Published at 18th of January 2020 4:59 pm

Volume 2, Chapter 5: The Young Man Arrives at His Home Village

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Dale was pushing the horse to run full-speed through the wooded mountain trail. Apparently, their assailants hadn’t expected the small horse to break out into a full-on sprint with two riders, even if one was a child. That’s why this unexpected maneuver proved successful.

After breaking through the surrounding enemies, Dale twisted his body around and fired off mana arrows to hold them back.

“Dale!”

“It’s dangerous, so keep your head down! Just focus on making sure the magic doesn’t cut out! 〈〈Gravity Reduction〉〉”

Checking behind them, he found that the attackers were skillfully hiding their presence in the forest. Even with how perceptive Dale was, he couldn’t say for certain that he sensed all of them.

“Damn!” Dale cursed, clearing away the incoming arrows with the longsword in his right hand. He didn’t slow down long enough to make sure the projectiles had scattered to the ground. He was only able to pay attention to their pursuers in the first place because Latina was taking care of the magic. In addition to gravity control magic to ease the burden on the horse, Latina occasionally also used healing magic, allowing the beast to sprint full-speed along the mountain path with both of them on its back.

“I figured they’d be coming soon, but I didn’t want to be right!” “Dale!”

“Got it!”

Hearing Latina’s warning, Dale immediately jerked the reins to make the horse jump. He felt the bewilderment of the attackers chasing after them. They’d most likely constructed a pitfall or similar trap. A slight smile crossed Dale’s face, and he had to stop himself from yelling, “Serves you right!”

Dale wasn’t sure whether he would have realized the trap if Latina wasn’t with him. He did have strong powers of observation, but he didn’t have Latina’s special ability. He’d instructed her to tell him right away if she sensed a spot that felt different. It was alright if she was wrong, but this time was clearly a great success.

After the slope ended, the path went flat, and further along was a bare cliff of bedrock. There was nothing but rock to be seen to the left and right, but there was an opening in one spot: a tunnel carved right through it. If they could make it that far, they would be home free.

“I won’t fall for that!” Dale said to himself to psyche himself up. He brought the horse to a sudden stop. Latina’s body floated into the air from the inertia, but Dale used his own body to stop her from falling.

Just as he’d expected, the next instant magic caused boulders to fall and block the tunnel that was their only way forward.

“Are you idiots?! Seriously!”

He drove the horse forward again and started chanting a spell towards the sealed path.

“Oh you who belong to the earth, by my name, I order you shift according to my wishes. 〈〈Ground transfiguration〉〉”

Rather than an attack, this simply shifted the land. But that was plenty. The obstacle in their way was soundlessly smashed to bits, which rained down along with a dense cloud of dust. Dale covered Latina by pulling his coat over her.

The cloud would also block the pursuers’ field of vision.

Dale and Latina slipped through the tunnel, and the scenery opened up before them.

At that very instant, Dale screamed out, “...Damn hag! I told you it wasn’t just me this time, didn’t I?!”

The older woman facing the tunnel wore a troubled expression as she looked at Dale. “Hey now, you shouldn’t call your grandma a ‘damn hag.’”

“And you too, Mom! Did you seriously want to kill your son after seeing me for the first time in a while?!”

“Of course not... I just blocked the entrance a bit, right?”

“If your timing had been even a little bit off, then it wouldn’t have been ‘just’ that!”

“Oh, my... it’s not that big a big deal...” “That’s right. We always do this much...”

“And you, Dad! You shouldn’t have been shooting at us!” Dale criticized angrily, turning in the direction of the man’s voice he’d heard.

“You fired at us too, didn’t you...?” the voice replied quiet indifferently and without a hint of guilt. “We made sure to take off the arrowheads, you know...”

“You shouldn’t have aimed at us in the first place! They still hurt even without the arrowhead, but you were still trying to hit us!”

“Whatever.” There wasn’t even a shred of remorse in the man’s expression or voice.

As they carried on like that, the remaining pursuers at last caught up. “You’re awful, Dale. We’re covered in dust.”

“Seriously, this is no way to start your first homecoming in a while...” “I’m awful?! Me?!”

They were all Dale’s cousins and childhood friends. “I mean, it was the village head’s orders.” “Yeah.”

That’s how they responded to Dale’s criticism.

“You seem awfully worked up, considering how we always do this...” Dale’s father said. Then his gaze stopped on the young girl Dale had his arms wrapped around, and he stiffened. The action resembled those of his son, but right now no one pointed that out.

Latina’s round eyes had been darting around, and now she looked up at Dale, still clearly shocked.

“Dale... do you not get along with your family?” “No, Latina, that’s...”

While Dale searched for words, the surprise that started with his father spread to everyone else.

“A girl?!” they all yelled out at once, causing Latina to jump. “Wah?!” She narrowly avoided falling off of the horse.

“Well... Granny did say you’d be bringing someone along, but we all thought it’d be one of your fellow adventurers, like always,” Dale’s mother said with a smile. She looked troubled, but also like she was trying to dodge the issue as she waved her hands back and forth all the while.

“Um... Um... I’m Latina. Nice to meet you! Latina is looking forward to staying with you.”

“Oh my, you’re a cute one. Sorry for scaring you like that.” “Seriously... what would you have done if Latina got hurt?” “She had you to protect her...”

“Reflect on your actions already, please!”

Dale was walking alongside his parents. He’d gotten off the horse and was pulling the reins, while Latina remained riding. The polite young girl was apparently hesitant to introduce herself from that position. Dale’s parents didn’t seem to mind at all, though. Everyone else went off to clean up the various traps they’d set for Dale. After saying they’d come see him again later, they left. The village may have been remote, but it wasn’t as if visitors from outside never came, so it’d be too dangerous to leave things as they were.

The highway came to an end at the tunnel they’d passed through, which was the only way in and out of the village. The tunnel, carved by using Earth magic on the thick bedrock, was big enough that even large carriages could easily pass through it. And past it was this place, Dale’s home village.

Despite the limited access, the village itself was fairly large. It had a far stronger impact than any of the villages they’d stopped at so far on their journey. There was a path stretching from the end of the highway and through the center of town, with buildings to the left and right of it. Looking about, there were fields made on the sloped land surrounding the village. And the whole of this space was encircled by mountains on all sides.

“That’s my house.” “It’s big...”

“Well, it’s technically the head of the clan’s residence... it is pretty old, though.”

Latina was staring with her mouth wide open at the old mansion in the center of the village, which stood out as being noticeably bigger than the other buildings. Rather than feeling just old like Dale said, it felt like a building with a profound history to it.

“Why are the houses different from everywhere else?” “Hmm...”

