AME 79

Chapter 79

“Wow! A dog!”

Nia ran over to Koda in a flash. Koda, who had already spotted Kaon from afar and was wagging his tail wildly, gladly welcomed the unfamiliar little girl as well.

“Wow, so cute!”

Whether beast or human, no one can fail to sense goodwill directed at them. Responding to the enthusiastic reaction, Koda flopped onto his side, then onto his back, even revealing his bright pink belly.

A puppy is cute even when it’s doing nothing—when it deliberately acts cute, no one can resist. Especially a child. Nia, as if spellbound, kept petting and petting Koda.

She’s not afraid of dogs at all, huh.

Kaon, who had somehow ended up acting as Nia’s guide, looked down at the child with a curious expression.

Unlike Alessia, who practically fainted at the sight of Koda running toward her, her little sister wasn’t scared at all. On the contrary, she was delighted.

“Ahhh! That tickles!”

The sharp voice that had been screeching earlier was nowhere to be found. Even as Koda licked her face all over, she just laughed and kept petting him. Like this, she was nothing but a kid.

They said she’s a mage, right.

Alessia had been driven to the brink because she needed to regain her magic, but Nia already knew how to use magic, so she probably didn’t have to go through all that.

That was a relief—and yet Kaon’s fingertips went cold. Thinking about Alessia suffering such pain at a similar age made it happen automatically.

After rolling around on the ground playing with Koda for a while, Nia suddenly looked around. Then, carefully picking Koda up, she asked Kaon,

“But why doesn’t he have an owner?”

“Owner?”

In Ferdinand, no one was afraid of Koda. Living right next to the Monster Forest, no one would find a tiny puppy scary, and it had been years now, so everyone was used to him.

The girl’s gaze fell on Koda’s house. The wooden house was clearly not meant to confine him—just a cozy place for him to rest.

“Alessia…”

Nia trailed off. Kaon guessed what she was trying to say: her sister was afraid of dogs, so was it really okay to let him roam free?

“She carries Koda around now.”

“Really? Don’t lie.”

“Do you fall for every trick? Go ask her.”

Well, it was only occasionally, and she couldn’t hold him for long…

But it wasn’t a complete lie. Alessia visited Koda regularly and spent time with him. Thanks to that, Koda had been free from the leash for quite some time now.

“So the puppy’s name is Koda? Like… tail?”

“Yeah. Because he wags his tail so much.”

“He’s so cute, but why is his name ‘Tail’? That’s such a bad name…”

Nia muttered gloomily, then asked Koda, “You don’t like it either, right?” Koda just wagged his tail.

Kaon let out a helpless breath as a memory of hearing something similar came back to him.

“Who names someone ‘Tail’? That’s so lazy. Mean, isn’t it?”

Back then, Alessia Ingelos had said that. Now it was Nia Ingelos. Apparently, the Ingelos family just didn’t share his taste in names.

Meanwhile, Koda was wagging his long tail non-stop, clearly happy to be surrounded by people.

It suits him perfectly, though.

Kaon felt a little wronged, but there was no point in arguing. While he stayed quiet, Nia suddenly asked,

“Isn’t your older brother some really high-ranked knight?”

“He’s an elite knight.”

“But still weaker than a mage, right?”

Her wide-eyed expression was pure innocence. It didn’t seem like she was trying to belittle him—she genuinely believed that.

It was a childish statement, easy enough to laugh off, but Kaon couldn’t back down on this topic. After a moment of thought, he asked in return,

“Are there elite mages too?”

“There’s no such thing.”

“I guarantee you, any mage—if they’re about the same skill level—wouldn’t beat a knight in a one-on-one fight.”

“No way!”

Nia immediately protested.

“We’re super strong! If a knight gets hit by magic, they’re gone in one shot! They wouldn’t even get close!”

Her sulky tone carried that typical mage pride. It was an expression Kaon often saw on mages visiting Ferdinand.

“Have you ever actually seen a mage fight a knight?”

“…No?”

“Then how do you know?”

It was a ridiculously childish argument, but it worked on her. Looking troubled, Nia darted her eyes back and forth before speaking again.

