Published at 18th of January 2020 4:46 pm

Volume 2, Chapter 2: The Young Girl Leaves on a Journey

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Less than a month after it first became obvious that Rita was pregnant, spring was starting to arrive.

“Hmm... It’d be a pain to wear normal armor at this point...” Dale muttered to himself, his signature leather coat spread out before him.

Have I gotten a bit taller again...?

He wasn’t quite aware of it himself, but that was likely the case. His coat, which served as an excellent piece of armor, had gotten a little tight.

Thanks to coats being naturally loose-fitting, he was able to use various belts to adjust it here and there and had been able to wear it for years, but it seemed that had at last come to an end. It wasn’t bad enough to impede his movements, but considering his line of work, he wanted to avoid anything that would restrict him at all.

“I haven’t been back for a while, so should I have them make me a new one...?”

That choice was the beginning.

“To be honest, I wanted to wait until you were done with school, but I figured it’d be good to do it while Rita can still move around, so I sped up my plans,” Dale started out, before giving Latina a choice. “What do you want to do? It’ll be a bit of a long trip, but do you want to go with me? Or do you want to stay home?”

“It’s okay for Latina to come along?”

Seeing the surprise on Latina’s face, Dale wore a playful grin.

“This time it’s not for work, after all. There may still be some danger to it, though, so if you don’t want to, then I won’t force you. You can just hold down the fort if you want.”

“Latina wants to go. She wants to be with Dale,” she immediately replied, all smiles. She bounced right into Dale’s arms. “Latina will listen carefully to everything Dale says, so it won’t be dangerous!” Her expression was serious.

Having her say that before he could warn her, Dale couldn’t help but give a strained laugh.

†

Because he needed to go to the capital at least once before their journey, Dale departed from Kreuz.

Normally, when Dale left, Latina would be depressed the entire time, but she didn’t seem that way at all now. After all, this trek to the capital was as part of the preparations for their coming journey, and her thoughts were entirely occupied by their trip. She just didn’t have any time left to feel down.

Dale typically traveled by foot, but this time he had gotten a small horse for the journey they would be taking together. This was out of consideration for Latina, who wasn’t used to traveling. She could ride it when she grew tired, and the horse would also help carry luggage.

Even so, it wasn’t as if it could carry a lot of weight. Latina packed every day while Dale was away, only to end up spreading everything out again. Today as well, Latina nodded in approval at the luggage laid out before her but seemed to realize something, sending her running down the stairs.

“Kenneth, can Latina take a knife with her?” “Hmm? One for cooking?”

“Yeah.”

Latina had kicked off this conversation as soon as she saw Kenneth in the kitchen. The young girl always consulted with him about her ideas. Because she loved Dale so much, she seemed to exercise her own sort of discretion when it came to him. That’s why, with Kenneth being her mentor as well, Latina found him easy to talk to.

“I think Dale should be taking care of purchasing traveling clothes while he’s away at the capital, but...”

“Latina would like a knife that’d be easy for her to use.”

“Right... then how about buying one? If you put in a request with a craftsman, then you could have the grip made to your needs, at least. And then you could use it and get accustomed to it up until it’s time to head out.”

“Is it alright for Latina to spend money?”

“It’s your money, so of course you can use it to buy stuff for yourself,” Kenneth replied, then looked over his work station. He had a rough idea of how much work he needed to get done by tonight, and he figured he could justify a short break.

Kenneth peeked out into the shop and faced his wife, who was working in the same place as always.

“Rita, I’m going to head out to the eastern district with Latina for a bit.” “Oh, is that so? Take care.”

“You be careful too, Rita.”

“It’s not like I’m sick or something. You’re worrying too much.”

After that exchange between husband and wife, Kenneth took off his apron and left the Dancing Ocelot together with Latina, who had returned from the attic with a pochette over her shoulder.

There was quite a difference in stride between the large-bodied Kenneth and the tiny Latina. Kenneth was walking at a fairly relaxed pace, but even so, sometimes a gap would open up between them, forcing Latina to run a little to catch up. Pit, pat, pitter-pat, pit, pat, pitter-pat. She looked like a little chick as she chased after him, not much different from when she had first come to Kreuz.

When they reached the craftsmen’s area of the Eastern district, Latina looked up at Kenneth, seeming to suddenly remember something.

“Um, Kenneth... Rudy said his dad was a blacksmith.”

“That redheaded kid? Oh right, he was Schmidt’s third child, wasn’t he? Well, he’s pretty skilled, I guess. Wanna go take a look?”

“Latina’s never been to a blacksmith before. Do they sell knives?” “Well, the sort of stuff they make varies based on the workshop.”

The children passing by called out to Latina when they saw her, and they waved in her direction. Perhaps nervous due to the intimidating presence of Kenneth by her side, though, none of them came near. But even so, Latina waved back as always, and seeing that, Kenneth’s expression softened.

It seemed that Latina had many more friends in the eastern district than she did in the south.

“This is the place,” said Kenneth as he passed into the entrance of the well- established shop. If you weren’t feeling overly kind, you could even call it old- fashioned. That was the sort of establishment this smithy was.

Passing through the entrance, there was a show space that was a bit of a jumbled mess, with all sorts of swords lined up. At the spot where your eyes would naturally fall first, there were swords clearly of a higher quality than the other items being displayed. You could tell a lot about the owner of the shop from how he handled his wares.

“Wooooow, there are a lot of swords!” “That’s Schmidt’s specialty, after all.”

As Latina glanced all about the shop, full of curiosity, Kenneth fell into his old habits and started spontaneously scrutinizing the weapons. He may have favored battleaxes back when he was an adventurer, but it wasn’t as if he never used swords. Just as he’d expected, the blades weren’t enough to call their maker a master, but they weren’t half-bad, either.

“This isn’t the sort of place you should bring a kid.”

Seeming to have realized their presence, a man with splendid red hair slowly came out of the back. Apparently, Latina understood just who her friend had gotten his hair color from, and she stared in wonder. After he said that single sentence to the two, the shop owner, who didn’t appear to be overly suited to dealing with customers, tried to head back into his workshop in the rear of the store. Surprised by this, Latina hurried over to the man.

“Hello. Um, Latina is friends with Rudy.”

Hearing her voice, the owner stopped and looked at Latina. He seemed somewhat surprised.

“With Rudolf?”

“That’s right. Nice to meet you.”

Latina faced him with a smile and politely gave a bow. She didn’t seem bothered in the least by the owner’s rude gaze, which almost seemed to be appraising her.

“Did you come to play with Rudolf?”

“No. Latina wants a knife. Did you have any that are the right size for her?” “We don’t have any knives for kids. Something like that’d practically be a

toy,” responded the owner with a bit of a rough look on his face, causing Latina to turn towards Kenneth with a troubled expression, seemingly seeking help. Kenneth patted Latina on the head and took over negotiations.

“This girl’s going to head out on a bit of a trip, so she wants a knife for the various tasks that’ll come up. Apparently she mainly wants to use it for cooking.”

“Is she your kid?”

“No. I’m just acting as her escort right now.”

The owner thought for a moment, and pointed towards his workshop.

“I don’t have any out front, but I’ve got plenty laying around in the back. You can take a look if you want.”

They followed after the owner into the workshop, and once more found a place with a palpable history to it. As someone absolutely brimming with curiosity, Latina was interested in every nook and corner of the room. She started glancing about even more than before. It wasn’t just the tools and implements she’d never seen before that caught her eye. Even the chunks of metal in the midst of being processed were enough to interest her. She was clearly so engrossed that she wasn’t even watching where she stepped any more.

“Hey, Latina, it’s dangerous around here, so watch where you’re walking,” said Kenneth, causing her to hurry over to his side.

In the corner of the workshop was a tabletop made from a thick board, with an even more cluttered pile of swords and daggers than what was in the front of the shop on top of it.

“Which one should Latina chose, Kenneth?” “Let’s see...”

As Latina poked at the handles of the various blades and tilted her head, she turned to Kenneth by her side and asked for help. As she had no eye for them, she didn’t even know the basics of how to pick out a knife.

Kenneth picked a few knives of a reasonable size out of the mountain of blades, and started carefully comparing them. Shortly afterwards, he placed two of them in front of Latina.

“Now you just need to hold them and see which feels better to you.” “Right.”

