Chapter 35

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter Title: The Super Strong Kid is Looking for Dad 131

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The next day.

"Wow! I slept so well!"

Startled by the cheerful voice ringing in his ear, Basto jerked his eyes open.

Through the bright morning sunlight streaming in through a crack in the window, he spotted her.

"Raoul bro, Enzo bro. Why'd you sleep here?"

Tiye was shaking Raoul and Enzo awake with her bright, sunny face.

Basto clutched his throbbing head and glanced to the side.

Next to him, Veil wore a similar expression, pressing a hand to his forehead.

Something feels off about how I slept...

"Uncle Basto!"

At that moment, Tiye hopped down from the bed and came scampering over.

The child hugged Basto tightly and rubbed her cheek against his hand.

"Uncle, now we say hi to the Grand Commander and go home."

"Home...?"

"Yeah! Aunt Marshal's waiting. Tiye wants to go home now too..."

Seeing her act like nothing had happened, Basto and Nordics exchanged a glance.

"Veil bro, right? Let's go home, okay?"

In the meantime, Tiye had started shaking Veil's knee.

Veil hesitated for a moment before scooping her up into his arms.

"...Kiddo. You okay?"

Tiye's eyes went wide.

Then she pulled a slightly glum face before flashing a pitiful smile.

"I'm okay. Now that I know Dad isn't a Holy Knight..."

Veil was so shocked that his lips flapped open and shut before he hurriedly chimed in.

"Yeah, kiddo! That's how you gotta think. It's clear now your dad's not a Holy Knight, so we'll look somewhere else nice and slow. I'll help you out."

"Yeah! Thank youuu!"

The child giggled happily and threw her arms around Veil's neck.

A stinging sensation pricked at the tip of his nose, and Veil patted Tiye's back soothingly.

"First, I'll go grab my bag from the conference hall!"

Tiye leaped down from Veil's arms and scampered out of the room.

The members stared blankly at the open door in that frozen moment.

"Astie says she wants to push into the North Continent too."

A voice they hadn't heard much lately came from the left side of the bed, where there'd been no sign of life until now.

Turning around, they saw Lukarion standing there with a serious look on his face, Ppu Ppu perched on top of his head.

"Seeing the number one ranked mercenary corps lit a fire under her ambition for power. She wants to raise Agaveert Mercenary Corps up as a rival to match them."

Veil furrowed his brow.

"What?"

But Lukarion continued on calmly.

"On top of that, hunting for her dad has put a huge mental strain on her lately. Sounds like she wants to take a break from searching for a while."

Now even Basto looked stunned.

But Lukarion's words didn't end there.

"My take is that Astie's finally grasped the true nature of humanity. It's only natural for any mercenary to chase after their own slice of power. Humans are fundamentally beings defined by their lacks, forever yearning for self-fulfillment."

"What, what kinda nonsense is that? The kid spouted stuff like that?"

"Yeah. She said that expanding your own potential and leaving your mark on the world is the ultimate expression of noble will."

Silence blanketed the room.

As Veil frowned and opened his mouth to speak, Tiye burst back in, clutching her kindergarten bag.

"Tiye's back!"

"Kiddo. You really told Blackie all that?"

Tiye, who had frozen in place, blinked for a few seconds before answering.

"Yeah, I did!"

"About pushing into the North Continent and becoming some big power player?"

"Ye~ah! 'Cause Tiye's the Commander Queen!"

Veil snapped his mouth shut in utter bewilderment.

Basto stepped forward, his face full of suspicion.

"Tiye, you really okay? North Continent, even if... I mean, come on."

"Tiye doesn't wanna be sad every single day, saying she has no dad."

Right then, Tiye sadly finished Basto's sentence for him.

She looked around at the members with a deflated expression.

"If Tiye works hard and does a great job with the mercenary corps stuff, maybe she'll naturally run into Dad someday..."

"I think the Captain's got a point."

Enzo, who'd been listening, spoke up.

He sidled up to Basto and whispered low enough that Tiye couldn't hear.

"When things get rough, it's good to have something to latch onto. Helps you forget reality for a bit too..."

Staying stuck in a hopeless situation only breeds even deeper despair.

Even so, Basto couldn't shake off his worries that easily.

"I get it. But the fact that she came up with something like that..."

Right at that moment, the image of Tiye from last night flashed before Basto's eyes.

Tiye, standing there with tears dangling from her eyes, sobbing pitifully.

"I..."

Basto trailed off, then let out a deep sigh.

He walked over to Tiye, as if conceding defeat.

"...Yeah, alright. Let's do it, Tiye."

Tiye stared at Basto with wide eyes.

"Really?"

"Really. But don't quit looking for your dad altogether—just take it slower from here on out..."

"No North Continent, Astie."

But just then, a stiff voice rang out from one corner of the room.

Turning their gazes, they saw Nordics standing there with a rare, rigid expression.

Tiye's eyes went round.

Nordics strode forward and dropped to one knee before Astie.

"You absolutely must not go to the North Continent."

It was a terrifying tone from Nordics they'd never heard before.

Tiye, who had frozen solid, would soon come to understand.

The reason why Nordics had said such a thing.

"Yeah. But how'd you know?"

In the conference hall where everyone had gathered, Valentis Lumen nodded in acknowledgment.

The members all stared at Nordics with shocked expressions.

Nordics replied.

"...Less 'knew' and more 'guessed,' really."

The members and the Lumen family had assembled in the conference hall just five minutes prior.

The moment the door shut, Nordics had posed a polite yet bold question to Valentis.

'If it's not too rude, Grand Commander, sir—one question. Was there an order from the Central Continent to keep tabs on Astie?'

Central Continent.

Home to the Holy Nation, the Pope, and the Cardinals who served him.

An order from that place to monitor Tiye?

Every member, Veil included, figured it had to be nonsense.

But Valentis had answered.

'Yes.'

"What? It was actually true?"

Veil instinctively hugged Tiye tighter, perched on his lap.

Then he shot Nordics a grave look.

"You're saying some Cardinal or whoever really ordered surveillance on the kid?"

Nordics nodded.

"Yes. Surprisingly, the Church has a huge interest in mages."

Leonardo nodded as well.

"That's right. Their curiosity runs especially high toward mages who manifest unprecedented power."

Veil swallowed hard.

Everyone in Agaveert Mercenary Corps already knew Astie's power was anything but ordinary.

That was why they'd kept her real age under wraps from the world at large.

But even so.

How long had it even been since she became a mercenary? And already the Church was poking around Tiye?

Sneakily, too—going so far as to have the Grand Commander run a background check.

"The North Continent that Tiye wants to head to? It's a spot priests visit several times a year for training. Place is crawling with them year-round. If she ends up there and crosses paths with the wrong priest..."

"......"

"They might start yapping about needing to 'verify her personal powers' or some such nonsense and drag Tiye off to the Central Continent."

"No way."

Basto shot back immediately.

"Tiye's true identity would come out. And the Church..."

Basto reflexively glanced at the Lumen family seated in front of him.

He hesitated, wary of badmouthing the Church right in front of the Holy Knight Order's core members.

But...

"Feel free to go on. As I said—from the moment I handed over the Total Organization Chart, the Lumens might as well be in the same boat as you all."

The Lumens' stance had already been more or less gauged, just as Edmund had put it.

Basto hesitated a moment longer before pressing on.

"From what I hear, the Church will do anything in the name of carrying out God's will."

"......"

"Literally anything."