* * *
Khalid and I met on the battlefield.
“Why are you tied up there?”
“……I don’t know.”
He had been trapped alone in some cave within a deep, rugged mountain range.
It was a time when I didn’t even know this was a world inside a novel. So I shouldn’t have recklessly talked to or reached out to something that might have been a high-tier monster, but.
“Do you want to get out?”
“……”
“You don’t know that either?”
For some reason, it was hard to look away.
“If I say I want to get out, can I?”
“Yeah.”
I had no idea how long he’d been imprisoned, but he was utterly disheveled.
The shackles binding his limbs were terribly rusted, and the moss-covered cave was dark and cold.
Khalid scoffed.
“Impossible. Do you have any idea how complex the sealing formula on my shackles is……?”
“It would be for you.”
“Huh?”
“But not for me.”
The moment I touched the iron bars blocking the entrance, the structure of the barrier became vividly clear. Finding the dispelling formation to match this structure wasn’t difficult.
My eyes were dyed a deep crimson.
“You……”
That’s how we met.
* * *
Ah, so…….
‘Why did I just assume it was Khalid?’
That’s why I recalled that just now?
I let out a hollow sigh.
As if to betray everyone’s expectations, nothing was found at the explosion site except the corpse of a demonic beast.
“You said it was a boy?”
Grandfather pressed the knight in a tone that suggested the world made no sense.
“W-Well, the smoke was so thick, I think I mistook the monster’s shadow for……”
“Carrots, spinach, blueberries.”
“Huh?”
“Foods good for the eyes. Have them with your meals.”
The knight’s face crumpled as if he were about to cry at the offhand remark. In that instant, Grandfather slammed the armrest with a *thud!*
“If you see wrong again next time, I’ll gouge them out! Your eyes!”
“*Eek*, I’m sorry!”
The knight flopped face-down onto the floor.
Perhaps because he’d been inspecting the site thoroughly, dirt and leaves fell off him in clumps. And along with that…….
‘Huh? A squirrel!’
A small animal that had been dangling from his sword hilt dropped right off and rolled toward me. It climbed up my leg and settled onto both knees.
Did it cling to him outside? Oh my. So tiny. So cute.
“And what? You fired the cannon shell wrong?!”
Grandfather’s thunderous voice split the command tent once more. This time, the artilleryman broke out in a cold sweat and made excuses.
“I-I’m sorry. The fuse suddenly ignited……. B-But something is strange. No one lit it, yet suddenly……!”
*Click.* At that sharp, crisp sound, everyone clamped their mouths shut.
“Not only did the ones guarding the walls make a mistake, but they’re spewing excuses too?”
Grandfather rolled up his sleeves and rose from his seat. The shoulders of the knights lined up in a row flinched.
“Very well. It seems I must properly tighten discipline today.”
Gasp, at this rate our seniors are going to die.
I withdrew the hand that had been petting the squirrel and quickly latched onto Grandfather’s waist.
“Grandfather! Don’t get angry! It’s bad for your health!”
And also…….
“People can make mistakes!”
These guys might not have made a mistake…….
“Oh my, why are you clinging so dangerously?”
Grandfather, who had looked ready to pluck the knights’ heads off at any moment, immediately softened his momentum. I pleaded with the most earnest gaze I could muster.
“The cannon might have malfunctioned……. And thanks to that, the scary monsters were all wiped out!”
“……My youngest…….”
The watching knights’ eyes grew moist.
“So please let them off just this once…….”
Before I knew it, the squirrel had climbed up my arm and plopped itself on top of my head.
“Ngh?”
The gaze Grandfather directed down at me trembled.
“This is…… another attack!”
“Who’s attacking? That’s not it.”
“Uwaaack!”
His face flushed red, and Grandfather reached out as if he couldn’t stand it any longer.
“Come here at once! Don’t go dangling about like a squirrel!”
My field of vision shot up. Perhaps startled by the sudden change in height, the squirrel rolled away again and disappeared somewhere.
Grandfather made a slightly disappointed expression, but his gaze scanning me from head to toe didn’t stop.
“You said an incredibly strong gust of wind blew earlier; are you hurt anywhere?”
“I’m not so weak that I’d get hurt by that wind…….”
“Hmm? Looking closely, your hairpin is crooked!”
“Oh, is it?”
“……Your hair was pulled out. You bastards…….”
Grandfather’s aura grew menacing again.
