“So, after pulling her hair out, she called the Sylph and blew the count away!”

The gentle breeze and the sun, warm enough to feel pleasant.

A demon, a boy, and a young child preferred to sit outside on a mat rather than inside a shack.

They had been sharing this secret base for almost two years.

The place that once was empty was now filled with the belongings they brought, and the secret base was becoming a more comfortable and familiar place to stay.

On a large mat that Evelia had brought on her back one day.

Leaning on Agares’s arm, the young friend was chattering about an event that had happened a while ago, with gestures and foot taps. The demon and the boy watched her with warm eyes.

“Remarkable.”

“Well done.”

It was as if they were praising her for doing something great, something unique in the world.

But in reality, no matter what Evelia did, there was no chance the demon and the boy would have responded differently.

“But mom smacked my butt. She said that mischief is bad.”

“That’s true.”

First, she was angry because she had bullied a friend, then she was proud because she had scolded him.

But in the end, when she got spanked, the small friend who lowered her eyebrows never got tired no matter how much they watched.

“So, you’ve been visiting Count Kasis often because of the count’s affection?”

Ludwig, stretching out his hand for the fruit in the bowl, asked.

“Yes. It’s partly because Renlian is there, but also because of the picture book that Brother Ian made.”

“…?”

“…?”

The hand that Ludwig stretched towards the fruit stopped abruptly.

Agares quickly turned his body towards Evelia.

When Evelia, who had been leaning on his arm, staggered and said, ‘Uuh?’, the two rulers quickly caught her.

For the first time since Evelia had trained them to ‘Stop!’, Ludwig and Agares exchanged glances with the same meaning.

‘Who is Brother Ian? You know that grumpy kid?’

‘Brother? Have you heard of him, demon?’

The demon and the boy who exchanged shocked glances shook their heads at the same time.

Neither of them knew the answer to the question they had asked each other with their eyes.

Then, the only one who could give the answer was the little one who was busily chewing on nuts and fruit between them.

Just as Evelia reached out for the nuts and fruit again.

Agares snatched up the bowl of fruit and held it high above his head.

“Who is Brother Ian?”

Evelia, who had her bowl of nuts stolen, blinked her big eyes and stretched out her hand towards the chocolate bowl that Ludwig had put close by.

But as soon as he saw her small hand approaching, Ludwig also hid the bowl behind him and threw a question with a similar context.

“Do you call the Count Kasis’s foster son ‘brother’?”

What’s going on? What’s going on? Why are they doing this?

“…My nuts! My choco!!”

“We won’t give it back until you answer.”

“We’re not giving it back until you answer.”

The two rulers said at the same time.

Ludwig was originally very interested in Count Kasis’s foster son.

Icrian was a genius who was said to be able to reach the level of a future Great Magician.

Of course, Ludwig wanted to recruit a brilliant magician of his generation as a loyal servant.

‘He definitely was until a little while ago.’

Icrian, who was the second priority to be recruited after the children of Artina, was marked as a competitor for a small friend because of Evelia’s single word, ‘brother’.

‘Brother Ian. He called him ‘brother’.’

“Brother Ian is Brother Kasis, Brother Renlian, and a smart and kind brother who also makes picture books with magic. Give me back my nuts and choco now!”

Evelia fired words like a machine gun and then stretched out both hands towards them.

However, that answer only hardened the two rulers more.

The ‘smart and kind brother’ was indeed a title they couldn’t achieve.

Despite the harsh gazes, they willingly handed out the nuts and chocolate, but the expressions of the two rulers were serious.

This was not a trivial matter.

“…So, what am I?”

The small ruler of this empire asked a question that cannot be answered.

If Icrian is a smart and kind brother, what am I? I’ve been looking for two years.

“A food thief is a food thief.”

“That’s it?”

“What else?”

“Heh.”

Agares, who was listening to the conversation, let out a short laugh.

He had been interrupting their time together, and all he got was the title ‘food thief’.

That’s good.

“Kid, then what am I?”

Agares asked with a triumphant tone.

He stared at Ludwig’s shocked eyes as if telling him to remember well.

Without hesitation, Evelia answered.

“Ash is a bunny.”

“……Is that all?”

“What else is there?”

Chuckling.

This time, Ludwig smirked.

The devil and the boy exchanged fiery glances.

“I’ll get a drink. Want more orange juice?”

Something’s off with my friends today.

Seeing them reject the nicknames they usually accepted without complaint.

‘Maybe more orange juice will calm them down.’

Evelia rose from her mat and walked briskly towards the shack.

“What are you laughing at, illbred brat.”