kscans

Chapter 116 - Little One and the Seaside Forest

"The Golden King…"

The Lord of the seaside forest muttered softly.

This was a forest of the dead. A place where many humans and monsters washed ashore. Today, another new corpse had washed up at the base of the cliff. The children hoisted it up, and the Lord mourned it before hiding it within the large nest. What looked like a bird's nest at first glance was a pile of dead branches, and beneath it was a large hole. The bodies dropped through it vanished into a cavern far below.

How many hundreds of years had it been doing this?

Manipulating the wind and changing the tides, the Lord of the seaside forest had been collecting corpses all this time. That had been its pact with the previous Golden King. A hideous act of further whipping the defiled flesh. The swallow monster feared the Golden King who had forced this upon it. It didn't understand why it was made to do such a thing. For the swallow, which had originally flown freely over the grasslands, being confined to a cavern and disposing of defiled corpses was nothing short of hell. But if it didn't do this, the forest on the plains would die.

"...Help me."

Hotahota. Large tears fell as the Lord hung its head. Its children watched it with pity.

"Hmm?"

A sudden chill ran down her spine, and Little One shivered, bururi.

"What is it?"

Tilting her head at a puzzled Hyrulia, Chihiro looked out the window. The cliffs of the seaside forest were no longer in sight.

"No. I just have a strange feeling…"

"Don't say that, your feelings have a weird way of being right."

"And usually for the worse."

Zack shrugged his shoulders at Adonis, who was frowning.

"Even if you say so."

Perhaps aware of it herself, Little One couldn't help but bare her teeth in a slight grimace. As they continued on with such light banter, it seemed they had finally arrived at the first village. The speed of the Mononoke Carriage was decreasing.

"Oh, did we reach a village or town?"

Pyoko. She popped her head out the window to check ahead and saw a serene village with a sprawling landscape. The slightly larger building was probably a church. Houses and shops were lined up around it. It wasn't a very large village. It was a size that could be taken in at a glance from a distance.

"Are we staying at an inn today?"

Dorfen nodded at Chihiro's waku teka expression.

"Let's have them sleep in a proper bed for the first time in a while. The knights are starting to look tired too."

Looking around, he could see a few people whose eyes lit up at his words. They were mostly the younger ones. The veterans gave the younger ones a wry smile.

"You're right. I hope they have something delicious."

From the looks of it, it was a nostalgic mountain cabin style. Thatched roofs and stone walls. The buildings were quite different from those in Frontier or Flowers. If one had to say, it was like the grandfather's mountain cabin from that famous anime set in the great nature of the Alps. They were packed together tightly. Perhaps because of the large mountain range, snow tended to fall easily on this side. Every house had a magnificent chimney.

"This is great, this is great, I'm so excited!"

The members of the Little One Squad looked on with fond smiles at Little One, whose eyes were sparkling wide.

The moment they arrived in the village, Chihiro jumped out of the line of waiting carriages. Chasing after her, Dorfen caught Pochiko-san, who was flying along behind Little One, and tucked her under his arm.

"I won't let you fly her!"

Pochiko-san thrashed about, jita jita.

Looking back at the ever-learning Dorfen, Chihiro, still in her below-the-knee dress, did a cartwheel. Kururun. She jumped up and down, grinning, niiih.

"Catch me if you can!♪"

Only Chihaya could keep up with a serious Little One. As they engaged in a chase reminiscent of a Showa-era doting couple, with Dorfen desperately trying to keep up, Chihaya lightly tapped his shoulder.

"I'll go."

With that, Chihaya used Dorfen's back to leap forward, toon.

"Hiro, you shouldn't trouble everyone."

"Ayaya, Nii-ni? It's fine if I just look around a bit ahead, isn't it!"

Little One hurriedly switched gears from her Dorfen-specific mode to her serious mode, but it was too late. Chihaya, who had been running in serious mode from the start, caught her easily.

"We are goodwill ambassadors, you know? If we don't act properly, it will ruin Frontier's reputation, won't it?"

"Aaaaye!"

