Chapter 14

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter Title: The Super Shy Kid is Looking for Dad 112

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The carriage was bustling for a simple reason.

"Whoa whoa whoa? Kid! You gonna hold those reins straight or what?"

"Tiye! Be careful! Whoops, Raoul! Tiye's bag is falling!"

"Waaah, the horse is going so faaaast!"

The one gripping the reins right now was none other than Tiye.

She had Raoul's help, sure, but Astie was literally bouncing like a piece of straw atop the horse.

Nordics, watching from inside the carriage, clicked his tongue.

"Looks mighty unsteady."

Veil shot Basto a glare, as if sharing the sentiment.

"I told you, didn't I? If it's a no-go, it's a no-go. Why put the kid on the horse, huh?!"

Basto clamped his mouth shut, looking troubled.

Then he hesitated before replying.

"What was I supposed to do? She's been begging non-stop for three days straight. Sitting on the driver's seat was her one wish—couldn't just ignore her forever."

"Why couldn't you ignore her? You gonna give in every time the kid whines? It's 'cause you spoil her rotten that she's acting up like this!"

Basto sealed his lips tight.

And rightly so—arguing with Veil over this would get him nowhere.

Basto, never the sharpest tongue, always lost to Veil.

This must be what they call natural enemies among men.

'But I only said yes 'cause I thought it through.'

Just as Basto felt a strange pang of resentment and lowered his gaze—

"That kid's definitely gonna demand to ride without Raoul next time. Got way too much adventure in her for her own good."

Oddly enough, right as Veil muttered that, an excited voice rang out from outside.

"Wheee—! Hahaha wheee!"

"L-Leader! Stop petting the horse so much! Grab the reins! To stop, you ease both sides slowly like thiiis…!"

Unlike Tiye, who was giggling wildly in delight—

Raoul, assisting her from behind, sounded utterly frantic.

No doubt he was putting every ounce of effort into keeping the carriage from flipping.

That's when Tiye turned to look at the mercenaries inside the carriage.

"Everyone, look at Tiye! Tiye's driving the horse!"

Veil let out a sigh.

He poked his head out the window half-heartedly and replied without soul.

"Yeah, yeah, you're doing great."

"For real? Right? Isn't Tiye super cool?! Better than Raoul bro or Enzo bro, right?"

"Uh, yeah, so can you please watch the front now?"

"Hehehe, giddyup! Nordics grandpa! Look at Tiye!"

But Tiye, buzzing with excitement, showed no signs of stopping.

At her callout, Lukarion and Nordics finally stuck their heads out the window too.

"…The ride quality is just top-notch."

"Hahaha, Astie. Could pass for a pro."

Tiye giggled "uhehehe" before finally facing forward again after a long moment.

"Raoul bro. Everyone says Tiye's doing great! So Tiye's gonna drive all the way to the new house…"

"Kid, you didn't forget our deal, right? Just ten minutes. Seven left now."

But right then—

Veil's merciless announcement shattered the good mood.

Tiye's eyebrows drooped without her even realizing.

Raoul comforted her softly from behind.

"I'll give you another ride later, Leader."

Tiye looked back at Raoul with teary eyes.

"For real…?"

"Yes. But keep it secret from Veil, okay?"

Tiye nodded vigorously.

She was beaming again, facing forward—when suddenly—

"Whoa, a river!"

The full view of the river came into sight before them.

Raoul smiled.

"Sure is. We're almost there. Seeing the Isera River means—"

"Isera River?"

"Yes. The river that loops around the palace and the heart of the capital. Also called the Boundary of the Old Gods."

Raoul pulled up Tiye's slipping cloak.

"Don't you remember what Nordics told you yesterday?"

Tiye's eyes suddenly widened.

"I do! Old Gods!"

After leaving Caldenbine Ridge—

The Agaveert Mercenary Corps had marched relentlessly.

No time to dawdle, and they had to reach the capital by today to keep their promise with the Grand Commander.