Latina asked this because there wasn’t a single building in the village with a red roof. Latina had grown used to thinking of roofs as being naturally red, so this felt quite out of place to her. Instead, the buildings, fitting of being out in the country, weren’t flashy at all and blended into the deep-green mountain backdrop. They were a dull, subdued color thanks to being exposed to the elements, but if you looked closely, each one had a metallic relief at the entrance, adorned with a single flower.

“It’s because our village worships Quirmizi.”

“Dale, didn’t you teach Latina before that Quirmizi is the god people pray to for the harvest, so there are small shrines and stuff for him everywhere?”

“Yeah. How should I put it...? Like how Laband primarily worships Ahmar, this village does the same for Quirmizi.”

“After all, there are a lot of folks in our village with divine protection from Quirmizi,” Dale’s mother added with a laugh. “And about half of the people here can use magic, though it’s mostly Earth attribute stuff.” Now she had a smile on her face.

“Welcome to the village of ‘the clan loved by the earth’!”

This village had no name. If the villagers ever had to give one, they used “Tislow,” but that didn’t belong to the village itself. Rather, Tislow was the name of the clan that lived there.

“So the people in our village don’t have last names, effectively. Everyone’s would be Tislow, so it’d be pointless here.”

“Hmm? But Dale, you always introduce yourself as ‘Dale Reki,’ don’t you?” “Right, that’s the name of my role in the village. And it sounds good, so I use it as my last name outside the village, too. My ‘Reki’ is a title for ‘someone who goes out and fights.’ I don’t know the specifics, but I was told that in the old language of the clan, it holds that sort of meaning.”

Dale told Latina all of this in a room that used to be Dale’s in the mansion. His old furniture was gone and it’d been made into a guest room, but Dale easily settled back in. Latina had put down the luggage, taken off her knife, and then sat down and listened to what Dale had to say. He kept talking while he unpacked.

“Apparently, our clan ended up coming here from somewhere else a long while back. They settled down in these mountains, cleared the land, and made a village. As the name ‘the clan loved by the earth’ implies, we’ve always had plenty of folks with Quirmizi’s divine protection and the ability to use Earth magic. Clearing and cultivating land has always been something of a specialty for us.”

Earth magic was incredibly useful when it came to such tasks, as well as construction and especially foundation work, and with many people who could use such magic, it naturally made such work even easier. Furthermore, despite being in far out, remote mountains, they didn’t have to worry about construction supplies thanks to the numerous magic users. And since the Tislow clan had so many magic users, they were also accomplished when it came to large-scale linked magic.

The effect of the divine protection of Quirmizi, the god of the earth that people prayed to for an abundant harvest, was also great. Though it didn’t apply to everyone with Quirmizi’s divine protection, for some that power had a great effect on the production of crops. And for others, they had the power to rejuvenate the land. And so, as long as they didn’t fail to cycle their crops, they could consistently reap abundant harvests.

At a glance, this country land deep in the mountains was inconvenient, but this was a place that made it easy for them to make great use of their abundant blessing from the gods, their divine protection. For their clan, there was no better place to live.

“And so, our clan’s customs differ from those of Laband in a lot of ways. Taking off our shoes in our homes, for example.”

“Ah...” Latina said in understanding. She’d lived together with Dale, so she’d grown used doing it. The thick, fluffy rug spread across the floor was also quite similar to the one in Dale’s room back in Kreuz, so it didn’t seem strange to Latina at all.

Having roughly finished with the luggage, Dale and Latina left the room and continued down the hallway, where the wood was polished to such a beautiful shine that you could see yourself on its surface.

“And it’s deep in the mountains here, so it snows a lot in the winter. Well, anyway, that’s apparently how my clan decided to settle down here. And so originally we started taking off our shoes in our homes because they’d always be covered in dirt and mud.”

Dale led the way, his footsteps echoing in the hall. Latina had on some soft, warm fur slippers, so her steps hardly made any sound at all. He stood for a while in front of the room that was their destination. Without even a single knock, he suddenly grabbed the knob and flung the door open.

The room wasn’t at all extravagant, but you could tell at a glance just how nice it was. It faced south to let in plenty of the sunlight that was so precious in the snowy mountains, and it was furnished with an old but well-maintained fireplace. The rug on the floor had a complex design woven into it. The walls were decorated with splendid pelts and horns, trophies from the hunts undertaken by generations of the clan. And in the center of the room sat a single old lady smoking a pipe.

“So, what do you want, you old bat?”

“Oh, is that my stupid, cowardly grandson?”

The owner of the room, an old woman sitting in a dignified manner, was quite small. In fact, if you put her next to Latina, you might find that the young girl was actually taller. And yet, when you sat and faced her, her sense of presence was overwhelming. Combined with her bold personality, it was impossible to think of her as “small.” This old woman had the air of a brave warrior about her.

She took a big puff on her pipe as if trying to provoke Dale.

“You...!” he said, clenching his fist in irritation. Latina blinked in surprise as she watched the old woman, then looked up at Dale with her big eyes.

“She’s just like you, Dale...” “Latina?!”

Dale was left dumbfounded at the abrupt statement, and Latina walked up to the old woman.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Latina. Dale saved Latina, and now we live together. She thanks you for letting her rely on your kindness for the time being,” she said, adding in a bow in the midst of her introduction. It may not have precisely been proper manners, but it was full of sincerity and gave a good impression of the young girl.

“Hmm...”

“Ma’am, are you Dale’s grandma?”

“That’s right... You seem to have your act together a lot more than that idiot grandson of mine, young lady.”

“Dale is really nice to Latina, and he teaches her a lot. He isn’t an ‘idiot,’” Latina declared, not flinching in the least before the intimidating woman and even adding in a small puff of her cheeks. “Latina thinks that you shouldn’t say bad things about Dale, even if you are his grandma.”

After saying that, she turned around. “And Dale, you shouldn’t say bad things about your grandma, either.”

The young girl passed judgment on both parties involved.

The grandmother and grandson stared at one another, a sulking Latina between them.

“Even your sulky look’s cute, Latina!” “Yeah.”

“Latina’s adorable, isn’t she?” “Where did you find this girl?” “I picked her up.”

“You occasionally do find something good.”

Latina had seen through to the truth of the matter right at the start. They really were alike, which was precisely why they ended up fighting so often, and they probably had roughly the same boiling point when it came to things they found cute.

“Do you want some candy, young lady?” the old woman asked. She pulled amber-colored candy out of the drawer by her side and beckoned Latina closer.

“Don’t bribe her with food!” Dale yelled, trying to stop her.

“Candy?”

Dale knew all too well that if he allowed his grandmother to “attack” like this even once, Latina would inevitably fall. He knew what to expect afterwards, too.

