TYHL 52

~Chapter 52~

Bang!

I kicked open the door of Uncle’s office.

Uncle, who was talking with Butler Adolf, looked up with slightly surprised eyes.

“Unc… Dad!”

I smiled brightly.

It came out! The word came out!

“‘Unc-Dad’ sounds fresh.”

Leviathan Uncle stepped forward quickly, reaching out to lift me.

“Wait.”

I raised both hands lightly to stop him.

“I just grew about a handspan taller. So don’t treat me like a kid anymore—”

“What nonsense are you saying.”

I was ignored easily.

Darn it, how frustrating. The growth of the heart and the growth of the body were two different things.

Uncle picked me up into his big arms and walked across the office. With a simple glance, Butler Adolf quickly gathered the papers and left.

“You smell like grass.”

“Yeah! I went to the her… no, the herb hill.”

I hurriedly changed my words. I didn’t want to bring up the baby grave and make Uncle’s mood heavy.

“So? Did rolling around in the grass fix your problem?”

“Yes. Fath… Father.”

I bowed politely.

“I’ll be filial.”

“Looks like something inside has really changed.”

It only got worse. Uncle let out a deep sigh.

He put the papers in order with one hand and left the office, heading toward the dining hall.

“But now I don’t need the bell anymore.”

I grumbled lightly.

“Fine. Whether it’s ‘Unc-Dad’ or ‘Father’ or with the bell—it’s up to you.”

Uncle let out a small laugh. Still, his face looked more satisfied than before.

I hugged his strong neck tightly.

“It’s still awkward, so I can’t do it well. But I think with time, I’ll manage.”

“Don’t worry.”

“Does it frustrate you? Sorry…”

“Rubian.”

“Hm?”

Uncle put me down and looked straight into my eyes.

“You haven’t done anything wrong. So don’t apologize.”

I blinked slowly.

‘Later too… I hope he’ll say this to me.’

After I stop that crazy ending and defeat the Demon King… when I tell him everything.

“And those who carry the Jebert name never apologize carelessly.”

“That’s not right. If you do something wrong, you should apologize right away.”

“…Really?”

“Yes.”

That’s what I learned today. The spice and sweetness of life!

“I see.”

Uncle nodded shortly. Then suddenly he ruffled the back of my head.

“You had a leaf stuck here. Where did you wander off to?”

Eh? I looked at the small leaf in his hand. Just staring at it made me smile somehow.

“…Was that… permission?”

“What?”

“There’s something like that. Ah! Wait! Put me down! Hurry!”

“What’s this again.”

“I have something I want to do!”

The thing I promised myself I’d do once I could finally call him!

Uncle’s arms loosened slightly, and I quickly jumped down, dashing to the end of the hall.

“What are you doing?”

“Just stay there!”

The Duke, not knowing why, put his hands on his waist and stood still.

I looked at him and fixed my shoes firmly. Time to show off the running skills I’d trained!

Ready, go!

I sprinted down the short hallway with all my strength.

My hair flew behind me, and Leviathan Uncle’s handsome face came closer with each step.

“Ah…”

Uncle instinctively bent down without even knowing why.

Smiling wide, I jumped into his arms without hesitation.

“Daaaad!”

His large body stiffened in surprise for a moment, then wrapped me up tightly with no gaps.

“Really now.”

A short sigh escaped above my head. A gentle, low voice fell by my ear.

“You came running… calling me Dad.”

“Yes!”

Even though there was still a three-second pause between “Da—” and “—ad,”

I could do better from now on!

“Where did such a jewel roll in from?”

“From over there!”

I pointed to the end of the hallway. Uncle chuckled and lightly pinched my nose.

Family… isn’t it like a jewel?

From the moment we first met in those ruins,

maybe we were destined to become precious jewels to each other.

Anything, everything—I like it!

Ch 6

Late at night.

The figure of a boy, not yet fully grown, slipped skillfully through the darkness and left the knights’ building.

Khalid Riorc recalled the geography of the Duke’s territory and went out through the castle gates.

