Chapter 3
A Shy Child Looking for Their Father
Tië sat with his back against the wall, clutching his knees tightly with both hands.
He stared steadily at the pebble that had been looking at him for a while, refusing to be intimidated.
At first, he was scared, but the more he looked, the more certain he became.
“…It’s Tanipang.”
It had transformed, and it had used magic.
Its appearance was slightly different, but there was no doubt—it was Tanipang.
Bolstered by courage, Tië shifted his hips forward a little.
His eyes wide and sparkling, he began examining the pebble closely.
“From head to toe, it’s all black.”
His heart thumped loudly.
Maybe what his father had said about coming from another world was true.
What if his father really was a paladin and had a fairy with him?
What if the fairy was the pebble in front of him, sent to save his father?
“Kkamanpang…”
The murmured voice escaped his lips, and the pebble tilted its head curiously.
That was when Tië blurted out his request.
“Please save him!”
Crawling on his knees, the child clasped his hands together with desperate urgency.
“Master Kkamanpang! Please save my dad!”
[Shall I save him?]
At first, he didn’t believe it.
Even Tië knew that no one could bring a dead person back to life.
But that’s true for ordinary people—what about a fairy?
“I can save your dad.”
Doubt turned into certainty, and certainty bloomed into hope.
It felt as though wings had sprouted on his sorrowful, aching heart, lifting it high into the air.
But just as he waited eagerly for an answer:
[If you want your father saved…]
The fairy rose lightly and gazed at Tië.
[You’ll have to leave this place behind… Are you okay with that?]
Tië’s expression froze.
He wasn’t sure exactly what “this place” meant.
Was it the room he shared with his father?
Or the alley they were in?
Ah… did it mean he couldn’t go back to kindergarten?
[All of it. Everything you lived through here will have to be left behind.]
It was as if the fairy had read his thoughts and answered before he could speak.
Tië’s face darkened.
“All of it” meant both the good and the bad.
Grandma from Room 107, the lady from Room 203, all the happy memories with his dad—they would all have to be abandoned.
Before he could respond, the fairy stepped closer.
[But if you truly want it, I’ll return you.]
“….”
[To the place where you were born. The place you were supposed to be. To where that man is alive.]
Tië inhaled softly.
It was difficult, but one thing was clear.
The most important thing to Tië had always been his father.
And that had never once changed.
“…I’ll go.”
The moment he nodded, as if waiting for it, the streetlights illuminating the alley all went out.
The wind rattled the window of Room 106.
The neatly folded blankets, the colored pencil drawings on the wall, even the two differently sized toothbrushes in the cup vibrated slightly.
When the streetlights came back, Room 106 was completely empty.
As if no one had ever been there.
“Ugh…”
Tië opened his eyes on something soft and fluffy.
And the moment he regained his senses, he was startled.
‘This isn’t cotton candy?’
He was lying on a soft, plush blanket.
Only then did reality hit him.
“…Dad.”
Memories of what had happened before he fell asleep made his heart pound.
A strange voice came from right beside him.
“You’re awake.”
Startled, Tië jumped up.
A boy he had never seen before was standing by the bed.
But as Tië tried to hide under the blanket, he noticed something familiar about the boy and tilted his head.
“Kkamanpang…?”
Hair as black as the night sky.
Eyes that sparkled like gems, and ears that peeked above his head.
When the boy shook his head, the ears disappeared—but Tië was certain.
“Kkamanpang! You can turn into a human!”
The boy’s expression immediately soured.
He then spoke in a dry, matter-of-fact tone.
“Me?”
“Uh-huh?”
“You mean… you’ve been calling Kkamanpang all this time, and that’s me?”
Tië tilted his head.
He thought Kkamanpang was smart because he used magic and could even save his father.
But it seemed Kkamanpang was more like the kids at kindergarten who always got their own names wrong.
“Uh-huh! You’re a fairy…”
“Nope.”
“Huh?”
“I’m not Kkamanpang.”
Tië gasped and closed his mouth.
No wonder he had been wearing an uncomfortable expression—Tië must have misunderstood something.
After all, he had never seen Tanipang transform into a human and even bring the dead back to life.
‘Kkamanpang… no, Kkaman must be an even more extraordinary fairy. Like the ones in legends…’
Wait—then is he Puppetmon, not Tanipang?
Puppetmon of legendary rank could even travel through time.
‘I’m sure.’
Tië, still wary, looked around.
He had been at home before falling asleep, but when he opened his eyes, the surroundings had changed.
That meant Tië had been teleported.
From the large bed and fluffy bedding, the room might have seemed normal…
‘It’s a tent.’
The fluttering canopy above made it clear he was inside a tent.
“Kkaman, what kind of tent is this?”
“Kkaman… never mind.”
For some reason, Kkaman sighed deeply.
Then he crossed his arms and answered.
“It’s your father’s hometown. You said you wanted to come.”
“…Father’s hometown?”
“Yeah.”
Tië’s eyes gradually widened.
‘Father’s hometown, Talochium, is a beautiful country. Before the mana crystals rose, it was even more beautiful… much wider and airier than here…’
Whenever he spoke of his hometown, stars seemed to sparkle in his father’s eyes.
Tië had heard so much about Talochium that he knew a lot about it.
“The problem was, no matter the land, I couldn’t bring your father back to life.”
But Kkaman’s next words scattered Tië’s memories like mist.
Tië looked at Kkaman with a tense expression.
‘You couldn’t bring dad back?’
Did that mean his father had not been saved?
That he had come to his father’s hometown alone, without him?
Tië stiffened in shock, but then:
“So I came to the past.”
At those words, his tension fell away.
“Came to the past…?” Tië repeated blankly.
“Yes. If we turn back time, everything can be fixed.”
Tië furrowed his brows as hard as he could.
And began thinking with all his might.
Time is rewinding.
Tië, who was originally in the future, had been transported to the past!
Which meant:
“So there are two Tiës?”
Kkaman laughed.
Then he went to the tent’s entrance and opened the door.
“The attempt was good, but missed. Right now, it’s long before you were born.”
Tië stared in awe at the scene before him.
A forest.
The forest outside the tent was unlike anything he had ever seen.
Stepping forward as if in a trance, he could see the dawn-lit forest more clearly.
Straight, towering conifers.
Small leafy trees and vines in between, dew-soaked moss…
“You’ll be born in this world seven years from now.”
Birds began to chirp.
“Even if you meet your father, he won’t know who you are.”
Tears slowly filled Tië’s eyes.
“There’s no guarantee you’ll even meet him. This place is larger than you think.”
“I can find him!”
Tië spun around.
His teary face now held a bright smile.
“If dad is alive, I can find him!”
Even if his father doesn’t recognize him, it doesn’t matter.
Even if his father treats him coldly, it’s okay.
As long as he can meet him again, and see him healthy!
Taking a determined breath, Tië’s eyes rolled with resolve.
‘Dad definitely said it. He was the strongest paladin.’
And the devoted daughter Tië had always listened carefully to his nightly stories knew it well.
“Let’s go! Kkaman!”
He knew the Imperial Paladin Headquarters was on the island.
But Tië soon realized one thing.
Life wasn’t as simple as he thought.
“Huff… huff… what…?”
He had clearly traveled quite a distance.
Turning his head, he could still see the tent he had left behind, some distance away.
“Why can’t we get any closer…?”
For some reason, Kkaman sighed deeply beside him.