“Because we can cast magic from far away! We can take them out before they even come close.”

“Mages need time to cast spells, though. If I told you to cast one right now, could you?”

“I just have to chant the spell!”

“And the knight will wait politely while you finish chanting?”

Nia froze, speechless. With that dazed look—so much like Alessia—she looked adorably stunned. It was fun teasing her…

“Well, there are some mages who don’t need to chant at all.”

She spoke sullenly, clearly unwilling to admit defeat, but her lost confidence was obvious.

“There are a lot of mages like that?”

“That’s…”

In the end, the girl couldn’t answer. She just pouted hard, looking frustrated that she couldn’t find a good comeback.

Kaon decided that was enough teasing for now.

“But not all mages would lose. Maybe I’m weak, but other mages wouldn’t be…”

While absentmindedly stroking Koda’s back, Nia muttered, lowering herself. The resignation in her voice felt far too familiar for a child. Kaon frowned.

“Who said you’re weak?”

“Everyone. I can’t keep up with lessons… Rishar said at my age, once you learned a spell, you could do it all. But I can’t. I’m not like that.”

Her voice got quieter and quieter as she scuffed the ground with her foot. Kaon was at a loss for words. Was this just an Ingelos thing, or were all mages like this?

Ferdinand trained squires from childhood too, but they never crushed kids into despair through constant comparison. There’s no benefit to that.

“I want to be strong.”

After biting her lip and releasing it, Nia spoke carefully.

“But I don’t know how. I thought I tried hard… but no matter what, I’ll never be like Rishar. I know that.”

Her face grew darker and darker. It wasn’t clear whether she was talking to Kaon or to herself—she just kept muttering.

“Why do you want to be strong?”

Kaon asked before she could sink deeper into self-blame. Taking a step forward, he stood firmly in front of her. Startled, her eyes refocused.

“If I get strong…”

“If you get strong?”

“Then no one will bully me. I’ll be able to say what I want… and then, then I won’t have to just sit there like an idiot…”

She seemed to have more to say but closed her mouth. From her gloomy face, there was clearly a story behind it.

“What do you mean by strong? Knocking people down?”

“…”

She neither confirmed nor denied it—but it seemed close enough to her idea.

“You know who’s the hardest opponent in sparring?”

“What’s sparring?”

“When knights train against each other with swords. Think of it as practice for real battles.”

After a brief explanation, Nia nodded.

“The toughest opponent is the one who just defends. Someone who charges head-on is easier to deal with. But those who guard with their sword show no openings.”

Take Maurice, for example. He used a defensive style. Despite his easygoing manner, his swordsmanship was endlessly calm. When Kaon was younger, if someone asked him who the hardest sparring partner was, he’d name Maurice without hesitation.

Maurice rarely ended fights quickly, even against weaker opponents—but against stronger ones, he didn’t lose easily either. That was his strength.

“What? That’s not winning. Being strong means winning everything.”

Disappointment flashed in Nia’s eyes—clearly not the answer she wanted. Kaon chuckled. He’d once thought the same way, so he understood.

“Strength isn’t about winning—it’s about protecting.”

“Protecting what?”

“That’s for you to decide. Yourself, your heart, your pride…”

Or your sister.

He didn’t say that part. If Nia wanted that, she’d come to it herself.

“Don’t try to be strong—just don’t let yourself become weak. Do what you can do. Then, naturally, you’ll be able to protect what you want to protect.”

Her thoughtful little face reminded him of Alessia. The siblings didn’t just share facial features.

If she takes after Alessia, she’ll do fine.

If she could quietly persist in doing her part like Alessia, Nia could achieve what she wanted. In fact, she already had an advantage—she could use magic.

“Really?”

“My sister said so, so just believe it.”

Kaon shrugged. Leonidas often said that, too: the truly strong are those who know what they must do and do it.

He’d meant it as a lecture for a lazy younger brother, but it was exactly what Nia Ingelos needed to hear right now.

“Sister? Oh… that person’s not your sister, he’s your brother.”

“…She’s my sister.”

Nia frowned, unconvinced. Kaon sighed, wondering how on earth he was supposed to explain this.