Published at 18th of January 2020 7:25 pm

Volume 3, Chapter 1: The Young Girl Returns to Kreuz

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

After departing from the village of Tislow, Dale and Latina made it back to Kreuz right on schedule, when it was shifting from the start of summer into summer proper.

The instant the Dancing Ocelot came into view, Latina handed Blau’s reins to Dale and went running. She was all smiles as she passed through the entrance to the shop and shouted, loudly and clearly, “We’re back!”

Rita, who was handling paperwork in her usual spot, suddenly stopped and looked up. After confirming the source of the voice, she broke out in a smile of both joy and surprise.

“Latina.”

“We’re back, Rita!” “Welcome home.”

When Latina heard those words, she looked even happier. Apparently, there was still a level above being “all smiles.”

“Um, um, we brought back lots of souvenirs.” “That’s certainly exciting. By the way, where’s Dale?” “Huh...?”

Calming down a little when she heard Rita’s question, Latina tilted her head and then turned back around. He should’ve been right behind her, but he wasn’t there. “Huh?”

“What’s this about me?” Perhaps having heard their exchange, Dale responded from the kitchen on the other side of the counter. Since he couldn’t take Blau into the shop, he had circled around back.

Terribly flustered, Latina hurried into the kitchen. Kenneth was there, preparing food like always. He had been talking to Dale, but when he noticed Latina, he pointed a smile her way. “So you’re back, huh? Welcome home!”

“Ah!” With two quick hops, she faced Kenneth, looking slightly disappointed, and said, “I’m back, Kenneth.”

Kenneth couldn’t help but tilt his head at this. He couldn’t figure out why she’d feel dejected. “What’s wrong?”

“Latina thought she’d be the first one to say ‘We’re back’ to Rita and

Kenneth, but Dale got to you first...” “How thoughtless of him.”

“So I’m in the wrong?”

“Are you saying Latina is, then?”

“Of course the responsibility is fully on me, for having stolen away Latina’s enjoyment.”

“You never change, do you?”

Seeing Dale acting the same as always, Kenneth broke out in an awkward smile and took a break from his work. He then patted Latina on her head like he frequently did, noting that her hair was done up with a ribbon that had a rather elaborate design.

“I’m just glad to see you’re safe. Welcome home, Latina.” Hearing those words repeated, Latina regained her smile.

After returning to the shop front, Latina stopped and stared at Rita in amazement. “Rita, your stomach’s so big!”

It was hard to tell when she was sitting on the other side of the counter like she always did, but Rita now had an obvious, big belly compared to when they left on the trip and it had just barely started showing.

“You can feel the baby moving around in there, now.” “Wow, the baby... it’s amazing!”

Latina excitedly, gently touched Rita’s stomach, then looked up with a serious expression on her face, seemingly having realized something. “If your belly’s this big, then... isn’t it heavy?”

“It is. My hips and my back and stuff hurt, and it’s awful.” “Should Latina cast healing magic?”

“Now that you’re back, I can ask you to do that, huh?”

It wouldn’t make sense to call on a professional magic user to cast healing magic just to deal with hip and back pain. But fortunately, it was easy to ask this kind young girl to do so, even if it was hard to request the same of an adult.

“Did you have fun on your trip?”

“Yeah! A lot happened that Latina couldn’t write in her letters.”

Dale faced Latina, who was about to launch into tales of their travels, and with an uneasy smile, butted into the conversation. “How about changing first, Latina? And we need to dump our luggage, too.”

“Right.”

The adults watched with peaceful expressions as Latina turned around and headed through the kitchen.

“Latina sure is energetic, isn’t she?”

“She’s all worked up. It was her first long trip.”

“I’m just relieved we made it through without any big injuries or illnesses.” The relief in Dale’s voice as he reported their safe return was palpable. “You seem to be doing alright, Rita.”

“It’s our first, so there’s a lot I don’t know.”

“Her dad’s been helping handle the Akhdar’s Message Board. It’d be hard for me to manage that at the same time as the kitchen.”

When Rita got married, her parents entrusted the shop to the newly married couple and went into retirement in the residential part of the southern district. But when it came to the work in the Dancing Ocelot, there were only a limited number of people who could use the Akhdar’s Message Board, since doing so required the temple’s permission. It could be said that it required a license, in a way. As a result, they also couldn’t just hire a temporary employee. That’s why the previous shop owner, Rita’s father, had started diligently helping out for the sake of his daughter and grandchild.

“Have you been alright, Kenneth?”

“I’m a perfectly capable adult, so I’ve been fine. I’ve wished that Latina was here plenty of times, though.”

The adorable young girl’s ability to calm those around her was already something of a special skill. Kenneth may have been recognized by Rita’s father as the husband of his only daughter, but it wasn’t as if the relationship between the two of them was perfect. There wasn’t active discord between them, but they did end up clashing when they were together. That was also part of why her parents had gone into retirement.

“Is my dad really that scary?” “...”

“He’s not scary to me. To me, at least...”

The man had run a shop for rowdy adventurers for many years, never budging an inch. Kenneth and Dale couldn’t help but exchange an awkward glance.

With the pitter-patter of her light yet hurried footsteps, they realized that Latina had returned. In no time at all, she popped on in, having changed out her traveling gear for one of her usual dresses.

“Dale, Latina will handle the laundry, so just leave your clothes out.” “Right.”

One could surmise from the natural flow of this conversation that it had been completely established that Latina was now handling most of the housework. She had been a hard worker even before the trip, but after these few months of studying under Dale’s mother Magda while staying in Tislow, she’d thoroughly polished her skills. That was the exact opposite of Dale, who had distanced himself from such chores while back in his old home. Thanks to how things had proceeded from then on, Dale still hadn’t realized that he was depending on Latina for the majority of the housework.

“Seems like you’ve gotten even more reliable, Latina...” Rita muttered without thinking.

