by CHIROLU
When she’d safely made it to Dale with the tray, she broke out in a wide grin. It was a smile that truly said, “Mission complete!”
A silent applause seemed to come from her audience. When she’d tripped partway there two days ago, she’d looked so shocked that you would have thought the world had ended. She became so depressed that it would have been preferable for her to have just cried. The people watching her naturally felt the pressure as well.
“Dale, dinner, here!”
Dale took the tray and brought it up onto of the table. After seeing that through, Latina returned to the kitchen and brought out her own meal. Thanks to the clear difference in size, this time her footsteps were obviously lighter.
Having sat down beside Dale, she proudly said, “Latina, today, made potatoes. Eat, Dale.”
“Right. You did great today too, Latina.”
Latina pointing to the mountain of mashed potatoes and reporting what she did with a smile, while Dale in turn praised her, had become the routine for the last few days. It had also lately become a trend in the Dancing Ocelot that after these two had such an exchange, sales of whatever Latina had helped with increased.
As Kenneth checked during the brief breaks he had between cooking countless orders, he saw Latina happily enjoying her meal again today, which made him grin broadly.
Latina gave it her all each and every day. She wanted to make a meal for Dale at some point, which made for a powerful motivator. And so, she was working on this seriously. Kenneth was fond of people who worked hard.
The young girl was certainly putting more than enough effort into the task, and thanks to that, she was seeing results. To Kenneth, she was an “apprentice” worth teaching.
The reason Latina was able to spend time in this shop with such a calm expression on her face was because it was the “safe place that Dale brought her to.” Dale was the only one who didn’t know that. She was able to be so unconditionally relaxed precisely because he was by her side. Dale hadn’t seen that when he wasn’t around, she frantically looked about, and even felt threatened at times.
“It’s not so bad for both of them, having someone to rely on. Even for Dale,” muttered Dale’s self-proclaimed “big bro,” a man who realized he’d come to earn a level of trust worthy of that title, as he served up the contents of a pot.
3: The Little Girl’s World Expands a Bit
The girl was in a pinch.
“What should Latina do?”
She worriedly glanced about at the people coming and going. Right now, she wasn’t in the southern district of Kreuz, where she lived. She had accompanied Kenneth when he went out to replenish stock, and had come to the eastern district.
This was only her second time visiting this part of town. The first time, she still hadn’t understood the language at all, so even though she had been interested in her surroundings, she hadn’t left Dale’s side at all. As a result, things had gone fine then. This time, though, she was completely enraptured by the things around her.
As it was an important waypoint, Kreuz was abundant with all sorts of goods; it was absolutely overflowing with all sorts of items that Latina hadn’t seen before and didn’t even know how they were used. The various shops, lined up in rows, all had their own ways to grab the attention of passersby.
This part of town, which had an entirely different feel compared to the southern district, captured Latina’s attention. To start with, the girl had curiosity in spades, and she couldn’t help that that curiosity won out over her wariness and concentration. Thanks to that, she had lost sight of Kenneth before she’d even realized it.
Latina promised to stay with Kenneth... Will Dale be angry? she thought, becoming more and more depressed. Clearly at a loss, she didn’t know at all what to do. Latina may never see him again. What should she do?
She didn’t want to be left alone again. Even though she was surrounded by so many people, she couldn’t help but feel tormented by an overwhelming feeling of isolation. She couldn’t stop herself from thinking that these were bad people.
Latina hates this... What should she do? If she doesn’t make it back... if she doesn’t get back... Her mind was spinning in circles with such thoughts.
Though she was smart, Latina was still young, so her being driven by emotion rather than logic was a natural reaction. But right now, there was no one to tell her that.
Perhaps because of her experience in the forest, where she had to take care of herself rather than waiting for someone to save her, she didn’t realize that the best thing to do when you’re lost is to wait in one spot.
Latina took a guess at the direction she should go and started running. If she had stayed put just a little longer, she would’ve seen Kenneth return in a panic.
Latina ended up turning several corners and entering a block she’d genuinely never seen before.
“...Where is this?”
There was no way that she could’ve known, but this area was known for having a particularly high concentration of artisans, even for the eastern district. Lined up one after another were houses that served both as residences and workshops. Compared to the eastern district’s main street, it was an area with a more working-class sort of feel to it, with many complicated, crisscrossing alleyways; to people other than residents, it may well have felt like a labyrinth. That was certainly the case for Latina, who didn’t even understand how she got here, even when she looked back over her shoulder.
“...What should Latina do?” she muttered to herself, utterly at a loss.
“Who are you?”
Hearing a voice from behind, Latina jumped in surprise. When she turned around, she saw a group of boys standing around. They frowned at the sight of this girl they didn’t recognize.
“Where are you from? I’ve never seen you before,” said the biggest boy in the group while steadily approaching Latina.
“...”
Not knowing how to reply, she retreated a bit in order to distance herself. Seeing that, the expression on his face only grew more and more distrusting. The large boy named Rudy, the quiet boy next to him with a round face, and the boy behind him with light-brown hair spoke in turn.
