Chapter 44
The Hidden-Power Kid Is Looking for Her Dad
Tië swallowed hard as she stared at the ring floating before her eyes.
‘If I break this, will Raul-oppa forget everything about the candy?’
She had always been curious how exactly this artifact erased memories.
Seeing it with her own eyes now, she couldn’t hide her amazement.
Tië raised her hand and lightly touched the Ring of Memory.
Immediately, hundreds of tiny bubbles gathered around it and bounced like soft slime.
‘Feels like it’ll pop if I press it.’
Just as she swallowed and reached out carefully to grab the ring—
[…Setting…]
Hundreds of bubbles rushed together and formed a strange message.
[Hello, little friend! Nice to meet you. Shall we set the conditions?]
Conditions?
Tië’s eyes widened.
This felt… really…!!
A moment later—
“V-Vail-oppa! Uncle Basto! Grandpa Nordix!”
The three men turned around, staring in surprise at Tië flailing her arms.
“The Sacred Circle of Forgetting is amazing! Super strong!”
At the words Sacred Circle of Forgetting, Vail frowned.
“What? You already used it?”
“Mm-hmm!!”
Vail let out a stunned “Oh.”
“It works quieter than I thought. Might be more useful than expected.”
“I could shet condishuns too!”
“Conditions?”
“Yeah! I can make it disappear when someone thinks or does something!”
Vail’s mouth dropped open.
“Seriously?”
“Yep! So I played with it a little, and then— I spun the ring like this and that so that Raul-oppa only forgets Tië’s identity if he starts hating Tië or if he ever leaves Agabert!”
The fact such specific memory deletion was possible—
Vail swallowed and muttered to Nordix and Basto.
“W-What the… this really is a relic, huh? No wonder the Church went crazy trying to retrieve it…”
“Hold on.”
Raul suddenly cut in, staring nervously at Tië, Vail, and Basto.
“Did you… do something to me?”
Tië’s expression instantly filled with guilt.
“Um… um… a little…”
Vail stood up from his seat.
He reached into Tië’s uniform pocket and pulled out a candy wrapped in paper.
“What does this look like to you?”
Raul frowned.
“…Paper?”
“Not the paper. What do you think is inside?”
“I don’t know. Medicine?”
“No? It’s sweet, and you melt it in your mouth. You really don’t know?”
“Excuse me? I have no idea what you’re talking about…”
Watching this scene, Enzo stepped forward, baffled.
“Bro, are you stupid? It’s obviously candy.”
Raul stared at Enzo with a scowl.
“What is that?”
“…Huh?”
“What is that.”
Enzo’s gaze slowly moved toward Tië.
Tië squirmed, looking like she might die of guilt.
“Tië really really didn’t wanna do it… but Vail-oppa kept asking…”
Behind her, Vail smiled in deep satisfaction.
“Well, at least it works perfectly.”
* * *
Tië also used the Circle of Forgetting on Enzo.
If either Raul or Enzo ever left Agabert or developed hostility toward her, Tië’s identity would vanish from their minds.
When she finished, Vail unexpectedly approached her.
“Hey kid. Wanna put it on me too?”
Tië blinked up at him.
“Mm?”
“I mean, if you’re uneasy, you can put it on me as well. Not like I’m ever leaving Agabert anyway.”
Vail looked completely unconcerned.
Still confused, Tië glanced at him—when suddenly Basto also came over.
“You may set it on me as well, Tië. I doubt the conditions would ever activate.”
Tië felt something warm swell inside her chest.
“Uncle Basto and Vail-oppa…”
They really thought of her as a lifelong comrade!
Feeling touched, Tië nodded vigorously.
“Okay! We’ll make a comrade pact!”
She grabbed each outstretched hand and activated the Circle of Forgetting.
Honestly, operating it was pretty fun.
Like playing with a toy.
“I don’t feel a thing,” Vail said, tilting his head.
Basto silently patted Tië’s head.
“You did well, Tië.”
Tië then handed the relic to Basto, asking him to try it too.
She wanted to show him how amazing it was.
But strangely, the relic only responded to Tië.
Feeling proud, she chuckled to herself—until she suddenly froze.
‘Wait… where did Grandpa Nordix go?’
He had definitely been here a moment ago.
While she was looking around in confusion, Vail called her.
“Hey kid. Raul and Enzo wanna know something.”
“Whaat?”
“They wanna know how you came up with the name Death King. Now that they mention it, I’m curious too. Where’d you hear such a name?”
“Well….”
Just like that, Tië completely forgot about Nordix.
She eagerly explained how she came up with the nickname Death King.
As she spoke, the members of the unit slowly started smiling.
Warm laughter filled the reception room of the Administration Office for a long time,
until the sun disappeared beyond the horizon.
* * *
A few days later.
“W-Wow…”
Tië’s jaw dropped at the sight of two luxurious carriages parked in front of the Administration Office.
She fidgeted nervously and looked up at the Regent, Marianne.
“R-Regent, are these really for Tië to have?”
Marianne smiled gently.
“Of course. The Unit Leader still hasn’t finished repaying what he owes the Pearl City.”
“…You can just call me Tië instead of unit leader.”
“What are you saying? Astië is Agabert’s unit leader regardless of age.”
Those words reminded Tië of something from a few days ago.
The day after Raul and Enzo joined the mercenary band, an unexpected visitor had come to Tië’s room.
Nordix.
‘Astië. I believe it may be time to tell Marianne Wavril the truth about your identity.’
Nordix had made Tië a serious proposal.
He wanted Tië to reveal her true situation to Marianne Wavril.
Apparently, Nordix had visited Marianne the previous day as well.
Seeing Tië’s relic functioning normally had stirred up various concerns in him.
‘If it becomes known you possess a relic, the Church will undoubtedly question your identity. They will try to take it from you—as they always have.’
Tië was already famous.
And she might become even more famous later.
‘But your abilities… they’re too sharp and too great to hide forever. Anyone powerful in this world will always be watched, doubted, and restrained.’
‘Really…?’
‘Yes. And if both the Church and the Imperial Family begin focusing on you, your own power may not be enough to protect yourself.’
At first, Tië didn’t understand what he meant.
Seeing that, Nordix explained it in a simple way.
‘You once told me about Puppetmon, remember?’
‘Yes!’
‘You said getting a strong Puppetmon makes you stronger, right?’
‘Yeah! If you get a legendary Puppetmon, you become super super strong!’
‘Then think of it this way: you could become the Puppetmon.’
His words made her mind go blank.
‘T-Tië becomes a Puppetmon?’
‘Yes. If you’re strong, it also means whoever gains control of you becomes strong.’
‘B-But how can someone gain control of a person?’
Nordix smiled faintly and spoke quietly.
‘Tië, there are many ways to control someone like a puppet. They can take a hostage, threaten you, hypnotize you, manipulate your mind, or use drugs.’
‘…’
‘If someone tried to do that to you… could you stop them all by yourself?’
No.
Tië couldn’t answer any other way.
But Nordix had already expected that and calmly offered a solution.
‘That is why we need the help of the Wavril Marquisate.’
