Ch#42
“Hey, kiddo! Absolutely not!”
Tiye jumped in surprise at Veil’s voice.
She clutched the bracelet tightly and blinked up at him.
“Why not……?”
“No matter how anything-goes mercenaries are, a four-year-old doing what?!”
As Veil hopped mad, Tiye pouted and shut her mouth.
But no matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t understand why she couldn’t erase the twins’ memories.
“But Tiye has to test the new power she just got!”
Having made up her mind, she yelled, and Veil’s eyes went even rounder.
“To see if (memories) disappear well or not, it’s best on the Governor’s sons! Then nothing inconvenient for Tiye disappears, perfect!”
Basto quietly rubbed his forehead.
An ominous thought rose in his mind.
‘……As expected. Have I let her see too much violence?’
He’d been worried since the battle on the ship.
Astie had witnessed far too many scenes unfit for a child her age.
Slashing monsters was one thing, but Kal’s final moments surely had a bad influence on the child.
‘That bastard really is no help alive or dead.’
Of course, Basto had no way of knowing Tiye wasn’t thinking anything of it.
“Tiye’s gonna do it! Since they know Tiye’s identity, gotta erase it, no choice!”
Then Tiye huffed and started marching toward the parlor door.
Veil dashed over and scooped her up.
“K-kiddo, what’s with you? How’d a nice kid, even if a bit dumb, turn out like this?!”
“Put me down!”
“Can’t! Absolutely can’t! I can’t watch a four-year-old kill someone—!”
The room fell silent at the impassioned shout.
Soon, the child’s round eyes slowly widened, her mouth opening.
“Wh-who’s killing people……?”
Tiye’s face had gone pale with fear.
Veil froze for a moment, then went blank.
He asked back in disbelief.
“Kiddo, what…… did you just say you’d erase?”
Tiye flailed and pointed to the bracelet on her wrist.
“Was gonna erase the Governor’s sons’ memories. This is Oblivion’s Purity Bracelet, Tiye found it in the Mana Stone……”
“What purity?”
At that moment, Nordix wedged between them.
He leaned close to Tiye and asked incredulously.
“You found what purity in a Mana Stone, Astie?”
At Nordix’s rare expression, Tiye hesitantly held out her wrist.
“This, Oblivion’s Purity Bracelet……”
Nordix’s eyes widened.
He fumbled his lips for a few seconds, then turned to Basto.
After a brief silence.
“Basto.”
He whispered, then added gravely.
“Looks like…… Astie found a relic.”
* * *
Tiye sat primly on the sofa, focusing on Nordix’s explanation.
“After subjugating a Mana Stone, the subjugator can get two main rewards, Astie. Compensation and spoils.”
“Tiye knows! Mercenaries get compensation after subjugating Mana Stones!”
Since coming to this world, Tiye had gathered info in her own way.
She’d eavesdropped diligently on people around her, even pretended not to care while snooping alone.
“Go to the Compensation Bureau and say you subjugated a Mana Stone, get paid!”
The Compensation Bureau was a national institution located across the empire.
Specifically, to pay mercenaries for the Mana Stones they’d subjugated.
Basto patted Tiye’s head fondly.
“Right. There was one at the gate too.”
Tiye nodded.
‘Yeah, those people who don’t work hard.’
The gate’s Compensation Bureau had been a mess.
They’d registered Basto’s subjugation as Kal’s and given the compensation to Kal.
‘Didn’t even check properly, weirdos.’
107-room Grandmother would’ve thrown a fit about wasting taxes for sure.
Still, the good news was Basto had gotten back the compensation Kal stole last night.
With Kal eaten by a monster, Death Hound’s Unit Leader became Recar.
Recar seemed terrified of Basto for some reason and paid the withheld fees perfectly.
Plus treasure chests from the wrecked ship, and Agabert’s finances recovered in a flash.
‘Tiye’s rich now.’
Anyway.
“Then what’re spoils?”
She knew compensation, so now for spoils.
Nordix placed a pouch on the table.
“This.”
Tiye peeked inside and her eyes went huge.
It was packed with Monster Cores Agabert had gathered so far.
“Monster Cores are the most basic resource from defeated monsters. You know too, right? Stronger monsters mean higher-value cores.”
“Yup! Can sell at the Compensation Bureau!”
Cores were usually traded at Compensation Bureaus.
Used as proof when mercenaries proved their subjugations too.
“Mana Stones and their summoned monsters share similar energies. So showing a core lets the bureau know which Mana Stone was subjugated.”
As Tiye nodded maturely, Nordix added.
“By the way, we collect cores to process them all at once in the Capital center.”
“To draw attention?”
“Exactly.”
Hmm, definitely.
Selling cores little by little vs. a huge batch at once would look more impressive.
“Thanks to your abilities, Astie, Agabert’s reputation rises daily. Selling a massive amount at once will draw eyes.”
Tiye swallowed.
Felt one step closer to the fearsome Necrolord title.
“But very rarely.”
Then Nordix lowered his voice.
“Subjugators get spoils that aren’t Monster Cores.”
His gaze was on the bracelet on Tiye’s wrist.
“Like that bracelet you’re wearing. Otherwise called a relic.”
“Relic……?”
“Yes, relic.”
Veil, leaning against the wall, approached.
He sat beside Tiye and asked.
“Kiddo. Where’d you get that? Did you name the relic? How’d you know its effect?”
Tiye looked a bit deflated at Veil, then hesitantly spoke.
“So like……”
Seemed like time to spill about the spirit she’d met that morning.
* * *
“Spirit?”
Basto looked more shocked than usual.
Veil’s face had gone blank too.
“So, a spirit came to you while you were sleeping?”
“Yup! Long hair like this, eyes sparkling princess spiwit!”
Basto, Veil, and Nordix exchanged glances, then muttered.
“Talking about death spirits?”
“Sounds like it for now.”
Tiye was a dark attribute mage.
So she could see death spirits ordinary people couldn’t.
Basto and Veil figured the ‘spirit’ Tiye saw was one too, but
“Nooo, princess spiwit! Not subordinates, spiwit!”
Tiye puffed her cheeks and shook her head hard.
“Different from the subordinates on the Ghost Sail Ship! Subordinates have black energy all over, but princess sparkled!”
“Sparkled with light?”
“Yup! Had a name too, Seradin!”
Seradin…….
Nordix startled and looked up as he repeated it.
He turned to Basto and Veil.
“Seradin’s the local deity passed down in Pearl City.”
