That night, at the campsite—
Basto Paerix pulled a waterproof tarp from his pack and muttered:
“This area is dangerous. There are still two mana stones nearby. So it’s best not to let your guard down at night.”
He had planned to stay awake on watch all night, but since Astyr was still so young, he felt worried.
Listening nearby, Astie suddenly raised her hand high.
“It’s Tia!”
“…?”
The child waved her hand energetically.
“Mister Basto is supposed to say, ‘Yes, little Tia, go ahead.’”
Basto looked flustered but somehow managed to respond.
“R-Right. Go ahead, little Tia.”
“The monsters that come outta mana stones… are they weally strong?”
“Monsters? You mean magical beasts?”
It was definitely the kind of question a four-year-old would ask.
Stroking his shaggy beard, Basto answered quietly:
“That depends completely on the individual.”
Each magical beast varied in strength.
Still, it wasn’t entirely unpredictable.
Usually, the lower the grade of the mana stone, the weaker the monsters that emerged from it.
In truth, monsters didn’t come directly from the mana stones themselves, but from the cracks surrounding them.
Low-grade mana stones usually produced shallow cracks.
And the monsters appearing from those cracks were often weak little creatures.
On the other hand, when a mana stone was high-grade and the crack was large, the monsters emerging from it became proportionally stronger.
That was why mana stones were classified into small, medium, and large categories.
“The monsters from large mana stones are extremely strong. You can tell just by looking at the ‘Fall of Actis.’”
Fall of Actis.
Actis was a small duchy located inland across the western sea.
Its king had mobilized the entire army to conquer a large mana stone that had appeared behind the royal castle.
‘Including the king, every knight in the order was wiped out.’
It had been a horrific defeat for both a nation and humanity itself.
News of the duchy’s destruction spread across the entire continent in an instant.
The event was remembered as something terrifying and cruel by everyone.
“That said, we’re not completely helpless anymore.”
“Then what?”
“Now that the Age of Mercenaries has arrived, there are powerful people all over the continent. It’s different from the old days when large mana stones were considered impossible to conquer. And no matter how strong monsters are, they can’t move freely during the daytime.”
Even powerful monsters weakened once the sun rose.
And most hurried back into the cracks they had emerged from.
The problem was that several times a year, there came days when monsters could still move around during daylight.
Mercenaries called those days by a special nickname:
“The Day of Ruin.”
But even now, nobody knew why those days occurred.
“It’ll take five days to reach the Imperial Capital. Even excluding tonight, we’ll still spend four more nights in the forest. Don’t let your guard down, Tia.”
He didn’t actually expect the child to be useful.
Still, doing something was always better than doing nothing.
“I’m not saying this to scare you. It’s all for your safety.”
He worried the tiny suspicious child might become frightened immediately, but instead—
“Mister. Tia’s not dumb, you know?”
The child puffed out her cheeks and proudly puffed out her chest.
“Tia’s gonna go to the capital and find Daddy! She’s not scared of monsters at all!”
A grin spread across Basto’s lips.
Holding the tarp, he tied it between thick trees to make a roof overhead.
Then he folded an extra blanket three times and laid it beneath the shelter.
There was just enough room for Astie to sleep comfortably.
“Come sleep over here.”
“What about you, mister?”
“Adults naturally stay up late. Kids are supposed to sleep early.”
Astie nodded obediently and climbed down from the rock she had been sitting on.
Then she carefully grabbed her pink backpack and lay down on the blanket.
While blinking up at the ceiling, she whispered quietly:
“But mister… this blanket smells like a wet dog that got rained on.”
Basto covered Astie with one of his cleaner outer jackets.
“…Just sleep for tonight. I’ll wash the blanket tomorrow.”
The child nodded and closed her eyes.
Moonlight cast long shadows beneath her lowered eyelashes.
She must have been exhausted, because before long, the forest echoed softly with the rhythm of her peaceful breathing.
The next morning—
Astie woke up very early.
And immediately became shocked.
“Whoa! Mister Basto never sleeps!”
Because Basto was already awake.
‘Adults really are amazing.’
He had gone to bed so late and still woke up early.
Come to think of it, Daddy had always done the same thing.
It was all because of Tia—
because he needed to go earn money.
‘Mister Basto is doing that because of Tia too…’
Feeling like she was becoming a burden, her eyebrows drooped sadly.
This wouldn’t do.
Kkamangi rejected her filial-piety massage, but she absolutely had to give one to Mister Basto.
But the moment Tia bounced up from the blanket—
“If you’re awake, eat this first.”
A steaming wooden bowl was suddenly held in front of her face.
“What’s this?”
“Carrot soup.”
A giant metaphorical rock crashed down inside Tia’s head.
“C-Carrots…”
To Tia, carrots and spinach were nightmare foods.
Her friends all said they tasted good, but honestly, Tia thought they tasted like grass from the side of the road.
“Hurry and eat. If you don’t keep your strength up, traveling will become difficult.”
Tia swallowed nervously.
A song they always sang at kindergarten during meals floated into her mind.
‘Alright, Quail Class, everyone sing along now!’
‘Yeees~’
‘Chew carefully~ Eat evenly~ Don’t be picky~’
‘Eat everything~ chew chew chew~ spinach carrots black beans~’
Good children weren’t picky eaters.
They sat properly and ate everything carefully.
“Spinach, carrots, bwack beans…”
With a gloomy expression, Tia accepted the bowl.
Then she squeezed her eyes shut and took a long gulp—
before suddenly pausing.
Whatever Basto had added, the soup tasted pleasantly sweet.
The carrots were cooked perfectly inside the warm broth.
Not too hard and not too mushy—
they had a texture almost like jelly.
“You eat well.”
Basto immediately ladled another scoop into her bowl.
Tia cleanly finished the second serving too and let out a tiny burp.
Her stomach felt warm and cozy.
“Thank you for the food~”
But just as she was about to hand the bowl back, she froze.
Small black letters were written across the wooden bowl.
“Daddy… I love you?”
Basto froze too.
“W-Wow—”
But Tia was equally shocked.
‘How did Tia read that?’
The writing on the bowl wasn’t Korean.
And yet when she stared at it, it felt as natural as reading her own language.
Tia quickly turned toward Basto.
“Mister Basto!”
“…What. Want more?”
Until now she hadn’t realized it, but the language itself was the same.
Tia was understanding and speaking a language she had never learned before.
Without realizing it, her hand moved toward her pink backpack.
‘It’s Tanipang—no, Puppetmon magic!’
Kkamangi, who had returned to stone form, must have cast a spell on her!
Feeling her heart pound excitedly, Tia accepted the cup of water Basto handed her.
‘Kkamangi really is amazing.’
She wanted to see him wake up as soon as possible.
“Should we get moving?”
Soon Basto packed away the pot and extinguished the campfire.
Excited, Tia eagerly helped him fold the blankets and tarp.
Despite carrying an enormous load on his back, Basto easily lifted Tia into his arms.
“Let’s go.”
“Let’s gooo!”
The birds still flew freely through the sky.
Watching them, Tia smiled brightly.
‘Tia’s gonna be free soon too!’
Because once they reached the Imperial Capital, she would quickly find Daddy.
But four days later—
after eating carrot soup three times a day for twelve whole meals—
they finally reached the First Gate of the Imperial Capital.
“You’re saying we can’t enter? What’s that supposed to mean?”
Holding Tia in his arms, Basto frowned deeply.
Across from him, the holy knight guarding the gate replied indifferently:
“Didn’t I just explain, Basto Paerix? Your mercenary identification number has been revoked.”