MCFATTKM

8

"What's wrong with this idiot?"

"Oww!"

Lelia stood up and smashed Kalix's head against the tree with all her might.

"..."

Fortunately, making him faint was a first-try success.

"I was going to try a few times if I failed... this is a blessing."

[T/N: "..."]

Lelia breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hmm, will I be able to carry him on my back?"

Kalix was still a little taller than the children of his age. Firstly, it was not a matter of height, but his bones themselves were a bit thicker than normal.

"I wouldn't know if a beast would appear, feed on us and run away."

Lelia was muttering something she didn't mean for others to hear.

With much difficulty, she managed to carry Kalix on her back and stand up. Still, he was only ten years old. He didn't feel that heavy. His body rose up quietly on her back.

Lelia was slender, but not weak. She was strong enough to survive, despite the hunger that made her scratch the soil and snow in search of food. And even before she was sent to the temple, the emperor gave her enough food to eat.

"Ah, how do I find my way back?"

She started walking randomly, couldn't think of a way to solve this magically twisted road.

She can't just stop walking. The fear that beasts might appear anytime made her senses keen and alert.

Lelia walked on, listening to the sound of leaves shaking, and birds chirping. Then, she heard a rustling sound.

Lelia's spine froze for a second.

"...!!"

Lelia tightened her arm carrying Kalix, thinking the beast might appear any second. However, she sighed in relief immediately. It was Griffith, not a beast, who emerged from the bushes.

"Who are you?" Griffith asked with a frown. He had a kind of light in his hand, but when she looked closely, it was full of fireflies.

He had apparently looked for light in this dark mountain, found fireflies and locked them in a jar.

"I'm the crown prince of Auraria."

"I know. But, why are you here?"

"Well, it's complicated. Believe it or not, a beast will appear soon. So you should leave this place with me as soon as possible."

"This is the mountain where the priests come every day. There is no beast here."

"If you run into a beast later, you won't be able to say such a thing anymore. Anyway, we have to get out of here quickly."

"The road is twisted."

"I know that too. Still, there should be an exit somewhere."

"I know the way."

"Really?" Lelia asked happily.

Come to think of it...

"You went back and found out that the road was strange, so you made a light box out of those fireflies? And came back? Are you worried about Kalix Ascard?"

"..." Griffith frowned at Lelia's question.

She thought he had left Kalix and went back to the temple all by himself, and cursed that he was a bad guy. In the novel, their roads seem to have crossed.