Chihaya casually lifted Chihiro onto his shoulder and returned to the carriage. Dorfen watched the capture of Little One from a distance with relief. Hyrulia stood waiting in the line of carriages at the checkpoint, her arms crossed. Behind her, Adonis and Zack exchanged wry smiles.

And so, finally passing through the gate of the village they had reached, Little One's party set foot in the Kingdom of Claudia.

Around the time Chihiro's usual antics were causing a stir in the border village.

A report of the arrival of the Frontier Goodwill Envoy reached the royal capital of Claudia.

"Hmph. The princess of that magic nation, is she."

"It's not a pilgrimage, is it? I heard that the golden princess has lost her power and memory."

"So it seems. The descent of the Golden King is said to happen only once every few hundred years, so it must be something else."

Claudia, which had received prior notice of the visit, had placed spies at the border and was eagerly awaiting their arrival. Upon receiving the report delivered by fast horse, the gathered members exchanged complicated looks.

"Well, they won't find out. We have a tight leash on the Lords."

"If she's not the Golden King, it's meaningless. To a mere human, even a Lord is just a monster."

"If that is the case, then it is fine…"

The boy who muttered this looked at his deceitfully smirking father and older brother as if he were about to spit. Of course, he turned his head so they wouldn't notice. Present here were the King, the Crown Prince, and the younger prince. The younger prince felt like he was going to vomit at the sight of his lewdly grinning father and brother.

If only the one coming was the Golden King…!

The boy closed his eyes and remembered the pitiful captives chained in the basement. A damp prison. Prisoners surviving on meager meals.

Someone, please help…!

As the younger prince clenched his fists, which were trembling slightly, and offered a heartfelt prayer, the gods smirked secretly. A strong wish is a power.

Chaos and Abyss in the celestial realm wore cunning smiles that said, "Leave it to us." The younger prince was unaware of them now.

The gods' basic principle was to rely on others. The ones who struggled were the humans on the ground. That too was the gods' providence.

Even the gods couldn't know the fate of the human pinwheel fireworks, so it couldn't be helped.

Incidentally, at that time, the human pinwheel firework was throwing a grand tantrum.

"Nooo! I want to stay at the inn!"

"But it's just a futon placed directly on a wooden board. There's no mattress, this kind of bed is worse than the tent or the carriage."

In Frontier, the pocket coil mattress, an idea from Little One during her time as Fatima, had become widespread. Naturally, it was also used in their camping bedding. It was a luxury item not found in a remote village like this.

"Of course! I want the travel experience more than the comfort! That’s why the inn is better!"

Dorfen and Hyrulia were dumbfounded, their jaws dropped. They didn't understand what she meant at all. Adonis placed a hand on each of their shoulders and muttered with a look of resignation.

"This is the kind of creature she is. Give up. Okay?"

"There is no logic to the young lady's actions."

Zack was already standing there with his simple luggage, fully intending to stay at the inn with Little One.

"Ah… you're right."

Dorfen slapped his forehead with his hand.

It was an unspoken rule that had spread not only through the Little One Squad but to everyone in the palace.

Because she's Little One.♪

This phrase was still alive and well.

"Then it's decided!"

Kyakya. The Little One Squad trailed along after Little One as she headed to the inn. Watching them with an exasperated look, Kazuki and his group also headed for the inn. His caravan usually slept rough with just a single blanket, so being able to stay at an inn was a blessing. The Mononoke Corps was with the carriages. There was nothing to worry about.

And then, Kazuki's eyes suddenly widened, and he gave a wry smile.

"What's wrong?"

The members of the merchant caravan tilted their heads, seeing Kazuki's grinning face.

"No, it's nothing. It's been a while since we had a bed, let's take it easy."

"Yeah!" replied his cheerful companions with wide smiles.

Kazuki was just laughing at himself for having come to trust the Mononoke Corps without realizing it.

Getting used to things is scary, really.

"We're counting on you."

Calling out to the monsters milling around the carriages, Kazuki and his men also entered the inn. Watching them go, the Mononoke Corps snorted as if to say, "Leave it to us."

And so, the night in the Kingdom of Claudia deepened, and it was the default for Little One to cause a commotion in the inn's dining hall. That too is Little One quality.

Enjoying the travel mood to the fullest, Little One is full of energy today too.♪