Youngest 002

Episode 2

“No, I don’t need it.”

And with that, I was cleanly rejected.

So cleanly, in fact, that I was left speechless.

“Tch…”

“Tch?”

Leviathan tapped my lips lightly.

“I thought you were the silent type, but turns out you’re a sharp-tongued child. You had me fooled for a moment.”

Deep violet eyes stared straight at me. I stuck out my lower lip in displeasure, and whatever that gesture meant to him, he visibly relaxed his gaze.

“Suddenly the kid starts talking nonsense I can’t even understand.”

“Ha…”

Well, I had been a bit hasty.

To Leviathan, I was only a kid he’d met a few hours ago.

‘I got carried away rehashing the original story…’

I laughed awkwardly and stared straight ahead. The horse carrying us was slowly making its way to the capital of the Babylon Empire.

‘But I didn’t have a choice. If we dawdled and ran into pursuers, everything would be ruined.’

Because, in truth, I have a secret—actually, more than just one.

“By the way, are you really Eosian?”

Ack, a direct hit.

I moved my head in a way that was neither a nod nor a shake—somewhere in between.

Maybe it was because I lied, but my chest prickled.

Of course, I wasn’t Eosian.

“So you are Eosian. But now you clam up.”

“Ow.”

Thump. A light reprimand.

“You shouldn’t just nod or shake when someone’s speaking to you.”

“Tch… That hurts!”

“Tch again?”

Clutching the back of my head, I spun around. When our eyes met, the coolly handsome man let out a faint smile.

“A boy… whining over something like that.”

“…?”

Hold on. Stop right there.

I think you’re gravely mistaken about something.

“Mist—…?”

But a lump caught in my throat and I couldn’t say another word.

‘For some reason…’

It was getting harder and harder to breathe.

I looked around and quickly realized what this sensation was.

“…We must be getting close to the Empire.”

The magic in the air was thinning rapidly—clear evidence of our approach.

The capital of the Babylon Empire was almost devoid of magic.

“You, have you ever been to the Empire?”

“No, never.”

“Then how do you know we’re close?”

“Well, we’ve been riding for quite a while…”

The truth was, I could sense the flow of magic, but I couldn’t say that outright.

I’m a mage.

A mage from the Mage Kingdom Arcadia, sent to war at the Mage King’s summons.

The Mage King sent even underdeveloped children like me to the front line, as long as they had magic.

Back then, other Allied nations criticized the Mage Kingdom for deploying child soldiers, but the Mage King—the shadowy mastermind and corrupt ruler behind the scenes—paid them no heed in the original story.

Of course, thanks to that, I was assigned to rear-support, handling magical tools, but as the war dragged on, even that issue was glossed over.

In any case, I set out two years ago, and only after a year on the battlefield did I realize this was the world inside a book.

‘After enduring such hell, am I supposed to just die with everyone else?’

I can’t accept that!

I resolved to stick to Mister like a cicada clinging to an old tree.

‘But to do that… I have to keep my secrets well hidden.’

First and foremost, that I’m a mage.

The Mage Kingdom where I was born and raised is a highly insular country. Unauthorized emigration by mages is strictly forbidden.

If discovered, I’d be forcibly dragged back.

‘And Leviathan thoroughly despises mages…’

After an incident ten years ago, he loathed mages to the core. There’s no way he’d ever let one near him.

Next, my past.

I was also a deserter, having left the mage corps before the war even ended. Of course, I fled in order to meet Leviathan in that village.

‘No doubt, people think I died during the Dark Beast attack.’

So, my true identity is something I must keep hidden all the more.

In summary,

‘I’m a mage and former child soldier who deserted the Mage Kingdom.’

…There’s not a single normal thing about me!

And on top of that—

“A boy… whining over something like that.”

Indeed…

‘I happened to be wearing the clothes of an Eosian boy.’

Not to mention my hair was a mess!

‘I didn’t plan on hiding my gender, it just turned out this way.’

For a moment, I considered clearing up the misunderstanding, but I decided to leave it be. Since I was on the run, keeping my identity hidden was safer.

Thanks to that block-headed hero, I ended up with even more to hide.

“Hng.”

Will I really be able to manage?

Worries about the future made my shoulders droop.

Maybe it was all the thinking, or maybe it was the magic-deprived air, but even sitting still, I felt my strength ebb away.

‘I’m tired.’

I rubbed my blurry eyes with the back of my hand.

I’ll just rest for now and think more later!

---

Leviathan gazed down at the child’s wavering crown.

Before he knew it, the child had fallen asleep in the saddle.

‘Wore himself out chattering, I see.’

At first, so wary.

A faint, involuntary smile crossed his lips.

With the short companionship, perhaps the wall of caution had crumbled; the child had been asking all sorts of questions in a voice like a chirping chick.

“Mister, where do we go first when we get to the capital?”

“The Imperial Protection Shelter.”

“Umm… Can’t you just take me yourself instead, Mister?”

‘Wants me to take him?’

Leviathan let out a baffled laugh.

The very fact the child had followed him was already nonsense.

Children were always afraid of him.

He’d spent ten years on the battlefield. Children sensed the ominous, fierce aura that clings to those who take lives, as if they had a sixth sense.

‘This is a bother.’

He ran a rough hand through his black hair and chose a smooth path for the horse.

‘I’d better not get more involved.’

Leviathan gripped the reins tight and forced his gaze straight ahead.

