~Chapter 2~
“No, I don’t need it.”
And just like that, I was rejected.
So cleanly that I was left speechless.
“Ughhh…”
“Ugh?”
Leviathan lightly tapped my lips.
“I thought you were quiet, but you’re a foul-mouthed kid. You fooled me.”
His deep purple eyes stared straight at me. When I pouted, he somehow softened his gaze.
“I don’t get what you’re saying all of a sudden, youngest.”
“Hah…”
Well, maybe I was too hasty.
To Leviathan, I was just a kid he met a few hours ago.
‘Guess I was too caught up in remembering the original story.’
I gave an awkward smile and looked ahead. Our horse was slowly heading to the capital of the Babylon Empire.
‘But I had no choice. If we got caught by pursuers, everything would be ruined.’
Because I have one secret… no, actually many.
“Are you really from Eosia?”
Ack—he asked directly.
I moved my head in a way that was neither a nod nor a shake.
My chest stung from the lie.
Of course, I wasn’t from Eosia.
“So you are. Yet you won’t talk.”
“Ah!”
Bonk. A light punishment.
“When someone asks, don’t just move your head.”
“Ugh… It hurts!”
“Again, ugh?”
I grabbed the back of my head and quickly turned. When our eyes met, the cold-faced handsome man smirked.
“A boy acting like that over nothing.”
“…?”
Wait. Hold on.
He’s seriously misunderstanding something.
“Unc—?”
But I was suddenly speechless.
Because I was finding it hard to breathe.
Looking around, I soon realized why.
“…The Empire must be close.”
The magic in the air was fading fast.
The capital of the Babylon Empire barely had any magic at all.
“You’ve never been to the Empire, right?”
“No.”
“Then how do you know it’s close?”
“Uh… Feels like we’ve been riding a long time…”
Actually, I could read the flow of magic. But I couldn’t say that.
Because I’m a wizard.
A child soldier wizard sent to war by the Demon Kingdom Arcadia.
The Demon King had even sent undergrown kids like me to the battlefield as long as they had magic.
Other allied nations criticized Arcadia for using child soldiers, but the Demon King didn’t care at all.
At least I had been given a rear support role managing magic tools, but as the war dragged on, that issue faded away.
I was first deployed 2 years ago. I realized this was the world of the novel after surviving 1 year on the battlefield.
‘After suffering so much to survive, you expect me to die anyway?!’
No way. I refuse to die so unfairly!
I decided to stick close to this man like a cicada clinging to an old tree.
‘Which means… I must hide my secrets well.’
First: that I’m a wizard.
Arcadia never allowed wizards to leave. If caught, I’d be sent back by force.
‘And Leviathan hates wizards…’
Because of an event 10 years ago, he loathed them. No way he’d keep one nearby.
Second: my past.
I deserted the wizard unit before the war ended. I ran away… to meet Leviathan in that village.
‘He probably thinks I died in that monster attack.’
So I couldn’t reveal my identity.
In short,
“I’m a runaway child-soldier wizard from the Demon Kingdom.”
…Nothing about me is normal!
And then—
“A boy acting like that over nothing.”
Of course…
‘I did put on Eosia boy’s clothes.’
And my hair looked like this.
‘I didn’t mean to hide my gender though…’
Should I clear the misunderstanding?
I thought about it, but decided not to. Hiding was safer.
Thanks to this thick-headed hero, I had more to conceal than I planned.
“Hmph.”
Could I really handle this?
My shoulders slumped with worry.
Maybe from all the thinking—or maybe from the thin magic in the air—I felt like my energy was draining.
‘I’m tired.’
I rubbed my fading eyes.
Better to rest now and think later.
Leviathan looked down at the child’s shaking head.
Before long, the child had fallen asleep on the saddle.
‘Tired from all that chatter?’
At first, the kid had been so cautious.
He gave a faint smile.
During their short time together, the child had asked many questions, chirping like a baby bird.
“Uncle, where do we go first in the capital?”
“The Imperial Shelter.”
“Ugh… Can’t you just take me with you instead?”
‘He wants me to take him?’
Leviathan gave a baffled laugh.
From the start, it made no sense the kid followed him.
Children were always afraid of him.
He had spent 10 years on battlefields. Kids could sense the grim aura of one who carried blood.