“I’m telling you not to! Latina’s my kid!” Dale said, holding Latina from behind. He looked like a cat with its fur standing up as it tried to protect its kitten.

“What’re you saying? You don’t even have a wife,” his grandmother replied with a scornful laugh.

“Hmm?” Latina tilted her head, sensing a shift in the mood between the two of them.

“Here, say ‘ah.’” “Ah?” “Latina!”

The innocent young girl opened her mouth as she was told, and a piece of candy flew in. It was a sharp, precise throw that you wouldn’t think a woman Dale’s grandmother’s age could make, and she paid no heed to Dale’s attempts to obstruct her. In the aftermath of this mere moment of battle, Latina’s cheeks puffed up like a squirrel’s.

“Is it tasty?”

“It is,” said Latina with a nod.

“Latina, don’t take candy from strangers!” “Huh?! Dale’s grandma is a ‘stranger’?!”

“Don’t pay him any mind. He’s just a brat throwing a fit.” “Huh?”

“Don’t listen to what this old hag says!”

“Huh? Huh?”

“You listened to me properly back when you were a kid, too!”

“And the me you see now is the result of that.” He turned to Latina. “Do you get it?”

“Not really. Do you and your grandma get along?” Latina asked, not able to comprehend the relationship between this grandmother and grandson.

“More or less.” “Yeah.”

The pair replied with the same sort of expression on both of their faces. “Hmm...” Latina stopped and thought for a while. “Then... it’s okay...?” she said to herself, moving the large candy about her mouth all the while.

A bold smile on her face once more, the old woman sat in front of her grandson Dale and started happily puffing away at her pipe. Her actual name was Wendelgard, but everyone just called her Granny Wen.

“Well, you look better than you did last time you came back.” “Was I that bad...?”

Granny Wen kept on puffing on her pipe, facing her sulking grandson. “Yeah. Randolph and them planned to smack some sense back into you, and that sounded like a hoot, so I let them.”

“Dad...”

Randolph was Dale’s father’s name.

Apparently, that attack wasn’t just his grandmother’s order, but also the result of the others getting carried away, too. Dale let out a single, unnaturally long sigh.

“Well, you guys always do that sort of ‘prank’... but this time Latina was with me, so I didn’t want to take even the slightest risk of her getting hurt.”

“What, can you not even protect her properly?” “I have been protecting her.”

Latina sat right in between them, listening to them talk as she sucked on the candy. First her right check would puff up, then go back to normal, and then the left one would swell. Occasionally the sound of the candy rolling about escaped from between her lips. She was trying to be quiet and well behaved, but was ending up unintentionally asserting her presence quite a bit.

“...Latina.” “Hmm?”

“Is that candy tasty?”

“Yeah,” she responded with a smile of complete satisfaction.

“That’s good.”

As long as she was happy, he had no complaints.

Seeing her grandson like this, Granny Wen took a puff of her pipe, looking content.

As they walked down the hallway after leaving Granny Wen’s room, Latina asked, “You get along with your family, right, Dale?”

“Yeah.”

“Then why were you fighting?”

“Hmm... That wasn’t really a fight. It was more like... they were making sure I’m doing my role properly,” Dale replied with a strained smile. “Last time I came back was a bit before I met you. That was when I was at my absolute worst, so they were worried, I guess.”

“Huh?”

“I mean, I became happy because I met you, Latina,” Dale responded, patting Latina’s now-tilted head. He didn’t want to talk to her about back when he hadn’t been in such a good place.

Even my family could tell how bad I’d gotten...

He could only give a strained smile when he thought back to the way he was back then. Those calm, gentle days he’d spent together with Latina were truly irreplaceable and helped to heal him. It really was debatable as to who had saved who.

“Still, I really do think you guys went overboard.”

“More importantly, are you always walking around with the little lady like that?”

“Hmm?”

“I just don’t want to do something as awful as leaving her all alone in a place she doesn’t know.”

“But, still...”

Dale had brought Latina to the living room. The low table in the center had sides decorated with elaborate carvings that drew the eye. There was a fireplace, and along the walls were display shelves lined with decorative plates, as well as metal objets d’art and reliefs. In front of those shelves stood Dale’s father, Randolph, sipping tea while skimming a letter. He was reading it here rather than in his personal room, which also served as a study, so it must have been personal rather than work-related.

Granny Wendelgard, the head of the clan and village chief, was getting quite old, so Randolph handled most of the work associated with her position. Dale plunked himself down diagonally across from his father. A moment later, Latina nestled in close to him. It would seem that Latina wasn’t entirely comfortable sitting in the center of the large room, so she half-hid herself behind Dale. She’d pop her head out a bit every now and again, only to dart behind Dale’s back once more. She wasn’t necessarily trying to hide, but as a result of her gaze wandering about at all the things that interested her around the room, it seemed that way from Randolph’s position. The way that something would suddenly catch her eye and she’d look that way was reminiscent of a small animal. And the man’s son, who he hadn’t met in some time, was gently watching over the young girl’s charming movements. It wasn’t a bad thing, but he was looking lovingly at the young girl, looking like he felt it natural that she was by his side.

As a parent, Randolph wanted to ask just what had happened.

“I picked up Latina while I was working, after her dad had died, and I’ve been taking care of her ever since. I wrote you some letters every now and again, right?” Dale said, sulking a bit and seemingly sick of Randolph looking at him like he wanted to say something.

“Yeah, but still...”

“If Latina’s in the way, she’ll go back to the room. Would that be better?” Latina said, cutting into Dale and Randolph’s conversation.

Dale responded immediately. “You could never be in the way, Latina!” “You...” Randolph was at a loss for words.

Seeing Dale’s father like that, Latina seemed a tad flustered. “Dale’s always nice to Latina like this.”

“She never acts selfishly, so I’ve gotta spoil her.”

“I see. So you’re super soft on her,” Randolph said with a sigh, seeming somehow exhausted.

“Um, Dale’s dad...” Seeing a break in the conversation, Latina stepped forward a bit, tilting her head slightly as she looked up at Randolph.

“What is it?”

“What should Latina call you? She doesn’t even know your name.” Facing her once more directly, he felt that the young girl, with her swaying platinum hair and her big grey eyes that looked straight at him, was amazingly adorable. He thought she was cute when he’d first seen her, but looking at her up close like this, he thought that while she was still very young, it wouldn’t be odd at all to call her a real beauty. He couldn’t sense even a shred of ill intent behind her earnest expression, which made her even more charming.

Randolph was left speechless for a while as he looked at the young girl, only for him to be hit by another shock when he realized something a tad later than he should have. He took a deep breath.

