Chapter 57

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter Title: The Super Strong Kid is Looking for Dad 151

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Ardiana was flustered.

‘Princess, she says.’

She had spent her entire life holed up in the palace.

She had occasionally attended festivals or banquets crowded with nobles, but that meant she had never shown her face to the imperial citizens.

‘But how...’

"Princess! Hello, I'm Division Commander!"

Ardiana clenched her hand into a fist beneath her cloak.

‘Can she see right through me?’

Before assigning this national request—known as the "Clock Tower Mission"—to the Agaveert Mercenary Corps.

Ardiana had, of course, looked into Division Commander.

A childlike appearance and demeanor.

And the tremendous power hidden inside.

The informants who had investigated Division Commander all agreed.

‘His true nature? It won't be easy to uncover. Dozens of informants couldn't pin it down.’

They said Division Commander meticulously controlled his appearance and behavior.

‘Picking up a stone that fell on the street to study it? Suddenly chasing after a butterfly! It's like he swallowed a kid whole. Of course, he's doing it because he's aware of us watching.’

But Ardiana didn't mind Division Commander's quirks.

His actions might be odd, but tracing the path he had walked revealed his true character.

‘Staying behind in Per City to protect the residents, rescuing the factory manager trapped in subspace unharmed.’

Even the incident at Caldenbine Ridge.

Adelin, whom she had finally managed to contact after so long, had said:

‘It's not because he helped me—Division Commander is truly kind and pure, Your Highness.’

‘May I ask why?’

‘He harbors no malice at all. I understand the wariness from all the rumors floating around, but you'll see for yourself soon enough.’

That allowed Ardiana to completely set aside her preconceptions about Division Commander.

‘And as a mercenary, he's someone worthy of gratitude no matter what.’

Unlike Emperor Pides, she valued mercenaries.

Protecting the people was the nation's duty, yet mercenaries sacrificed themselves to defend the country in return.

Ardiana wanted to build a friendly relationship with Agaveert.

She also hoped to bring them into the association, guaranteeing their benefits in a more structured way.

But.

"Princess, you're super pretty!"

She hadn't expected Division Commander to see right through her at this moment.

She had covered everything from head to toe except her eyes.

As she froze, her adjutant—who knew her true identity—shot Division Commander a meaningful glance.

It was a look asking what she planned to do.

After some thought, Ardiana dropped to one knee on the ground.

She raised one hand to keep the other members from approaching, then met Division Commander's eyes and asked.

"How did you see through me?"

Division Commander's face took on a baffled expression.

"Crystal?"

"Is my identity just plain visible to you?"

Division Commander gaped.

"I won't deny it. From here on, we'll be collaborators, and trust will matter more than anything. But my identity can't be revealed to the world. If word gets out that I'm the Princess, the association I've built up will fall apart. Your benefits wouldn't be secure either, of course."

Silence stretched out.

Ardiana watched the anguish play across Division Commander's face and thought.

‘Adelin, I trusted your judgment. Now, how will he respond?’

Adelin was a wise and capable maid.

So if Adelin deemed Division Commander trustworthy, Ardiana could do the same.

And sure enough, after agonizing over it, Division Commander whispered in a hushed voice.

"You're really the Princess?"

Then he leaned in close and murmured right by Ardiana's ear.

"You're the Princess... and the Frost Association Chairman?"

Ardiana, who had furrowed her brow, nodded.

"Yes. Due to circumstances, I keep my identity hidden from the public."

Tiye was overcome with shock.

‘The Princess and Tiye... kindred spirits?’

Leading a group while concealing her identity.

The risk of losing everything if that identity came out.

The Princess and Tiye had so much in common.

Tiye pressed her cheeks firmly with both hands and mumbled.

"I see... so Tiye figured out the Chairman's secret..."

The members had said as much.

The Frost Association Chairman was a figure shrouded in mystery.

Even on the rare days she appeared, she wrapped herself head to toe, making it impossible to confirm her identity.

‘It was because she's the Princess!’

Tiye stared entranced into the Princess's eyes.

Sky-blue irises gleamed like they held the heavens themselves.

With every blink from the Princess, her pupils slowly dilated and contracted.

Tiye whispered with an excited face.

"Tiye will keep your secret."

Then she glanced back at the members standing a ways off and added.

"I won't tell a soul! We're both pure-hearted powerhouses, after all!"

The Princess stiffened for a moment.

But she soon replied evenly.

"Thank you."

As Tiye grinned bashfully, the Princess rose to her feet.

She raised one hand toward the Lumen family members, who had arrived some distance away with the other members.

Once everyone had gathered, the adjutant standing beside the Princess stepped forward.

"I am the Frost Association's office manager."

Unlike Ardiana, she shed her cloak.

"The reason for this emergency muster today is that the magic stone you'll be sieging in a week has a rather unique form."

Basto furrowed his brow.

"Unique form? What're you getting at?"

"It means a type we've never encountered before. This magic stone is vastly larger than any giant ones we've seen. And its exterior is markedly different from what we're used to."

"Is that for real?"

Edmund, who had been standing beside Agaveert, stepped closer.

He gave Tiye a light nod in greeting before asking.

"That's not in any intel that's reached strategy headquarters."

"The association only learned of it recently."

The office manager continued steadily.

"Everyone should be familiar with the ruins of the old Northern Palace."

Old palace ruins.

The site where the imperial palace had stood before monsters appeared in the world.

The old palace built there had been rubble for ages.

With no one passing through and magic stones spawning nearby, it was only natural.

But for that long-abandoned old palace to be the site of this mission.

"The issue is that the magic stone has swallowed up the old palace. Our investigation showed its origin is the clock tower on the old palace grounds."

She raised one hand to point at the clock tower looming behind them.

"Its style matches this one exactly. Except the clock tower on the old palace grounds will be wrapped in black vines. Your mission is to eliminate it."

Silence settled over the members.

The Lumen family was just as speechless.

Magic stones had always taken the form of structures until now.

But according to the office manager, this one was precisely...

"You mean the vines are the magic stone?"

"That's what the investigation indicates."

Edmund narrowed his eyes.

The office manager went on.

"With no precedent, we needed proven elites. That's why we granted priority to Agaveert, at the pinnacle of skill today. And the Lumen family hardly needs further explanation."

Valentis looked at Astie instead of answering.

‘Sounds like a damn dangerous mission.’

Before learning Tiye's true nature, it might've been different.

But now that he knew, dragging a kid into something like this didn't sit right.

Of course, Tiye was her usual sunny self.

"Got it! So when do we head out? In a week? How're we getting there?"

Stamping her feet in excitement, the office manager hesitated before speaking.

"In a week. You'll deploy with the Holy Knight Order. The association will provide the warp circle."

Tiye spun around, heart pounding.

She started to say something to Basto but froze in place.

Across the square.

Along the straight avenue, a tiny speck was approaching.

Tiye's eyes went wide; then she rubbed them with one hand.

The speck grew a little.

More accurately, it stretched vertically.

They were people.

"Huh?"

"Tiye. I meant to tell you this morning..."

Lukarion sidled up and whispered, but Tiye didn't hear a word.

The girl couldn't tear her eyes from the figure leading the now-clearly-defined group.

"Is this the best the association can muster?"

The man who approached and halted fixed them with a chilling gaze.

"After years of working us like dogs, I thought maybe they'd toss us a bone at last."

Tesetan sneered.

"Snatching back the bowl they handed us?"

Tiye stared at the scene, forgetting even to blink.