Chapter 52

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter Title: The Powerhouse Kid Searches for Dad - Chapter 147

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Tiye loved the tutoring school.

Just as Valentis had called them 'trustworthy people,' the teachers were incredibly kind.

Tiye clasped her hands together and giggled happily.

'I like Teacher Lil just as much as Teacher Isoljae.'

Her friends felt the same way.

In just two weeks at the school, Tiye had won over all nine of her classmates completely.

How did she make friends so fast?

"...Here. I brought them. Those pink bug dolls."

Right on cue, Veil set three large boxes down in front of the first-floor entrance.

Tiye, who had been rolling around on the sofa, came tumbling down and dashed over to the boxes.

"Waaah! It's really Tanipang!"

The result of waiting anxiously for a whole week.

Tiye had finally gotten her slightly squished Tanipang doll made in this world.

Nordics and Marshal had helped her with the patterns, and the seamstresses at the Lumen estate had brought them to life.

"They're so pretty! Cute Posilpang and Ttonapang too!"

"They finally arrived?!"

Selina, who had come over to play, rushed through the entrance after her.

Tiye held out one doll to Selina with eyes full of emotion.

"Yeah! This one's for Selina!"

"Wow! My favorite Hachopang!"

Selina snatched the doll Tiye offered and hugged it tight to her chest.

By now, Selina had memorized all forty-two Tanipang names while hanging out with Tiye.

Tiye giggled and pulled nine more dolls from the box.

She stuffed them all into her Hanbit Kindergarten bag with a grunt of effort.

The bag looked ready to burst once it was full, but she didn't care.

"Gotta take 'em tomorrow and give them to my friends, right?"

Exactly.

That was how Tiye had so quickly claimed all the popularity at the tutoring school—with these Tanipang dolls.

Her classmates had been eyeing the Tanipang embroidered on her uniform from day one.

To be precise, the girls couldn't take their eyes off the embroidery right away, while the boys warmed up to it gradually.

A few had tried to act aloof around Tiye to the bitter end,

but in the end, they all trailed after her, desperate to play.

'They all ended up fighting over who got to hang out with Tiye!'

"Captain. You did that again today? The wedding play?"

Raoul, sitting on the central staircase, asked.

Tiye nodded with a bright smile.

"Yeah! I was the girlfriend role."

"Girlfriend? In wedding play, why...?"

"Husband's girlfriend role. That's why the wife role pulled a bit of my hair."

Basto, who had overheard, came rushing over.

He peered at the back of Tiye's crown, then pressed his forehead and closed his eyes.

"Tiye. You lost some hair. There's a bald patch."

But Tiye just shrugged it off and kept playing with her dolls.

"It's fine!"

"Fine? How is that fine? You should've told your friend not to pull your hair!"

"But the husband's girlfriend role is supposed to lose some hair..."

Basto was at a loss for words.

That's when Selina piped up from nearby, chattering at Tiye.

"Adults just don't get it. Wedding play is only fun if you do it for real."

"Yeah, exactly."

Basto gave up trying to convince her and went to sit by Raoul.

Dinner had ended a little while ago, and the clock now read 7 p.m.

"Maybe because it's a rare day off, but it feels nice."

Raoul murmured sleepily from beside him.

Basto nodded in agreement instead of answering.

As Raoul said, today was one of the days the Agaveert Mercenary Corps took off from sieging.

They got two such rest days a week.

Even Marvas, who created the mobile formations, needed periodic mana recharges, so downtime was essential.

Basto glanced at Raoul.

"Sir Leonardo's coming tomorrow?"

"Yes. He said he'd pick us up at dawn. Told us to skip breakfast—they'll handle it."

Basto nodded.

Spending one day a week with the Lumen family had quietly become Agaveert's routine.

It wasn't so much the other members' idea as Tiye's wish.

'Tiye likes Grandpa Valentis! And Uncle Edmung, Uncle Leona, and Uncle Alexandunder too!'

At first, Basto had been puzzled by Tiye's affection for the Lumens.

They had helped in various ways, sure, but she'd only met them once or twice.

But he soon accepted it.

'Kids are like that.'

Who could easily understand why kids liked something?

Of course, Tiye had her own secret reason that Basto didn't know.

She saw the Lumen family as her benefactors.

Precious people who had helped her uncover a clue to the dad she'd been desperately searching for.

"...Peaceful."

With the children's chatter as background noise, Basto gently closed his eyes.

Agaveert was currently ranked fourth.

Their sieging speed outpaced any other mercenary group out there.

Mana stones were vanishing from inside and outside the capital at a blistering rate.

Not that it mattered much, with new ones popping up constantly—the damage never let up.

Of course, the sacks of gold in Ppu Ppu's subspace were piling up like mountains now.

Yesterday, they got turned away from the Compensation Bureau for the first time—they'd run out of rewards to hand out right away, and Ornel sent the members back with instructions to return next week.

'Good problem to have.'

Basto thought.

But somehow, a nagging unease lingered.

Go too fast, and accidents happen.

It looked great now, with Agaveert making a name and raking in cash, but...

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Basto's eyes snapped open.

He wasn't the only one startled.

Selina and Tiye, playing near the entrance.

Veil and Nordics on the sofa.

Even Marshal, who had just burst out of the kitchen.

Everyone stared at the door in shock.

A rough pounding was followed by a gravelly voice from outside.

"I know you're all in there—open the damn door!"

For some reason, the voice sounded familiar.

Tiye flattened herself under the second-floor railing beside Selina.

Basto's voice drifted up from below.

"...So you came here to tell us that? Just passing through the capital?"

Down on the first floor, Basto was talking with an uninvited guest at the mansion.

The intruder was alone, built like a tank, and even indoors, he wore massive gauntlets.

"That's right. I'm not hung up on rankings myself, but you lot are different."

He was Reaper.

Reaper, leader of the rank-two [Grim Reaper] group—the one they'd met once at the Weapon District.

He slowly scanned the mansion.

"Strictly speaking, you crushed Tesetan's plans just as good as if you'd done it on purpose."

At the name Tesetan, Tiye swallowed hard without realizing it.

Selina shot her a curious glance, but Tiye was too focused on the floor below to notice.

"Trevaga headed to the Northern Continent for that exact reason. The Association wasn't giving them national commissions, so it was a warning shot."

"...Warning?"

"Yeah. 'Keep treating us like this, and we won't handle your dirty work anymore'—that kind of signal. And it worked, to some extent."

Tiye quietly drew in a breath.

The words were all so complicated, but her mind spun smoothly anyway.

It had to be superhuman power kicking in because it was about her dad.

Reaper continued.

"Proof? The emperor, who used to ignore and snub Trevaga, changed his tune recently. You know that?"

Seeing Basto's odd expression, Reaper explained.

"The foreign currency Trevaga's earning up north isn't pocket change. The emperor finally started paying attention... but then."

"... ."

"Your weird sieging speed buried it all in no time."

Tiye's heart pounded.

Reaper added,

"Long story short: Word is, Tesetan might come after you soon because of it. Just rumors for now."