Basto fell silent.

Bale was right.

When he had first met Astie, the child had been surrounded by danger on all sides.

The Brioud forest, where three Magic Stones were located at once.

It was a place where a child absolutely should not be alone.

“For now, let’s not assert anything for certain......” 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

“Wow, look at this great neutrality we’ve got here!”

Bale sneered, but Basto did not even twitch an eyebrow.

Instead, he turned around and walked over to Tie.

“Tie.”

Astie was still hugging the skull and looked dejected.

“First of all — thanks to you, everyone survived. We owe you a debt we can never repay.”

“Ah, n-no, Tie just.......”

“But your power should be kept an absolute secret for a while.”

Tie fell silent.

A moment later, her green eyes opened wide.

“Why?”

Basto thought for a short moment, then answered directly and seriously.

“You want to find your dad, don’t you.”

Her small lips parted.

“If your power becomes known, there will definitely be people who hunt for it. Then only new obstacles will appear on the road to your dad. Do you understand what I mean?”

Tie’s head started spinning.

She remembered the words from the Puppetmon cartoon she had once watched.

Great power comes with great responsibility.

And Tie is very much like Papa and possesses incredible power.

But she does not yet know how to use it, and besides, she is only four years old.

She is shorter than Uncle Basto,

cannot, like Bale oppa, hold two weapons at once,

‘And I can’t even set up a nice tent like Grandpa fortune teller.......’

Tie’s expression grew more and more serious.

If Basto and Bale were a fearsome tiger and lion, then Tie was a pitiful rabbit.

No, not even a rabbit.

A frog. A caterpillar. A little octopus.

With a frightened face, Tie muttered:

“A, uncle. Tie can’t die before I find Papa.”

Today, for the first time in her life, she understood what “almost dying” meant.

Just remembering how a monster like a tyrannosaurus had chased her made her so scared it felt as if someone were poking her spine with a sharp finger.

“T-then Tie really has to hide, right?”

On the very first day she came here, Kkamani had said it too.

If you use magic that is too strong — you will be chased.

And then you can be driven out, and most importantly — your identity will be exposed!

And if that happens......!

“I, I have to hide, I definitely have to hide!”

She made the decision herself.

But no matter how much she pressed her lips together and thought, a method still did not come to mind.

‘How do you hide your identity?’

When a rabbit is in danger, it runs away and hides in a hole.

Tie could do the same, but then she would not be able to find Papa.

A lump of fear rose in her chest.

‘I wish Tie could look scary, like Uncle Basto.’

Even if she is small, she wished she could seem like a hidden master, like Bale oppa!

“......Huh?”

At that moment, something flashed through her head.

‘Hidden master?’

If you think about it, there was a way.

You don’t have to hide — you can just act like you’re really amazing.

Like... pretending you’re strong?

Tie stared at her small palms.

Her hands were short and weak, but there was a way to make people not look down on her.

‘Say that I’m actually not four years old. That I just turned into a four-year-old.’

And if I remove the transformation — I’m supposedly huge, muscular, and hairy, like Uncle Basto.

‘......Whoa. Then I’m a hidden powerhouse.’

Among animal friends, octopuses and owls did that.

They were very strong, but pretended to be seaweed or trees.

“Astie?”

Basto called out to her.

Tie jerked her head up, her face excited.

“Uncle Basto!”

“Yes.”

“Tie saved Uncle Basto, right? You want to repay me for saving your life?”

Basto froze.

“Yes. I will definitely repay this debt.”

“Then make Tie the secret head of the mercenaries!”

“The secret head?”

“Make me the figurehead boss!”

Basto froze, not understanding, and Tie started explaining.

Setting down the skull with its fallen jaw and, as usual, waving her hands around.

“Look, if Tie becomes the real power behind the mercenaries, then like this, and like that.......”

At her confident speech, Bale’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.

Nordix and Basto looked exactly the same.

Several days later.

The Capital gates, First Checkpoint.

“Three pieces? That’s not even a Magic Stone suppression. You just killed a couple of night creatures.”

The words of the holy knight in charge of registration made the rookie mercenaries John and his team darken in disappointment.

“Go back. If you want a registration number — bring the result of a real suppression.”

It seemed that with a pitiful three Magic Stones, becoming mercenaries was impossible.

They turned around gloomily.

It was frustrating, but there was nothing wrong with the knight’s words.

To become an official mercenary, you had to completely seize at least one Magic Stone.

Like this strange group waiting their turn behind them.

“Well then. Take your time and count how many there are.”

The self-assured voice made John and his team stop as they were leaving.

Curious, they stared at those who dropped a huge sack onto the counter with a dull thud.

One burly man with a thick beard.

One girl with a beautiful face, as if she had just come of age.

One hunched old man, about whom it was unclear how he even walked.

“......A child?”

And finally, a little one standing with her arms crossed and an important air, one leg thrown over the other.

Even the holy knight looked at this group with doubt.

But when he looked into the sack, he froze sharply.

“What is this? Could it be... a Rikellops Magic Stone?”

The young woman standing at the front of the four lifted her chin slightly.

“Yes. Three Rikellops. Eighteen Bellioses. And two Imperno Winds.”

John could not believe his ears.

Imperno Wind — those were the insane flying creatures that hurled clumps of fire.

His gaze slid again to the old man, the girl, and the child.

The burly man was one thing, but how those three could have killed Imperno Winds was completely incomprehensible.

The holy knight seemed to think the same and, lowering his voice, asked:

“Who are you people, anyway?”

He was, of course, addressing the burly ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) man who looked like the leader.

“H-hey! ‘You people’?!”

The reply came from somewhere below.

The knight’s gaze dropped.

Bright green eyes.

Crookedly braided hair with unruly strands sticking out.

The scruffily dressed little one glared at the holy knight.

“How rudeee! Don’t you know how to show respect to a great archmage and necromancer, me!”

At that very moment, something never before seen appeared on the earthen floor of the registration post.

Holy knight Kaut opened his eyes wide, froze, and then, turning pale, drew his sword.

“Y-you... what are you?!”

A skeleton resembling a human.

Empty eye sockets in a skull, and sharp, clearly defined teeth.

Between the spread ribs, a web fluttered, and remnants of shattered armor hung from its shoulders.

“S-s-skeleton?!”

People began to gather, a murmur rising around them.

“A d-dark creature. W-who even summoned something like that.......”

When it moved, dirt spilled from its surface.

Cries and whispers broke out in the crowd.

With a tense face, Kaut tightened his grip on the sword, but—

“Back. Behind me, creation.”

At that command, the bone immediately stepped back.

And then, like a living person, it walked over and stood behind the one who had summoned it.

Behind the child.

“......Impossible.”

Kaut froze, staring at the skeleton standing upright as if to protect the child.

His lips went dry, his gaze lowered.

There was no mockery or curiosity left on his face.

“You... who are you, really......?”

The burly man standing beside the child frowned darkly.

“How dare you ask my lady’s name?? Insolent.”

He stepped forward as if shielding the child and raised his enormous warhammer.

The confusion on Kaut’s face deepened.

Who was this little one?

Who was she, if such a giant mercenary was under her command?

And what was this dark creation she had summoned?!

“......Eh.”

At that moment, a quiet sigh sounded.

The child who had summoned the skeleton stood with one leg crossed over the other, shaking her head.

She lifted her chin slightly and, as if doing him a favor, said:

“That’s enough, Basto. It’s just me.”