As Latina repeatedly grasped and released the handles with a serious look on her face, lively voices sounded from the back of the workshop. Looking over, she saw two boys and a girl arguing with one another as they headed in her direction.

“Just stop making a fuss about it and help out already, Rudy!” “Why should I? It’s your turn today, bro!”

“He’s got other work to take care of!” “That’s right! Unlike you, I’m actually busy.” “You’re just blowing off helping dad again!”

If nothing else, they were certainly noisy. With their brilliant red hair, it was easy to tell they were related at a glance.

“Rudolf, your friend’s here.”

“Rudy!” Latina added after the owner’s call, and her high-pitched voice reverberated through the workshop to a surprising degree. The three siblings stopped arguing and all turned to look at her. Latina was waving back at them. Rudy looked utterly confused to see the young girl, and his elder brother and sister stood with their mouths hanging wide open in surprise.

Well of course they are. There aren’t really any girls as pretty as Latina in this part of town... Kenneth thought, taking everything in from a step back. Even though he’d grown accustomed to her cuteness because he saw her every day, it surprised even him every now and again.

Though she was still small compared to kids her own age, Latina had developed a good bit these past two years. She took good care of her platinum hair, and it now had a brilliant shine to it. Today she had some of it done up in a braid, while the rest flowed down her back. Her round, soft cheeks, her long- lashed grey eyes, and her pink lips all added to her cuteness.

Nowadays, there was no trace of the small girl who’d been wasting away when she first came to Kreuz. That pathetic-looking child had been given plenty of love and affection and was now a girl who wore a happy smile on her face.

“Wh-Why are you here, Latina?!”

As Rudy came running up to Latina in a panic, she tilted her head. “Latina came to do some shopping. She wants a knife.”

“There’s no way you could handle the sort of stuff our place makes!” Displeased by Rudy’s words, Latina puffed up her cheeks.

“Latina will be fine. They’re bigger than what she usually uses for cooking, but she needs one, so she’ll learn to use it.”

“Why do you need one?”

“Because Latina’s going on a journey.”

Rudy’s expression became one of pure shock. “A journey...? You’re leaving, Latina? Why?! Why is this happening so suddenly?!” Rudy exclaimed, grabbing Latina by the shoulders. Latina was clearly surprised.

“What’s wrong, Rudy?”

Rather than Latina, who was left blinking in confusion, it was Kenneth, a step removed from the situation, who first realized that there had been a misunderstanding.

“Latina, did you tell your friends you were going on a trip?” “No, she didn’t.”

“You’d be worried if one of your friends suddenly said they were going away, right? You need to make sure to tell them.”

Nodding in understanding, Latina looked straight at Rudy. “Um, Rudy...

Latina is going to Dale’s home village along with him. It’s a little far, so she won’t be back until summer’s over.”

With that, Rudy more or less calmed back down. Realizing Latina’s big eyes were staring straight at him, he hurriedly backed away. “O-Oh... so you’re gonna come back?”

“Yeah. Latina will come back to Kreuz.”

Even though Rudy seemed to be awkwardly looking away, Latina smiled back at him.

“It looks like Latina got so excited for the trip that she forgot some stuff,” mumbled Latina in apology, and she looked up at Kenneth. “After we’re done shopping, could Latina stop by Chloe’s house?”

“I don’t mind. Just make sure you make it back before dark.”

After they’d finished talking, Latina brought the knife she had chosen to the owner, who was grinning from having watched all the commotion. She presented it to him, holding it carefully in both hands.

“Latina would like this knife. How much is it?” “If it’s only this one, then you can just have it.”

Latina stopped and thought, apparently somewhat troubled by the owner’s words.

“Um... Latina wanted to spend her own money to make a purchase today. She’s always given things, so she wanted to earn something for herself.”

Her speech was, as always, a little awkward, but the owner nodded in understanding and gave her a price. Kenneth realized that it was quite a hefty discount, but it only showed on his face ever so slightly.

Latina pulled a wallet with elaborate flower embroidery on it out of her red pochette and started counting her coins with a serious expression on her face. She then thrust them out on her open palm, offering them to the owner.

“Your hands are awful small... Are you sure this isn’t too big for you?”

“Yeah, she’s a runt!”

Latina puffed out her cheeks, clearly displeased at the taunt Rudy added to his father’s concerns. “Latina will get bigger soon!”

After bringing his fist down on his youngest child’s head, the owner took hold of Latina’s small hand while accepting the payment.

“Does she still have some time before she heads out? If she’s got two or three days, then I could adjust the grip, at least a bit.”

“Right, if that’s how long it’ll take, then that should be fine. I was actually planning on asking you myself. Is that okay with you, Latina?”

Thinking a bit on what the two adults had said, Latina gave a quick nod. “Can Latina ask you to do that? She’d really appreciate it.”

Seeing that Latina was courteous in addition to being cute, Rudy’s siblings, who were standing a bit further away, looked at one another.

“She sure is polite...”

“It’s hard to imagine that she’s friends with stupid Rudy...” “Still, he’s totally into—”

“Let’s drop it, at least for now.”

The pair were holding back laughter as they talked, but shortly after, Latina came up and started introducing herself. Based on how awkwardly they reacted, they certainly weren’t in any position to laugh at their younger brother. Their father couldn’t help but sigh.

After parting ways with Kenneth at Rudy’s house, Latina headed towards

Chloe’s place. She’d once gotten lost in this same part of the eastern district, but she was now at least completely familiar with the way to her friends’ houses. Because she wasn’t allowed to go freely about the southern district out of concern for her safety, she may have been more knowledgeable about the lay of the land in this area.

“Latina will tell everyone else at the school. And when Dale gets back, he’ll explain the situation to the temple. Dale and the others say they’re not worried about Latina’s studies.”

“A trip, huh? They say it’s dangerous outside of town because there are bandits and magical beasts. Will you be alright?”

Chloe had been shocked at first, and when she finished hearing what Latina had to say from beginning to end, her initial concern was for her friend’s safety. Latina had replied immediately with a smile.

“Dale will be with Latina, so she’ll be fine.”

“The customers at the shop said that Dale’s really strong, too. They said not to tell Dale they said that, though,” Latina laughed.

Seeing her friend enjoying herself, Chloe stopped needlessly worrying. She was, of course, still concerned, but more than that, she wanted Latina to enjoy herself. After all, Chloe knew all too well just how sad Latina got each time she was left behind.

“Take care, Latina. I’ll be looking forward to hearing all about your trip when you get back.”

Latina was struck with a good idea. “Latina will write letters! She’ll be moving about so you may not get to respond to her, but she’ll send a lot to Chloe!”

Latina broke out in a smile, and Chloe couldn’t help but grin as well.

†

Meanwhile, Dale had headed to the capital of Ausblick to get official permission from Duke Eldstedt to return to his home village. Because Dale was under contract with the duke, he couldn’t leave his normal base, Kreuz, without notice. It wouldn’t have been an issue if the trip was just for a few days, but the village was on the outskirts of Laband, far enough away that it would take several weeks just to get there. His itinerary had the round trip taking over a month. If he left without giving a report, it would raise unnecessary suspicion, and since he was dealing with one of the leading powers in the nation, that was something he wanted to avoid. That said, he’d already sent a letter on the matter to the duke, and there was no way that he’d refuse at this point. Even so thanks to their contract, it was essential that Dale come in person to receive permission. Though he found it a pain and grumbled about it, it was also something he couldn’t avoid.

Since it was personal business that brought him to the capital this time around, he couldn’t have a flying dragon prepared for him, so he traveled on a horse he had rented from Kreuz. Dale was fairly skilled when it came to horse- riding.

It was supposed to be a minimum of three days by horse or a week by carriage to make it from Kreuz to the capital, but Dale ended up arriving in less than two days. Dale was a user of Earth magic, which was good for recovering stamina. While riding the horse all the while, he kept on periodically using healing magic on it. It was an efficient method that could only be employed by an excellent magic user, but it was rather cruel to the horse it was being performed on.

Even though he’d gotten in contact beforehand, it wasn’t as though he could be granted an immediate audience with the duke, as he was a very busy man. When he was in the capital, Dale normally stayed in a room at Eldstedt’s residence, but this time he ended up finding an inn, then headed out into town.

