The Youngest Hides a Lot - Chapter 31

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 31
* * *
Kalid and I first met on a battlefield.
“Why are you bound there?”
“…I don’t know.”
He was trapped alone in a cave somewhere deep within a treacherous mountain range.
Back then, I hadn’t yet realized this world existed within the pages of a novel. For that reason, I shouldn’t have spoken carelessly to what might have been a high-ranking magical beast, nor should I have reached out my hand.
“Do you want to leave?”
“….”
“You don’t know that either?”
For some reason, it was difficult to turn away.
“If I say I want to get out, can I?”
“Yeah.”
Judging by how long he’d been confined, he was utterly filthy.
The shackles binding his limbs were heavily rusted, and the moss-covered cave was dark and cold.
Kalid scoffed through his nose.
“Impossible. Do you have any idea how intricate the sealing formulas woven into my shackles are…?”
“For you, perhaps.”
“What?”
“Not for me.”
The moment my hand touched the iron bars blocking the entrance, the structure of the barrier became crystal clear. Finding the breaking formation to match this structure wasn’t difficult.
My eyes stained a deep crimson.
“You….”
That’s how we met.
* * *
Wait, so….
‘Why did I naturally assume it was Kalid?’
I even recalled that memory just now.
I exhaled in deflation.
Contrary to everyone’s expectations, nothing was found at the explosion site except the corpse of the magical beast.
“You said it was a young boy?”
Grandfather pressed the Knight with a tone suggesting the world had lost all reason.
“Well, you see, the smoke was so thick that I must have mistaken the beast’s shadow….”
“Carrots, spinach, blueberries.”
“Pardon?”
“Foods good for the eyes. Include them in your meals.”
At the advice delivered so casually, the Knight’s face grew taut. In that moment, Grandfather brought his armrest down with a bang!
“If you see things wrong again next time, I’ll pluck them out! Your eyes!”
“Eek, my sincerest apologies!”
The Knight prostrated himself flat on the floor.
Dirt and leaves tumbled down as I returned from thoroughly surveying the scene. And along with them….
‘Oh? A squirrel!’
The small creature that had been dangling from my sword hilt dropped and rolled toward me, then scampered up my leg and settled comfortably on my knees.
It must have clung to me outside. How adorable. So tiny. So precious.
“And what else? You fired the cannon incorrectly?!”
Grandfather’s thunderous voice split through the Barracks once more. This time, the soldier in charge of the cannon broke into a cold sweat as he scrambled for an excuse.
“I-I’m terribly sorry. The fuse suddenly ignited on its own…. B-but something is strange. No one lit it, yet it suddenly…!”
At the sharp, distinct sound of his teeth chattering, everyone fell silent.
“Not only do the fools guarding the Castle Walls make mistakes, but they dare offer excuses?”
Grandfather rolled up his sleeves with a swift motion and rose to his feet. The shoulders of the Knights standing in a line flinched violently.
“Right then. I suppose I need to properly instill some discipline today.”
Oh no, our senior Knights are going to die at this rate.
I withdrew my hand from petting the squirrel and quickly clung to Grandfather’s waist.
“Grandfather! Please don’t be angry! It’s bad for your health!”
And that….
“People make mistakes sometimes!”
Though these men’s mistakes might not actually be mistakes at all….
“Goodness, why are you hanging on so dangerously?”
Grandfather, who looked ready to pluck the Knights’ heads clean off that very instant, suddenly softened his demeanor. I pleaded with the most earnest expression I could muster.
“The cannon could have malfunctioned…. And thanks to that, all those scary monsters vanished in an instant!”
“…Little one….”
The eyes of the watching Knights glistened with moisture.
“So please, just this once, let it slide….”
The squirrel had already climbed up my arm and settled firmly atop my head.
“Hm?”
Grandfather’s gaze trembled as he looked down at me.
“What kind of attack is this now!”
“Who’s attacking? I’m not.”
“Argh!”
Grandfather’s face flushed crimson as he could bear it no longer, stretching out his arms.
“Come here at once! Stop dangling about like a squirrel!”
My perspective suddenly soared upward. Startled by the abrupt change in height, the squirrel tumbled away and disappeared somewhere.
Grandfather wore a slightly disappointed expression, but his searching gaze never ceased.
“That incredibly fierce gust of wind earlier—are you hurt anywhere?”
“I’m not weak enough to be injured by that wind….”
“Hm? Looking closely, your hairpin isn’t bent!”
“Oh, is that so?”
“…Your hair is torn out, though. These blasted….”
Grandfather’s menacing aura returned.
“Hair grows back even if it’s pulled out! The pin too… if I do it like this, tada! Wow! Amazing, right! It’s nothing at all!”