“Hmm?” Latina adorably tilted her head as she looked up at him. “We never had a daughter, so...”

“Dad...” “Hmm?”

“Could you ask me that question one more time?” “Huh? What should Latina call you?”

“I wouldn’t mind you calling me ‘Pops’...” “Dad...” Dale started.

“I think I get a bit of how you feel.”

This father and son were apparently similar in their strangeness.

“Ah, that’s right, thinking about a ‘daughter’ made me remember,” Randolph said, looking at Dale. “The daughter of the chief of the village down the way is going to marry into our house.”

“Marry?”

“That’s right. We sped up the schedule so we could get it done while you’re here. We’ll be having the ceremony soon.”

“The daughter of the chief of the village down the hill... Ah, you mean Frida? Is that alright?”

“There’s no problem. It’s already settled. The other side wanted it, too. It’s better to rely on us than some far-off lord of the domain when you’re out here in the country, after all.”

“Well, it is pretty obvious that when you’re all the way out here, even if you asked the lord to help with poor crop yields or magical beasts or disease, your request would keep getting put off... But if they asked us, we could help out, at least to a certain extent.”

“Thanks to your ‘work,’ our issues with the lord have been settled too, so we shouldn’t have any trouble for a while.”

“I see,” Dale said with a smile embedded with complex emotions. “Then I’m fulfilling my duty as part of the head family of the clan, huh...?”

As he looking at his son, Randolph brought the tea cup to his mouth to hide his softened expression. “It’s alright now.”

Dale didn’t respond to this statement both to hide his embarrassment and because this father and son understood each other well enough without needing to put it into words.

“Marriage, huh...? I guess Yorck beat me to it. He must be having it rough then, yeah? He’s still got work, after all...”

“Huh?!” Latina suddenly shouted in surprise after silently listening to Dale speak. Surprised by the outburst, Dale looked over at her and found that she’d gone completely pale.

“What’s wrong, Latina? Do you feel bad?” “No, Latina’s alright. Dale, who’s Yorck?”

“Hmm? Ah, right, he hasn’t come back yet, so I haven’t introduced you. He’s my little brother.”

“Dale’s little brother? And he’s getting married?”

“Yeah. We’ll get to see the ceremony while we’re here. We’ll have to get you a nice dress, too!” Dale said, apparently having just decided this.

“Latina sees....” Latina muttered, the color returning to her face, and she regained her usual composure. She had momentarily thought that Dale was getting married.

“Latina wants to see the bride,” she said with a smile. There wasn’t a hint of gloom on her face.

Randolph had two sons and no daughters. Since both of them were unmarried, he had no grandchildren and he hadn’t the slightest idea what interested a young girl like Latina. She was used to city living, so she’d find it boring out in the country like this, right?

Randolph stood up and excitedly exited the living room. “Hmm?”

“Latina, do you want some tea?” “Yeah. Dale, Latina will do it.”

“Is that so? Then I’ll leave it to you.”

After Randolph left, Latina started preparing the tea. Because Latina was all- around better at cooking than Dale now, it was more efficient to have her take care of steeping the tea, and it would taste better that way, too.

“It’s not like the tea from Kreuz.”

“It’s closer to an herbal tea. Is it too different for you? There should be normal tea leaves too, so should we go with those instead?”

“No, this will taste good, too.”

Randolph returned when they were enjoying the light-green tea, which differed from what was normally found in Kreuz. He had several small boxes in his hands.

“Dad?”

“Girls like things like this, right?” “Hmm?”

Latina tilted her head at the boxes being held out to her. Opening up the boxes at Randolph’s silent insistence, she shouted, “Wow, they’re so pretty!” “They’re all magical devices... That’s our village’s livelihood, after all.”

Inside the boxes were elaborately crafted accessories adorned with gemstones. The fine craftsmanship and design alone were enough to make them all beautiful. Adding the large jewels, with their varied cuts that reflected the light at all sorts of angles, the pieces looked all the more gorgeous.

“These are magical devices?”

“That’s right. Making magical devices is our village’s main source of income, and when it comes to things that need complex metalwork, we’re world-famous for our skill. Stuff like this and weapons with gimmicks built into them, like my gauntlet, are our specialty.”

“Wow...” Latina muttered, picking up one of the accessories and holding it up to the light. She was enthralled by the sparkling gem; she may have been young, but she was still a girl. Such accessory-type magical devices were one of the village’s top-selling products and were imbued with protection magic. They were especially useful for nobles, who couldn’t walk around openly wearing armor.

“Do you like them? If there’s one you’re fond of, you can have it.” These most certainly weren’t the sort of items you’d give to a child on a whim.

Realizing that, Latina refused. “No, Latina’s happy just looking at them. They’re really pretty.” She was well aware that her guardian occasionally pampered her to an outlandish degree. Going at her own pace, Latina placed the accessory with a green jewel back into its box and then picked up and stared at a red one.

“Leather goods like my coat usually aren’t sold to outsiders, though. The enchantment technique is the same, but they’re just made for using around the village.”

“We’re in the mountains, so it’s quicker to make something ourselves if we can.”

“Hmm...”

There were many magical beasts and other animals in the land surrounding the village, so Tislow was never lacking when it came to leather. They used it when they made hunting equipment and even for their everyday clothes. Such a thing would be considered quite extravagant elsewhere, but as they had the goods on hand, it made sense to use such highly functional gear. The reason that Dale was so ready to spoil Latina with expensive magical devices was because he had plenty of funds, but also perhaps because he came from this village, where they weren’t seen as anything special.

“I did contact them in advance, but it’ll take some time for them to get my measurements and put the finishing touches on my coat. We’re so far out in the country that it may be boring for you.”

“No, Latina is looking forward to it. There’s lots of stuff here that isn’t in Kreuz.”

“I see. Well, I’ve got to go say hi to some people tomorrow, so I’ll show you around the village then.”

“Right.”

Randolph wore a complex expression with a bit of amazement mixed in as he watched Dale and Latina have this relaxed conversation. He acutely sensed just how much his son doted on the young girl. It was unavoidable that a parent would become that way, but looking at Dale now, it seemed clear that Randolph’s son was once more back to his old self again, which made Randolph feel relieved.

Dale’s mission in the outside world had him risking his life taking on dangerous jobs involved demons and demon lords, which normal adventurers would never touch. Doing such work over and over ate away at him, so of course his father worried. Randolph had also realized that his son had kept cutting himself off from others until he was all alone in order to dull the pain.

So, he’s able to earnestly feel gratitude and affection for this girl, huh? As Dale’s father, Randolph needed to give Latina his thanks for saving his son.

“Dad, is Master Cornelio still teaching?”

