kscans

Chapter 6 - The Little Person in the Castle Town

"An errand?"

"Yes."

"Be careful now."

"Thank you."

"Waiiit!!"

The knight who had been guarding Chihiro from a distance, so as not to be noticed, didn’t realize what was happening until she was about to leave through the gate.

The Little Person had passed through the gate and gone outside the castle. The distance he had kept proved to be his undoing, and the knight’s shout did not reach the gatekeeper.

The gatekeeper simply tilted his head in confusion at the sight of the knight sprinting towards him at full speed.

Rewinding time by about half an hour.

"Nfufun♪"

That day, Chihiro was counting the money in her small jar. The proceeds from the Kobito-san brand sweets. She gave the cost of ingredients to Naya, and the remaining net profit was five gold coins and two large silver coins. The other small change was set aside for making change, and with this, she intended to go out into the town. It had been about three months since she had regained her memories of her past life. A lot had happened, but Chihiro was giddy with excitement to enjoy her first bit of sightseeing in another world.

I’ve seen it before. You can get outside from what looks like a service entrance.

Dressed in plain clothes and a poncho, the Little Person left the mansion with a spring in her step.

And just as she had planned, when she said she was on an errand, the gatekeeper at the service entrance nodded cheerfully and gave her a pass token. The royal palace was strict about entry, but leaving was relatively easy.

"Be back before sunset, alright? You can’t get in without that token, so don’t lose it."

Going on an errand at such a young age. What a well-behaved child.

The gatekeeper watched with a smile as Chihiro ran off. And so, the Little Person’s adventure began.

"Stop her, stop her, stop her!!"

The gatekeeper stared wide-eyed at the knight running towards him, screaming, not understanding what he was being told. The knight rushed up and burst through the gate, but the Little Person was already gone. He collapsed weakly to his knees, staring blankly outside the walls. Just beyond the walls was the nobles’ district. Next came a row of high-end shops catering to the nobility, and beyond that was the castle town. Even for a child, it wasn’t that far.

"What have I done... What will I say to His Highness the King’s brother..."

His face pale, the knight staggered back towards the royal palace to report.

"Find her!!"

Romel shot to his feet upon receiving the report and shouted at the knights, gesturing sharply with his hand. They nodded emphatically and rushed out of the castle all at once. Watching them go, Romel sank weakly into his chair and clutched his head with trembling hands.

Why does she always do things like this?! I thought so when she was crouching in the flowerbeds, but she’s definitely the type to charge ahead!!

When Romel heard she wanted to go to the forest, he had felt an unsettling glint flicker in the little girl’s eyes. This one is going to cause trouble. If I leave her alone, she might just go to the forest by herself. That’s why he had offered to help. He was also curious. He wanted to see what she would do. He was sure it would be interesting.

His premonition had been spot on.

And then there was the matter of her golden luminescence and Queen Merda. He was truly, from the bottom of his heart, glad he had gone with her.

And now this, while I’m still trying to grasp the situation, gather information, and prepare to consult with my brother? Give me a break, will you?? A toddler with her looks is like wearing a sign that says ‘please kidnap me’! She might be a total mess on the inside, but does she have no awareness of her exquisite cuteness on the outside?? Didn’t Drago tell her?? That she’d be kidnapped if she showed her face. Ahhh, come on!!

Romel inwardly cursed, desperately suppressing the urge to scream.

"There seem to be a lot of knights out today."

"I wonder if there was an incident."

"How scary."

As the ladies received their goods at the general store, they left. Chihiro, who had been in their shadow, also tilted her head in wonder.

"Well, it’s none of our business. On an errand, are you? What do you need?" The portly shopkeeper narrowed his eyes at the adorable little girl.

"Um... a map of this area, please."

"A map? Can you read it?"

The Little Person nodded with a kokkuri.

"That’s impressive. Wait a moment, I have one that’s like a notebook, so you can take notes in it too. It’s easier to carry and more convenient."

They have something like that? They had notebooks and fountain pens too, civilization here is pretty advanced. Maybe an industrial revolution will happen someday.

Chihiro took out a silver coin from her crossbody bag and received the map. She properly received the correct change, and her face broke into a smile.

It was her first purchase in this world.

She left the general store and went sightseeing, map in hand. The notebook-style map had a thin leather cover and was shaped like a square folded in half. When opened, the first page was a two-page spread showing a map of the royal capital with the castle at the center. The next page was a magnified map of the area around the castle. The remaining dozen or so pages were blank. It was a type of notebook she had seen on Earth.

This is well made. This isn’t normal, is it?

Items with this kind of playful spirit are not usually made. You don’t get ideas like this unless you have a lot of leeway. They wouldn’t do something as wasteful as using leather. A map would just be a map, a notepad just a notepad, made with practicality in mind. In this world, which felt like the late Middle Ages, this country seemed to have a slightly different flavor.

It was prosperous, and the people’s faces were bright. It was proof that the country was being governed properly.

By that king and queen. ...Well, not that I care.

