The Youngest Hides a Lot of Things [Novel] Chapter 30

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 30

Chapter Title: The Youngest Hides a Lot

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Ahem, ahem! Senior Obron cleared his throat pointlessly before clapping once with a stern expression.

"Alright! Training ends here for today!"

He was a good vice-commander, always covering for his superior.

I watched Senior Obron walk away, then headed to the shade of a tree at the edge of the training grounds.

"Uncle. Why are you sleeping here?"

Snore, snore. A stunningly handsome man fast asleep.

"Wake up!"

I shook him awake, and he cracked his eyes open. Scattered nearby were unfinished documents.

"Oh, I was working."

"Liar. You were sleeping."

No matter what I said, Uncle stretched languidly before sitting up straight.

"All done playing?"

"I wasn't playing!"

It had been such grueling training.

"Why are you doing paperwork here anyway? There's a perfectly good office."

"Can't focus there."

"...?"

"Let's go grab a snack."

Uncle scooped me up effortlessly.

Maybe because I'd been eating well and exercising hard, but I felt heavier than before. I'd grown a bit taller too (though Void looked puzzled), but Uncle still lifted me with ease.

'Does the northern water suit me?'

I felt stronger by the day.

"Oh, I'm going to tour the ramparts tomorrow!"

"Is that such a big deal?"

"Of course it is! I've wanted to go for ages!"

Uncle's steady stride halted abruptly. His purple eyes met mine head-on.

"You've wanted to go, so why didn't you say anything?"

"Huh?"

"How long have you wanted to? If you'd told me, I'd have taken you right away."

I pursed my lips and blinked.

"Really?"

"Ruby, I told you."

Uncle sighed. He brushed back my messy hair.

"If there's anything you want or want to do, don't hesitate—just tell me."

"But I didn't want to bother you..."

Plus, I'd thought of a way to do it myself, so asking felt unnecessary.

"It's not a bother if it's you asking..."

Uncle trailed off.

His gaze sank low as he stared at me.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Even in Iosiah..."

"..."

"Was it the same when you lived in Iosiah?"

I shut my mouth. Uncle's lips twitched before he finally added,

"With your parents, I mean."

"N-no."

I awkwardly averted my eyes.

Ah, the lies just keep piling up. My heart stung sharply again.

But it was half-true.

My parents... well, the king. I'd never asked him for anything.

'There was nothing I wanted there anyway.'

And he never asked what I wanted, not even when I was very young...

'Huh?'

A sudden sense of wrongness hit me.

'Come to think of it... what was it like when I was really little?'

My brow furrowed involuntarily. My body went rigid. Really little? Childhood?

"Ruby?"

For some reason, my memories felt off.

I remembered scenes, but the connections between them felt awkward. Like someone had forcibly patched them together.

"Rubian!"

"Huh?!"

I snapped my head up. Uncle's panicked face filled my vision.

"Don't think about it. Sorry."

Uncle pulled me into a tight hug. I peeked over his solid shoulder, blinking.

"Huh?"

What had I been thinking about?

"I made you recall bad memories. My fault. Sorry."

No, it wasn't his fault...

But I suddenly had no energy to explain. So I just buried my face in his shoulder. His warm, large hand stroked my back.

It felt somehow nostalgic.

The next day, I went on the ramparts tour as planned.

"Whoa! So cool."

An endless stretch of gray stone walls. They were so thick, even a magic beast's claws wouldn't dent them.

"Don't get too rowdy. It's dangerous."

A gust of wind blew my hood off.

Senior Obron, standing behind me, pulled it back on.

'Huh?'

Looking up at him, my eyes caught a watchtower. Several dotted the walls at regular intervals.

"What's that bell on top of the tower?"

"The alarm bell in the watchtower? They ring it if magic beasts attack or something happens to the walls."

"Oh, like an emergency alarm!"

"Alarm? Well, yeah, it's for emergencies."

Senior Obron nodded.

"Are they all along the walls?"

