by CHIROLU
“I’ve talked with my friends about boys... you know, dating and confessions and stuff. But I’ve never gotten along with boys like that... We’re just friends, right?”
Latina was something of an airhead. And amongst those who were interested in her, even young adventurers were intimidated by the guardians behind her, so the best they could manage with her was awkward idle chatter. Latina had never had a member of the other sex openly express interest in her.
When it came to those who were popular with the other sex and those who weren’t, Latina was in the latter. She was like an untouchable flower on a high pedestal, so they didn’t even think of approaching her. As a result of these circumstances, Latina came to think of herself as a girl who wasn’t popular with the boys.
The influence of her “guardians” covered nearly all of Kreuz, but it wasn’t perfect. The people around her couldn’t help but worry that at some point, she’d be placed in some sort of danger.
That was especially true of a particular doting idiot.
“On the off chance that something were to happen to Latina, some lukewarm punishment like death wouldn’t be enough.”
It had become part of Dale’s daily routine as of late to threaten young adventurers visiting the Ocelot while wearing a smile on his face. That still wasn’t enough for him, though.
“I mean, Latina’s just so, so, so, soooo cute! I’m just so terribly worried that some insect or vermin will approach her!”
Normally Rita would just brush off Dale when he was like that, but she agreed on that point.
“That’s for sure. Latina’s just too gentle and tends to let her guard down, so I worry about her.”
“Right?! But that’s part of what makes her cute, too!”
Apparently the “puppy” felt the same way as Latina’s guardians.
“Latina, together, go.”
“Really? Thanks for always helping out.”
He’d carry bags and the like in addition to walking with her, so Latina thought of him as always just helping out. But everyone else saw him as clearly being her bodyguard and chaperone.
Accompanied by that “chaperone,” Latina headed for the commercial sector, the eastern district. They went around to several shops where they were already familiar faces and picked up what Kenneth requested.
Afterwards, they headed towards the crafting district. Right now, it wasn’t too busy of a period for the Ocelot. Kenneth had expected them to take a bit of a detour when he sent Latina out shopping.
Now that all of her friends had their own separate lifestyles, they spent much less time together compared to when they all commuted to school at the temple of Asfar. But it wasn’t as if they never hung out. Latina occasionally imposed on Kenneth’s kindness and visited her friends’ homes like this.
Following after her mother, Chloe now tailored for her family business. She still wasn’t as skilled as her mom, but she was now talented enough to sew a garment by herself from start to finish.
“Chloe, about our next day off...”
Latina had come to see Chloe, tea cakes in hand. More than being a gift, these snacks were just something she wanted to eat. Realizing that, Chloe placed her work tools off to the side and created a space for drinking tea. Latina then calmly opened up the bundle she had brought.
“Is it alright? Weren’t you worried just the other day that you’ve gotten a little fatter?”
Latina pouted a bit in response to Chloe’s teasing. “It’s fine. I won’t overeat, and I’ll be moving around a lot after this.”
She rubbed her upper arm while she said that, perhaps because she really was worried about it. From Chloe’s point of view, Latina didn’t have any unnecessary fat on her body, but the girl was still quite sensitive.
As Latina sat with the plate of cookies she had brought in front of her, complex feelings were written on her face. Unable to stand it any longer, Chloe blurted out, “It’d be good for you to put on a little more weight, don’t you think? Those parts you’re so worried about won’t get bigger if you keep acting like that.”
“I’m just growing up slower than everyone.”
Her friends had now reached the age when they were starting to gradually gain some more grown-up curves to their bodies. In comparison, while Latina may have grown taller, she still had a flat, young-looking appearance, which was a present source of concern for her.
“I’ve started to get bigger, at least a little!”
In spite of her desperate assertion, it was impossible to confirm any such growth, at least from what could be seen through her clothing. Knowing full well that if they continued on this topic Latina would end up in tears, Chloe quickly decided to shift the discussion.
“So, what was that about our next day off?”
“Ah, that’s right. Sylvia said she’ll be able to take off, too.”
“You may work at the Ocelot, but... isn’t it a problem for Sylvia to use the message board to contact you?”
“I don’t know... Sylvia said, ‘If they won’t let me do that much, then I can’t keep on staying here!’ but... It must be rough, serving at the temple.”
The duty of priests at the temple of Akhdar, where Sylvia served, was to gather information, which greatly affected those who possessed the divine protection of Akhdar, the guardian deity of travelers, and were naturally strongly drawn to seek out unknown places and information.
It was the job of those who served the temple to manage the information they gathered and spread it the world over depending on the circumstances. The temples also shouldered the task of training those priests who wished to gather information by traveling. As one such trainee, Sylvia spent her days studying and practicing.
The Dancing Ocelot was equipped with a terminal known as an Akhdar’s message board, making it a temple branch office in a way. Because it had deep ties to the temple, occasionally priests would come visit. And so, Latina was able to hear about Sylvia, who was an apprentice priestess, through the grapevine.
