# Chapter 7
I slipped my finger between the baby’s tightly curled palms. Even in its sleep, the baby gripped my hand firmly. Despite not even being able to crawl yet, it had quite a strong grip. It made me feel sad, as if it was begging me not to abandon it.
“Now I’ve truly become a traitor.”
The baby’s eyelids twitched at my soft whisper. I gently stroked the baby’s forehead and hair. The sensation under my palm was soft and warm.
Under my touch, the baby fell back into a peaceful sleep.
“I’ve taken in a monster destined to destroy the country.”
Though I said that, the baby before me didn’t look like a monster that would devour the country. Even with two horns on its head and strange scales on its arms, it was still just a small, harmless baby. Maybe, yes maybe.
“Perhaps if I raise it well, it will be fine.”
It’s still a baby. If I raise it properly, perhaps that fate won’t come to pass. Though I’ve never properly raised a baby before, and I don’t even have memories of my parents. Maybe I could make that possible.
The weather has gotten a bit warmer lately. Despite my earlier resolve to find someone to care for the baby when the weather improved, I now couldn’t bring myself to abandon it. Having heard about the baby’s destiny, I couldn’t pass it on to someone else like a ticking bomb. Besides.
“It looks for me.”
How could I abandon a baby that reaches out to me, asking to be held? I couldn’t coldly abandon a baby that naturally looks for me when it wakes up, and stops crying when I comfort it. Even knowing it wasn’t a good idea, I kept projecting my past self onto the baby.
A baby that would have died without me. A baby that still needs my care. That fact strangely excited me. The realization that even I, who had never properly accomplished anything, could be necessary to someone made me feel like a special existence.
“I’ll give you a name.”
If this child’s destiny is to kill the Emperor and devour the country, then it will have to fight against that destiny for its entire life. I will raise it that way.
“Rite.”
Rite. A child born with a destiny to fight. With this name, the child would have to fight for its entire life. But that didn’t matter. If that’s what it takes to protect the child.
As if understanding its name, the baby opened its eyes. Its eyelashes trembled before pushing open its eyelids to reveal purple irises. The baby immediately made eye contact with me. Blink, blink. Its black eyelashes fluttered, enveloping its eyes before falling away repeatedly.
“Rite.”
When I called out with emphasis again, the baby meeting my gaze smiled brightly. Four teeth were visible between its lips. Even its upper teeth had all appeared by now. Pini’s comment that the baby seemed to be growing wasn’t wrong.
I held Rite in my arms. I could hear Rite making small yawning sounds near my ear. When I patted its back, Rite nuzzled its face against me.
How could I pretend not to know and abandon it again? The baby reached out to me. It called for me. I convinced myself of this as I held Rite tightly. The baby’s unique scent tickled my nose. The Winter Forest was always cold, but this was the season when the cold cut to the bone. I met Rite on a winter day in the Winter Forest.
A week later, the Knights departed with nothing but the corpse of a small monster.
* * *
The man looked around, holding an oil lamp. Taking advantage of his diverted gaze, I pulled Rite’s hood down to completely cover his face. Though Rite shook his head uncomfortably, I firmly adjusted the hood once more.
“How long can this be used?”
At the man’s question, I let go of Rite and looked at him.
“Even if you use it six hours a day, it should last about two months.”
“Two months? I heard some lamps last more than a year, and this one only lasts two months?”
“That’s an Aether lamp. I can convert it for you if you’d like, but it costs twenty times more than an oil lamp.”
When money was mentioned, the man closed his mouth. When I raised my eyebrows in question, instead of answering, the man handed over a money pouch.
I opened the small pouch to check the money. 25 Bram. I had said I would need to charge 30 Bram from now on, but it seemed he was pretending not to have heard. Since I wasn’t exactly doing legitimate business either, I had no choice but to let it slide.
Engineers were strictly managed by the country, and one could only work as an engineer after passing an exam. In other words, it was illegal for me, having had my license revoked, to pose as an engineer.
Engineers represented Artalis’s greatest national power, so this was natural. Though the regulations were very strict, the benefits and treatment given to official engineers were substantial enough to maintain such strict laws.
In this respect, they were turning a blind eye to my illegal activities. The villagers could use an engineer for a cheap price, and I earned money through them.
As I was putting the money pouch inside my coat, the man spoke.