Latina was now cheerfully laying out bags on the counter in front of Rita and Kenneth. She went ahead and did this because she knew this was a slow time for the Ocelot.

“This is a souvenir for you, Rita,” Latina said, pulling an amulet that was the right size to be held in one of her hands out of her bag. It was made of a complex weave of string, but had a simple feel to it.

“Is that... an amulet of Quirmizi?” “Oh, my. Thank you, Latina.”

Quirmizi was the god of the harvest and also the one you prayed to for safe births and the prosperity of your descendents. Pregnant women and the people around them often sought such amulets.

“Did you make this...?” Kenneth asked Dale with a sigh, only for him to look away in embarrassment.

“Latina said she wanted to give Rita an amulet, and I am technically a priest, so...”

“I see.” Kenneth kept his response short and his expression gentle, knowing Dale wasn’t overly fond of his divine protection.

†

This occurred when Dale and Latina were halfway through their stay in Tislow.

“Right! There’s a baby in Rita’s belly,” Latina said to Granny Wen, telling her about things back in Kreuz while reading a book she had borrowed from Master Cornelio.

“I see. Then perhaps you should create an amulet of Quirmizi for her.” “An amulet? You mean a charm? Latina can make one?”

“Only priests, those with divine protection, can make them. But you can create the decorative part that surrounds it. Just leave the inside to that stupid grandson of mine.”

“Dale?”

“Right. Even he can manage that much of a priestly task.”

As Dale didn’t normally have even a shred of priestliness to him, Latina tilted her head at this statement. Seeing this, Granny Wen let out a hearty laugh. Dale wasn’t overly fond of his divine protection, so he tended not to mention it too often. Even so, he’d had enough techniques beaten into him to handle basic priestly tasks. And it was none other than Wendelgard herself, the current highest-ranking priest in Tislow, who had trained him.

The land of Tislow was blessed so deeply by the gods that the whole of the village could be called a temple. The culture and customs they inherited from their ancestors were based in a deep faith. In this land, where so many people were born with divine protection, the basic practices of the temple weren’t treated as anything special, and were instead made a part of everyday customs.

Latina knew nothing of those unique circumstances surrounding Tislow, but she was an obedient young girl, so that night she talked to Dale about making an amulet when they were all alone in their room, just as Granny Wen had told her to do.

“Granny said that?”

“Yeah. Latina wants to make a charm for Rita. Could you help her, Dale?” asked Latina, her request also written on her face. She had no awareness of it herself, but as she tilted her head a bit with slightly upturned eyes, her cuteness would be plenty potent even if she weren’t so young. It was enough to make his heart stop beating and knock him unconscious. As she kept on growing, this girl would undoubtedly cause countless men to cry.

However, Latina wouldn’t ever show that expression to someone else. Having Latina make a request was a special privilege reserved for Dale alone, and he had absolutely no intention of yielding his following right to being told “thank you” and “I love you.” He wouldn’t let anyone steal that away from him.

“Well, I guess we do have the materials...”

There wasn’t anything particularly rare used in making an amulet. They were made using plants, fruits of the earth that were thought to be especially close to Quirmizi. Rather than using flowers themselves, though, amulets were made with plant fibers that were in turn dyed with flowers. The amulets from temples in town would have complex patterns woven into luxurious fabrics, but the ones from Tislow were simpler, decorated only with woven cords.

“I’ll create the blessing that goes inside, so can you create the bag to put it in, Latina?”

“Yeah!”

The materials Dale had prepared were a bundle of cords in a surprising variety of colors. He pulled out a few and started skillfully weaving them together in front of Latina.

“Dale, you’re amazing!”

“I had to help out with this a lot when I was a kid.”

Children were also recruited when it came to producing decorations for important occasions. In that way, the means of making them were handed down from generation to generation.

“I’ll do it slowly, so watch carefully.” “Right!”

Just as his parents had once done for him, Dale took the young girl’s hands and taught her the unique method behind weaving together the cords.

†

Despite how handy Latina was, the amulet she had created was still somewhat sloppy. Even so, it had far more care put into it than one from a temple. Rita held it to her chest with a joyful, motherly smile.

“Thank you so much, Latina.” She then turned to Dale, showing him a smile as well, which she never did. “You too, Dale.”

Dale was clearly shaken, having received such straightforward praise from Rita without any joking or teasing. Seeing Rita so happy, Latina looked completely satisfied as well. Latina had given her all to picking out each and every souvenir, so seeing someone happily receive one made her overjoyed.

“For Kenneth, we bought fish and spices from Qualle,” she said, handing him a carefully packed bundle.

Kenneth checked the contents of the package and looked surprised. “Raw fish? Not dried?”

It wasn’t completely fresh, but there was no sign of the big fish in its box of ice having spoiled.

“We have dried fish left, too,” said a confused Latina, offering Kenneth a different package. Inside of it was the leftover dried fish from their journey.

“No, that’s not what I mean...”

“Latina asked me how to transport seafood from the port to Kreuz,” Dale stated, a bit of exasperation visible on his face.

“It’s like the magical device you use in the shop, right? Latina can’t use Water magic, so she asked Dale, and he helped her out!”

Kenneth and Rita were left speechless, and Dale shook his head with a strained facial expression. “It would’ve been impossible if it was just me, and it wasn’t something just any magic user could do. Latina preserved the ice I made all the way from Qualle to Kreuz.”

“But Latina had to have you remake the ice a ton of times, right?” Latina said with a tilted head. She apparently had no idea how out of the ordinary what she’d done was. As always, her magic control proved to be absolutely outstanding.

“Normally, you’d use a magical device to preserve it...”

Continuing to apply a power over a fixed area required a high level of concentration and technique, and yet this young girl was apparently able to casually pull it off.

“All the food we ate in Qualle was delicious, but Latina wants to try fish Kenneth cooks, too.”

“Well then, shall we use this for dinner tonight?”

