The battlefield had gone silent.
In the middle of the open land stood a heavily damaged car—its roof completely destroyed.
Around it lay three dead bodies.
Yuki was unconscious.
Shai and Lior were injured.
And the last surviving guild official stood there with only minor wounds.
"Damn it…!" Lior clenched his fist. "Check what's missing!"
"…Alright." The official nodded and moved toward the car.
Lior lowered his head.
Damn it…
In my previous life… I couldn't protect Mari… my wife… and she died.
His expression darkened.
Two years ago… Pretty almost died too… I still don't even know what really happened back then…
And now… even on this mission… I couldn't protect the item.
His fists tightened.
What's the point of having power… if I can't protect anything?
Back then… when I had no power… maybe that was better…
At least I didn't carry the responsibility of protecting others…
"…"
The official stepped out from the car.
"One box is missing," he said seriously. "That must be what the enemy took… and it's probably the same item you kids were asking about."
"I see…" Shai muttered. "So it could be an Epic-grade… or something even higher?"
"Possibly. But we'll only know once we report back to the main guild."
"…Right. Let's go," Lior said.
They were about to leave when Shai spoke again.
"What about them? And Yuki?"
The official looked at the bodies.
"Put them in the car. We'll return them to their families after reaching the guild… for their funeral."
"And that kid is just unconscious. He'll wake up soon."
"…Right."
Lior and the official carefully placed the bodies inside the car.
Meanwhile, Shai picked up Yuki—
"Uff… what does this guy even eat?! He looks skinny but he's heavy!"
Lior chuckled.
"Well… he owns a restaurant. Food isn't exactly a problem for him."
"That explains it," Shai smirked. "After this, I'm getting free food for three days."
"He'll definitely give it. It's his own place after all."
"Hahaha… true."
The mood lightened for a moment.
But the official watched them silently.
They're just kids… only 12 years old…
And yet… they fought that monster…
Even me and my team… we might not have survived without them.
If there had been other adults instead of them… would things have turned out differently?
Would my friends still be alive?
He sighed.
…It's not their fault… but still…
Once everyone was inside, the car slowly started moving.
"I hope nothing else shows up…" Shai muttered.
The car disappeared into the distance.
Meanwhile…
High above the clouds—
Polgerius was flying.
"…Looks like they're not chasing me."
His condition was terrible.
Half of his face was destroyed—flesh torn apart, with blood and even bone visible.
One arm was badly damaged, and the rest of his body was covered in wounds.
"That kid's last punch… did this to my face…"
A flash of memory—
Lior's high-speed punch crashing into him—
—and then darkness.
"…I'll take my revenge later."
"But for now… I've obtained it."
He opened the box.
Inside—
A blade.
The second Nicul Knife.
"Uwah…~"
"…?"
"Aah—?! Who… who are you?!"
The voice was slightly girly—yet it clearly belonged to a boy.
"I am Polgerius," he said calmly. "A loyal and powerful servant of Lord Deku."
"…That's fine and all—but who is this Deku?"
Polgerius paused.
…Right. This thing has been sealed for over a hundred thousand years.
"My lord, Deku, is the strongest necromancer… and the great king of the Adhan Kingdom."
"He already possesses one Nicul Knife."
"And now… you are the second."
"…There's already one?" the blade reacted. "So your lord is collecting all the Nicul Knives?"
"Yes."
"…And why?"
"To rule the entire mainland."
"…Pfft—hahahaha!"
The knife burst into laughter.
"That's impossible. Do you even understand—?"
"Yes. I know the four great islands guard the mainland," Polgerius interrupted. "But they won't interfere in kingdom wars unless the planet's core is threatened."
"…That's not what I meant."
The blade's tone turned serious.
"There are countless powerful kings and warriors on this mainland."
"Even if all twelve Nicul Knives unite in their true form—as a sword—there's no guarantee we could defeat them."
"And besides… we haven't seen the world for thousands of years."
"We don't even know how strong—or weak—it has become."
"…You don't need to worry about that," Polgerius said calmly.
"My lord will free the Evil Fairy, Gisaane… using your power."
"And he has many others ready to support him."
"…I see."
The blade paused.
"…Well, I'm actually excited to meet my other half."
"Do you have any demands?" Polgerius asked.
"Demands? Like what?"
"Like… why you should cooperate with us."
"…Simple."
"If my 'friends' agree… then I have no problem."
"I'll go wherever the majority goes."
"And right now… since you have one already… the majority is with you."
"So yes—I'll cooperate."
"…I see."
Meanwhile, at the Guild…
Lior and the others stood in front of the head officer.
"What?!" the officer exclaimed. "The Nicul Knife is missing?!"
"So that's what it was…" Lior muttered. "But what exactly is a Nicul Knife?"
"You haven't been taught this in school yet?"
"…No."
"…I see."
The officer crossed his arms.
"In short—"
"Thousands of years ago, twelve Nicul Knives were created to defeat an extremely powerful evil being."
"One of them was inside that treasure."
"And now… the enemy has taken it."
"…But how did he even know about it?" Shai asked.
"Either he already has one… and used it to locate the second…"
"Or his spies found it."
"Whatever the case… it's dangerous."
"And if he collects all twelve…"
His expression darkened.
"…it will become a disaster."
"…I understand," Lior whispered.
I need to inform Uncle Bit.
Narration
And that's how I told Uncle Bit about everything.
Precious was there too—so he learned about it as well.
One week later—
Our second-year final exams began.
They ended after two weeks.
We all passed—
And moved on to the third year.
At the same time—
Tety and Bety also enrolled in Doramai School.
They're now in Class 1.