tyht 31

Chapter 31

Khalid and I met on a battlefield.

“Why are you tied up there?”

“…I don’t know.”

He had been imprisoned alone in a cave somewhere deep within a rugged mountain range.

Back then, I didn’t even know this world was inside a novel. Which meant I shouldn’t have spoken so carelessly to something that might have been a high-ranking magical beast—nor should I have reached out my hand.

“Do you want to come out?”

“……”

“You don’t even know that?”

For some reason, I couldn’t just ignore him.

“If I say I want to leave… can I really?”

“Yeah.”

Who knew how long he had been trapped there? He was filthy beyond belief.

The shackles binding his limbs were heavily rusted, and the moss-covered cave was dark and freezing cold.

Khalid scoffed through his nose.

“That’s impossible. Do you have any idea how complex the sealing formula bound to my chains is…?”

“It might be for you.”

“What?”

“But not for me.”

When I placed my hand on the iron bars blocking the entrance, I could clearly see the structure of the barrier. Finding the counter-formation that matched its structure wasn’t difficult.

My eyes turned a deep crimson.

“You….”

That was how we met.

Uh, so…

‘Why did I just automatically assume it was Khalid?’

I even reminisced about him just now?

I let out a hollow sigh.

Contrary to everyone’s expectations, nothing was found at the explosion site except the corpses of magical beasts.

“A boy, you said?”

Grandfather demanded incredulously of the knight.

“Well, th-that is… The smoke was so thick, I must have mistaken a beast’s shadow for a boy—”

“Carrots, spinach, blueberries.”

“Pardon?”

“Foods that are good for your eyes. Add them to your meals.”

The casual advice made the knight’s face go pale.

Bang!

Grandfather slammed the armrest.

“If you missee things again next time, I’ll pluck them out! Your eyeballs!”

“Eek! I’m sorry!”

The knight threw himself flat on the ground. Dirt and leaves scattered from his uniform as if he’d inspected the site thoroughly.

And along with them—

‘Huh? A squirrel!’

A small animal that had been dangling from the hilt of his sword tumbled down and rolled toward me. It scampered up my leg and settled neatly on my knees.

Did it hitch a ride from outside? Oh my. So tiny. So cute.

“And what’s this? You misfired a cannon?!”

Grandfather’s thunderous voice tore through the tent again. This time, a soldier responsible for the artillery wiped sweat from his brow as he stammered an excuse.

“S-Sorry! The fuse suddenly lit on its own… B-But something’s strange. No one set it on fire, yet it suddenly—!”

Crunch.

The clear sound of teeth grinding shut everyone’s mouths at once.

“The ones guarding the wall make mistakes—and then dare to make excuses?”

Grandfather slowly rolled up his sleeves and stood. The line of knights stiffened in unison.

“Fine. Looks like discipline needs to be properly enforced today.”

Oh no. At this rate, my poor seniors are going to die.

I quickly stopped petting the squirrel and grabbed onto Grandfather’s waist.

“Grandpa! Don’t be angry! It’s bad for your health!”

And besides—

“People can make mistakes!”

These uncles might not have made a mistake at all…

“Hey now, why are you clinging to me like that? Dangerous, you know.”

The man who’d looked ready to twist off heads instantly softened.

I gazed up at him as earnestly as possible.

“The cannon might’ve malfunctioned… And thanks to that, the scary monsters are all gone!”

“…Little one….”

The knights watching nearby had tears welling in their eyes.

“So please, just this once….”

The squirrel had climbed up my arm at some point and now perched squarely atop my head.

“Hmm?”

Grandfather’s eyes trembled.

“What kind of attack is this now?!”

“What attack? There isn’t one.”

“Argh!”

His face flushed red as he finally reached out.

“Come here at once! Stop dangling like a squirrel!”

My view suddenly rose higher. Startled by the abrupt change in height, the squirrel rolled off and disappeared somewhere.

Grandfather looked a little disappointed but kept scanning me thoroughly.

“There was an extremely strong gust earlier. You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”

“I’m not some weakling who gets hurt by a bit of wind….”

“Huh? Your hairpin is crooked!”

“Oh? Is it?”

“…Your hair’s been pulled out. Those brats—”

His killing intent began rising again.