There was a lot he had to say, but seeing her hopeful expression, as her “master,” he had to go all out. Looking at the fish frozen in the ice, he immediately started thinking about what to make. Meanwhile, Latina started searching through the bag again.

“Also, we brought back boar meat.” “Boar?”

“...Boar?”

Seeing the bundle of both cured meats and dried meats that Latina pulled out of her bag, Rita stared at them curiously, while Kenneth raised his eyebrows a bit. There were no mountains around Kreuz, and while there may have been large magical beasts in the forest, they were limited to types of animals that’d normally be found there.

“Dale, this is boar meat?”

“Yeah, but it was a ‘monster boar.’ It’s a type of magical beast that shows up a lot in the area around my home village.”

Kenneth’s face had been one of suspicion towards the large bundle of meat, but with that, it changed to one of understanding. It was too big of a piece to have come from a normal boar.

“We got it from Joseph’s place.”

“Um... He’s that relative of yours, the beastman mix, right?” “Yeah.”

When Kenneth was still an active adventurer, he’d sometimes taken on guard jobs for merchant caravans visiting Tislow. That was how Granny Wen ended up requesting that he look after Dale when he was first starting out and how Kenneth knew there was a beastman village on the way there.

“Latina got along really well with Maya. She was super cute!” “That’s great.”

“And she was really fluffy, too!”

While Latina may have reported that with a smile, there was a bit of an awkward expression on Dale’s face as he sat and listened by her side.

“Did something happen...?”

“No... As long as Latina had fun, then it’s fine...”

Staring off into the distance, Dale thought back to what happened at the beastman village.

†

The pair retraced the same path on their way back from Tislow, so they ended up staying at the beastman village once again. On their way there, Latina was in an exceptionally good mood.

“Latina wonders if Maya has forgotten her. Hopefully it’ll be fine,” Latina said, suddenly stopping and looking up at Dale with a worried expression.

“Hmm... I’m sure she’ll remember before long. You became friends so quickly, after all.”

“That’s true.”

Latina took a cheerful skip, causing her ribbon with its elaborate flower design to sway. That ribbon, which she had received from Granny Wen, was her current favorite.

It had been early spring during their stay in Tislow, and even though it was now early summer, it didn’t feel overly hot here in the lush foliage of the beastman village. The pair weaved their way through the trees now covered in deep, dark-green leaves. Before long, the simple village came into view, and Latina shouted, “There it is!”

“Don’t run,” Dale said, successfully putting a stop to Latina just as she was about to break out into a sprint, and the pair walked into the beastman village together. Without showing any hint of being lost, Latina headed straight for the

Bündte home. Stopping before the door to the small house, Latina clenched her fist to knock and then looked up at Dale, seemingly nervous. She must have been worried, just as she’d said earlier. Dale patted her once on the head with an awkward smile and then knocked in her place.

A moment later, Joseph opened the door. The sign of his bliss—his ample belly—hadn’t changed at all from last time, and it wobbled along with him. He didn’t seem surprised at all to see Dale and Latina. They’d indicated they’d probably come again when they stayed here last time, after all.

“Sorry for imposing, but could you let us stay again, Jose—“ “Watia!”

Dale’s question was cut off mid-sentence. Along with that ecstatic shout, a black, fluffy bullet came flying their way.

“Maya!”

As if mocking her father, who hurriedly thrust out his hands to grab her, she aimed for his plump body’s blind spot and slipped between his legs. She gathered up her strength for an instant, and then the black fuzz-ball leaped straight at Latina.

However...

“That’s dangerous!” Dale managed to grab her just in the nick of time. She may have still just been a toddler, but if she leaped at Latina with that much force, both of them would have ended up on the floor. Latina, with her slender body, wouldn’t have been able to catch the living bullet made from momentum and the toddler’s full weight. Even if, fortunately, Maya didn’t have the same sort of build as her father.

“Watia, Watia!” Maya was kicking and squirming in Dale’s arms. It would seem she wasn’t fond of being there. “Nooo!”

“Gah!”

Using a headbutt, Maya landed a clean hit to Dale’s jaw. He was a pro when it came to brawls and had trained himself to handle them, but sure enough, a violent blow to such a tender spot really hurt. It was hard to imagine that attack had come from a toddler. Dale wanted to assume it was just a lucky blow; it was too frightening to imagine someone so young aiming precisely for one of a person’s weak spots.

“Watia!”

“Maya!”

Dale quivered in pain but managed not to drop Maya, instead handing her to Latina. Latina looked up at him with concern, but he simply smiled back. With that, she at last calmed down and hugged Maya, burying her face in the toddler’s fluffy fur. Naturally, Dale’s smile had been a forced one. It was a subdued sort of pain and not the sort of thing to use healing magic on, but even so, when something hurt, it hurt.

“Watia...” Maya clung tightly to Latina as well, looking blissful and completely satisfied. However, seeming to have suddenly realized something, she tilted her head. “Watia?”

Her tiny nose started sniffing away, trying to catch Latina’s scent. All the while, the look on her face grew more and more grim.

“Maya?” “What is it?” “Hmm?”

In addition to Latina and Joseph, even Dale, who couldn’t read beastman expressions, could tell that something was up. Joseph bent forward a bit, then put his hand on his chin.

“Dale, did you guys run into any big animals or anything?” Joseph asked. “Huh?” Dale responded.

Just then, having arrived at a conclusion in regards to Latina’s scent, Maya unhappily shouted out “Noooo!”

“Maya?”

Paying no heed to Latina’s surprise, Maya started rubbing her body up against the girl, going at it full throttle.

“Wah?!”

Maya showed no sign of slowing down in enthusiastically rubbing herself all over Latina, whom she’d energetically knocked over and was now sitting on top of. She was using her whole body, and it was hard to think of it as anything but her rubbing her scent on the other girl. This continued, with Latina looking flustered at having been jostled so. She didn’t seem to know how to deal with the situation. Occasionally she’d let out a strange, pathetic cry as Maya rolled her over.

