"Daughter. Remember how Daddy told you before that he used to be a super, super strong Holy Knight?"
"Mm-hmm!"
"Well, Daddy actually used to have twenty subordinates too."
"Ehhh...? That's not that many."
"It is! Having twenty incredibly strong subordinates is way better than having a hundred weak ones!"
"Then were Daddy's subordinates all legendary? Like Legendary Tanipang?"
At the time, Daddy stared at Tia before bursting into laughter.
"Of course. They were all extremely strong. And the one closest to Daddy was Hammer Uncle."
Hammer Uncle.
The man who had lost his family in a terrible accident in his hometown, Banana Village, and later wandered alone until he became one of Daddy's subordinates.
Tia stared at Basto in disbelief.
So Mister Basto was Hammer Uncle.
He came from Banana Village.
He used a hammer as big as himself.
He was incredibly strong.
He had a huge beard.
And—
"After what he did to your family..."
Most importantly, his family was no longer with him.
Tia hurried back to her seat.
Pretending nothing had happened, she resumed sipping her hot chocolate.
Basto and the old innkeeper exchanged puzzled looks but soon continued their conversation.
Tia met Mister Basto first.
She watched them over the rim of her cup.
Was this what Kkamangi meant by going back into the past?
She had found someone who would become Daddy's subordinate long before Daddy ever met him.
At the same time, she felt guilty for having misunderstood Basto.
Mister Basto was a good person from the very beginning...
Tia remembered the story of Hammer Uncle perfectly.
In fact, ever since arriving in this world, her memories of the past seemed to be growing clearer.
"Hammer Uncle wasn't originally Daddy's subordinate. He was the vice-captain of a mercenary group called Death Hound."
"Deff Hound?"
"It means Death Doggie."
"Death Doggie...!"
The Death Hound Mercenary Company operated out of Banana Village.
The captain was Kal.
The vice-captain was Hammer Uncle.
Tia remembered laughing with Daddy about how ridiculous it was for someone's name to be Hammer while another person's name was Sword.
"But Daughter, Hammer Uncle was a good man. Kal wasn't. Hammer Uncle's family died because of Kal."
"Gasp... Why?"
"Because Kal constantly worked Hammer Uncle to the bone. Kal stayed comfortably in Banana Village while sending Hammer Uncle out to destroy nearby mana stones. Every single day."
Hammer Uncle and Kal had been close friends before they were captain and vice-captain.
Because of that friendship, Hammer Uncle never refused Kal's requests.
Instead, he asked Kal for just one thing.
"He asked Kal to look after his wife and daughter while he was away from the village. Just in case something happened."
"And Kal pwomised?"
"Of course. He told him not to worry and to leave everything to him. Hammer Uncle trusted him."
But one day, after completing a mission and returning home...
The village had been completely destroyed.
Inside the ashes of what used to be his house, Basto found his wife and daughter.
They had died while holding each other tightly in their final moments.
"Tia. If we ever return home someday, remember this. Sometimes monsters can move around even during the daytime."
"Mhm. Daddy told me."
"It just so happened that one of those days arrived while Hammer Uncle was away on a mission."
That day, peaceful Banana Village was thrown into chaos.
The survivors desperately sought out Kal.
After all, he was the leader of the mercenary company responsible for protecting the village.
But Kal was drunk in the middle of the day and completely out of his mind.
"That bastard told the villagers to go back home and wait quietly. He said he'd assess the situation and evacuate them later."
"And then...?"
"They all went back home. Everyone believed Kal would eventually come for them. Hammer Uncle's wife and daughter were among them."
"N-No..."
But Kal never came back.
Instead, he stole what few horses remained and fled Banana Village with his subordinates.
As time passed, the monsters discovered the people hiding inside their homes.
Everyone died.
Brutally.
Cruelly.
Afterward, Hammer Uncle built graves for his wife and daughter on the outskirts of the ruined village.
Then he vanished into the forest alone.
After that, he began conquering mana stones by himself.
Whenever he survived a life-threatening battle, he didn't feel relief.
Instead, he blamed himself.
This time I could have joined my family.
This time I could have seen my wife and daughter again.
And throughout all of it, Kal continued to torment him.
Kal shamelessly followed him around, demanding that he return to Death Hound.
When Basto repeatedly refused, Kal bribed corrupt Holy Knights and had his mercenary identification removed.
Wait...!
Tia suddenly remembered.
Basto's missing mercenary identification number.
And what the knight at the capital gate had said about Death Hound and Kal Worben.
Pursing her lips, Tia desperately searched her memory.
What happened after that?
Daddy had definitely told her.
"So did Hammer Uncle get his ID back?"
"No. He couldn't. Kal was too thorough and too evil. Without an ID, Hammer Uncle couldn't enter the Imperial Capital. And because Kal had spread nasty rumors about him, nobody would issue him a new one."
"Then...?"
"After suffering for several months, he met Daddy."
Tia's eyes widened.
Yes.
Daddy had definitely said that.
"Back then, Daddy was basically a rising superstar, you know? Since he was so powerful, he got Hammer Uncle a new identification number almost immediately."
"Wow! By making him your subordinate?"
"Of course. Daddy was ranked number one on the entire continent at the time."
"Holy Knights have rankings too?"
"Uh? Uh, well... sure."
Daddy.
If she could find Daddy, Basto could get his mercenary identification back!
Then they could enter the Imperial Capital too.
But there was one huge problem.
Daddy was currently inside the capital.
In other words, they were completely stuck.
Tia anxiously set down her cup of hot chocolate.
She needed to think carefully about how to solve this situation.
The next day—
Tia accompanied the innkeeper grandma to the refugee market.
The market was crowded, much like the ones she remembered from Korea.
With one exception.
Flies and insects swarmed over the stalls, and everyone looked incredibly poor.
"Hey."
One of the merchants suddenly grabbed Tia's wrist without warning.
"Want some candy? Just twenty iron coins each. Hmm?"
The merchant's eyes were fixed on Tia's pink backpack.
"You filthy bastard! Let go of her this instant!"
The man's grip was so strong that if Grandma hadn't noticed in time, Tia would have been dragged away.
Clicking her tongue in disapproval, Grandma grabbed Tia's hand firmly.
"Child, stay right next to me. Things can go very wrong here if you stop paying attention for even a moment."
Tia nodded fearfully.
Looking around timidly, she noticed people wandering the streets with lifeless expressions.
Everyone looked gloomy.
Everyone was painfully thin.
"The recently formed mana stones have all been large ones. There simply aren't enough people capable of conquering them."
Tia thought she understood.
Large mana stones produced terrifyingly strong monsters.
That was why there were so many refugees.
Meanwhile, the Imperial Capital only protected the wealthy...
"You crazy bitch!"
A frightening shout suddenly rang out nearby.
Peeking over Grandma's shoulder, Tia saw two figures standing in the middle of the marketplace.
A fat man.
And a small, skinny girl.
"How dare you touch my wallet?! Do you know who I am?!"
"What are you talking about?! I already told you! We just bumped into each other! Why would I ever touch your wallet—?!"
SLAP!
The girl's head snapped violently to the side.