By Zephyria 
As I thought for a long time, something I was curious about came to mind again.
I remembered the man sitting on the sofa shouting at Raul, interrogating him, when I hid under the window just before rescuing Ruben. Wasn’t it because they found out late that Ruben was a Prince that they hid in the empty mansion instead of taking the two children to the predetermined Semora-Gula?
Thanks to that, I was able to rescue the children without a hitch… but the more I thought about it, the stranger it felt.
“You asked if the Owner was from somewhere, I think you said.”
“…”
“Is he a Sieran Citizen?”
The woman no longer tried to hide anything. She nodded.
“To be precise… The person who spoke to us face-to-face was the Owner’s errand boy. Sometimes the errand boy would come to count the number of mercenaries… and he spoke with a Sieran Empire accent.”
“It wasn’t a Divine Revelation?”
“Do you not know how a Divine Revelation sounds? It’s words conveyed through images, thoughts, sensations that completely dominate me… so a Divine Revelation has no accent. But at least that errand boy was definitely from the Sieran Empire.”
“Hmm.”
I had heard all I needed to hear.
A monster who uses people as offerings cannot be called a god, even if they can deliver Divine Revelations. I didn’t know what kind of magic they used, but they deserved to be caught and executed properly.
The Grand Duke involved in this matter was likely the eight bastards who held the mercenaries captive in Semora-Gula. Around them would be a hundred Sword Masters hired to capture mercenaries, so the six of us couldn’t possibly face them.
We had to inform the Empire of this news quickly. We needed to prohibit free passage between the Kingdom of Owen and the Sieran Empire and capture suspicious individuals to investigate the truth. Once the incidents were reported one by one, I believed the Magic Tower would find a way to counter Black Magic.
Were all these stories about delivering Divine Revelations the work of Black Magic? Was Wesley Kiadris truly involved in this? What if, as the First Prince claimed, he had merely suffered an unfortunate fate? I was only confused because there wasn’t much I could know.
As Ruben stood up with a serious look, the rest of us also prepared to leave. The mercenary woman suddenly shrieked.
“Hey!”
“…”
“This might sound absurd, but if, if you ever catch that bastard Raul, could you let me see his face just once?”
“What?”
“…Just once.”
It was an absurd request, but no one immediately refused. There was only one person present who could show such magnanimity. Ruben calmly gazed at her face and nodded once.
That was the end of it.
When Elvin tried to sit back down, I shook my head to stop him. Marianne grabbed Elvin’s wrist and dragged him out. He followed us with a bewildered look. However, since the person inside was also a Sword Master, he didn’t ask aloud why.
Only after a considerable time had passed and we entered the room did Elvin ask.
“We’re not guarding her?”
“No. How can we believe everything she says? It’s better to let her escape if she can.”
“…”
“I secretly attached Tracking magic, so if she runs, we’ll chase her.”
Marianne blinked one eye and put on a smug expression.
I had also seen the child stand there for a long time with only one finger raised. I wondered what kind of magic she was trying to cast, weaving layers of mana into a ball of energy, but it was Tracking magic. It was good to have a countermeasure.
“First, let’s finish what we need to do and then eat.”
“Yes. Let’s do that.”
Come to think of it, Ruben and Benjamin hadn’t eaten for a week. Elvin, who had guarded the hostage all night, must have been starving too. Now that the children were rescued, I finally felt hungry.
We decided to send news to various parts of the Sieran Empire using all the Ranunculuses we could gather.
Tedros had only brought three Ranunculuses. We could only send messages to the Royal Castle, Duke Valentia Family, and Duke Widro Family. Ruben did not want to reveal that he had been kidnapped. He clearly didn’t want to return to the capital, but we conveyed everything that had happened without concealment.
It was just as the last Ranunculus disappeared into the clouds that the children, who were worried about their other friends and wanted to send them news, said they would manage on their own but perhaps should have given them separate instructions. It was then that something occurred to me.
Recalling the various Ranunculuses I had seen while wandering the streets looking for Ruben, I opened my mouth.
“There are so many Ranunculuses in Owen, can’t we find a good one to use?”
“Well… Ranunculuses aren’t alive, but they are alive, you know.”
“…Yes? Yes.”
Marianne, who was leaning against the terrace railing and looking up at the distant sky, replied. Her voice, tinged with a sigh, sounded forlorn.
“If you entrust them to someone untrustworthy, they’ll spread rumors everywhere, so you can’t use them. If they were raised roughly, they might not have learned to speak properly. That’s why we usually raise them with care from an early age, only using Ranunculuses we’ve grown fond of.”
“…Ah.”
