kscans

Chapter 113 - Little One and the Seaside Forest

"The monsters we captured as instructed have been sent to the forest in the palace basement, but these are impossible. They can’t pass through the back of the mirror."

After the night of nightmares had passed, several cages stood in a corner of the palace courtyard, which now resembled a field hospital. Inside were large monsters. Five large beasts of that sort, including normally sized bulls and horses, and a wolf as big as a horse, were lined up. Dark Spirits still flew around them. The spirits, shaped like humans the size of Pochiko-san, were persistently sticking around the large beasts. Chihaya efficiently collected the Dark Spirits, which were gathering like moths to a flame.

"We were one step away from a major disaster because of these things."

"Hmm, I wonder? We didn't know something like this was coming out either. I guess it can't be helped, right?"

To be precise, the Dark Spirits had already emerged from the palace before Little One and her group arrived. They were the hatched forms of the black orbs that the dark dragon in the underground had been producing. They were creatures that favored and fed on dark hearts and wicked emotions. Wicked emotions weren't limited to just bad things. In short, they liked instinctual things like ambition and desire. That was why they could slip into Charles. He possessed a pure desire. The wish to welcome his bride, to make her his own, had allowed the Dark Spirits in.

The more a person suppressed their instincts and endured, the more susceptible they were to being consumed by the Dark Spirits. It was useless to hide great ambitions. The Dark Spirits would skillfully unlatch that restraint and whisper.

"I will do anything for you."

The actions of the Dark Spirits couldn't be measured as good or evil. But you can imagine what humans with their restraints removed would do.

Nigi nigi. Squeezing the captured Dark Spirit, Little One muttered.

"You guys are just doing what you want, aren't you. You're a handful."

"Because we love humans. We’ll do anything for them."

"No, thank you."

Little One stuffed the unusually talkative one into the Dark Magic Crystal. I was surprised they could talk, though.

"Nooo, let gooo!"

"Where are you touching me, you pervert!"

"Aaaah, help meee!"

Chihiro and Chihaya captured them one after another with weary expressions. The two of them were relieved from the bottom of their hearts that no one else could hear. If they were overheard, they would look like the worst kind of villains.

"They’re quite talkative, aren't they."

"Yeah."

After catching most of them, the two stared at the beasts in the cages. They were wrapped tightly in ropes of water, lying quietly in their cages. The color in their eyes had subsided, and the redness was gone.

"We’re actually heading to the border forest now. We’ll take them with us."

The Crown Prince's anxious face relaxed in relief. Just in case, Little One made him promise never to raise monsters again.

"Once the border is connected by the Golden Ring, the monsters will be able to draw magic from the earth and move freely, nyo. It will be impossible to control them with magic stones like before. In fact, humans will become their prey, okay? Be careful."

When the Golden Ring was complete and the magic of the land was revived, the magic within human bodies would also be replenished. In other words, humans themselves would turn into magic-filled prey.

Hearing Little One’s explanation, a shiver ran down the Crown Prince’s spine.

"Understood. I will never allow them to be kept again. I will create a law to that effect."

The Crown Prince promised Little One that this great disaster would serve as a good reason.

And so, after observing the situation for a few days, the Frontier party departed for the seaside forest. Due to the beasts they were taking with them, they had to travel by land, and for some reason, Kazuki's merchant caravan followed behind them.

"They say misery loves company, right? Well, let's get along."

In those few days, he had bought a new carriage and horses, and by the time Little One and her group were ready to leave, he was fully prepared. In fact, he looked as if he had been waiting, standing like a guardian king at the west gate. Little One couldn't help but give a wry smile at the sight of Kazuki.

What a merchant. So resilient.

Fortunately, most of the damage from the disaster that struck Castrato was confined to the noble district. The high wall that separated it from the castle town, a pure symbol of social status, had ironically prevented the damage from spreading. So, as long as one had money, it was apparently easy to get equipped.

There’s probably going to be incredible chaos here in a little while.

Even Little One, who usually didn’t concern herself with such things, couldn't help but stare off into the distance.

And so, for some reason, Little One's group had become quite large.

To cross the scorching desert in the middle of the day, where the wind kicked up clouds of sand, they removed the carriage wheels and deployed the skis built into the main frame. Gashon. Three large skis were extended. Ignoring Kazuki, whose eyes were wide with surprise, Little One set off.

"Whoa? So fast! Don't fall behind, let's go!"

Kazuki's caravan, which traveled between countries, was used to the desert. Though not as advanced as Little One’s ski-carriage, they had equipped their carriages with wheels that had flat boards for the desert attached. Shaaaa. Chasing after the sliding Mononoke Carriage, Kazuki and his group also set off.

The ski tracks were a good landmark.

Chasing after Little One, who was quickly pulling ahead, a long procession crossed the desert.

"Let's stagger our sleeping times a bit. I think it's better to travel at night than during the day."

The desert night, when the temperature drops.

After finishing their meal and gathering around the campfire, Little One muttered. Wrapped in a blanket, rubbing her sleepy eyes, uni uni, she instructed everyone to take a nap and depart in the middle of the night.

"It’s hot during the day… it drains your stamina. So, we’ll travel… at night, and sleep during the day… unyu…"

"Understood. Please get some rest, Chihiro-sama."

Gently rocking the blanket-wrapped Little One, Dorfen handed her over to Hyrulia.

"You heard her. We depart at midnight. Take a nap during the break and adjust your activity times."

If what Little One said was true, they would have to shift to a day-night reversal. It was five hours until midnight. Plenty of time for a nap.

"Half of you take a nap now. The other half will rest and nap until tomorrow night. Understood?"

Following the knights who nodded in unison, Kazuki's caravan also began to nap. It would be a full two days to the next village. They had to adjust to a nocturnal schedule by then.

Even at this speed, it would take two weeks to reach the country at the next border.

Traveling at night, huh. She seems like a young lady from a good family, yet she knows a lot.

Kazuki was still unaware of Little One's true status. After dropping the children off at the palace, he had been swamped with preparations for the next country. The Little One who had been running around in the dark of night was in her usual red overalls and a light green poncho. She didn't look like a princess no matter how you looked at her. Furthermore, in her usual TPO-ignoring fashion, her way of speaking was also rough, so Kazuki had assumed she was the child of some wealthy merchant. He knew that Frontier was on good terms with the Lords of the Forest. So when he heard they were a party from Frontier, he had naturally accepted the fact that they were leading monsters. He had once seen a blonde princess and the sought-after Katsumi leading honeybees, after all.

Ignorance is a frightening thing. No matter how good Frontier's relationship with monsters was, Kazuki didn't know that the only ordinary humans who could command monsters were the Golden Kings.

Being from Kilfan, where he was originally ignorant and unfamiliar with magic and monsters, also worked against him. He would only learn the truth after arriving at the seaside forest.

As Chihiro stuck her head out the window and hummed "Moon Desert," Little One’s party headed straight for the seaside forest.

It was a given that the melody of "Moon Desert," heard every day, would spread not only through the Little One Squad but also to Kazuki’s caravan. It just had to happen.♪