TYHL 31

~Chapter 31~

Khalid and I met on the battlefield.

“Why are you tied up there?”

“…I don’t know.”

He was locked alone in a cave somewhere deep in a steep mountain range.
Back then, I didn’t even know this was the world inside a novel.
So I shouldn’t have spoken to him, or reached out to him—he could’ve been a high-ranking monster.

“Do you want to come out?”

“…”

“You don’t know that either?”

Somehow, it was hard to ignore him.

“If I say I want to come out, can I?”

“Yeah.”

He was in a miserable state, as if he had been trapped for a very long time.
The shackles binding his arms and legs were heavily rusted, and the moss-covered cave was dark and cold.

Khalid snorted through his nose.

“It’s impossible. Do you know how complicated the sealing spell on my shackles is…?”

“For you, maybe.”

“What?”

“But not for me.”

When I placed my hand on the iron bars blocking the entrance, the structure of the barrier became clear.
Finding the breaking formula that matched this structure wasn’t hard.

My eyes turned a deep red.

“You…”

That’s how we met.

Uh… so…

‘Why did I just assume it was Khalid?’

I’d even just had a flashback about it.

I let out a hollow sigh.

Defying everyone’s expectations, nothing was found at the explosion site except monster corpses.

“They said it was a boy?”

Grandpa pressed the knight with a tone full of disbelief.

“Well, the smoke was too thick… I think I might’ve mistaken the monster’s shadow for…”

“Carrots, spinach, blueberries.”

“…What?”

“Good for your eyes. Eat them with your meals.”

The casual advice made the knight’s face crumple.
Then—bang!—Grandpa slammed the armrest.

“If you make that mistake again, I’ll pluck your eyeballs out!”

“Eek, I’m sorry!”

The knight bowed flat to the floor.
Dust and leaves fell off him—proof he’d really been out inspecting.
And with him came…

‘Oh? A squirrel!’

A small animal, dangling from his sword handle, tumbled down and rolled toward me.
It climbed up my leg and settled on my knees.

So it must’ve come from outside?
Ah, so tiny. So cute.

“And what? You misfired the cannon?!”

Grandpa’s thunderous voice split the air again.
This time, the soldier in charge of artillery was sweating buckets.

“I-I’m sorry! The fuse suddenly lit by itself… but it’s strange, no one lit it, it just suddenly…!”

Crunch. The sound of grinding teeth silenced everyone.

“You guards not only failed but now you make excuses?”

Grandpa rolled up his sleeves and stood.
The lined-up knights’ shoulders flinched.

“Fine. Looks like I’ll have to set the discipline straight today.”

Oh no, my seniors are all going to die at this rate.

I stopped petting the squirrel and quickly clung to Grandpa’s waist.

“Grandpa! Don’t get angry! It’s bad for your health!”

“And besides…”

“People can make mistakes!”

Maybe this wasn’t even their fault…

“Oh dear, why are you clinging so dangerously?”

The moment before he could pop their heads off, Grandpa’s aura softened.
I pleaded with the most earnest eyes I could.

“Maybe the cannon just malfunctioned… and thanks to that, the scary monsters got wiped out!”

“…Youngest…”

The knights watching us had tears welling in their eyes.

“So please let it go just this once…”

By now, the squirrel had climbed my arm and was sitting right on my head.

“Hmm?”

Grandpa’s gaze trembled.

“What… kind of attack is this?!”

“Who’s attacking? No one.”

“Ugh!”

Face flushed, Grandpa reached for me.

“Come here right now! Don’t dangle like a squirrel!”

My view rose high.
Startled by the sudden height, the squirrel rolled away somewhere.

Grandpa looked slightly regretful but kept inspecting me from head to toe.

“A big gust just blew—are you hurt?”

“I’m not so small I’d get hurt by wind…”

“Wait, your hairpin’s crooked!”

“Oh? Is it?”

“…Some hair’s been pulled out. Those guys…”

His aura grew dangerous again.