The king and queen in her memories were always smiling. She even remembered being held by them.

...And yet, they abandoned me.

She didn’t know the circumstances. But the wet nurse and maids who had been raising her had looked at her with tragic faces, and Cyril, who had always been with her, was the one who locked her in that room.

"...Cyril. That’s right, it was Cyril!"

She remembered. The maid’s name was Cyril. The maid who had always cherished and raised her. She might have been a personal attendant or something. She used to call Chihiro Fatimah-sama.

"Fatimah... is that my name, I wonder."

Chihiro hung her head, but she quickly pulled herself together.

This is depressing. It’s too late for that now.

Whatever the reason, the fact that I almost died doesn’t change. I’ll never forgive them, the King and Queen!!

The parties involved, unaware that she was a princess who had been made to disappear by a plot from a neighboring country, were earning the baseless resentment of the Little Person.

The misunderstood King and Queen were in tears.

"Alright, I’ve got the general idea. My destination is close."

The Little Person stood up straight and ran teketeke towards her destination. But just as she reached an intersection, she ran into something.

"Bohe."

She collided with a bosun, bounced off, and fell on her bottom. The boy who had been turning the corner hurriedly helped her up.

"Sorry, are you okay?"

"I’m fine. Thank you."

Her speech was a bit drawn out, but her manners were impeccable. The boy smiled gently and brushed the dust off Chihiro’s clothes.

"All alone here? Where are your parents?"

"I’m on an errand. I’m going here."

Chihiro opened the map she had just bought and pointed to a location.

"This place... why?"

"I’m going."

"I see."

The boy narrowed his eyes slightly, took Chihiro’s hand, and started walking.

"It’s my home. I’ll show you the way," he muttered, looking a little grumpy.

"This is it."

"Oh my..."

The place they arrived at was an orphanage. It was an even more dilapidated building than she had imagined. A few days ago, wondering what to do with the large sum of money she had unexpectedly acquired, Chihiro had thought of making a donation. For a noble, charity was a duty, and though her father hadn’t noticed, failing to do so could be seen as negligence. Her commoner-spirited father probably hadn’t even thought of it. So if she did it in his place, it would be credited to him. With that in mind, she had considered donating to a church or an orphanage.

She chose the orphanage since it seemed to be in more trouble... but what was this.

A soot-stained, old wooden building. There was a field next to it, a clear sign that they were trying to be self-sufficient.

"Going in?"

"Yeah."

Pushing open the creaky, poorly fitted door, Chihiro felt a little relieved when she went inside. Unlike the exterior, the inside was reasonably well-appointed. It was mostly handmade, but there were cushions on the chairs and patchwork tapestries on the walls, giving the orphanage a warm atmosphere.

"Is the director here?"

"...I’ll go get him."

The boy headed to the back and returned with a man. The kindly, white-haired man widened his eyes slightly at the sight of the little girl standing in the entrance.

"Well, what a lovely guest. I am the director, Barbes. How may I help you?"

The old man crouched down and smiled. Chihiro bowed her head and greeted him as well.

"I am Chihiro, daughter of Baron Giorge. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Well, well... Zack, please get some tea."

Though frozen in shock, the boy called Zack went to the back to make tea.

"I see. A donation."

"Yes. I have come on behalf of my father, the Baron. Please, accept this."

With that, Chihiro took out the five gold coins that had been wrapped in a clean cloth and spread them out on the table. The director stared at them with a surprised expression and pressed a hand to the corner of his eye.

"My apologies. Old men are prone to tears... Thank you very much. I wonder how many years it has been since we last received a donation from a noble."

Years? That can’t be. Visiting orphanages is part of their official duties, isn’t it? It’s a noble’s obligation, isn’t it? Your Majesty the King, what are you doing!

"Excuse me, but do nobles or members of the royal family not visit?"

At Chihiro’s question, the director shook his head slightly and began to speak with a heavy heart, saying it was an embarrassing story.

In short, it was apparently due to a falling out with the church.

Until about a dozen years ago, their relationship had been good, but they had a difference of opinion on how to treat the children and had parted ways. The church wanted to take in the clever children and raise them to be priests or sisters. The director argued that the children’s futures should be their own to decide, and he had become completely isolated. Basically, orphans were taken to the church. There, the church would take only the clever, promising children and push the rest onto the director. If he was so high and mighty, he should take them, they said. The orphanage at the church was the mainstream one, while this one was treated as if it didn’t exist. The church monopolized all donations and contributions, and official visits were only made there. The nobles and the King were probably unaware of this scheme. This orphanage was supported by donations from the townspeople.

She was so stunned she was speechless.

Are those in power destined to become corrupt everywhere?

Don’t mess with me.

The Little Person’s eyes gleamed menacingly.

"I understand the situation. I have an idea. Please give me some time."

The director saw a glimmer of hope in the little girl’s curving smile and looked at the toddler with an indescribable expression.

That’s right, the person before me is a toddler.

And yet, her words and demeanor were mature, and she exuded a presence that inspired unconditional trust. I will trust in this person.

