by CHIROLU
Rudolph had also realized with a single glance that Latina was out of sorts.
“I’m fine. Nothing’s wrong... Do you just want the usual?”
“Of course you’re not alright. Your face is totally pale.”
“It’s nothing!” Latina was taken aback at the way that she’d suddenly raised her voice. She tried to gloss over it and smiled, switching back to a gentle tone. “Sorry, Rudy... It really is nothing. I’m alright.”
However, that was awkward and painful for Rudy, who had been her friend for years, to watch.
Ah, she’s holding down the fort again, huh? thought Rudolph, guessing at what was behind her current mood. She normally enjoyed each and every day with everything she had, but now she was shutting herself off from those around her.
Ever since they were kids, it was readily apparent what was going on when she became like that. Even if Chloe half-dragged her outside by force, Latina’s mind seemed to be somewhere else, and she’d just stare straight at the ground. Unable to stand it any longer, Rudy would end up messing with her more than usual, which made such times good memories for him now.
He got the feeling that he’d be accused of teasing her when nothing was going on, too, but he figured there was no helping that. After all, when Rudy made Latina’s big grey eyes tear up just a little, she’d look at him. She was plenty cute when she puffed up her reddened cheeks a bit and complained at him, too. He wanted her to look at him and not their other friends, even if it was only at times like that. Ever since they were young, he’d had a genuine desire to keep her all to himself.
Even now, as Latina was swiftly assembling sandwiches, Rudy couldn’t help but wonder what sort of face she’d make if he suddenly pinched her cheek. To start with, she’d definitely be angry. But if it caused her to forget her current depression for even a moment, then maybe it would be worth it. While thinking such things, Rudolph waited silently for the sandwiches he ordered to be completed.
That evening, Latina had just finished her work at the Backstreet Bakery and said her thanks for everything Marcel’s family had done for her during the short time she’d spent there.
“Rudy?” she asked in surprise after she stepped out. Her childhood friend was waiting outside, wearing casual clothes instead of his guard uniform.
“Hmm?”
“What is it? If you need Marcel, he’s inside.”
“I was waiting for you, Latina.”
“Me?”
“I’ll walk you home.”
“Huh?” Latina tilted her head. “Why? I know the way back.”
“I’m not worried about you getting lost.” Rudolph looked astounded, but if he’d lose heart over this much, he would never have been able to be childhood friends with the natural airhead. If he wasn’t willing to be pushy, he’d never get anywhere. “Your face really is pale. It’d be a big problem if you collapsed on the way there. There are still a lot of outsiders hanging around from the night festival.”
When Rudolph had gone to the guard station to deliver the sandwiches he’d been sent to purchase, some idle chatter with his superiors led to them finding out about how Latina was faring. Rudolph knew very, veeeeeery well that his superiors were amongst the regulars who doted on Latina at the Ocelot. Furthermore, as a result of them hearing that her guardian’s absence was the cause of her mood, Rudy had somehow ended up getting dispatched to make sure no insolent men were able to take advantage of Latina while she was out of sorts. He had no reason to refuse, and he couldn’t anyway since it was an order, so Rudolph had headed towards the Backstreet Bakery once more.
“Do I really look that bad?”
“Normally, you’ve got a much more easy-going look on your face.”
“Easy...?”
“You’re always spacing out with a grin on your face, right?”
“Rudy, I thought you’d grown up a bit, but you’re still such a meanie...”
Latina puffed up her cheeks, and thanks to her roused emotions, she seemed to regain a bit of her vigor. Not letting his relief show on his face, Rudolph kept on running his mouth.
“It’s only natural that I’d feel like hiding what I’m really like around you, Latina.”
Even Rudolph was careful when dealing with his superiors. If he talked casually with them and said something careless, he’d suffer a terrible fate. He’d face hazing under the name of “guidance.”
