The Snow Leopard Baby of the Black Leopard Family

The boat successfully crossed the river.

Contrary to their worries, the current wasn’t strong, so there were no sudden dangers of the boat capsizing.

Tiel felt a little seasick, but since the river wasn’t very wide, they quickly reached the other side, and she managed to avoid causing any trouble for Olivia.

‘It’s my first time on a boat, but it’s not as great as I thought...’

The boat rocked back and forth, making her feel uncomfortable. If they had come during the day, maybe they could have enjoyed the pretty river, but now it was night, and the calm water beneath them seemed only scary.

Thud.

The boat reached the shore. As soon as the knights stepped down to lower the stairs, Tiel jumped off the boat. The other children followed suit, stepping onto the land.

"Is this it?"

Ludian asked indifferently. Clemence, the last to disembark, nodded.

"This is it... The land you’ve been looking for."

"We didn’t find it, though. Chender did! If that old man hadn’t said those things, we wouldn’t have come all the way here!" Olivia grumbled, inching closer to Ludian. Thanks to the abilities of the two boys, the surroundings remained warm instead of cold, so all the children, except for Ian, huddled together like penguins.

"When we get back, I’ll go to Nestian’s estate and take my frustration out on them," Ferdie muttered, still looking pale from the seasickness.

They all agreed that their struggles up to this point were because of Chender Buchanan Nestian, so no one objected or commented further.

"First, let’s... go. There’s a place from the legends here. We need to go there to do anything."

"A place from the legends?"

"Yes, I’ve never been here before, but according to the records, there’s such a place."

"Where do we need to go?"

Ian Dross asked. Clemence seemed to be recalling something, making a small noise before pointing toward the distance.

"The highest point?"

"...?"

"?"

"?"

"..."

The others, including Ferdie, Olivia, Ludian, and Tiel, looked at Clemence. Ian crossed his arms and asked again.

"The highest point?"

"Yes, that’s what the records said. Also, it mentioned that light would know the way..."

This time, everyone’s gaze shifted to Tiel. Tiel, feeling awkward under their attention, tilted her head.

"Um, um..."

"Yes, Tiel!"

"...I don’t know the way?"

Tiel answered in a flustered voice.

They had assumed that Tiel, coming from Arne, would know the path, but they were wrong. Even though Arne knew this land better than most, they didn’t have that detailed information.

After a moment of thought, Tiel carefully cupped her hands together and spoke.

"Well... should we ask?"

Tiel had some level of communication with her ability.

Usually, other beastkin used their abilities through commands, not communication, which made Tiel’s ability quite exceptional.

However, Tiel had never shared with others that she could communicate with her ability.

The first reason was that everyone assumed she could, and the second reason was... that her ability was her own little "secret friend."

When Tiel used her ability, a small glowing fish appeared and floated up into her palm.

Each time its delicate fins fluttered, golden particles scattered around it. Tiel brought her nose close to the fish, and it met her nose in a greeting unique to their "secret friends."

"Hello, my little fish. I have something I want to ask..."

Tiel whispered softly. The fish reacted by flapping its small fins and swimming in the air.

"Listen, I heard that light knows the way. Do you know where I need to go? If you do, could you show me?"

As soon as Tiel finished speaking, the fish swam forward, then stopped and spun in place as if asking her to follow.

"I think it knows!"

Tiel beamed and looked back at her siblings. She paused for a moment, noticing their blank expressions.

"Hmm?"

Why were they looking at her like that? The girl approached Ian Dross and gently grabbed his sleeve.

"Ian?"

Even Ian Dross, who usually didn’t look confused, now stared at her with a slightly dazed expression.

"Tiel, you..."

"Yes?"

"You... you can really talk to your fish?"

"Uhm..."

Tiel paused to think about Ian’s question. Sometimes she heard a voice in her head, but was that the fish speaking?

After thinking it through, Tiel concluded that it wasn’t. If it were the fish’s voice, it wouldn’t just come occasionally but would constantly echo in her ears.

"No, I can’t talk to it. But I think it understands me. See! It’s asking us to follow it!"

Tiel pointed to the fish. The fish was still hovering in place, waiting for the children to follow.

In the pitch-black night, without even the light of the moon, the light from the fish seemed even brighter and more radiant. It was a light that clearly knew where it was going.

"You... are really amazing."

Ian Dross murmured, his voice filled with admiration. Tiel, slightly flustered by his words, tilted her head again.

"You always tell me I’m amazing... Why is it only now that you say it...?"

"Where did you learn the word 'new' from? And saying you're amazing can never be too much."

"From my older brothers... Am I amazing? Have I become a little more like a cool leopard now?"

"You've been amazing since the first time I met you..."

Ian was about to stroke Tiel's head but stopped himself, remembering the "scruffy baby snow leopard" from when they first met.

"...You’ve been cute from the start."

"Why don’t you say I’m cool, though?"

"Let’s go. We don’t have time to waste."

Ian Dross suddenly lifted Tiel in his arms. Tiel, without saying a word, settled into his embrace, her expression not showing any displeasure.

The others, watching Ian and Tiel from a distance, silently began to follow them.

Ludian nudged Ferdie with his elbow.

"Hey, does she really do that with her ability? Can she talk to it?"

"Wouldn't you think so? If it were possible, you and I would have done it by now."

"But didn’t Tiel just talk to her ability? She called it ‘my little fish’! Is her ability alive? Is that what the legendary abilities are like?"

Olivia asked absentmindedly.

But no one answered her. None of them knew enough about the "legendary abilities" to provide an answer...

***

The light from the fish was so bright that even the knights following behind the children could carefully step around the stones and tree roots on the ground.

The fish led the way up the mountain path. Ian Dross, glancing at the dead trees, spoke up.

"Be careful, there are a lot of broken branches on the ground. You might trip."

The land, once called a paradise, no longer resembled it in any way.

The trees and flowers were mostly withered and twisted, and there were no wild animals to be seen. The forest smelled unpleasant, like the scent of a long-dead animal carcass that hadn’t been cleared away.

‘Is this the smell of death?’

Tiel lifted her head from Ian's arms to look at the dead trees.

According to Clemence, most of the life on this land had withered and died ever since the sun stopped rising. If that was the case, these trees must have withered over a hundred years ago...

‘It feels like they died just yesterday.’

Why was that? If they had died a hundred years ago, they should have decayed into dust, but this forest still maintained its form, despite the complete death of everything in it.

It was an eerie sight. Tiel held Ian’s neck a little tighter. Ian supported her small back with his arm.

It was then.

Rustle!

A sound like something brushing through the grass came from somewhere. The children, tense, turned toward the sound at the same time.

It was a presence!

‘Someone’s there!’

Tiel's eyes widened as she looked in the direction of the sound. One of the knights pointed toward the grass and shouted.

"Hey, over there!"

There, crouching down, was a small boy.

A boy with blue hair. The boy, startled by the sudden light, looked toward them with his pupils wide.

"Light..."

The boy muttered blankly. He hesitated, then slowly approached the children, but upon remembering something, he stepped back in surprise.

A silence fell.

"...A child?"

After a moment, Olivia’s voice broke the tense silence.