by CHIROLU
“Right, just eat.”
Dale realized that this waif of a child was seeking his permission for each and every little thing. Even if he couldn’t understand her words, he could tell that much just by looking at the expression on her face.
Latina was startled when she scooped up a spoonful of the risotto and placed it in her mouth. From how she hurriedly panted with her mouth wide open, it seemed the food was hotter than she’d expected.
“Rita, water!”
“Oh, was it too hot?”
Latina was blowing as hard as she could on the second spoonful. Dale laughed wildly at the sight, and Rita frowned a little.
Having blown on it for a while, Latina chomped down on the risotto, and her expression suddenly brightened. She was certainly easy to understand.
“I see, so it’s tasty. That’s great!” Dale took a bite of his portion, and his expression lit up as well. With Latina enjoying it so much right next to him, the food strangely seemed to taste better, even though it should’ve just been the same as always. To put it into words, Dale would say that he felt a sort of gentle aura coming from her.
Latina smiled and laughed. It was the first time he’d seen her smile.
“Right, just keep on eating, Latina. Do you want some sausage, too?”
“I told you, you shouldn’t overfeed her!”
Having carried out water, Rita saw Dale trying to heap plenty of food onto Latina’s plate from his own, so she smacked him with the tray. Latina looked shocked.
“But she needs her nutrients, right?!”
“Yeah, but I’m saying that she shouldn’t shovel it all in at once! Kenneth and I are going to make some child-sized, between-meal snacks! It’ll be less food at once, but a greater number of meals!”
A far-off voice seemed to say, “I’m the one who’s gonna make it, but whatever...” but neither of them paid it any attention. All the while, Latina kept on eating in tiny bites, so despite how much more he had on his plate, Dale finished eating first.
And then, as if she had been timing out when Latina would finish eating, Rita brought out another plate; this one held a few pieces of fruit compote. The shop didn’t usually have sweets on its menu, making this the first time such a desert was served there.
“You’d never guess from looking at him that Kenneth has a soft spot for children...”
The food was still slightly warm, so it was likely created off the cuff especially for Latina.
When it was set down in front of her, the girl once more looked at Dale for approval, and when she saw him nod, she put the fruit in her mouth. Her expression lit up more than ever before; her eyes were absolutely sparkling.
“It’s good, huh?”
Seeing as she ate it in a daze, it seemed clear that Latina was quite fond of the compote. It must’ve been all she could manage just to find something edible in that forest. There’s no way she would’ve eaten anything so sweet there.
“How about it? Is it yummy?”
Having finished carrying food to the other customers, Rita stared at Latina and received an even greater smile than before in response. It was so wide a smile that it seemed like flowers in full bloom would burst out behind her. Even if they couldn’t exchange words, it was a more than sufficient response.
I need to hurry up and teach her the language so she won’t end up getting lured away with food by some weirdo... Seeing Latina’s smile, Dale gripped his fists tightly under the table, realizing that he was buying her favor with food as well.
After finishing eating, Latina stared at the plate where the compote had once been.
And so, Dale stroked Latina’s hair. Perhaps surprised by the suddenness of it, she sprung right up. But when she saw the expression on his face, her tension melted away.
“Did I startle you? Sorry about that. You’re tired out from today, right? All sorts of stuff happened, after all.”
Although Latina tilted her head a little as she listened to him, she kept her eyes on him the entire time, as if she was trying to decipher his intentions. When Dale thought about it, the girl was paying careful attention to her surroundings. Maybe she had an acute sense of observation, but perhaps in exchange she was too trustful.
Dale picked Latina up, and she placed her arms around his neck on her own. It was awkward, since she was still trying to rely on him, but her clinging to him helped keep his balance nice and stable. Supporting Latina with one arm, Dale headed towards the counter once more.
“Rita, I want to let Latina rest, so I’m heading for my room.”
“Got it. Good night, Latina.”
Hearing Rita’s voice, Latina gave another wide smile. Even in this short amount of time, she seemed to have come to recognize Dale and Rita as people it was safe to be around. Since meeting them, her expression had grown noticeably gentler.
The warm, fuzzy feeling it gave Dale was almost embarrassing.
Dale had changed quite a bit as well in the brief time since they met. Even yesterday, he never would have thought that he could feel this way about a kid.
Dale went past the counter and through the kitchen. Seeing the back of Kenneth as he struggled at his work, he called out, “Kenneth, Latina says the fruit was tasty.”
“Right!” Kenneth responded without turning around as Dale passed behind him and towards the stairs in back, where ingredients were piled up.
He cut straight across the second floor and climbed a ladder, arriving in the attic.
Since it was used to stockpile miscellaneous goods to be sold to the adventurers down on the first floor, there was baggage strewn all about; but even further in was a corner that showed signs of being lived in. That was the corner Dale was renting.
Having a place to live was also one of the reasons that he was able to decide to take Latina in. Dale wasn’t a citizen of the town, but because he’d been working from here for quite a while and it was inconvenient to move around from inn to inn, he’d ended up relying on his old friend, Kenneth, and renting this place.
