by CHIROLU
“Yeah. The work has been piling up, so I can still count on you to help out, right? ...Welcome home, Latina.”
Watching her father do similarly, the young Emma tried to mimic her parents and brother, saying, “Welkom hoom?”
“I’m back, Emma.”
Latina’s heart was full of joy that she had finally returned to this warm, precious place, glad that she had managed to make it back without losing anyone here.
Without needing to make it public, the news that Latina and Dale had returned spread where it needed to throughout Kreuz. It was thanks to a certain organization in town that such things became more precise in an emergency situation, a civilian non-profit one that was growing at an ominous rate. If they had just disseminated the information, then a group who wanted to catch a glance of the savior of the nation, the Platinum Hero, would gather around. However, not a single such onlooker appeared. It would seem that the information was spread while intentionally avoiding use of the term “Platinum Hero.” At any rate, Dale’s usual trademark was his black magical beast leather coat. His own hair was black with a mix of light brown, and his eyes were also black, making for a rather plain color about him. From the look of him, nothing fit a dazzling word like “platinum.”
For those who knew the truth, however, the name “Platinum Hero” gave a different impression than it did to society at large. It was known all throughout this town that this wasn’t a nickname that came from the platinum armor he wore, but rather came from the way that he only worked for the sake of that girl with her platinum hair, making it rather unfortunate.
And though it was not as significant of a matter, but currently in the backyard of the Ocelot, the number of pups Theo was playing with had grown to two. Those were assuredly simply dogs, not mythical beasts. In fact, the “dog” himself said, “If it is customary that I be treated as a ‘dog,’ then I suppose there is no helping the matter,” so that was what he was.
It was a ridiculous enough idea as to make all the adults avert their eyes, but in the face of the assertion “no matter what anyone says, I am a dog,” they were forced to accept it.
The first one to come running to the Ocelot, before even any of the regulars, was Chloe. She must have abandoned her work in the middle of it, as there were still numerous marking pins stuck in the hem of the everyday dress she wore. For some reason, the now out of breath Chloe was holding a large cushion.
“Chloe...”
“...You...!” Chloe started, swinging the cushion she was holding as soon as she saw Latina, who had moved to greet her best friend. “...big dummy, Latina!” The cushion came down on Latina’s head with a thwack.
“Gah!”
A stream of blows from the cushion rained down upon her with a thwack, thwack. Apparently Chloe had brought along the cushion to serve as a “weapon.”
“You really, really are a dummy! You kept all your worries to yourself again, and then went running off!”
“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, Chloe!”
“I told you so many times, that you need to think about the people who worry about you, too!”
The time between cushion blows lessened, turning from a thwack, thwack into a thwackthwackthwack.
“You dummy! There’s no point in reflecting on what you’ve done if you’re just going to do it again! You really are a dummy!”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”
Even so, Latina didn’t try to flee from Chloe’s assault. She simply kept taking her friend’s blows while covering her head.
“Dummy!”
“Gyah!” Latina couldn’t help but yell out in surprise, as Chloe put all of her strength into that final blow from the cushion. But immediately afterwards, she found herself being hugged tight by the girl.
She couldn’t see her face, but even so, Latina could see her friend’s shoulders trembling, though her vision had once more grown blurry with tears.
“Latina, you dummy...”
“I’m sorry, Chloe...”
There were people who worried about her. If she said how happy that made her, though, her friend would just get angry at her again, telling her she didn’t need to say anything so obvious. And so, Latina instead said nothing, and kept on hugging her best friend.
They stayed that way, until Chloe finally stopped crying.
“I’m back, Chloe.”
“...Welcome home. You really were late in coming back, you dummy...!” she said in a hoarse voice. Though her words were disparaging, they had a ring of kindness to them.
So many customers descended upon the Dancing Ocelot that day that calling it a “full house” wouldn’t even begin to cover it. It was the return of that adorable waitress they’d all been waiting for, after all, and none of them were selfless enough to say they’d be satisfied with just catching a glimpse of her. Seeing her so happy precisely because she was busy working brought them joy. And so, it was only obvious that things would turn out like this.
“It won’t be possible to manage the bills and orders with things like this.”
“It’s fine. We’ll be having Dale cover everything for today, after all.”
“I see. Then I guess it’ll be alright.”
“You guys are as cruel to me as always, I see.”
Through that conversation between the owners of the Ocelot, Dale was briefly and rather informally determined to be sponsoring everything for the day, causing him to look back at them in exasperation.
“You’re sure to get two or three rewards from the country at least, right?”
“Still, for you guys to decide that without even asking me...” Dale started to complain.
“Kenneth, Rita, I’ll pay for everyone today, to repay everyone for all the worry I caused.”
“There’s no reason for you to be paying, Latina!” Dale said, quickly withdrawing his complaint after Latina interjected.
