Unsurprisingly, the two guides leading them to the eve children’s tribes were not the children themselves. Surprisingly, they were two slightly familiar faces. 

“What are you doing here?” Ignoring the piercing stare of the veiled Azar standing behind Verdalite, Ciel casually raised his eyebrow. 

Were White Night agents this free?

Looking at the small boy’s black eyebrows rising out of his blindfold, Verdalite gave a puff of laughter. 

“We also need to visit relatives anyway, and I happened to see a few tribal traits I knew from the kidnapped children.”

‘So they were eves.’

Looking at him standing next to the indifferent Azar so leisurely, Ciel recalled everything he could about White Night. 

In fact, he had only read up to the point where the author had written a little note that said the hero’s party was complete at the end of the chapter—another way of saying the harem was complete. At that point, White Night didn’t really have a presence. They just filled up the plot holes of how the protagonist knew things she shouldn’t have known. 

In other words, a plot hole plugger. 

These two White Night people were either shirking their duties, or were just very high up, considering they were able to do business with Dominic. 

Well, it had nothing to do with Ciel anyway. Verdalite’s debt was cleared the moment the clock struck midnight. They had nothing to do with each other anymore.

Ciel’s thoughts were simple as he looked away to find Lilian, who would be supervising them.

“Doctor! You got everything packed? I can carry them.” With my space ring. 

Lilian was suspicious: “You brat. What did the captain tell you for you to act so nice now?”

Ciel gave a crisp smile. “Nothing.” 

 

A few minutes later, Lilian led a small group out of the capital. They were disguised as a merchant caravan while the children had returned to their original forms for easier traveling; a few foxes, lizards, and birds. The only exception was a siren child, who stayed as in his human form and was currently sticking to Ciel’s side like gum. This world’s animals were similar to Ciel’s previous world’s ancient animals aside from a few animals who seemed to have combined, such as Erin the winged serpent and the siren. But they were the minority. 

With the two White Night agents leading the way, the journey to the first village was smooth. Their first destination was in the coastal area, but it was the closest, west coastline. 

Accompanied by Lilian and the Fatalite trainees, Ciel, Erin, and Cedric reached the town easily on the third night. Because this was where the first batch of eves had returned to, they were given a warm welcome. 

Looking around to see children with various features, Ciel pulled Erin’s sleeve, “I thought eves gathered in tribes of their same kind?” Curious, Cedric also leaned in to hear the answer.

The siren child, Libra, interrupted eagerly before Erin could open his mouth, “That’s only for eves who have a large species. Small villages like this are formed by rare eves and orphans.” 

Ciel nodded, that made sense.

Looking at Libra’s eager eyes, he hesitated before giving a head pat. 

“Thank you, you’re really knowledgeable.”

Immediately, the small child puffed up his chest. But his face was still trying to maintain his usual nonchalant expression. 

“Of course, this is something I should know.”

Behind him, Erin raised an eyebrow. 

Wasn’t this how he(Erin) usually interacted with the younger children? The tone and the motions were exactly the same too. When did Ciel learn this? They had never hung out together with the smaller kids before.

Feeling this questionable gaze, Ciel chose to ignore it.

As long as Ciel pretended that he didn’t know that Erin knew something was up with him, Erin wouldn’t know that Ciel knew that Erin knew something was up with Ciel. 

Hehe. 

 

.

By the large bonfire, Ciel munched on a cookie he had brought from the base as he watched the adult eves roasted freshly caught game from the forest. 

Although this was supposed to be a coastal village, it actually wasn’t that close to the ocean. The areas near the sea were dominated by oceanic clans; Ciel couldn’t even see water unless he counted the freshwater lake near the village. 

The few children who had this village as their hometown happily ran around with their friends, while the ones who still had to travel watched on with envy.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ciel caught sight of a familiar mottled tail.  

It was the cheetah from his first mission. 

He jabbed Erin’s side, treating him like an encyclopedia. 

“Weren’t the felines a large tribe? Why’s he here?” 

“He wanted to stay close to his brother. But the capital’s too dangerous for a guided eve like him.”

Ciel narrowed his eyes, reminded of Jadiel’s reaction at the auction. 

“So he was related to the captain?”

“Mhmm.”

Ciel cast a glance at Cedric, who was looking into the fire in a dazed way. 

“Disappointed the trip wasn’t as exciting as you thought?”

“Nonono. It's a nice experience.” Cedric waved his hands. “And, my companions are very friendly.”

Ciel snickered, “If you say so.” 

The trainees Dominic had inserted into Fatalite were all the second or third children of the few noble families loyal to Dominic, of course they would be friendly. 

“Are the skewers done? If so, come over and play! The bird eves are holding a skydiving contest!” Libra walked over calmly, but his sand colored eyes were bright with excitement. He was one of the children who would stay at the village.

“Angel, you aren’t wearing a blindfold?”

“It’s not that bright. Why would I be wearing a blindfold?” Ciel replied, finishing his cookie.