It became an easy decision to rent the attic when Rita, who had been using it as her own room, married Kenneth. As long as you could ignore the somewhat low ceiling, it was a plenty fine dwelling.
Dale also had no problem paying and wouldn’t do anything as pathetic and stingy as pilfering from the inventory or luggage, so it seemed he wasn’t such a bad tenant for the owners, either, since they knew his personality and lifestyle.
Dale let Latina down in his “room.” There was a carpet with a foreign feel to it spread out on the floor, and near the window was a desk and shelf. Other than that, there was a bed and a large, lidded box. It was a small amount of belongings for a town resident, but a large amount for a traveler.
“‘Little, wait, this place.’” Seeing Latina nod her head, Dale went back down to grab his coat and other belongings he’d left behind.
While waiting for him to return, Latina wandered about the room. It seemed the girl was indeed quite inquisitive. She also had a strong sense of self-restraint, as she only looked at things rather than touching them. It was difficult to remember back to when he was that age, but when he thought about the children always playing about town, Dale realized that she really was level-headed for a kid.
Dale kicked off his boots and entered his own territory. In the culture where he was born, you sat directly on the floor rather than on chairs, and he at least wanted his own room to have a comfortable, intimate style to it. That was also why he had a rug with the feel of his old home spread out, and he didn’t want to dirty it.
He hung his coat up next to the box, then placed down his luggage. His weapons went on top of the shelf near his bed, as they usually did. Dale opened the window and let in fresh air, then took off his stab-resistant tunic as well as his heavy pants.
“Come here, Latina.”
Picking up on the meaning from his beckoning hand gesture, Latina obediently came closer. Dale then got into the bed, bringing her along with him. Compared to his normal r
outine, it was still pretty early to go to bed, but an adventurer’s ability to rest when they needed to was an indispensable skill, so it was no trouble for him to sleep now.
He was worried about what he was going to do if Latina didn’t like this, but she obediently snuggled down next to him and curled up like a kitten. It wasn’t long until she nodded off.
She really was tired. She still drifted off, even though she’s surrounded by people she doesn’t know and doesn’t understand our language or what’s going on.
Dale stroked Latina’s hair and felt so calm that he even surprised himself. It was strange that he felt this way, even though he had only just decided to become her parent.
It may not be so bad to live together with someone else like this, Dale thought, falling asleep while feeling a warmer body next to his own.
Before long, Latina woke Dale up with a barrage of tiny blows, her face as white as a sheet.
The word that Latina ended up asking to learn first was “bathroom.”
And incidentally, Latina was able to maintain her dignity.
2: The Little Girl Begins Her New Life
Dale woke up fairly early the next morning. He’d gone to bed early the night before, after all. Casting his eyes toward the other presence he felt in his bed, he noticed the girl lying next to him.
“Oh, that’s right. I brought her back with me from the forest...” he muttered, remembering his new roommate as he let out a yawn.
Latina held tightly onto a bit of Dale’s clothing as she breathed, somewhat out of tune, in her sleep. Dale pondered how he could get out of bed without waking her, but her eyes shot open the second he sat up. She jumped up as if in a panic, hot on Dale’s heels.
Sensing her anxiety, Dale shot her a smile, trying to calm her down at least a little. “Good morning, Latina,” he said as he patted her head.
Dale got out of bed and changed into a simple shirt and comfortable pants, different from the clothes that he wore for work. With only a coin purse and a knife on his waist, he ran his fingers through his bed head to get it under control. Finally, he slipped on his boots and scooped Latina up. She didn’t have a single change of clothes, so she was still wearing what she had on when she went to sleep, and her skirt had gotten a little wrinkled.
Dale went down to the first floor and took Latina towards a table in the kitchen, rather than into the store itself.
“Oh, my. Good morning, Latina.” Rita smiled, noticing the two. That smile, of course, was only directed at the young girl.
Kenneth and Rita were right in the middle of making breakfast. Adventurers tended to eat a lot, even early in the morning, so the couple needed a lot more food than what was required for just the lodgers. On top of all that, there were also customers who only came to eat breakfast. While it was great for business, it was also an impossibly busy time for the shop owners.
Dale kept going around the back and washed his face at the sink by the bathing area. He cleaned off the hand towel he’d used and handed it to Latina while it was still dripping wet. Apparently, Latina properly grasped what he meant, as she wiped her own face clean with it.
After he washed his undergarments as well, Dale’s usual morning routine was complete. He finished by hanging them up in the nearby area set aside for drying. As he headed back inside, he found Rita combing Latina’s hair. All the while, Rita’s expression was full of awe and admiration, as well as restlessness.
“Latina’s hair is a beautiful color. It really is wonderful. Hey, Dale, you moron, you can’t leave a girl’s hair all messy the way you do with yours!”
It was definitely true that Latina’s hair was far shinier than it had been before having a comb passed through it. The new father made a mental note.
Rita skillfully gathered up Latina’s hair and tied it with ribbons. Together, her hair and the ribbons almost completely hid Latina’s horns.
“Putting aside the fact that she’s a devil, it’d at least be a good idea to make sure that her one broken horn doesn’t stand out,” whispered Rita while shooting Dale a sideways glance.
