Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Undercover as a Lost Child
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Crunch crunch.
An untimely crunching sound echoed repeatedly from the watchtower perched atop the guard post.
Lianus handed a cookie to Bella, who was staring intently at them, then peered down from the watchtower.
"Nil, look over there. You can see the market we passed this morning clear as day. Ah!"
Lianus flinched as a child who had been holding his mother's hand tripped over a stone. Fortunately, the child didn't fall, caught firmly by his mother's grip.
"Ner, your eyesight really is sharp."
Even from that far distance, where an ordinary person would only see a slight wobble, Lianus was observing the market with surprising accuracy.
Nihil, who had pulled his hood low, crunched on his cookie and pointed to a signboard in front of one of the shops.
"Can you read what's written on that signboard in front of the yellow building?"
Lianus followed Nihil's gaze, squinting slightly before mumbling uncertainly.
"Uh, um, gold? Sale... sold... out, closes early? Hmm, not sure."
"Just recognizing there's writing on it is impressive enough."
"What does it say?"
"'All ingredients prepared for today have sold out; closing early.' Looks like business was good today."
"Whoa. Sir Evan! Can you see Sir Evan too?"
"...I still haven't spotted the signboard."
Sir Evan, still searching for the yellow building Nihil had mentioned, responded half-heartedly. Wondering if Bella had found it, he glanced her way.
Bella, who had never intended to look for the signboard in the first place, was just munching away on her cookie. When Evan looked at her, she quickly hid it behind her back, as if determined not to let it go.
Evan eyed her foolish expression lazily, brushed the cookie crumbs from her mouth, and turned back to gaze below the watchtower.
"You're only looking right below—that's why you can't find it. Higher up."
At Nihil's words, laced with reproach for his failure, Evan lifted his gaze a bit more and finally spotted a pale yellow building in the distance.
It was so far away that all he could make out was the childish sign reading 'Fairy Haven' hanging on it. There was a white wooden board in front, but no writing was visible.
Evan channeled a bit of mana to enhance his vision. A golden aura like that of sword aura gathered in his eyes, and only then did the black letters on the white background come into fuzzy view.
"Tch, who could read that with the naked eye? No human, that's for sure."
Evan clicked his tongue upon confirming the signboard matched exactly what Nihil had described.
Nihil immediately relayed Evan's words to Lianus.
"Ner, your knight says you're not human."
"Ah, no! That's not what I meant! You bastard, why say it like that! No, Your Highness! I didn't mean it that way...!"
Caught off guard by Nihil's sudden jab, Evan stammered in panic, forgetting even to avoid calling him 'Your Highness.'
Lianus pretended to be hurt, bowing his head and muttering.
"It's okay... I guess you could think that. I'm only a quarter-elf, after all..."
"Tch, what an irreverent fool."
As Nihil piled on the criticism from the side, Evan broke out in a cold sweat and began explaining himself desperately.
Even while doing so, he didn't forget to smack the back of the head of a guard they'd knocked out earlier, who was starting to stir—proving without a doubt that he was an exceptional knight.
Lianus finally burst into laughter. He wanted to tease more, but hiding his amusement was proving impossible.
"Nil, I think I know why you tease Sir Evan like that."
"You're on my teasing list too."
"......"
Nihil handed another cookie to the speechless Lianus, who obediently took it and resumed munching.
Evan, finding Lianus adorable, stroked his small head and spoke up.
"So, I just need to check if a missing person report has been filed?"
"Yeah, handle that, Fido. Ner, mind sneaking in for me?"
"Huh? Me?"
Lianus's eyes went wide at Nihil's sudden request to infiltrate. Nihil turned to Bella and continued.
"Have Meowster tag along."
"Ah! What do I need to do? I've been so bored!"
Bella, tired of hiding in the shadows as backup, lit up with excitement, unable to hide her thrill.
In contrast, Evan, uneasy, scooped Lianus up into his arms.
"What are you planning to make the young master do?"
"For talking to kids, Ner’s better suited than me."
"True, but... at least go together."
No matter that Bella would slip in as a cat, Evan couldn't relax. Sure, even if Nihil went along, it would just be one kid turning into two, but leaving the prince alone felt worse than that.
But Nihil shook his head, thinking differently.
"Then we'd have no excuse to pull someone out."
"You're the one planning the extraction?"