“Tell them we’ll be there in a few minutes. Go play first.” Erin stuffed a rabbit leg in Ciel’s mouth. 

Libra nodded indifferently and walked away. His calm face reminded Ciel of Erin’s perpetually blank face. Only, Erin’s blankness seemed more innate, while Libra seemed to merely try to make himself look mature.

Huh, where else had he seen this kind of forced maturity before?

 

After dinner, the eves gathered around the bonfire in a circle, before they started singing. However, rather than singing out words, the song had a strange mesh of animal sounds that was strung together to make a melody. But as messy as it was, even the silent Azar joined in.

Before Erin could follow, Ciel quickly stopped him, ignoring the subtle feeling that he was asking too many questions today. 

“What are they doing?”

It felt very ritualistic. 

Erin, however, didn’t mind his frequent questions. 

“It’s a homecoming song for those who were lost. Come on, sing with me.” Although they weren’t eves, Cedric and the other trainees had already started singing.

Ciel let go of Erin’s sleeve. “You sing by yourself. I’ll listen.”

In his past life, Ciel had believed that his singing was very good—that was until he sang to someone other than his siblings. 

Anyway, as long as he didn’t sing, no one would know that Ciel was tone-deaf.

.

 

At the crack of dawn, Ciel quickly lay flat on top of the carriage, avoiding the teary-eyed children trying to find him. 

“Angel! Where are you?”

“Hellooo?”

Lilian and Verdalite were the ones who found them first. 

“Isn’t it too early for you children to be up?”

“We wanted to say goodbye to Angel…But we can’t find him anywhere!” 

Verdalite, who had been wondering why Ciel had been on the roof ever since he had woken up, held in his laughter as he faced the children. 

“Since he’s an angel, I’m sure he’ll know what you want to express. Right, angel?” 

As he said this, he looked up.

Sighing, Ciel gave in and sat up, showing himself. 

Seeing him, the children, who were in reality taller than Ciel, a short beansprout, straightened their backs. 

‘Wow, he really was an angel, sitting up so high. Even the rising sun looked like a halo around his head.’ 

““Angel!””

Ciel, unable to block their admiring gazes, smiled kindly. 

He had only saved them once, but they had already imprinted on him like baby chicks.

Mentally comparing them to Erin, he tsked. 

They were all eves, but why did Erin seem to mature so much faster. Was he(Ciel) really a bad influence?

“It’s not a goodbye, it’s a see you later. Got it?”

He could only see a blur as the children nodded their heads.

“So you guys don’t need to cry. I’m not dying, and I’ll come back to visit sometime.”

The leading child, Libra, tried to pretend that the round water droplets rolling down his cheeks weren’t tears.

“Promise?”

Bending down, Ciel tried his best not to fall off as he patted the taller eve’s hair with difficulty. 

“I don’t make promises easily. But I’ll try my best to visit.”

Looking back, Ciel could see that the caravan was done packing up. He turned around to go. 

“See you guys later.”

“Wait! Take this with you.” Ciel turned around again, surprised. In the short moment he had looked away, Libra’s tears had turned into round pearls. He counted five in total as Libra handed them to Ciel.

“A token of appreciation. They’ll keep you safe, so don’t lose them.”

‘Didn’t only mermaid tears turn into pearls?’ The novel had never mentioned this. 

Confused as he was, Ciel wouldn’t refuse such pure intentions from a child. Moreover, this kid had followed him around back in Fatalite, and was second to only Erin in terms of clinging to him.

“Thanks. I’ll keep them safe.”

“If you don’t come back soon, I’ll go find you!” 

Ciel waved without looking back, not taking it seriously. “Sure.”

‘All kids have short-term memories. He’ll forget me by the time he grows up. They all will unless I make frequent contact with them.’ 

He jumped onto the front seat of the back carriage, right next to Verdalite and Erin. The others were leading the carriages in the front. 

“Where are we headed next?”

“Sylvania plains.”

“Not a village?”

“We’re going to Azar’s hometown.”

Ciel was baffled. 

‘They really were visiting relatives?’

***

 

“Stop!” A few ragged figures suddenly jumped out of the bushes in front of the convoy. “Leave your goods and go!”

“Ooh, bandits?” This was Ciel’s first time seeing thieves in another world. They were shabbier than expected.

Then, he quickly grabbed Verdalite, who was about to move.

“Oy oy oy, if you go beat them up what’re the trainees going to do? His highness painstakingly threw–no, incorporated them into Fatalite, not for them to sit around doing nothing.”

Grinning, Ciel pushed Verdalite back into a sitting position. 

“Trainees, I choose you! Go! Capture them alive! That’s money right there!” 

 

Mini Theater:

Trainees: Are we pokemon?

Bandits: Well at least you’re alive. We’ve been reduced to inanimate objects! QAQ

Ciel: But money is useful. (OvO)

Trainees: …are we useless?

Ciel: You guys haven’t appeared for the majority of this journey and don’t even have actual names, what do you think? 

Nameless trainees: …

Nameless trainees: Author, love us more. QAQ