LMSH | Chapter 4

Episode 4

He opened the note and rubbed his eyes as if he couldn’t believe it.

“…Did you know we were going to meet beforehand?”

I smiled and gave him an answer that was slightly different from what he had asked.

“The nearer the future, the more accurately I can predict it.”

“Hah… Sorry for underestimating the value of your information. You’re making quite a loss. At this rate, I won’t be able to call myself a merchant with pride.”

“Do I seem like I’m at a loss?”

A small chuckle escaped me involuntarily. It was probably the kind of weary laughter that one wouldn’t expect from a child.

“I’m not at a loss at all.”

I had gathered as much information as possible in my previous timeline to use in this one.

And to the merchant leader, I had only revealed a single piece of the hundreds—no, thousands—of pieces of information I knew.

With just that, I could escape this hellish village with ease and take revenge on Aunt Cecile, who had tried to kill me.

How could this possibly be a bad deal?

***

After resting in the village for a few days, the merchant group set off again toward the capital.

Not missing this opportunity, Aunt Cecile took me along and followed at the very back of the caravan.

And then—

“You there!”

“Y-Yes?”

The merchant leader pointed directly at us, making Aunt Cecile look at him nervously.

There were times when merchant groups charged a protection fee from those who followed them.

“I’ll let the child ride a horse.”

“Ah…”

Hearing that, Aunt Cecile let out a small sigh of relief but still hesitated before stepping forward cautiously. At that, the merchant leader furrowed his brows deeply.

“You’re an adult. You should walk.”

His expression was as cold as could be.

Aunt Cecile’s face turned red with embarrassment as she shouted at him.

“W-Who said I wanted to ride? I wouldn’t let my child on your horse either!”

“This isn’t a path fit for a child to walk. They’ll get exhausted and fall behind.”

The merchant leader tilted his head slightly, as if puzzled.

“A mother would naturally want her child to travel comfortably. Yet you’re making them suffer out of pride? That’s odd.”

Since he knew we weren’t actually mother and child, he deliberately pointed it out.

Aunt Cecile bit her lip hard but had no choice but to bow her head.

“…Please.”

It was an unexpected stroke of luck.

I had originally asked for a cart, but a horse was obviously much better than a jostling, uncomfortable wagon.

And the best part was that Aunt Cecile had to walk.

I waved my hand at her playfully, as if telling her to have a nice walk, and then approached the merchant leader.

Without a word, he easily lifted me and placed me on his horse.

“We’re moving out!”

Once on horseback, I shamelessly leaned against his back. It made for a perfect backrest.

Being a child did come with a lot of restrictions, but there were some perks as well.

I wasn’t going to complain about that.

After a while—

A low voice spoke from above me.

“…You’re smaller than I expected.”

“I’m still a child.”

“How old are you?”

“Seven.”

Hearing my age, the merchant leader’s voice carried a hint of surprise.

“My son wasn’t this small when he was seven.”

“Well, I didn’t get to eat properly, so it’s only natural.”

“…”

Ah. I hadn’t meant to make him speechless.

Having lived such a harsh life, my tragic backstory just slipped out every time I opened my mouth.

A few seconds passed.

Perhaps to break the awkward silence, he spoke again.

“Our merchant group is called Ageratum. If you don’t like the orphanage, come find us. A smart kid like you is always welcome.”

“You’re not just interested in my ability as an ‘Abiliter,’ are you?”

“Haha, that too.”

I crossed my arms and pouted.

“Well, thanks for the offer. If all my plans fall apart, I’ll think about it.”

Of course, there was no way my plans would ever fail.

Do you know why an Indian rain dance has a 100% success rate?

It’s because they keep dancing until it rains.

I was going to keep resetting and grinding my ability until my plan succeeded.

After traveling through several villages for about fifteen days, we finally arrived at the Imperial Capital, Catalea.

During the journey, I became quite close not only with the merchant leader but also with the other members of the group.

Of course, Aunt Cecile didn’t just sit by and watch.

Whenever I tried to talk to someone from the caravan, she would quickly drag me away.

It seemed she was afraid I might stick with them instead.

As soon as we arrived in the capital, Aunt Cecile roughly grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the merchant group.

Since I had already coordinated with the merchant leader, I didn’t resist and let her lead me.

“Where are we going now?”

“There’s no gambling den that would take a kid like you, so I guess I’ll have to make money at the racetrack instead.”

“And where are we sleeping?”

“…Right. We should find an inn first.”

Since I wasn’t putting up any resistance, she seemed relieved, and her expression softened a little.

But the grip on my wrist showed no sign of loosening.

It was impossible to break free and escape with my own strength.

I would have to execute my plan exactly as intended.

Slowly, I looked around and activated my ability.

[Overwriting the current timeline with Timeline 2.]

Then, I spoke as casually as if nothing had happened.

“…I should’ve at least thanked the merchant leader before leaving.”

“Hah? You’re the one who got help, so why should I?”

Aunt Cecile was about to retort, asking if he could have crossed the monster-infested forest alone, but she shut her mouth instead.

How long had we been walking?

From behind us, I spotted the merchant leader approaching with the security forces.

Seeing the soldier narrow his eyes, it seemed he was suspicious that I was being taken away against my will.

This wasn’t going to be easy to fool them like this.

I abruptly stopped walking and muttered with an annoyed expression.

“What, do I have to put on an urgent act too? Fine. I’m an excellent performer, after all.”

“Tania, what did you just—”

Ignoring Aunt Cecile’s words, I memorized the positions of the surrounding buildings and then loaded the previously saved point.

[Loading Timeline 2.]

There was a brief pause due to the gap between the previous timeline and this one, which made Aunt Cecile furrow her brows in irritation.

“What are you doing?”

“Sorry, I got distracted for a moment.”

I continued walking nonchalantly, waiting for the right timing.

As soon as we neared the buildings I had memorized earlier, I instantly summoned tears and collapsed onto the ground.

“Please help me, Auntie! I’m sorry, I was wrong! I’ll do anything, just don’t sell me!”

“W-What? What are you talking about…?!”

Aunt Cecile, flustered, hurriedly tried to pull me up.

And right on cue, the merchant leader arrived with the security forces, pointing at Aunt Cecile as he shouted.

“It’s her!”

In an instant, the soldiers surrounded both Aunt Cecile and me.

Separated from her with ease, I grabbed onto a soldier’s pant leg, wailing.

“Th-That lady said she was going to sell me! She said I’d fetch a good price because I’m an Abiliter…!”

My voice even cracked from how deeply I immersed myself in the scene.

“Please… help me….”

The soldier, affected by my desperate appearance, knelt down to meet my gaze with a serious expression.

“Do you know her?”

“N-No, I don’t. As soon as she found out I was an Abiliter, she tried to drag me off somewhere.”

I trembled violently, displaying clear anxiety.

The soldier gently patted my back to calm me.

“Where are your parents?”

Closing my eyes for a moment, I silently shook my head.

He glanced at my tattered clothes and thin frame, then muttered under his breath, barely audible.

“Hah… a trafficker targeting orphans…?”

With a darkened expression, he asked me a question.

“Kid, do you know where she was trying to take you?”

“The alley near the central clock tower… I think the shop was called something like ‘Cigar Store’… but I don’t know the exact location….”

The cigar store I mentioned had long been used as a black-market site for trading Abiliters.

Or rather, since I had returned to the past, it was still being used now.

There was no way they would expect a child to have that kind of information.

Once they confirmed it was a trafficking site, they would naturally assume Aunt Cecile was their informant and press her for more details.