had all been because of Tie, because she had to go out and earn money.

‘Mister Basto too, because of Tie……’

Her eyebrows drooped at the feeling that she had become a burden.

This won’t do.

Filial piety massage had been rejected by Kkamangi, but he absolutely had to do it for Mister Basto.

But the moment Tie bounced up from the blanket.

“If you’re awake, eat this first.”

A warm wooden plate steaming with heat was held out right in front of Tie’s nose.

“What is this?”

“Carrot soup.”

A giant boulder crashed down over Tie’s head.

“C-carrot……”

To Tie, carrots and spinach were foods of nightmare.

Her friends said they were delicious, but honestly, Tie thought those two vegetables tasted like grass by the roadside.

“Hurry and eat. If you have no energy, moving will become difficult.”

Tie swallowed.

The song they sang every mealtime at kindergarten rang through her mind.

‘Now, shall everyone in Quail Class sing along?’

‘Yeees-‘

‘Chew chew chew~ eat a balanced meal~ you mustn’t be picky~’

‘Balanced~ chew chew chew~ spinach carrots black beans!’

A good child is not picky with food.

You sit properly and chew chew chew and eat a balanced meal.

“Spinach, carrots, black beans……”

With a gloomy face, Tie accepted the bowl.

Then she squeezed her eyes shut and gulped it down in one go, only to stop.

Whatever he had put in it, she could feel properly cooked carrots in the sweet broth.

They were neither too hard nor mushy, and the texture was almost like jelly.

“You eat well.”

Basto quickly ladled one more spoonful into Tie’s bowl.

Tie neatly finished even the extra soup she had been given, then let out a small burp.

It felt good that her stomach was warm and cozy.

“Thank you for the meal-”

But when Tie tried to hand the bowl back, she stopped.

Small black letters were written on the surface of the wooden bowl.

“Daddy, love, you?”

Basto paused.

“W-wow-”

But Tie was just as surprised.

‘How did Tie read this?’

The letters written on the bowl were not Hangeul.

And yet when she looked at them quietly, she could read them as if they were letters she had always known.

Tie hurriedly looked at Basto.

“Mister Basto!”

“……What. Want more?”

Without realizing it until now, it was the same with speech too.

Tie understood a language she had never learned before, and was speaking in that language.

Without realizing it, her hand moved toward the pink bag.

‘It’s the power of Tanipang, no, Puppetmon!’

It had to be that Kkamangi, who had gone back inside the stone, had cast magic on her.

Feeling her heart pound, Tie took the cup of water Basto held out and drank it.

‘Kkamangi really is amazing.’

She wanted to see Kkamangi again as soon as possible.

“Shall we get going.”

Before long, Basto tidied up the pot and the campfire.

Tie too, full of anticipation, helped Basto fold the blanket and waterproof sheet.

Even while carrying a large load on his back, Basto easily lifted Tie up.

“Let’s go.”

“Let’s go-!”

The birds were still flying freely through the sky.

Watching them, Tie smiled brightly.

‘Tie will be free soon too!’

Because once they got to the imperial capital, she would find Daddy soon.

But four days later.

At last, after eating carrot soup twelve times for all three meals over four days, Tie reached Gate 1 of the imperial capital.

“What do you mean, she can’t enter.”

Basto’s face, with Tie in his arms, frowned.

Across from him, the holy knight guarding the gate answered indifferently.

“Didn’t I just say it, Basto Faerix. Your mercenary identification number has been voided.”