“Hair grows back! And look—just like this—ta-da! Amazing, right? Nothing to worry about!”

The knights were now covering their mouths, sobbing in gratitude.

Grandpa’s eyes narrowed. I hugged his neck tightly.

“Hehe… so don’t be angry…”

His big frame shook, and then he let out a resigned shout.

“Oberon!”

“Yes, sir. I’ll take care of it.”

Sir Oberon sternly gathered the knights and took them away.

Once the door closed, Grandpa sighed long and deep.
He looked tired.

“Alright, that’s enough. I shouldn’t have brought you somewhere this dangerous.”

I grinned, and his thick fingers tapped my nose.

“And while I let it go…”

Fast footsteps came from outside.

“…I can’t promise Leviathan will.”

The door burst open.

“For once, I agree with you, Father.”

Urgent breathing rang in my ears, and an arm from behind scooped me up.

“I’ll handle this.”

“Uh, Uncle? L-let’s be reasonable… people make mis—”

“Hey. Our little brat’s hair got pulled out.”

Grandpa tattled from behind like a sly minister.
Uncle’s eyes shook violently as he inspected me.

“…Hoo.”

I knew instantly.

Sorry, seniors. His eyes have gone crazy. I think I’m done for…

After coaxing the near-exploding duke back to the castle, it was already evening.
As soon as we returned, Uncle checked me over thoroughly and even had the returning physician examine me.

Once he heard I was fine, he left for the knights’ quarters like the wind.
He promised not to punish them too harshly… so it should be fine, right?

“I heard something big happened at the wall today?” Hazel said while drying my hair after I washed.

“Yeah. Monsters showed up all of a sudden…”

“The maids and I were so shocked we almost dug an underground tunnel.”

…What? Dug what?

“They say the master was really worried too. He was angry—why would monsters appear today of all days when the wall had been so thoroughly checked?”

“Well, it’s not like monsters send a warning before coming…”

“Still. You can’t help worrying.”

Once my hair was all fluffy, Hazel neatly arranged it.
I dove into bed.

“I’ll come get you when dinner’s ready.”

“Okay!”

After the door closed, I buried my face in the blanket.
Staring at the ceiling, the events of the day came to mind.

‘I need to turn the watchtower’s bell into a magic tool. So now…’

I needed someone to make it happen.
Of course, I couldn’t do it myself.

Ideas floated up and vanished in my mind.

Watchtower bell, magic stone, barrier…
Knock.

Squirrel, forge, physician, herbs, magic, magician…
Knock knock!

“Hm? What’s that sound?”

I sat up.

Knock knock knock!

Something very small was tapping the door irregularly.

No way…

I carefully opened it.

“Oh?”

Acorns scattered on the floor.
And in the middle of the empty corridor—one small creature.

“Squirrel, you…”

Its golden eyes glowed eerily in the dark, locking with mine.

“Ah, wait!”

The squirrel spun and dashed away.
As if in a trance, I chased after it.

Past the empty corridor, down a narrow staircase, there was a small side door.
Through it—outside.

“Huff, huff… Squirrel, I’m tired…”

At last, we arrived at a place I’d never been—the duke’s garden.
Actually, it was more like a small forest.

‘I didn’t know this place existed.’

It seemed far from the main building, a place few visited.
An artificial lake glittered, reflecting the night sky like a mirror.
Huge old trees surrounded it.

Pat pat pat.

The squirrel dashed quickly, climbed someone’s body, and perched on their black-haired head.

“You…”

I froze.

“…I knew it.”

The boy didn’t even look at me, just kept stroking the head of a large wolf-dog sleeping nearby.

“That explosion earlier… it was you, wasn’t it?”

Around him, cats purred, a snow rabbit and a graceful deer stood nearby, an owl watched from a tree, and a fish leapt in the lake.

“Hello, master.”

The boy sitting in the middle of this animal farm turned his head toward me.