His training was so hellish that he nearly died several times, but the guards’ headquarters was close to the temple of Niili, and there were guardsmen who could handle healing magic, too. There was a proper system in place to drag him back up out of hell. He was thrust down to the depths countless times, only to be forcefully brought back to life. That training that made one wonder if they were literally in hell created guards with tough bodies and, more importantly, minds.
“Is your guard work tough?”
“I only just became a proper guardsman, so I have my hands full just remembering everything. My training’s been intense since back when I was in the reserve corps, so... I guess I’m used to it.”
“You’re really working hard, Rudy.”
“You are, too,” Rudy said.
“I am?” Latina asked, looking confused.
“Yeah.”
Latina’s expression softened a little. It made her happy when somebody recognized and praised her effort, no matter who.
“Thank you, Rudy,” Latina said with a bit of a smile, not realizing that Rudolph was repeatedly reaching out to hold her hand, only to give up, pull back, and then repeat the process.
And that’s how the pair headed back towards the Dancing Ocelot, where they found Vint, who hadn’t been seen for a while, waiting in front of the entrance. He had been dozing away, but when he sensed Latina’s presence, he headed over, his tail wagging all the while. When he saw Rudolph, however, he stopped in his tracks.
Latina tilted her head at Vint’s reaction. Meanwhile, Rudolph was on guard thanks to the strange air of intimidation the beast before his eyes was giving off.
After thinking for a while on whether or not to attack, Vint decided to ignore the unfamiliar man-person. He passed right by Rudolph and started rubbing his head up against Latina.
Vint had been told that if any unfamiliar man-people approached Latina, he could attack them. But seeing how Latina was having a friendly discussion with him, Vint realized that if he were to defeat this male, Latina would chew him out. On top of that, for some reason, Vint sensed Latina’s scent on the man.
Since he was having trouble making a decision, Vint decided to just leave him be.
“Latina... what’s that...?” Rudolph said, asking the obvious question about the blatantly suspicious creature in front of him.
“Huh? Vint’s... a dog?”
“Why did you say that like a question?”
“Um... He’s a bit of a different sort of dog? That’s why,” Latina hurriedly replied while straightening out Vint’s clothing.
After saying goodbye to Rudolph and thanking him for escorting her back, Latina and Vint headed for the attic. While giving him a week’s worth of brushing, Latina asked Vint about his absence.
“Where did you go? You suddenly disappeared, so I was worried.”
“Went to Daddy’s place.”
“Daddy?”
“Mommy bit Daddy, and Daddy yielded. Mommy’s the strongest.”
“...?”
The language and culture of mythical beasts had developed separately from the rest of the world, so even Latina had trouble understanding it, despite having been able to learn the most common language used by humans, that of the western continent, in a week. The expressions and words used were entirely unrelated.
Latina tilted her head now and again, but she managed to grasp that Vint had gone back home to visit, apparently. Without the leader of the soaring wolves knowing it, his own son had leaked the details of his domestic dispute.
Latina hugged Vint tight and sank her face into his now-soft and fluffy fur
.
“Latina?”
“Sorry, Vint... Can we stay like this, just for a bit?”
Vint wagged his tail, and feeling relieved to see him not seem to mind at all, Latina brought her cheek up to the wolf cub’s fur again and felt his warmth.
“Why... can’t I do it right...?” Latina muttered with a sigh, the sadness in her voice readily apparent. She’d tried her best to hold it back all day, but the moment she uttered those words of weakness, her vision grew blurry. Starting to sniffle, she closed her eyes tight.
When she was little, all of the adults around her seemed to really have their acts together. She thought they could do anything with ease. She wanted to hurry up and become an adult so she could be one of them. She’d grown taller and was Theo’s “big sis” now, so she thought that she was closer to being an adult than she used to be. But apparently, she was still just a little kid. She couldn’t even hold down the fort without ending up in tears; she hadn’t grown at all. Of course she’d be treated like a child.