‘This is trouble.’
He roughly ran his hand through his black hair and steered the horse to flatter ground.
‘I shouldn’t get more involved.’
He gripped the reins firmly and forced his gaze forward.
He’d part with the child soon anyway.
No need for useless feelings.
And yet, his eyes kept drifting to the child’s round little crown.
The hair whorl leaned to the right.
He swore he had never seen such a tiny whorl.
His grip tightened on the reins.
Damn.
That’s… actually cute.
After a good nap, I felt better.
Looks like my body was adjusting to the lack of magic. Nice!
But Uncle kept staring at my head and telling me to sleep more.
“What am I, a newborn? Sleeping all day long…”
Gasp.
Suddenly, my head whipped around.
‘This magic!’
“Uncle!”
At the same time, dark monsters leapt out from the bushes.
“Ahh!”
“Don’t move. Don’t open your eyes.”
A strong hand covered my eyelids.
Uncle pulled me tight into his arms and swung his sword as he controlled the horse.
Slash!
Through my fingers, I saw the monsters scatter like leaves.
‘Wow… It’s real.’
The Continent’s greatest swordsman.
The man closest to the Sword God.
The leader of the great northern sword family, Zibert.
He was a perfect legend, with strength, wealth, honor, and even looks.
“You okay?” Uncle asked, flicking his sword clean.
“Uh… The blood…”
The blood splattered.
And monster blood smell never washed out easily. Ugh, so depressing…
Uncle gently set me down.
“You’re a mess.”
Both of us were covered in monster blood.
“Ughh…”
“Hold on. We’ll reach the Empire’s border soon.”
He found a clean part of his clothes and scrubbed my face.
“Ow! That hurts!”
“It doesn’t.”
At this rate he’d spit on it and rub harder. I quickly dodged.
‘Vinegar water with dal-flower soap would work better…’
Sighing, I sniffed myself.
But I felt his gaze from above.
“Why are you staring?”
“…You.”
When I turned, I met his violet eyes, dark with something I couldn’t place.
“Why don’t you cry?”
I just blinked. He rested his chin on his hand.
“Come to think of it, you never cried. Even when you saw me.”
‘Oh.’
I froze.
In the original, all kids cried when they first saw him.
Ah, not good.
Sure, I cried when I first saw Leviathan too.
But that was from happiness.
Not fear.
“Just now too, you didn’t seem scared.”
“That’s…”
“That’s what?”
“Actually, I was scared. But… crying wouldn’t change anything.”
I mixed a little truth with lies.
The truth?
I barely remembered crying.
Because crying never solved problems—
not in my past life,
not in this one.
Better to use that energy to fix things.
But Leviathan looked displeased.
“Who told you that?”
“Huh?”
“That crying changes nothing.”
“Uh… Mom?”
I never had anyone to call Mom, but I made it up.
Leviathan’s throat bobbed as if holding back words.
“If you keep holding it in, it’ll make you sick.”
“Ah!”
He tapped my nose.
“See? It turns red so easily.”
Rub rub. His clumsy touch spread warmth through me.
An adult telling me not to hold it in… that was a first.
“Let’s go. We’re almost there.”
After a quick clean, we got back on the horse.
It galloped faster than before, Uncle holding me tightly.
Somehow, those strong arms felt like the safest place in the world.
Wind brushed my cheeks.
The red sunset spread above us.
Leaves swayed, and birds took flight.
Despite the stink of blood,
I felt—strangely—peaceful.
Covered in blood, yet peaceful. What a joke.
“Hey, no more monsters now?”
“Yeah. I killed them all.”
“You’re really strong, Uncle.”
Leviathan, who brought me this peace.
He must’ve suffered those 10 years.
I barely lasted 2.
“Thanks for saving me, Uncle.”
“…”
“And… thanks for fighting the war. It must’ve been hard.”
So please—don’t die.
“Because of you… it’s peaceful.”
More than anyone, Uncle deserves this peace.
And so do I!
“Argh! So noisy! Give me back my peace!”
I covered my ears.
“What? Don’t act like a country bumpkin.”
The Imperial capital was like a giant birthday cake!
Boom! Boom!
Fireworks exploded nonstop.
People shouted, musicians played wildly, children laughed and ran, merchants yelled to sell goods…
It was enough to make my head spin.
