Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: You Thought I Was a Dumb Little Kid, Huh?
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As Sien had guessed, there were men who had sneaked into Rocherne Forest under orders from Delphia's close aides.
They were a trio of human traffickers who specialized in kidnapping infants, murdering them, and extortion.
Their mana wasn't overwhelmingly strong, but they had quite the knack for concealing their presence and marking coordinates for abductions.
“Selling her off would fetch a nice price.”
“No way.”
“They said they'd pay more than the bounty if we bring her right away?”
“What the hell do they even want with a kid that young?”
While the one-eyed man and the archer traded their lame banter, the mage drawing a magic circle with his eyes closed on the far left muttered.
“This won't work for a targeted abduction.”
“Why not?”
The man with a bow slung over his back—one of the twin one-eyed guys—snapped irritably. Kidnapping a child usually took ten minutes, but today things weren't going smoothly, and he was pissed.
“Something keeps blocking my magic.”
The archer scowled and grumbled.
“Looks like that 'Exile' Matthias put up a barrier around the platform. Pretty common for nobles.”
“This is a pain. Any way to lure her over here?”
“That part's easy.”
When it came to houses like the Mirmod family, child abductions were rampant. So a barrier around the platform wasn't unexpected.
He clicked his tongue and muttered.
“We either take a risk and approach directly, or lure the kid down. Which one you wanna do?”
Pondering it as he nocked an arrow to demonstrate, he suddenly felt something off. The one-eyed guy's face, peering through a magical telescope, twisted.
“…The kid's gone from the platform?”
“Whereabouts?”
The one-eyed man fiddled with the telescope and muttered.
“Seems like she's heading toward the forest. Not sure.”
“I'll draw the magic circle right away.”
Not long after, just as the mage had nearly finished the circle again.
A rustling came from the bushes nearby.
The two non-mages whipped their sharp gazes toward the inside of the bushes.
“Ah.”
The one-eyed man let out a hollow laugh.
What they found was the tiny little girl they'd been watching to kidnap: Sien Mirmod.
Her cheeks flushed pink, her hair neatly braided into two pigtails, her unripe-dumpling fists, and her wide-eyed blinking as if she knew nothing...
It was definitely the same kid they'd been eyeing.
“Hey, kiddo, what're you doing out here?”
The archer asked slyly, and all three bared their yellowed fangs in grins.
Perfect. Little Red Riding Hood had wandered into the wolf's den.
“Um...”
Sien looked up at them with innocent eyes and said.
“I got lost...”
Talk about a windfall.
They exchanged glances and laughed crudely, lips splitting wide.
“I got bored up there, so I came down. Can you uncles take me home?”
They said she was Matthias's daughter, but what an idiot kid.
To come down from the platform that was supposed to protect her.
It was baked bread, caught prey.
A quick check showed the kid wasn't even wearing armor.
The archer stepped forward boldly and cooed.
“You got no friends with you?”
He was testing the waters for the kidnapping.
Just earlier, scary knights in dresses had been with her. Probably physical mercenaries.
Dealing with them would've been tough, but they'd split off on their own.
“Nope. I lost 'em!”
“Oh.”
“…This just got fun, you dumb little kid.”
“Huh? Dumb little kid?”
Seeing Sien tilt her head, he pulled a kidnapping candy from his pocket.
Kids who ate this candy fell into a coma or death-like sleep. Their brains turned to mush, of course.
But had he ever worried about that?
No.
“Yeah, so why'd you go and get lost?”
“Why, you're making this easy for us. Should be thanking you.”
They shared amused laughs.
Except for Sien, who looked puzzled—the raucous laughter echoed through the forest and faded.
“Let's wrap this up quick. Just in case.”
“Yeah, maybe.”
The archer shrugged leisurely.
“But... why're you uncles here?”
At my question, they snickered and slicked back their hair like it was cool.
“Some big shot hired us.”
“Wow, must be a super cool uncle?”
“…A beautiful one, actually. Wanna meet her?”
Sien tilted her head. And in that split-second no one could see, she smiled like a proper villain.
Any normal person might've realized this was a trap.
But Sien Mirmod was just an ordinary little kid, wasn't she? Even her father, once notoriously infamous, had changed.
Rumors were spreading that Matthias had lost power and fallen from grace—no need to heighten security.
Of course, Matthias was still terrifying. But his daughter? Word was she was weak and sickly.
The spies chose optimism over suspicion. The one-eyed man, closest to Sien, smirked with anesthetic in hand.
“Kiddo, want some candy?”
Sien smiled.
Her soft, mochi-like cheeks puffed up childishly.
“No thanks, uncle.”
Even acting bold in this situation—credit where it's due, thought the spy with a grin.
They were three pros anyway. Bold or not, the kid was helpless. Gotta kidnap to get paid, right?
“Don't wanna? Too bad—”
“I'll give you some.”
But Sien cut him off.
Sien tossed the small gourd in her hand toward them.
“Here, candy.”
Boom!
Before they could see what flew at them, the artifact exploded with a bang.
Birds perched on branches scattered with frantic flaps.
***
Honestly, my next plan was simple.
Tie up the injured ones tight and drag them back to the villa.
But even beaten half to death by the maid sisters who'd been lying in wait nearby, they vanished fast.
