Tie liked the educational institution.

Just as Valentis had said—"a person who can be trusted"—the teacher also turned out to be very kind.

Tie clasped her hands together and giggled.

"Teacher Lill is like Teacher Lee Soljae, just as nice."

It was the same with her friends.

In just two weeks, Tie had completely won over all nine students.

How did she become friends so quickly?

"...Here. Brought them. These pink plush worms."

At that moment, Bale placed three large boxes by the entrance.

Tie, who had been lying on the sofa, immediately jumped up and ran over.

"Waaah! It’s really Tanipang!"

After a week of waiting,

Tie had finally recreated the slightly crumpled Tanipang toys in this world.

Nordix and Lady Marshal helped with the sketches, and the Luminen estate’s seamstress made them.

"They’re so pretty! Fluffy Posilpang and Tonapang!"

"They finally arrived?!"

Selina, who had come to visit, rushed into the hallway.

Tie, her eyes shining, handed her one of the toys.

"Mm-hm! This one is for you, Selina!"

"Wow! It’s my favorite—Hachopang!"

Selina hugged the toy tightly to her chest.

During that time, by spending time with Tie, she had already learned forty-two Tanipang names.

Tie giggled and pulled out nine more toys from the box.

With effort, she stuffed them into her Hanbit kindergarten backpack.

The bag nearly burst, but that didn’t matter.

"Tomowwow I’ll bwing them and give them to fwiends!"

That was the reason.

It was precisely because of the Tanipangs that Tie had become so popular among the students so quickly.

From the very first day, the children noticed the embroidery on her uniform.

To be precise—girls couldn’t take their eyes off it right away, and the boys gradually got drawn in.

Some tried to stay aloof until the very end,

"but then they still wanted to be fwiends with Tie and followed her awound!"

In the end, everyone began arguing over who would play with her.

"Squad Leader. Did you do it again today? Played wedding?"

Raul, sitting on the stairs, asked.

Tie nodded brightly.

"Mm-hm! Tie was the girl."

"The girl? But it’s a wedding game..."

"The husband’s girl. And the wife pulled Tie’s hair a little."

Basto immediately rushed over.

He examined the top of her head and, closing his eyes, pressed his hand to his forehead.

"Tie. Your hair has been pulled out. There’s a bald spot."

But Tie calmly continued playing with her toy.

"It’s not scawy!"

"How is it not? If a friend pulls your hair, you should have stopped them!"

"But the husband’s girl role is a role where they pull your hair..."

Basto lost his words.

Selina chirped from the side:

"Grown-ups don’t understand anything. You have to play wedding properly for it to be fun."

"Mm-hm, exactly."

Basto gave up and sat down next to Raul.

Dinner was already over, and the clock showed seven in the evening.

"It’s nice having a day off."

Raul said lazily.

Basto nodded.

Today, Agavert had a day off from assaults.

Such days happened twice a week.

Even Marbas, who created portals, needed time to restore mana.

Basto asked:

"Leonardo is coming tomorrow?"

"Yes. Said he’ll come early in the morning to pick us up. Told us not to have breakfast—they’ll prepare everything there."

Basto nodded.

Spending one day a week with the Luminen family had already become a routine.

Mostly because Tie wanted it.

"Tie likes Grandpa Valentis! And Uncle Edmund, and Uncle Leonardo, and Uncle Alexander!"

At first, it seemed strange.

She had only seen them a few times.

But Basto quickly accepted it.

"Children are like that."

It’s hard to understand why a child likes something.

Of course, Tie had her own reason.

She considered the Luminen family her benefactors.

They had helped her find traces of her father.

"...Calm."

Basto closed his eyes, listening to the sound of children.

Agavert had already reached 4th place.

They were advancing faster than any other mercenary group.

Because of that, magic crystals were disappearing rapidly.

Though it did not completely solve the problem.

Meanwhile, the piles of gold inside Pupu’s subspace had grown into mountains.

Yesterday, for the first time, the Rewards Bureau refused to accept a core.

They said the rewards had run out—come back next week.

"That’s good."

Basto thought.

But there was still an unpleasant feeling.

Growth that is too fast often leads to trouble.

Right now everything looked perfect—money, fame...

But.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Basto’s eyes snapped open.

Everyone flinched.

Selina and Tie were by the entrance.

Bale and Nordix on the sofa.

Lady Marshal, who had run out of the kitchen.

All of them stared at the door.

From outside came a rough voice:

"I know you’re in there! Open the door!"

The voice sounded familiar.

Tie and Selina lay on their stomachs over the second-floor ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ railing.

From below came Basto’s voice:

"...So you came to tell us this?"

He was speaking with the uninvited guest below.

The guest was alone.

Massive.

And even indoors, he wore heavy plate gauntlets.

"Exactly. I don’t care about rankings, but you do."

It was Ripper.

The leader of Grimreaper, ranked second.

He lazily looked around the house.

"Come to think of it, you practically ruined Tesetan’s plan."

At the name "Tesetan," Tie swallowed.

Selina looked at her, but Tie was completely focused on the conversation.

"Tregava went to the northern continent because of that. The Association stopped giving them state commissions, so they decided to send a signal."

"...A signal?"

"Yes. As in, if we continue to be ignored like this, we will stop doing the dirty work. And I must say, it worked."

Tie quietly inhaled.

The words were difficult.

But her thoughts moved quickly.

Probably because this was connected to Papa.

Ripper continued:

"By the way. Do you know the Emperor changed his stance?"

Basto’s expression shifted slightly.

"Tregava are making enormous money in the north. The Emperor finally took notice of them. But."

"..."

"You started sweeping up cores at an abnormal speed—and all of that quickly got buried."

Tie’s heart began to beat faster.

Ripper added:

"In short. There are rumors that Tesetan will come to you soon. For now, it’s just rumors."