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"Hurry up, Dad! Come here!"
I jumped up and down excitedly while pointing somewhere far in the distance.
"Oh, my. Eve. Wait for me. Wear your hat properly, too."
My dad came up to me, panting heavily, and proceeded to fix my hat.
I stayed still while my dad adjusted my hat. I could feel my hair becoming tousled because of my dad's clumsy touch.
But my hair is not what matters right now!
After he fixed my hat, I turned around, and my eyes automatically glistened.
'Wow, the capital market is so huuge!'
My dad took me to the largest market in the capital, saying that he wanted to buy materials for making swords. He apologized for not being able to take me to a better place.
'This is a really cool place, though!'
It was too big compared to the market I used to go to, and it was packed with people.
There was so much that I had never seen before, and the sellers were actively peddling their goods to the customers.
'It's a whole different world!'
[Hey, country bumpkin. Be careful because the capital city is a dangerous place.]
'Don't spoil the mood, Ex.'
I covered my mouth with my hands and whispered cautiously.
Ex, who was rolled up in a brown cloth, was tied on my back.
I was thinking of leaving him in the palace because I was scared that someone would steal Ex again....
[Are you going to leave me?! No way!! The capital city is so dangerous. It's dangerous to walk on the streets without your sword...hhmph.]
"Oh my god. Fine! I'll take you with me, so be quiet."
So I ended up bringing him with me. But Ex kept buzzing and blabbering nonstop on my back.
'I should've left you in the palace.'
[What did you say? Brat!!]
I couldn't be mean to Ex with a lot of eyes around...so I had no choice but to pretend not to hear him.
"Dad, have you come here before?"
"Hm? Yeah. I used to come here a long time ago."
With a slight nod, my dad grabbed my hand and headed somewhere.
"Where are we going?"
"We're going to meet my friend. It's been a while, so I'm going to say hello."
"Aaah~ right. You said you have friends in the capital city."
I nodded, recalling what my dad told me before.
So Dad is not lying about it! I thought he was only a daughter's fool who was crazy about swords!
My dad only nodded and scratched his neck awkwardly.
"It's been a long time...so it's a bit awkward to call him my friend now..but you have to watch your manners and greet them politely once you go in, okay?"
"Yeah, okay. Will I get some pocket money if I greet them politely? I saw my friends got a lot of pocket money from their dad's friends."
"I wonder who you took after."
"But it's my first time meeting my dad's friend!"
Because my dad was a workaholic weaponsmith who almost didn't have any friends in the village.
To me, my dad's friend was like a unicorn in the legend.
Each time I said something, my dad would just sigh defeatedly as if saying, 'my image is totally down the drain'.
After a long conversation, we arrived in front of a store.
My dad casually opened the store door without even knocking.
"Hey, Dex."
After my dad called that name, there was a loud clattering sound as if something was breaking.
Soon after, the basement door burst open, revealing a middle-aged man with dust covering his face.
The middle-aged man with brown curly hair and mustache looked at us with eyes open wide.
"Nial?"
"Say hello, Eve. He's my friend."
"Hello!"
I bowed as politely as I could.
After coming out of the basement in a daze, the middle-aged man wiped his dusty hands on his apron and stared at me for a long time.
"Nial, don't tell me this girl is..."
"Yeah, my daughter. Her name is Eve."
"I'm eight years old!"
The man only nodded blankly and held out his hand to me.
"Ah, yeah, Eve. Nice to meet you. My name is Dex."
"Yes! Nice to meet you, too! Uncle Dex!"
My dad put his large hand over my hand and cleared his throat awkwardly.
"I'm just dropping by to see if I can find something useful...because I need to craft something this time."
"Is that all you say after ten years of not meeting? Wow, you're seriously nasty, man."
The middle-aged man, who originally looked at me in bewilderment, turned to my father while grumbling.
While my dad just shrugged as if he was used to the man's judgmental gaze.
"Anyway, do you have good stuff I can use? If not, I will move to another store."
"Geez, you're so impatient ... .Are you saying that to a friend you haven't met in ten years? First of all, let's go inside and talk...."
Uncle Dex whacked my dad on the back.
"I want to catch up with you, buddy."
"I can't drink with my child around..."
Uncle Dex gestured to me to come closer with his big hand, so I rushed toward him with my eyes twinkling.
"Yeeeesir! Please call me Eve!"
"Alright, uncle needs to talk more with your dad, so grab this and go to the candy store across from this store and get something sweet to eat."
"Hey, Dex. What if Eve cannot find the way back...."
"It's right in front of this store. Eve, you can return safely, right?"
Uncle Dex grinned widely as he handed me some coins stained with dirt. So I nodded without hesitation.
I was a little scared to walk around without my dad, but it wasn't that far away anyway.
'I have Excalibur on my back! He'll protect me if something happens.'
[You reckless brat!]
When I nodded, Uncle Dex smiled and gave me five coins before dragging my dad to the basement.
My dad told me to not follow strangers repeatedly before he completely disappeared into the basement.
I nodded and quickly left the store. I looked around and saw people busily passing back and forth.
It had been so long since I'd been so relaxed. Back in the village, I was so busy watching out for the warriors that even if my body split into tens, it wouldn't be enough.
'I guess the warriors won't be in the capital. In the novel, they come to the 'village' where my father and I lived!'
HAHAHA! So I guess we won't be meeting any warriors today!
I felt so happy just thinking about that until I didn't realize that I was smiling by myself.
But when I saw the men walking in the distance, I froze.
A group of tall and burly warriors who stood out in the midst of the crowd were walking toward where I was.
And I had a hunch right at that moment.
'...He's the protagonist.'
He is the protagonist, no matter how you look at him!
Those men are the main characters in this novel!
They are obviously the protagonist's squad, even if I rinse my eyes two hundred times!
The protagonist whom I wanted to avoid so much was walking toward this store.
What the hell is he doing here? Don't tell me, you know that my dad is here?
At that moment, I was reminded that this place was a weapon store.
'Ah right, this is a weapon store.'
Of course, these warriors will visit this place often as if it were their home, but why did I only realize this now?
The moment I snapped out of it, I quickly rolled my brain and ran like lightning toward the weapon shop.
[Hey, brat?]
'I'm sorry, Uncle Dex!'
And I changed the store's OPEN sign to CLOSE sign before hiding myself. Soon after, the warriors arrived at the front door, grabbed the door handle and shook it.