“Huh? His daughter Clarissa has taken charge of teaching the kids around the village lately, but he’s still alive and kicking.”

“I see... Then you should study under him while we’re here, Latina. He should be able to teach you from a bit of a different viewpoint than the Asfarian priests back in town.”

“There’s a school here?” Latina asked, tilting her head. She’d heard that there were no Asfarian schools in the villages they’d stopped in on their trip. Even though Laband was a grand, powerful nation, there wasn’t any proper schooling in small country settlements. From that point of view, Tislow was quite unusual.

“Master Cornelio is a priest of Asfar, so you can technically call it a school,” Dale said, looking nostalgic. “I’ll introduce you to him tomorrow, so look forward to it.”

“Got it,” Latina responded, bringing their conversation to an end. Though the mansion was vast, the smell of dinner being prepared carried

from the kitchen to the living room, and when Latina noticed it, she grew fidgety. Dale knew what was going on, so he simply watched her with an amused expression on his face, but Randolph looked worried.

“What’s wrong?” “Huh? Um, um...”

Latina was flustered by Randolph’s question. She tugged on Dale’s sleeve and looked up at him as if asking what to do.

“Dale...”

“Just take it easy for today. I’ll ask my mom later,” Dale said, gently patting her on the head. “Latina can’t calm down unless she’s working. Back in Kreuz, she’s always helping Kenneth at the Ocelot. I let her handle the cooking on the way here, too,” Dale explained to his father with a strained smile.

“I see...”

“She doesn’t like just being treated as a guest, so let her help out, alright?” “She’s such a hard-worker. How admirable.” Randolph said with a gentle grin. Latina calmed down, releasing Dale’s sleeve.

The door to the living room opened while the father and son were watching over the still-anxious Latina as if admiring a small animal. There was no custom of knocking in Tislow. When it came to offices or personal rooms, people would speak up before entering, but that wasn’t considered necessary when it came to a shared space like the living room. Everyone in the village was okay with this because they were part of the same clan and were all brethren with the same sense of values.

Even at a glance, it was obvious that the young man who opened the door was quite similar to Dale. He didn’t even look to be too different in terms of age. He ran his fingers through his hair, which was cut shorter than Dale’s, and when he took off his leather coat, a build was revealed that was in no way inferior to that of Dale, an adventurer renowned for his skill.

“Yorck.”

“Oh, you’re back, big bro? Did you get here today?”

“See, that’s a normal reaction. Dad and them put in a lot of work to mess with me.”

“Oh, they did that again? You’ve got it rough, bro,” Yorck said, looking over at Latina, who was by Dale’s side. “Is that the devil girl you’ve been looking after?”

“Yeah. Latina, this is my little brother, Yorck.”

Latina shot straight up and bowed. “Nice to meet you. I’m Latina. She’ll be relying on your kindness for a while.”

Yorck seemed a little shocked as he looked at Latina and then at his brother. “What a surprise. She’s really got her act together, considering you’re

looking after her.”

“So you think of me like that too, huh?” said Dale, his brow creasing. Apparently to his family, the still-childish impression of him from when he’d left the village remained strong in their minds. That may have been partly because the rumors of him being a first-rate adventurer who sold himself on his name might not have made it here from Kreuz and the capital, but regardless, his family didn’t see him that way at all.

“Nice to meet you, too. You’re always having to help out my brother, right? Sorry about that.”

“Huh?” “Yorck...”

Latina hadn’t expected him to say that at all, so Yorck’s greeting threw her for a loop. “Um, um, Dale is always very good to Latina, though.”

“She sure is conscientious for someone so young, bro...” “You...”

“I was at least half-joking.”

Latina tilted her head and stayed that way as she tried to understand their

whole exchange. She finally gave a firm nod when they were done. “Dale, your family is weird!”

“Latina...”

Dale could only hang his head in shame, crestfallen. He couldn’t find any grounds to deny it.

Before long, Dale’s mother, Magda, announced that dinner was ready. Latina let out a “Woooow!” when she saw the food that was carried out.

“I couldn’t get everything prepared for today, so we’ll have the welcome party tomorrow,” Magda said, even though there was already plenty of food giving off a delicious smell on the table. There were also quite a lot of ingredients and dishes that Latina had never seen before, so she was, of course, overjoyed.

“We’ve got to call Granny...”

“Latina will go get her, then!” Latina said, cheerfully raising her hand and then hurrying off to Granny Wen’s room. Her slippers made a soft pitter patter as she went. She really did want to do whatever she could to help out, even if it was something small.

Dale should have trusted the bad feeling he had right then. His first-rate senses were working at all times, and he could pick up even something vague.

That bad premonition ended up being right.

Both during dinner and after, Latina didn’t leave Granny Wen’s side.

While Dale was catching up with his family for the first time in a while, Latina’s eyelids started to grow heavy. The sense of relief at reaching their destination after a long, tiring journey was likely finally hitting her.

“Are you heading back to the room alone, Latina?”

“Yeah. Latina is alright. She’ll go to sleep first, so goodnight.” With a quick bow of her head, Latina left the living room.

After that, some time passed as they discussed the capital and the state of the clan. It was fairly late by the time Dale finally returned to the room. His old room and the one next to it had been set aside as guest rooms. He opened the door and heard the out-of-tune snores he’d grown so accustomed to.

“Hmm, well, it’s not my room anymore...” he muttered, looking in on the happily sleeping Latina and naturally breaking out in a smile. He’d intended to use this room because it used to be his, but he had no intention of moving Latina when she was sleeping so peacefully. He decided to use the other room, closing the door gently so as not to make a sound.

At the time, he’d thought that was the right decision.

Dale suddenly awoke in the middle of the night. As he lay on his side in the dark, he wondered why he had woken up. Even if he could awake with a start due to his work, it wasn’t something that occurred at random.

He felt like someone was calling him. “Latina?!”

He jumped up from the bed and flew out of the room. The very instant after he hit the hallway, he flung open the door to the room next door. Hurrying inside, his eyes first fell on the empty bed, and he turned pale. But even so, he kept himself from falling apart entirely, and with what little calm he had left, he sensed a presence in the corner. A blanket from their luggage that was supposed to be packed away had a lump under it.

“Latina?” Dale called out, and the lump trembled a bit. “Dale...?”

“What’s wrong?”

Latina’s head peeked out from the blanket. “Dale!”

Latina flew out of the blanket and threw her arms around him. She shoved her tearstained face tight up against the bewildered Dale.

“You’ve been crying? Why?”

“When Latina... woke up... you weren’t there. She was... scared. But she... didn’t know where you were,” Latina said bit by bit, her words broken up by tiny sniffles. “You were gone... so Latina was scared.”