“I’ve never seen hair that color before. Are you the kid of some sort of noble?”
“That’s not it, Rudy. If she were, she’d be wearing a gown.”
“That’s right. But still, her hair’s an unusual color. It doesn’t quite look like gold or silver.”
“If a girl like her moved in, then there’s no way we wouldn’t have heard rumors about it.”
“Then you’re an outsider?!”
When Latina heard the gruff tone of Rudy’s voice, she recoiled again.
Why is he mad? Is... Latina strange, somehow?
What should Latina do...? Latina doesn’t know why he’s mad.
“That’s not cool, Rudy. You made her cry.”
“She’s the one who won’t talk, even though we’re asking her questions!”
Though the round-faced boy tried to stop him, Rudy kept stomping towards Latina. Now completely in a panic, her face turning pale, Latina tried to flee.
“Why are you running?! You’re acting fishy!”
However, due to the difference in their physiques, Rudy soon overtook and captured her.
“...! **! ****!”
Hearing the yell that Latina let out the second Rudy grabbed her arm left the boys stupefied.
“What did she say?”
“Maybe she’s a foreigner...”
As the boys glanced at each other, they had already lost all their anger, leaving behind only confusion. But because Latina was still panicking, she didn’t realize that.
Desperately twisting about, she screamed, “**, **! ****!”
“What are you doing?!”
A girl about the same age as the boys came flying out of a nearby house at the sound of Latina’s screaming. As soon as she saw Latina’s ghostly pale face, she leaped right at the boys.
“Y
ou’re the absolute worst, picking on such a little girl!”
“Gah! Cut it out, Chloe!”
“You got it all wrong!”
The brown-haired boy swiftly distanced himself, but the other two fell victim to Chloe’s punches. Latina stopped panicking and absentmindedly stared in admiration at the girl. Her intervention had rescued Latina.
“Does it hurt? Are you alright?” asked Latina.
“They’re fine! Just slap some spit on there and it’ll heal up fine!”
“No one asked you, Chloe!”
With a worried look on her face, Latina squatted down and stared at the two boys Chloe had beaten and kicked, Rudy and Marcel the round-faced boy.
“This is because Latina didn’t respond... She’s sorry...”
“It’s our fault for scaring you...” Marcel said with a strained laugh, but Latina only looked even more apologetic.
The look on her face grew serious, and she thrust her tiny hand out towards him. She moistened her lips and carefully began a chant.
“Oh light of heaven, grant this request by my name, and please heal those who have been wounded. 〈〈Healing Light〉〉”
A gentle light flowed out from Latina’s hand, causing the other children’s eyes to go wide.
Latina then used the same recovery magic on Rudy as well, and then, with a frown on her face, she suddenly sat down.
“Are you alright?”
“Latina’s alright. Just a little tired,” she answered Chloe with a smile. Taking that as their chance, the boys excitedly crowded around Latina.
“That’s amazing! You can use magic?!”
“It really is incredible, to be able to use magic when you’re so young! Who taught you?”
“That’s the first time I’ve ever seen anyone use it!”
Seeing Latina shake in response to their vigorous excitement, Chloe took a step forward and shot them a glare. The boys stopped instantly, and Latina peeked out from behind Chloe’s back.
“Amazing? But Latina can only use one simple healing spell,” she said as she tilted her head in complete confusion. “Is using magic amazing?”
“Hardly anyone around town can use it. It’s pretty much just the people who work at temples or for the feudal lord, or at one of the big companies. Outside of that, it’s just adventurers, I guess,” explained the brown-haired boy, Anthony, and Latina nodded her head to show that she understood.
Dale’s an adventurer. So he can use magic.
And then suddenly, she remembered that she was lost.
“Latina is lost... She doesn’t know the way back...”
“Where did you come from, Latina?”
“The Ocelot shop... in the south...” responded the disheartened girl. The children glanced at one another.
“Ocelot?”
“There aren’t that many shops in the south.”
“Could it be that one? The one with the green flags.”
“That shop for adventurers?”
Hearing those words, Latina’s expression brightened up. “Yeah. Lots of adventurers come to the shop.”
With that response, the children looked at each other again. A shop for adventurers was a dangerous place where people who took on hazardous work gathered. Their parents had forbidden them from playing in that part of the southern district.
But this was to help someone out. This definitely wasn’t just because they wanted to go see.
Ultimately, forbidding children from doing something only makes them more interested.
†
This occurred in the southern district a little before Latina opened up to the children in the eastern district:
“Latina’s lost?!” A shriek so loud it even reached outside the shop emanated from the Dancing Ocelot.
When Kenneth realized Latina wasn’t there, he had hurriedly looked everywhere for her. But by then, she was already nowhere to be found. However, he couldn’t keep looking for her forever; he also needed to carry the supplies back to the shop.
After asking a number of his acquaintances in the eastern district for their help, he hurriedly returned to the Dancing Ocelot. After all, that was where her father was, and he was the one who most needed to know the situation.
