Tie came to those thoughts because of something that had happened in the past.

More precisely, because of what happened a year before Papa disappeared.

That day Tie had returned from kindergarten and was with the grandmother from Apartment 107.

Suddenly, a man from the large moving company in Big Alley came and started pounding loudly on the door of Tie’s house.

“Kim! Come out! I know you’re inside, I’m telling you, come out, damn it...!”

Tie flinched at the curse that burst out.

But the grandmother from 107, the leader of Gold Apartments, did not even blink.

She calmly stepped outside, hands clasped behind her back, and spoke to the man.

“What are you doing here, Choi?”

Through the slightly open door, Tie saw the mover’s face turn crimson.

“How can you do this, Kim! Just swoop in and snatch all my work?!”

“Work?”

“The morning deliveries for Singsing Mart! I’ve always handled those! And Kim grabbed them for himself! Does he have no conscience? Didn’t even discuss it with me, just lowered the pay per shift and took the contract! That’s market sabotage, isn’t it?!”

The grandmother let out a short laugh as if it were amusing.

“Then you lower your pay too. Simple.”

“Listen, elder! Do you know how little I’m already earning? And the sewage lines in the shopping row—I cleaned those for money! And Kim just went and did it for free!”

“......”

“And the moves in these tiny rooms in our neighborhood! I took care of all of that, and Kim undercut the price and stole them! If this keeps up I’ll starve to death! If my business collapses, will Kim take responsibility?!”

Only then did Tie understand that the “Kim, Kim” the man kept shouting about was Papa.

She remembered how Papa had seemed busy day and night.

The grandmother snorted and replied:

“You shouldn’t have kept picking on an honest working man. Tsk.”

The mover’s eyes widened.

“What did you say?”

“When you needed to hire someone without documents, you boasted about how generous you were. But when it was time to pay, what did you do, Choi? You cut his shift pay not by half, but down to a third. Is that humane?”

“N-no, I...”

“Hey, don’t you dare look down on the young man from 106! No matter how many times people like you try to trip him up, he still works honestly! Isn’t he the one raising the smartest daughter here!”

The grandmother did not yield an inch.

“...And I could go tell the young lady how you behaved disgracefully in that hopse.”

Tie did not understand what the last words meant.

But for some reason the mover turned pale and left.

And he never came to Tie’s house again.

The grandmother returned to the room, patted Tie on the back, and said:

“It’s fine, child. When people think their bread is being taken away, they all thrash about like that. That one’s got a rotten temperament—may he starve... ah, what am I saying in front of a child.”

That day, Tie understood.

When someone’s bread is taken away, even a cricket will jump.

So no matter how she thought about it, there was only one way to make Papa come to Tie on his own.

‘Tie... will cut off Papa’s bread!’

She did not need to cut it off completely.

It would be enough for Tie to become more successful than Papa’s mercenary squad.

Because after she learned who he truly was, certain hints returned to her memory.

“Daughter, Papa’s cool, right? Cool, right? They say I was the first Holy Knight?”

“Mm-hmm, cool.”

“What kind of reaction is that~ Say sincerely that I’m amazing. Say Papa is the best.”

“Mmm, Papa is the best! Does Papa like being first?”

“...It’s not that I like it. It’s more that only then could I feel at ease.”

“At ease?”

“Yes. If I didn’t focus on a goal, it was hard. Too many unnecessary thoughts would crowd into my head.”

Back then she did not understand, but now Tie did.

‘Papa was going through a stormy youth phase!’

That meant that even if he lied about his profession, it was true that his goal had been first place.

Tie looked at the squad members with a confident gaze.

“Tomorrow Tie will buy many teleportation portals and raid magic crystals very, very, very fast! Super fast!”

Raising both hands high, she shouted brightly:

“Until Agavert becomes first place—fighting!”

The next day.

All members of Agavert were forcibly woken at six in the morning.

Because Tie, who had risen at dawn, had skillfully dressed herself and opened Pupu’s subspace.

“Kkamani! This too!”

At Tie’s command, Lucarion waved his hands.

Each time, sacks filled with gold coins floated into the air and neatly stacked themselves onto the cart.

“Kid. What is all this?”

Half asleep, Bale asked, and Tie shrugged.

“I said yesterday. Tie is going to buy teleportation portals.”

“And where are you getting them?”

“At Selina’s house!”

At those words, Raul and Enzo, who had been coming down the stairs, stopped.

Nordix, who had already been sitting in the kitchen with a book because he did not suffer from morning drowsiness, also stepped out.

Tie continued cheerfully:

“Selina’s Mama and Papa sell lots of teleportation portals. There are piles of them in the basement! If you pay, you can take them. Friendly sale!”

“What’s a friendly sale? And wait. You’re planning to go to the house across the street right now?”

“Mm-hmm! Selina will wake up soon, we have to hurry!”

Bale awkwardly glanced at the others.

“Well, even so...”

“Let’s go!”

Tie had already flung open the front door and stepped outside.

Lucarion hurried after her, pulling the large cart.

“...kkyutchya!”

Pupu stood majestically at the front of the cart, twitching his nose.

Watching this, Basto quickly intervened.

“Bale. Go with her.”

“What?”

“We can’t let her go alone. But if I go, or Raul and Enzo go, it will raise suspicion. You’re the most suitable. So go.”

Basto tossed Bale a cloak.

Bale frowned but took it and stepped out.

Tie and Lucarion were already leaving the gate.

After crossing the quiet street and reaching the house opposite, Tie pulled the bell without hesitation.

After a while.

“...Who is it?”

A woman who came out through the garden looked at Tie in confusion through the gate bars.

Tie bowed first and said:

“Hello, I’m Selina’s friend. I came to see her!”

“...Friend of Miss?”

“Yes!”

The woman frowned.

She glanced at Bale and Lucarion behind Tie.

“...Come in.”

Reluctantly, she opened the gate.

Tie cheerfully crossed the garden with Pupu.

When the front door opened, Selina was standing in the first floor hall in her pajamas.

“Selina!”

“Tie?” 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Selina looked around in surprise.

Then she looked at Lucarion behind Tie and curiously stared at the cart.

“What happened so early in the ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) morning...”

And then.

“Ah, how exhausting, why does she suddenly want breakfast! Let her handle it herself and eat. Not childlike at all, always scheming like an old woman...”

Someone coming down the stairs saw Tie and her companions and stopped.

“...Ah.”

Then he closed his mouth and, as if nothing had happened, quickly went back down.

Tie watched him for a moment, then turned her head.

Selina looked as though she had no strength left.

She seemed to have just woken up, yet her hair was tightly tied as always, and for some reason the fist she held clenched looked pale.