“By the way, Arden, haven’t you received any mail?”
“What kind of mail?”
“Well, I heard young people in some villages received mail and were drafted.”
“I wouldn’t get anything like that. Besides, how long has it been since the war ended, and yet again…”
“That’s exactly what I mean. Whether they’re heading north or south this time.”
The man clicked his tongue and grumbled that the world was going to hell, but it wasn’t a story that particularly resonated with me. They wouldn’t drag someone who had been banished like me into war.
“Arden.”
Just then, with a small voice, my clothes were tugged from below. It was Rite’s signal that he was bored and wanted to leave soon. I smiled awkwardly and vaguely agreed with the man’s words.
“I wonder if they’ll try to take people from our village too. Can’t help but feel anxious.”
“They won’t come this far. It’s even difficult for the Knights to come directly.”
“Yeah, I hope so. The country’s been turbulent lately… Oh, did you hear? There’s a rumor about an epidemic in Moran.”
“An epidemic in the capital?”
I lowered my hand and removed Rite’s hand that was gripping my clothes. When the warm heat disappeared, the air felt particularly cold against my palm.
Though I understood Rite’s boredom, our home was even more out of touch with information than Winterishe, a remote region where news was already slow. Since we couldn’t subscribe to newspapers, I had to gather this kind of information whenever we came down to the village.
“Is it a dangerous disease?”
“Don’t know. Whether people have died or whatever. But how long could an epidemic last in the capital?”
“That’s uncertain. Diseases don’t avoid royalty either.”
I said this while glancing at Rite. That person suspected of being royalty was in our home. Rite, who had grown quickly, now stood taller than my waist.
“But they’re going on a subjugation mission during an epidemic? That’s strange.”
“How would people like us understand His Majesty’s thoughts? And magicians are decreasing too. It’s truly the end of times.”
The man said with a shrug.
Magicians were those born with the ability, not something achieved through effort. People born with magical energy were commonly said to have received the goddess’s blessing, so the decrease in magicians was not a good sign.
This village was once quite bustling. It was all before I was born, so what I knew was only what I’d been told.
The Winter Forest is one of the regions not meticulously managed by the Empire. It’s a place that exists somewhat outside the bounds of the law, which simultaneously means it’s an environment good for making money.
The monsters you can see in the forest are dangerous, but each of their body parts sells for a high price. Monster body parts are common magical materials.
Mercenaries and magicians who flocked to make money or gather materials all made their final preparations in this village. Naturally, guilds based in Winterishe increased, as did the customers. The cabin where I stayed was probably a temporary residence used by the guild. Although it was quite an old house, it was still livable enough.
The village had been continuing its business with outsiders, but when the number of magicians decreased, everything suddenly stopped. The village naturally declined, and many villagers left as well. Only those who couldn’t afford to leave remained, and the village lost even more of its vitality.
I had nothing much to say either, so I nodded. Just when I thought the conversation was ending, the man clapped his hands.
“Ah, I almost forgot. Markus is looking for you.”
“Mr. Markus?”
“A streetlight went out somewhere. He said he wants to check all the streetlights in the village this time. And what else was it… Oh, he said the automatic carriage broke down too.”
These were all troublesome tasks. Checking streetlights wasn’t difficult, but there were many. It was a job that would take days even if I set aside specific dates, and I couldn’t expect compensation for it. I had never been paid for work benefiting the entire village. Conversely, I could get paid for the automatic carriage since it wasn’t for public benefit, but it was quite a tricky job.
But I couldn’t refuse either. Especially, refusing work for the village was nearly impossible. I quickly resigned myself and nodded.
“Alright. I’ll be going then.”
It looked like I’d be returning home later than usual today. I lowered my gaze to ask for Rite’s understanding. I expected him to be glaring at me with a sullen expression, but Rite wasn’t looking at me.
Rite, with one hand still gripping my clothes, was in a standoff with a child standing outside the store.
Wondering what was going on, I quietly observed the two. A girl who appeared to be around Rite’s age waved her hand from beyond the glass window.
‘Hello.’
The child mouthed a soundless greeting. I became curious about Rite’s reaction. Rite had never communicated with anyone except for me and Pini. Rite just stared blankly at the other child before slowly letting go of my clothes. Then, somewhat awkwardly, he followed the other child and waved his hand.