“Yeah, I’m really sorry. I took my eyes of her for a second when I was negotiating, and...”
Kenneth and Dale had both let their guard down. Latina was an incredibly clever girl, and the two couldn’t deny they had unconsciously come to think that she could handle this much. She was well-behaved, so surely she wouldn’t wander off. That was just an excuse the adults came up with on their own.
Naturally, adults and children had differing points of view. To start with, the way they saw the world was not the same. Adult thinking could not grasp how children behaved.
“Ah, no, it’s... She’s already lost, so no matter what we do now, what’s done is done. It’s... Aaaaaagh! If this was going to happen, then I should’ve learned some search magic! Apologize to Latina, past-me, for saying that stuff was unnecessary! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry... No, that’s right. Right now, Latina’s... What should I do? What should I do? Oh, i-if I send out a request, then I can have the adventurers in town look for her!” Dale went on and on and on.
“How about going to look for her, to start with?” said Rita.
“That’s it!”
While he may have been acting irrationally, seeing Dale so amusingly agitated actually helped those around him cool down. When Dale’s panic reached its peak, Rita told him what to do, and he immediately flew out of the shop.
“Um... Rita?” Kenneth asked.
“In addition to Dale, I also sent word of what Latina looks like out about town. And plenty of the gatekeepers are regulars here, so even if someone’s dumb enough to try and kidnap her, they’ll be stopped at the walls. I get the feeling that even if she is lost, that girl could manage to do something about it on her own, but...”
Looking at his wife after she sent Dale off, Kenneth thought that she seemed exceptionally calm. A big reason why Rita was able to remain so composed was because Latina had gotten lost in an exceptionally safe area, even for the eastern district.
She then faced the various adventurers engrossed in idle talk about the shop.
“Anyone who helps out with the search drinks for free tonight. And if you find her, then I’ll give you a reward. Even if you don’t find her, be sure to come back here by the hour of Saj—before sunset. How does that sound?”
“Well, I guess it’ll kill some time.”
“It wouldn’t be so bad having Dale owe me one, either.”
Saying such things in response, the regulars got up out of their seats. Latina was becoming a special person to the regulars as well.
When Latina at last returned, surrounded by the children from the eastern district, the sun had not yet set.
“Rita!” Latina passed through the door with a smile and ran towards her, only to stop suddenly. “Rita, Latina’s sorry she got lost... Where’s Kenneth?”
“He’s worrying about you. Go show him that you’re back,” Rita replied, pointing towards the kitchen. To be honest, the sight of her husband being so worried about Latina that he couldn’t properly concentrate on his work had left her at a loss.
When he saw Latina hurrying towards the kitchen, Kenneth dropped the pot he was holding. A loud crashing sound filled the air.
“Kenneth, Latina’s sorry. She got lost, so she couldn’t keep her promise...”
Seeing her so depressed as she earnestly apologized, and knowing that he was at fault, Kenneth couldn’t bring himself to scold her. He simply felt relieved and patted her tiny head.
“I’m glad you’re alright.”
Kenneth scooped up the dejected Latina in his arms and headed into the shop, where a group of children looked up at him. As kids didn’t usually come into the store, Kenneth was frankly a little surprised. “Who are they?”
“These kids brought Latina back here,” said Ri
ta, having talked to the one girl in the group.
“Then we’ve gotta give them a reward...”
“Friends help each other out, that’s how it is!” the girl objected in response. Latina tilted her small head in confusion.
“I see, so Latina’s made some friends. It’s already a little late today, but you’ll have to play plenty with her next time,” said Rita, with a wide and gentle smile on her face, the sort that she didn’t usually make. She then opened up the jar of cookies that Kenneth had prepared for Latina’s snacks, and skillfully put together a bundle for each child.
“We really are grateful that you brought Latina back.” On bended knee, so as to meet the children at eye level, she offered these words of thanks alongside the cookies. Having an adult like Rita act so polite towards them, the children exchanged nervous and fidgety glances, but it seems they didn’t entirely dislike the treatment.
When Chloe and company headed back home, Latina stood in the door to the shop, seeing them off by waving her hand.
As the hour of Saj approached, the regulars returned to the Dancing Ocelot, and Latina bowed her head to each and every one of them.
“Sorry for worrying you...”
“As long as you’re alright, then it’s no problem, little lady.”
“...Thank you for looking for Latina.” Latina gave another bow of her head to the regular, who laughed and waved it off.
When he first returned to the shop, Latina had greeted him with a smile, but now that he saw her from behind, it was obvious that she was disheartened. Watching her pace back and forth to the entrance of the shop, he became depressed as well.
Seeing Latina acting differently than she usually did made not only the regulars who knew what was going on but also the customers who didn’t know anything just keep drinking in silence. That was the sort of mood in the shop when Dale at last returned.
When he opened the door, he was out of breath and dripping in sweat. “Rita! What’s happened since I...?” While asking if there was any new information, he suddenly realized that the person in question was staring up at him. “Latina!”
