Chapter 10

Fortunately, Mini-Charente was flexible and had a stronger grip than I did. Even though we were both kids, there were obvious differences in our body sizes.

“Hmm, it’s not coming off…” he muttered.

Watching him vigorously scrub the pacifier, I sighed. I knew it. It’s grimy beyond all reason. Still, perhaps because he could apply more force, it did seem to be getting a little cleaner.

If only I could get my hands on some slime extract. Obtaining slime extract was simple if I could catch a slime in the low-level ruins managed by the Magic Tower. It was deeply frustrating that I couldn’t even manage to do that much in my current situation.

“Here, does this work for you?” he asked.

Narrowing my eyes, I carefully examined the pacifier. It looked much better than when I tried to do it myself. I thought he could only cry, but he turned out to be rather useful.

After examining the slightly cleaner pacifier, I nodded in satisfaction and put it back in my mouth. As I sucked on it, Mini-Charente crouched down and looked at me. “You know you shouldn’t keep coming here, right?”

“Abaa,” I gurgled nonchalantly, waving my hand. Stop bothering me.

Since I can’t go fruit-picking today, I better return early for a nap. This kid probably didn’t know it, but babies needed regular naps. I groused in my head about how the maids were neglecting me and leaving me to raise myself.

As I slowly crawled away, Mini-Charente followed closely behind. No matter how fast I tried to move, I couldn’t shake him off.

I stopped crawling and was about to say something when a loud screech suddenly echoed from above. I perked up my ears. I knew this sound very well, and it was definitely one that we shouldn’t be hearing out here.

A griffin. I quickly identified the source of the cry. Griffins were usually guardians of the mid-level ruins.

“Huh? What’s that?” he said slightly clumsily as he tilted his head back and looked at the sky.

I tugged on his ankle. “Wuh! Ee-dee!” Run, you idiot! Griffins were large, but they had an uncanny knack for going after small creatures, particularly those in motion.

I grabbed the hem of Mini-Charente’s pants, but he showed no sign of understanding me. “Huh? What’s wrong?”

Whatever. I had done my part and saw no reason to continue trying. Releasing his pant leg, I quickly crawled under a large tree to hide from the griffin.

Screeeech!

As the griffin cried out again, people began to gather one by one. I wondered where they had all come from. Deschar Klaune suddenly appeared in the garden as well, his expression a mix of shock and anger. “What on earth… What is such a creature doing here?”

The most surprising thing was that none of the servants were running and screaming in fear. Did they all receive emergency griffin training, or what?

As the griffin continued to fly in lazy circles through the air, its cries grew louder. While its shriek just moments ago sounded normal, it was now delivering obviously murderous battle cries. The griffin’s eyes gleamed as it spread its wings and soared through the sky.

Spotting its prey, it swooped down toward Mini-Charente.

I knew it, I thought dismissively. Didn’t I tell you to run? You should have fled when you had the chance.

The boy stood frozen in shock. He had likely never encountered anything so deadly before. But everything should be fine since the skilled veteran Deschar Klaune is here.

“Kaishan, come here,” said a gentle voice from behind Deschar. While it was sweet, it carried a hint of arrogance. The owner of this voice was familiar to me. I turned my head to see where it had come from.

“F-Father!” Mini-Charente shouted, his expression considerably brighter. Eyes brimming with tears, he dashed toward his father and hugged his leg. Charente smiled softly and embraced the child.

I stared at them blankly. Honestly, I was surprised. I had always considered Charente to be a cold and ruthless man who was completely oblivious to family affection. Given his high social standing, I would think he understood how valuing family too much could wind up being a threat and hindrance to one’s power.

“Stay with your grandfather.”

“Okay!” Mini-Charente replied bravely, moving closer to Deschar.

Charente Klaune… He stood in front of his son and easily swung a hefty-looking spear out in front of him with one hand. The spear was sleek and moved with surprising agility. Moreover, for someone handling such a large spear, Charente’s movements were exceptionally elegant and devoid of any clumsiness. Compared to magical combat, I knew next to nothing about physical technique, but it was clear that he was highly proficient.

“It seems to have lost its way, Father,” he commented to Deschar. Despite the griffin’s intense magic energy and murderous intent, the man remained calm and composed.

Looks like the rumors surrounding him are closer to fact. I had heard that he handled various weapons effortlessly and had a rather brutal temperament. I could imagine the rumor about him leading a small, elite team to conquer a ruin and acquire magical artifacts was closer to truth than fiction. As long as he was around, I would be safe.

Feeling a little relieved, I looked around. The griffin remained at a distance, its attention fully captured by the imposing energy emanating from Charente. It swooped further away, likely assessing him as its opponent.

“What in the world are the Magic Tower magicians doing? Aren’t the ruins their responsibility?” Deschar asked.

“Perhaps they’ve lost their master, so they’ve lost their way as well,” Charente replied in a subdued voice.

I continued to hide beneath the bushes as I listened to Deschar’s angry question and Charente’s calm response. The “master” he spoke of was probably me, and I was presumably dead by now. That left a bitter taste in my mouth.

With attention focused solely on the griffin, it’d be easy to slip back into my room unnoticed. I left the area to head back.

Why are they slacking at the Magic Tower, though? As Deschar stated, the ruins where griffins lived fell under the jurisdiction of the Magic Tower. However, it seemed like they were no longer being properly managed. Normally, I’d have personnel stationed to guard the ruins at all times.

Yes, ruins. In this world, ruins exist, and artifacts within them. There were no records of how these ruins came to be or why, but they had existed since ancient times, and magic creatures emerged from them.

You couldn’t have ruins without artifacts, of course. To obtain these artifacts, one had to pass through the entrance to the ruins on the surface and descend into the endless depths underground. Along that path, countless magic creatures stood guard.

Artifacts contained extraordinary powers. Some ancient texts mentioned artifacts that could control minds, command animals, heal or purify, or even inflict curses. If you possessed one, you could do anything from significantly enhancing your power to making your food taste exceptionally delicious. While the latter case sounded charming at first, it was easy to become addicted to such yummy food and never be able to recover, much like taking a deadly drug.

A power so strong that it could control life and death—there were many who desired the artifacts just as strongly. But the walls of the ruins were so high that only experts could ever dream of getting past them.

There were generally two types of artifacts found within ruins: holy artifacts, considered to possess a divine energy surpassing anything in existence, and evil artifacts, which harbored malevolent energy to the same extent.

Only about eight types of artifacts had been publicly revealed. Considering there were thirty-seven public ruins in total, it was a remarkably low number. The mere act of venturing in and making it back out alive was nearly impossible.

There were three holy artifacts in the Hayren Empire. One was kept by the Klaunes, one by the imperial family, and the remaining one was kept in the holy temple. I heard the artifact at the temple already had an owner. Information about the artifact at the Klaune Duchy was scarce, so it was unknown who owned or took care of it. The one belonging to the imperial family was rumored to have not yet found an owner.

In addition, the Magic Tower had two evil artifacts and one holy artifact. Another was owned by the kingdom across the sea, and yet another by the desolate empire established in the desert.

If they were going to kick me out of the Magic Tower… the least they could do is keep doing their jobs. I groaned irritably. I crawled down the empty hallway, feeling completely jaded.