They must've squeezed out their last mana with death-defying resolve.
I stomped the ground with my feet and said.
“Guess I gotta learn Shrink Space after all.”
One maid sister clashed her palm and fist with a thud and muttered ominously.
“…Don't worry, I'll turn 'em into skeletons if they show up again.”
“Phew...”
“Ah, they'll die soon anyway at that rate.”
“Those faces—I saw 'em on wanted posters. Infamous baby kidnappers and killers. They deserve to die horribly. Ugh.”
……I figured, but they were even scummier than I thought.
If I hadn't been armed to the teeth with artifacts, I might've been kidnapped and who knows what.
The thought made rage boil up.
I clenched my kitten-paw fists tight and declared solemnly.
“Those bad guys...”
I'd planned to deal with the spies coolly and then ask what they planned for tormenting my fragile dad, but for now, I was satisfied with taking them down.
If the mastermind behind them was after me, they'd show up again.
By then, I'd be stronger—no way I'd let this happen twice.
I huffed and stuffed the artifacts back in my pocket.
‘At least I tested it out. It works great.’
Everything has pros and cons.
I seriously tapped the hairpin in my hair.
As a pat on the back for a job well done.
‘I gotta tell Dad about the spies for sure. Even he thinks the world's a flower field—he needs to watch out!’
“Ah, the hunt's about to end, Lady Sien.”
“Couldn't enjoy it properly? I could go squash those bastards right now—”
I widened my eyes.
While I was handling the spies, I hadn't noticed Dad and everyone riding back.
‘Dad's coming back!’
I'd overlooked that the hunt wasn't that long.
“Let's go quick!”
Dad mustn't notice I'd left my spot.
I hurried back to the platform, heart pounding in anticipation of what prey Dad and his aides had caught.
Maybe some pretty good animals!
But...
Arriving at the platform, I couldn't help but be shocked.
‘What the heck...?’
Dad held something huge in his hands, looking at me with eager, pounding excitement.
The grumpy uncles surrounded me, eyes gleaming!
Before I could gawk at their majestic figures, the fireworks signaling the hunt's end boomed.
Then the grand commemorative banquet began, with Dad, me, and his closest aides all together.
In the massive banquet hall, atop the enormous table.
At the head sat Dad, with his warm face that didn't look like he'd hunted at all. To his right, me, then the grumpy uncles seated in order.
‘What the heck did those uncles even do?’
Thorough as ever, I eyed them suspiciously without letting go.
The aide uncles had all placed their hunt prizes on the floor. Some were empty-handed, of course.
I poked the vicious-looking guy next to me and stared in horror at the thing in front of him.
“What's this?”
He grinned ear to ear and said.
“Your cute new pet. A genuine gob-lin!”
Goblins are scary.
“Goblins are a nutritious all-in-one meal.”
I'd never heard that in my life.
Back in my tiny rural village, there was even a proverb: [Don't touch a sleeping goblin's nose hair.]
‘Goblins are scarier than wild boars on the back mountain!’
Well, these uncles could probably catch one barehanded. ‘This guy's pretty strong. Stronger than my dad?’
Prime suspect number one!
I raised my brows slightly and said.
“Goblin's scary-lookin'. I'm scared. So—”
So, the uncle who hunted a scary-looking goblin is super cool—I was gonna flatter him.
But the second I finished, his face crumbled like the world had ended.
Then, from beside me, Dad said in a gentle voice.
“…Scary, huh, a goblin.”
I glanced at Dad.
His hand gripping the knife trembled faintly.
‘Dad's scared of goblins, huh.’
I stretched my short arms high to cover Dad's eyes.
Seeing that, the uncle stealthily lowered the goblin's box. He looked totally deflated.
“Don't worry, Dad! Might just look scary.”
“I see, Sien.”
I peeked at the uncle, then removed my hands from Dad's eyes.
The moment I did, the uncles started bootlicking nonstop.
“Goblins do look hideous.”
“Yeah. Phew, goblins...”
“Bringing something that scary? Feels like the sky's about to fall any day now.”
The uncle next to me looked aggrieved. He did seem wronged, but it made him look even more vicious.
“Yeah. Sien.”
Dad glanced at him, then smiled contentedly at me and showed off his birdcage.
“Dad got something even cuter.”
Dad said warmly.
I blinked curiously at what Dad had brought.
The guard behind Dad set the small birdcage on the huge table.
“Birdie! A bird!”
“Yeah, it's a bullfinch. Cute with its beady eyes, right?”
I glanced around.
Dad's bullfinch.
One big uncle was fumbling with a single rabbit.
There was a parrot, and a cute cat wandering the floor.
Even the goblin uncle seemed the toughest...
Everyone had just caught weak little animals.
‘This won't do. Hunts are for showing off power with big game.’
I'd seen it in videos too, but these uncles were... way softer than they looked.
“All cute stuff...”
Dad perked up at my quivering voice.
“Right? The world's full of cute things.”
Dad's words set off the uncles clapping wildly.
“Stuff like scary, dangerous goblins shouldn't exist!”
“Nothing beats cute.”
“Cuteness rules the world!”
I looked around in confusion.
‘Why's everyone in festival mode?’