Tie, still sleepy, looked at Seradin and thought very simply.

'...P, princess.'

Seradin looked exactly like a little mermaid from a fairy tale.

Hair the color of pearls that fell all the way to the floor, eyes of the same color, and even a luxurious crown.

Seradin looked at Tie and smiled.

[I'm sorry for disturbing your sweet sleep. But before I return to rest, I absolutely wanted to thank you...]

Tie, stunned, could only open her mouth.

Then she pressed both palms firmly against her cheeks, trying to bring herself to her senses.

Seradin’s appearance was unexpected, and Tie was a little frightened, but she was sure she could handle it calmly.

'The bone friends and the subordinates do this all the time anyway.'

The skeletons from the grave and the spirits from the wrecked ship constantly popped out from somewhere and startled Tie.

At first it had been scary, but now it only made her snort.

That meant Tie had already gotten used to such sudden appearances. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

After thinking a little about Seradin’s words, Tie first pushed the blanket aside and sat up politely.

Then she bowed her head deeply, greeting her first.

"Hello, Princess."

Because Seradin was an adult.

After that she asked Seradin, who was looking at her with wide eyes,

"And what is a shackle... is it some kind of bird...?"

When Seradin had woken Tie, she had said:

'You removed my shackles.'

Tie knew what a lifesaver meant, but what kind of bird shackles were... she completely did not understand.

[That is a good question.]

Seradin laughed with a voice like a drop of water.

[Shackles are not a bird. It is a device placed around a person's ankles to restrict movement. And restriction is...]

"Ah! Tie knows that too!"

Seradin stopped and looked at Tie with a satisfied expression.

Tie met her gaze and tilted her head.

'But... if shackles are put on ankles...'

Tie had never removed any shackles from the princess.

Seradin was the first person Tie had met after arriving in this world.

Had they met earlier and she simply forgot? Thinking that, Tie hurriedly raised her hand and asked,

"But when did Tie remove the princess's shackles?"

Seradin smiled softly.

[Last night.]

"Yesterday? Tie?"

[Exactly. You freed me from the Magic Stone.]

Tie’s mouth slowly opened.

'She was locked inside the Magic Stone? The princess?'

Tie had already taken part in the siege of Magic Stones twice, but she had never heard of such a thing.

That a person could be sealed inside them.

But something felt strange.

'When I looked, there was no one inside the Magic Stone.'

Last night Tie had seen the Magic Stone from very close.

Basto had kindly explained it to her while she looked at it from above.

'Tie, do you know that Magic Stones all look different? Some look like buildings, some just like gravestones. But this one looks strange. It looks exactly like a temple.'

Just as Basto said, the Magic Stone that had risen before Pearlcity was a massive structure with four columns, resembling a temple.

Tie had even thought it looked like the Temple of Athena from a documentary she once watched.

But the important thing was something else. At that time Tie had clearly looked inside the Magic Stone and found nothing there.

"That's strange... there was definitely no one inside..."

If Seradin had truly been there, Tie could not have missed her.

Even now, bright iridescent light shimmered from Seradin’s body.

Seradin answered,

[It is not surprising that you did not see me. Because I was the Magic Stone.]

Tie froze for a moment.

She needed time to understand what had been said.

Only after a few seconds did she ask again with wide eyes,

"The princess was the Magic Stone?"

Seradin nodded.

[More precisely, I was turned into a Magic Stone.]

"..."

[In truth, I am the sea goddess who rules the western sea. Simply put... you may think of me as something like a spirit.]

A spirit.

Tie opened her mouth slightly in surprise.

'Spirits appear in the game Hyenu plays.'

Hyenu was one of the few children in the Quail group who had a children's phone.

His phone was some special series. It was yellow, and cute Kikio Friends were drawn on it.

But what Tie envied most was not the phone itself, but the game installed on it.

She still remembered its name.

'Growing Star Spirits...'

In that game there were many spirit characters.

Every time Hyenu leveled up a character, he always showed it off to Tie.

And then Tie had no choice but to clap her hands and celebrate with him.

Hyenu really did not have a single spirit that he did not own.

Sometimes his older brother even spent money in the game, so Hyenu had many skins too.

And now it turned out that spirits actually existed.

Tie’s gaze returned to Seradin.

"A, a real spirit..."

From the beginning she had thought those pearl colored hair and rainbow eyes were incredibly beautiful.

'That is so cool.'

But while staring at Seradin with her mouth open, Tie quickly came back to her senses.

She still had one more question.

"But why did a spirit become a Magic Stone?"

According to Seradin, she was the sea goddess and a spirit that ruled the sea. Tie was curious how someone like that could become a Magic Stone.

Seradin quietly said "Ah," and lowered her eyes as if it were difficult to explain.

[Let us say that for a certain reason I lost my power.]

"You lost your power?"

[Yes. When the roots of a tree rot, the leaves wither first.]

Tie looked confused, and Seradin continued.

[We have something called the Mother Tree.]

"Mother Tree...?"

[Yes. Since ancient times it has governed life, nature, and purity. The source of the power spirits possess also comes from it. But...]

At that moment Seradin suddenly fell silent.

She lowered her gaze to her own body.

Following her gaze, Tie slightly opened her mouth.

For some reason, the tips of Seradin’s fingers were becoming more and more blurry.

[I stayed too long. At this rate I will disappear before I can finish thanking you.]

Seradin suddenly stepped closer to Tie.

From the cool air spreading around her, Tie could only blink in surprise.

Seradin’s hand extended before her eyes.

An unfamiliar light gathered in her palm.

Soon that light formed something.

A bracelet woven from a small shell and an iridescent pearl.

"W, what is that?"

Seradin smiled gently at Tie.

[It is my gratitude for the help you gave me. An item that can only be created from the essence of me, the sea goddess Seradin. I believe the ancient people called it the Holy Relic of Oblivion.]

"Holy Relic of Oblivion...?"

[If you touch someone with the hand wearing this relic, you can erase from that person's memory any memory you choose.]

Tie’s mouth opened wide again.

A bracelet that erased memories.

It was almost a legendary item.

But as if it were nothing special, Seradin herself placed the bracelet onto Tie’s wrist.

[It will surely help you. It would be nice if we could meet again someday...]

Tie stared in shock at Seradin, who was already becoming almost transparent, as if she would disappear at any moment.

She wanted to say thank you, but the words ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) would not come out.

[Ah, and one more thing. The person you are searching for is closer than you think.]

At that moment Seradin said,

Now only her eyes glowed faintly in the air.

[The little spirit in your bag can show the way. Right now he seems to be wandering, but if he stays by your side, then someday Lucarion...]

Seradin’s words cut off there.

Tie stood with her mouth open, staring blankly at the empty space where Seradin had just been.

At the last moment it felt as if something had rushed through her head like a whirlwind. Everything was so confusing that it made her dizzy.

But one thing was certain.

"Kkamani..."

[The little spirit in your bag will show the way.]

Tie looked at the bag on the bedside table and muttered in disbelief,

"Kkamani... was not a Puppetmon...?"

According to Seradin’s words, Kkamani was a spirit.

"K, Kkamani was a spirit too...?"

And moreover the one who could show Tie the path to where her father was.