kscans

Chapter 15 - Sweets, the Castle Town, and Little One, Part One

"Bun bun bun♪"

Flapping her hands like wings, the Little One walked through the castle town. It was her first outing in this life. She couldn’t help but skip.

"My lady, you’ll trip."

Accompanying her with Dorfen was Sasha. A beast-human, a rarity even in Frontier, she had disguised her appearance with a wide-brimmed hat and a long skirt. Apparently, Naya and Sasha had been caught in a slave raid in a village near the border. While on the run, they were rescued by a merchant from Kilfan who happened to be visiting. They were tricked with promises of being returned to their village, only to be taken to Kilfan to be sold at auction. The Frontier border knights of Gesperista caught wind of the auction, conducted an inspection of the ship, and since the two had no sales contracts, they were taken into protective custody. It was only a frontline measure, but such inspections were apparently conducted frequently to rescue victims of abduction.

"We had no relatives and no idea where our original village was. Lord Drago was kind enough to hire us."

"Just knowing it was a border village tells us nothing about its location. We crossed the sea for so long, I doubt we could ever return."

Though they said they had no complaints about their current lives, it seemed their longing for home never faded. At times, a sorrowful look would cloud their eyes.

It had been about sixteen years since they settled in Frontier. Both Naya and Sasha were like family to Drago.

"Do you not even know which country it was?"

Naya and Sasha exchanged a look and answered with slightly bitter smiles.

"It’s embarrassing to say, but we didn’t have a concept of ‘countries’."

"Indeed. The village was just called ‘the village.’ We were born there, started families there, and died there. We thought that was normal. We never even considered going to another land."

The small village was their entire world. Such a life was common in the middle ages. It was a good thing if the village even had a name. There were many small hamlets, barely villages, where almost everyone was a close relative.

Whether it was such a hamlet or a village, they said it was likely attacked by slave traders and no longer existed.

"First off, let's buy a map!"

The Little One trotted off with Pochiko-san on her back. Chihaya followed, running with Tarō-kun. Looking up at a familiar general store, the Little One let out a smug huff.

"Hello!"

Chihiro stepped into the store and headed for the counter. Chihaya looked around at the tightly packed goods with curiosity, his eyes darting about.

"My, what an adorable little customer. Are you running an errand?"

A young woman appeared. She smiled kindly at Chihiro.

Huh? Where’s the old lady?

The Little One instinctively pressed against the counter, peeking inside. When she had visited before, a stout old lady had been there. Dorfen, finding her behavior odd, spoke up.

"Is something the matter?"

"Mm..... I was wondering where the old lady is."

"Oh my. You wouldn’t happen to know my mother-in-law, would you? Huh? But your age...."

According to the woman, she was the wife of the general store owner’s son. They had married six years ago, and the old lady had passed the store to the young couple and retired. She was now running a cozy inn in a farming village near Gesperista in the south.

Ah, right. Nine years is a long time.

Feeling a pang of sentimentality, the Little One bought the same notebook-style map as before and flipped through its pages. Her eyes widened slightly.

《A piece of your love for them》

…Some things don’t change.

A smile bloomed on the Little One’s face like a flower. Unaware that her smile had stopped time for those around her, she twirled in her green poncho and scurried away.

"It’s smaller than the map we used for studying."

"It’s a portable one you can carry around. It’s a map of just the castle town in the royal capital."

The twins walked on, happily chattering as they unfolded the map. They found their destination quickly.

"Whoa......"

A building with a chic appearance stood there. It had orange bricks, a red roof, and cute white window frames. Looking up at the three-story building, the Little One stood frozen in awe.

"It’s commonly known as the Castle of Sweets. It’s the official confectionery for the royal palace."

At Dorfen’s explanation, the corners of the Little One’s mouth curved up. Chihiro had grown up in Nagoya on Earth. It went without saying that the commercial song for her local Castle of Sweets was playing in her head. Dorfen opened the door for her, and a cowbell rang out with a kararan, announcing a customer's arrival.

"Welcome."

A shop assistant greeted the four of them. She was a cute girl in a chic uniform, a black blouse with a green bustier and a matching green flare skirt. Her brown hair was tied up in a bun.

"What can I get for you?"

"I haven’t decided yet. Let me look."

"Please take your time."

The shop was filled with all kinds of sweets. There were long-lasting items like pound cakes, crepes, and cookies, as well as puddings, jellies, and fresh cream cakes displayed in a glass case. When the Little One was last here, even cream puffs and eclairs had only custard cream, but now it seemed they used fresh cream too. Back then, I only managed to teach them the basics. They really worked hard.

