"How did you find out?"

Tie’s head spun. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Who even knew Father’s name?

The squad members, including Basto and Bale... and only the ruler of Pearlcity besides them.

"We have a system."

Valentis said it calmly, slightly relaxing his posture.

Yet even as he spoke, one hand still firmly gripped the railing Tie was leaning against.

"In an organization that operates with a system, the movement of information and reports is fast. The most important thing in work is efficiency."

"......."

"And in the end, all information reaches the leadership of the organization. That is to say, it reaches me. If you think about it, there is nothing strange about that."

Even so.

Tie’s heart was pounding harder than ever.

This is exactly like...

Like when you tell a secret only to your best friend while saying "Do not tell anyone?"—and then somehow the president ends up knowing it.

"That is why I thought you would first ask about that person."

"Huh?"

"I assumed it would be more important for you to find that knight than to ask useless questions like why I cried or why I was sad."

In truth, Commander Luminel was right.

When Tie heard that Valentis Luminel would come here, her first thought had been exactly that.

I have to ask him about Father.

After all, who would know better whether her father was inside the order than the commander who led the knight order.

Tie looked at Valentis hesitantly.

Platinum blond hair almost the same shade as hers.

Slightly darker brows, beneath them bright blue eyes.

The buttons of his pajamas fastened all the way up, a broad chest, and a calm, somewhat indifferent face.

A little scary... but he still does not seem like a bad person.

Honestly, when she first saw him in the meeting hall, she had immediately decided she should not even approach someone like him.

But when she saw him standing at the railing and crying, a strange feeling appeared.

Maybe because he looked so much like Father—her caution kept weakening.

"Then... may I really ask?"

She spoke hesitantly.

Valentis replied,

"Of course. The freedom to ask belongs to the one who asks."

"Is it true that there is no holy knight named Kim Yeonsu in the order?"

"No."

Tie’s eyes lowered slightly.

"You already knew that yourself, did you not? That there is no holy knight with that name in the order."

"That..."

Yes.

In truth she already knew.

Raul and Enzo had told her.

If there were a knight with such an unusual name in the order, they would have known first—they had been in the capital headquarters.

"I know. That is why Tie also thought the name might be false."

If the Father she had seen at the harbor truly existed here, then he must be living under another name.

And most likely that name was his real one.

"So you do not even know the real name of the person you are searching for."

"......."

She did not want to admit it.

But it was true.

Tie was a pitiful child who did not even know her own Father’s real name.

"Then do you know his face?"

At that question Tie suddenly lifted her head.

Her face brightened as she nodded eagerly.

"Yes!"

She could draw it even with her eyes closed.

Father’s face, which she had looked at dozens, hundreds, thousands of times.

Valentis said,

"In that case, there is a general registry of the order at the capital headquarters."

"A registry...?"

"A document where the faces, names, ages, and personal records of every holy knight in Tallocium... and even across the world are recorded."

Tie swallowed.

If such a registry existed...

Maybe this time she could truly find Father, who was hiding somewhere.

"Naturally, it is not a document that anyone is allowed to examine."

But when she heard Valentis’s next words, Tie’s shoulders sank again.

She silently clenched her fist.

And at that moment—

"But if you can ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) confirm something for me, then as commander I can permit you to look at it. Making talented mercenary squads friendly to us is also part of my work."

Tie’s lips parted wide.

If she confirmed something, he would show her the registry?

Tie unconsciously grabbed Valentis’s sleeve.

"I will do it!"

"......."

"Tie will confirm it! Tie will confirm everything!"

The child’s eyes filled with desperate determination.

"Please show the registry. Tie absolutely has to find that person and meet him again..."

Valentis looked carefully into Tie’s eyes.

Then he nodded.

"Then who is this person to you?"

Tie blinked in confusion.

The question was simple.

It could be answered with a single word.

But...

If I say he is Father...

Would it reveal that Tie is actually four years old?

Then her power would arouse suspicion.

And the entire mercenary squad might end up in danger.

But Valentis remained completely calm.

"Why are you searching for this person? What exactly are you hiding by becoming the King of the Dead?"

Tie’s gaze met his.

Tie’s eyes trembled with emotion.

Valentis’s blue eyes remained calm.

"Only the one who opens their own door can open someone else’s."

Tie took a short breath.

She bit her lip and thought for a long time.

After a while, Tie spoke.

"This person..."

She gripped the Cleansing of Oblivion tightly in her hand.

And said clearly,

"He is Tie’s Father."

Cleansing of Oblivion.

The bracelet that fit perfectly around Tie’s wrist—a relic left by the sea god Seradin.

The name Tie had given it herself:

"SuperStrongPrincessMemoryErasingBracelet."

"He is Tie’s Father. Tie is four years old. Tie lived with Father in Cheonnogu, in Korea. So..."

Valentis silently watched Tie as she poured all her secrets out to him.

The information was disordered.

But when assembled together, the meaning became obvious.

Valentis mentally drew a long line of time.

And began arranging the events according to Astie’s words.

"Tie saw a dream... Father was besieging a huge magic stone."

When the King of the Dead had still been an infant,

her father, Kim Yeonsu, had been besieging a magic stone in Tallocium.

"And then for four years Tie lived in Cheonnogu."

But after a chain of events, father and daughter had moved to another world—to Korea.

And lived there for four years.

"And then Father... on a rainy day... a death paper..."

But then the King of the Dead’s father died.

After that, the King of the Dead awakened magic and returned to Tallocium.

After finishing the analysis, Valentis calmly looked at the sad King of the Dead standing before him.

Is that possible?

If everything she said was true,

then the child before him was not a great mage pretending to be a child.

But simply a four year old child who had suddenly become a great mage one day.

Suddenly he remembered the enormous mercenary who had stood beside the child at the meeting.

And the other squad members who had happily greeted her when she returned to the hotel.

If all of this is true... then is it because of them?

The reason the child, who had essentially fallen into a lion’s den, had remained safe this whole time.

The reason she concealed her identity.

The reason she did not reveal her situation to everyone.

In Valentis’s opinion, each of them had protected the King of the Dead in their own way.

"Then will you show the registry now?"

Suddenly a bold question sounded right in front of him.

He lowered his gaze.

The child was looking at him with a wary expression.

Valentis shifted his eyes to the bracelet the child had been fiddling with the entire time.

Then he nodded.

"Very well. I will allow you to look."

"Really? Truly? You promise?"

"Yes. I promise."

The child suddenly jumped to her feet.

Then, hesitating slightly, she suddenly hugged Valentis tightly.

From the outside it looked like a simple embrace.

But Valentis could not help noticing the child’s palm pressed firmly against his back.

More precisely—

the palm of the hand wearing the bracelet.