Published at 18th of January 2020 4:54 pm

Volume 2, Interlude: The Residents of Kreuz, While the Young Girl is Away

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Dear Rita, How are you? How is the baby in your belly? Are Kenneth and the customers doing okay, too?

Dale and I are doing very well. Dale says we’re making good progress, too.

After we left Qualle, we visited a beastman village. We stayed at Dale’s relative’s house. I asked him what a relative was, and he taught me that it meant family of family. Dale has a lot of family.

A lot happened on the way here, too.

I saw a lot of trees with pink flowers blooming on them. It was very pretty, seeing the petals flutter down while Dale and I took a break and ate sandwiches. I wish you could see it, too. It’d be nice if they were in Kreuz as well. Also...

“Thank you,” Rita said, checking the sender after receiving the letter from the deliveryman.

She signed for it. The young man, who looked like any normal adventurer aside from the moss-green bag over his shoulder, pointed a business-like smile her way. “Think nothing of it. I hope you’ll keep using our services in the future!”

That moss-green messenger bag and the emblem of a letter with wings on it were the trademarks of the largest delivery guild in the world.

Being a deliveryman was the primary occupation for those who possessed Center affinity but didn’t have much power. They would use their magic to train and use birds to deliver letters. (The species varied based on the strength of the deliveryman’s mana, with the stronger deliverymen even employing magical beasts.)

Towns the size of Kreuz and Qualle had branch offices from which you could have deliveries made over quite a wide area, though there were some restrictions. Small settlements like the beastman village, meanwhile, had to wait

for a deliveryman to periodically visit.

Rita carefully opened up the envelope she’d received. It was quite thick, and inside there was a second envelope. It obviously cost postage to have a letter delivered, so Latina had sent letters for both Rita and Chloe together in order to save on the fee. She really was a practical girl.

“A letter came from Latina for Chloe, Kenneth. Could you take care of it when you head out for restocking?”

“Yeah, got it.”

And that’s how it was decided that Kenneth would take the letter to Chloe’s house when he went to the eastern district for restocking.

“Looks like their trip is going smoothly... Well, they planned to take it slowly, right?”

“Where are they now?”

“It says they were at a beastman village, at least when this was written.”

“Oh right, Dale had a relative there. There aren’t many houses past that point, so of course he’d stop there, since he has Latina with him...” Taking a quick glance over the letter, Kenneth gave a single nod. “They’re going slower compared to if he went alone, of course, but... they’re going a lot quicker than we calculated before they left. Latina must be working really hard to keep up a good walking pace.”

Dale had worked with Kenneth to put together an itinerary before leaving on their trip. What they’d settled on would be no problem for someone with plenty of stamina and used to traveling, like Dale, but it was hard to guess how it would go with Latina accompanying him. That’s why Dale sought his “big bro’s” advice and used Kenneth’s experience from when he had taken jobs escorting people from town to town as a basis to schedule things out, and also why Dale had brought along plenty of rations and others supplies.

“Seems like Latina’s enjoying herself,” Rita said with a light chuckle while carefully reading through the letter. Normally, when she was dealing with documents for work, she’d be done reading this much in no time at all, but now she treated each and every word as incredibly precious. Seeing Rita like that, Kenneth broke out in a smile. “I didn’t think it’d get this quiet without Latina around.”

“You won’t be able to say that for too much longer,” Kenneth said, looking at his wife’s now visibly bulging stomach, and she responded with a smile.

“Latina will be a good big sister, don’t you think?” “Yeah.”

“It’s pretty quiet in the shop, too.”

Kenneth let out a sigh. “Geez, those guys... That’s eating into our profits, right?”

“It’s like we’ve gone back to before Latina started helping out.” As Rita was in charge of managing the books, she let out a strained laugh.

When compared to the other shops in Kreuz that served as bases for adventurers, the Dancing Ocelot was peculiar in that the regulars were all veterans and those who marketed themselves based on how highly skilled they were. Newcomers tended to disappear pretty fast after coming face to face with them.

The adorable Latina had become something of a buffer between rookies and those intimidating regulars. In addition to Kenneth’s cooking and the cheap price of food, the cute young girl had become known as one of the shop’s selling points.