“Um... what’s going on here?”

“Like I was saying, did you run across any big animals or something? We beastmen can kind of sense that sort of thing from smells. Only sort of, though.” “Huh... So, why is she doing that?”

“How should I put it..? It’s... you know, like how a wife ends up looking like that when she realizes her husband’s been cheating...”

“Cheating?”

“It was just an example.”

Dale summed up the various things Latina did while they were staying in Tislow, from taming the dogs to petting the mythical beasts into submission. Hearing all this, Joseph gave a nod, half-astounded.

“So that’s it.” “I see.”

Apparently, Maya wasn’t fond of the smell of something other than her clinging to Latina, and when she’d picked up that those scents didn’t necessarily belong to things weaker than her, her mood grew all the worse.

Latina sat there looking befuddled as Maya hugged her tight and then snorted in approval at her accomplishment. But she didn’t let go of Latina afterward.

“No!” Maya said clearly, shaking her head from side to side. “Don’t say that! Come over here, Maya!”

“No! Maya wants Watia!” “Maya...”

Joseph was unable to say anything further, and his triangular ears sunk down pathetically. It was hard to tell how many times they’d gone through this exchange, but his beloved daughter kept on rejecting him. It was eating away at his mental hit points.

Maya, meanwhile, was hugging Latina around the knees and had a burning gaze; she was ready for battle.

“Watia is Maya’s!”

“Waaaaah...”

Having been captured, Latina was in the midst of this chaos, trapped between the father and daughter.

“You sure are popular, Latina...”

Dale was watching all of this from a few steps away. He rudely slurped his tea, staring off into the distance and trying to avoid the reality of the situation. He’d learned many things while staying in Tislow, including that it was essential for people to know when to give up.

“Just try not to do anything too heartless...”

He was in the midst of escapism, so the comment he gave wasn’t really suitable to be addressed towards a child, but Dale wasn’t thinking deeply on what he was saying at all at the moment, and Latina didn’t consider the statement deeply, either.

“Watia, Maya, togetter!”

“Waah...” Latina was flustered and could only think to hug Maya back as the toddler loudly asserted her ownership.

It was then that the front door opened. Joseph’s wife Ute was standing there, with her familiar white fur and green eyes. She had a basket in one hand, filled with plenty of fresh vegetables. Apparently, the reason they hadn’t seen her for a while was because she’d been in the garden.

“Oh, so you two have arrived?” said Ute calmly, noticing Dale and Latina. Dale stood up straight and greeted her.

“Sorry for imposing on you, Ute.” “Miss U—”

“Watia, no!”

Latina tried to greet Ute as well, only for Maya to thwart the effort. With Maya as she was right now, even Latina paying attention to someone else was apparently enough to make her jealous. It was like she was trying to say, “Don’t look at anyone but me!”

“What’s going on with Maya?” Ute tilted her head at her daughter’s behavior, knowing nothing of what had happened up until that point. After giving a hollow laugh, Dale gave a brief response.

“Yeah... It looks like she wants to monopolize Latina.”

“Her father is too soft on her, so she’s ended up spoiled, hasn’t she?” Ute said, entirely unshaken by Maya’s rampage. For better or worse, she was rather broad-minded.

“Joseph...” Dale called out to the man, who was sitting in the corner looking downhearted and utterly exhausted, his hit points seemingly whittled away. Both of their gazes fell on Latina petting Maya’s fluffy tummy fuzz.

“Did she cry herself out soon after we left last time...?” “No...” Joseph’s gaze drifted. “It gave birth to a legend.” “Sorry about that...”

He dared not to ask what sort of legend it was. The two men remained silent for a while.

“This time...”

“How about leaving early in the morning, before Maya wakes up?” He may not have wished to drive out his guests, but the desperation in

Joseph’s voice as he broached the subject was palpable. Apparently, he’d had to put up with quite the outburst last time. Even Dale had been overwhelmed by its power. Considering how loud it was, it wasn’t hard to imagine that it had drawn the attention of all their neighbors.

“If we fill her up with her favorite foods, then Maya will get sweepy! That’ll be our chance to separate them!”

Hearing his middle-aged relative casually mix baby-talk into his sentence, Dale wondered in the back of his mind when he’d have a kid of his own, not realizing how those around him tended to see him when he talked about Latina.

In front of those two doting idiots was Maya, lying face-down and happily wagging her tail as she was being pet. After ample attention from Latina, she seemed to have more or less calmed back down, and then she set up her stronghold on top of Latina’s lap. Separating them didn’t even seem to be an option. She wouldn’t be able to stand it if she looked away, only for some doggy to steal away all the petting! She loved her big sister above everyone else, so she needed to be Latina’s favorite, too. Young Maya’s pride and logic led her to that conclusion.

While Latina may have been embarrassed by Maya monopolizing her, she didn’t seem entirely upset about it. To have the cute, tiny Maya adore her as a “big sister” flattered and delighted her. She wasn’t able to help out Ute, but in exchange, she got to spend plenty of time with Maya. Beastmen didn’t bathe as frequently as humans, so they didn’t have bathtubs in their homes, but they did keep a basin that could hold enough water to clean yourself off. Even so, Latina let out a cheerful shout as she filled it with hot water and got coated in bubbles along with Maya, which reached the inside of the home itself. This easily brought a calming scene to Dale’s mind, and a gentle expression crossed his face.

Ute had prepared a soup with summer vegetables and plenty of meat in a stock pot. It was served alongside bread with a soft cheese smeared on top. Today’s dessert was a candied-fruit crumble. Just as Joseph had predicted, both the soup and dessert were some of Maya’s favorites dishes. Despite still being just a toddler, she soon gobbled down nearly as much as Latina. Perhaps trying to compete, Latina had unusually requested seconds, so there was still plenty of dessert left on her plate.