I’ve gotta prepare for the trip with Latina, too... Dale thought as he strolled along. It’d be good to get her a girlish cloak. Latina’s fond of pinks and reds. I wouldn’t want to get her anything too plain-looking. She’ll be wearing it for a while, so I should get her something cute that she’ll like. Should I get a magical device armor...? If it’s enchanted, then it won’t just be better at protecting her, it’ll also be easier to keep clean. Yeah, if it’s for Latina, then I should definitely splurge! That’s the way to go!

Having come to that conclusion, he went looking around some shops. As one would expect from the country’s capital, there was an even larger variety of goods on display than in Kreuz; Dale could tell that much just from the shops he happened to wander into. There were plenty of expensive items, but they were also plenty worth the cost.

“I should get her a backpack... and just to be safe, it’d be good for her to have a rod to protect herself. And then...” he unconsciously muttered.

“Oh, is that you, Dale? What are you doing here? Work?” called out a woman’s voice that he recognized. Sure enough, when he turned around to look, he found a face that he was familiar with as well. With her abundant blond hair done up to show off the nape of her slender neck, it was clear that she was well aware of her own charms. There was also something rather seductive about her refined attire. Even though her clothing didn’t show much skin, other women would likely understand that it was the sort of design you couldn’t wear if you didn’t have confidence in your own proportions. That was the sort of woman the blue-eyed beauty who called out to Dale was.

“Helmine, huh?”

“I haven’t heard word of any work that’d get you called here, though. Did something good come your way?”

“I’m just here for a bit of shopping.”

It didn’t show on Dale’s face at all, but internally, he was sweating bullets. He wasn’t very good at dealing with her.

Helmine didn’t hesitate in the least to use her feminine charms as one of her weapons. In the past, this had led to some painful memories for Dale, which he definitely would have liked to forget. She was highly skilled as a magic user, and the two of them had worked together often in the past, but whether or not he could handle her was another matter entirely.

“Shopping?”

As Helmine stood before him with an alluring smile on her face, Dale strengthened his resolve. If it was for the sake of his cute, charming daughter, then he wanted to get the best items he possibly could. Though he could use magic, he specialized in physical attacks, so his eye for weapons and armor was limited to items meant for frontline warriors. He didn’t have much confidence when it came to picking items suited to magic users, which is what Latina would need. Now that he’d run into a first-rate magic user, his best choice was to seek her advice.

It was all for Latina’s sake. For cute, adorable Latina. Dale faced Helmine’s smile head-on.

“What luck, running into you here, Helmine. If you’ve got time, could you join me for a bit?”

“Oh my, you’re inviting me somewhere? How rare.” “That’s not true!”

“Well, I suppose I’ll let it go, then,” Helmine giggled, her laugh sounding like a bell; but to Dale’s ears, it sounded more like the roar of a large beast. Regardless, though, Dale decided to give it his all, keeping the image of a smiling Latina in the back of his mind.

The principle god of Laband was Ahmar, the god of war. As a result, the country promoted the cultivation of martial arts and spells, so much so that it wouldn’t lose in comparison to even a military dictatorship. Alongside that abundant national power, the king and lords employed rather impressive forces themselves.

Being the capital of such a country, Ausblick was of course overflowing with first-rate weapons and armor, as well as magical devices. The rows of shops had everything from stores with goods at entirely reasonable prices to ones that handled specialized items so costly that commoners couldn’t even dream of purchasing them. It was one such shop that Dale visited, accompanied by Helmine.

Apparently, out of the shops in Ausblick that primarily sold robes and the like, this was the one Helmine recommended most. Even though Dale wasn’t overly familiar with the sorts of equipment magic users employed, he could still tell that the wares on display here had particularly elegant designs.

As they generally lacked the strength required to wear heavy armor, magic users usually preferred magic robes, which were enchanted with mana to increase their defense and evasion. That made them the optimal sort of gear for a young girl like Latina.

“Dale? Those sizes you’re looking at seem awfully small.”

“...One of my acquaintances asked me to buy something for his kid. I already said that, right?”

“Yeah, you did. But still, you seem to be really getting into it.” Helmine’s high-pitched laugh made Dale’s smile twitch.

He only knew this because he’d heard it from Kenneth and Gregor, but apparently lately, when he was thinking about Latina, his sheer bliss tended to show on his face. She was currently his greatest “weakness.” He was doing his utmost to get through this without the vixen before him figuring that out.

Still, I just can’t help it! This robe isn’t bad, but I think this cape would look even cuter on Latina!

He was picking out items for Latina, so naturally, he kept imagining her wearing them. Right, imagining such things was unavoidable. As he thought about how Latina was so cute that anything would suit her, Dale’s expression grew more and more obvious.

I’d thought about it before coming, but sure enough, it’s different seeing them in person... This looks easier to move in, so I think it’d be much better... Hmm...

“That’s not bad, but if it’s for a kid, then this is what I’d recommend. The price is a little high, but it’s a high-quality item, and more importantly, it’s made so it’s hard to tell that it’s a magical device.”

Though Dale had been lost in his thoughts, Helmine’s voice brought him back to his senses. Looking her way, he saw that she was holding a cape simpler- looking than the one he held in his hands. Taking a look at it, he saw that the protective spell seemed to be etched into the lining. The material had a color that wasn’t unusual for a cloak, and it gave a somewhat subdued impression. But in exchange, the tone of the lining was vibrant, with the sort of design that seemed like what young girls would like.

“Giving a kid a magic robe to wear is like having them say, ‘Please kidnap me!’ It shows that they come from a rich family, after all. That’s why they have robes made like this, where you can’t tell what they are.”

“I see...”

“On the other hand, there are also ones that make it perfectly clear that they’re magical robes. Ones like that made for kids are usually worn by rich noble children. They’re like a declaration to everyone who sees them. ‘They’re still young, but this child has the ability to use magic,’ or, ‘Our family can afford to have even our children wear such luxurious items,’ things like that,” she said jokingly with a refined laugh, but there was also some bite behind it, speaking to her personality.

“You’re shopping for a young girl, right?”

“Why are you asking me that, all of the sudden...?” he asked back, carefully doing his best not to let his shock at the unexpected question show. But paying no heed to Dale’s efforts, Helmine simply gave him amused smile.

“Well, you took what I just handed you without questioning it. If it were for a boy, then you’d want to avoid such a cute lining, right?”

She’d easily tricked the information out of him. A cold sweat dripped down Dale’s back.

By the time he had Helmine help pick out a rod for a magic user, he would likely have leaked all sorts of information, aside from, perhaps, Latina’s name.

Helmine hadn’t said that herself, and Dale didn’t ask her. But he couldn’t help but think that was the case.

Dale was a little reluctant when it came to purchasing a rod.

The rods that magic users often used weren’t for casting magic itself, but instead aided in controlling mana and designating an area of effect, both of which were crucial to casting spells. When it came to magic, it was important to try to cast it over only the range that was necessary; doing that maximized mana consumption efficiency. Therefore, these rods and rings, which were pricey, were important weapons for those like Helmine who made their living as magic users.

When it came to rods that came in children’s sizes, though, only ones meant for training were available. Compared to those meant for full-fledged magic users, they were noticeably weaker when it came to correcting control. Otherwise, Dale wouldn’t have needed a custom-made item, and unfortunately, he had no time to place such an order.

Wanting to get the best for Latina, Dale rather reluctantly compromised and decided to buy the cutest, most expensive training rod.

With that, the shopping was at an end.

“See you later, Dale. Next time we meet, you’ll have to introduce me to this cute little magic user who has you so out of sorts, alright? As a fellow magic user, I’m definitely interested in a girl that young who can manage to cast magic.”

Seeing off Helmine as she left with a wave, Dale couldn’t help but question himself. He’d certainly been able to carry out his shopping better than he would have on his own, but for some reason, he couldn’t quite bring himself to say that he’d made the right decision in asking Helmine to help. He felt a sort of sense of defeat as well.

Having received permission from the duke for his trip to his home village, Dale got on his horse once more and returned to Kreuz. Because he pushed the horse so hard, he ended up paying the owner extra.

The horse Dale had gotten for the trip was grazing behind the Dancing Ocelot. Since Latina loved animals, it seemed that she had been taking care of it while Dale was away. Dale had chosen a small one because that was enough to carry their luggage and because he didn’t want anything serious to happen if Latina fell off, since she wasn’t used to riding horses.