But yesterday afternoon—

The massive side effect everyone feared from the forced march hit.

'So… booored…'

An unprecedented wave of boredom struck Tiye.

Of course—for a four-year-old, the multi-day journey was far too long to endure.

To soothe the bored-to-death Tiye, Nordics came up with a clever idea.

'Tiye, that bored, huh?'

'Yeees… Tiye's gonna turn into a rock…'

'Then gramps'll tell you some old tales.'

Nordics shared a few history stories about the Empire and the capital with Tiye.

One of them was about the 'Boundary of the Old Gods.'

'You know the current capital is an expanded version of the old one, right?'

'Yup!'

According to Nordics, the original Talochium capital was a single independent city.

Like how Korea's capital is Seoul.

But when the magic stone appeared, the Emperor expanded the capital's borders.

Like merging Gangwon and Chungcheong Provinces with Seoul.

'But… does Seoul even fit with Gangwon and Chungcheong…?'

That didn't seem right.

As Tiye puzzled over her kindergarten map jigsaw—

Nordics continued.

'Thing is, expanding the capital sounds simple, but it caused a ton of chaos.'

'Why?'

'Places that weren't the capital suddenly became part of it overnight. No chaos there, right?'

Tiye nodded with her mouth agape.

Fair enough.

Even backwater Caldenbine Ridge was officially part of the capital now.

And not just that—

Weapons District, Pearl City.

Every checkpoint they'd passed through belonged to the capital.

'Think about it. Did those places feel like the capital to you?'

Tiye shook her head.

No matter how she recalled the path, they didn't feel like massive Jongno District or Seoul proper.

'But once you cross the Isera River into the old capital—the pre-expansion one—'

'…'

'It's a whole different world. Bustling with life, lined with grand buildings…'

The Isera River.

The massive river encircling the pre-expansion capital.

Its other name: 'Boundary of the Old Gods.'

Now serving as the divider between old and new capital.

'You'll see. Crossing that river is entering another world.'

Sure enough, Raoul smiled from behind.

"Almost there. Just cross that bridge."

Tiye gulped.

Indeed, as they neared the Isera River, the city—like a giant jewelry box—came into sharper view.

Tiye calmed her pounding heart and looked around.

Carriages of all sorts had multiplied nearby.

Once on the bridge over the river, they were everywhere.

With the crowd, shouts from other drivers echoed around.

Basto, sensing the traffic jam, poked his head out.

"Tiye. You okay?"

Tiye nodded eagerly.

She glanced around in a daze.

'The ten minutes must be up by now.'

No way they could stop and switch her to the back here.

"I'll find a spot to pull over briefly."

In the end, at Raoul's suggestion, Tiye let go of the reins.

She clung tight to Raoul's arm instead, scanning for a stop—when—

"Hiiing—!"

A strange carriage suddenly swerved right into the Agaveert's path.

Veil thrust his head out the window, pointing accusingly in the near-collision.

"What the hell are you doing? You crazy?!"

But the other driver just snorted.

"Hey, they're crowding me— what am I supposed to do? Yield a bit yourselves."

Tiye, who'd been quiet, gaped.

'This is…!'

Road rage driving?

Her heart raced.

She'd seen this in Jongno District before.

'Yup, four-lane road. Whoa? Morning car's cutting in suddenly? Caller swerves hard— boom~!'

More like in those YouTube videos from the hardware store uncle at the alley end.

'Insurer claims 60% fault on the caller. Time for viewer votes!'

Sitting with the uncle, Tiye always ended up glued to those videos.

'Cause the uncle fumed every time.

'These guys are total psychos! Tiye, hit this quick.'

'What's that?'

'Viewer vote.'

Tiye had voted plenty on the uncle's phone that road rage was bad.

'And now they're doing it here!'

The child's eyes blazed.

Soon, with a grave expression, Tiye shouted.

"Mister! No turn signal and what the heck are you doing?!"