by CHIROLU
Together, they were a group that would easily match any typical adventurers.
“Let’s get going,” Latina said with a smile, betraying not a hint of tension.
She’d been the same way on their trip of just a few days ago. It seemed she really didn’t feel endangered in the least, even when heading into a magical beast habitat. Latina looked to be in a truly good mood as she waved to the regulars and left the Dancing Ocelot.
Dale took the lead, while Latina and Chrysos walked side-by-side a little behind him. He wanted to walk alongside her too, but he knew that it would just turn into a competition with Chrysos. And besides, it’d actually be bad for his heart if she betrayed his expectations and walked a bit removed from the two of them, as he’d be left constantly worrying that her curiosity would get the better of her and she’d wander off. So in the end, the twins ended up in the center of the group, with Dale taking the lead while the faithful pup took up the rear.
“The forest isn’t too far, so we should be able to make the round trip within a day. A lot of folks would still bring camping gear just to be safe, but... we’ve got Vint with us this time, so we should be fine traveling light.”
“Right.”
“Indeed.”
There was a real danger of ending up lost in the forest, which could prove disastrous. However, Dale would never lose his way due to the Earth magic he was blessed with, and on top of that Vint could also search someone out over a vast, wide range. This group had no need to worry about playing things by the book.
For a few days now the weather had been rather comfortable, so much so that Dale could feel the warmth of the sun even through his black coat. Latina was apparently worried that it still may feel chilly in comparison to the arid climate of Vassilios, as she gave her sister a concerned look.
“Are you alright, Chrysos? You’re not too cold, are you?”
“Hmm? This much is no issue.”
“You spend most of your time in the temple, don’t you? You shouldn’t have much experience with going outside like this, right? Take care that you don’t fall ill, alright?”
“Do you not think that it is precisely because of the fact that I spend all my time in the temple that I must not let such things prevent me from enjoying this sense of freedom, from being outside?”
Hearing Chrysos’s voice from behind him, Dale gave a strained smile. Latina was in high spirits as always, but Chrysos wasn’t falling behind her in the least.
“Just don’t push yourself, and be sure to let me know if you feel off. I can use Earth healing magic, and if it comes down to it Vint can carry you.”
“Woof.”
Vint may have still been a pup, but he was more than capable of easily carrying a full-grown woman.
“What about yourself? With my magic, I can raise or lower the temperature around you freely.”
“I’m used to it, so don’t worry about me. And anyway, I could easily imagine you going ahead and freezing me in the confusion.”
Chrysos just smiled back in response to Dale’s statement. She made the wise choice not to foolishly affirm that suspicion, as doing so would run the risk of making Latina seriously angry.
Despite the time of year, not many leaves had fallen in the forest, leaving the trees all around quite dense. The warm sunlight was blocked before it could reach the ground, so the place was dimly lit even though it was mid-day.
Chrysos surveyed her surroundings and gave a single nod.
“I had heard this place possessed the blessings of Quirmizi and Azraq, as well as Akhdar, but still...”
“Is that so?” Latina asked, tilting her head.
“It’s not quite the sort of place we’d consider sacred land, but yeah. It’s something common to the locations where magical beasts live.”
“They also frequently settle in places that are difficult to cultivate. As human settlements are sparse, the number of magical beasts grows great, in turn only further discouraging settlement.”
“And then when the vegetation grows out of control, you end up with a place like this forest. I imagine these factors will all make it difficult to carve a path through here...”
“It may be difficult, but we shall see it done. It is not a foolish, prideful plan such as converting this whole forest into a settlement, so we should be able to succeed one way or another.”
Dale couldn’t help but feel a little impressed by the level of confidence Chrysos displayed. She was always facing forwards, never looking back, as if her eyes were fixed on the future she desired. She must have had clear plans laid out for how things should progress.
The thought left Dale feeling a little embarrassed, so he glanced up into the sky.
After they stepped into the forest, they took a slightly different route than the one they had taken during their last visit. Latina didn’t notice at first, but as she realized how unfamiliar her surroundings were, she began to suspect it.
She poked gently at Dale’s back and called out, “Dale? Are we... taking a different way than last time?”
“Oh, so you noticed? We’re just taking a brief detour. When I heard you rustling around this morning, that was you preparing lunch, right? So I wanted to at least find a little clearing where we can take a break.”
Apparently his words had hit the mark, judging by the way that Latina held her bag with a smile.
Before long, their field of vision opened up and they found themselves in a space with a clear stream running through it.
Vint went running off into the water, looking as if he had found some new toy to play with. He ran all about while wagging his tail, kicking up water from the shallow stream as he went.
“Ugh... well, there goes that. And it would’ve been pretty easy to catch fish here, too...”
After that big of a splash, there was no way there’d be any fish hanging around. Wearing a calm expression on her face, Latina gently wrapped her arm around Dale’s as she watched Vint play.
“Latina?”
