"This too, Tie will take."

Selina dumped everything she had brought in front of the sofa, her arms finally releasing the heavy load.

Inside the large cloth bundle was a chaotic pile of all kinds of items—ranging from toys to ornaments, jewelry, and things that were impossible to identify at a glance.

Tie stared at Selina in surprise.

Just before they had left the Belmore mansion—

"Wait a moment! I need to grab something!"

While packing her pajamas, Selina had suddenly said that and rushed off to the storage room.

She only came back much later.

Dragging behind her a completely overstuffed sack—no one even knew where she had gotten it from.

'Waa... back then I thought Selina just brought toys.'

But there were far more than toys inside.

"You said you’re a mercenary, right? So I thought you might like treasures like these."

At the word "treasures," curiosity lit up in Tie’s eyes.

"Treasures?"

Selina nodded.

"Like I said, my mom and dad travel all over the continent for work. Sometimes they come across things like these. If something is valuable, they don’t sell it—they give it to me instead. As gifts."

"Isn’t this a fragment of the Kailac stone slab?"

Raul stepped forward, examining the items.

While sorting through the pile with interest, he picked something up.

It was a stone plate about the size of a child’s palm, covered in unknown symbols.

"I didn’t expect young lady Selina to have a fragment of the Kailac slab. Even our marquis house of Wavril only has one specimen!"

Tie looked back and forth between Raul and Selina in confusion.

'Real treasures...?'

But it didn’t end there.

"Wow, there’s even a silver coin from the First Eastern Empire here!"

"Old man, take a look at this. Which royal family’s seal is this? Looks like a fallen house. Judging by the runic symbols—northern continent?"

"The Ivranis Dynasty. See the laurel wreath at the top of the seal? When it was replaced by Ascalia, the wreath disappeared."

One by one, the squad members gathered and began examining the items.

Even Lady Marshal looked on with interest at the rolled parchments and small ornaments.

"This would look great arranged along the second-floor corridor. The mansion feels a bit empty as it is..."

Tie immediately ran over to Selina.

"Selina, can Tie really take all of this?"

Selina nodded casually.

"They’ve just been sitting in storage and piling up anyway."

Then she nodded somewhere to the side and added:

"By the way, it looks like those two like that wooden figurine."

Turning her head, Tie saw Lucarion and Pupu closely examining a small carved figure of a strange shape.

Tie tilted her head.

'Lucarion likes this kind of treasure?'

Until now, Lucarion had shown little interest in anything besides books—and Tie herself.

Curious, Tie quietly walked over.

"Kkamani, Pupu, what are you looking at?"

"Tie."

As if he hadn’t even noticed her approaching, Lucarion lifted his head.

Then he handed the figurine to her.

"This is worth examining."

The figurine depicted a strange creature—a woman’s body with the head of a lion.

"Can you control mana?"

Tie’s eyes widened at the sudden question.

But she quickly answered energetically:

"Yes, I can. Why?"

"Kkyu, kurut. Kkyu!"

Tie’s lips parted.

"Sealed...?"

Selina and the squad members immediately gathered around her.

"Sealed? What are you talking about, kid?"

Tie looked at Bale with a puzzled expression.

"Pupu says there’s something sealed inside this wooden figurine!"

"Sealed?"

Bale immediately took the figurine and began inspecting it.

"Looks like just a piece of wood to me."

"Well, you can’t sense mana at all."

Lucarion replied dryly.

Then he snatched the figurine back from Bale and placed it into Tie’s hands again.

"A simple type of seal. It can be removed if you pour in mana stronger than the one who sealed it. Try."

Tie stared at the figurine with curiosity, then hesitantly asked:

"But what if something bad comes out?"

"Kkyuryeon! Kkyuu!"

Pupu rapidly chattered while twitching his nose.

Tie tilted her head.

"A spirit...?"

Lucarion added:

"This time, he’s right. It feels clean."

In the end, Tie nodded.

Gripping the figurine tightly, she closed her eyes.

"Ugh..."

She pressed her lips together ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) and tensed her whole body.

"Pff—!"

Bale choked on his water.

Basto and Nordix watched Tie with fond expressions.

But as time passed—nothing happened.

"Uuu... chha... huh?"

Eventually, Tie let out a breath and opened her eyes.

And looked a bit flustered.

Diagonally across from her, Selina was watching with anticipation.

'Oh... Selina is watching too. Why isn’t the mana coming out...?'

Tie looked anxiously at the figurine.

Then tensed up again.

"Hyaaap!"

"P-ha-ha-ha! Kid, what are you doing?!"

But no mana manifested, and the figurine didn’t budge.

Tie turned anxiously toward the squad members.

"I forgot how to do it...!"

Still laughing, Basto walked over.

He sat on the floor and pulled Tie onto his lap.

"It’s okay, Tie. You’ve never properly learned how to control mana, but it always worked for you anyway."

He gently patted her head.

"Don’t force it. Even if it doesn’t work, that’s fine. Just try the way you did before."

Tie reluctantly nodded. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

And tried to remember how she had done it before.

'...there!'

Right.

When she calmed down and took a deep breath, she could feel the mana inside her.

Tie tightly shut her eyes, recalling the sensation.

The way she summoned her skeletal companions.

How she called forth the ghost ship.

How she gave orders to her subordinates.

The mana, pulsing from her heart, spread throughout her entire body.

And—

click—

The lion’s head of the figurine twisted and turned to face Tie.

"Huh?"

Tie looked down in surprise—the figurine’s eyes flared with golden light.

"The figurine...!"

In the next moment, it slipped from her hands and landed on the floor.

And a heavy voice echoed through the mansion.

[You who have crossed the river of silence and touched my soul. Why have you come so late.]

Tie squeezed her eyes shut against the light pouring from the figurine’s eyes.

Meanwhile, the figurine hopped closer.

[Why have you awakened me? Without naming your reason, you will not take a single step further. What do you desire?]

Tie stared at it in confusion.

And thought:

'Tie doesn’t understand anything at all...!'

The words were too difficult.

But the figurine continued.

[I am the beginning and the end of the Ivranis Dynasty. I witnessed the birth and the fall of an entire nation. The dynasty turned to ash and vanished, yet I remain. Speak your wish. I will grant one of your desires...]

“...For something that was just saved, you sure talk a lot.”

At that moment, someone suddenly kicked the figurine.

Turning around, Tie saw Pupu in human form—just like back at Caldenbein Ridge.

Silver hair flowed in the air, and from beneath the elephant mask came an irritated voice.

"Who do you think you’re exalting yourself in front of? You’re blinding Mother—extinguish that light immediately."

From Pupu’s kick, the figurine rolled away and looked back and forth between him and Tie.

A brief silence fell.

“...Huh? It really turned off!”

Just as Tie said—the light in the figurine’s eyes timidly faded.