Later, the director would tell the children that his decision at that time was a wise one. Zack would nod vigorously beside him.

"I’m home."

"Welcome back, my lady."

"Oh? And who is this?"

Behind the returned little girl was a boy. He was holding a large bundle of packages and standing there awkwardly.

"He helped carry my shopping."

"Is that so. Thank you for your help with my lady... huh? Shopping? Where on earth did you..."

It goes without saying that the Little Person, who subtly averted her gaze, was on the receiving end of Naya’s thunder.

"Take this back to the orphanage. I’ve written down how to do it in this letter."

"Are you sure about this? Isn’t this, like, a bad idea?"

"It’s fine. It’s mine to give. I was planning on expanding the business eventually anyway."

Chihiro’s idea was a pop-up shop for the Kobito-san brand sweets. She would give them the honey and entrust the entire process from production to sales to the orphanage, donating the net profits from the sales.

"Have the children from the orphanage come to learn how to make them. I’ll ask Papa to arrange it."

"Okay. I’ll learn too."

Papa? What happened to the noble-like demeanor from before? Is she a cat? Is that what she is?

While Zack stood there dumbfounded, Drago’s voice came from downstairs.

"Chihiro, I’m home!"

"It’s Papa! Welcome home!"

Zack chased after the toddler who ran off and peered down from the second-floor railing. There stood a man with a bushy beard, looking like a bear. The man, looking utterly content as he lifted his daughter, was nuzzling Chihiro’s cheek with a completely relaxed expression.

That’s the Baron? He’s different from what I imagined.

The little girl said something and pointed at Zack on the railing. The bear-like baron then beckoned to Zack. Zack complied, went down the stairs, and bowed deeply.

"I heard the story. You’ve done well. I’ll report to His Highness the King’s brother tomorrow. You should learn how to make the sweets from Chihiro here."

A large hand patted Zack’s head, and to his surprise, tears welled up in his eyes.

And so, the Kobito-san brand sweets pop-up shop plan steadily progressed.

Incidentally, in the knights’ quarters, when the gatekeeper from the service entrance informed them of the Little Person’s return, a mountain of exhausted knights was said to have formed. Having gone all out for nothing, they later received an apology cream puff from the Little Person when she found out, and the supposedly dejected knight order was said to have instantly recovered.

Sweets are the ultimate weapon.

"Right this way, Kobito-san brand sweets are over here!"

At the sales booth set up next to the orphanage, a wide array of sweets made on-site were for sale. Cookies, crepes, pound cakes. Furthermore, they sold lemonade and other fruit juices made with honey. The sweets were a bit pricey at one silver coin each, but the drinks were three copper coins. This was the Little Person’s suggestion, so that even those who couldn’t afford the sweets could enjoy a simple sweet treat. Crowds of people flocked there every day, and even with purchase limits, they heard the happy complaint that everything sold out in just a few hours. Some people heard it contained honey and asked for the honey itself, but the Little Person rejected this. They had received the seal of royal purveyance, so there were no incidents of nobles throwing their weight around. In fact, many surprising things happened, such as the townspeople volunteering to line up for them and helping to build the sales booth.

Why are so many people helping?

There was no malice in their smiles, and Zack couldn’t believe the reality before him.

"It’s obvious, isn’t it? I decided on the pop-up shop because I was counting on this."

At Zack’s report on their progress, the Little Person spread out the map she had bought at the general store.

"See, right here. The orphanage is on it, isn’t it?"

There, the orphanage that was supposed to have been erased by the church was clearly marked. With a message next to it.

A piece of your love for them.

"You guys are loved, you know."

The Little Person said she had decided to donate to the orphanage after seeing this. She had heard that the townspeople’s donations were supporting the orphanage. The townspeople’s care had brought about this good fortune.

Zack had been resentful, unable to do anything for the poor, struggling orphanage. The director wasn’t at fault, yet the church had abandoned them. It felt as if the whole world had become his enemy, and he had borne the isolated despair alone.

But that wasn’t the case. There were people right there, willing to lend a hand.

He had just been too foolish to notice.

That one line of message on this map was enough to show it. And indeed, the townspeople had supported the orphanage’s pop-up shop with all their might.

...I will repay them. It doesn’t matter how many years it takes. I want to repay their kindness.

Zack made up his mind.

Here, the first pastry chef of another world was born.

Over many years, he would borrow the Little Person’s knowledge and establish the new field of confectionery in this world. The royal family welcomed it, preferentially allocating honey for confectionery and monopolizing the trend of sweets that other countries did not have.

And behind the scenes, the Little Person smiled brightly.

"Sweets save the world, right♪"

Behind the Little Person, who gave a thumbs-up with her small body, His Highness the King’s brother let out a deep sigh.

No, if anything, they’re the spark that starts a war.

Romel thought it but didn’t say it aloud. He was, unexpectedly, a man who worried a great deal.

The Little Person is energetic today. She will surely be energetic tomorrow as well.