“Sorry,” Dale apologized in a gentle voice, tousling Latina’s bedhead. The sleeping Latina had had no idea Dale was in the room next door, and back when they arrived, they’d unpacked their luggage in this room. Having been born and raised in this mansion, Dale was well acquainted with its layout, but because it was her first time visiting, it was a new place to Latina.

Of course she’d be uneasy. He’d forgotten something completely obvious. I was too relaxed because it was my first time back home in a while...

“It was scary, huh? I’m sorry.”

Latina gave a tiny nod, still hugging Dale tight as if she didn’t want to let go. When he saw Latina’s slender shoulders shaking, he tried to comfort the

young girl and said with a frown, “Come on, hop back in bed. You’re cold, right? I’ll stay by your side until you fall asleep, so relax.”

The seasons in the deep mountain land of Tislow lagged behind those of Kreuz, and it was colder there overall. This late at night, it was so chilly that it was hard to think of it as early spring.

“Latina doesn’t want you to go, Dale,” Latina said, shaking her head and weeping. She hugged him even tighter than before. “Latina wants to be together... she doesn’t want you to go... she doesn’t want to be alone...”

Latina’s... begging me...

He may have often pampered Latina, but she never made selfish requests; and yet here she was, in tears and begging him.

“I guess I’ve got no choice...”

It only took a mere moment for Dale to give in. It was what you’d call a “snap decision.”

†

Early the next morning, Dale’s mother stood frozen and at a terrible loss.

A little later at breakfast, she declared to her son, “I know that everybody has their quirks, but still, I think Latina’s just too young.”

“I’m not even going to ask what you’re thinking about me, Mom, but it’s absolutely, positively wrong!”

“I’d heard that folks in the city marry later, so I’d thought that was why you hadn’t found a bride yet. But to think that my son was into little--“

“Could you please cut it out? Latina can hear you.”

When Magda had gone to inform them that breakfast was ready, she’d found the young girl sleeping in the same bed as her son. First, she’d found one of the guest rooms empty, which she’d thought was odd, and when she opened the door to the other one, that was the sight that awaited her. Her full-grown son, sleeping with his arms around a little girl, and that was certainly something to worry about. She knew he doted on Latina, but she didn’t know it had gone this far. As his mother, it was her duty to make him see reason.

After she dropped that bomb, Magda looked her seated son right in the eyes. Randolph, who had watched this exchange while eating, took a sip of his tea and then gave a firm nod.

“I see... So you have those kind of tastes, huh?” “Don’t say that with such a serious expression, Dad.”

That was when the despondent Latina spoke up. “Dale... This is all because Latina was selfish. She’s sorry...”

“See? Latina took you seriously!” “There, there. She really is a good girl.” “Right.”

“My parents are just teasing me, Latina. You don’t need to worry.”

Having said that, Dale faced his parents once again. “I’ve had to leave Latina home before, so it’s not like she can’t sleep on her own. But she was all alone in an unfamiliar place this time, so she got nervous. I did that to help her calm down and feel more relaxed.”

“Well, you’re still young, Latina. And it’s pitch-black in the country at night, so of course it was scary,” said Magda with a smile, facing Latina with a completely different expression than she had taken towards her son.

“Right,” agreed Randolph with a nod.

“You woke up in an unfamiliar place, so it’s no surprise you were scared.

That son of ours really is no good.” “Yeah.”

“You guys...”

“Why are you referring to your parents as ‘you guys’?” Randolph retorted. “Doing this this early in the morning... I’m exhausted...”

“Dale, are you alright? Latina’s sorry she was selfish.”

“You really are the only one who can make me feel better, Latina!” Dale exclaimed, with a flood of emotions from the depths of his heart.

After breakfast, Dale left the house holding hands with Latina, who was still looking despondent.

There was a crisp air to this Tislow morning, but it was more refreshing than cold. It had been the height of spring in the places they’d visited on their journey, but Tislow was still just heading into the start of the season. The branches had yellowish-green leaves, and there were still only buds attached to them. The wild flowers on the side of the road were all gentle, light colors. It was as if they’d all been waiting to bloom together to usher in the late spring.

This land was blessed by the power of the earth, so it was absolutely overflowing with such scenery. Rather than the cape she’d worn on the trip, Latina now had a stole over her shoulders. It was light pink and made of a thick, napped fabric, so it was quite warm. She also had a flower-shaped broach pinned to it, which Granny Wen had pulled out of somewhere in the mansion. “She’s moving way too fast...” Dale muttered to himself, completely ignoring his own past actions.

“That color suits you, Latina.” “Dale?”

“It’s the color of spring, and it’s cute. Granny made a good choice.” Understanding what he was saying, she broke out in a shy smile. “It’s warm.” “That’s good,” Dale said with a grin, and Latina’s smile grew all the brighter in turn. He gripped her hand a bit tighter, and she did the same as well. After leaving the mansion, they went around the village in a clockwise rotation. Not far from the estate, Dale stopped in front of a row of similar- looking buildings and pointed at one.

“This is a public workshop for the village. There’s a lot of dangerous stuff in there, so don’t go playing there on your own.”

“Right.”

This was a facility that the villagers used to manufacture magical devices. As there were a great number of confidential clan secrets involved in the process, even a young child like Latina wouldn’t be allowed to enter so easily.

“Over here is the office, so if you have some business you absolutely have to take care of here, then go there. Next door is the delivery carrier. You can send letters from there.”

The building Dale pointed to had a moss-green flag with an emblem of a letter with wings on it that Latina recognized. The young girl was surprised. “There’s a letter deliverer here?”

“It’s because our village gets orders for magical devices from all over, and we need it for communication about Laband, too.”

While Dale was telling her that, he brought Latina into the office. He was part of the head family, and as the eldest son of the next village head, Randolph, he had to greet people all throughout the village. Not wanting things to be awkward for Latina, he thought it important to introduce her to the villagers as well.

Finishing his greetings at the workshop, they passed along the thin paths between the houses throughout the village. Passing by so closely gave a good look at each house, which all had gardens, some having small vegetable gardens and flower beds.

“There are a lot of flowers in Tislow.”

“Really? Well, everybody grows them here, since you need to switch them out each day...”

“You do?”

“For the offering to Quirmizi at the entrance.” “Huh...”

Looking up while discussing this, Latina saw fields gradually come into view in the distance. There were a great number of them on the sloped land surrounding the village. The sight of the scenery, broken up by stone walls as the ground rose, was entirely new to Latina.

“Those are fields? They look like stairs... Amazing!” “You think?”

