kscans

Chapter 70 - The Last Forest and the Little Person

"Chihiro."

Romel's face was deathly pale as he screamed. He took the little girl from the descended Pochiko-san and stared at her with eyes full of despair.

Her small body leaned limply against him. Her breathing was faint, as if it could stop at any moment.

"Why? Hasn't she been treated? It's been three days."

At Dolphen's roar, the smug Marquis glanced at Cyril. Skillfully hiding the cold sweat that covered him after Chihiro was taken back, Cyril shot Dolphen a scornful look with an elegant smile.

"Because we don't have the medicine unless we return to our home country. So will you give her back? She'll die if you don't."

Cyril tried to push through with another bluff, but someone else would not allow it.

You dare to scheme. Very well, close your mouth.

With a single word that sounded like nothing more than the buzzing of wings, the Queen's daughter knocked Cyril to the ground. She must have held back, but it was still a blow from a monster. Cyril was literally sent flying. Ignoring the stunned onlookers, the giant bee began to write on the ground.

Seeing what she wrote, the people around her held their breath.

This is not poison. It is a divine elixir. A forbidden drug that steals the self and turns one into a puppet.

"Steals the self... Ah."

An image of his beautiful, golden haired woman flashed through Romel's mind.

"...Even your own daughter? Marquis Ansbackh. What kind of person are you...?"

Magic rippled across Romel's entire body, and his hair stirred the air. Ignoring Romel, Merda's daughter spoke to the little person.

My king. Please return to us. I have heard the story from Joker.

Merda's daughter gently poked the little girl's soft skin. Pochiko-san imitated her, poking as well. As Romel watched the multiple poking legs with unease, the little person's eyes fluttered open.

"Chihiro?"

"Ngh? Romel, is that you? Hey? Where am I?"

Rubbing her eyes, the little person sat up. At that moment, a cry like a roar erupted from the surrounding knights. Chihiro flinched at the earth shaking roar of uoooooooh.

"Wha? What's going on?"

"What's going on, you ask. Honestly."

Though he scolded her, Romel hugged Chihiro with a face on the verge of tears. The warmth in his arms was precious.

"Do you have any idea how shocked I was when I saw you unconscious? I was so surprised my heart just flew away somewhere. You'd better take responsibility."

"Eeeeh. I don't know anything about that. Go find it yourself, you're a grown up, aren't you?"

An exchange of trivial banter.

My, what a lack of tension.

Despite being on a battlefield on the brink of erupting, these two seemed to be in a different dimension. The Frontier and Flawers armies watched the heartwarming embrace of the two with exasperated smiles. Prince Marcello, however, seemed not to understand what was happening and was flustered.

"Um... am I correct in understanding that the Golden King is safe?"

"Huh? Prince Marcello, was it? Why are you here?"

Is that what you're concerned about?

The sentiment was unanimous, but wisely, no one voiced it. The little person was more concerned about the prince of a neighboring country than the knights and soldiers filling the land.

For the time being, Romel briefly explained the events so far and pointed to the Castrato army positioned in front of them.

"Now that we have you back, we don't need to hold back anymore. The Frontier army will crush them with all its might."

The royal duke's eyes glinted coldly.

The Frontier army nodded emphatically, their mouths twisting into ferocious grins.

But the little person alone narrowed her emotionless eyes and gave the bloodthirsty men a cold glance. The men faltered under her chilly demeanor.

A war caused by her own blunder.

Overwhelmed with embarrassment, Chihiro wanted nothing more than to flee the scene like a scared rabbit.

"We don't have to go through all that trouble. Dealing with the aftermath of the war and demanding reparations from them would be a pain, too. Let's just go home quickly."

"But if we're pursued, it'll become even more troublesome."

The little person, aware of the trouble she had caused everyone, didn't want to be any more of a burden. So she slowly stood up and placed both her hands on the ground.

"We just have to make it so they can't pursue us. Like this."

As Chihiro shouted, golden magic burst forth from her palms. It raced across the land in every direction, sprouting grass, growing trees, and creating a massive forest in the blink of an eye.

Both armies stared wide eyed, at a loss for words. An impenetrable forest now lay between them. They looked left and right, but saw no end to the magnificent greenery. The event was so extraordinary that even Romel's jaw hung open.

Only Dolphen, who had previously seen a palm sized version of the same thing, wore a wry smile with steady eyes. The little person gazed at the newly formed forest with satisfaction, then stood up and called to Merda's daughter.

"I'm entrusting this forest to you temporarily. You can abandon it once everyone has returned home."

Merda's daughter looked at the forest with an expression of awe.

This is the work of the Golden King. It is truly moving.

Her legs trembling, the giant bee looked as if she were carrying a sign that read 'deeply moved' on her back.

You have to use whatever you can.

With a dry smile, Chihiro tilted her head.

"Come to think of it, I never asked your name."

I am called the daughter of the Queen.

Yeah, that's not a name, is it?