If she became a proper adult, she’d surely be able to do things right, too.
“Will I... ever become a true grown-up...?”
“Woof,” her friend said in a quiet, gentle voice to comfort her. Unable to stand it any longer, Latina ended up wiping away her flowing tears with her palms, and then collapsed in a heap.
Seeing how red Latina’s eyes were as she returned to the first floor from her room, Rita furrowed her eyebrows in anger.
“What am I going to do about that damn idiot?” Rita muttered in a dangerous tone.
“He was so stupid this time that he even left me speechless, but... I think he’s got a lot on his mind right now, too, so... I think you should take that into consideration, at least a little,” Kenneth said, trying to defend Dale.
“Listen, Kenneth, you’re always soft on that idiot, but I’m only Latina’s ally,” Rita said to her husband. She lifted a single eyebrow. “I need put him in his place enough for Latina. She can’t bring herself to complain.”
“For Sis?” Theo butted in.
“That’s right. You think so too, Theo, right?” Rita asked, seeking agreement from her child.
“Right!” Only understanding that this was about his beloved “sister,” Theodore parroted his mother.
Kenneth looked troubled because he knew that Rita was one of the few people who would squabble with his “little bro” without holding back, and also because he couldn’t think of any further words to cover for Dale.
“Rita? Kenneth? What’s wrong?” Latina asked, tilting her head at the harsh look on Rita’s face. Aside from her bloodshot eyes, Latina didn’t look all that different from usual.
Rita responded with a smile, shaking her hands back and forth. “It’s nothing. Vint sure has gotten fluffy, hasn’t he?”
Latina seemed perplexed by her response as well. She then looked at Kenneth and nonchalantly asked, “Kenneth, do you need help with work tonight?”
“You can just come back to work tomorrow morning. You were working in an unfamiliar environment, so you’re probably more tired than you think. Just get some proper rest.”
Latina looked a little down in response.
Kenneth gave a sigh and then continued addressing his apprentice. “Don’t act so recklessly as to throw yourself so hard at your work that you don’t have time to think about anything else, Latina.”
“Sorry...”
“You’ve got nothing to apologize for.”
“But... um... I...”
Latina tried to continue, but Kenneth put his hand, which was larger than Dale’s, on top of her head and patted it like he’d done ever since she was little. He’d always patted her head harder than Dale had.
“Rita will just man the floor up through tonight, too. In exchange, could you dote on Theo plenty? We can’t do that as well as you, after all.”
“Sis?” Theo asked, sounding happy because he more or less understood what his father was saying. He pitter-pattered over to Latina, then looked up at her expectantly.
“Kenneth...”
“It’s a huge help having you here, Latina.”
With Kenneth’s words, the tears that had supposedly stopped blurred Latina’s vision once more.
Right now, she was losing all confidence in herself and her actions, so she wanted a reason to be positive about herself more than anything else. She wanted a reason for it to be alright to be here.
With a tearful voice, Latina muttered the word she needed to say rather than “I’m sorry.”
“Thank you...”
The clash between Rita and Dale may have had its basis in this part of Latina’s nature, Kenneth thought.
For Latina, Dale’s very presence brought her mental stability. When he was by her side, her worries and concerns would be wiped away with his doting. It was when Dale wasn’t around that Latina would become insecure and depressed, looking like a whole different person than her usual cheery self. No matter how much this state was described to those familiar with her, it was hard to imagine without actually seeing her like that. There was just that big of a gap compared to her usual self.
If Dale had seen her like this, he surely wouldn’t have gone and let his emotions drive him to flee. Though he treated her like a child, he had also always doted on the girl who had been mature beyond her years ever since she was young, so he was unconsciously soft on her.
“Sis!”
Vint circled around jealously as he watched Latina hug Theo tight. Watching on, Kenneth thought on just what he could do.