“...This is the place where you first found me, isn’t it?” Latina said, her smile displaying a complexity of emotion. Upon seeing her face, Dale put his arm around her and brought her in closer.
“Are you sure this isn’t where you found me? I mean, you’re the one who spotted and approached me back then.”
“That was... because you said it would be alright to come to your side.”
“It would be pretty normal to be too scared to approach some stranger with a sword. I really do think that you taking that step forward is the reason we met.”
“Dale...”
Chrysos’s gaze remained fixed on the pair, who had drifted off into their own little world in no time at all.
“Split apart,” Vint muttered to himself, temporarily halting his frolicking.
Chrysos gave a brief order to the pup, spinning her walking stick around all the while.
“Vint, are you able to send water flying at the two of them?”
“Can send lots, with Wind magic.”
“Alright, then proceed.”
Immediately afterwards an incredibly localized blizzard kicked up, physically causing that lovey-dovey warmth that cared not for place or time to suddenly plummet in temperature.
When the blizzard abated, it became apparent that his instincts as a hero (albeit a deplorable one) had kicked in. Pure white ice clung to his black coat, but he had apparently succeeded in using it to cover Latina. It seemed that Latina had made it through the blizzard without weathering the storm directly, ending up with only a bit of snow atop her head.
Owing to the platinum hue of Latina’s hair, the snow on top of Dale’s black hair stood out far more in comparison.
They both opened their mouths to say something, but before they could do so, Chrysos said in a disappointed tone, “Are you not aware of the phrase, ‘there is a time and a place for everything?’”
With that, Latina seemed to realize the two of them had gone off into their own little world, causing
her to look down at the ground and say, “Sorry...”
“It’s always the time and place for Latina and I to flirt.”
Dale, however, remained unrepentant.
“Woof!”
Dale didn’t falter in the least, despite not only Chrysos but also the pup looking at him with eyes that said they found his open shamelessness to be truly deplorable.
In a certain way, though, the stare down between Dale and Chrysos was simply business as usual.
Latina’s downhearted expression softened a little as she watched this exchange.
“Dale, Chrysos, how about you stop fighting so we can have lunch?”
“Meat,” Vint immediately responded, wagging his tail and rubbing his head up against Latina.
It was then that the other two finally realized: Vint was running all around Latina, like it was totally natural. That loyal pup was monopolizing that position by Latina’s side.
The girl with the sister complex and the doting idiot drooped their shoulders in tandem, then sat down awkwardly close side-by-side. These two really did think identically, choosing to sit across from Latina at the exact same time.
“I just made some simple boxed lunches.”
“Meat?”
“I have some for you, Vint. It may only be enough to qualify as a snack, though,” Latina said, spreading out what looked like slices of ham from a package. Since she had prepared it for Vint, she specifically hadn’t added salt.
Afterwards, Latina pulled out several more packages from her shoulder bag. It really did feel like they were having a picnic, no matter how you looked at it. That image was only strengthened when she began pouring cold water from a canteen-shaped magical device into cups.
“I knew you had gotten up early this morning, but still...”
“I was just enjoying myself so much that I ended up really getting into it. We’ll have less to carry on the way back, so it should be fine, right?” Latina said with a smile, handing Dale the heaviest of the packages with both hands. The other two were at least a size smaller.
Chrysos, meanwhile, was busy examining the canteen Latina had used with great interest.
Chrysos and Latina differed not only on the amount of mana they possessed, but also the attributes they had affinity for. As a result, Chrysos knew better than anyone else that her sister was unable to use Water magic.
“...It certainly is impressive, even for those who lack the affinity or even the ability to use magic in the first place to be able to employ Water magic.”
“Well, it still only lets you bring forth water. And there’s a limit to the number of times you can use it, so you need to replace it every now and then.”
“Still, it is a great thing, not needing to transport drinking water. Even amongst our devil race, there is no guarantee that one will be able to use Water magic... But would different issues arise as such things spread...?” Chrysos muttered, absorbed in her own thoughts.
Latina gave a strained smile, opening her own lunch. The vegetable and meat packed sandwich was soon visible from within the paper wrapped around it.
“Our portion is smaller than Dale’s, but I also brought some baked sweets for after the meal.”
“Right.”
“Still, you sure did go all out with the fillings, huh?”
“I really got into it.”
“It looks real tasty...”
It was a harmonious, lively mealtime.
Latina had carefully drained the water off the fresh vegetables, then marinated and salted them. They served the role of a sauce, bringing the flavor of the whole dish together. And despite the amount used, it still went down smooth. At first she had planned on just using smoked meat, but apparently she ended up deciding to add grilled chicken, too. And the fragrance of the herbs and juices from the meat only added to the deliciousness. Dale couldn’t help but break out in a bit of a strained smile when he thought about how much effort Latina had clearly poured into preparing the food.
Still, it sure is tasty... Dale thought to himself, having already eaten half of it. He then licked up the sauce lingering around his mouth, then lifted up his gauntlet on his left hand.