But that wasn’t all. Latina had no idea how she was doing it, but Sylvia used the Akhdar message board to send her personal messages. Sylvia’s divine protection wasn’t overly strong, nor was it specialized, but it seemed she was quite resourceful.
Thinking back on their old friend from their school days, Latina and Chloe exchanged awkward smiles.
“I’m really looking forward to the Ahmar night festival!” Latina said excitedly to her friend.
In Kreuz, there were festivals and events held all throughout the year. There were some sponsored by the local lord and by the industry and commercial committee of the eastern district, but the greatest of them all was the night festival held by the temple dedicated to the principal god of Laband, Ahmar.
Other events like the harvest festival held by the temple of Quirmizi and the mass held by the temple of Niili were also important for the people of the city, but they couldn’t hope to compete in terms of scale.
Latina had gone to see the festival with Dale each year, but this was the first time she was given permission to go with her friends. But the doting idiot was apparently still worried about having given the okay, as he butted in when Latina and her friends were making plans enough that mere “nagging” didn’t cover it.
He’d say that she definitely shouldn’t do anything on her own. That they shouldn’t go down roads where there aren’t many people around. That she shouldn’t get too excited while walking around and eating and wreck her stomach. That she shouldn’t let her guard down when men she didn’t know approached her. Actually, he wouldn’t mind if she used attack magic to drive them away. After all, victory goes to the one who makes the first move. See strange men, and ones who aren’t strange too, as enemies, and attack them all! Got it?! And so on.
“I think the guards would get mad if I did that, Dale,” Latina objected, staring straight at Dale with her grey eyes.
“No, you see, survival of the fittest is the way of the world. You need to be prepared for that
,” Dale responded, without even a shred of hesitation.
From his overly extreme reaction, Latina figured Dale was worrying too much.
And those around them figured that Dale was going too far, but also that it was only natural that he was worried.
Her lack of awareness only stirred up Dale’s worries further, so his reaction towards Latina naturally grew more and more extreme. As a result, Latina tended to not pay serious attention to what he was saying at such times, creating a spiral.
While enjoying the cookies topped with caramelized nuts, Latina looked over at the clothing that Chloe was in the middle of sewing. “What do you think? Will it suit me?”
“You’ve given it a look plenty of times since back when I was still picking out fabrics, haven’t you?”
“Still, I’m looking forward to when it’s finished,” she said with a shy giggle, as she was the one who had ordered it.
It was only natural for a girl to want to have new clothes to wear for the night festival she was anticipating so much.
“I’m letting you make all the choices, so it’s different than usual. My heart’s all aflutter.”
“So you’re nervous with me making the decisions?” Chloe forced a sulky expression. Latina knew that she didn’t mean it, though.
“I mean, I wouldn’t pick this sort of color...”
“You’re too focused on the extremes! You like childish, frilly stuff, but then when you want to wear something more grown-up, you aim for something sexy that doesn’t suit you,” Chloe said with both hands on her hips, mixing in a sigh.
“But...”
“No buts! You need to wear something that suits you! You should wear more clothing with a chic color and cut like this.”
It was no surprise that Chloe wanted to sigh. As someone that made a living creating clothes, she was sensitive to the current trends and designs. Much of her work did involve sewing goods that were ordered in the main shop, but it was also a harsh business where she ended up often making pieces that couldn’t be sold. Chloe felt that her friend was absurdly beautiful, and if she’d just dress up, it’d make both her and the clothes to truly shine.
And yet, Latina preferred to stick to the same loose, flowing outfits she always wore. Well, that was fine. That sort of clothing did indeed suit her friend. The problem, though, was when Latina wanted to rebel against her own childish tastes and sought out more mature clothing. That wasn’t a bad thing in and of itself. But for whatever reason, at such times, Latina would reach for sexy clothing of the sort that only even a select few adults could pull off. Latina had a childish figure even amongst girls her own age, so such clothes didn’t suit her at all. Perhaps several years in the future she’d have the sort of womanly form she wanted and it’d be a different story, but at least for now, it just didn’t work.
As someone who made a living in the world of clothing, Chloe couldn’t overlook something like that. And so, Chloe took supervision in the creation of these new clothes for Latina. She went with a flowing cut with some ornamentation, but she kept the design simple so that wouldn’t be overwhelming. So the lace wouldn’t appear too childish, she used high-quality black material, and she matched it with a chic color so Latina’s platinum hair would stand out better. It may not have been an “adult” outfit, but it was a design that suited Latina’s current age splendidly. Chloe had quite a bit of confidence in her choice. She was certain that her best friend wouldn’t lose out to any young ladies from the western district, nor the princesses from the northern district.
“Hopefully the person you want to show it to most will be surprised.”
With that single sentence, Chloe made Latina turn red all the way to her earlobes. She’d known of her friend’s crush ever since they were young, so Chloe gave the job her all.
After enjoying some time together with her friend, Latina stood up from her seat and said farewell to Chloe. As she went to leave the house, she found Vint lying on his stomach to the side of the entryway, his eyes closed. He shot awake and looked up at her.