The pudding and fresh cream were things she had taught them that final autumn. The colder winter temperatures made it less likely to fail. Zack had treated her to a pumpkin pudding using puréed pumpkin paste. It was a dessert Zack had created himself. She could still remember how delicious it was.

As the Little One salvaged memories from the forest of her mind, a man emerged from the back. He was a young boy with slightly long bangs swept to the sides. His eyes held the same defiant look as before.

"That’s Zack," Dorfen whispered.

The Zack in her memory was a seven-year-old boy who had just completed his Baptism. He bore little resemblance to the young man before her, but she could see traces of the boy he was. Zack noticed the Little One staring and his eyes widened in surprise. A strange atmosphere filled the shop. Then he suddenly glared and went back into the kitchen. What was that about? Dorfen explained with a wry smile.

Apparently, the Little One had been very popular in the castle town, and there was a time when her poncho and honeybee plushies were in fashion. Zack, who was devastated after the Little One disappeared when Chihiro and Fatima were switched, grew angry at the flood of look-alikes. He began to pointedly ignore children and devoted himself entirely to making sweets. He believed the Little One was in his creations, that her smile would appear within them.

Wait a minute. Isn't that a severe case of depression? That's what you call sick.

The challenge of the unknown world of confectionery had been what kept Zack sane.

What a mess. Zack, who had been a good big brother at the orphanage, now hated children. And today, both twins were wearing ponchos. It must have been a direct stab to his heart.

The repercussions of the Little One’s disappearance had reached even here.

Seeing Chihiro’s crestfallen expression, the shop assistant spoke kindly to her.

"Have you decided on your order?"

Looking up at the smiling older girl, the Little One hastily scanned the shelves and display case.

"Do you have pumpkin pudding?"

"Pumpkin? I’m sorry. I don’t think we do."

I see. I thought they might have it this time of year. Thinking she should buy something anyway, she called Chihaya over, and the two began to discuss what to get.

Just then, Zack, who was supposed to have disappeared into the back, reappeared.

"A sample. For you."

His gaze was fixed, but in his hand was a silver plate. On it were cute little candies in white and pink. The older girl who saw the plate being offered to the Little One looked at Zack in alarm. But Zack silenced her with a steely glare.

What’s this?

Tilting her head curiously, the Little One picked up a candy and popped it into her mouth. The candy was thin, and it seemed to have something inside. It crushed with a kashu, and a rich alcoholic flavor spread through her mouth.

"Is this..... a whiskey bonbon?"

At that, Zack’s lips twisted into a wicked grin.

"That’s right, miss. The whiskey bonbon you told me about. You said I could make it if I had sugar, right?"

The Little One’s eyes flew wide open.

Zack grinned cheerfully, like a mischievous boy. It was a heartfelt smile, the first he had shown in years.

"How did you know?"

"The pumpkin pudding. I only ever showed that to you, miss. Right after that, you disappeared, and..... I couldn't bring myself to make pumpkin pudding anymore."

A traumatic sweet. Whenever he tried to make it, the Little One's face would appear in his mind, and he would be unable to continue through his tears. And yet, Chihiro had asked for it so casually. "Do you have pumpkin pudding?" A little girl, asking for a dessert that Zack had created and served only to the Little One, as if it were something that should obviously be there. Zack, who had heard this from the back, connected the dots.

Could it be? No, what if?

As a test, he brought out the whiskey bonbons he had been experimenting with, something the Little One had told him about before. It was a sweet made with expensive sugar he had obtained from Kilfan. Zack had talked endlessly with the Little One about all sorts of sweets he could make if only he had sugar, and he remembered everything.

And now he was certain.

"Welcome back, miss."

As Zack smiled, the people around him were dumbfounded. The difficult pastry chef, who hated children, never smiled, and would at worst glare at you with eyes of absolute zero. But his skill was second to none, acknowledged even by Drago. The man of iced sweets who held the sole royal warrant in Frontier. That Zack was smiling. A smile like a sunbeam in spring.

Inspired by that nostalgic smile, the Little One let out a sob. The culture of sweets she had spread, he had followed that path steadfastly and mastered it.

There was nothing that could make her happier.

"I’m home, Zack!"

Zack caught the Little One as she jumped at him with a choked cry, unable to contain his own welling joy. Thank you, God. I never thought a miracle like this could happen.

As the two embraced, Dorfen and the others smiled wryly, while the shop staff stood speechless at the impossible sight.

"Giving alcohol... to a child...."

Only the sensible murmur of the older girl stood out in the shop.

And so, spring came to Zack’s long-frozen heart. The Little One broke through the frozen earth and planted a seed of flowers. What blooms is a bright future for confectionery.

The Little One connects the past and present, striding toward the future. Together with her reliable companions. She gets down, she cries, she laughs. Today had its ups and downs. But the Little One is always happy♪