With only a quick glance to the side, he fired off two mana arrows.
Then, his gauntlet casually moved back to where it had been, and he resumed eating as if nothing had happened.
Vint turned and headed off in the direction Dale’s arrows had flown, his tail wagging as he went.
All the while, Latina and Chrysos carried on with a calm, gentle conversation, not noticing Dale and Vint’s actions. Their point of discussion had turned to the box of sweets Latina had brought along.
“Latina, what is that?” Dale pointed and asked.
“It’s made by baking fruit compote into batter. That cuts the sweetness of the batter, but... it may still be too sweet for you, Dale,” Latina explained, picking up the sweet Dale had pointed out.
“I see.”
“This one is made with dried fruit so it’s only as sweet as that usually is, which means you should be alright with it.”
“Right.”
“You two truly do not back down in your clinginess, do you?” Chrysos said while chewing on the sweet she held in both hands, her gaze fixed on the passionate pair.
“Hmm?”
Latina tilted her head.
In Latina’s mind they were acting totally normally, but Chrysos could see that they were already in full-on lovey-dovey mode.
Vint was now diligently grooming himself, having returned at some point. He had a look about him that said he now boasted a full stomach, but rather than commenting on that, Dale simply tossed the dried fruit sweet Latina had handed him into his mouth.
A large, pure white stone stood silently not far from the stream.
Dale thought to himself that the presence of a source of water nearby must have been a big reason Latina had been able to survive despite being so young when she was parted from her father. Since she could only use Holy and Dark magic, she wasn’t able to magically procure drinking water. And no matter how hardy the race of devils may be, they could still die of thirst.
Plus, thanks to the great utility of Holy healing magic, even a young child like Latina could use it to deal with problems that arose, at least to some degree.
Thinking on it, that man had sought to find a way to save his daughter up until the very end, even as he sensed his own death approaching due to illness. Dale thought that must have just been the sort of man he had been.
“...Your father was an amazing man, wasn’t he?”
“Yeah...”
“Naturally.”
The gravestone had been cleaned not too long ago, but it was already covered in dead grass and dirt, likely carried in by a parched wind. Dale started to gather up the grass, figuring it wouldn’t take as long as last time. Then, he used simple Water magic to wash the stone clean.
“While we’re at it, Vint, go ahead and gather up all the grass from the area. You can do that, right?”
“Woof.”
When it came to Wind magic, this pup had earned his father’s seal of approval.
Having roughly finished cleaning, Dale turned around to call out to Latina and Chrysos... only for his voice to get caught in his throat.
Chrysos was standing up in a dignified manner, and had started to sing. A little afterwards, Latina joined in reciting similar sounding words, though more awkwardly than her sister.
The song was in the devil language, so Dale wasn’t able to pick up all the meaning of the lyrics. But as a priest of Quirmizi, he could sense that it was some form of ritual.
Right... Neither of them are priestesses, but they were born and raised in a temple...
It wouldn’t be strange at all for them to be intimately familiar with etiquette and rituals and the like. It was just that since Banafsaj wasn’t a god worshiped much in human towns, Dale wasn’t familiar with such rituals. This was actually his first time seeing it.
Even
so, he could tell this song was meant to grieve for the dead, and to pray that they rest in peace.
Even after that song of prayer ended, the sisters remained close together, not lifting their faces. Before long, though, they did look up. It just looked natural for the two of them to be holding hands, as they were always doing so. It really was easy to imagine them always being together like this, back when they were young.
Dale simply watched over them for a while, but he was the one to eventually break the silence.
“Hey, Chrysos...” That was because a certain question had come to mind. “Should we have him buried in a proper grave, instead of here in this forest? If you want to bring him back to Vassilios, I’ll help to make sure things go smoothly.”
“Hmm...”
Chrysos seemed to be thinking.
Dale then looked at that beloved girl by her side, and voiced a matter he had hidden up until now.
“And... there’s that matter of the priestess of Banafsaj who served the Second Demon Lord... That was your mother, right? It’ll be necessary to make arrangements to have her body delivered to Vassilios too, won’t it?” Chrysos already knew, but Latina surprisingly didn’t seem to be visibly shaken, either. “Latina...” Dale started, his voice filled with guilt.
“I already learned that Mov has passed from this world... back when we were in Vassilios...” Latina responded with a slightly strained smile. “You met her, didn’t you, Dale?”
“...Yeah.”
“She sure was beautiful, wasn’t she?”
Dale hadn’t expected Latina to respond that way at all. He was frankly a little dumbfounded.
Meanwhile, Latina and Chrysos exchanged sad, lonely smiles.
“Rag always used to say we looked like Mov, didn’t he?”
“Indeed he did.”
“I was a little worried if I’d grow up to be as pretty as her.”
“She was a strong person as well. As a ruler, I wish to strive my hardest so as not to sully Mov’s name.”
“Rag and Mov... I feel like I still have a long ways to go till I catch up to them.”
“I feel much the same.”