“They also have people they like more and people they like less. Their personalities differ individually, so some are more talkative, some are more playful. Some individuals even lie. Since there’s no special trust relationship, natural Ranunculuses are generally unusable.”
“Hmm. Then how do the ones on the street survive?”
“They probably return to nature? Since they don’t have a will to live, unless they find a mana user they’re particularly drawn to, they just live as long as they want and then die, I heard.”
I felt a pang of pity. So that’s why they sat there blankly, just watching people. Still, if that’s how they were destined to live, it wasn’t my place to interfere.
I considered my children going hungry a bigger issue and went to eat.
❖ ❖ ❖
The mansion we were staying in was on 7th Street.
It was enchanted so that if anyone tried to enter the gate against the established rules, or tried to leave through a path other than the door, they would suddenly find themselves in the middle of a random street. They said it used perception-hindering magic to make people mistake the path and step onto a futile route. It seemed similar to the Jegal Family’s Formation, which obscured vision with trees and stones to make one lose their way.
Therefore, unlike when we stayed at the inn, we couldn’t easily go out and about.
I had no desire to venture out, fearing that the blind man might try to kidnap the children again. Moreover, if rumors spread that unusual individuals were coming and going from a certain mansion, we would lose our carefully prepared informants’ hideouts.
However, it wasn’t a major inconvenience. Until we received a reply containing information from the Sieran Empire, there was no need to leave this mansion. Even if my body felt stiff, I endured the time without venturing out.
The waiting time didn’t feel tedious, all thanks to Ruben.
After losing a child once, I couldn’t bear the impatience and anxiety when my child disappeared before my eyes. Seeing me unable to hide my feelings and flustered, Ruben kindly suggested we share the same bed.
It was easy enough to bring an extra pillow, but as Ruben suggested, I offered my arm instead of a pillow. It seemed I had grown quite fond of him, seeing how pleased he was whenever he acted spoiled.
Most importantly, I was satisfied that I could immediately detect if the child moved away from my embrace, even in a deep sleep.
On the first night, Ruben, also exhausted, had fallen fast asleep and was out cold.
But tonight, he couldn’t fall asleep right away and just sighed repeatedly. What worries could he possibly have? Out of pity, I tucked his stray hair behind his ear and unnecessarily pulled the blanket up to cover his shoulders.
As I did so, the child let out a sigh with a look of great disappointment.
He seemed to be hinting at something, but I couldn’t immediately figure out what it was, so I was puzzled. With every sigh the child let out, my chest felt warm and ticklish, and I could barely suppress a laugh at his cuteness.
“The ground might collapse.”
“…”
“Is there… something else that’s bothering you?”
Because we were close, I spoke softly so as not to startle the child, and Ruben immediately looked up at me. Feeling embarrassed by our closeness again, I leaned my head back and waited quietly, and the child sighed again.
“…It’s already October.”
“Yes? …Yes. It is…?”
“…I couldn’t do anything for your birthday…”
And here I thought it was something else.
I didn’t try to stop the hollow laugh that escaped me. What was the point of a birthday when Ruben had been kidnapped and wasn’t by my side? None of the other children, nor I, paid attention to such trivial matters.
It seemed he was upset because the path to buy presents was blocked. Thinking he was lamenting over trivial things, I gently tapped his cheek again. His puffed-out, dry cheeks, showing his sulkiness, were incredibly cute.
“Let’s just consider Ruben’s healthy return as the gift.”
“…But…”
“To be honest, I’ve never even celebrated the birthdays of the other companions…”
“…”
At that, Ruben pursed his lips, thought for a moment, and then hugged my waist tightly. I felt the urge to stroke the round head nestled against my chest, but I was worried he might get upset if I treated him like a child now, so I remained still, unable to do either.
Then, a voice filled with disappointment poured out softly against my chest.
“…So you won’t celebrate my birthday either?”
“That…”
…That’s out of the question.
Ah. So that’s why the child was disappointed. It seemed I had lived my age in vain. I felt awkward for not being able to put myself in his shoes, and also delighted by the child who had patiently explained it to me, finding him infinitely endearing. After a moment’s thought, I rested my chin on the crown of his head and held his firm body tightly.
It wasn’t the first time I had soothed a child. Patting his broad back, I spoke in a gentle, coaxing voice.
“Is there anything you want?”
“…”
And then I was greatly surprised. I pushed the child away without realizing it.
Where to bite?
Even though Ruben had a habit of biting, he had only ever bitten hands. This was the first time he had done something like this to someone’s neck. Dumbfounded, I created some space between us and stared at him. He had a brazen look, his face already red.
I thought I should scold him, but I couldn’t get angry, which put me in a difficult position.