Other than the terraced fields, what drew the eyes most was the canal running throughout the village. The pure, cool water flowed without stagnant or dry patches, passing by the side of each house and up towards the fields. The water flowed from springs in the mountains to the center of the village. That they had access to such water for their day-to-day life was thanks to the blessings of the land as well. The village didn’t just borrow the power of the land, but also that of water, which is necessary to sustain life.

Every now and again, when the two passed a villager, they’d look at Dale in surprise, only to heartily call out to him when they realized who it was. Dale would stop and greet them in response. All the while, Latina would hide behind Dale’s back, nervous around the stranger. Her clinging tight to his clothes and peeking out a bit must have been quite the adorable sight, and it made Dale regret that he didn’t have eyes on the back of his head. After all, right behind him was his greatest blind spot. Latina was practically killing him, acting this adorable when they were this close but leaving him unable to see her. Well, she was cute, so he could forgive her for anything.

After passing between the houses, they arrived at the village entrance, which they had come through yesterday.

“This tunnel is the only way in and out of the village, at least officially.” There was a route through the harsh mountain range surrounding the village.

It was managed by the head family and was meant to be used in emergencies. Even within the clan, only a few people knew of its existence.

The village’s main street was a wide path that continued on from the highway. They took it across the village, heading towards the mountains.

“Master Cornelio’s house is this way, so be sure to pay attention.” “The Asfarian school?”

“He opened up part of his own house to the public, so you could call it that.” Halfway there, the sloped path turned into stairs, at the end of which stood a single house. It was a little bigger than the other homes in the village, likely because it also served as a school. But aside from that, it was no different than the other houses; it even had a single flower decorating the entrance.

“This is a school?” “Technically, yeah.”

Latina tilted her head, confused; it was a normal private home, no matter how she looked at it. But Dale, paying no heed to what the building appeared to be, approached the door and flung it open without even knocking, shocking Latina even more.

“Is the master in?”

“D-Dale?! Is it alright to just go into someone’s house without permission like this?”

Seeing Latina so flustered, Dale finally realized what had her so worried. “Ah. People don’t knock in our village, and none of the houses have locks, so usually you just come in and call out.” “Hmm... that’s different than Kreuz.”

“Well, I was born in this village, so I sure was shocked when I first saw how busy things were in Kreuz.”

“Latina was surprised when she first arrived to Kreuz, too. There were so many people!”

While they were discussing this, a woman with her light-brown hair tied up in a ponytail appeared from inside the house. As she calmly approached the door, she saw who it was and said, “Oh, is that you, Dale?”

“Yeah. Long time no see, Clarissa.” “So you’re back, huh?”

“I got back yesterday. Is the master in?”

“He is. Please come in, and the cute girl next to you should enter, too.” “Ah, nice to meet you. Please excuse Latina.”

This young woman, Clarissa, did things at her own pace and looked to be several years older than Dale. Her dark-brown eyes had a gentle light to them, as if they were reflecting her personality.

“Do you have some business with my dad?”

“We’re going to be here for a while, so I was thinking I’d ask the master to look after this girl, Latina.”

“Huh? You’re picking Dad over me?”

While Dale kicked his shoes off to the side, Latina properly sat, removed hers, and put them down neatly. As he waited for her to finish, Dale kept conversing with his older childhood friend.

“There aren’t any priests like Master in town.”

“That’s true. I can’t deny it.” Clarissa wore a smile as she ushered Latina inside. “Do you mind if I call you Latina?”

“That’s fine!”

Latina was nervous responding to Clarissa, but tried to maintain a composed expression.

“So you came with Dale?”

“That’s right. Latina lives together with Dale in Kreuz.” “Oh, my. Just when did you find such a cute girl, Dale?”

“I won’t deny that Latina’s cute,” Dale replied, deadly serious, and Clarissa just smiled back at him.

“She really is cute.”

There was no one around to butt in and stop this idiotic exchange. Clarissa led the pair into a room that looked like a library, with numerous shelves containing a vast collection of books; it made for an overwhelming sight. Surprised, Latina looked all around and took in the room. It was hard to imagine that all of this belonged to one person. The Asfarian school in Kreuz likely had a larger collection, but that was a facility in one of the main towns in Laband, so it didn’t make sense to compare them in the first place.

Passing by the bookshelves, Latina saw a big window, and in front of it was an equally large desk. While the books were methodically organized on their shelves, on top of the desk was a mountain of documents. But even so, everything seemed to have its place and felt oddly balanced. Buried in the midst of this was a single old man working away.

“Master Cornelio,” Dale called out, and the man at last noticed him, raising his head. His hair was white, and his eyes behind his rounded spectacles were reminiscent of Clarissa’s. His deeply wrinkled face shifted to show his surprise.

“Well, I’ll be. Is that you, Dale?”

“It’s been quite some time,” Dale said, with a firm bow of his head. The man was Cornelio Cacace, the only priest of Asfar living in Tislow. He wore a gentle smile, much like his daughter’s. It was obvious that they were related.

“It seems you’ve been making a name for yourself in town.”

Prompted by Cornelio, Dale sat on a sofa at a low table, and Latina snuggled in next to him. This sort of furniture was rare in this village, and it couldn’t be seen from the entrance to the room.

“I’m surprised you know that, Master, out here in this village.” “I do have my sources.”

While the two gossiped about the town and the capital, Latina remained a little nervous. That ended thanks to Clarissa, who brought out a teapot and cakes.

“Wow!” Latina blurted out in admiration, before realizing that she’d forgotten her manners. She looked about in shock and found everybody looking at her with charmed gazes, which made her look down in embarrassment. That only made the adults around her smile even more.

“She sure is cute. I wish the kids around the village were this well behaved...” said Clarissa while preparing the tea. Seeing Latina instantly captivated by the sugar dish, she left it before the young girl, where she could get a good look at it. Atop the sugar cubes were various decorative flowers.

“Wow... there are flowers on the sugar... It’s so cute...”

You’re the cute one, Latina. It would seem that even Dale was able to restrain himself enough to not mutter those thoughts out loud in front of his former teacher.

“How do you make these?”

“Oh, shall I teach you sometime? You have the time, right?” Clarissa said, dropping a sugar cube into the tea. The decorative flower rose to the surface. That only captivated Latina all the more. Her cheeks grew just a little red as she gazed into the tea cup and, looking delighted as she grasped it in both hands, she muttered, “Wow. It’s amazing... so cute...”

“You’re the cute one, Latina...” Dale said, his self-restraint passing its limit. After bringing his tea cup to his mouth and moistening his lips, Cornelio started a new conversation. “By the way, I heard you apparently caused some turmoil in town.”

“Huh?” Dale responded to his master’s sudden shift, but Cornelio’s expression didn’t change.

