Chapter 12

“Dad! Hurry up, hurry!”

I jumped up and down in place, waving toward my dad who was far behind.

“Oh dear, Eve. You have to stay with me. And wear your hat properly.”

Panting slightly, Dad came over and adjusted my hat so it sat properly on my head.

I stood quietly in place, catching my breath as I let him fuss over me.

I could feel my hair getting all messy from Dad’s rough hands, but I didn’t mind.

Because what mattered now wasn’t my hair!

With my hat pulled down snugly, I turned around and my eyes sparkled.

‘The capital’s market is huge!’

Dad brought me to the biggest market in the capital to buy materials for sword-making.

Mr. Nil Roise kept apologizing that he couldn’t take me somewhere even fancier, but—

‘This place is already amazing!’

It was incomparable to the market I always went to—much bigger, with far more people.

Vendors bustled about, shouting and selling their goods, and there were lots of things I’d never seen before.

‘It’s like a whole new world!’

[Hey, country bumpkin. The capital’s the kind of place where they’ll steal your nose if you blink. Be careful.]

‘Don’t ruin the mood, Ex.’

I covered my mouth with my hand and whispered cautiously.

Ex was currently wrapped tightly in a brown cloth and slung across my back.

Originally, I had planned to leave him at the palace, since there might be someone who’d try to steal him again…

[You’re going without me? No way! Do you know how dangerous the capital is? You’re going to walk around without your sword—mmph!]

“Fine, fine! I’ll bring you, so be quiet!”

So now—

Ex was grumbling noisily from behind my back.

‘I really should have left him behind.’

[What did you say, you little brat?!]

With so many people around, I couldn’t even scold him. In the end, I just plugged my ears and grabbed Dad’s hand tightly as we walked on.

“Dad, have you been here before?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. I came here a long time ago.”

Dad nodded and led me somewhere.

“Where are we going now?”

“To an old friend. Since we’re in town, I thought I’d say hi.”

“Oh~ right! You said you had a friend in the capital.”

I nodded, recalling what Dad had told me before.

My dad, with a friend? I thought he only cared about swords and me!

Dad scratched his cheek awkwardly.

“It’s been so long, I don’t even know if we’re still friends… But you should greet him politely when we go in.”

“Okay! If I’m really polite, do you think he’ll give me pocket money? My friends always say their dad’s friends give them money.”

“Who are you taking after, kid?”

“But it’s my first time meeting one of your friends!”

In our village, Dad didn’t really have friends. He was just the weird weapon smith, number one in being awkward.

To me, my dad having a friend was like meeting a legendary unicorn.

Every time I said stuff like that, Dad let out a deep sigh and muttered something about how his image was doomed.

As we chatted, we arrived in front of a shop.

Without knocking, Dad casually swung the door open and went in.

“Hey—Dex!”

As Dad called the name slowly, we heard a crash! Something broke downstairs with a loud clatter.

Soon, a door to the basement burst open, and a man emerged, his face covered in dust.

With curly brown hair and a matching beard, the man blinked at us, his eyes round, looking back and forth between Dad and me.

“…Nil?”

“Say hi, Eve. This is Dad’s friend.”

“Hello!”

I bowed politely and cutely, as best I could.

The man, still in a daze, wiped his hands on his apron and stared at me for a long while.

“Nil, is this kid…?”

“Yup. My daughter. Her name’s Eve.”

“I’m eight years old!”

The man nodded blankly and held out his hand.

“Ah, right, Eve. Nice to meet you. I’m Dex.”

“Nice to meet you too, Mr. Dex!”

Dad put a large hand on my head and cleared his throat.

“Actually, I came to see if you’ve got anything useful… I’m working on something new.”

“After ten years, that’s what you say? You haven’t changed a bit.”

Dex looked at Dad and grumbled, quickly recovering from his surprise.

Dad shrugged like he was used to this.

“So, got anything good? If not, I’ll go elsewhere.”

“Geez, still so impatient… That’s no way to talk to a friend after ten years. Come in and let’s talk first—”

Dex slapped Dad hard on the back.

“I’ve got a lot of questions for you, buddy.”

“…I brought the kid, so no drinking.”

“Relax, I’m not about to make her drink. Eve, right?”

He crooked a big finger at me.

My eyes sparkled as I stepped forward.

“Yup! I’m Eve!”

“Great. I’ve got to talk to your dad, so here—take this and go buy yourself a treat from the candy shop out front.”

“Hey, Dex. What if she gets lost—”

“It’s right in front, no worries. Eve, you can go on your own, right?”

Dex handed me a few dirty coins and smiled.

I quickly nodded.

I was a little scared to go without Dad, but it was just nearby.

‘I’ve got Excalibur on my back anyway. If anything happens, he’ll protect me.’

[You’re way too careless, kid!]

When I nodded, Dex chuckled, gave me five coins, and dragged Dad into the basement.

Even as they disappeared, Dad kept shouting, “Don’t follow strangers, no matter what!”

I gave a lazy nod, then hurried out of the store and looked around.

I quietly observed the people bustling past.

It had been a long time since I felt so relaxed.

Back in the village, I was always on high alert for heroes, running around like crazy.

‘There shouldn’t be any heroes in the capital. In the original story, they only come to our village!’

Haha! At least I won’t run into any annoying hero types here!

That thought made me smile to myself.

Until—

“…”

I froze stiff.

In the distance, tall, handsome men were striding through the crowd, clearly headed my way.

Even among the bustling crowd, they stood out like giants.

And I knew instantly, by instinct.

‘…It’s the protagonists.’

Anyone could tell.

They were the protagonists of this story.

Even if I did two hundred backflips, I’d recognize them.

***

The very heroes I wanted to avoid were now walking straight toward this shop.

Why? Why are they coming here?

Could they possibly know that my dad’s here?

Then I suddenly remembered—

‘Oh yeah. This is a weapon shop.’

Of course the heroes would stop by. It’s natural.

Why did I only realize this now?

As soon as the realization hit me, I made a split-second decision and moved like lightning back inside the shop.

[Hey, kid?]

‘Sorry, Mr. Dex!’

I flipped the shop sign from OPEN to CLOSED and quickly hid myself.

Moments later, the heroes arrived at the door and tried the handle. It rattled.