kscans

Chapter 30 - The Neighboring Forest and the Little Person, Part Five

"Sakuraaa."

"Oh my, little miss."

Sakura had brought the items Chihiro and the others had ordered. After screaming at the squashed rice balls that morning, the little person had written an order for the Manmaden.

Soy sauce, miso, rice, and if they had it, mirin and vinegar. She wrote that any amount they could spare for now would be fine, but that she would be stopping by on her way back and would like them to prepare a decent quantity. At the end, she added a note, "I’ll buy it at whatever price you name."

Sakura, who received it, was dumbfounded for a moment, then immediately went to confirm with the kitchen.

As a result, they were able to get some of the seasonings, except for the mirin. And ingredients as well.

Daikon radish, rapeseed flowers, peas, and even shelled clams and bonito fillets.

"From the looks of it, you’re people of status. You can use magic, can’t you?"

Dolphen nodded at the smirking Sakura and took out a box. The box, with a glass-lined interior, was a cold storage box. Chihiro had seen a large one in the kitchen, but this was the first time she had seen a portable one.

Putting the received ingredients into the cold storage box, Dolphen chanted a spell and filled the box with cold air. He stopped at a temperature just shy of freezing and then sealed the box.

"You’re good at that. I’d like to ask you to carry our luggage. You can freeze things too, can’t you?"

Dolphen gave a light nod, put the sealed orb in his pocket, and went outside to prepare for departure.

"Well then, I’ll be off. Be careful, little miss."

"It’s Chihiro."

"...Chihiro."

Once again, Sakura quietly gazed at the small child.

"Little miss, you know kanji, don’t you?"

"I know it."

"By any chance, is your name Chihiro written with the kanji for a thousand and the kanji for to inquire?"

"That’s right."

A grin curved across the young eyes.

"Is that so. Well, take care."

To Sakura, who tried to let it slide, the little person’s murmur was audible.

"‘Light a fire under,’ ‘reception,’ ‘patron.’"

At Chihiro’s small murmur, Sakura’s eyes widened.

"Those words don’t exist here, do they? ...Come to think of it, it’s cherry blossom season."

Glancing up at Sakura, the little person smiled brightly.

"I might visit Kilfan someday. When I do, be good to me."

In the strange atmosphere flowing between the two of them, the apprentice chef who had brought the luggage watched nervously, when suddenly a voice came from outside.

"Chihiro-sama. We are ready."

"Okay. See you, Sakura."

Waving her small, maple-leaf hand, Sakura offered something to the pattering little person. It was a small braided cord. At both ends of the thick, ten-centimeter cord were thin strings.

This is...

"From your face, it seems you know. It’s a prayer, Chihiro. I’ll pray for the safety of your journey."

With that, Sakura tied the braided cord around Chihiro’s thin arm.

"A misanga... Thank you, Sakura."

The back of Chihiro’s eyes grew hot. Her chest trembled with nostalgia. Following Dolphen, who picked Chihiro up and left the residence, Sakura and the others also went outside.

And as she saw the departing carriage off, Sakura let out a small sigh.

Glancing at her, the apprentice murmured.

"Big sis, are you sure it’s okay? We’re forbidden from selling seasonings by the home country, aren’t we?"

"Well, it’s not exactly okay. But it seems like it could be profitable. I can just say it’s a tax for doing business in Frontier."

Though his face was somewhat complicated, the apprentice was convinced.

"Besides, you know. That child said ‘gohan.’"

Not gohan in the sense of a meal, but the child had said gohan, meaning cooked rice.

She had told them that the ingredient for sake was a grain called rice. And that what was in the chazuke bowl was a grilled onigiri. But she hadn’t talked about gohan. If you cook rice, it becomes gohan. If you form gohan, it becomes onigiri. That child knew that. She seemed to know about the misanga too.

"A mysterious child."

A little child who blew through like a gust of wind.

At first, she thought she was a suspicious child. But the more she got to know her, the stranger she felt. She was matter-of-factly requested to provide food, requested to provide a kimono, and before she knew it, she had found her way into her heart.

Is this what it feels like to be a parent?

With a premonition that they would meet again someday, Sakura watched until the carriage was out of sight.

"Ufufuun."

"You look like you’re having fun."

"What is that?"

The vibrant braided cord wrapped around Chihiro’s hand. The intricate weave, with red as its base color, was quite eye-catching.

"It’s called a misanga. It’s like a good luck charm for making wishes."

"A curse? Isn’t that dangerous?"

Dolphen’s eyes narrowed grimly.

Ah, so it’s that kind of era.

Chihiro smiled a little wryly.

"The word is different. It’s not that kind of suspicious, dangerous thing, but more like a light prayer, like ‘I hope it’s sunny tomorrow.’"

In the medieval period, where it was believed that people could be cursed and evil could be done through spells, it probably didn’t have a good image.

Things like this probably haven’t caught on yet. Maybe I should think of something.

As Chihiro gazed at the misanga thoughtfully, Dolphen stared at her with a worried expression.