Ever since Latina left on her trip, though, the rookies had become more hesitant to visit, and the regulars stopped staying very long. Latina had contributed to the Dancing Ocelot’s sales through more than just her work.

“Dale changed when Latina first came here, but she had an awful big effect on the shop, too.”

“That’s true.”

“Maybe we could start letting Latina handle some cooking...” “Then you could leave the midday rush to me.”

Rita smiled when Kenneth said that. “That time may come sooner than we think.”

As Latina continued to grow day by day, she was seeing and experiencing more and more and growing closer to adulthood. Kenneth and Rita were looking forward to seeing how she’d matured, as she was definitely becoming a splendid young lady.

...The journey has been really fun. But I’m really looking forward to talking you and Kenneth all about it. And I was really happy where you saw us off and said ‘Take care.’ I’m enjoying the trip so much because I know that when I say ‘I’m back,’ you’ll be there to say ‘Welcome home.’

I’ll keep on listening to Dale, and won’t forget what you warned me about. I’ll make it back safely to Kreuz. Take care of yourself, Rita. And the baby, too. And please tell Kenneth and the customers to do the same.

Sincerely, Latina

Rita carefully placed the letter from Latina back in the envelope and put it away in a drawer.

“You don’t have to say something so silly...”

Of course she’d say, “Welcome home” when Latina returned. “This is your place to return to, right?”

The young girl had come to think of this as the home she’d come back to. “Take care...” Rita muttered quietly, reciting a prayer to the god she felt closest to.

†

At the entrance to their classroom in the temple of Asfar, Chloe called this out to her friend, Sylvia.

“Silvia, Latina sent a letter!” “Hmm... Is she doing well?”

“Well, we’re talking about Latina, so it’s hard to tell, but I’d say she seems to be.”

Sylvia Fal had become friends with everyone after they’d started going to school. Since she got along so well with Chloe, she’d also become close to her best friend, Latina. Her father was a guardsman serving at the lord’s manner, so she lived in the upper-class residential area in the western district. However, she was rather relaxed by nature and had no problem being friends with the other two girls, who lived in the rougher parts of town.

Over half a month had passed since Latina left Kreuz. She’d be staying for a while once they reached their destination, so they wouldn’t see her again until around when the seasons changed. The girls would be able to send her letters once they reached Dale’s village, though. Chloe wasn’t very strong when it came to studying, nor was she much of a writer, but she decided to write some of what was going around Kreuz and the like to her friend.

I don’t want there to be all sorts of things that only Latina doesn’t know when she gets back, Chloe thought.

“She says after crossing the ocean, they visited a beastman village.” “I’ve never seen a beastman in Kreuz. Adventurers who might be mixes come through every now and again, though.”

“I never saw any when I went to play at Latina’s place.”

“I see... I’d like to see one,” Sylvia said, and she looked like she was staring somewhere far-off.

Silvia had been born with divine protection from Akhdar, the god of travelers, so she was predisposed to being curious about foreign lands. Those who had divine protection from Akhdar had an almost instinctual desire to visit worlds they hadn’t seen and gather information they didn’t know.

“Are you going to join the temple after you finish with school, Sylvia?” “What should I do, I wonder...?” Sylvia was lost in thought in response to

Chloe’s question, resting her head upon her joined hands. “Joining the temple would be quickest, wouldn’t it...? And I could study magic then, too.”

“You can use magic, Sylvia?”

“I learned that I have the aptitude, thanks to Latina.”

Because her friends were interested in magic, Latina had taught them the language of spells. Sure enough, most of them couldn’t even manage the pronunciation, but Sylvia was one of the few that had a talent for it. Sylvia dreamed of someday going to the country of the devils, Vassilios, so Latina had taught her devil greetings and terms for everyday conversation rather than incantations.

“What about you, Chloe?”

“I’m gonna carry on the family business. I’ve been enjoying that sort of work a lot lately.”

“Then maybe I’ll have you make me some clothes when we’re adults...” “Make it something expensive, then!”

While they talking, Rudy passed by.

“Chloe!” he yelled out and tossed a small black fragment at her. Immediately realizing what that was, she hurriedly thrust out her hand to catch it so it wouldn’t drop.

“Hey! Rudy, you idiot! What do you think you’re doing?!”