The giant bee stated this with a straight face.

Placing a hand on her cheek in thought, the little person smiled sweetly.

"Then I'll give you a name. Since you're Merda's daughter... how about Merita?"

If a certain someone from her world had been there, he would have surely made a joke about it, but fortunately, no one present knew any such stories. It was a woman's name, so it couldn't be too bad.

The little person was very satisfied, and Merda's daughter was overjoyed to receive a name. The onlookers stared blankly at the two grinning figures, but Romel, who was used to the little person, was the first to recover.

"Wait, wait, Chihiro. What is all this?"

"Umm. It seems the golden magic was magic for creating forests. I think the first king was able to found Frontier thanks to this power."

The little person explained in a mumbled, hesitant tone. The adults were too stunned to speak. But there was one strong individual who cut in.

"Please wait. Does this mean that forests can be recreated? Anywhere?"

Ah, I knew it would come to this.

Staring intently at Chihiro with sincere eyes was Prince Marcello. The knights of the Flawers army shared his hopeful gaze. A miracle had just occurred before their eyes. It was impossible to ask them not to have expectations. The Frontier army had also witnessed the legend, but they were used to the little person's antics. They were surprised, but they didn't see it as anything special and began preparing to return home as usual.

Even Romel seemed to have lost interest. His questions answered, he was now commanding his army.

Staring at the Frontier army, which had calmly begun preparing to leave, with incredulous eyes, Prince Marcello clung to a sliver of hope as he spoke.

"We would be most grateful to borrow that power. Would you be willing to restore the forests in our country?"

"Impossible."

Her answer was immediate.

Ah, this feels like deja vu.

At the guillotine sharp reply, the expression slid right off Prince Marcello's face. Feeling a bad taste in her mouth, Chihiro explained in more detail.

A forest created with golden magic would begin to wither within a day if its master, who possessed golden magic, was not present. The master could only move within the forest's sphere of influence, so such an irregular event could not be repeated. And most importantly, in a short while, the golden magic would be returned to the gods, and the forests of Frontier would also wither.

"You will return the magic?"

"That's the plan. It's too much power for humans to handle. Right now, Frontier is in the middle of a full scale transition to a civilization that doesn't rely on magic."

"Then, will the forest on our country's border also be lost?"

"That's what will happen. I'll do my best to make sure it doesn't disappear, though."

Smiling cheerfully at the perplexed Prince Marcello, Chihiro asked if she could accompany him to Flawers. Prince Marcello readily agreed.

"No, wait, Chihiro. Let's go back to Frontier first."

Romel's eyes widened at the little girl who had invited herself along to Flawers, and he hastily tried to dissuade her, but the little person shook her head.

"I have to hurry. If we go back to Frontier first, it will take extra time to make arrangements with Flawers, right? If I go now as the prince's companion, I can enter Flawers right away. I can't miss this chance."

Romel understood her reasoning, but he felt an uneasy premonition. A gut feeling was sounding an alarm, telling him he shouldn't let her go.

"Then, I'll go with you..."

"Don't be silly. What about reporting to the Frontier army and His Majesty? I don't want to cause any more trouble because of me, you know?"

At the little child puffing out her chest, Romel felt an indescribable anger well up inside him. What do you mean, trouble? Everyone just cares about you. Do you even get that?

Gritting his teeth in frustration, Romel was about to speak his mind when the little person's small hands grabbed his right hand.

"I know I'm being selfish. But please believe me. I really have to hurry."

I can't really explain why, though, the little girl said, fidgeting with Romel's right hand with a troubled look. The feel of her soft, small fingers extinguished the anger that had risen within Romel.

Ah, honestly. I can never win against you.

His face crinkling into something between a laugh and a cry, Romel lifted the little person into his arms.

"Alright. But promise me. You won't do anything dangerous. And you will return to Frontier as soon as you're finished."

"Okay."

The beloved little girl smiled innocently, her face beaming.

After making her promise a few other things, like taking the Little Person Squad with her and not being lured by food, Romel entrusted Chihiro to Prince Marcello.

Out of the corner of his eye, as Romel was earnestly pleading with Prince Marcello, he saw the little person kicking Cyril and the Marquis, telling them that there were no monsters in the forest now, so they could walk home. The Castrato army, split by the forest, seemed to have half its forces swallowed by the woods, running around in confusion. The bees were apparently in the process of driving them to the other side with threats.

Watching the Marquis and his men scramble into the forest in a sorry state, the farce that had taken the form of a war came to a close. The injured were healed with magic, and daily life returned as if nothing had happened.

Turning everything into a farce is one of your special skills, isn't it.

Her life and death struggle in the palace, her invasion of Kilfan and audience with the gods, all of it was probably just another page in the little person's book of memories.

The story of this battle would surely become the same one day.

Come home soon. Everyone is waiting for you with bated breath.

Romel would later come to regret this decision for a long time, but at this moment, he did not know.

The end of the world was fast approaching.