Like Joseph had said, Maya grew drowsy now that her belly was full. She always did everything at full force, but she had now run out of power, as if someone had suddenly pulled her plug. Joseph was her father, after all, so he knew his daughter very well.

At first, Maya insisted on sitting on Latina’s lap, but when the young girl tried to stand up for dinner, her legs had fallen asleep and she couldn’t move; the shock of the numb feeling brought about by the poor flow of blood was enough to cause her to collapse. That never happened to Latina in her everyday life. Maya, therefore, settled for sitting next to her at the table.

After confirming that Maya had started to nod off, the two men winked at one another. Joseph leaped up with a swiftness that didn’t match his physique. He scooped Maya up and started swaying with practiced motions.

“Umgh... un...” Maya squirmed around a bit, but she eventually found the most comfortable position and settled into her father’s arms. Before long, she started happily snoring away. At the same time, Dale rescued Latina, wrapping his arms around her from behind.

“Dale, it’s rude to start playing around in the middle of a meal.” Her reprimand was sound.

She slipped out of his hug and sat back down in the seat next to the one Maya had occupied up until just now. The whole scene was so pathetic that it was hard to think of Latina as anything but an adult dealing with a child.

“Latina, we’re going to head out early tomorrow.” “Really?”

“Yeah. I’m worried about the weather, so I want to get out of the forest sooner rather than later.”

It wasn’t entirely a random excuse, as Dale really was concerned by the somewhat cloudy sky. He did have a plan for dealing with the rain, of course, and when it came to a long trip, you obviously couldn’t entirely avoid moving when the weather was bad. But even so, he wanted to do his best to keep Latina from having to deal with anything too harsh. That was a natural feeling for a parent. But on rainy days, she could happily jump and splash in puddles or look up into the sky waiting for the raindrops to come, not afraid of getting her face wet. It wasn’t like such days were lacking in ways for her to act cute. He could keep watching over her forever, regardless of the weather. Anyway, that was a different matter entirely.

Latina had seen the cloudy sky as well, so she accepted Dale’s explanation and simply gave a, “Right,” and nod of her head.

After dinner, they returned to the same corner as before and started preparing for bed. After they were wrapped in their blankets, Dale held Latina in his arms, which felt only natural for the two. They were in a forest, so the nights were colder than they were in town. Taking advantage of that fact, he brought his cheek in close to feel her warmth. Latina used Dale’s arm as a pillow and pointed a relaxed smile back towards him. They were guaranteed a sound, relaxed sleep.

No matter how you looked at it, Dale’s actions were born out of resentment for Maya’s monopolization of Latina. There really wasn’t much difference between him and Joseph.

The next morning, the two doting idiots hung their heads, feeling exhausted and defeated.

Latina was sound asleep, but for some reason there was an unnatural lump under her blanket. Suspicious, the two men rolled the blanket back only to find that Maya had snuck in at some point and was also fast asleep, clinging tightly to Latina’s waist. That was the moment they realized they’d failed to outwit the toddler.

“I’ll make breakfast, so get ready to eat,” said Ute to the backs of the two dejected men.

†

After that journey through his memories, Dale looked up at his “big bro,” Kenneth. “Are you going to end up using baby-talk in front of your kid, too...?”

“Of course.”

“Did you know, Kenneth? Kids are, y’know... They’re amazing, in all sorts of ways...”

“Seriously, what happened?”

Maya’s wails had exceeded even the time before, and Latina got caught up in

Maya’s explosive crying and teared up, too. The two men desperately pried them apart, and Latina and Dale fled the scene. With this, the legend grew even further. When they still heard the faint echoes of her cries from outside the forest, Dale felt seriously guilty.

“It really does seem tough, raising kids...” “You trying to scare me?”

“I’m seriously grateful that Latina’s suuuuuuch a good kid and doesn’t make any trouble.”

“Yeah, it really wouldn’t be smart to think of Latina as the norm.” Even from Kenneth’s point of view, Latina was an excessively well-behaved child. While holding the package of meat he received from her in one hand, Kenneth asked the girl, “Latina, how do you use this?”

“Um, it’s got a lot of salt, to preserve it. It’d be too salty as-is, so you have to wash that all off first.”

Kenneth hadn’t asked because he didn’t know how to use it, but rather as a sort of off-the-cuff test.

“Then you can put it with vegetables to make a soup or something.” “I see.”

After confirming that she knew how to cook it properly too, Kenneth’s expression lightened a bit. For now, he could give her a passing grade. If she could also prepare the ingredients and present a dish, he would have no problems calling that a complete success.

“So did you manage to cook alright on your trip?”

“Yeah, just like you taught. Latina did occasionally mess up, though...” “You did?”

“Yeah. The strength of the flame and stuff was tricky, so she occasionally burned things.” Kenneth and Latina looked at Dale while continuing this conversation between master and disciple. “Dale always said that it was tasty every time...”

“Huh? But you really did always get it right, didn’t you, Latina?” “Well, if he didn’t have any reaction, then I guess there was still merit in making it, but...”

“Huh? But it really was tasty!” Dale asserted.

Both master and disciple cast Dale a sidelong glance and then nodded to one another; they both refused to compromise when it came to cooking.

“So, do you see the task ahead of you now?”

“Yeah. Latina thinks that she needs to work even harder,” she said, looking serious as she told her master of her future aspirations.

Having been half-ignored, Dale looked over at Rita with a strained expression. “When we were camping, Latina always did the cooking.”

“She really gave it her all, didn’t she?” “Was she... not satisfied with that...?”

“It seems that Latina’s been heavily influenced by Kenneth in some strange ways.”

There was a clear difference in enthusiasm when comparing this conversation to the passionate one between master and disciple.

While looking over at Latina, Rita’s eyes suddenly stopped on the ribbon tying up her hair. “Oh, my, that’s quite a cute ribbon.”