“Was it related to this girl? I heard a devil child was involved...”

Realizing what he was talking about, Dale could only give a strained laugh. “You really do have sharp ears, Master. Where did you learn that from?” “The temples are like a small community. Enough so that a scandal will spread far and wide, rather than being something you can hide.”

Cornelio kept talking, calmly enjoying the scent of the tea. “Of course, the characteristics of those involved spread as well. I figured out it was you right away.”

“Sorry for making trouble...”

“No, I don’t mean to criticize your actions. It’s good for shut-ins to pay attention to the outside world every once in a while.”

Dale was grateful to hear Cornelio say that like it was nothing. He didn’t have even a speck of regret over what he’d done, but he was still embarrassed to have his former teacher find out. Dale wouldn’t feel timid in the least around any of the Asfarian priests from Kreuz, but that wasn’t the case when it came to his master. He may serve a different god, but he was a priest worthy of respect.

“There are a lot fewer Asfarian priests who explore the outside world like you, right, Master?”

“That’s not true. Those of us who serve Asfar simply fall into two groups: those who shut themselves up in the temple and devote themselves to their studies, and those of us who go out and seek new knowledge,” Cornelio said, taking a sip of tea. “Well, those narrow-minded folks who don’t know how to do anything but study in the temples don’t even know how to make a living when they’re expelled out into the world. Even if you didn’t do it with your own two hands, that’s an awful cruel verdict.”

Despite his words, Cornelio looked somewhat amused. He was normally a kind and gentle person, but at the same time, he could also be strict towards others. He was especially indignant when it came to scandals caused by his fellow Asfarian priests.

Those who served Asfar tended to be split into those who sought information on their own and those who spent their lives studying in the temples. The latter only knew the narrow world inside temple walls, and because many of them devoted themselves to their studies from a very young age, they didn’t know anything of society. They could deal with life just fine, as long as it was in the temple. For that reason, on top of losing their natural-born power of divine protection, it was also a big question for those driven out of the temple if they could even survive in the outside world. They’d lived their lives without any hardship, after all. And even if they had worked as teachers, they still faced great difficulty, since nobody was interested in hiring someone who’d caused enough of a scandal to be exiled from the temple. Considering those conditions, Dale’s retribution from ‘that incident’ was far crueller than any form of corporeal punishment.

“Dale?”

“Master Cornelio... I didn’t just come to say hello today. I wanted to ask you if you could help out with this girl while we’re staying here,” he said, looking serious while bowing to his old teacher, not wanting the somewhat worried- looking Latina staring at him to notice. Not only did he not want Latina to remember “that incident,” he also hadn’t told her that he had used his own authority to get revenge on the perpetrator. Latina was a kind child, so even if it was someone who had hurt her, she would be deeply saddened to learn that she was the reason a person was harmed. Dale didn’t want that to happen.

Keeping Latina’s peace of mind came first for Dale.

Being a clever child, Latina sensed that Dale had no intention of telling her everything. She wasn’t happy with that fact, but she docilely held her tongue and looked down.

“Clarissa’s one of the best in the village when it comes to making tea cakes, so you should have her teach you. Her cooking isn’t so good, though.”

“Hey, that’s mean.”

“If you’ve improved, then I’ll apologize.” “Mrrr....”

“Latina’s probably better than you when it comes to cooking, Clarissa.” “Huh?”

Hearing him suddenly boast about her, Latina looked up at him in surprise. “But Dale, Latina still has a lot to learn, right?”

“See, look! She knows how to be modest, even though she’s so young! She’s not just cute, she’s also a really great kid, right?! I’m not embarrassed at all showing her off to the master! And she’s sharp, so I’m sure learning new things under the master will be a big benefit for her. I know I’m imposing, but could you please help her out, Master?”

His words themselves may have been questionable, but his expression and attitude were those of a proper parent. Over these past few years, he’d grown accustomed to being her father.

Seeing Dale like this, Cornelio smiled. As a teacher, he was glad to be able to see how his student had grown. As long as he was happy, then he couldn’t wish for anything more.

†

After leaving the Cacace house, Dale and Latina went around the rest of the village to finish up their introductions. For some reason, Latina ended up holding a heap of goods in her arms by the time they were done.

“Why did everyone give Latina things...?” “Because you’re so cute.”

“Hmm?”

Latina tilted her head, perhaps unaware of her own charm. She was cute enough to stand out even in a big town like Kreuz. In a country village like this, beauty like hers was something they’d never seen before. She was also earnest and polite, so she was very easy to like.

In addition, she always looked happy when she ate. Of course people would want to try to buy her favor by giving her food. More than just one or two folks had had that idea, so wherever the two went, someone would give Latina sweets or fruit as a present.

“Well, we won’t have to worry about your snacks for a while...” “Is it alright to accept so much...?”

“It’s fine.”

As they talked, the pair finished their lap around the village and then went around the back of Dale’s house.

The path that extended up into the mountains may have been small, but it was also carefully maintained. They walked at a relaxed pace, with the sunlight through the trees casting complex patterns along the ground. Around then, they heard the sound of water.

When they reached the end of the trail, Latina understood why she could hear that sound from so far away: it was coming from waterfalls. Things opened up into a semi-circular space, and all around, thin streams of spring water tumbled down from the bedrock. Each didn’t carry in much water on its own, but the numerous small waterfalls added up to quite a large volume flowing into the basin, making for quite a mysterious sight.

“Wow...” said Latina in admiration, and Dale broke out in a satisfied smile. Dale took Latina’s hand as they approached the side of the waterfall basin, because the wet, rocky surface was especially easy to slip on. “Amazing! It’s so pretty!”

Coming close, Latina happily put her hand in the water, then jumped up in surprise at how cold it felt. This was all spring water, so it didn’t warm up, regardless of the season.

“It’s cold!” Even so, Latina looked overjoyed, and once more thrust both hands into the clear water. “It’s so beautiful! It’s like a temple!”

Dale was a little surprised to hear Latina say that. There was a small shrine to Quirmizi by the side of the waterfalls, but it had a modest, simple appearance to it. And yet, Latina had easily recognized that this was a place strong in the power of the gods.

“You can tell? You don’t have divine protection, right?”

“Yeah, Latina doesn’t. She just thought it felt similar to a temple. She actually feels like it seems more like a temple than the ones in Kreuz.”

“Temples in cities are places made for people, for them to worship the gods. The gods’ power isn’t strong in those places, like it is here.”

“Huh...”

“That’s amazing, Latina, that you can sense that...” Dale said with a smile. “You really may be loved by the gods, too...”

And then, he added in, “You’re just too cute!” It completely ruined the mood.

His words were as questionable as always.

Share