The morning of their departure, Latina was happily twirling about the Dancing Ocelot, showing off her traveling clothes. Her camel-colored cape was a high-class item enchanted with mana. Kenneth sighed when he saw that Dale had bought her such a thing, since it was so high-quality that it would have made a novice adventurer cry bitter tears if they saw it.

Dale had been worried about purchasing the rod, but when Latina gave it a try, he saw that there was no issue. Latina had an excellent talent for mana control to begin with. Since she could manage even without a tool, the low amount of assistance provided by a training rod was plenty for her. Because it was ultimately for self-defense rather than proper combat, it made sense to go with a child-sized one that was easy to handle.

She’d ordered the leather boots on her feet as soon as the trip was decided, and she’d been wearing them ever since, so she had already worn them in.

She had the bare necessities in the rucksack on her back, and at the back of her waist, she wore a red leather scabbard with her knife inside. Holding her magic rod with a tiny glittering stone atop it, Latina stood proudly, completely ready to go.

Rudy’s father had thrown in the scabbard for the knife she’d bought for free. The white-threaded embroidery on the red leather had a somewhat cute design to it. It seemed he’d made it with what a young girl like Latina would like in mind.

She was in shorts, which was unusual for her, but they maximized ease of movement and didn’t hurt her cuteness in the least.

Awash with excitement, she looked up at Kenneth and gave him a report. “Dale packed magical devices in the luggage. There’s one in the canteen, and there’s a magical device for starting fires, too!” “...Just how much did you spend?”

“It’s fine! It’s no exaggeration to call water and fire magical devices essentials when you’re going on a trip,” Dale retorted, but the expression on his face was a little strained. He was aware that he’d gone overboard spoiling Latina.

“Latina, magical devices are expensive. You shouldn’t show them off to others too much, since that can be dangerous.”

Hearing Kenneth’s warning, Latina immediately nodded. “Latina knows. She’ll put them back away.”

“Also, you should at least, at the bare minimum, keep the food and medicine in your rucksack. You can keep the rest of the luggage on the horse, but you need that stuff on your person in case something happens.”

“Right. Latina understands.”

“By the way, Latina, are you taking any money with you?”

“She has it in the bottom of her bag. Just a bit, though,” she said, pointing to the small pouch attached to her belt. Latina had sewed it herself to use on the trip. She used thick, high-quality cloth and colored thread to make the girlish piece. As she’d become more skilled, Latina had grown fond of embroidering the accessories she’d made, but she went with just a small ocelot design on this pouch. Along with the small amount of money, she also put a comb and some candy inside as. Even the contents were quite girlish.

“Rita told her to, so Latina stitched it into the inside of her clothes as well.” Without needing to be told, Latina had her rucksack under her cape. That was the right thing to do when it came to guarding against pickpockets.

Dale and Kenneth exchanged a glance, both thinking how level-headed the young girl was.

“Take care, Dale. There are all sorts of things to watch out for with Latina along.”

Kenneth felt the need to voice this concern because her charming outfit and accessories only served to accentuate the girl’s natural cuteness. Even putting aside the fact that she was a devil with broken horns, it wouldn’t be strange at all for some low-lifes to set their sights on her. There was just that much danger surrounding the young girl.

“Latina really is cute, after all,” Dale responded. It almost seemed like he was bragging. He wasn’t wrong, but that somehow still got on Kenneth’s nerves.

“Latina, you be careful, okay? And Dale, you make it back safe, too. Don’t do anything that’d make Latina cry,” Rita said as she pat the young girl’s head. Dale agreed, finding that much obvious.

“Well, yeah! If anything happens to me, then I can’t protect Latina,” responded Dale, without even a hint of hesitation.

“Well then, we’re off!” “Take care!”

As Rita and Kenneth saw them go with smiles on their faces, the devil girl set off, waving her hand vigorously.

It was a calm and tranquil spring day when Dale and Latina set off on their journey.

†

Kreuz’s eastern district was connected to the highway. If you followed that north, you’d pass a large river and eventually arrive at a port. If you instead traveled south down the highway, you’d reach the capital. That was why Kreuz had become such an important distribution point.

Before they left, Dale told Latina that their first destination was the ocean. However, Dale headed for the southern gate and then proceeded southwest. The ocean was in a completely different direction. Realizing that, Latina looked up at Dale with a puzzled expression on her face.

“Dale? Why are we going this way?”

“I’ve got no clue when I’m going to take you out of town next... so do you want to go visit his grave? If that’s too much for you, then we don’t have to.”

With those words, Latina realized what was in this direction. “The forest where Latina first met Dale is this way?”

“That’s right. There are lots of magical beasts, so it’s dangerous, but... I’ve checked it out countless times since then, and I found the shortest route there from outside the forest. I’ll be sure to keep you safe, too.”

As soon as Dale said that, Latina gripped his hand tightly. “Thank you, Dale.” “Hmm?” Dale was clearly puzzled as to why he was suddenly being thanked. “Dale went to Rag’s grave a lot of times, right? Latina knew that she needed to go, so thank you.”

There was no pain or sadness in Latina’s expression. She just pointed a gentle, tiny smile Dale’s way.

“Latina will go to the grave. She needs to tell Rag how happy she is now.” “I see...”

Relieved by Latina’s calm expression, Dale smiled as well.

The forest the two were heading towards was to the southwest of Kreuz. Apparently, it did have an official name, but the people who lived in town just called it things like “the evil forest” or “the forest of darkness.” It was the only forest near Kreuz, so they didn’t need to worry about being really specific. People called the forest things like that because it was inhabited by a great many magical beasts, making it the domain of creatures other than man. There were a great number of animals there as well, so it could be thought of as an abundant area capable of supporting many creatures.

“Magical beasts” was a general term for creatures with an abundance of mana, and it included things like bugs and lizards, as well. Non-biological entities were classified as “magical beings” instead. Outside of mana, magical beasts’ ways of life had many points in common with normal animals, so places with many animals were also places with many magical beasts.

Dale didn’t enter the forest right away, but instead circled around it. Occasionally, he noticed the presence of animals, but none of them attacked.

“Hmm, I think it was around here...” Dale grumbled to himself before rattling off a quick spell. As Earth magic was his specialty, he never lost his bearings.

While pulling on the reins of the horse, he gestured Latina over to his side. “We’re entering the forest now. I know you’re aware that there are all sorts of dangerous creatures like magical beasts in there, but be sure to be careful, alright?”

“Alright. Latina won’t leave Dale’s side.” She gave a nod and seemed pretty fired up, a serious expression on her face.

That was when Dale learned of Latina’s ability to sense things that would do her harm.

After walking for a while, Latina suddenly stopped, and her gaze darted about their surroundings. With her wariness showing openly on her face, her line of sight fixed onto a single spot. She had attached her rod to her rucksack so it wouldn’t get in the way while walking, but now she held it firmly in both hands and was standing at the ready.

“What is it, Lati—” Dale abruptly stopped talking. He also sensed it. There were several presences moving about, far beyond where she was looking.

More than that, though, it was the fact that Latina had realized it first that shocked him. They were so far away that even Dale, a first-rate adventurer, had only noticed because his attention was pointed in that direction. Normally, he wouldn’t have even picked up on it.

“You knew there were magical beasts that way...?”

“Yeah.” Latina nodded without hesitation. “Latina knows that it’s ‘dangerous.’ When she was here before, at times like this, she’d run and hide right away.”

“That’s amazing. How do you know?”

“Latina doesn’t understand it. She just does. Rag often said that Latina is ‘protected by fate.’”

Is it divine protection...? But I don’t sense that from Latina at all... as he thought that, he focused on the situation at hand. Right now, he needed to leverage this advantage by taking the initiative. Switching gears, he swung out his left arm with practiced ease. The sound of a stopper releasing resounded from his gauntlet-shaped magical device, and it unfolded. In the blink of an eye, it had turned into a small-scale crossbow.

Dale’s gauntlet was a magical device that served as a weapon, using mana to heighten its abilities. It was able to make arrows out of mana and fire them. There was no need to worry about running out of arrows, it took no time to reload, and unlike magic, it didn’t require the time needed to recite a spell. Of course, each firing of the weapon used up mana, and unlike magic, its power couldn’t be freely adjusted. It wasn’t an all-purpose tool, but as long-range attacks had been a weakness for Dale because of his magical attributes, the bow had become his indispensible partner.