This kid would be gone soon, anyway.

He wanted nothing of unnecessary feelings.

Yet his gaze kept straying back to that bouncing crown.

The swirl was set toward the right.

Leviathan swore he had never seen such a tiny swirl before.

His grip on the reins tightened.

Damn.

That was a little cute.

---

After a long sleep, I felt a lot better.

Hm, looks like my body is adapting to the lack of magic! Good!

Since earlier, Mister had been staring oddly at my head, telling me to sleep even more.

“What am I, a newborn? Sleeping the whole day away…”

Gasp.

Just then, I snapped my head instinctively.

‘That magic power!’

“Mister!”

At my shout, Dark Beasts burst from the bushes.

“Eek!”

“Don’t move. Keep your eyes closed.”

Almost simultaneously, a firm hand reached out to cover my eyelids.

With me held tight, Mister steered the horse and swung his sword in one effortless motion—so fast I hadn’t even seen him draw his blade.

Slash.

Between my fingers, I watched the Dark Beasts scatter like autumn leaves.

‘Now I truly feel it.’

The continent’s greatest sword, the man closest to being called a Sword Master, head of the legendary northern sword clan Zevert.

Even all the superlatives couldn’t sum him up—wealth, honor, looks, he was flawless, a real overpowered hero standing right before me.

“Are you all right?”

Mister shook the blood from his sword and asked.

“Um… The blood…”

It splattered all over…

The stench of Dark Beast blood never comes out. Ugh, so depressing…

My voice trailed off and Mister carefully set me down on the ground.

“We’re quite a sight.”

Both of us were drenched in monster blood.

“Ugh…”

“Just hold on, we’re almost at the Empire’s border.”

Mister found the last clean patch of his coat and scrubbed my face with it.

“Ow! That hurts!”

“It doesn’t.”

He looked like he’d spit on his sleeve and start rubbing at any moment, so I quickly fled.

Nothing beats Abelita Herb soap and vinegar water for getting monster stench out…

‘I’ve really become a little urchin now.’

With a sigh, I sniffed myself. That’s when I felt a gaze on the top of my head.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“…You, I mean.”

When I turned, I found myself meeting Mister’s gaze. He was sitting on the ground, staring at me in silence.

Was it the blood on my face? A strange light flickered in his unusually dark violet eyes.

“Why aren’t you crying?”

I blinked in confusion at the question, only for him to rest his chin on his arm, propped on his knee.

“Come to think of it, you haven’t cried even once.”

Even after seeing me.

‘Oh.’

For a moment, it was as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped on me. I suddenly remembered the original story described every child who met him bursting into tears.

Ah, this isn’t good.

Of course, I did cry when I first saw Leviathan.

Because I was so happy.

But I’d never thought of him as scary. He was the protagonist, the hero who saved this world.

Is that why I didn’t act like a normal kid?

“Even just now, you didn’t really seem scared.”

“Well…”

“Well?”

“Honestly, I was scared. But crying wouldn’t change anything…”

I mixed truth and lies as best I could.

Crying? It wasn’t really something I remembered doing much.

If I could fix things by crying, I would. But in most cases, problems didn’t go away just because you cried.

Not in my past life, and not in this one.

Wasn’t it better to brush myself off and use that energy to solve things instead?

But Leviathan still looked dissatisfied.

“Who told you that?”

“Hm?”

“That crying doesn’t change anything.”

“Um… My… mom?”

Truthfully, I’d never had anyone I could call a mother in either life. But I bluffed.

Leviathan stared at me, Adam’s apple bobbing as if swallowing words he wanted to say.

“You know, holding it in all the time will make you sick.”

“Ow.”

Mister flicked my nose.

“Tch, turns red in an instant.”

There, there. His rough gesture was unexpectedly gentle.

That warmth seemed to radiate through me in ripples.

I felt oddly indescribable. No adult had ever told me not to hold things in before.

“Let’s go. We’re almost there.”

After a rough wipe-down, we mounted the horse again.

Clip-clop, clip-clop. The horse moved at a noticeably brisker pace.

Unsure when more Dark Beasts would leap out, Mister held me more tightly than before. Somehow, those strong arms felt like a truly safe haven.

The wind brushed swiftly against my cheek.

A crimson sunset spread overhead.

Rustle, rustle. Trees brushed past, and somewhere, birds flapped away.

The suffocating scent of blood still clung, but suddenly… just for a moment,

I thought it felt peaceful.

Covered in blood, thinking of peace. How ridiculous.

“Hey, are there more monsters coming?”

“No. I killed them all.”

“Mister, you’re really strong.”

This peace brought by Leviathan Mister.

He must have struggled so much for ten years. I barely made it through two…

“Thank you for saving me, Mister.”

“…”

“And… thank you for fighting the war. It must have been hard, all this time.”

So please, don’t die.

“Thanks to you, things are peaceful.”

No one deserves to enjoy this peace more than you.

---

And I deserve it too!

“Argh! Too noisy! Give me back my peace!”

I clapped my hands over my ears.

“What? Don’t act like you’re from the boondocks.”

The Imperial capital felt just like a birthday cake come to life!

Boom! Bang! Pop!

Fireworks burst endlessly in the sky.

A noisy throng of people, musicians playing their hearts out, roaring laughter from children running everywhere, vendors shouting at the top of their lungs…

My eyes spun at the sheer chaos.