kscans

Chapter 23 - # The Adventurers' Guild and the Little One

"…How nostalgic."

The Guild Master stared at the honey-colored shining stone pinned to the document, his eyes narrowing slightly.

The numerous reforms that had occurred when he was young.

The young princess who was said to have been involved in all of them.

Though she was known as a princess now, back then she was called a baron’s daughter. The Little One who had introduced so many cultural elements to the royal capital and taken the world by storm. Sweets and embroidery had spread mainly among the common people, and their popularity had yet to wane. In fact, they were seeing new developments and were on the verge of becoming a major industry for Frontier.

Recalling those days, the Guild Master closed his eyes, filled with deep emotion.

The donation box on the guild counter. It was placed there for the poor orphans. There was little the people of the city could do. About all they could manage was to set up such donation boxes and deliver the goodwill that was collected.

And yet, the Little One had rescued the orphanage, which had been shunned by the church and was suffering from poverty, given them handicrafts to generate income, and rebuilt it. Her skill had been magnificent. She had cut ties with the church with satisfying decisiveness, secured the orphanage’s freedom, and had even been so thorough as to hide honeybees as guards. The Guild Master, who was still a mid-level adventurer at the time, had been amazed at how masterfully she had handled it.

As he watched the Little One fly away in a sack, he had looked up at her with eyes full of admiration, wanting to be like her.

He had worked tirelessly, become a full-fledged adventurer, and it had been several years since he was recognized and became the Guild Master. No matter how many years passed, the feelings of those days had not faded.

"Chihiro La Georges, is it."

The name of the young girl written on the document. The Guild Master knew it was the same as the baron’s daughter, and that the family name was that of the Little One in question. In fact, many adventurers in the guild knew.

There was no shortage of heroic tales about the Little One, from visiting the Seaside Forest and bringing the Kilfan Empire under her wing, to kicking out the poisonous insects from another country that had infested the depths of the royal palace.

Grand stories that bards still sing of today.

Not a few had been inspired by the Little One of that time to become knights or adventurers.

I want to help someone. I want to save the weak.

Many young people had knocked on the doors of the Adventurers’ Guild with such aspirations in their hearts. Surely, their eyes had seen the same figure. Though her hair and eye color were different, and her age did not match, that was undoubtedly the Little One.

That cheerful smile and free-spirited atmosphere. It was impossible to mistake it.

"I wonder what kind of miracle happened. Well, it is the Little One, after all."

Remembering the striking events of the afternoon, the Guild Master sipped his drink and chuckled to himself. He had been processing the twins’ registration with some doubt, but seeing the honey-colored shining stone the young girl produced had confirmed it. She could change her outward appearance, but she could not change the color of her soul. She was surely the reincarnation of the lost Little One.

"Was it called reincarnation? To think I’d see it in person. It pays to help people, doesn’t it? What was that saying? Kindness is not for the sake of others, was it?"

Adventurers with free time had often gone to help with the founding of Kilfan. The Guild Master, needless to say, had been one of them. Kilfan had its own unique culture and beliefs, and it was believed that when people died, they were purified and reborn anew. This was called reincarnation. They said that if you did good deeds in your past life and accumulated virtue, you were promised happiness in the next. This was apparently the origin of sayings like "kindness is not for the sake of others" and "what goes around, comes around." Good deeds come back as good things, and bad deeds come back as bad things.

At the time, he had listened with a simple "I see," but he never imagined it would unfold before his very eyes.

"Welcome back, Little One."

The Guild Master raised his glass, the ice clinking inside. His blissful murmur tumbled through the silent guild, unheard by anyone.

"Alright, time to get to work!"

Having finished breakfast, the Little One energetically raised her right hand. For the past few weeks, they had been participating in the knight order’s early morning training. Their daily routine was now set, and the twins, who were early to bed and early to rise, would wake up even before the chickens behind the mansion and would be nodding off by the time the sun set.

A very regular, diurnal lifestyle.

Just as they had gotten used to it, the twins registered as adventurers. They would not overdo it. One step at a time. Faced with the Little One’s remarkably steady actions, those around them could not say no, and while not exactly pleased, they saw them off with resigned, wry smiles.

Watching the twins’ backs as they headed towards the castle town, Drago murmured anxiously.

"Will they be alright? Just the two of them."

"Don’t you worry. Dorfen is guarding them from just out of sight. Besides, don’t children learn by falling down? Our kids know perfectly well how to get back up."

Drago hugged his beautiful, smiling wife and gave her a light kiss on the cheek. Her small body fit perfectly in his arms. Before their marriage, Drago had heard about Sakura’s past. She had told him everything, without hiding a single detail. He had been rendered speechless by her harrowing life. He respected her from the bottom of his heart for overcoming so many difficulties with those slender arms and winning her freedom on her own. Even with the help of the Golden King, to raise a rebellion against her own country and succeed must have taken an extraordinary amount of resolve. His daughter, the Chihiro of the past, had also faced a series of hardships in Frontier. Why must such weak women and children face one trial after another?

