by CHIROLU
“Hey...! Using magic’s no fa--!”
Rudy’s shout of protest was cut off midway through by the small avalanche Latina had created.
Within the Holy magic that Latina employed, the defensive wall and attack magics were largely the same sort of power, just used in different manners. Mana used as a shield was defensive, while mana shot off like a bullet was long range attack magic. And bludgeoning something or someone with a mass of mana served as close range attack magic.
Additionally, Latina’s skills at mana control were great enough to make even most adults jealous.
She had spread out a wall made of mana in an instant beneath a layer of snow. Then, she flipped it over.
Just as planned, Rudy ended up trapped in the pile of snow. Latina picked up the large snowball she had created from inside the shelter and held it aloft with both hands. Left trapped and unable to move his body, Rudy could only watch as it came crashing down upon his head. That had been the finishing blow. After all, if he wasn’t hit with a snowball, he wouldn’t count as out. She chose some strange ways to be honest about things at times.
“Latina did it! She beat Rudy!” the girl said, throwing her hands up in the air in celebration without even thinking about it. In her joy, she had completely forgotten the fact that she was still in the midst of battle.
“Gwah!”
A snowball had smacked right into Latina’s head with a thwack.
Thw-thw-thw-thwack! Immediately afterwards, a volley of concentrated snowball fire descended upon her. In no time at all, the screaming girl was absolutely coated in snow.
“Aaaaaah!”
“We’ve taken the enemy magic user! Close in!”
Latina’s best friend had been the one to raise that triumphant shout.
“Rudy had been a sacrificial pawn from the very start! Now, let’s get moving!”
When it came to things like this, Chloe had no mercy whatsoever.
The result: Victory for the team lead by General Chloe. The adults watching couldn’t help but feel admiration for the way that she gave orders.
“She did it! Latina won!”
In spite of the way things ended, Latina still reported her victory back to the Dancing Ocelot. She may have lost in the team event, but she had won her personal battle.
“You played a lot, Latina, so do you want a bit of a snack?” Kenneth asked.
“Yeah!”
What he handed her was a freshly roasted sweet potato. The way it was slowly heated drew out plenty of sweetness, making it a fine sweet.
The tip of Latina’s nose was red when she came back from playing in the snow, but once she had changed and drank a glass of hot milk with a bit of sugar in it, she was completely back to her normal self.
“On the way back Latina saw some people who were being snowmen, but won’t they catch a cold?”
She uttered that thought aloud, but it didn’t take long for her attention to be entirely stolen away by the task of reporting on her victory.
She chowed down on the piping-hot roasted potato, and then drank down her freshly refilled milk. It may not have been the usual beverage for a victory toast, but it still tasted even better than it usually did.
“It’s all thanks to your practice yesterday,” Dale said with a grin, causing Latina’s smile to grow even wider.
That smile of hers made Dale feel just how much teaching her that method of snow shoveling yesterday had been worth it. Dale’s home village of Tislow may have been a land that got a lot of snow, but it also had a great deal of magic users. The people favored by the earth living there had nearly endless options for using magic to clear away snow. Thanks to the thinking that if they have the power they may as well use it, they had developed some truly efficient methods.
Dale hadn’t been able to go see the snowball fight in person, but because a number of regulars had watched over her valiant struggle, he had already heard all about it in detail.
With that said, though, he naturally still needed to hear the heroic tale from the girl herself.
The troublemakers who had wrecked the large snowman made by a child from the southern district were raked over the coals by fierce looking men, and ended up being forced to see how a snowman felt firsthand. That story also reached Dale’s ears, but, well, he had no problems there. He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t wanted to pass divine judgment himself, but there would be no meaning to it if that meant cutting down on his time with Latina. It would be a waste of time in the truest sense to spend it on folks like that.
“So do you want to make snowmen together again?”
“Yeah.”
“What do you say we try to make a way, waaaaay bigger one this time?”
“Yeah!”
If it was with this smiling young girl, then childishly playing in the snow wasn’t so bad. Now, what should they play next...?
What about making it a giant snow sculpture instead?
While thinking such things, Dale popped the bit of sweet potato Latina had given him into his mouth.
†
It was hard to tell if it was because Chrysos had the devil’s own luck or some sort of karmic reward for Latina’s daily good deeds, but the weather didn’t turn to rain midway through. And so, Kreuz awoke to a bright morning with clear skies and plenty of snow left on the ground.
“Ooooh...” exclaimed Chrysos in admiration. She must have been fond of the outfit, as she was dressed like a pink lamb again today. Latina, meanwhile, looked like a slightly more refined lavender sheep as the pair of twins left their footprints in the fresh snow in front of the Ocelot.
The backyard was already a crushed wet mess, from Vint running around it all night. Latina didn’t get angry because that was just what a pup instinctively did in such circumstances, but she was still clearly disappointed by the sight. That carefree, easygoing dog seemed to have noticed Latina’s mood, as he was now just patiently standing by her feet and wagging his tail.
