Chapter 6
That night, at the campsite.
Basto pulled a waterproof cloth out of his pack and muttered,
“This area’s dangerous. There are still two magic stones nearby. So, it’s best not to let your guard down tonight.”
He was planning to stand watch all night, but since Astie was still a small child, he couldn’t help feeling uneasy.
Astie, who was listening carefully, raised her hand high.
“It’s Tie!”
“…?”
The child wiggled her fingers energetically.
“When Mister Basto says yes~, he has to say, ‘Yes, Miss Tie, go ahead and speak.’”
Basto blinked, caught off guard, but somehow managed to play along.
“R-right. Go ahead, Miss Tie.”
“Are the monsters from the magic stones really strong?”
“Monsters? You mean the mabeasts?”
It was exactly the kind of question you’d expect from a four-year-old.
Basto stroked his thick beard and answered quietly.
“Well, it depends.”
The strength of a mabeast varied from one to another.
Still, it wasn’t completely unpredictable.
Usually, the lower the grade of the magic stone, the weaker the mabeasts it spawned.
In fact, mabeasts didn’t actually emerge from the magic stone itself but from the cracks that formed around it.
Lower-grade stones produced shallow cracks, and the creatures that appeared from those were often small fry.
On the other hand, the higher the grade of the stone and the deeper the crack, the stronger the monsters became.
That’s why magic stones were classified as small, medium, or large.
“Mabeasts from large stones are incredibly powerful. Just look at the ‘Fall of Actis.’”
Actis had been a small duchy inland, across the western sea.
The duke had led his entire army to subdue a large magic stone that had erupted behind the royal palace.
“And the king and every knight perished.”
It had been a devastating defeat—one that marked the end of an entire nation.
The fall of the Duchy of Actis spread across the continent like wildfire,
a grim and terrifying story everyone remembered.
“But that doesn’t mean we’re helpless these days.”
“Then what do we do?”
“Now that the Age of Mercenaries has begun, powerful warriors roam every corner of the continent. Unlike before, when large stones were considered untouchable, they can now be subdued. And no matter how strong a mabeast is, it’s weak during the day.”
Even the strongest of monsters lost power under daylight.
They hurried back into the cracks they’d come from.
The problem was that a few times a year, there were days when those monsters could move even under the sun.
Mercenaries had their own name for those days—Days of Destruction.
But no one had ever figured out why such days occurred.
“It’ll take five days to reach the capital. Meaning, including tonight, we’ll be spending four more nights in the forest. Stay alert, Tie.”
He didn’t expect a child to do anything useful.
Still, it was always better to try something than to do nothing at all.
“I’m not trying to scare you. It’s for your safety.”
He worried that the small, cautious girl might become frightened, but—
“Mister, Tie’s not stupid, okay?”
The girl puffed out her cheeks and sat up proudly.
“Tie’s going to the capital to find her daddy! I’m not scared of any monsters!”
Basto couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
He tied the waterproof cloth to a thick tree to make a roof,
then folded a spare blanket three times and laid it underneath.
It made a small, cozy space just big enough for Astie to lie down in.
“Come sleep here.”
“What about you, Mister?”
“Adults go to bed late. Kids like you sleep early.”
Nodding obediently, Astie got up from the rock, carefully packed her pink backpack, and lay down on the blanket.
As she blinked up at the ceiling, she whispered quietly,
“But Mister, this blanket smells like a wet puppy.”
Basto covered her with one of his cleaner outer shirts.
“…Just sleep for now. I’ll wash the blanket tomorrow.”
She nodded and closed her eyes.
Long shadows from the campfire flickered beneath her eyelashes.
Before long, her gentle, rhythmic breathing filled the quiet forest.
The Next Morning.
Astie woke up very early—and gasped.
“Gasp! Mister Basto didn’t sleep!”
Basto was already awake and packing up.
‘Wow, grown-ups really are amazing.’
He went to sleep late and woke up early.
Now that she thought about it, her dad was the same way—
he’d always gone to bed late and gotten up before sunrise,
all because he had to work hard to earn money for her sake.
‘So maybe Mister Basto’s working hard because of Tie too…’
Feeling guilty for being a burden, her eyebrows drooped.
No, she had to repay him somehow.
Even though the black puppy, Kkamang, had refused her offer of a “thank-you massage,” she’d definitely give one to Mister Basto later.
But as soon as she bounced up from the blanket—
“If you’re up, eat this first.”
A steaming wooden bowl appeared right in front of her.
“What’s this?”
“Carrot soup.”
A huge rock seemed to drop on Tie’s head.
“C-carrot…”
Carrots and spinach—those were Tie’s two nightmare foods.
Her friends said they were tasty, but to Tie, they just tasted like grass from the roadside.
“Eat up. You’ll need your strength for the journey.”
Tie swallowed hard.
A familiar song from kindergarten popped into her mind.
“Alright, Quail Class, sing along!”
“Yeees!”
“Chew, chew, eat it all~ Don’t be picky~”
“Chew it all~ spinach, carrot, black beans~!”
Good children didn’t get picky about food.
You sat properly, chewed well, and ate everything.
“Spinach, carrot, black beans…”
With a gloomy face, she accepted the bowl,
squeezed her eyes shut, and took a big gulp—then paused.
The soup was slightly sweet, and the carrots were perfectly cooked—
not too hard, not too mushy, soft and bouncy like jelly.
“You’re eating well.”
Basto quickly ladled another scoop into her bowl.
Tie finished that one too, then gave a small hiccup.
Her belly felt warm and happy.
“Thank you for the meal!”
But when she tried to hand the bowl back, she froze.
Tiny dark letters were carved on the wooden surface.
“‘Daddy, I love you?’” she read aloud.
Basto stopped in surprise.
“…What?”
But Tie was just as stunned.
‘Wait—how did I just read that?’
The writing on the bowl wasn’t in her language at all.
And yet, when she looked at it, the words just… made sense.
She quickly turned to Basto.
“Mister Basto!”
“…What? Do you want more?”
Until now, she hadn’t realized—but it was the same for speech, too.
She was understanding and speaking in a language she’d never learned.
Her hand instinctively went to her pink backpack.
‘It must be Tani-Pang—no, Puppetmon’s power!’
That black rock—Kkamang—must have cast some kind of magic!
Tie’s heart thumped excitedly as she took the water Basto handed her.
‘Kkamang really is amazing.’
She couldn’t wait to see him again.
“Let’s head out.”
Before long, Basto packed the pot and put out the campfire.
Tie eagerly helped him fold the blanket and waterproof cloth.
With his heavy pack on his back, Basto lifted her up easily.
“Let’s go.”
“Let’s go~!”
Birds were still flying freely through the sky.
Tie giggled, watching them.
‘Soon, I’ll be free too!’
Once she reached the capital, she’d find her dad right away.
Four days later.
After eating carrot soup twelve times in four days,
they finally arrived at the First Gate of the Capital.
“What do you mean we can’t enter?”
Basto’s brow furrowed as he held Tie in his arms.
Across from him, the holy knight guarding the gate replied indifferently,
“I already told you, Basto Paerix. Your mercenary identification number has been revoked.”
