Ch#133
"You waited for Tie?"
Selina flapped her mouth open and shut in embarrassment.
Then she yelled.
"Wait? What do you mean waited! I was just curious as a neighbor from next door where you'd gone."
Tie nodded.
Then, staring at Selina, she carefully peeled the tree leaf off the girl's head.
"But Lady Selina, did you come through the fence again by any chance?"
Selina's face turned bright red once more.
Then, in a voice barely audible, she said.
"I, I rang the bell so many times with no answer, so I had no choice but to come in......"
"Really? That's weird, there are so many people at home, how come no one heard the bell?"
"H, how would I know! It's your house, so you should know."
"I see, got it! Tie will make sure to fix the bell later!"
Selina stared at Tie in disbelief.
Then she soon drooped her shoulders.
"......But why are you waiting for the house next door?"
Tie widened her eyes round before mumbling evasively.
"J, just 'cause it's next door......!"
"You want to get close since they're neighbors?"
"Uhmm......"
"You think there might be a friend your age or something? Even if the owner isn't from a normal noble family but a mercenary group?"
Selina grumbled for some reason and added.
"If it's something like that, do you really need to wait for someone to come to the house next door? I live next door too."
As Tie's mouth fell open wide, Selina blushed again.
"No! I just thought you looked around my age, and we talked well last time too......!"
Silence fell between the two children.
Tie watched Selina avoiding her gaze and realized inwardly.
'I get it. Selina wanted to play with Tie after all.'
There were kids like that in the magpie class too.
The ones who wanted to play together but couldn't just say 'let's play!' so their faces turned red and they talked about where they went last weekend or what snacks they liked.
Princesses like Seoyoon or Harin from the magpie class hated that type.
And they deliberately avoided playing with them, but Tie got along well and played nicely with everyone.
Tie quickly beamed a big smile.
"Yeah, it was fun last time! So we're friends?"
Selina's eyes went perfectly round.
The girl's lips parted, and soon a hesitant small voice leaked out from within.
"N, no, well I......"
"Then wanna come in and play squirrel? The one who eats the corn fastest wins!"
Selina blinked for a few seconds before nodding frantically.
"Sure!"
"Yay! Let's go!"
Tie grabbed Selina's hand.
Selina unconsciously looked down at her hand clasped with Tie's.
'Lady, go away. I have no intention of letting you join our play.'
The voice she'd heard that morning at the Imperial tutorial hall echoed in her ears.
'My father said not to play with the lady. He said playing with nouveau riche who bought their title with money isn't proper.'
'Selina isn't even real nobility, why does she keep acting all high and mighty? It's hilarious.'
Selina unconsciously rubbed her eyes.
Then she hesitantly followed Tie.
* * *
Tie and Selina gnawed through two whole corns each.
Then they lay on their stomachs in front of the fireplace chatting for a long time before getting up.
Tie stood at the front entrance seeing Selina off.
Though seeing her off just meant watching her cross the street to her house.
"Selina! Let's play squirrel again tomorrow!"
"Okay!"
Veil burst out laughing at the two kids waving wildly across the street.
He took Tie's hand and led her into the mansion, asking.
"Kiddo. Is playing with corn that fun?"
"Yeah!"
"The noble kid next door thought it was fun too?"
"Yup, she said it was. I didn't know, but Selina's friends at the tutorial hall seem like really mean kids."
While playing squirrel, Selina had briefly told Tie about herself.
"Selina wasn't originally a noble, but her mom and dad had lots of money so they bought her a title."
"Title?"
"Yeah! So now Selina's a noble too, but the mean kids at the tutorial hall won't play with her. They say she's not a real noble, she's nouveau riche."
"Kids are scary, so scary. They're only a few years apart at most and already......"
"So I told Selina that Tie is nouveau riche too!"
Looking down, Veil saw Tie's face looking somehow very proud.
"You did? Good job."
It was when Veil absentmindedly replied and entered the mansion side by side with Tie.
"So anyway, since Tie's nouveau riche, buy something!"
"Buy? Buy what?"
It was the first time Tie had said she wanted to buy something since the Weaponless Zone.
The squad members from the dining room and living room gathered at the conversation.
Nordics asked with a curious face.
"Tie, are you thinking of using the reward money?"
Tie nodded vigorously.
"Yesss! Teleportation Circles! Lots and lots!"
Then she continued without even taking off her outer coat.
"Buy Teleportation Circles, and from now on siege lots and lots of Mana Stones! Tie's the super strong Necromancer King!"
Basto's eyes widened.
"Anyway, Agavert's a mercenary group, so we have to siege lots and lots of Mana Stones, right?"
Tie was right.
The squad members' goal from the start was to siege Mana Stones and grow Agavert's scale.
The reason was simple.
The bigger the mercenary group, the safer Tie would be.
The more members, the less the leader had to step out.
But even so.
"Kiddo, you really have ambition for power?"
At Veil's question, Tie shrugged her shoulders.
"Yup! Tie's the boss, so lots of money and power is good."
Raoul and Enzo exchanged glances.
It sounded a bit odd coming from a kid, but there was nothing wrong with Tie's words this time either.
"With lots of money and power, even the Church can't monitor Tie."
The reasoning was solid,
"Plus Selina said there are tons of Mana Stones these days. But Tie has bone friends and subordinates, so we can siege small Mana Stones fast, right?"
The intent was righteous and moral,
"To eat well and live well together, we can't just save, we gotta keep doing business great!"
And even the future plans were incredibly realistic and specific.
In the end, the rigid Basto repeated.
"So you're saying buy Teleportation Circles?"
"Yes! We gotta move fast to become number one mercenary group quick!"
As Tie said, Mana Stone sieges took a lot of time coming and going.
With Teleportation Circles, they could shorten travel time for faster sieges.
But still......
Raoul and Enzo frowned.
"So. The Captain isn't just saying to accelerate Mana Stone sieges."
"But to surpass Trebaga too, right now?"
"Yesss!"
Tie shouted confidently before tilting her head.
"Can't we?"
In truth, Tie hadn't just played squirrel with Selina moments ago.
While eating corn, she'd racked her brains thinking and thinking.
'He won't come. The Head Maid said this house is just for show.'
About Selina's words that the house next door was for show, so Dad wouldn't return.
If that was true, what should Tie do?
'Can't chase Dad to the Northern Continent either.'
Waiting endlessly until he came seemed utterly unbearable for Tie.
Moreover, the documents she'd glimpsed at the Clan Leader's house said as much.
Trebaga and Tese tan were continuing sieges only in the Northern Continent lately.
Roughly speaking, waiting for Dad would take forever.
'Then the only real way left is one!'
The child's eyes sparkled.
The method Tie thought of was to make Dad come find her himself.