“Um, it’s Latina’s protective charm. She was told to keep it on when she traveled,” Latina responded in a lively voice, happy that Rita noticed it. It was a refined, gorgeous, and wide ribbon that shined gently in the light.

“It’s made from something Latina got from friends she made in Tislow.” “Oh, so you made some friends? Good for you, Latina.”

They both broke out in carefree smiles, but Dale looked like he had to hold himself back from saying something after hearing their exchange. Kenneth had no idea what part of that conversation was causing that reaction, but he decided to throw a guess Dale’s way.

“Did Latina do something...?”

Kenneth was well aware that she wasn’t exactly an average girl.

“It’s more that I’m still astounded that there’s a mythical beast habitat next to my village.”

“That’s a hell of a story you brought back from your travels...”

“It’d be dangerous if someone did something stupid, so it’s probably best to keep this information to ourselves. It’s not a breeding ground. A pack actually settled there.”

“You sound like you actually went and checked it out yourself.”

“Yeah, I did. And I’ve got to say, if some greedy adventurer went rushing in there, there wouldn’t be even a single bone left of him.”

“Even you couldn’t handle them?”

“I talked to the leader of the pack, but I wouldn’t really want to fight him... I could probably take them on one-on-one, but there’s just too many of them. I’d get overwhelmed eventually.”

“I see.”

While staying in his home village of Tislow, Dale’s common sense had become skewed, but he remembered something important from Kenneth’s reaction. Normally, having a casual chat with a mythical beast would be unthinkable.

“The leader seemed pretty fond of her.” “Of who?”

“Latina.” “I see.”

Kenneth had guessed as much midway through Dale’s explanation, so he wasn’t surprised in the least, but his facial expression did grow strained, just like Dale’s.

It was most certainly an abnormal traveling tale.

†

Latina wasn’t a foolish enough child to keep doing the same thing after being thoroughly scolded. She was smart enough to understand that Dale and the other adults were upset with her because they were worried about her. After that point, when she wanted to go play with the soaring wolves, she made sure to get permission first and didn’t go off into the mountains alone. She made that promise to Dale, and she was sure to keep it. By nature, Latina was excessively earnest.

The soaring wolves’ very existence was a secret, and although Granny Wen and Dale didn’t always have the time, Latina didn’t even think of asking the acting clan head, Randolph, to take her; he always seemed so busy. She thought it wasn’t right to interfere with others while they were working, so she didn’t spend as much time with Randolph as she did with Granny Wen and Dale’s mother, Magda. Because of that, she ended up holding back a bit from talking to him. If she had looked at him with upturned eyes and asked, “Could you help, Papa Randolph?” he would have likely consented right away, although Latina didn’t know that. He was Dale’s father, after all.

Latina looked forward to interacting with the soaring wolves, even after Dale caught her. And having seen firsthand that the soaring wolves looked forward to that as well, Dale couldn’t just go and ban her from seeing them. It would be no joke if they showed up at the village in full force seeking Latina. In addition to breaking the promise between his ancestors and the soaring wolves that neither would invade the territory of the other, it would also cause an outbreak of panic.

As a result, Dale ended up visiting the soaring wolf settlement several more times. After they had decided on when they would head back for Kreuz, he also accompanied Latina when she went to tell them that she’d be leaving.

“Latina’s heading back to Kreuz. It’s been lots of fun. Take care, okay?” “Hmm?” The wolf cub looked up at Latina in confusion. “Croots?”

After checking the position of the sun, Latina pointed towards the northwest. There was a rugged mountain range in the way, but Kreuz was in that direction.

“Kreuz. It’s a human town over that way. There are a whole lot of people, and Latina lives there, too.”

“How inconvenient it must be for you children of men, being unable to soar through the skies.”

It was clear that the alpha’s concerns were pointed solely at Latina, but Dale didn’t especially mind.

“You look so feeble, lacking fur and fangs, so surely even small beasts can harm you, yes?”

Seeing the massive carnivore restlessly wagging his tail, for some reason Dale didn’t feel quite as intimidated as he did when they first met. For whatever reason, the geezers who gathered at the Dancing Ocelot sprang to mind.

While Dale was thinking that, the leader and cubs started staring at them. “We bestow this upon you,” he said, indicating several feathers that had, fallen where he was sitting. “Feathers...?”

“If you have something awash in our mana on your person, then mindless beasts shall not approach you, due to their fear of us.”

“That’s a big help. Thank you.”

Thanks to the shared point of loving Latina, the two were able to establish cross-cultural communication, despite being of entirely different races.

After returning to the mansion, Dale reported to Granny Wen that they’d received feathers from the soaring wolves. After emptying out the ashes from her pipe with a single clunk, she matter-of-factly said, “We can’t use them for hunting, but we have overcoats that ward off animals while we’re on trips and working in the fields, right?”

“Now that you mention it...”

“Those have soaring wolf fur woven into them.” Hearing it put so bluntly, Dale found himself chuckling.

“They’re also used in the ropes to keep beasts away from the fields. This year Latina gathered up an awful lot, so we won’t be wanting for materials for quite some time.”

When she said that, Dale recalled that Latina always diligently scooped up the pile of fur after she was done brushing and placed it in a bag. Apparently, his grandmother had instructed her to do so.

“Normally, I have Randolph gather up whatever comes off of them naturally during this season. Thanks to Latina, he has a little less work to worry about.”

When the season changed over from spring to summer, the soaring wolves shed their old fur. Countless times, Dale had seen the soaring wolves scratch their itchy necks with their hind legs, only for their fluffy fur to then dance through the air. The soaring wolf settlement was a secret limited to the clan heads, and when Dale thought of his father using the limited time in his busy schedule to clean up the soaring wolves’ space... Maybe he should feel grateful for Latina’s work.