Dale wore a sword and was quite skilled at using it, and because of that, people tended to think of him as a fighter who specialized in close-range battle, but his true specialty was archery. His skills shined best when he was handling a long-range weapon.

He took in a single breath and held it, and in the next instant, he fired off a volley of mana arrows. Two of the rapidly fired arrows moved precisely through the gaps between the trees and pierced the still rather far-off magical beasts, which were big-cat types out hunting prey. The mana arrows may have been small, but they packed more of a punch than you may expect. Having been struck between the eyes, one of the beasts collapsed deep in the dense greenery. The other arrow pierced the creature by its side. It seemed to have missed the beast’s vitals, so it thrashed about in anguish. When they saw their allies felled by an attack, the rest of the pack grew agitated, and from their movements, Dale was able to figure out the number remaining as well as their positions. From there, his task was simple.

It would be nearly impossible for the beasts to close the gap between them and dodge Dale’s volleys all the while. The enemy may have had the advantage in terms of numbers, but the outcome of this battle had effectively been determined before it even began.

Even though it was their first time fighting together, it was clear that Latina’s ability was a good match for Dale. By making the first move from such a great distance, Dale was able to put the archery attacks that were his true specialty to great use.

A forest is an environment that offers a quite a lot of cover, so of course not all the arrows hit their mark. However, Dale was able to use his bow with his left arm alone, yet another advantage of it being a magical device. He held his longsword with his open, dominant hand, meaning he could also easily handle close-range combat at the same time.

That wasn’t all. Today, Dale had the support of Latina’s magic as well. She may not have been accustomed to using it in combat, but her control was good enough to impress even him.

Before they’d left on the trip, Dale had Latina learn defensive-wall magic to protect herself. Thanks to her quick thinking, she was able to use it to actively support Dale.

When they ended up in a skirmish with frog-like magical beasts, she was able to put that to great use. These were the same creatures Dale had once accepted a request to exterminate, which had led to him meeting Latina. When he saw the beasts clustered together and blocking their path, a look of disgust crossed his face. He remembered the horrible smell from their bodily fluids and the mucus they spat out. It hadn’t been all that difficult to wipe them out before, but even so, Dale was left wondering how to deal with them.

“What’s wrong, Dale?”

“Hmm... Well, I don’t really want to fight them up close...” Yet there were too many of them; it would be inefficient to try to take them out with his bow. Furthermore, their slimy skin made the mana arrows even less effective.

“Latina wishes she could use attack magic.”

“No, you should be thinking of protecting yourself, first and foremost.” Latina was still just a child, so it’d be for the best if she didn’t have to learn how to take a life. Dale also didn’t want her to have to carry the weight such an action brought with it. That remained true even if they were just talking about animals and magical beasts. As her father, that’s what Dale thought. That was why he’d only taught her the one attack spell from that incident. In essence, it was a Dark magic meant for applying pressure to an enemy at close range.

Seeing the menacing magical beasts spread out in their path, Latina looked up at Dale and tilted her head.

“Why is up close bad?”

“Their bodily fluids and stuff stink terribly.”

“Is that so?” Latina tilted her head again at Dale’s response. “If that’s all, then Latina thinks she can manage.”

“Huh?”

As Dale stood confused, Latina pointed her rod at him.

“Oh light that rains down from the heavens, grant this request by my name, become a shield to ward away all misfortune and protect this body. 〈〈Magical wall〉〉”

The gentle light emanating from Latina’s rod enveloped the whole of Dale’s body.

“Now the shield is surrounding all of Dale’s body. It won’t last for too long, but it should be enough for now.”

She made it sound easy, but this spell was meant to create a simple magic shield. It most definitely wasn’t meant to make an “armor” like this. But thanks to Latina’s excellent control, she was able to spread the magic’s range of effect over Dale’s entire body.

She did it like it was nothing special, but magic users the world over would probably weep if you called this “normal”...

As Dale brought his sword down over and over, the number of frogs steadily decreased. The beasts opened their mouths wide and spat out their mucus as a group, but it was stopped by an invisible wall and simply fell to the ground. This only obstructed Dale’s vision for a moment, and it didn’t hinder his assault in the least. The wall of mana seemed to help reduce the smell as well. Looking back, however, Dale found that Latina was standing a fair distance farther back than she had been at the start of the battle. The stench had apparently reached her, and it must have been worse than Dale thought.

If I end up stinking, will Latina not want to be near me...?

That thought proved to be a powerful mental blow.

He had to avoid that at all costs.

Dale skillfully finished off the magical beasts like he was taking care of a simple chore. It wasn’t long at all until he trampled down the final creature, slicing his blade through it.

When Latina’s surrounded by that light when she’s casting magic, her cuteness is practically divine.

His doting, slack-jawed expression as he brought down his sword was ridiculous enough that he was glad Latina was so far away right now. Even Dale’s calmness and composure had a limit.

When they reached their destination, it was silent and tranquil. The white megalith had been exposed to the wind and rain, and now it seemed to stand out even more than it had before.

Latina approached it and slid her tiny hand along the stone. The mature expression she occasionally showed appeared on her face. It was almost as if she was holding back her tears and swallowing down her sadness. It was an expression that told of her past, which was filled with more than what a young child should have to bear.

Latina brought her forehead to the stone. “**, ***, ****, *****, *****”

The words slipping out of her mouth were too complex for Dale to follow. “***, ************. **, ********, ******”

Latina continued on, not stopping even for a second. She remained in that position and continued to talk to the man who was now in the grasp of his eternal slumber.

“Latina is sorry she took so long, Dale,” Latina said after a while, looking up at him as she apologized.

Dale had been keeping watch over the area while Latina visited the grave. He smiled in response and gently pat her on the head.

“You had a ton you wanted to tell him, right? A lot has happened, after all.” “Yeah, a whole lot...”

Latina looked like she was about to tear up, but Dale smiled at her and pat her on the head once more.

“Latina told him a lot. That she’s happy, and that she’s alright now.”

Dale thought that someday, he’d like to hear her talk about her birth father. If the day came when she was able to speak about such things calmly, would she tell him? He wondered about that.

Latina slid her hand along the stone again, seeming reluctant to leave. But then, she waved her hand as if to say goodbye. With that as a signal, the two turned around and started walking out of the forest.

Now that I think about it, I haven’t heard Latina mention her mother even once...

When they exited the forest, Dale had Latina ride on the horse.

As part of the tenacious devil race, she still had stamina left to spare in spite of what her delicate appearance may have suggested. But even so, Dale didn’t want to push her on the first day.

“It’s so high!” said Latina. Her voice didn’t have a hint of fear in it, only abundantly apparent glee.

“I guess we’ll be camping tonight... Tomorrow we’ll arrive at a post town, so we’ll stay there then.”

If Dale were alone, then he may have pushed himself to keep moving forward, but this time around, he’d made the itinerary with some leeway to it. He had no intention of moving with Latina at night, when it was more dangerous, but he also didn’t plan to stick to camping day in and day out.

“Latina is fine with sleeping outside. And since Dale is with her, she feels safe,” Latina said with a smile, once more causing a goofy expression to appear on Dale’s face.

In a way, these two were strongly attached to one another. Latina seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood.

“♪Hmm, hmm, hmm♪” Latina hummed from atop the horse. As she swayed a bit along with the rhythm, it made for a truly cute sight. As always, though, she remained somewhat out of tune. It wasn’t bad enough to be called full-on dissonance, but Dale couldn’t help but admire the way that it made him feel strangely relaxed. As the sound of the horse’s hooves clip-clopping over and over again echoed through the tranquil scenery, Latina’s humming continued on for a while longer.

I feel like I’ve heard that song somewhere before, but it’s so off that I just can’t place it...

The answer to the musical quiz in Dale’s mind remained a mystery.

They’d taken quite a detour, but as they returned to the highway, they started seeing more and more travelers. As the highway connected the port to the capital, most of them were merchants. Only a few of them carried their hefty luggage on their backs; the majority loaded up their wares into carriages instead.

“Woooooow!” Latina said in admiration as they passed by a caravan of merchants. She’d seen merchants and their caravans in Kreuz before, but it was far more impressive seeing them in motion like this. There were armed people both on foot and horseback accompanying the countless large carriages, stationed all around them. With her mouth hanging wide open, Latina’s gaze was filled with the caravan as far as her eyes could see, stretching out to the ends of the highway.