“Come here.”

He summoned a large wolfdog and climbed onto its back in one leap.

Jelrox was wide, but escaping it was quick. Thanks to the acceleration magic he had learned from Rubian.

‘At least I’ve got enough mana to spare.’

In this empire, perhaps he was the only mage who could move without mana restrictions.

The boy ran through the black forest as if used to it and soon arrived at the city next to Jelrox. He passed through death-like alleys and pushed open an old wooden door.

“Gasp! Ka–Khal!”

Under a dim light, a man who had been drinking straight from a bottle of liquor stumbled up.

“Hello.”

Khalid pulled back his black robe and answered indifferently.

It was a dirty back-alley mercenary office.

The man who pretended to be the owner had one artificial eye.

“W-Where have you been all this time…!”

A grown man trembling before a boy who barely reached his chest. Allen sighed inside at his own pathetic appearance.

But what choice did he have?

The real master of this mercenary group was this boy.

“……”

Khalid slowly scanned the room. Traces of filthy mercenaries were scattered everywhere.

“As you said, I moved the mercenary base completely! Look!”

“The target?”

“No special movements yet… Ah, but I heard a Babylon stronghold mage left the East.”

At that moment, Khalid’s eyes flashed with a sharp murderous aura.

“Destination.”

“N-North…”

Suddenly, hundreds of snakes shot out from the shadows.

“Hiiik!”

The snakes crawled up Allen’s body without hesitation, binding him completely. Half-crying, he shouted:

“I-It’s not because he sensed the princess! C-Cough! The Babylon Empire’s Green Festival… this year it’s in the northern city of Ipsun…!”

The snakes tightened around his neck until Allen nearly fainted—then released him.

“Cough! Cough!”

He collapsed on the floor, gasping for breath. The snakes’ yellow eyes faded as they slithered away.

That damn brat…

Allen wiped the spit from his lips.

A year ago, this boy had suddenly appeared and swallowed the largest mercenary group on the continent in one bite. Officially, Allen was still the owner, but in truth, he had already bowed his head to this child.

“Keep watch carefully. And disrupt the tracking mages.”

“O-Okay… okay!”

Crazy mage brat.

‘Wait, is he even really a brat? Those eyes are insane, damn it!’

Khalid casually glanced around again and kicked open Allen’s safe.

“I’ll take this.”

“……”

…Damn. That was a blueprint he’d worked so hard to get.

Allen bit his fist to keep from cursing, while the boy pulled up his hood again and opened the door.

“Don’t forget, Allen. The brat holding your life in his hands is me.”

Tapping under his eye, Khalid smiled faintly. His face was still too young, too beautiful, and it sent chills down Allen’s spine.

“You swore to me, with your eyes. Didn’t you?”

If Allen ever revealed Khalid’s true identity or the one he was protecting, his blood would reverse inside his body before he could even speak…

Pop.

Allen shuddered just imagining it.

“F-Fine, you damn brat…”

Khalid smirked and vanished like the wind.

He passed through the black forest again, returning just as dawn was about to break.

The boy looked up quietly at a certain window of the main castle before lying down to sleep.

‘A stronghold mage moved?’

That meant a lower-rank mage of the Demon Kingdom.

“Not many mages know my face. I always wore clothes that covered down under my eyes. Only a high court mage or above would know me.”

Rubian’s voice drifted through his mind like a dream.

“What’s your name?”

“I never had one.”

“…Then who gave you that name?”

“I did.”

“……”

“When I went outside, I saw people weren’t always called by birth order. So I picked one that struck me. You were the first one to even ask my name!”

…Maybe I should just kill the Demon King now.

“Haa.”

Khalid turned slightly in his sleep.

Come to think of it, what was the Babylon Green Festival?

Tomorrow, he’d ask Rubian. Because Rubian knew everything.

‘And if Rubian doesn’t know either…’

Then it wasn’t worth knowing.

Khalid closed his eyes. His world only narrowed and expanded according to Rubian.