That said, though, it was no simple cleaning. The fur, fangs, and bones of magical beasts carried mana in them and were highly valued as material. They were also used quite frequently to make magical devices. Collecting the material was the quickest way for adventurers to earn money, and when it came to material from mythical beasts, which were even stronger, the value jumped further. It certainly wasn’t a waste of time to gather them up.

In Tislow, the magical devices made from fur, fangs, and bones were used as work clothes worn out in the fields. This would make not just adventurers, but merchants as well, shed bitter tears.

“We can’t be open about how we got our hands on the materials, so we can’t sell them to the outside.”

“That’s for sure.”

Granny Wen popped up and fished through the drawer by her side. Before long, she pulled out a long and narrow cloth.

“I made this as a test. I picked out the finest fur possible and wove it together.”

It was an extravagant ribbon with Tislow’s traditional flower emblem design on the fabric and additional embroidery sewn on top.

“She can wear it on the way back. That’d help give me some peace of mind.” “If you put a price on this, it would be insane.”

Perhaps because it had been made by fine fur, the fabric was slick, smooth, and lustrous, like satin. Even if it weren’t a magical device, it would be obvious at a glance that it was a valuable item.

“It may be better not to wear it in town...”

“It can be something special, for festivals and the like.”

After shooting an astounded look back at his cackling grandmother, Dale held the gently sparkling ribbon up to the light.

†

“And so, she ended up with a new ribbon magical device.” “That’s one hell of an item.”

It would be useless for adventurers who made a living exterminating magical beasts, but there’d be a lot of merchants and travelers who would want one. It wouldn’t just be for when they were moving; they’d want to lower the risk of being attacked when camping, too. It wouldn’t be a good idea to put too much faith in it, but the world was overflowing with enough danger that it was no surprise that people would cling to anything that could make things safer for them.

“The craftsmanship is second to none for my village, too.”

“I don’t know anything about accessories, but I can tell that there was a lot of effort put into it.”

“It really is beautiful work, isn’t it?”

Dale was at a loss for words at the sudden intrusion of her voice. He froze, then awkwardly turned around.

“H-Helmine...?”

“It’s been a while, Dale. I figured this was around when you’d be returning, so I came to pick you up.”

There was a blond beauty standing there with a wide grin on her face. “Who’s that?”

Seeing this unknown woman acting so close to Dale, Latina tilted her head and stared at Helmine. Normally, Latina would immediately introduce herself upon meeting someone for the first time. It was rare for her to act so impolite.

With Latina’s suspicious gaze fixed on her, Helmine couldn’t keep herself from giggling.

“So this is the ‘little magic user,’ huh? She sure is a lovely little girl, just like you said.”

“Latina isn’t little,” responded Latina, puffing up her cheeks a bit in displeasure.

“Wh-Why are you here...?”

“Like I said, I came to pick you up. I’ve been waiting here for you to return so I could deliver your orders to come to the capital. I’m going to be, participating in your next job.”

Dale was too shaken, so he didn’t have a chance to call Latina out for being rude. To be honest, he wasn’t very good at handling this beautiful woman, and now, right before his very eyes, she’d launched a surprise attack. That obviously threw him for a loop.

“You’re as bad at dealing with Helmine as always,” Kenneth interjected, with more a tinge of sympathy than surprise.

“I-I’m bad at that...?”

“Oh, my, how awful. You’re bad at handling me?” said Helmine, showing no sign of actually being offended. “You used to say such adorable things, too...”

“Like I said, he can’t deal with you. You really haven’t changed at all since when I was just starting out.”

“You always gave me the cold shoulder.”

Kenneth looked at her in astonishment, and she responded with a slight tilt of her head. The crook of her neck was seductively showing. It was a well- practiced action and based on how others looked at her.

“My type is women like my wife.”

“You sure are blunt, aren’t you?” Helmine giggled, again seemingly not at all offended.

Averting her gaze a bit from this exchange, Rita looked at Latina, whose cheeks remained puffed in displeasure.

“Oh, my...”

Helmine certainly had no problem earning the animosity of her fellow women. She was always conscious of men’s gazes on her, and she used her feminine appeal freely, so other women instinctually saw her as an enemy and avoided her.

Rita always tried to remain businesslike, so she didn’t show any clear discomfort. Her husband Kenneth stated that he had no interest in Helmine, which helped with that. No matter how you looked at it, the young couple that ran the Ocelot had a happy relationship.

“You’re a girl too, aren’t you, Latina?”

Seeing Latina spin a small souvenir she’d bought in the port town in her hand, Rita broke out in a slightly strained smile. Even after Rita realized how she was feeling, Latina still sat there pouting in silence, only to then suddenly realize something. She got down off her chair, walked over to Dale’s side, and hugged him tight.

“Latina...?”

“Dale, you have work? Will it take long again?” Latina asked, with loneliness and sadness written on her face. Their trip, which had lasted several months, had been the longest period of time Latina had had Dale all to herself. Even if he went out during the day, they always spent the nights together. They’d eat together, and talk together, and sometimes even sleep together, snuggling close. She should’ve known that it was something special, but now that it had ended, it was just too painful.

“Yeah... I’m sorry. I’ll have to have you hold down the fort all the time again.”

“No, it’s fine. Latina can handle it.”

Latina unconsciously pushed her face up against Dale with even more force. And then she stayed that way, seemingly unable to look up.

Dale’s expression softened. He was conflicted.

Rita and Kenneth whispered some live commentary. “How rare, seeing him hold back.”

“It’s because Helmine is here.”

“Latina... will wait for Dale. But she wants to stay together just a bit longer.” Dale’s hands started shaking and moving strangely. There was a strained

expression on his face, and he was left speechless.

“Oh, my, you sure do spoil her, don’t you?” Helmine asked, landing a mental strike on Dale from behind as he stopped himself right at the brink.

“It’s my fault for always having to leave her behind! But... but she always tries so hard!” Seeing Latina all depressed, Dale grabbed her and scooped her up.

