Ch#129
* * *
Tie hopped down from the chair in a flash.
Then he alternated glances between Leonardo and the fallen notebook.
"Tie did wrong!"
He quickly backed away and hurriedly picked up the dropped notebook.
Tie held the notebook out to Leonardo and said.
"Tie go out quick?"
"......No, wait a moment."
But Leonardo, looking flustered, grabbed Tie.
Then, furrowing his brow somewhat, he said.
"No need to leave. That's not what I meant."
Tie tilted his head.
"But Tie just barged in......?"
"Barged in? You came in because the door was open. If anything, it's my fault for not locking it."
Tie's mouth fell open wide.
The child hesitated as he stared at the notebook in Leonardo's hand.
"Then it's okay that Tie saw Uncle's secret notebook?"
Leonardo gazed at Tie with a strange look.
Then he replied calmly.
"It's fine. It's not mine anyway."
He walked over and sat on the opposite sofa, gesturing for Tie to sit beside him.
Tie shuffled over hesitantly and sat next to Leonardo.
Kkamangi and Ppuppue leaned against the desk, keeping watch on Leonardo.
Becoming aware of them, Leonardo said.
"......To have two eternal summons at that age. Impressive."
A swell of pride crept across Tie's face.
The child quickly dropped his guard and grinned.
"Bird Poop Uncle impressive too! Has tons of subordinates!"
Recalling the day they met in front of the Reward Office, a hint of embarrassment crossed Leonardo's face.
He unconsciously touched his cheek and asked.
"......Thanks. Did you wash that handkerchief properly?"
"Yesss, Aunt Marshal helped and it got all white again!"
"Good, glad to hear it."
"But then, whose is that notebook from earlier?"
At the innocent question, Leonardo looked down at the notebook in his hand.
Soon, he replied slowly.
"My little brother's."
"Little brother? Alex Thunder Uncle?"
Leonardo laughed at the child's bizarre reincarnation of the name.
He gently shook his head.
"No, a different little brother."
Tie's lips parted slightly.
Tie had roughly grasped the Luminen brothers' hierarchy during yesterday's meal.
‘Biggest big bro is Rich Lantern Uncle, next is Bird Poop Uncle. Littlest is Alex Thunder Uncle.’
Suddenly, Tie's eyes widened.
"Ah!"
Come to think of it, Clan Leader had four sons, not three.
Tie exclaimed brightly.
"It's Number Four Uncle's!"
Leonardo laughed once more.
"Yeah, Number Four Uncle's."
"But why isn't Number Four Uncle at home?"
Leonardo shut his mouth.
He stroked the notebook cover a couple times with his thumb before replying.
"He doesn't live with us anymore."
"He's family, but doesn't live together?"
Leonardo nodded.
Tie opened his mouth, then soon made a wistful expression and muttered to himself.
"I see, Number Four Uncle went independent like Tie."
Tie didn't know the detailed circumstances of the Luminen youngest Young Lord.
But to leave such a cool house, with a super strong dad and brothers, for independence.
There had to be some incredibly complicated and difficult backstory.
"Life is......"
Impossible to predict even one step ahead.
To comfort Leonardo, Tie patted his knee.
"Bird Poop Uncle, don't worry. Number Four Uncle come back soon."
An intrigued expression rose on Leonardo's face.
"Yeah? Why's that."
Tie flapped his hands.
"House prices super expensive these days, right? Grown-ups say city people all turn into kangaroos. Kangaroo means living with mom and dad forever to save money."
Leonardo furrowed one eyebrow.
But a faint smile played at his lips.
"......Yeah. That'd be nice."
After reminiscing briefly on old memories, he turned his head.
Beside him, Tie was still looking up with sparkling eyes.
Leonardo unconsciously stroked Tie's head.
"Thanks. For the comfort."
Just that morning, he had still thought all this was madness.
But now, he vaguely understood.
‘Was this how Edmund and Alexander felt this morning too?’
The warmth of the child under his fingertips made his heart stir for some reason.
Every night.
He had visited this small room dozens, hundreds of times.
And spent idle time at the desk where young Theseus must have sat alone.
Leonardo gazed at Astie a while longer.
Because the smile on the child's face seemed to soothe his long-standing pain.
* * *
The next day.
Tie and Agavert picked up even more speed.
After dinner, the three Luminen Young Lords joined after finishing their own work.
Thanks to that, the document review ended faster than expected, but
"......Kid, you okay?"
Tears were already welling up in Tie's eyes, on the verge of spilling thick drops.
"Captain......"
Ignoring the squad members' calls, Tie wobbled down from the chair.
And passed everyone to slip behind the curtains in the corner.
"Astie."
Nordics called, but Tie hunched his small back and sniffled.
"Tie...... wants to play alone for a bit."
At the utterly listless voice, the squad members exchanged worried glances.
It was when Veil, unable to stand it, moved to approach Tie.
"......Leave him be. Even a child needs time to collect himself emotionally."
Nordics stopped him.
Nordics turned to the squad members with a serious face.
"It'd be best if only Basto stays and we all step out for a bit."
In the end, the squad members nodded hesitantly.
Soon, all left the conference hall except Basto.
As the door closed, Astie's sniffles grew louder.
Tie buried his face between his knees.
‘......He's not there.’
They had scoured the Holy Knight organizational charts of Talochioum—no, every nation in this world—yet Dad wasn't there.
Then where on earth was Dad?
He had come all this way solely to find Dad......
But at that moment.
A brief thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
‘No, it's not that Dad isn't there.’
Dad was definitely there.
Tie had seen him with his own two eyes at Pearl City's port.
Then a small mutter slipped from Tie's mouth.
"That dream......"
The dream from the night he had missed Dad.
Though it was from long ago, the dream lingered vividly in his mind.
‘In the dream, people called Dad "Captain."’
At the time, Tie had only recently arrived in this world.
So he wasn't familiar with titles for Holy Knights or mercenaries, and above all, he believed what Dad had told him.
That he was a Holy Knight.
But now Tie knew for sure.
First, Dad wasn't in any Holy Knight Order.
He hadn't appeared despite flipping through the entire org chart.
Second, "Captain" wasn't a term for Holy Knights.
It was what you called the leader of a mercenary group.
‘And......’
Third. Basto had appeared in that dream too.
In the dream, Basto was Dad's subordinate.
If Dad were really a Holy Knight, Basto would have been one too.
Tie shot to his feet.
And ran out from behind the curtain to Basto.
"Uncle Basto!"
Seeing Tie with teary eyes, Basto quickly wiped the child's cheeks.
"Yeah, yeah. Tie."
"Did you ever wanna be a Holy Knight?"
At the out-of-the-blue question, bewilderment crossed Basto's face.
But soon he shook his head.
"Never once."
"Why? Even if, like, you could become one from now on, you wouldn't?"
"I wouldn't."
"Why not?"
"Holy Knights might seem better than mercenaries at a glance, but they're missing the most important thing. Freedom."
Tie shut his mouth.
"Unlike mercenaries, Holy Knights must serve the Church and Imperial Family dutifully. But I hate being bound to something I can't acknowledge. Rather than become a Holy Knight, I'd......"
Basto, about to say he'd choose death instead, stopped.
As he glanced at Tie, wondering if the word was too harsh for the child.
"Tie!"
Suddenly, Tie flung open the door and bolted from the conference hall.
And immediately collided with Valentis's butler standing outside, tumbling over,
"Ow ow...... Huh?"
A paper the butler had dropped stuck fast to the child's tear-streaked face.
