TYND 48

TL: Motokare

PLEIN joined them three days later. They’d used a portal from the capital to the beach, then flew out to the sea in a trehmule airship. Five mages in full PLEIN expedition uniforms landed on deck using flight magic. After acknowledging the maritime patrol’s reverent greetings, Harrié Geelin walked up to Theon and Rothy with a relaxed smile. 

“Your Grace, it’s been a while.”

“You came where you weren’t needed.”

“Good to see you again too.”

Ignoring Theon’s cold look, Harrié bowed to Rothy. 

“It’s been a while. How’re you, Your Grace?”

“Yeah… hi.”

Rothy stayed half-hidden behind Theon, just poking out his head to answer. His small hand held tight to Theon’s clothes. When Harrié looked down at him, Rothy looked right back. A glint appeared in Harrié’s blue eyes. 

He’s gotten braver.

Given how he was when they found him in the tower, just making eye contact was a miracle. 

“Your Grace, I need to apologise first.”

Harrié knelt before Rothy. The four mages followed their leader and knelt too.

“Our attitude back in the palace was quite rude. We apologise.”

“……”

“PLEIN isn’t the cruel, dehumanising place you think. All our research and experiments, day and night, are only for the empire’s peace and protection.”

“……”

“Nothing at PLEIN will cause pain. I promise on my name and PLEIN’s honour.” Harrié’s voice was soft and gentle. 

Still half-hidden behind Theon, Rothy spoke.

“Right. Then can you bet your life that no other child will get hurt?”

It was a chilling question, but Harrié smiled calmly.

“Yes. I bet my life.”

“Then if you’ll engrave a binding oath spell on your heart… I’ll go to PLEIN.”

“……”

No answer came. 

Of course not. 

A binding oath spell on the heart meant death if the oath was broken. The living magic stone experiments needed ten-year-old children. That wouldn’t change unless they found something groundbreaking in Yolone Sirin’s research journal. 

Harrié’s expression hardened. 

Rothy, seeing the reaction he’d expected from Harrié, sighed in resignation and disappeared completely behind Theon.

“Your Grace, I may not be able to engrave a binding oath, but I swear I’ll do everything in my power to ensure there are no casualties—”

“Enough.”

Theon, who had been silently watching, finally cut in. A sneer played on his lips, as if he’d known the conversation would take this exact turn. 

“PLEIN will receive the operation briefing from the guard captain.”

Theon turned around, wrapping his thick arm around Rothy’s small back. After a few steps, he simply picked Rothy up into his arms. Harrié’s eyes were cold as he watched their backs.

This marked the start of an uncomfortable joint mission. 

PLEIN, to their credit, took their mission seriously. Over the next four days, there’d been several skirmishes with the sirens. They were successful in driving them deeper into the ocean and assessing their numbers. Thanks to this, the group could turn their ship around earlier than planned and were scheduled for landfall in three days. 

But that didn’t mean anyone was happy about PLEIN’s presence.

“Ah, those bastards are staring too hard. I think they’re about to burn a hole through Lord Rothy’s temple.”

Zey raised her voice deliberately—it was aimed at PLEIN.

“Let me shield you, like this.”

She shifted her position. This blocked the intense stares that seemed ready to pierce through Rothy’s small head. Chungnip and Xeon, sitting at the same table, also adjusted their positions to completely shield Rothy from PLEIN.

Those mages had been hovering around Rothy for four days. Especially when their lord was absent like now, they kept pacing as if ready to kidnap him at any moment. Right now, Theon had gone to meet with the guard captain, so they’d to protect Rothy.

“Thank you. But you know, eyes can’t actually bore holes in temples.”

“That’s right. It was a metaphorical joke, Your Grace.”

“A joke… I see…”

Rothy’s cheeks, which had filled out considerably compared to before, turned pink shyly. He looked as if he’d just heard a marriage proposal rather than a joke. His shy smile made Chungnip, Zey, and Xeon smile along with him.

“Most of what Zey says is jokes, exaggerations, and bluster. Only her cleaning contains a tiny bit of sincerity.”

“What? Don’t be ridiculous. Lord Rothy, don’t trust that fellow. Xeon Hart puts his whole heart into telling lies at every moment.”

“You two are such friends, it’s embarrassing.”

Chungnip muttered something under his breath, but the two knights heard him and ignored it.