“There are a lot of adventurers, too.”

“Guarding caravans like that is a pretty usual sort of job.”

Whenever Latina noticed anything at all about the carriages, she’d point at it and report it to Dale. She seemed to be completely enraptured by the group. As Dale slowed down his steps, he answered her questions. Apparently, all of this was novel to the young girl. From atop the horse her gaze darted about, sometimes to such a degree that she turned around completely.

Looking at her now, it may be good to let her ride on the horse even before she gets tired...

Latina may have been a sharp young girl, but there was no guarantee that she wouldn’t grow dizzy. That was especially true now, when her attention was being drawn all over the place.

“Dale, it’s a big river!” Latina reported loudly as she pointed. Although the horse she rode was small, Latina’s vantage point was still higher than normal when she was atop it, and she seemed to enjoy being able to see farther because of it. As she saw the sparkling surface of the water, the joy in her voice was palpable.

“Right. The river north of Kreuz continues all the way up here.” “How are we going to cross it?”

“There’s a big bridge, so we’re going to have to pay a toll to go across. It’s not small enough to walk across, and it’s quicker to use the bridge than to look for a boat to take us to the other side.”

“What’s a ‘bridge’?”

Every now and again, Latina wouldn’t know something that Dale found perfectly obvious.

“It’ll be quicker to see it than for me to explain. It’ll come into view soon.” There were also rivers near Kreuz, and they were always filled with ships carrying cargo.

Here, there were many boats moored at the riverbank, and numerous people were working there. As this place was near both the highway and Kreuz, they were loading and unloading cargo.

It’s to be expected that wherever people gather, merchants will gather as well, aiming to sell them things, and there were numerous stalls set up here, which made it almost look like a small town. There was even lodging set up for laborers, but there were no full-fledged inns. Rather than stopping here, travelers who had come this far would likely continue farther on and all the way to Kreuz, so there simply wasn’t a demand for actual inns.

The bridge spanning this large river filled with coming and going boats was made of stone and had tall arches so as not to obstruct ship traffic. It was excellently designed, combining beautiful curves with firm construction and making for a splendid piece of architecture.

“It’s big...”

“This is a bridge. It’s made so you can cross over the river.” “It’s amazing!”

Latina was clearly excited. Apparently, this really was her first time seeing a bridge.

Then Latina really did come from the other side of that forest... She crossed the mountain range to get here, huh? If she’d come towards Kreuz from the ocean, then she would have seen the bridge plenty.

Even while he was being charmed by Latina’s cute reaction, Dale was able to calmly think through this much.

Farther past the forest, there was a rugged mountain range. On paper, the land past that point was part of Laband, but there weren’t any towns out there. After all, such a mountainous region made for harsh and inconvenient land, and there were even more magical beasts living there than there were in Kruez’s forest. Adventurers would head up into those lands to search for rare materials or to build up experience, but Dale had never heard of anyone building a settlement there. However, if you kept going past the mountains, you’d come up against the border for the greatest stronghold for the devil race, the country ruled by the First Demon Lord. It wasn’t like it would have been impossible for Latina to have come that way.

“Dale, Latina wants to walk on her own. Is that alright?” Latina asked as they were lined up to pay their toll to the bridge-keeper. Dale lifted her down off the horse, and she started practically prancing along. No matter how you looked at it, she was clearly in high spirits.

“Here you go!” said Latina, handing over the coin that Dale had given her. The girl may have been mature for her age, but she looked rather childish just then. As they passed by after being inspected, they stepped onto the bridge, which felt even more massive than it did when seen from far away.

“Woooow!” shouted Latina cheerfully as she spun about, looking over her surroundings from on top of the bridge.

“Hey, Latina, if you stop suddenly like that, then it’ll be a problem for the people behind us.”

“Ah, Latina’s sorry,” the young girl earnestly apologized, faced forward, and started walking. But even so, her cheerful prancing didn’t lessen at all. Dale took Latina’s hand with a smile, led her to the edge of the bridge, and looked down.

“Wow! It’s really, really amazing!” Latina shouted joyfully once again as she looked down at the flowing river far below. Her voice only grew more excited as a ship passed right beneath her. As Latina happily observed the people onboard the cargo-laden ship, Dale looked quite satisfied as well.

Continuing on like that, they crossed over the bridge and headed north along the highway. Around when the sun started setting, Dale stepped off the road a bit and into the shadows of the dense forest, where he surveyed the surrounding area.

“Dale?”

“We’ll camp around here tonight.”

“Already? But it’s still light out,” Latina asked. She looked confused, but Dale answered back with a smile.

“If we waited until it was dark, then we couldn’t get everything prepared, right? But in exchange, we’ll get up early tomorrow.”

From what Dale could tell, there weren’t large magical beasts or anything of the sort about. When he’d checked the ground and the area around them, though, he had found animal tracks and droppings. The forest was only so dense, so he figured that at the most there were just little animals and the small carnivores that preyed on them.

Dale tied the horse’s reins to a nearby tree, took the luggage off of it, and let it rest. It started grazing on the nearby grass. Dale would need to remember to prepare plenty of drinking water with his magic.

“I’m going to gather up some firewood. You wait here, Latina. And definitely don’t go wandering off on your own, alright?”

“Right!” responded Latina seriously with a nod.

“If anything happens, call for me right away. I’m not going to go that far.” “Got it. Latina will be fine.”

After seeing off a concerned-looking Dale, Latina started rummaging about the luggage. She brought out a small, sturdy pot she’d gotten from Kenneth.

“Latina should use the things that’ll spoil easily. The dried meats and vegetables will be fine, so those can be saved for later.”

While mumbling the notes she’d been given, she found the bag containing what she was looking for. When Kenneth was preparing the food, she’d been by his side, listening to everything. She knew exactly where everything was. With a serious look on her face, she checked things over and pulled out what she needed.

“Latina shouldn’t waste anything. She must only use what she needs,” said Latina, repeating what Kenneth had taught her.

During this journey, Latina was trying to make one of her dreams come true. To that end, she’d done a great deal of preparing and practicing.

“Latina hopes she can make Dale say it’s tasty,” Latina said, enthusiastically pulling out her knife.

When Dale returned with firewood, Latina had created a stone oven, set up the pot above it, and was now chopping up potatoes and placing them in the pot. Seeing Dale in shock, as he didn’t remember teaching her any of this, Latina called out, “Dale, is this alright? Kenneth taught Latina how. He said to place the pot on top of stones like this when they’re around. Does it look okay?”

“Yeah. You even made sure to make a vent. Kenneth taught you, huh...?” “Yeah! Latina practiced. Um, Latina will make dinner, okay?!” Latina declared.

One of her dreams was to make a meal for Dale. One of her modest (yet still important) goals for this trip was to show off the results of her practice and make that dream come true.

Latina resumed her cooking. She was a little nervous, but as she’d repeated these actions countless times, meaning they remained in her muscle memory, there was no danger in her handling of the knife. She’d explicitly practiced chopping up potatoes and dumping them directly into a pot precisely for the purpose of cooking outdoors. Normally when she cooked at the Dancing Ocelot, she used a cutting board. But when preparing food on a journey, it was important to use the minimum of tools necessary and to limit the amount of washing needed. Her master, Kenneth, had taught her that as well. During the breaks in his work, he’d taught Latina recipes and cooking tips for her journey, along with things like how to prepare an oven with stones. While Dale was away at the capital, the back yard of the Ocelot had become filled with stone ovens of all sizes. Thanks to that practice, Latina was able to carry out her work swiftly.

Once she finished cutting the potatoes, Latina pulled a magical device out of her rucksack and filled the pot with water. Taking the firewood from Dale, she placed it inside her stone oven. She’d already prepared a heaping pile of dead grass inside. Using the other magical device, she ignited this kindling. She’d constructed it well, so the fire spread to the firewood without an issue. After watching all of this, Dale was relieved and decided to entrust the cooking to Latina. He racked his brain, thinking how to prepare their campsite so it was the most comfortable. He was fine, but if Latina were to roll over onto a rock or something in her sleep, she’d definitely find it unpleasant. He needed to do everything he could to make sure Latina could rest even a little easier, since she wasn’t used to camping. She did once survive in a forest, but that was a different matter entirely.