"Yeah. You never know where trouble might hit."

Aha.

I rubbed my chin and chuckled slyly.

'Found it.'

The spot to plant the barrier stone. And the tool!

Embed a magic stone in that watchtower bell, and I could extend a barrier along the entire wall. And that's not all.

'If an intruder hits the barrier, it could auto-ring the bell to alert everyone!'

Link it to my mana, and I'd know first, of course.

Then, a hand suddenly grabbed my ankle.

"Ding ding! Staring at the weirdest things!"

The Old Duke... Grandpa hoisted me up. He'd been following me all morning and ended up coming on the tour too.

"Whoaaa!"

My view rose, bringing the blue sky closer. The wind up high felt even crisper.

I looked at Grandpa trudging along the wall and asked,

"Grandpa, why'd you come along?"

"Hmph! Here to whip the ramparts into shape after ages!"

Grandpa stuck out his lower lip.

"Ah, sure."

"Tch. Thought you'd put on some weight lately, but you're a skinny little booger again."

Grandpa glanced at me and grumbled.

'Uncle said the same this morning.'

Last night, Uncle and Void slept in my room too.

At this point, it was obvious.

'I must have sleepwalking issues.'

Why else would they watch me all night...?

A sudden chill ran through me.

Nothing major happened, so they probably didn't touch me, but...

'Gasp, do I talk nonsense in my sleep?'

Goosebumps prickled my skin.

That was when it happened.

Ding ding ding. The watchtower bell rang wildly.

I clapped my hands over my ears at the piercing high note.

"Sir Obron! Ambush! A herd of magic beasts!"

"Tch, thought they'd stay quiet after we swept them last time."

A subordinate came running from afar. Senior Obron, nearby, hardened his expression and rested a hand on his sword hilt.

"How many?"

"Thirty grizzlies—no, forty!"

"Tch, Duke Ballock."

"Got it."

Grandpa's eyes sharpened.

The air grew taut, and I shrank a little.

"No need to be scared. Just small fry."

Grandpa fastened my cloak securely as he spoke.

"Okay."

I wasn't scared. I knew Grandpa and the knights were insanely strong anyway.

The magic beasts' presence drew closer.

I felt the prickling mana but didn't show it.

"Send the defense knights. Report to the main keep?"

"A messenger's already gone."

"Hm, alright."

Tension settled in subtly.

But even that seemed routine here—no one panicked or flailed.

They moved with disciplined precision, like second nature.

"Ah, we could test the new arrowheads too, Your Excellency."

Senior Obron said to Grandpa.

Grandpa, heading for the stairs down, nodded.

"Yeah, test them and report."

"Yes, sir! Now, get Rubian somewhere safe."

"We're going."

"Prepare the archery platform. Herd them so they don't scatter..."

Senior Obron's orders to the junior knights faded as we went.

Grandpa carried me tightly down the stairs. The moment he took one step.

BOOM!

A massive explosion shook the heavens.

"Impossible!"

I whipped my head up.

The magic beasts' presence—gone?

"Kid! Don't look up!"

Grandpa's rough hand pressed my head down firmly. I glimpsed gray smoke rising beyond the wall, but nothing else.

Grandpa bellowed hoarsely.

"What happened?! An explosion? Don't you know who's here right now?!"

"Your Excellency! Vice-commander!"

Someone came sprinting up frantically.

"What the hell is going on?"

"I-it's..."

Panting, the aide quickly explained.

"The magic beasts—all wiped out suddenly!"

"What?"

Just as expected.

"Someone appeared out of nowhere and swept them clean..."

"Who?!"

"Th-that's..."

At that moment, Grandpa's aura turned icy cold. The pressure unique to a knight beyond human limits began leaking out.

"An enemy? Don't tell me... a mage?!"

His voice dripped with hostility, sending shivers down my spine.

"We don't know. But..."

The aide added hurriedly.

"Looked like some boy...!"

This time, I absolutely had to look up.