“Lord Rothy, ask Zey about the crocodile fiend incident at Eyghien Swamp.”

“What’s the crocodile fiend incident at Eyghien Swamp…?”

Rothy’s eyes were round with curiosity as he asked, and Zey immediately turned serious. 

“It was twelve years ago… I was seventeen, and the swamp battle was my first combat mission. During the engagement, I got separated from my comrades and while wandering alone, a crocodile fiend as big as this ship appeared before me.”

“You see? She’s talking nonsense from the get-go. Not even a dragon is that big.”

“Knight-Captain, would you shut up? Anyway, this crocodile fiend breathed fire from its jaws, had massive wings on its back, thick scales covering its hide, and its eyes were coated in a silver membrane, staring at me with a gaze just as terrifying as His Grace’s. My knees nearly gave out, and my hands trembled…”

At that moment, Rothy, who’d been listening intently, blinked his green eyes, which were glistening with concern.

“Oh no… That must’ve been so scary.”

“Ah……”

“Is it all right to talk about it now? You can stop if you don’t want to remember…”

The comment was so innocent and kind that it made Zey scratch the back of her neck awkwardly. This was the first time anyone had reacted to her story like this. Even when she told her tales of valour to children, they were too busy being impressed to show such concern.

“Well, yes. It was scary. But… I guess I was too insignificant for it to bother attacking me. It just stared at me and disappeared.”

“That’s such a relief.”

“Yes……”

Zey bobbed her head, suddenly self-conscious. Even Xeon, who’d brought up the topic just to show how much she exaggerated, looked a little uncomfortable. Zey’s momentarily still hands began moving again. She was using a knife to carve a wooden figurine from a palm-sized piece of wood, peeling away the bark.

“Your Grace, I’ll make this figurine into that crocodile fiend from back then. This fearsome creature will protect the other figurines from fiends.”

“But wouldn’t it eat them instead…?”

“The crocodile fiend doesn’t eat good kids. That’s part of its character.”

“Oh, I see. A good crocodile. Thank you.”

Zey had already made five wooden figurines. There was one that looked just like Rothy, and a weasel that looked just like Chi-chi. The other three were dogs. She’d originally planned to make one that looked just like Theon too, but gave up, feeling her rough handiwork couldn’t possibly capture his charm and dignity.

“Should I try making one too?”

Chungnip took a piece of wood, and Zey handed him another knife from her waist. 

“I know our mage has skilled hands. What will you make?” 

“Speaking of fiends. You remember that huge fish that appeared in the southern sea? Not a fiend or devil, but it was really terrifying.”

Xeon nodded. 

“You mean that carp.”

“Calling it a carp’s an understatement. It was the size of an elephant.”

“It was still a carp.”

“It breathed fire from its mouth.”

“Just a rather large carp that happened to breathe fire from its mouth.”

Chungnip shook his head at Xeon Hart’s bravado.

“You knights really can’t say a single without exaggerating, can you?”

“Don’t plant prejudice about knights in front of His Grace.”

“You people built that prejudice yourselves.”

“Both of you, shut up and listen. Since we’re talking about fire-breathing creatures, remember that time near Droight’s desert? I saw a scorpion almost as big as the archducal mansion.”

Zey, unable to help herself, started exaggerating again. Xeon shot her a look, telling her to cut it out, while Chungnip sighed so hard his shoulders lifted. The chatter between the three continued. It felt endless, almost excessive. Most of it were tales from the battlefield. 

Rothy smiled silently. 

Is this what they always talked about around the campfire?

He’d always watched from a distance and wondered what stories made them laugh so cheerfully as they sat around the campfire. So these were the tall tales they told. When he tried to approach, Theon, quietly polishing his sword, would spot him first and stare. Then his subordinates would tense up and rise from their seats. The lively atmosphere always vanished and turned sharp whenever he approached… 

Rothy always had to turn back.

He had been so curious. What stories made them so happy? Now that he was among them, listening to their conversation… 

It’s really fun. No wonder they laughed so much. 

Zey and Xeon’s bravado and boasting, Chungnip‘s sighs. It was all enjoyable, amusing, and fascinating. Being among those he could only watch from afar, talking and laughing together with them, he still couldn’t believe it. Even after half a year… 

Sometimes he wondered. Was this all a dream and he was actually in that dark laboratory? Was he having this long dream because he wished for it so desperately……?