After the potatoes, Latina added sausage to the pot, making for a soup with a better taste than if she just used plain old meat. Next, she got out a small container. Inside were dried herbs, which she carefully added to the soup as well. The seasoning added, she gave it a taste, which was followed by a single nod of her head.

Now finished with the soup, Latina pulled out a paper-wrapped package. Inside was normal bread, so it had to be eaten quickly, before it went stale. Latina wiped off her knife and cut into the bread, a look of concentration on her face. She stabbed it with a large fork meant for cooking and held it out over the fire. Finally, she added cheese to the bread and cooked it further. When the cheese had gotten nice and gooey, Latina turned and faced Dale, who was tidying up the luggage.

“Dinner’s ready, Dale.” “Right.”

The soup had been made from extremely simple ingredients, but when it came to adventurers out camping, it wasn’t rare at all for them to be satisfied with just eating dried meats and hard bread.

Seeing Latina carry out her cooking so nimbly and in such a short time, Dale was honestly impressed.

Latina poured two bowls of soup out of the pot and handed Dale the bread. “Latina will be full just from the potatoes, so the bread is only for Dale.” “I see.”

Dale scooped out a spoonful of soup and put it in his mouth. “It’s good.”

“Really?”

Seeming quite happy to be praised by Dale, Latina took a bite of her portion. Especially when she was eating, the girl reminded Dale of a small animal nibbling away at a meal. She was simply too cute.

“I thought the same back when I was in a party with Kenneth too, but trips really are more pleasant when you’re with someone who’s good at cooking.” “When Dale was with Kenneth?”

“Yeah.”

Latina seemed absolutely overjoyed at Dale’s words.

“Kenneth’s food is still tastier, though. Latina needs to keep trying even harder!” Latina said enthusiastically, which made Dale to break out in a smile.

“At the very least, it’s a whole lot better than anything I can make. Just like you asked, you’ll be in charge of cooking during the trip, Latina.”

“Right! She’ll give it her all!” she responded with a beaming smile.

Latina was also fast at cleaning up. By the time dinner was done, the sun had already set. As they were eating, the gradated sunset had turned into a pure-black sky, with only the lights of the stars remaining.

As she listened to the crackling of the fire, Latina started to drift off. She’d been quite worked up, but she still wasn’t used to traveling, so of course, she’d ended up growing tired.

Dale smiled and stroked Latina’s hair.

“Don’t push yourself. We’re going to get up early tomorrow, so go ahead and go to sleep.”

“Mmnn... nuh...? What about Dale...?”

“I’ll take a nap, too. It’ll be fine, so don’t worry.” “...Right. Goodnight, Dale...”

Wrapped in a blanket and lying on her side, Latina soon started snoring. Dale had long since grown used to hearing this somewhat out-of-tune sound. With a peaceful expression on his face, he watched over Latina as she slept.

This was a trip with just the two of them. He couldn’t stay up and keep watch all night. As he had grown accustomed to doing, Dale left his sword by his side where it would be easy to grab and, still sitting up, he closed his eyes. He was so used to traveling that he’d be able wake up immediately if he sensed anything out of place.

Because Latina was by his side, it ended up being a very peaceful night for Dale. Fortunately, nothing showed up to interrupt their sleep before the morning sun rose. Still, Dale occasionally woke up to rekindle the dying campfire because although it was early spring, the night was still cold. It wouldn’t do to have Latina freeze.

When Dale woke up in the morning, the first thing he did was look over at Latina. She was still sleeping soundly. It would seem that she was able to fall asleep pretty much anywhere. It was the same back at the Dancing Ocelot when she took her naps.

Then, Dale checked on the campfire. Perhaps that was the wrong order to do things, but Latina took precedence over everything else. Dale had already decided that much, even if only unconsciously.

“Wake up, Latina...”

He had trouble bringing himself to wake up Latina when she was sleeping so peacefully, but he reached out and began gently shaking her. Latina started to stir.

“Hnghaahh... Dale...?” “What is it?”

After Dale responded to her calling out his name from inside the blanket, she popped her head out and thought for a bit, still visibly half-asleep.

“Hnghaaawn...”

After an exaggerated blink of her eyes, she roused herself awake. She seemed to be really sleepy. Latina shot up suddenly and clung tightly to Dale.

“Hmm? What’s wrong, Latina?”

“Latina was startled. Dale always sleeps next to her,” she said, adding in a giggle and a shy smile. “Ah, Latina is on a trip!”

“That’s right,” Dale replied with a smile, holding Latina tight.

Perhaps because of her past, Latina got to the point every now and again that she desperately didn’t want to be alone. Even when she was left back home, she wouldn’t ask for special attention, but outside of such times, she’d want to be by his side like this.

Dale didn’t find it unpleasant in the least, so he let her do as she wished. Though with that said, he had no intention of overlooking Latina being pampered like this by anyone else. He was just that much of a doting fool.

Latina got up, folded up her blanket, and started preparing breakfast. She warmed up some bread for each of them over the bonfire, then laid a slice of cheese over each piece. It was a simple affair, but keeping in mind that it was made by Latina made it taste all the better to Dale.

“Today, we’re going to keep on going down the highway until we hit a post town. If you get tired or your legs start hurting or anything, then tell me right away.”

“Right. Latina understands.”

“We should still be good on supplies. I’ll leave you in charge of monitoring our food situation, Latina. If there’s anything we need, then let me know as soon as you can.”

“It’s alright for Latina to handle it?!”

Dale looked at the surprised Latina with a serious expression.

“You don’t want me to handle everything, right, Latina? You want to take care of whatever tasks you can yourself, don’t you?”

“Yeah... how did you know?”

“Well, I know because it has to do with you, of course,” Dale said with a laugh. The serious and earnest young girl had a spirit of self-reliance beyond what her age would imply. Dale wouldn’t do anything as reckless or irresponsible as leaving everything to her from the start, but he was fully aware of just how much she could handle. And with her cleverness, if you taught her something, then she’d surely understand it.

“You’re my partner during this trip, Latina.”

“Right. Latina wants to do whatever she can manage.”

Seeing Latina’s motivation-filled smile, Dale had something of a strange feeling. Just how much would she grow during this trip? That’s what occupied his thoughts.

It’d be nice if Latina would rely on me at least a little while longer...

While half of him was happy to see her grow, another part was full of selfish feelings.

They put out the campfire, loaded the luggage back onto the horse, and started walking down the highway again.

Today was another gentle day with lovely weather.

There were some slight ups and downs to the path, but the highway heading towards the port made for an easy walk. As it was an important road for carrying goods from foreign nations into the capital, it underwent periodic maintenance. If you looked about now, you could see people working to repair the holes opened in the road by the travelers constantly walking it.

“Hey, Dale, Chloe was worried about robbers and stuff. Are they really around?”

“Well, it’s a route that a lot of carriages loaded with valuables pass through, so yes, there are robbers around. But we’re still close to Kreuz, so there shouldn’t be many.”

“Really?”

“If a search got put out, then they’d be swarmed by adventurers in no time at all. It’s not rare at all for robbers to end up ruined by adventurers, but normally they’d make their move in a place where it’d be hard for them to be followed.”

Their conversation continued on as they walked, with the sound of the horse’s footsteps resounding all the while.

“It may be a bit dangerous past the post town we’ll be staying in... I’ve heard that robbers pop up every now and again out that way.”

“Will we be alright?”

“Yeah. I’ll be sure to protect you, Latina. Are you worried?” “As long as Dale’s around, Latina will be fine.”

As Latina gave him beaming smile that showed she trusted him from the bottom of her heart, Dale smiled back.

It’d be easier to just kill them all, honestly. If I were to let loose some attack magic, they couldn’t do a thing about it. It’d be harder to hold back. But I don’t want to show Latina anything too cruel...

Dale’s thoughts at the moment were a bit disturbing.

Oh, but if they were to point a weapon at Latina, I may end up going berserk. Despite what he was thinking, Dale’s expression remained bright and loving.

Adding his gentle patting of Latina’s head, it was a perfect example of how you couldn’t tell what someone was thinking just by looking at them.

Because Latina had generally been limited to traveling around the town of Kreuz, the outside world seemed almost impossibly vast. The scenery didn’t seem special to Dale at all, but to Latina’s eyes, it was something different entirely. It was much the same when they reached the top of the highway’s gentle slope and their field of view immediately widened. Latina shouted joyfully and looked all about.