“Hair, hair grows back even if it’s pulled out! And the pin…… if I do this, ta-da! Wow! Amazing, right! It’s nothing!”
At my desperate gestures, the knights were so moved they were now sobbing into their hands.
Grandfather’s gaze grew distant. I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck.
“Hehe…… so please don’t be angry…….”
His large body heaved greatly, and soon an exclamation of helplessness burst out.
“Obron!”
“Yes, Your Grace. I will handle it properly.”
Sir Obron led the knights out with a stern face.
*Tap*, as the door closed, a long sigh escaped Grandfather. His face somehow looked tired.
“All right, all right. Let’s go back now. I shouldn’t have brought you to such a dangerous place.”
I grinned, and Grandfather’s thick fingertip flicked my nose.
“And I let them off the hook.”
At that exact moment, very fast footsteps approached from outside.
“But I can’t guarantee that Leviathan fellow will let them off?”
At the same time, the door burst open.
“For once, you’re right, Father.”
An urgent breath echoed by my ear, and an arm reaching from behind lifted me up in one swoop.
“I’ll handle it myself.”
“Um, Mister? L-Listen. People make mistakes…….”
“Hey. Our little snot’s hair got pulled out.”
Grandfather tattled from behind like a snitch.
At that, the eyes of the man meticulously examining me shook greatly.
“Hoo.”
I had a feeling.
Sorry, seniors. This man’s eyes have gone bad.
I guess this is as far as I go…….
* * *
By the time I coaxed the Duke—who had been on the verge of exploding—and returned to the castle, it was already evening.
As soon as we returned, my father not only checked meticulously that I was unharmed, but also had me examined by a physician who had returned from a trip.
Then, the moment he heard I was fine, he went off to the knight order like the wind. He had promised not to scold the knights too much……. It’ll be fine, right?
“I heard something major happened at the castle walls today?”
Hazel said as she dried my hair after I had washed up.
“Yeah. A demonic beast suddenly appeared…….”
“The maids and I were so startled, we almost dug an escape tunnel.”
Huh? Dig what?
“His Lordship was very worried too. He had checked the surrounding walls so thoroughly, and he was furious, asking why of all days the demonic beast appeared today.”
“But it’s not like demonic beasts send warning letters before attacking…….”
“Still. Worry is something you can’t help.”
Hazel lightly tidied my now fluffy dry hair. I quickly dove onto the bed.
“I’ll come get you when dinner is ready.”
“Okay!”
The door closed, and I buried my nose in the blanket. As I stared blankly at the ceiling, today’s events naturally came to mind.
‘I have to make the watchtower bell into a magical tool. Then now…….’
I need someone who can do that. Obviously, I can’t do it myself.
Various pieces of information appeared and disappeared in my mind.
Watchtower bell, magic stone, barrier…….
*Konk.*
Squirrel, blacksmith, physician, herbalism, magic, mage…….
*Konk konk!*
“Huh? What’s that noise?”
I sat up with a start.
*Konk konk konk!*
It was the sound of something very small irregularly knocking on the door.
Could it be…….
I cautiously opened the door.
“Huh?”
Acorns scattered before the door. And in the center of the empty hallway stood a small creature.
“Squirrel, you…….”
My eyes met the strangely gleaming yellow eyes in the darkness.
“Ah, wait!”
In that instant, the squirrel whipped around and ran off. As if entranced, I chased after its tail.
After passing through an empty hallway and down narrow stairs, a small side door appeared.
Going through it, I was immediately outside.
“*Huff, huff*. Squirrel. I’m tired…….”
The place I finally arrived at was a garden within the ducal castle that I had never been to before. In truth, it was closer to a small forest.
‘I didn’t know there was a place like this.’
It seemed to be far from the main castle, a place people didn’t visit often.
The night sky was reflected like a mirror in the sparkling artificial lake. Giant, stately trees surrounded it.
*Dododo.*
The squirrel ran at a fast speed.
It climbed up someone’s body and plopped down on top of his black-haired head.
“You…….”
I stopped dead in my tracks.
“……I had a feeling this was you.”
Without even turning his gaze, the boy simply stroked the head of the wolfdog sleeping beside him.
“The explosion earlier was you too, right?”
Around him, several cats were purring. A snow-white snow rabbit, a deer showing off its slender figure, an owl perched in a tree with gleaming eyes, and a silver carp splashing as it circled the water’s surface.
“Hello, Master.”
The boy sitting in the middle of the animal farm turned his head.