Dale wasn’t actually annoyed by having to do it. Dale’s funds, which he had earned by toiling away and being unable to be all lovey-dovey with Latina, wouldn’t take much of a hit by reserving a bar in the rougher part of town for the night.
It seemed like it would get quite busy, so Latina rolled up her sleeves and started briskly working away as the kitchen got into full swing. She put up her hair so it wouldn’t get in the way, and she put an apron on over her dress, changing into her “battle gear.” The day’s menu was made of dishes that could be prepared in large quantities without needing much preparation. Kenneth handed off finished dishes one after another to Latina, who diligently carried them out with both hands. It was difficult to move about inside the shop, now that it was packed with customers. Even so, Latina displayed no concern as she carried plates with large stacks of food with perfect balance and laid them out on an empty table.
“Little lady, we need some snacks over here too!”
“Right! Just a minute!” she replied in a bright voice, casually grabbing and piling up some empty plates that she saw out of the corner of her eye. When Latina turned around to return to the kitchen, the customers around her made way.
“Latina!”
“Little lady.”
Voices called out to her from all around. Every time she heard her name she smiled with joy from the depths of her heart, and turned to give a lively response of, “Right! I’ll be right there!”
Of course it wasn’t as of they didn’t want to ask about her long absence. But even so, for now, they instead just reflected on the fact that this girl with her brilliant smile had returned.
“Latina, the next round of snacks are done!” Kenneth called out from the kitchen, a ring of enjoyment in his voice, too.
“Right!”
Latina hurried back to the kitchen with light footsteps, left the now empty plates in the sink, and grabbed the freshly completed food. Seeing Latina like that, Kenneth reflexively averted his gaze.
This was the first time since the shop opened that it had been this busy. However, it wasn’t at all distressing. And furthermore,
he couldn’t let that girl who was so happily working away see him, the owner, looking so pathetic. It had been quite some time since he’d been filled with such sentiments.
At the storefront counter, Rita was focused entirely on pouring alcohol.
They had brought out several casks for people to drink from as they pleased, but that apparently that alone wasn’t enough to satisfy such heavy drinkers. While tallying up their inventory and the cost in her head, she went to get some more from the back.
“Latina! Sorry, but could you help me bring out a fresh cask?!”
“Right, got it!”
They had a replacement cask out before any of the drunkards could even think to complain. It was too heavy for Rita to move, but Latina was able to use magic to make it a trivial task to bring it into the shop.
“Thanks, Latina.”
“No problem!” Latina replied with a dazzling smile. A gentle grin crossed Rita’s face too in response.
Dale saw this exchange. Everyone wore kind expressions and smiled, with Latina at the center of it all. Just as he had found to be the case for him in the past, just by being around, she had the power to cause those around her to break out in comforted smiles.
And Latina looked happy at the center of them all, too.
Well, that’s all I could ask for, Dale thought to himself, then drank down the rest of the contents of his mug.
“Dale!” Latina called out, running to Dale when she was open for just a moment.
“Are you alright? Don’t push yourself.”
“I’m fine. I’m busy, but I’m having a lot of fun.”
When Latina brushed her hair back, the bracelet commemorating their engagement that she wore on her wrist gave off a gleam.
Dale gave a smile and delivered a kiss upon the cheek of that girl he loved more than anyone else in the world. He would not have been able to stop himself if he hadn’t settled for just her cheek, so he restrained himself for now.
“Hmm?”
What is it?”
The reason Dale tilted his head then was because a troubadour had pulled out his tool of the trade, despite that normally being taboo in this shop. The people around simply watched, rather than reproaching him.
What he soon started playing was the newest of the epic sagas.
“That’s in bad taste...”
In contrast to Dale’s thoroughly wrinkled brows, Latina looked like she didn’t quite understand. It was the sort of epic that could occur anywhere, with a hero striking down the countless obstacles in his way, including the wicked demon lords themselves, in order to get back the fairy princess, his lover who had been stolen away. It was the sort of thing that it was fine to just ignore, not thinking on it deeply.
While struggling against the urge to flip over the tables around him, Dale somehow managed to hide what he was thinking inside.
“Still, I guess it’s alright.”
“Hmm?”
Latina tilted her head, only for Dale to embrace her in a hug and smile.
“Tales like this generally end in ‘and they lived happily ever after’.”
“It’s nice when a story has a happy ending, isn’t it?” Latina responded with a smile, even though she didn’t understand all that well.
“Yeah.”
The epic saga approached its climax, and the hero reunited with his beloved princess. If a continuation to this song was made one day, it’d surely be a happy story.
“And we have to make sure we really are happy after that ‘happily ever after’...” Dale whispered.
“I’m always happy when I’m with you, Dale,” Latina replied, looking just a little embarrassed.
“Well then, we’ll just have to stay together forever.”
“Yeah.”
“And then, the kind-hearted fairy princess lived happily together with her beloved hero.”
When the epic saga ended on that note, the pair shared joyous smiles, and locked their lips together as if sealing a vow.
