Chapter : 35
‘…Is it because they have strong adults around them?’
Watching children younger than her stand proudly before adults, Daisy felt a sting of sorrow.
She bit her lip to hold back tears.
If only she had someone strong to protect her.
…If only her father hadn’t abandoned her.
“Quite the mess we have here.”
A black shadow fell over her head at that moment.
“I asked for cookies, not for you to make a child cry.”
The voice was rough as tree bark, but solid and steady.
Hearing that familiar low tone, Daisy turned her head, her mouth falling slightly open.
A massive body stood behind her, like a mountain shielding her back.
That figure was none other than—
“I should just demand a refund for every jewel I’ve ever bought here. Why would you…”
“…Dad?”
At that small question, Dell froze, his eyes dropping down.
“Why would you… why would you shout at my daughter…”
Without even realizing, Dell forgot the role he was supposed to be playing and muttered blankly.
Ten minutes earlier.
Dell, still waiting outside the restroom, frowned at the sudden yelling that reached his ears.
“What’s that noise… Wait a second, what are you doing there?!”
“Don’t tell me you stole the cookies?”
It seemed someone had been caught sneaking cookies and was being scolded by a staff member.
Yes, taking cookies in secret was wrong… but wasn’t shouting like that at someone just going to wound them?
‘Back in the reception room, they kept laughing and saying the children were cute, but in the end, they’re just merchants after all.’
He had to first get Lulu and Lord Chase out of here.
Heading out of the restroom toward the pantry, Dell caught sight of the back of a girl with brown hair.
Of course, she wasn’t his concern.
All that mattered to him was Lulu, trembling across from her.
“I should just demand a refund for every jewel I’ve ever bought here. Why would you…”
He had been about to scold them a little, then call someone else over when—
“…Dad?”
A voice he’d longed for suddenly came from below.
Startled, he looked down—into the eyes of his daughter, now grown beyond recognition, gazing up at him.
‘…Daisy?’
It was true.
The child who had just been shouted at for stealing cookies was none other than his own daughter.
Only five years ago, she had barely reached his waist.
“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that,” Daisy whispered, flustered at her own slip, lowering her head.
Dell was disguised at the moment.
He had only changed his hair and eye color, but because eye color was the hardest to alter, she had mistaken him for someone else.
Still—
“Why would you… shout at my daughter…”
“Forgive me, sir. It was my poor training that led to this. I’ll take the worker outside immediately.”
Whether fortunate or unfortunate, Dell’s words were drowned out by the hurried apology of another staff member.
Daisy flinched.
Even the slightest movement of the staff made her shoulders shrink in fear.
Seeing this, Dell’s chest twisted as though torn apart.
He subtly pushed Daisy behind him and growled:
“…This girl’s a worker? You’re saying she’s really an employee? And you scream at her over a single cookie?”
“That’s… she isn’t an official employee, but a mercenary. This place has both staff and mercenaries. That child hasn’t been properly taught yet, so we were trying to make her understand that stealing is wrong.”
Not taught?
To a child who wanted to become an herbalist?
“You sure have a loose tongue, mister.”
“W-why are you coming closer…!”
Fury rising, Dell stepped toward the worker, making him retreat in alarm.
But Dell stopped.
“…Damn it.”
If he caused a scene here, Daisy could end up expelled from this place altogether.
Grinding his teeth, Dell could do nothing but seethe—
“Mr. Worker. Is this unni really a mercenary?”
A clear, youthful voice cut through the tense air.
Lulu, who had somehow stopped crying, now pressed her lips together tightly in resolve.
The worker turned to her and forced a kind smile.
“Yes. She’s a mercenary.”
“Then, Lulu wants to do a wequest with this unni.”
“A… wequest?”
“A wequest!”
When the worker failed to understand, Chase sighed.
“She means she wants to hire her. To make a request.”
Meanwhile, in the reception room.
“This sapphire here, for example, was meant to be given when swearing eternal love to one’s beloved…”
“Why does this city keep throwing money at love? Do they think their partner will actually be happy? I’d be more worried about bankruptcy.”
That was already the sixth gem.
Angela, clearly reaching her limit, sighed in irritation.
“Mom! Lulu wants to do a wequest with this unni!”
The door burst open and a chick-like cry rang through the room.
In came Lulu, Chase, Dell—
And—
‘…A girl?’
Had they already found family?
Startled, Angela glanced at Dell, who lightly tapped her back and showed her the artifact.
The machine’s red arrow was pointing straight at the girl.
Lulu hadn’t even known the word “mercenary.”
She only managed this little trick thanks to Chase’s quick explanation.
“A mercenary is someone you can pay to do things for you. Usually to hunt monsters, or protect you.”
The problem was, Chase was still gripping Lulu’s sleeve tightly.
“You okay?”
“Eh? Why Lulu?”
“You were terrified just now.”
Though his tone was flat, his eyes were still carefully watching her.
‘But Lulu’s fine now, since Sir Dell came!’
Her head tilted in puzzlement.
But what captured Lulu’s curiosity even more was this new idea of a mercenary.
Because it sparked a solution for saving her “unni.”
Little unni = mercenary
Mercenary likes = money
If Lulu gave money to little unni → it becomes a request!
‘Then Lulu… can ask little unni for help?!’
Which is how things ended up like this.
Conrand found himself in an extremely tricky situation.
He had only meant to shoo the children away over cookie crumbs.
But now, they had stumbled upon none other than the hidden child of the Third Knight Order!
“W-who told this girl she was a mercenary?”
The child pointed brightly at the worker.
“That mister!”
“…Ah.”
‘We’ll have a talk later.’
Conrand’s mouth twitched.
The worker went pale, unable to say a word, his head bowed low.
Though the situation had grown complicated, all Conrand could think of was money.
After all, didn’t they say they needed a mercenary? That meant he could squeeze more funds out of them.
As long as it wasn’t Daisy.
“So, little miss, what request do you want to entrust to that weak little mercenary?”
Conrand smiled warmly, meeting Lulu’s eyes.
“Friend!”
“…Friend?”
“Yes! Lulu wants to be friends with little unni!”
With that, Lulu ran to Daisy and grabbed her hand tightly.
“Little unni, do you want to be Lulu’s friend too?”
Daisy hesitated, then gave the tiniest nod, just for Lulu.
“Actually, I was just thinking it would be useful to have a helper while we’re staying here. That child would do nicely.”
Angela, quick-witted as ever, smoothly supported Lulu’s words.
“There are faster, more skilled mercenaries available, though…”
“But my child says she likes that one. We only need her while we’re in this small city. Child, do you know of any other mercenaries you can recommend?”
Cutting Conrand off, Angela asked Daisy directly, as though handing her an opportunity.
But whether she seized it or not was entirely up to Daisy.
If she shrank back and refused out of fear of Conrand…
‘Then it will be harder to bring that girl and her family out with us.’
Angela and the others all looked at Daisy with earnest eyes.
Suddenly under the spotlight, Daisy fell into thought.
‘…What should I do?’
She knew this was a chance.
If fortune favored her, she could escape this place, complete the “request,” and leave the city altogether.
But… what if these people were just more bad adults?
“After hiding you, feeding you, clothing you, and coddling you—this is how you repay us, by turning into a thieving stray cat?!”
The worker’s earlier shouting echoed in her mind, making her small shoulders flinch.
For three long years, she had grown far too used to adults’ scorn and sharp rebukes.
Then—
“Little unni.”
The tiny hand still gripping hers gave a tug.
“Come with Lulu.”