“I’m heading out, Sis!” the mischievous eldest child of the Ocelot yelled out as he ran on past the twin sisters.
“Have fun, Theo. And may Ahmar’s protection be with you,” Latina said with a smile, saying a little prayer for his victory in today’s battle.
“Platina.”
“Hmm?”
“Shall we head forth as well?” Chrysos asked, looking like an excited child.
“Adults can only watch the snowball fight,” Latina responded to her sister with a smile, and then started to walk, slow and steady.
Dale took off following them a little further back. After all, these two sisters were natural airheads. If there wasn’t anyone watching them, he could definitely see them joining the children’s game and going all-out. And they probably wouldn’t refrain from using magic, either.
“Were you perhaps just thinking something rude about me?” Chrysos turned around and asked with a glare, seeming as if she had sensed something.
“No, not especially,” Dale responded, swiftly brushing aside the accusation.
“Chrysos, you need to face forward when you’re walking or—” Latina started, only for Chrysos to slip, just as she had been worrying about.
“Un...gh...!”
Chrysos’s pride, however, wouldn’t allow her to take the fall, so she managed to catch herself in a strange stance. She didn’t seem to be able to move from it of her own power, though, so she trembled in place.
“Are you alright, Chrysos?”
“Latina, you should probably lend her a hand before you take time asking her that.”
Latina did as Dale told her and quickly offered her sister a hand. Having finally regained her footing Chrysos forced a composed expression and glanced at Dale.
“Yeah, yeah. Just make sure you watch what you’re doing,” Dale apathetically responded, thinking back to the promise he made to a young Latina, which he had recalled just last night.
Even if they couldn’t participate in the snowball fight, maybe they could try making a gia
nt slide. With their childlike natures, the sisters would probably go down it at least once or twice. All they would need to do is claim they were testing it out to make sure it was safe before letting the children on.
With Latina and Chrysos’s magic and a hand (er, paw?) from Vint, it shouldn’t have been that hard to pull off.
Dale walked along steadily, realizing that he was also feeling a bit of childlike excitement at the sight of the town coated in snow for the first time in a while.
The sky had cleared up and was now a brilliant blue, making for the perfect weather for playing.
Dale looked forward to the fresh experience of seeing the sisters play together, knowing this chance wouldn’t last for long. He really did still think like a “guardian” every now and again.
Extra Chapter: The Young Girl and the Kitty Paradise
There existed a famous “cat mansion” in the western district.
One day, Latina heard of the place through Sylvester, a regular of the Dancing Ocelot. The girl was very fond of animals, but she tended to let herself get worked up so much that the cats she ran into around town always ended up running away from her. But in a place like the cat mansion with lots of the little critters, maybe she would finally be able to touch one...
Latina was 10 at the time.
This occurred on a certain day after she and Dale had returned from their trip to Tislow.
The start of it all had been a conversation between Latina and her friend Sylvia in class.
“A cat gathering...?!”
The topic they were discussing sounded too good to be true to the young girl.
“That’s right. The cats all get together at night. I saw them in the central plaza, when the sun was going down.”
“Cats... So there are lots of cats?”
“There are. So many it’s crazy.”
Latina started looking more and more excited as the conversation continued on.
“Cats... Cats...!”
“Latina, you’ve just been repeating ‘cats’ for a bit now. Are you alright?” Chloe asked while sweating a bit. Sylvia also gave a laugh, but neither of those seemed to reach Latina.
Lots of cats...! There could be tabbies, and white ones, and black ones too! And if there are a whole lot, then maybe at least one will let Latina pet it!
Her mind was lost in thoughts of a kitty paradise.
Latina was an animal lover.
She had an easy time earning a canine’s affection, and they would even approach her. That was clear from the way she had conquered not only all the dogs in Tislow, but the soaring wolves as well. While large examples like those were rare, pet dogs would often come and nuzzle up against Latina when they were on walks.
Cats, however, seemed to want to keep their distance, and that was something Latina was bad at doing. She’d get too excited about wanting to pet them, and they would always end up running away.
As an aside, there was essentially nothing like a zoo in this world. It couldn’t be said that literally nothing of the sort existed because there were rich collectors who gathered rare flora and fauna, but that wasn’t the sort of thing that the common folk would ever lay eyes upon. As a result, most townsfolk only ever encountered a very limited variety of animals. For the most part, it didn’t go beyond just pets and livestock.
Latina’s way of perceiving certain things was quite surprising. She apparently separated livestock out into their own category, thinking, “Well, they’re cute, but their meat is tasty.”
She could never become a vegetarian, because meat was just too delicious.
Anyway, the thought of the kitty paradise made Latina’s heart dance with joy, but there was a big obstacle in her way: the time.
Latina had permission to walk around on her own, but that was limited to when the sun was out.
Before, she had snuck out during the holy night with her usual group of friends to see magical beings and gotten scolded for it. What seemed to have had a greater effect on her, though, was the realization that she had worried not just Dale, but also Kenneth and Rita. After that, she hadn’t tried to go out and play at night.
