Ch#4
After walking another 15 minutes, Tiye stopped amid towering trees and thought.
‘Oh no!’
She had set out for the Capital, but...
No matter how far she walked, the Capital wasn't in sight.
‘Whine, in Jongno-gu, you’d reach a huge city after just a short walk.’
The Capital in this world seemed much farther than she’d imagined.
“What do I do......”
Birds chirped overhead as they flew about.
‘If only Tiye had wings, she could whoosh right there.’
Wait, wings?
“......”
Her eyes sparkled brightly.
Tiye quietly turned toward Kkamangi.
Kkamangi stood five paces away, arms crossed and leaning against a tree.
“Kkamangi, you're here!”
“Can't carry you.”
“O-Oh, I see......”
Tiye's face fell immediately.
She'd hoped maybe she could ride on Kkamangi's back—it was disappointing.
Now that she looked, his wings did seem a bit small for a legendary Puppetmon.
But Tiye didn't give up and thought of another idea.
“Kkamangi, then......”
“Can't teleport either.”
“Gasp...... Really?”
This was a real shock.
Wasn't Kkamangi a legendary Puppetmon?
She'd crossed from Korea to here with his help?
As she made a troubled face, Kkamangi added,
“I've already used my power to the limit. You think bringing you here was easy?”
Tiye shut her mouth in surprise.
Now she noticed Kkamangi looked somewhat pale.
“Had to mess with dimensions to save your dad, and then you fell asleep, so I even had to prepare a place to sleep......”
Kkamangi trailed off, muttering to himself, ‘......Why am I explaining all this?’
But soon, as if it didn't matter, he looked back at Tiye.
“Anyway. Can't do anything right now.”
Tiye pursed her lips.
She suddenly felt sorry for Kkamangi.
He was her benefactor.
The one who saved Dad from being parted forever and brought Tiye to her hometown.
‘......Can't keep whining ungratefully without end.’
She didn't want to burden him too, on top of what she'd done to Dad.
Tiye hesitantly approached Kkamangi.
“Kkamangi, want me to massage your shoulders?”
Kkamangi made a strange face.
“What?”
“I learned filial piety massage at kindergarten! Number one in Quail Class!”
“No thanks.”
She reached out, but Kkamangi swiftly dodged.
Still looking uncomfortable, he added,
“No need. Even if I had power left, I couldn't use high-level magic anyway.”
“Hm?”
“High-level magic. Especially space movement spells that leave traces—they're easy to track.”
At the word "track," Tiye's face went blank.
She remembered how Dad always looked grim whenever "tracking" appeared in newspapers or news.
Actually, Tiye knew why Dad made that face.
‘Tracking leads to deportation......’
Deportation meant being chased away.
She didn't know why Dad would be chased, but adults said deportation could separate her from Dad far away.
Tiye shook her head vigorously.
Tracking, deportation—absolutely not.
How, after coming this far.
After returning to the hometown where Dad was alive.
Tiye urgently looked up.
“Kkamangi!”
She meant to tell him never to use magic, but
“Kkamangi?”
The spot where he'd been moments ago was empty.
Rushing over, Tiye spotted a black stone lying alone amid the leaves.
She stared at it with shocked eyes, then quickly picked it up.
Then she opened the kindergarten bag she'd brought just in case.
“Kkamangi......”
He'd used so much power—he must have fallen asleep.
Puppetmon return to their Puppet Balls to rest when exhausted too.
‘Kkamangi, don't worry about here.’
Tiye slipped the stone into the bag's inner pocket with a mature face, then zipped it fully closed.
She double-checked twice carefully before slinging the bag on her back.
“Gotta go even if it's tough!”
She recalled 107-room Grandmother's teaching: even if life tastes awful, you gotta tough it out.
Tiye set off very, very bravely.
Without anticipating what lay ahead at all.
* * *
“Tastes fucking awful.”
Basto muttered while crunching wild carrots.
He knew it wasn't time to be picky about food, but three days of the same thing was starting to bore him.
Leaning against a tree trunk, he quietly surveyed his surroundings.
Two hours since setting nearby traps—no signal of prey.
“......Damn mana beasts.”
The forest once teeming with rabbits, deer, and other game.
Its emptying was undoubtedly due to the mana creatures.
“Mercenaries or imperial army, subjugate all you want......”
Subjugate this mana stone, out pour from that one.
Subjugate that, new ones sprout elsewhere.
The loathsome mana creatures emerged endlessly, no matter how many you beat down.
“Ptoo.”
Spitting out the carrot, Basto stood.
Twisting his stiff body made his joints crack repeatedly.
He stroked his bushy beard once, then pulled a map from inside his armor with rough hands.
[Briowood]
His location: a mid-sized forest five days south of the Capital.
Stretching horizontally like embracing the Capital from afar, three red dots were marked clearly.
Basto took charcoal and drew an X over one.
The spot of the small mana stone he'd subjugated last night.
‘Nearly died for real yesterday.’
Recalling yesterday's fierce battle drew a hollow laugh.
A mana stone was a mana stone, small or not—he'd panicked when a flying mana creature appeared out of nowhere.
Sometimes he felt disillusioned with this life-or-death work.
But......
“......Whatever.”
Basto shook off his thoughts by refastening his armor.
Either way, what mattered was he'd survived again without dying.
Wandering as a lone mercenary, slaughtering mana creatures like a murderer and drenching himself in their blood.
Someday, when his breath stopped, it would all end together.
“Better dismantle the traps and head back to the Capital.”
As he stowed the map and stepped forward—
Ting—
A small, familiar sound pierced his eardrums.
The taut rope releasing—it signaled prey in his trap.
Basto grabbed his War Hammer leaning against the tree and bolted toward the trap.
‘Thought wild game was extinct.’
Rabbit?
Or mouse, marten?
Wild boar or deer would be ideal, but even a mouse was fine.
Not the tastiest and hard to debone, sure—but mouse meat was surprisingly edible.
But at that moment,
“......Hic.”
His sharp ears caught a different sound.
It was unmistakably from the trap's direction.
His steps slowed slightly.
‘Sounds just like a person......’
“Hic!”
Basto furrowed his brows.
He was right.
The sound from the trap was definitely hiccups.
He lowered his stance silently and swiftly wove between trees.
In a forest with three mana stones, any person would likely be a mercenary or knight.
But he couldn't let his guard down.
If it was really a person in the trap, they'd scream or beg for help.
Or cut the net with their weapon and escape already.
But no pleas, no screams.
Never seen a case of just hiccuping.
Finally reaching the trap, Basto quietly peered through the bushes.
The net he'd woven dangled from a high branch.
About to check inside, he froze stiff.
“......Hic.”
Inside the net.
His gaze met vivid green eyes.
Someone inside was shivering and staring at him.
A child, looking utterly terrified.