“I see. So you’re the one who’s been pampered, it seems.” It was then that Helmine threw out those words, almost as a threat. She let out a high-pitched laugh, finding this truly amusing. “Well, I won’t say you have to head right back out after such a long trip. I’ve got some business to take care of around town, anyway,” Helmine said, then turned around with a grin and a light wave of her hand.

“See you later, Dale.” Helmine headed for the second floor of the Ocelot, where the guest rooms were. Apparently, she was staying there.

“Dale, was that person someone you work with...?” Latina whispered after Helmine was completely gone.

“Yeah. Despite appearances, Helmine’s a first-rate magic user,” Dale replied with a sigh, then lowered Latina down to the floor.

“Just from work?”

When Latina asked again with her big eyes staring straight at him, Dale’s gaze wandered a bit. “She’s just a work acquaintance.”

It wasn’t a lie. But for some reason, he still felt like he was being interrogated.

Latina was going to say something, but ended up holding her tongue. Her reaction was somehow different than usual, throwing Dale off further.

“L-Latina...?”

“When Latina becomes an adult, she’ll get big. She’s still a kid, so that’s why she’s small.” From her puffed-up cheeks, it was obvious that her pride had been injured. She was a bit smaller than other children her age. It wasn’t due to her race; it was just how she was. Her height and weight were steadily, healthily advancing. Her size wasn’t enough of an issue to be a real problem. Even so, Latina didn’t seem fond of how often people around her called her “small.”

Dale understood how she felt. He had no lack of bitter memories of being made light of for his youth rather than people recognizing his abilities. He felt that same sense of rebellion against the judgments of others, which were beyond his control.

He understood, but...

“You’re fine staying small, Latina... You’re cute, after all,” he said without thinking, despite understanding what Latina was feeling. He couldn’t help himself, because even her smallness was just that cute.

“That’d be a problem for Latina. She wants to be big.”

Casting a sidelong glance at Dale and Latina, Rita closed one eye and said to her husband, “Latina’s a girl, right? Then she should have a vague suspicion.”

“A woman’s intuition sure is a terrifying thing...”

Both of them had known Dale longer than Latina, so they were aware that his relationship with Helmine was work-related. However, they also knew there was a stipulation there.

After returning to their attic room for the first time in a while, Dale felt a cold sweat rolling down his back as he watched Latina unpack the luggage and clean up. Her mood didn’t appear to have improved at all. For today, she would immerse herself entirely in this sort of work, rather than helping Kenneth. She silently devoted herself to getting it done. As soon as Dale had spoken up, she went to steadily work away at the not-at-all insignificant pile of luggage. He thought that this silence was the result of that.

“L-Latina...?” “What?”

“C-Could you cheer up...?”

“Latina isn’t in an especially bad mood.” The conversation ground to a halt.

“I-I’ve never seen Latina in such a bad mood before...” Dale muttered to himself, so frozen on the spot that he was unable to even wipe away the dripping sweat. He choked back tears, thinking it’d be easier if she would just come out and say she was upset.

“Dale.”

“Yes?!” he replied, his voice cracking.

Latina stared straight at Dale, who couldn’t hide how unnerved he was. “W-Well...”

“You don’t need to worry about it,” she bluntly stated. This girl had had a tendency to be stubborn since the day they met. When she was like this, Latina was unlikely to speak any further.

“I’ll be on the first floor, so...”

“Right. Latina will come when she’s done cleaning up.”

While thoroughly savoring the joy he got from even that brief response, Dale hurriedly chose to make a tactical retreat. As a result, he didn’t see Latina puff out her cheeks again after having been left all alone in the attic room.

“Latina... really does wish she could hurry up and become an adult...” The brunt of her displeasure as she muttered that was directed both at the fact that she was a child and also at Dale telling her not to worry about it.

Rather than heading into the shop, Dale sat at the table in the kitchen with his head hung in shame, crestfallen. Kenneth left a steaming cup in front of his “little brother.” The deep-blue tea inside swayed gently.

“I made it extra strong. Use it to prepare yourself for the worst instead of drinking.”

“I won’t screw up like that... I’m not like I used to be.” He grumpily puffed up his cheeks, but of course when someone like him did it, it didn’t even come close to Latina’s cuteness.

Having just hit a break in his work, Kenneth plopped down right in front of Dale. “So you don’t have any more regrets?”

“I got rid of those a long time ago. I learned my lesson.”

“Right? That’s why I figured it wouldn’t be a problem, so I let Helmine stay here. It is my inn, after all.”

“That’s just business, so you don’t need to worry about me,” Dale said and then sipped the tea, after which he made a bitter frown.

“Oh, I see... Looking at you, it seems Latina’s bad mood has a bigger impact on you than Helmine does.”

“That’s right! Why is Latina so upset...?!”

“That’s...” Kenneth started to say, but stopped himself from going any further. When a father talks about remarrying, his daughter often feels jealous towards the new woman. No matter how you looked at Latina, she was feeling similar jealousy and caution towards the appearance of this woman near Dale, who she had to herself up until now. But for some reason, Dale hadn’t realized that, and if Kenneth pointed it out, Dale would probably cry, “Latina cares... about me that much...?!” while choking back tears of joy. Then, he’d undoubtedly scoop Latina up and cling to her tight. If it ended there, then that’d be fine, but it would surely be followed by plenty of bragging and praise. And who would have to put up with that? Kenneth? That’d be irritating. A real pain. And it’d piss him off, somehow.

For that reason, Kenneth opened the lid of the teapot and stared at the tea leaves. It was a meaningless action meant to avoid the matter.

“What’s wrong?”

Having come down the stairs, Latina tilted her head at the two men. In her hands, she held the cleaning and laundry supplies. Apparently, she’d already finished up some of the tidying.

“Latina’s the real grownup here...” Kenneth muttered.

That was because the young girl, who had thrown herself into her work and gotten her feelings in order, once more wore her usual expression on her face.

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