That woman called Chihiro-sama ‘Chihiro.’ From the very beginning. Remembering yesterday’s incident, he bit his lip. It was a natural way of calling her, completely different from the way he had practiced to earn. Only Dolphen knew that Chihiro-sama’s real name was Chihiro. And Queen Merda. Dolphen had felt a special closeness to the little person. His father Drago, his big brother figure Adoris, his guardian the king’s younger brother, and himself. He was proud to be counted among those close to her. There was also a small sense of superiority in knowing her real name.

And yet that woman had reached that position in an instant.

The conversation between the two, which had been exchanged like a secret. A natural back-and-forth. Their appearance even gave the illusion of them being sisters or a mother and child.

Dolphen was bewildered by the smoldering jealousy.

He did not know. That their shared understanding had brought them closer in an instant. For Dolphen, who did not know the culture of the country called Japan, it was impossible to see through it.

The knights of the Royal Knights, watching the little person frolicking with zero caution, thought it was just her usual curiosity and looked on with amusement.

All except one.

"Ah, it’s coming into view."

After traveling through the barren land where the forest ended for several hours, something like a fort could be seen in the distance.

"What’s that?"

"That is the Flawers sekisho. Frontier does not have a particular checkpoint, but if you don’t enter from their checkpoint, it becomes a serious problem."

He heard that in Flawers, which was surrounded by a vast wilderness, if one did not take the road that continued from the checkpoint, they would lose their sense of direction. Eighty percent of those who strayed from this road and got lost in the wilderness would not be able to reach Flawers and would get stranded.

Ah, that happened a lot on Earth too. In foreign wildernesses or deserts. People went missing almost every day.

Even with a proper map and following the road, when you get stranded, you get stranded. Since it happens even with modern knowledge, there must be even more victims in this era.

Glancing at the carriage that had arrived at the checkpoint, the Flawers soldier looked at the party with a surprised expression.

"Are you from the Frontier royal family? Excuse me, but will luggage and attendants be following you?"

"No, it is just us."

Before him was a single simple, black-lacquered carriage and ten knights. At the light-looking party, like a noble traveling incognito, the Flawers soldier was at a loss for words.

What? A royal party is just this? Shouldn’t there be more lavish luggage and attendants?

The eyes say more than words.

Smiling wryly at the flustered and confused soldier, Dolphen got off the carriage after passing through the checkpoint’s fort.

Because dozens of Flawers soldiers were standing there. Clad in rugged full plate armor and standing in motionless lines, they turned their sharp gazes on Dolphen.

"We take it you are the inspection party from Frontier. Is that correct?"

"Yes, this is the carriage of Her Highness Princess Chihiro La Giorge of Frontier. And you are?"

At that, the standing soldiers raised their swords in unison, and one man stepped forward. The man, clad in equipment a rank above the others, announced himself in a loud voice.

"I am Gaius Nafuria of the Flawers Border Knights. I have been dispatched by the Marquis to serve as Her Highness the Princess’s escort from here. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"How very kind... We are most grateful for your courtesy. Then, we shall be in your care on the way to the forest."

With a friendly, cheerful smile, Dolphen gave a magnanimous nod.

And so the party, together with the thirty-strong Flawers knights, headed for a farming village near the forest. It must have been a familiar road. The Flawers knights proceeded without hesitation, and the party arrived at the farming village before sunset.

"It is a simple village, but it will shelter you from the night dew. The person over there is the chief of this village."

As if to welcome the carriage that had entered the village under Gaius’s guidance, many people were standing at the village entrance. The villagers stood there in their everyday clothes.

"Welcome. I am Tabas, the village chief."

An old man leaning on a staff stepped forward.

"I am Dolphen of the Royal Knights. A pleasure to meet you. The one who is with us is Her Highness Princess Chihiro La Giorge of Frontier."

The ranks of the Frontier knights parted, and from the carriage beyond, a small little girl descended. Lifted down from the carriage by a red-haired man who did not seem to be a knight, the child looked around with large, curious eyes.

"Golden hair... Golden eyes? No, what??"

The moment he recognized Chihiro’s appearance, Gaius became openly flustered. The Frontier party wore lukewarm smiles, as if to say, ‘as expected.’

Even among the pure-blooded royalty of Frontier, the brilliance of her coloring was rare. For someone possessing the brilliance that symbolized the king to go abroad was an exceptional, unprecedented event.

The little person, who had landed on the ground with a soft ‘pyokon,’ smiled innocently at the speechless people of Flawers.

"My name is Chihiro La Giorge. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

She gave a perfect curtsy, but she was dressed in a thick dress and a yellow-green poncho. She looked not like royalty, nor even a noble. Dolphen and Adoris smiled wryly, sensing the thoughts of the Flawers people, whose eyes were darting back and forth.

Our princess isn’t very noble-like. Not that there are any fools who would look down on her for it, but if there were, we’d crush them.

The members of the Frontier knights glared menacingly, their eyes shining brightly. The difference in temperature between them and the innocent smile of the little girl before them was too extreme.

Oblivious to the people of Flawers, who were flustered with their eyes swimming wildly, the little person went her own way.

Will we reach the forest tomorrow? Until then, I’ll look around this village. It looks like a pretty prosperous farming village, so maybe they have some local delicacies. I’m looking forward to it.

Heedless of the adults’ intentions, the little person was true to her own desires.

Wherever the wind blows, wherever her heart desires. The little person is full of energy again today.