"Yep. If word gets out there's another guardian, it'll be trouble. We could sneak out, but we have to stay overnight in Sharton anyway. The more eyes on us, the more restricted we are."
"Do we really have to go that far...!"
"No, Sir Evan, I can do it!"
"But young master..."
"I will!"
Lianus's eyes burned with passion. The heart-pounding infiltration mission was underway.
I’ve always wanted to try something like this!
A single child, clutching a stray cat, paced in front of the guard post.
Guard soldiers on watch typically ignored children approaching the post, assuming they were there to ask for help finding their parents.
Ragged appearance, mismatched worn-out shoes that clearly weren't his, signs of abuse.
With one eye bandaged as if injured, he looked every bit the abandoned child.
Yet the boy lingered, undeterred by the ignoring. When the cat in his arms meowed and licked his cheek, he adjusted his hold and timidly approached a guard.
Only then did the guard act like he'd just noticed him.
"Hey, kid, what’s up?"
"I... I lost my big brother."
"Big brother?"
"He said if anything happened, go to the guard post and wait... so..."
The boy rolled his clear green eyes, gauging the guard's reaction. The cat in his arms meowed pitifully too.
"Can I wait inside for my brother?"
"Sure, kid. Where'd you lose him?"
"I... don't know. I was playing with Meowster, and when I looked, brother was gone."
"We'll let you know when he shows up. Come on in."
The guard signaled to his fellow sentry before leading the boy inside. As they walked, he asked questions.
"Big age gap between you two? What’s he look like?"
"No. He's about my height, with slightly darker ash-gray hair than mine. Always wears a hood."
"Did he mention going anywhere?"
"I don't think so... maybe I just missed it."
"You keeping the cat?"
"Ah, can't I? I'll hold her tight so she doesn't wander."
Thinking the guard might take the cat, the boy hugged her tighter and looked up pleadingly. The cat meowed and clung to him.
The guard smiled softly, guessing the boy had lost his brother while chasing the cat.
"Hold her tight, then."
"Yes, yes! I will!"
"Sit here and wait. Hungry? Want some bread?"
"Thank you. I ate lunch, so bread's fine."
"Fine?"
The guard tilted his head in confusion—no kid had ever turned down food before.
Lianus panicked and started making excuses.
"B-Big brother always finds food for us. But if you give some, I'll gratefully take it for him. H-He hasn't eaten much."
Lianus faithfully followed Nihil's instructions to blame everything on his 'brother' when stuck.
Luckily, the guard didn't suspect much, handed him a small loaf, explained the situation briefly to another colleague, and headed back out to his post.
Lianus settled into the assigned chair and, as Nihil had instructed, just sat there blankly, doing nothing.
Sure enough, within minutes, a nearby guard approached and struck up a conversation while he gently petted the cat-turned-Bella.
"Waiting for your brother, kid?"
"Yes."
"You're the one from earlier who got mistaken for a bread thief, right?"
"Ah, yes."
Now he noticed—this was the partner of the guard who'd given him the bread.
"Why didn't you eat the bread? Oh, right, the baker gave you some earlier? Was it good?"
"Yes, this bread's for brother when he comes."
"You two must be close."
"Yes, super close. He takes good care of me."
Lianus beamed innocently. The pure, bright smile made the guard smile back unconsciously and pat his head.
"That kid who was with you then—he your brother?"
"Yes, yes."
"Not bored waiting?"
"So bored. Wish brother would hurry."
"There are other kids in the back room. Wanna play? Uncle'll tell you when he arrives."
Lianus realized the moment he'd been waiting for had come. He nearly said yes immediately but remembered Nihil's strict orders, took a deep breath, and asked back.
"...Other kids?"
"Yeah, kids like you."
"Then... okay."
Lianus nodded eagerly and followed the guard.
His grip tightened from nerves, making Bella cough; startled, he quickly loosened it.
The destination wasn't a dark, dingy basement cell but the guards' break room and nap area.
As the door opened, a dozen or so pairs of eyes turned to Lianus—wary of the stranger, yet curious.
The room wasn't tiny, but packed with nearly twenty kids, it felt cramped even without furniture taking up space.
Lianus quickly scanned the room. They sat in groups of three to six, forming about four or five clusters.
Once the guard told him to wait here and left, a boy who looked thirteen or fourteen approached.
"New face. Who're you?"
"I'm Ner."
"Who asked your name? Which crew you with?"