Chapter…09

            The Hidden-Strong Child Is Looking for His Dad – Episode 9

The girl collapsed to the ground from a single swing of the man’s hand.

Her pale cheek instantly swelled up.

“You little thief! Where did you hide my wallet?! Give it back right now!”

The man shouted, ready to kick her.

“D-don’t…!”

Tia instinctively shook off her grandmother’s hand and ran forward, stepping between them.

Her grandmother had told her to stay close, but her feet moved on their own.

Looking frightened and restless, Tia stared at the man.

“You shouldn’t hit people…!”

The image of the woman from Room 203, who sometimes bought her ice cream, overlapped with the girl.

Whenever loud noises came from upstairs, that woman would always look hurt the next day.

And Tia had a vague idea why.

“Hitting people is bad!”

The man’s face twisted angrily at Tia’s trembling voice.

“What the hell is this brat now?”

“Hey, that’s enough!”

“Yeah, just leave already! She said she didn’t steal it!”

The nearby merchants stepped in.

Passersby began to gather as well.

The man’s eyebrows twitched viciously.

“Do you even know who I—!”

At that moment, someone stepped in front of Tia.

Tia looked up in surprise.

It was the innkeeper grandma.

“Listen here, young man.”

She looked at him calmly and spoke in a low voice.

“Think carefully. This back alley of the checkpoint is where people with nothing left gather, isn’t it?”

“What?”

“Whether you’re a noble or rich—it means nothing here.”

“……”

“Aren’t you afraid of dark, empty alleys at night?”

Something in her chilling tone made the man flinch.

Only then did he glance around.

Merchants and passersby alike were staring at him coldly.

“C-cough!”

After clearing his throat awkwardly, the man backed away.

Then he disappeared into the crowd as if fleeing.

The grandma slowly turned and spoke to the girl sitting on the ground.

“The last room on the second floor. That’s you, right?”

Tia’s eyes widened.

“You haven’t been coming in lately. What have you been doing out here?”

It turned out the girl was a guest at the inn, just like Tia and Basto.

But the girl responded coldly.

“Mind your own business, old lady.”

“What a rude brat. Do you even know what your face looks like right now?”

The girl paused, then stood up.

She walked over to a nearby shop and looked into a mirror.

Seeing her swollen cheek, she cursed.

“Ha… damn it.”

Tia gulped nervously as she heard the grandma sigh beside her.

Clicking her tongue, the grandma said,

“Come with me for now.”

* * *

Tick—tock.

Only the sound of a clock filled the first floor.

Tia sat on a chair, fidgeting with her fingers.

She tried not to, but her attention kept drifting to the girl sitting next to her.

She must not like talking…

The girl had been silent for quite a while.

Even when the old innkeeper left to shop, she didn’t say a single word.

And that wasn’t all.

She glared at Mr. Basto…

Earlier, she had looked at him with clear disdain as he left the inn.

She even muttered, “Why does he look like such a beast?”

“Hey, you in the last room! Hold this against your face.”

The grandma came out of the kitchen holding a cloth smeared with something green.

The girl frowned.

“No thanks. Who would use something like—”

“Do you want me to shove it onto your face?!”

At the grandma’s shout, the girl fell silent.

Grumbling, she pressed the cloth to her cheek.

Then the grandma turned to Tia.

“Child, let’s get you something to eat first. If I let you starve, that Basto boy will scold me.”

Basto had gone back to the checkpoint to find a way to restore his identification number.

“Wait a little—I’ll make you some delicious carrot soup—”

“N-no!”

Tia blurted out before realizing it.

“I already had a lot of carrot soup… in the forest…”

The grandma nodded generously.

“Fine. Then spinach soup it is.”

“Spinach is…!”

Tia’s face fell in despair as the grandma disappeared into the kitchen without listening.

“Pfft.”

A clear snicker came from beside her.

Turning her head, Tia saw the girl leaning sideways, resting her head on one hand.

“Serves you right. Don’t be picky—just eat what you’re given. You’re tiny and already so fussy.”

Tia looked shocked.

She had been thinking this for a while, but this girl was really, really…

“M-mean.”

The girl’s eyebrow twitched, but Tia clenched her fists and added,

“If you’re mean, a tiger will come eat you!”

The girl let out a dry laugh.

“What?”

“A tiger will take you away tonight!”

“Who are you calling ‘big sister’?!”

The girl pulled off her hood.

Above her red eyes were thick, bold eyebrows—not very feminine.

“Why does everyone think I’m a girl?”

Tia blinked in confusion.

“I’m a boy. A boy! You little brat!”

He pretended to smack her head.

Tia shrank her neck like a turtle, but stared at him closely.

His skin was pale and his eyelashes were long, but now that he said it… he really did look like a boy.

“I-it’s my first time.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Seeing a brother who looks like a sister…”

“Hah!”

The boy leaned closer.

“Hey. Do you even know who I am?”

Tia tilted her head.

“A boy who looks like a girl…?”

“You—!”

Lowering his voice, he lightly pushed her forehead.

“I’m an assassin, you know. Do you even know what that is?”

Tia’s face turned serious.

An assa… lion?

He just said he’s a lion, right?

Back where she used to live, there was an uncle who thought he was a mouse.

He would run away every time he saw a cat.

Once, Tia tried to follow him out of concern, but the grandma from Room 107 stopped her.

She told her that he needed time alone.

So that means this boy is also…

“So? Scared now? Feel like you shouldn’t mess with me?”

“Uh-huh…”

The boy raised his chin proudly.

“Now that’s a better look. Remember this—I let that man hit me on purpose.”

He pulled something out and waved it.

“Because no matter what, I had to get this.”

It was a wallet.

The very wallet the man had been shouting about!

“Y-you really stole it?!”

“Yeah. I stole it. Or should I say I took back what was originally mine?”

Tia’s eyes widened.

“He promised to find two people to form a mercenary group with me, took the money, and disappeared!”

“A mercenary group…?”

“Yeah! If you want to kill monsters and make money, becoming a mercenary is the only way. Someone like me can’t become a knight anyway.”

Tia’s mouth opened.

Something sparkled in her mind.

“Oppa, if you become a mercenary, can you get an ID number?”

“Probably. First you have to pass the mercenary test.”

“Then let’s do it together!”

The boy froze.

“What?”

“Let’s do it with me and Mr. Basto! He has a hammer, and I…!”

Tia wasn’t as strong as Basto.

But at least she had something reliable—

The legendary Puppetmon.

Kkamangi.