“Latina wants to see the cat gathering, but...”
However, the main business hours for the Dancing Ocelot were during the night. Latina couldn’t bring herself to beg Kenneth or Rita to take her to the central plaza in the middle of their busy hours for such a selfish reason.
Meanwhile, the time when Dale returned home each day fluctuated. And he also came back tired, so Latina didn’t want to trouble him unnecessarily. She had always adored him, so she couldn’t ever bring herself to make selfish requests of him.
As a result of all that, Latina’s desire remained buried in her heart. The adults were all confused when they saw her sitting there, looking downhearted as she ate her dinner.
That night, Latina had a dream. She was surrounded all around by all sorts of cats, which were freely stretching and playing around as they pleased.
She felt like this was true paradise.
The instant that she reached out excitedly towards a fluffy tabby cat, her eyes shot open. She laid there in the covers, thinking how it would have been nice if she could have seen just a little more.
Before she realized it, there were tears flowing down onto her pillow.
Afterwards her heart remained completely captured by the thought of that kitty paradise. All the adults around her could tell that something was off.
She would be absentmindedly thinking something and give a sigh. But then when someone asked about the sad look on her face, she would just shake her head and say, “it’s nothing.” And then suddenly a happy expression would shoot across her face while she was sitting there lost in thought.
The adults were left bewildered, having no idea what was going on.
On top of that, there was the matter of her “previous offense.” The adults all had bitter memories of having sensed something was off but deciding to take a wait and see approach, only for her to break her own horn because she had felt so cornered.
They wouldn’t just let this abnormality pass them by.
“Is something wrong, Latina?” Dale suddenly asked with a serious look, acting on the behalf of all of the adults in the Ocelot.
And so, when Latina desperately explained the reason behind her actions, Dale collapsed in relief.
So cute...!
“Dale?” Latina called out while looking down at him and shook his shoulders, but Dale wasn’t currently able to respond. He felt bad for Latina when she was being so serious, but he felt confident that he was about to start rolling around laughing. His relief only added to that feeling.
That was when Sylvester chimed in about the cat mansion.
“If you just want to see cats, you don’t have to go out at night. There’s a famous cat mansion next to my place in the western district.”
Latina turned and made a face that seemed to exclaim, “What did you just say?!”
Learning that there was another such paradise out there aside from the cat gathering made Latina sense just how small the world she knew still was.
When Dale finally regained his composure and looked up, he found Latina’s attention focused on Sylvester.
It was already too late.
He gave his okay because there was no helping it now, but it was still a shame to have missed out on a chance to hear, “Latina really does love you best, Dale!” He felt like he could just bite down onto his handkerchief and tear it apart.
“Can Latina go to the house next to Mr. Syl’s? Is it alright?”
“Well, it’s right next door, so we know each other well enough. I’ll talk things over with him.”
“Really?! Thank you, Mr. Syl!”
Sylvester broke out in a sloppy grin at the way that Latina thanked him with a wide smile. The smile on Sylvester’s intimidating countenance was so powerful that calling it a “grin” didn’t actually cover it, really.
“He’s a single old man who apparen
tly came from an island nation across the sea, by the name of Gojo Ciges. It’s an odd name, isn’t it?”
“Hmm? Sylvester, could you say that old man’s name one more time?”
“It’s Gojo Ciges. He’s a former adventurer.”
“...I may actually know him,” Dale blurted out after searching his memories. Both Sylvester and Kenneth looked surprised.
“If you’re talking about Old Man Ciges... A lot of folks from our generation of adventurers owe him one, but by the time you got into the business, Dale, he should’ve been completely retired.”
Kenneth should’ve known, because he himself was the one to teach Dale the ropes of being an adventurer.
“I get the feeling... that an old guy with a name like that came to my grandpa’s funeral. My grandpa was an adventurer before he married into the clan, so maybe they knew each other from back then.”
Dale’s grandfather Reinald had married into the unique culture of Tislow from the outside. He was known as a man of character, and despite the fact that he was originally an outsider, there wasn’t a single person in Dale’s home village who would speak ill of him. Just the statement, “Well, he was able to marry Granny Wen” was enough to convince even the younger generation who didn’t know him of how great of a man he must have been. He excelled with the sword as well as magic, and was also cultured enough to act as the teacher for the village’s children before Master Cornelio arrived.
And that man who seemed like he could do anything and everything had went and married Wendelgard. That was talked about by everyone in the village as one of Tislow’s seven wonders. The paradoxical explanation seemed to be, “Well, we’re talking about Reinald, so I can see it being possible.” All of Wendelgard’s potential suitors, not just in the village but the surrounding region, had shrank in the face of the idea. That fact is what made the statement such a heavy one.
Wendelgard may have been the head of the clan now, but when she was young, she threw herself fully into the role of an adventurer. The primary reason she had undertaken that wandering journey, though, wasn’t for training or to spread her renown, but rather to look for a husband.