"Bale. How many blankets did you lay down?"

"Not that many. Four."

"And how many throws did you cover with?"

"Two."

After nodding, Tie ran her palm over the throw with its pleasant texture.

As soon as she lay down, Basto turned off the magical lamp that had been shining brightly on the wall.

Listening to the rustling sounds of the squad members settling into place, Tie stared at the ceiling.

Her eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, and the structure of the ceiling made of boards and nails became visible.

In the moonlight seeping through, the grain of the wood glimmered faintly.

Bale murmured quietly beside her.

"Kid. I thought you were going to die."

"Bale."

Basto, lying on the other side, called out to him reproachfully, but Bale only let out a quiet sigh.

Tie turned her head.

Bale lay staring at the ceiling with a dark expression.

"Looks like it was a mistake for me to put all that into your head."

His next words were almost inaudible.

But Tie knew.

Everyone in the room was listening.

"To be honest, at first I even felt a little sorry for you... And your ability awakened far too exceptionally for someone your age."

"......."

"I thought it would be interesting to gather a mercenary squad with you. And if you joined it, at least it would not make things worse for me."

Bale’s eyes began wandering across the ceiling.

Like someone who had lost the road and was trying to figure out where to go.

"Being a mercenary is not a safe job. Especially not for someone as small as you."

Bale’s voice gradually began to break.

"If something had happened to you, I..."

Silence fell over the room.

A quiet sigh from Basto could be heard.

For some reason, Tie felt as if she knew everything that had happened while she had been gone.

Everyone had been very worried about Tie.

Bale had probably been angry at first, then gloomy, then angry again.

Basto had most likely told him not to show it in front of Tie.

Nordix, Enzo, and Raul had probably agreed and tried to restrain their feelings.

That was why, when Tie returned after the meeting, no one asked anything.

Each of them simply gave up the snacks they had brought or their bedding for her.

Tie lowered her eyes quietly and finally opened her mouth.

"Listen, Bale. Tie... almost stopped existing for a moment."

At those words Bale slightly turned his head toward her.

The gaze that met hers in the darkness still seemed full of worry.

Tie slipped one hand out from under the throw and gently patted Bale on the stomach.

"But at the most important moment Tie tried very hard and survived. Do you want to know how Tie tried?"

A faint smile finally appeared on Bale’s lips.

He brushed her disheveled strands behind her ear and said,

"Yes. I want to."

"......Tie kept thinking that she had to keep the promises she made to the squad members."

"Tie will definitely take good care of Raul and Enzo!"

Tie had promised that to Marianne.

"If Tie buys the beast core, then she will protect Bale!"

"And as the King of the Dead, she will become even more reliable as the squad leader!"

She had made those promises to Bale and Nordix.

[Take care of Basto.]

She had also promised that to the soul of Eve, Basto’s wife.

That she would stay beside all of them.

"So being a mercenary is not scary. No... Tie cannot be afraid of it."

For Tie, a promise was a responsibility.

And responsibility was something that must be fulfilled no matter what had to be risked.

"......Tie threw everything away in Cheonnogu and came here."

"......."

"And since she can never see everyone who stayed there again..."

She had promised herself that she would become happy here.

Bale had already turned completely toward her.

Raul and Enzo, who had been lying down, also raised themselves slightly, and Nordix clicked his tongue quietly.

Tie spoke again.

"Tie still wants all the magic stones to disappear in Tallocium... no, in the whole world."

All the sorrow of this world was born from magic stones.

"The blacksmith was sad because of the magic stones too. Because of the civil war that started because of them... that is why a bad person appeared."

The squad members who knew about Hederdel’s tragedy silently pressed their lips together.

Tie blinked while looking at the ceiling.

"Tie will find Father... and then destroy all the magic stones."

"Tie."

Basto called her in surprise, but Tie continued.

"If you do it one by one, then they can all disappear eventually. Like putting together a puzzle."

"A puzzle?"

"In Cheonnogu, Tie and Father once put together a puzzle with a thousand pieces. Every day one piece, two pieces, three pieces, and in the end it became a field of flowers."

The image of the finished puzzle rose before her eyes.

A green forest where sunlight filtered softly through.

Leaves wet with dew and fresh drops of water upon them.

And among all of it—daisies.

In the puzzle they bloomed by the thousands.

Tens of thousands.

"If you do it one by one, someday it will also become such a beautiful field of flowers."

"......."

"So today Tie almost died... but later everything will become a flower field."

"......."

"Our whole family will be together."

The child whispered those words and tightly closed her eyes.

Bale and Basto exchanged glances, then awkwardly lay down again.

For a while silence filled the room.

Aside from Tie’s steady breathing, not a single sound could be heard.

Each of them was thinking about the words the child had spoken.

It was already the second time she had called them family.

After making sure that Basto had begun to snore, Tie carefully rose under the throw.

She walked on tiptoe to the door and quietly took hold of the handle.

When she opened the door and stepped out, a corridor flooded with moonlight stretched before her.

Tie walked along it and headed toward the stairs, near which stood a huge panoramic window.

She stopped by the railing.

The view of the weapons district immediately opened before her eyes.

Endless smelting areas stretching into the [N O V E L I G H T] distance.

The enormous Weapon Pavilion.

Light flowing from the Furnace of Origin.

And finally the stars scattered brightly above it all.

"Stars..."

When Tie lived in Cheonnogu, she had not even known that there were so many stars in the sky.

Sometimes she managed to see them thanks to the old man from the house at the end of the alley.

That old man played baduk.

Sometimes he called Tie over and let her use his old telescope.

They would place plastic chairs from the convenience store in front of the house and sit side by side.

Sometimes they even managed to find a large real star.

"Over there, that star!"

"Hey, that is not a star. That is a satellite."

"Then what about that one?"

"That one is a star. Here, look through this."

The telescope, smelling of cigarette smoke and some strange metallic scent, was a real treasure to Tie.

"I do not even give this to my own son. This is that old man’s family heirloom."

"What is an heirloom?"

"A family treasure."

"......Then why do you give it to Tie? Tie is not the old man’s family."

When she asked that question, the old man would roughly ruffle her hair with his large hand.

"Hey. I have seen you since you barely had any hair. I saw you crawling, saw you start walking. If that is not family, then what is?"

Her heart tightened again.

Every time Tie remembered Cheonnogu, it was like this.

For a four year old child, the sudden separation had been far too cruel.

Tie did not even notice when she slowly sat down beside the railing.

Too many things had happened today, and sleep simply would not come.

She pressed her lips together and clenched her fist tightly.

Tap—

A quiet sound echoed.

A faint vibration ran along the railing she was holding.

Tie widened her eyes and carefully leaned over the railing.

Below.

On another floor.

Someone was standing there by the railing as well, looking out the window.

A familiar hair color.

A familiar silhouette.

Tie’s eyes grew round.

That is the Commander of House Luminel.

Valentis Luminel. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

The man who looked so much like her father that Tie could barely bring herself to speak to him.

He was not sleeping either.

And he stood below, looking out the window.