“What? I did a good job, and I gave it back to you,” said Rudy, tilting his head at Chloe’s complaint.

“Wait, so you did it?”

“W-What? It was hard, and it was tough to use the machines, so I made sure to practice first. Is that a problem?” Feeling awkward, he looked away.

“What’s that? A rock?” Sylvia asked, and Chloe opened her clenched hand. The black fragment had clearly been carefully polished by machine. As the light hit it, it let off a warm shine. Chloe held up the small item, which had been processed with great care, and watched it reflect the light.

“It’s pretty, isn’t it? Latina gave it to me.” “Latina did?”

“Yeah. She said I could have it, since I’d treasure it.” “Why did Rudy have it?”

“I was wondering how to have it polished, and since he had files and stuff at his house, I asked him to do it.” She was glad for that, but he was still overly cheeky, so Chloe shrugged her shoulders in exasperation. “People who can’t be honest with their feelings sure are a pain, aren’t they?”

“Boys really do all act like kids.” They were able to talk like that because girls their age tended to be more mature than boys.

The item in question was the horn that Latina had broken off. Chloe had thought it was beautiful ever since she first saw it.

She couldn’t help but feel frustrated and sad when Latina broke off such a pretty piece of herself. Not wanting to let it be thrown away like it was trash, she had asked Latina if she could have it. At first, Chloe had wanted to do something with it herself, but a devil’s horn wasn’t something a young girl without the proper tools could handle. She’d ended up asking for Rudy’s help and having him process it for her.

“By the way, Rudy, what are you going to do after finishing school?” Chloe asked conversationally, not really meaning anything by it. She only asked because Rudy had butted in when she was discussing it with Sylvia.

“Wha... n-nothing... That has nothing to do with you, right?”

Seeing his overly suspicious reaction, the two girls looked at one another and grinned wide. They were like predators who had cornered their prey.

“Hmm... What are you thinking, I wonder...?” “N-Nothing! What does it matter, anyway?!” “Well, fine, but...”

“By the way, a letter from Latina arrived.” “W-W-Why are you bringing up Latina now?!” “Huh? So you don’t care about her, then?” “That’s not it...!”

“If you do, then you should just say so. Right?” “Yeah!”

“...!”

Marcel and Anthony, who were watching from further away, exchanged subtle smiles at seeing Rudy let out this silent scream and stamp his feet.

“Chloe and Sylvia were going to corner him anyway, so he should’ve just given up from the start,” asserted Marcel with a calm expression.

“You can only do that if you understand what’s going on, though, Marcel...” replied Anthony with a smile.

“You’re going on to advanced schooling, right, Anthony?” Marcel asked, and Anthony gave a nod.

“That’s right.”

“So are you going to end up working for the lord, then?”

“It’d be best if I could do that just like my father. But I don’t know, it could be good to work at a trading company or something, too.”

Anthony’s father served as a low-level official at the lord’s residence. That connection gave him some advantages, but it wasn’t a hereditary position, so there was no guarantee that Anthony would be able to take up the same post as his father.

“Are you going to carry on your family’s bakery, Marcel?”

“I don’t have any reason to do something different, and I do love bread,” Marcel calmly replied.

The majority of children in Kreuz ended up carrying on the family business. Second and third children would have to look for other jobs, but kids rarely bothered choosing a different occupation from their parents.

“Rudy has a big brother, though...”

“Still, he was saying he was planning on being a blacksmith too up until just recently... I wonder what happened all of the sudden?”

The two nodded together. “Is it Latina-related?” “It must be.”

“He sure is easy to understand.”

“I wonder why Latina hasn’t caught on yet...”

“It’s because he’s always acting way too cold to her... In a way, it amazing how consistent he’s been.”

“It’s easy for us to tell, though.”

They both nodded their heads at the same time once again. “He really is an idiot.”

“He sure is.”

“Hey, I can hear you guys!” yelled Rudy, on the verge of tears.

That very moment, the door to the classroom opened, and the teacher smiled at him with an unamused look in his eyes.

“Mr. Rudolf, the classroom is no place to make such a ruckus.” “...!”

Coming back to his senses, Rudy looked around and saw his friends nonchalantly sitting in their seats.

He was rather clumsy by nature.

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