“Got it, thanks,” he replied, and his gaze fell on Latina.
There were no changes to her physique, but having been cleaned up, her hair done, and dressed in proper clothes, Latina clearly looked like a cute little girl. Compared to the filthy child that he’d found in the forest, whose gender he hadn’t even been able to determine, she was like a completely different person.
“Hey, good morning! Here’s your breakfast.” Passing by Rita, Kenneth appeared with plates in both hands.
Latina faced Kenneth, and after thinking a little, she said, “Good murnnin.” She didn’t seem to have much confidence in how she’d done, as she quickly lowered her head.
Kenneth froze as the expression on Dale’s face distorted. Latina seemed to have figured out that it was a greeting after having heard the same words said to her all morning. The girl really did seem to have an acute sense of observation. Dale had a vague feeling that she may be rather clever as well.
“***? *****?”
“No, that was right. ‘Correct.’” Dale let out a hurried laugh, realizing that the expression on his face had made Latina worry that she had used it incorrectly. “Damn it, I’ll get back at you for this, Kenneth.” Even so, Dale kept a smile on his face as he complained to Kenneth, who had stolen away Latina’s “first greeting.”
“Don’t be so childish.” Kenneth’s expression lightened up a bit as well. “Rita and I really should have one of our own soon.” Murmuring about how great children were, Kenneth returned to his work station.
Dale’s breakfast was a normal grilled cheese and smoked meat sandwich, but Latina’s portion was custom-made. The bread had been dipped in milk and egg and cooked until the inside became all creamy, and then the compote from yesterday was place on top. The smoked meat had been thinly chopped and then fried until crispy so it could be used as a garnish. And in addition to all that, the glass in front of Latina was filled with chilled fruit juice.
What had cooled it down was a “magical device,” which was the general term for tools that made use of the power known as “magic” that existed inside all people. Lately, these devices had become common among the general populace. Visit any home, and you’d most likely find magical devices for “Water,” “Fire,” and “Water/Dark,” which were all for use in the kitchen. In other words, they were used to supply drinking water, light a fire, and refrigerate with ice, respectively. Magical devices obviously cost a good bit of money, so there were of course those who used the communal well, or lit their fires with a chimney starter. But because convenience couldn’t be beat, those people were overwhelmingly in the minority. As a result, frozen foods weren’t exactly uncommon these days.
Latina gulped down the fruit juice and turned to face Dale, looking overjoyed.
“Ah, great. ...That bastard Kenneth really is trying to win her over with food.” Dale muttered the last part quietly so Latina couldn’t hear.
Latina was completely absorbed in devouring the bread as well. It seemed she was really fond of sweets.
“Hey Rita, where can I go to buy little girls’ clothes and stuff like that?” asked Dale as he carried over his plate, having finished eating. When he saw Latina, who was only halfway through her meal, staring at him and looking flustered, Dale sat down where she could see him. Thanks to his strong sense of duty, which made him feel the need to help out when someone was busy with something, he started peeling the skins off of a mountain of potatoes. “Also, could you tell me anything else that I need to get right away? Like, things that’d be easy for a guy like me to overlook.”
“Let’s see... If you want a tailor, then Amanda’s shop in the eastern district has a good reputation, and well, the weather’s good, so the market should be outside in the plaza, too—it may not be a bad idea to look for secondhand clothes there as well. Go to Bart’s place for the shoes. It’s the shop on the corner. And then...” Rita stopped working and grabbed a
pen so she could make a list.
Hearing all this, Dale grasped just a fragment of how determined women were when it came to shopping, and he trembled.
After a short bit of waiting for Latina to finish eating, Dale scooped the girl up and left the Dancing Ocelot.
“First up is shoes... Can’t have you walking around barefoot, after all.”
Her weight itself wasn’t any trouble, but he’d need to carry bags as well.
“Dale?”
“‘Shopping’ is, how should I put it...?” Dale talked to himself and wondered if he should buy her a picture book or something. This wouldn’t be a cheap shopping trip, but it wasn’t enough that it’d be a serious strain on him, either.
As they approached the center of town, the sight of adventurers became less frequent, while the number of residents increased. At the market held in the plaza in the center, there were both people from neighboring villages and traveling merchants selling their wares. There were many who came here to sell what they had.
Dale turned off onto a side street halfway across the plaza and headed towards the eastern district. Just as Rita instructed, he entered the shop belonging to the craftsman named Bart.
A few hours later, Dale was completely exhausted and slumped on a seat in the plaza.
“I-I’m wiped...” he muttered, his head hung low in exhaustion. Next to him was a mountain of large bags.
To be perfectly honest, cutting down magical beasts was easier than this. He hadn’t imagined that it would be so torturous to keep going into stores filled only with women and buying things he wasn’t used to purchasing. He’d really wanted to call it quits when faced with stares as he held little girls’ underwear in his hands. If Latina hadn’t been by his side, then someone really might have ended up calling the town guard on him.
Dale was plagued by such pessimistic thoughts as he suffered from exhaustion.
“Dale, *******?”
“Yeah, you don’t need to worry. ‘Negate, problem’... It’s alright.”
“All, right?”