In the distance was a far-off, hazy-blue mountain range, before which was a sprawl of forests and plains. Even closer was farmland full of wheat and similar crops. A refreshing breeze suddenly blew up against them.

“Wow! It’s so wide!”

“Really? I guess so... Hey Latina, you see over there, way in the distance? That’s the town we’ll be staying in tonight.”

“Wooooow!”

In her excitement, Latina seemed to be trying to look out even a little bit farther. She placed her hand over her eyes like a visor and leaped up and down. Her platinum hair, which was done up in two pigtails, swung all about as it reflecting the sunlight.

“Don’t get too worked up, alright? You’ll tire yourself out before we reach the town.”

“Right!” she replied energetically from Dale’s side.

With some periodic breaks along the way, they reached the town before the sun set, as scheduled.

The post town of Haase was a small one, and it didn’t compare to Kreuz in the least. As you could imagine from its surroundings, its primary business was agriculture, and it was supported by the prosperity of nearby Kreuz. Because it was alongside the highway, it also flourished as a relay station, with everything from high-class inns aimed at wealthy merchants to cheap ones that jammed countless people into a single room.

As Dale had heard, much like in Kreuz, you needed to pay a gatekeeper to pass through the walls that surrounded the town.

Normally, Dale would be fine sleeping at any inn, but this time, he had Latina with him, so he was thinking he’d like to go with a place that felt safe and had better amenities.

“It sure is different from Kreuz. Even the houses feel different.”

“This place is still pretty bustling, though. My home village is way out in the country, so I’m sure you’ll be shocked...”

The houses in Haase were generally subdued. There were hardly any walls painted the way they were in Kreuz. The roofs were indeed red as you’d expect of Laband, but perhaps due to using a different type of paint, they were a much duller shade, which made the town have a somewhat rustic feel.

Dale ended up settling on a mid-ranked inn with a stable. He took the luggage off of their horse and went inside. Latina was looking all over the place the entire time, unable to settle down.

Dale approached the rather strong-looking proprietress manning the inn and asked, “Do you have any rooms?”

“Yeah. Do you just need one?”

“That’ll be fine. Also, we’d like to use the stable. And could we get some water and feed for our horse?”

“That’ll cost extra.” “Got it.”

Taking the key the proprietress handed him, Dale called for Latina.

Apparently, she’d been absorbed in taking in her surroundings while Dale carried out this exchange.

Just like the Dancing Ocelot, the first floor of this inn was a restaurant, while the second floor had rooms for guests. Dale and Latina’s room was in the corner of the second floor. The view from the room certainly wasn’t half bad; with the windows open, you could see out past the walls surrounding the town. The rooms farther in likely would’ve been safer, but that seemed trivial compared to

Latina’s smiling face.

The proprietress may not have been overly courteous, but the room was tidy, and it wasn’t such a bad inn, all things considered. There was some space aside from that occupied by the two beds, and overall, it was fairly large.

Dale dropped the luggage in the corner, removed his gauntlet, and took off his coat. Seeing that, Latina took the rucksack off her back and her knife off her waist. She bounced a little, suddenly feeling lighter.

“Um, Dale...”

“I know you may want to go out for a walk, but you’d better not. We’re going to be walking plenty tomorrow, too.”

Latina was clearly surprised at being cut off before she could even ask. “I get how you feel, wanting to see everything. But we’re going to pass through a lot of towns on our trip. You need to rest up properly when you get the chance.”

“...Right.” Latina nodded her head and looked depressed.

Dale let out a sigh. He didn’t want to make her feel that way, but he knew that she was so worked up that if he let her, she’d go running all over until she collapsed. He needed to drive the point home here at the start.

“But in exchange, once we make it to the port town of Qualle, we’ll do some sightseeing. Just be patient until then, alright?”

Latina’s expression brightened. Dale was such a doting idiot, he just couldn’t leave her depressed like that.

Though it was just a mid-ranking inn, it did have a tub, and after a nice, warm bath, Latina was now sitting at a table, cheerfully looking over a menu.

“What do you want to eat, Latina?”

“Latina wants to eat something she’s never had before. Kenneth said that eating all sorts of things from all over would help her learn.”

“Yeah, that was definitely true for Kenneth...”

Still, was this girl really aiming to be a full-fledged chef? Dale got the feeling she was putting more and more effort towards cooking and food.

Well, I could never tell if Kenneth was an adventurer or a chef, so I guess she’s like her master in that regard...

The face of his “big bro,” who was also Latina’s teacher, came to Dale’s mind as he drank down some ale, which wasn’t usual for him.

“Hmm... Hmm...?”

Latina had been pondering her choices as she looked at the menu, and she eventually decided on a dish combining grilled vegetables with fritters. As there wasn’t much of anything novel on the menu, she decided she wanted to eat fresh vegetables from the nearby farms.

Dale went with plain, grilled chicken for his meal. Because Haase was in a wheat-producing region, a heaping basket full of bread was brought out with the meals, and the two could eat as much of it as they wanted.

“Hmm...”

“What is it, Latina?” Dale asked, confused at seeing Latina making a troubled face as she chewed.

“These vegetables... should’ve been cooked a little more slowly and carefully,” she replied with a tilted head. “They would be tastier that way.” That certainly exceeded Dale’s expectations. “I see... so you can tell all that?” “It’s because Kenneth taught her. These are tasty, though.”

There was a slight bitterness to them, but Latina nodded contentedly as she happily ate the fritters made from fresh sprouts harvested in early spring and cooked with younger palates in mind.

Latina may be even more skilled at cooking than I thought...

As the girl thoroughly chewed the bread to check how it tasted, Dale was once more reminded of the great potential she possessed.

After dinner, Latina returned to the room first, while Dale took his turn in the bath. When he got back to the room, Latina had a small notebook in front of her and was enthusiastically writing something in it. When Dale tried to take a peek, she went to hide it in a panic. That’s how he realized what it was.

“Is that a diary?”

“Latina’s writing what happens on the trip. It’s embarrassing, so don’t look.” “I see. Sorry. So you’re writing things that it’d be bad for me to see, then?” “It’s embarrassing, so you can’t look.”

Dale pushed her further, but Latina simply shook her head. This was rare for Latina, who almost never told Dale she didn’t want to him to do something.

That just makes me more interested...

Just what had she written? And what had she written about him? No wait, what would he do if she didn’t write about him at all? That would be absolutely heartrending. But if he forced her to show him and she ended up hating him, then he’d probably never recover.

After thinking things like that, Dale changed gears and went around checking the locks in the room. As he’d said to Latina, it was important to rest when you had the chance, and last night, he’d only managed naps. He couldn’t let himself get so tired that he couldn’t cope with it.

When Dale got into his bed after checking the room, Latina looked a bit panicked. She came running over and quickly tapped Dale through.

“Dale, Dale. Um...” “Hmm?”

“Can Latina sleep next to Dale?”

“Is it because we always sleep together?”

Because Dale replied to Latina with another question, she thought a bit before responding.

“Latina’s a little scared when she wakes up in an unfamiliar place. But she’ll feel safe if Dale’s by her side.”

“I see... And you’re not used to going on trips. That’s sure to have you anxious.”

Satisfied, Dale slowly sat up and looked around. The beds in this inn were meant for a single person, so it was a little tight for two people to sleep together in one of them. The bed in their room in Kreuz was a good bit wider in comparison.

“Then I guess I should take this chance to teach you 〈〈Gravity Reduction〉〉.

I’ll chant it slowly, so listen carefully. It’s pretty convenient, so learning it is sure to come in handy.”

Dale stood beside the other bed, and slowly, carefully recited the spell. “Oh darkness and shadows, I order you by my name, cut loose the bonds to the celestial bodies. 〈〈Gravity Reduction〉〉”

He placed his hand on the bed. Thanks to the magic lowering its weight, he was able to easily lift it. Taking care not to make any loud noises, he lined it up perfectly with the other bed.

“The heights are a little different, but is this alright?” “Yes. Thank you, Dale!”

With a joyful smile on her face, Latina slipped into the other bed. Seeing her so happy, Dale smiled as well.

It might not just be Latina... I think I might be more comfortable this way, too... Dale thought before slipping off to sleep, so close to Latina that he could feel the warmth of her body.

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