by CHIROLU
“I know that. That’s why I’m always so worried—”
Seeing that Dale really hadn’t realized, Kenneth brought his glass to his mouth again and then interrupted. “You may say that, but you’ve been treating Latina like a kid all this time.”
Not allowing Dale time to deny it, Kenneth thrust the problem with Dale that he’d realized long ago right in his face. “That’s because you want Latina to stay a child.”
At first, Dale looked shocked, but the next instant he was awkwardly smiling again. “What are you saying...? Why would I...?”
“If you recognize Latina as an adult, then you’ll have to let her go... right?”
Dale froze in shock. Even if he knew that what Kenneth was saying was the truth, he was avoiding thinking about it and instinctively rejecting it. But even so, that didn’t mean that he’d realized his own problem just yet.
“You don’t want to lose the way things have been with Latina, right? Even from my point of view, I can clearly tell how much you’ve changed since she came. It’s no surprise that you feel that way.”
“Th-That’s right! What’s wrong with wanting to stay together with my cute little Latina...?!”
“When that girl becomes an adult... all sorts of guys will pop up wanting to marry her. Even if you were to count her being a devil against her, with her personality and looks, she’s absolutely a catch.”
“That’s true, too...! That’s why I’ve gotta keep an eye on her, to make sure no vermin get too close...!”
“What do you plan on doing if someone shows up that Latina wants to marry?”
Dale’s expression grew clearly strained in response; even so, he squeezed out words fitting of a “guardian” in a low voice. “I’d want to tear him to shreds, but... if he was who Latina wanted, I’d let her marry him.”
As long as she was happy. Her happiness was all he’d ever wanted.
“That’s what I figured you’d say,” Kenneth said, looking like he’d expected that, and then continued on, “If you acknowledged that she’s an adult, you’d have to face that matter head-on. That’s the first reason you don’t want to accept it.”
“‘The first reason’...? You mean there are more...?”
“Have you thought about why Rita’s so angry with you?”
“There’s no way I could figure that out...”
“Latina has always confided in Rita. There are things that a girl like her can’t ask you or me.”
For example, the changes involved in growing up, and everything that came along with it. There were all sorts of questions that were hard to ask men and that they wouldn’t have even been able to answer, anyway. Rita was the closest grown woman to Latina, so that was who she turned to.
To Latina, Rita was a different sort of confidant than Kenneth. Rita had been right there at Latina’s side as she’d grown up. She’d realized that ever since Latina was little, the young girl had had feelings for her own guardian. Rita had seen the young girl’s innocent and pure affection, as well as her painful, heartrending feelings. Rita had been by her side the whole time, watching as she’d matured.
“Rita says that what she finds the most unforgivable is how dense you are when it comes to Latina’s feelings.”
“Like I said... there’s a chance that you and Rita could just be imagining things...”
“It took me a while to figure it out too, but I’m certain that Latina has felt that way about you for some time now.”
“Wha...?!”
“I figured it out for sure around when the two of you returned from your trip. According to Rita, she’d already been that way for a while.”
Dale was clearly shaken and astonished; it seemed he truly hadn’t realized how Latina felt.
Kenneth may not have been Rita, but he couldn’t help but call Dale dense. All of the regulars in the shop were also aware of who Latina had feelings for. She tended to wear her heart on her sleeve—in more ways than one. It was far less of a secret than she herself imagined.
“Latina hasn’t been hiding her feelings for you. In her expressions, and her voice, and each and every action... Everything that girl points your way makes it perfectly clear how she feels. And yet you don’t realize it, which is what makes Rita angry.”
“Even if you say that, I...”
“You didn’t ‘realize’ for the same reason I mentioned before. You refuse to think of Latina as anything but a little kid. That’s how you’ve been looking at her.”
Dale saw Latina as his “adorable daughter.” Even as she was becoming an adult, he still saw her through a “cute little Latina filter.” Latina’s affections were clear to everyone else around her, but they were blocked by that filter and never entered Dale’s field of view. Out of the people who knew how Latina felt, Rita wasn’t the only one who wanted to tell him off.
The people around her had seen Latina’s pained expressions as Dale failed to realize her feelings, which she then buried inside and bravely forced a smile. It was only obvious that Rita would want to scream, “Why don’t you see it?!”
“Now that I’ve said all this, even you aren’t stupid enough to say that Latina’s just in a rebellious phase, right?”
“But... but... I...” Dale’s gaze darted about as he muttered, before finally wringing out something meaningful to say. “But to me, she’s my ‘cute little Latina’... I just can’t think of her that way, so...”
That was certainly a fair enough reason. Latina was a young girl who was still growing. But Kenneth kept going, not willing to accept that as a complete answer.
“It’ll be difficult to say that in a few more years, right? Do you think you’ll still be able to say that then?”
“That’s... I won’t know until that time comes.”
Kenneth refused to let Dale run away, because his “little bro” still hadn’t yet realized the biggest problem with himself.
“Why are you so desperate to avoid accepting Latina’s feelings?”
“L-Like I said... Latina’s still...”