My desperate gestures moved the Knights so deeply that they could no longer contain themselves, now covering their mouths as they wept openly.
Grandfather’s gaze grew misty. I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck.
“Hehe… Please don’t be angry with me…”
His massive frame shook with a great heave, and soon an exasperated cry burst forth.
“Obron!”
“Yes, sir. I’ll handle this matter properly.”
Obron, with a stern expression, gathered the Knights and led them out.
As the door clicked shut, a long sigh escaped from Grandfather. His face looked weary somehow.
“That’s enough. Let’s head back. I never meant to bring you to such a dangerous place.”
I grinned widely, and Grandfather’s thick fingers gave my nose a gentle tap.
“And I let it slide this time.”
At that very moment, rapid footsteps approached from outside.
“I can’t guarantee Leviathan will overlook what these men did.”
The door burst open simultaneously.
“A fair point indeed, Father.”
Urgent breathing reached my ears, and an arm extended from behind, sweeping me up effortlessly.
“I’ll handle it myself.”
“Wait, Uncle? Listen, people make mistakes too…”
“Hmm. My little one’s hair got pulled out.”
Grandfather tattled on me from behind like a snitch.
At that, the eyes of the Uncle examining me carefully widened dramatically.
“Hah.”
I sensed it immediately.
Sorry, senior Knights. This Uncle’s gone mad.
I think this is where my luck runs out…
* * *
By the time I’d soothed and placated the Duke on the verge of explosion and returned to the Castle, evening had already fallen.
The moment we arrived at the Castle, Uncle didn’t just thoroughly check that I was unharmed—he also had me examined by the Physician who’d just returned from a business trip.
And the instant he heard I was fine, he vanished like the wind to the Knight Order. I’d promised not to let him punish the Knights too harshly… surely it’ll be okay?
“I hear something serious happened on the Castle Walls today?”
Hazel spoke as she dried my hair after I’d washed up.
“Yeah. A magical beast suddenly appeared…”
“The maids and I nearly dug a tunnel in panic, we were so frightened.”
What? Dig what?
“The Duke was quite worried too. He had the surrounding Castle Walls inspected extremely thoroughly, and he was furious wondering why a magical beast appeared precisely today despite all that.”
“But magical beasts don’t send warning letters before attacking…”
“Still. Worry is something one cannot help.”
Hazel gently arranged my fluffy, dry hair. I quickly dove onto the bed.
“I’ll come fetch you once dinner is ready.”
“Okay!”
The door closed, and I buried my face in the blanket. As I lay there staring at the ceiling, the events of the day began to surface unbidden in my mind.
‘I need to turn the Watchtower bell into a magical artifact. So now….’
I needed someone capable of accomplishing it. Naturally, I couldn’t step forward myself.
Various pieces of information floated up and disappeared in succession.
Watchtower bell, magical stone, barrier….
Acorn.
Squirrel, Blacksmith, Physician, herbalism, magic, mage….
Tap-tap!
“Huh? What’s that sound?”
I bolted upright.
Tap-tap-tap!
It was the sound of something tiny striking the door irregularly.
Could it be….
I carefully opened the door.
“What?”
Acorns scattered haphazardly before the entrance. And in the middle of the empty corridor stood a small creature.
“Squirrel, you….”
In the darkness, its yellow eyes gleamed with an otherworldly brilliance, and our gazes locked instantly.
“Wait, hold on!”
In that instant, the squirrel spun around and bolted away. I found myself chasing after it as if enchanted.
I passed through the empty corridor and descended the narrow stairs until a small side door came into view.
Slipping through it, I emerged into the open air.
“Huff, huff. Squirrel, I’m exhausted….”
The place I finally reached was a Garden within the Duke’s Mansion I had never visited before. In truth, it was more akin to a small Forest than a garden.
‘I had no idea such a place existed.’
It seemed to be far enough from the Main Fortress that few people ventured here.
The night sky reflected mirror-like in a shimmering artificial lake. Massive, gnarled trees encircled its perimeter.
Pitter-patter.
The squirrel darted forward at great speed.
It scampered up someone’s body and settled with a soft thump atop their dark head.
“You….”
I stopped dead in my tracks.
“…I should have known it was you.”
The Young Boy didn’t even turn his gaze, merely stroking the head of a wolf-hound sleeping nearby.
“That explosion earlier—that was you too, wasn’t it?”
Several cats purred around him. A snow-white-eyed rabbit, a graceful deer displaying its elegant form, an owl perched in a tree with luminous eyes, and a silver fish darting through the water with a splash.
“Hello, Master.”
The Young Boy, seated in the midst of this living menagerie, turned his head.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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