When Latina returned to work in the Dancing Ocelot the next morning, she seemed to have recovered quite a bit, at least on the surface. However, while Latina would bear her loneliness by herself in the attic when Dale was gone, she’d taken Vint with her to her room the night before. Even so, Kenneth and the others didn’t say anything. If the warmth of another helped to heal her at least a little, then that was what she should do.
Even though Latina was depressed, Vint was in high spirits thanks to the girl paying more attention to him than usual.
Seeing Latina dart about the shop in a hurry once more, the expressions on the faces of the regulars visiting for breakfast grew twenty percent brighter. Kenneth figured from the looks of it that tonight would be far busier than it had been this past week, and he decided to stock up more than usual. Even if she hadn’t planned it, Latina ended up so busy that she didn’t have time to think about anything else, just like she’d wanted.
It was only inevitable, but things were busier at lunchtime, too. Rita was pregnant, but Kenneth no longer needed to try to handle all the work on his own. He had Latina to help with things like buying goods and equipment and cleaning the linens.
Dale wasn’t the only one who’d had to endure Latina’s absence. Even if the workload was something Kenneth originally handled alongside his wife, he hadn’t imagined doing it alone would be that rough. He was made fully aware of just how much of a help his “apprentice” who worked in perfect sync with him had been.
Kenneth thought that Dale running away was stupid, but he also figured that his “little bro” needed time to cool his head. He’d just gone about it the wrong way. Right now, the culprit in question was probably on the move somewhere, holding his head in his hands over what he’d done.
Latina should be a little more selfish, too, and be willing to say that she’s lonely or doesn’t like something.
Latina was such a patient, good child that the adults around her ended up relying on her without even realizing it. When he’d had to toil away without any time for a break, Kenneth realized that he was guilty of that as well.
Just as Kenneth had predicted, that night the Dancing Ocelot started filling up with customers early, and by its usual peak hour it was beyond just packed, with customers willing to stand about and drink. Latina alone wasn’t enough to handle things, so Rita ended up manning the floor, too. Vint was also around, so fortunately he was able to take care of keeping an eye on Th
eo.
Latina listened to several orders flying in at once and immediately understood them all without even repeating them back. Since she remembered the customers’ faces rather than just their tables, she didn’t make any mistakes when carrying out their food. When she needed to take a second to do calculations for making change, she wore a pleasant smile on her face.
That was the sort of waitress that Latina was. Her presence had drawn this crowd here to begin with, but if she wasn’t around, they’d never be able to handle such a huge workload.
“Rita, you’re pregnant, so you shouldn’t push yourself. I can handle things on my own.”
“I’m not intending to, so I’ll be fine. And you shouldn’t be pushing yourself too hard either, Latina.”
“I’m fine.”
“If I think you’re pushing yourself too hard, I’ll use my authority as one of the owners to force you to take a break.”
“I’m fine! I won’t push myself!”
To a workaholic like Latina, a forced break would be entirely unwelcome. Latina shook her head from side to side in a fluster.
“I get the feeling she really will overwork herself,” Rita said, looking astounded as she watched the girl pitter-patter about hurriedly from customer to customer.
Around then, Latina sensed a new customer coming in and turned to greet him with a smile, only for her expression to return to normal.
“Welco—Rudy?”
“H-Hey...”
Looking like he felt a bit awkward, Rudolph’s gaze darted around the inside of the shop. It was like he was overwhelmed by the crowd filling the store. The place was filled to the brim with intimidating, muscle-bound middle-aged men. Even someone like Rudolph, who was used to such sights from his time in the guards, got a small case of cold feet.
“What’s up?”
“The only reason to visit a bar is for the food or the alcohol, right?”
Happening to hear his response, a number of the regulars who were also guards wore lukewarm expressions on their faces. It was common knowledge that he didn’t come here for either of those things. Latina, however, didn’t realize that.
“Is that so? Right now, we’re packed, so there aren’t any seats open...” Latina said, looking a bit troubled as she addressed her childhood friend.