“If either you or Latina marry someone, then you two won’t be able to keep living the way you are now. But if you marry Latina, you can keep on going like you have been, right?”
Having watched them from so close, Kenneth didn’t see any space for someone else to enter Dale’s and Latina’s lives. They were dear to each other, supporting each other mentally and sharing in their happiness. Not only that, Dale was also relying on Latina far more than he likely realized in his day-to-day life. Kenneth had watched the young girl gallantly struggle to help out, taking care of all the housework as well as figuring out Dale’s tastes and preparing meals accordingly.
Compatibility between two people is something that can only be seen after they get together. It was no surprise that Dale argued this and that right now. But when it came to looking for a spouse, it would be hard to find someone as great as Latina. Other women would likely hate to even be compared. If Dale let her go, he would need to hunt for someone who may not even exist.
Kenneth knew above all else that his “little bro” wanted to be with the girl. Even if Dale didn’t realize that, his actions made it clear.
“I’m not saying you have to do it now. You could wait a few more years. So why aren’t you even willing to consider the possibility?”
If Dale wanted their current lifestyle and the happiness they shared to continue, that option was open to him. Even Kenneth didn’t think they should form that sort of relationship immediately, but he did think it was at least important to consider the possibility.
“Anyway... that’s your problem. I’ve more or less guessed at why you haven’t tried to get yourself a girl, and I think that Latina has long since been prepared for what you’re thinking.”
Kenneth thought of Dale as a serious and kind person, and he had watched over him since he was a boy, so he was more or less aware of how Dale really was, too. Dale may have liked having stupid conversations with his fellow men, but it wasn’t as if he was
unpopular with the ladies. There were even times when there were hints of him growing closer to a woman. It would honestly be stranger if a healthy man doing such hot-blooded work didn’t have such desires. And yet, Dale hadn’t tried to form a special relationship—the kind of relationship that could come between him and Latina—even for an instant.
For an earnest, serious person like Dale, it was unnatural. But from what Kenneth could tell, it was precisely because Dale was so earnest that he chose to maintain that sort of a distance.
“It’s because... for a long time now, you’ve tried to prepare things so that everything would be alright no matter when you die...”
As Dale sat in silence, his face looked like that of a toddler forced to swallow something bitter.
“That’s why... when you decided to have Latina stay by your side, I was relieved. You’d gained a reason to cling to life: you wouldn’t want to die and leave her behind.”
“I...”
By their nature, those called adventurers lived side by side with danger, and many of them chose to simply live in the moment. They never knew what tomorrow may bring. It was never certain that they’d live to see another day, so they reveled in the joys of life when they were able, not worrying about what they left behind.
Dale was a little different, though. He was diligent and serious and so solemn that the “adults” who had grown close to him couldn’t help but find it worrying. They weren’t just concerned about Latina; Kenneth and Sylvester saw Dale as someone to worry about, too. They’d known Latina since she was young, but the same was also true of Dale.
Dale had only been able to find things to die for. He’d been that way ever since he took on the responsibility of being contracted by the nation of Laband to eliminate the threat of the demon lords. He knew that the demons who served under the demon lords and the devils who followed them had their own reasons for doing what they did. He was unable to ignore the fact that they had friends and family, too.
If he had to kill them, he wouldn’t regret doing it. They had their own reasons that they couldn’t yield, so he would accept that they tried to end his life, and he wouldn’t hate or hold a grudge. That didn’t mean he’d let himself be killed so easily, but he had accepted that he would be killed someday. And so, Dale—
“So from the very start, you’ve counted yourself out as a possible partner for Latina.”
Dale opened his mouth to deny Kenneth’s claim, but he was left at a loss for words.
“What you want is for Latina to be happy. And you think that since you’ll die first, you can’t give her that.”
That was the biggest problem with Dale. He was so earnest and kind that he didn’t form a special relationship with anyone because he didn’t know when he might die. If he passed away first, he would make the other person suffer, so he chose to keep his distance to begin with.
And that’s what he did with Latina, too. If someone showed up who could make her happy, and protect her after he died... If there was someone else he could entrust her to, then his role as a guardian would be over. Regardless, he didn’t want to let her go, to lose her. That’s why he wanted the two of them to keep being a guardian and his little child for just a little while longer.
“W-Wait... Hold on... I...!”
“Latina’s long since prepared herself.”
“Wha...?!”
“She’s accepted that she’s a devil... It won’t just be you. Me, and Rita... and even Theo... We’ll all get old and die before her, and she’s prepared for that.”
Even so, she—
She said she was happy—
She said the time they spent together now was precious—
She was always, always smiling—
Kenneth was speechless as he watched Dale chug the contents of his glass down in a single go; it most certainly wasn’t a weak drink. As the glass clonked down onto the table, only ice remained inside.
“Dale... you...”
Dale had likely done it out of embarrassment. If asked, he would blame it on the alcohol, but the blush running over his face was likely due to all the facts he’d been forced to confront.
After watching his “little bro” stand up so fast that he almost knocked his chair over and then practically fled to his room, Kenneth stared into the glass in his hand.