As a man, as a father, Drago, who had been powerless to help, bit his lip in frustration.

That was precisely why he wanted to cherish her, spoil her, and make her happier than anyone else.

"What is it?"

As Drago held her without a word, Sakura patted his back. He felt bliss in those slender fingers and soaked in the indescribable comfort.

He wanted to make her happy, but she was always the one making him happy.

"…I’m so happy. Yes, I am a fortunate man."

"Oh, you. …Of course you are. People are born to seize happiness. Even if it means snatching it from the gods."

She was likely referring to Chihiro.

For Drago, Sakura was also one such person, but it seemed the one in question only had eyes for her children. In that case, Drago would have to make her happy to make up for it.

Until the twins were out of sight, Drago held Sakura and nuzzled her cheek.

A toast to the happy papa bear.

"Which one should we choose?"

"How about gathering? Look, this one is for a forest flower."

The request slip Chihaya pointed to described the collection of a forest flower that bloomed only in winter. This flower apparently bloomed in a cave deep in the forest and disliked sunlight and high temperatures. It was a flower they had learned about in their studies before their baptism. Because it was poisonous. Poison, when diluted, could become medicine, but they had been taught by their teacher that it was a dangerous plant. The client was the Pharmacology Guild, one of several guilds in the castle town.

"This one will do. If there are any other forest requests, let’s take them while we’re at it."

They peeled off about three more request slips, for things like a winter-only mushroom and an insect, and the twins handed them to the receptionist at the counter.

"To the forest? There are wild beasts and monsters in the forest, you know."

"It’s okay, we’re used to it."

"Yep."

The children grinned broadly.

Used to it?

With a complicated expression, the receptionist processed the quest acceptance.

"The deadline is three days. If you fail, there will be a penalty fee of half the reward. Be careful."

Well, they looked like nobles, so that probably would not be an issue. The two of them, having accepted the quests, left the guild and started running towards the forest, unaware that the Guild Master was watching them from a third-floor window.

"Found a mushroom!"

"Over here too."

The pure white mushrooms stood out vividly even among the withered grass. They wrapped the specified five mushrooms in paper and, while heading for the cave deep in the forest, the twins collected the items for their quests.

The insects were also hanging around on dead branches, and the quests were proceeding smoothly.

"A green bagworm… what a strange color."

The bagworm, said to be used for dye, was a completely different shade of green from the ones on Earth. A single one could dye a whole roll of cloth, and it was a popular handicraft in winter. There were also insects that produced red dye and yellow dye. Here, most dyes were extracted from insects.

I see. On Earth, there were things like cochineal, where insects were used for dye. I guess that’s the mainstream method here.

The fact that much of the forest was under the control of beasts was likely a major factor. Since gathering plants was difficult, they prioritized things that were more reliable. There were fewer beasts in the winter forest. From spring to autumn, when grasses and flowers bloomed, there were many beasts. That was why only things that could be gathered in winter were available, and a culture utilizing grasses and flowers had not developed.

Even the flowers are just variations of the same family. If I put some effort into that area, it could be a good business opportunity.

Breeding new varieties requires a lot of seeds and seedlings. Having adventurers collect them, then increasing, improving, and producing them would consume money and time like water. Most people would run out of funds at that initial stage. There was likely no one eccentric enough to go to such lengths to develop flowers and dyes.

The Little One grinned, having found the beginnings of a new enterprise.

She never missed an opportunity to raise funds.

Money made most things possible. It was true what they said, even in hell, money talks.

A slightly exasperated Chihaya followed behind the gleeful Chihiro as she headed towards the cave. When his sister made that face, she was plotting something. Having been with her since birth, Chihaya had become able to read the Little One’s thoughts to some extent.

And he would also give up.

Once this sister of his got an idea, there was no stopping her.

Looking up at the sky, Chihaya narrowed his eyes.

Still, I am her big brother. I have to protect my cute little sister.

Chihiro could hold her own against adults. But she was still a child. She was Chihaya’s little sister. Even if there were many things he didn’t understand, he had to make sure his cute sister wasn’t used by adults. That she wasn't deceived by strange people. He had to become stronger and smarter to protect her.

Even as a child, Chihaya had felt that his sister was not ordinary, but his resolve was unwavering.

Chihaya, who had grown up watching the deeply affectionate Drago, was a child who loved his family dearly. Gazing at his sister walking ahead, Chihaya clenched his fists.

I will protect you, no matter what.

While learning about the various things surrounding Chihiro, Chihaya grew stronger. It was all for the single-minded purpose of protecting his sister.

An unsettling atmosphere always swirled around his sister, and even the young Chihaya could sense it.

Oblivious to the small vow her brother made to the heavens, the Little One continued on her own path as always.