“H-Hair grows back! And the pin—look! Ta-da! Amazing, right? Nothing’s wrong!”

The knights had moved beyond being touched; they were now covering their mouths and sobbing.

Grandfather narrowed his eyes. I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck.

“Hehe… So please don’t be mad….”

His massive frame trembled before he finally shouted—

“Oburon!”

“Yes, Your Grace. I’ll handle it.”

Senior Oburon sternly ushered the knights out.

Click.

When the door closed, Grandfather let out a long sigh. He looked strangely tired.

“That’s enough. Let’s go back. I shouldn’t have brought you somewhere this dangerous.”

I smiled faintly, and his thick fingers gently tapped my nose.

“And though I’ve let it slide—”

At that moment, rapid footsteps approached from outside.

“I can’t guarantee Leviathan will let them off.”

The door burst open.

“For once, you’re absolutely right, Father.”

Breathing hard, the man strode in and swiftly lifted me into his arms.

“I’ll take care of it.”

“W-Wait, mister? Listen, people make mistakes and—”

“Hey. Our little booger’s hair got pulled out.”

Grandfather tattled from behind like a schemer.

The man’s eyes shook violently as he examined me carefully.

“…Hoo.”

I had a bad feeling.

Sorry, seniors. This uncle’s lost it.

I guess this is as far as I go…

By the time we managed to soothe the Duke, who’d been on the verge of exploding, and returned to the castle, it was already evening.

The moment we arrived, he thoroughly checked to make sure I was unharmed. He even had a physician—just back from a trip—examine me.

As soon as the doctor declared I was fine, he disappeared like the wind toward the knights’ headquarters. He did promise not to scold them too harshly… They should be okay, right?

“I heard something big happened at the wall today?”

Hazel said as she dried my freshly washed hair.

“Yeah. Magical beasts suddenly appeared…”

“The maids were so startled we almost opened the emergency tunnel.”

Excuse me? Opened what?

“His Grace was very worried too. He had the surrounding walls inspected extremely thoroughly and was furious that beasts appeared today of all days.”

“But it’s not like monsters send warning letters before attacking…”

“Still, you can’t help worrying.”

Hazel neatly finished arranging my fluffy, dry hair. I immediately dove into bed.

“I’ll come get you when dinner’s ready.”

“Okay!”

The door closed, and I buried my face into the blanket.

As I stared at the ceiling, today’s events replayed automatically in my mind.

‘I need to turn the watchtower bells into magical devices. Then….’

I need someone who can actually do it. Obviously, I can’t step forward myself.

Bits of information floated in and out of my thoughts.

Watchtower bells. Magic stones. Barriers.

Thud.

Squirrel. Blacksmith. Physician. Herbalism. Magic. Mage…

Thud, thud!

“Huh? What’s that sound?”

I shot upright.

Thud thud thud!

It was the irregular knocking of something very small against my door.

Don’t tell me…

I carefully opened it.

“Huh?”

Acorns were scattered across the floor. And in the middle of the empty corridor stood a tiny creature.

“Squirrel, you….”

In the darkness, its yellow eyes gleamed unnaturally bright.

“Ah, wait!”

The squirrel suddenly spun around and bolted away. As if possessed, I chased after its tail.

Through the empty corridor, down a narrow staircase, until we reached a small side door.

Stepping through it led us outside.

“Huff, huff. Squirrel… I’m tired….”

We finally arrived at a place within the Duke’s castle grounds I’d never seen before. Calling it a garden would be inaccurate—it was closer to a small forest.

‘I didn’t even know this place existed.’

It seemed far from the main residence, somewhere few people visited.

A shimmering artificial lake reflected the night sky like a mirror. Massive ancient trees surrounded it.

Tap tap tap.

The squirrel ran swiftly—

climbed up someone’s body—

and plopped down atop a head of black hair.

“You….”

I stopped in my tracks.

“…I knew it.”

The boy didn’t even look at me. He simply stroked the head of the wolfdog sleeping beside him.

“That explosion earlier—it was you, wasn’t it?”

Around him, several cats purred. A snow-white rabbit. A graceful deer. An owl perched in a tree with glowing eyes. A silver fish leapt from the water with a splash.

“Hello, Master.”

The boy sitting in the middle of that animal kingdom finally turned his head toward me.