Interlude: The Golden King Faces off with the Deplorable Hero with the Platinum Princess on the Line
Chrysos, the young ruler of Vassilios known as the Golden King and the First Demon Lord, looked at the chamberlain delivering the report with a suspicious gaze. They were currently in the office she used when handling government affairs. Atop her wide desk was a mountain of documents written in complex characters that members of the other races were generally unable to even read.
She had only just recently been enthroned, so the amount of work that lay before her was significant.
A great deal of time had gone by since her predecessor’s passing, but in the intervening period before her enthronement, the Banafsaj clergy who ran Vassilios governed based on the prior king’s stances. This country had been unaffected by the flow of time for quite a long while now, continuing to carry on the policies of the old regime all the while.
By governing by her own name, Chrysos was enforcing significant reforms for the country of Vassilios. Even so, that fact did not concern Chrysos. After all, it was the dying wish of her mother, the grand priestess in charge of the nation, that the country change. Chrysos was at last able to bring that about, so she found joy in being so busy.
Those reforms also included forging relations with the human race. Chrysos devoted herself to bringing that about, if even a single day sooner. This ended up making her quite a workaholic. Though the reasoning behind it differed, she had rather come to resemble a certain someone.
Rather than the chamberlain, it was the person being reported on that was the source of Chrysos’s suspicious gaze. The man by Chrysos’s side, providing assistance in these government matters, gave a strained smile upon seeing the Golden King in such a state. He had participated alongside her mother Mov back when she was in charge of government affairs, and Chrysos had known him since she was a child.
“It’s rare to see you make such a face, Master.”
Devils didn’t have family names, so they needed to instead use honorary titles when showing respect. Considering Chrysos’s position, there was hardly anyone left who called her by name. However, her opportunities to hear it said had increased dramatically as of late.
The return of her twin sister Latina, who was so close to her that she could be called Chrysos’s other half, was an incredibly significant event for her. At the same time, Latina’s return also meant inviting that person who was precious to the girl into the country.
“It is only natural that I would make such a face.”
“The Platinum Princess and her hero seem quite affectionate, do they not?”
Chrysos’s expression grew all the more displeased with her subordinate’s words. He actually found it rather charming to see her let her emotions show so clearly, seeing how she had set her own feelings aside for the sake of pushing forward ever since her enthronement.
“That man... he has only ever been seen exiting out of Platina’s room...” Chrysos said with a fixed gaze and an appropriately low tone.
“That’s...” the man said, the strained smile returning to his face.
Chrysos had, of course, also prepared a room for Dale. However, there weren’t any signs of him using it after tossing his gear and luggage from the trip inside.
There was no need to explain that Dale was eating and sleeping in the villa that presently served as Latina’s private room. When she heard that report, a complex expression crossed Chrysos’s face, one half out of exasperation, and the other half jealousy.
When they were young, Chrysos and Latina were the most important people in the world to one another. They hardly interacted with anyone else but their parents, and whether they were playing or learning, they were always at each other’s side. It was only natural that they would become special to one another. And then, before they had grown enough to become independent, they were torn apart from one another. That great feeling of loss remained as a scar in their hearts even now.
Considering how greatly Chrysos had continued to
wish for the return of that other half, it was perhaps only natural that she felt so strongly about that deplorable hero, who was keeping Latina all to himself, that she referred to him as “that man.”
“It appears that they really are only sleeping in the same bed, but still...”
With Chrysos’s muttering, a complex expression crossed her subordinate’s face. Knowing the young Chrysos naturally meant that he had also known Latina when she was a child. He had also been an acquaintance of the twins’ parents, so he couldn’t help but feel complex emotions over the fact that Latina, who had been so tiny, had found a special man in her life.
The ladies-in-waiting stationed at the villa were those who Chrysos had an especially great deal of trust in. Latina could not be allowed to be seen in public so easily, considering her past as a “criminal” who had been exiled, and the fact she was in a weakened state and couldn’t even properly move. These were women she could trust to take care of even Latina in that state. They were treated as subordinates under Chrysos’s direct supervision, and were granted the right to report to her personally. Lately, she had come to think that that move had been for the very best, though for entirely different reasons than she had expected beforehand. Looking at things from a different perspective, she felt glad that she had not exposed others to the sickeningly sweet, overly lovey-dovey everyday life of her sister and that deplorable hero.
To the ladies-in-waiting and other servants who took care of cleaning the room, as well as replacing and cleaning the sheets and clothes, it was abundantly clear that the pair in the villa were simply passing their time together. Even Chrysos couldn’t help conceding to the deplorable hero on that point. He was clearly acting out of consideration for her sister, who was still not fully healed and needed to recuperate.
The prior information she had received from Sylvia about how they were always making out and flirting with one another was not the sort of thing that a young maiden like Chrysos would care to voice. The way that he exceeded her expectations there forced her to reevaluate her opinion of him, though only a bit.