“Sorry for making you wait.”
He responded back by wagging his tail.
Shortly after the two of them started walking, Latina noticed a young woman. What drew her eyes was her attire, which looked to be that of a traveler. You didn’t see travelers very often in this part of town. This may have been part of the commercial eastern district, but everyone but townsfolk and some of the adventurers tended to utilize the main shops.
“Are you lost?”
“Woof?”
Latina whispered because she had once gotten lost in that area and remembered how terribly helpless she’d felt. The layout of the streets was so complex that it was practically a labyrinth. It was understandable.
The woman had stopped in place and was glancing all around. From her actions, Latina figured she had guessed correctly.
“Um... do you need help?”
“Huh?”
The woman’s dark chestnut-colored hair swayed as she turned her head in response to Latina’s words. The second she saw her face, Latina’s mouth shot wide open.
Wow... She’s so pretty...
The woman seemed surprised by something as well, but Latina didn’t notice that and instead thought, Hmm...? Have I seen her somewhere before...?
While lost in thought, she happened to see the woman’s dark, deep-blue eyes. In that moment, she remembered.
“The Rose...”
“Oh, my! You’re the Fairy Princess, aren’t you?!”
Latina couldn’t help but jump up a bit at being called that by someone she was meeting for the first time.
“Gwah?!”
After letting out that pathetic cry, she looked over the woman before her. She was a bit older than Latina and was very pretty, with a gentle-looking face. The indigo-blue eyes underneath her long eyelashes sparkled mischievously. She had a slender, delicate, and dainty appearance, but she didn’t give off the impression of some sheltered noble.
That’s right. She was the daughter of a noble family.
Her signature hair color was different from when Latina had last seen the woman, but that was most likely because she was hiding it. Looking at her again with that in mind, Latina saw that her chestnut hair looked unnatural, but she recognized her face and the color of her eyes.
What sort of joke was it, for a noble to be calling a commoner like her a “princess”?
As the woman brought her pale, slender hands to her chest and smiled, Latina was awash in confusion. As if that unrest had been conveyed to the woman, her smile only grew wider with Latina’s bewilderment. Her gentle eyes only left more and more of an impression.
“It’s embarrassing, so... could you please not call me that...?” Latina managed to squeeze out.
“Ah, I’m sorry for being so rude. It’s just that you were even more adorable than the rumors said, so I unthinkingly—”
“Ah! D-Dale... He spread that elsewhere...?” Latina clasped both hands to her cheeks and felt a clear warmth rising through them.
She knew that the regulars who doted on her gave her the nickname of “Fairy Princess.” She was still just considered a “squirt” around the shop. So she understood how she got called “little lady” or “princess” there.
Dale had indeed said that this woman was an acquaintance of his friend. So that meant he must have used that nickname while talking with that friend. Just what had he said? Whatever it was, it was surely embarrassing.
“You’re the Rose Princess, right...?”
“Oh, my... you know of me?”
Since she responded with a smile, it would seem that Latina hadn’t been wrong. After deciding that, Latina looked over her surroundings a few times, not seeing anyone accompanying the woman.
“I saw you once before. Are you all alone...?”
The woman silently stared back in response to Latina’s question. Looking into her gentle eyes that were like a portal to the depths of her heart, it was clear she was unnerved.<
br />
“Yes. I’m unfamiliar with this town, and I seem to have taken the wrong gate. It would be quickest to ask you, I’d say. Could you please lead me to where Sir Dale Reki is?”
Latina soon realized that something was off. She got the feeling that Rose was here because something terrible had happened. But with that said, she couldn’t think of any reason to refuse. After a few seconds of silence, Latina forced a smile.
“Dale should be out for work right now. For the time being, I’ll show you to the shop he’s based out of, alright?”
“Thank you very much.”
While smiling back at the grinning Rose Princess, Latina bent over. She quietly whispered to Vint at her side, saying, “Vint, tell Kenneth about this. I’ll be alright.”
“Woof?”
“After that, could you look for Dale? He should be in the forest to the south.”
“Woof.”
Before heading out, Vint rubbed his tail up against Latina, as if to say that he’d take care of it properly, causing the girl to break out in a slightly awkward smile.
The forest to the south of Kreuz was pretty much a playground to Vint. He’d occasionally slip out of the town and head there to play around. Because the pup was rather mischievous when he played, Dale earnestly warned Vint early on that adventurers could end up finding out and trying to exterminate him. Because he added “If that happened, Latina would break down in tears,” Vint abided by his warning and played deep in the forest, far from town.
She didn’t know exactly where Dale was in the forest, so it was quickest to ask Vint to handle it, with his powerful sense of smell.
“What a strange animal.”
“He’s a really clever one.”
As she responded, Latina looked at their surroundings again. She was looking for something different this time around, worrying about the possibility of someone watching them. For now, though, it seemed they were safe.
“I think it was a good thing that you entered through the eastern gate. There are a lot of unscrupulous people around the southern gate. Shall we take the main street there...? Or would you prefer to avoid being seen?”