Seeing that it was almost empty, he figured maybe he had also drunk too much, and while swaying the glass, he quietly muttered, “So he finally realized it, huh?”
With this, things would change at least a little, right?
Those two were close to start with. It surely wouldn’t be a bad thing for Dale to understand how Latina felt and face his own true feelings in turn. Dale’s unconscious actions made his feelings all too obvious, so Kenneth couldn’t help but want to speak up, even if he knew he was being meddlesome.
I think you could stand to live for your own sake at least a little more...
With that thought, Kenneth gulped down the remaining contents of his glass.
Then, the next morning...
When he went downstairs to start his morning preparations like he always did, Kenneth was left dumbfounded. Someone was sneaking around the kitchen suspiciously, as if they were plotting to skip town.
“What are you doing...?”
“K-Kenneth?! Why are you...?!”
Dale was clad in traveling clothes, and as he turned around in surprise, he looked just like a brat caught plotting a prank. From his reaction, it seemed clear that he really was planning on running away. Latina was on break, so Kenneth needed to wake up and get started earlier than usual to compensate for that; as a result, he also ended up coming downstairs earlier than usual.
Apparently, Dale had been aiming to leave while Kenneth was still asleep and without saying anything to anyone.
“I-It’s for work, you see! I should be getting a request any minute! I just figured I’d head out first myself this time!” As Dale hurriedly spat out his excuse, he looked exceptionally desperate.
“No, you see, you...” Kenneth, utterly stunned, started to warn the other man against doing something so foolish. However, Dale looked at him, almost in tears, as if begging him to not say anything more.
Kenneth suddenly realized something. His “little bro” should have built up a fair amount of life experience, but he’d avoided being in a relationship. In other words, he was lacking in that field. He was more naïve than Kenneth had thought.
“I-I made sure to leave Latina a note! Take care of the rest, alright?!” Dale shouted, then opened the door and sprinted out full-force. He was moving so quickly that it was hard to imagine he was the same man who had been turning into the living dead just the other day.
Dale had run away. Taken flight. In a way, he’d done the same thing Latina had. The two really were strangely similar. After fleeing, Dale also planned to throw himself into his work, just as she’d done.
But it’d be bad for you to do that, right...?
By the time Kenneth had that thought, the person it was meant for was already nowhere to be seen.
2: The Platinum-haired Maiden and Her Red-headed Childhood Friend’s Love
Before long, Kenneth’s back grew damp with an unpleasant sweat.
He should have run full-sprint and caught Dale. He’d made such a poor choice at such a crucial moment; his skills must have declined more than he’d thought in the long period of time since he’d been an active adventurer. Perhaps he needed to retrain himself.
As Kenneth thought such things, Latina stood before him.
“Why...? He’s... never left so suddenly before... I didn’t even get... to say ‘Take Care’...” Latina muttered in a daze, her face ghastly pale and her eyes full of tears as she looked up at Kenneth.
Latina had woken up, come downstairs, and found Dale’s letter on the kitchen table, and her expression had quickly turned to one of shock. After sitting the trembling girl down in a chair, Kenneth figured it would be best not to push breakfast on her, so he jus
t left a hot cup of tea in front of her instead.
“Dale has his reasons. He was called out suddenly... right? He asked me to keep an eye on you,” said Kenneth, taking care not to make things worse and figuring that Dale had likely already mentioned in his letter that he had headed to the capital for work.
“Why didn’t he tell me himself...?”
There was no way Dale could have told her the real reason. If he had told Latina that it was because he had found out how she felt, it would have just complicated things unnecessarily.
Kenneth couldn’t think of anything proper to say and started to sweat even more.
“Is it because I distanced myself from Dale? Because I was selfish? Because I wasn’t able to be a ‘good girl’...?” Latina asked with a quivering voice. She was blaming herself. It was painful to watch.
Kenneth knew that no matter how much he denied that, his words wouldn’t reach her. Ever since Latina was little, Kenneth knew full well that his words weren’t enough to truly move her. For the time being, he couldn’t help but mentally curse Dale for having chosen the worst possible action to take. There just simply weren’t any words to cover things up in this situation.
“I’m going... to Marcel’s place. I promised to help out through today...” Latina was so pale that she looked like she was going to collapse, but she silently stood up. After Kenneth saw Latina off as she staggered on her way, he held his head in his hands and wondered just how he’d tell his wife what Dale had done.
Even though Latina was clearly out of sorts, she didn’t let that affect her work. She served the customers of the Backstreet Bakery as she wore the same smile as always. Even so, having known her for so long, Marcel immediately realized that Latina was in a bad state.
When her hands stopped moving for a second, she’d breathe a sigh. Then with blurry eyes, she’d grit her teeth and put her feelings behind her.
Lately, she had grown skilled at hiding her feelings of sadness and loneliness when Dale was away, but it was rare to see her feeling this down. Just as Marcel was at a loss and wondering what to do, his childhood friend who was now a regular (likely only for a limited time) came into the shop.