We immediately gathered at a suitable place for the treasure hunt.

The little ones huddled together in a clearing next to a safe forest with properly maintained paths.

Noah, Mihail, and Imelen.

Though Imelen was at the High Temple, Allen had excitedly rushed to bring her when he heard my suggestion to let the children play together.

While the people at the High Temple didn’t yet know Imelen’s true identity, Mihail did.

It was a decision agreed upon by the saint, the High Cardinal, and Imelen herself.

‘They said since she grew up in the High Temple from a young age and comes from a family of priests, she’s more trustworthy than adults in these matters.’

Well, Mihail was destined to become a loyal Holy Knight Commander in <Marino> later on.

Although he was quite rude at their first meeting, and still remains somewhat so.

‘Besides, it seems he was quite close with the saint before, so that works out well.’

The three little ones looked up at me with faces curious about what was about to unfold.

“Now. From this moment on, you’ll be doing a treasure hunt.”

I leaned on the long table set up as the judges’ bench.

“The adults will hide notes with numbers written on them throughout the forest. You need to find as many notes as possible within the time limit. The person with the highest sum of numbers written on their notes wins. Questions?”

Mihail raised one hand.

“Good, ask away.”

“Doesn’t that method rely too much on luck? The person who luckily finds the note with the biggest number has a higher chance of winning. It’s unfair.”

“Amazing, Mihail.”

When Noah expressed admiration, Mihail acted bashful while preening.

“This much is normal.”

“Heh.”

Imelen let out an inexplicable sneer.

Anyway, since a question was asked, I should answer it.

“Good observation. That’s why there’s one rule. Until the time limit ends, you can steal notes from each other.”

“Wait, Calliphe.”

Lynen immediately came close to me and whispered quietly.

“The children might get hurt. There must be safer methods.”

“That’s why we adults are here.”

I said while sweeping my gaze from Lynen to Allen, Lina, Dietrich, and Raul.

“We can handle it if anyone gets hurt. Besides, I’m going to have Dietrich participate as a handicap to prevent fights.”

“Dietrich again. Is that fellow the only close person you have?”

When Lynen asked in a dubious tone, I explained the perfectly logical reason.

“He gave me a box of apples. I’m someone who returns favors.”

“…Stop talking nonsense. I’ll send in Raul too. He should be able to watch the children secretly. Unlike Baron Rotten, surveillance is Raul’s specialty.”

“That’s even better.”

After finishing our brief discussion, I spoke to the children again.

“When you hear the whistle, stop what you’re doing immediately and gather here. Understand? And this person will be playing the game with you too.”

Dietrich sauntered forward.

“Hey, squirts. Ready to lose? I always give it my all, even against kids.”

“……”

The children tensed at the appearance of this threatening man-child. A sense of unity formed among them in the face of a common enemy.

“The winner will receive a wish ticket that can grant one wish.”

“…!”

The children’s concentration heightened. Seeing their sparkling eyes, it seemed they all had something they wanted.

Noah’s enthusiasm was so intense it even surprised Mihail.

“Good. Then you wait here for a moment… Guardians! Time to go hide the notes. Five minutes to prepare!”

The first person to run off at my command was, surprisingly, Allen.

When Allen ran, suddenly Lynen started running too, followed by Lina and Raul.

Looking at it now, the adults seemed the most excited.

* * *

Meanwhile, the guardians arrived at the forest to hide the treasure notes.

There was only one reason they had run there.

Fairness? No.

Because playing is fun? Half right.

The real reason was ‘to make our child win.’

However, there were differences in how underhanded each guardian’s actions were.

Allen mainly hid notes in low places. The ground, under bushes, between rocks, and such places.

“This way Imelen will find them easily.”

Completely biased note-hiding for Imelen only! But the saint was unashamed.

“Imelen, big brother will grant your wish…”

He had noticed how Imelen’s eyes would change to an intense gaze whenever she looked at Calliphe.

She must have something she wants from Calliphe.

“Let’s make this work. Only for Imelen…”

Allen, who had been muttering ominously, suddenly came to his senses.

“But Noah and Mihail should do well too.”

After pondering for a moment, he placed notes in visible places for the two children as well.

“This should do it?”

Most notes hidden for Imelen, the rest distributed appropriately.

The saint prayed for his sister’s victory.

Lina took out pre-written folded notes from her pocket and placed them under bushes.

She mainly chose spots where children passing by could easily find them.

“Hehe. This way no child will end up without finding any notes.”

“But then it’s not really a competition, is it?”

Raul, who was nearby, asked, but Lina shook her head.

“Competition is good, but if one person gets left behind, the child will be hurt. That’s not the purpose of the game.”

“Oh…”

Raul looked at Lina with newfound appreciation.

He had thought she had impressive muscles from the first time he saw her, but she was thoughtful too. Who knew there was such a woman in the Empire.

“Do you like these events too, Mr. Raul? Your tail is wagging.”

“What? Ah, well, yes! Haha. I’ll, uh, go ahead and follow my lord first.”

Raul hurriedly pressed down his tail and rushed off to find Lynen.

Lynen was carefully choosing locations.

“Given Noah’s personality… he’s likely to search strange places without paths. Like holes in tree knots.”

He was doing exactly the same thing as Allen.

The one difference was that it wasn’t by choice.

“Noah has to win. Got it, Lynen? Hide the notes only for Noah. Here, take this 10-point note too.”

“This is too unfair. I refuse.”

“Then I’ll give Dietrich the position of Noah’s swordsmanship teacher as well.”

“Are you crazy? Absolutely not!”

He was only following along because he had to submit to this cowardly threat.

After the blessing ceremony, Lynen had started teaching Noah swordsmanship directly.

He didn’t want to let someone who couldn’t even properly use a sword teach the child and develop bad habits from the basics.

‘This pains my conscience, even if it’s for Noah.’

After swallowing a sigh, he found a note under some bushes.

Since only the saint had passed through this direction before, it must be a note hidden by him.

“……”

Lynen quietly took that note and put it inside a tree knot.

Raul’s jaw dropped witnessing this.

“Our lord has fallen…”

Soon after, the whistle blew.

The guardians who had finished hiding all the notes returned.

“Well then.”

Calliphe put her hands on her hips, and with her other hand making a rough arc gesture, she commanded.

“Go, little ones! For the one and only wish ticket!”

“Woohoo!”

The children rushed toward the forest in a group.

The survival competition in the name of a treasure hunt had begun.