kscans

Chapter 36 - A New Pilgrimage and the Little One, Part Two

"..........."

"..........."

Two plus one stared at each other in silence.

On one side were two tiny children. They wore matching ponchos of different colors and looked up at their counterpart. On the other side was a well-built man. He was dressed in formal attire of black with silver accents and a cape on one shoulder. It was clearly the outfit of someone of high rank. Behind him stood a contingent of knights, a hundred strong at least. They stared, speechless, at a carriage being pulled by a pure white spider monster. They also glanced at the bees flying around the area, breaking out in a cold sweat.

The Frontier party tilted their heads at such a grand reception. But the Little One recognized the man.

What is the Crown Prince doing here?

This was the border of Flowers, a nostalgic place she had visited ten years ago.

As the two groups stared at each other in silence, a knight from the other side cleared his throat lightly and spoke respectfully.

"Before you stands the crown prince of our nation, His Highness Prince Marcello de Flowers."

Indeed. The reason the two groups had been silent was because of the aristocratic custom that one must not speak unless addressed by a person of higher rank. A mere count’s family could not casually address the royalty of a neighboring country. Even knowing who he was, they had no choice but to wait for him to speak first.

"Welcome after your long journey."

It was a polite but insolent dismissal, uttered without a hint of a smile.

Prince Marcello’s cold response showed not a trace of welcome. That was fine. The twins, with perfect unspoken understanding, gave a noncommittal reply.

"I am Chihaya, the heir of Count Jorge of Frontier. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Likewise, I am Chihiro. A pleasure."

Their salutation and bow were flawless. It was a demeanor unbecoming of children who had likely just received their baptism. The knights of Flowers exchanged looks of astonishment. However, those who had experienced this in the past narrowed their eyes with complicated feelings.

"Chihaya? And Chihiro?"

Prince Marcello tilted his head, looking puzzled. They were used to their names being drawn out like that. Outside of their family, the twins were rarely called by their proper names, and they both gave a wry smile.

"They are words from Kilfan, so they may be difficult to pronounce. Please feel free to call us Haya or Hiro, whichever is easier."

As the two stepped back, Dorfen moved forward to take their place. His eyes, though not haughty, held a firm, unyielding light as he addressed the crown prince.

"May I have permission to speak?"

"You may."

"Thank you, Your Highness. If I may ask, why are you here? If it does not concern us, we would like to proceed with our journey promptly."

At Dorfen’s words, Prince Marcello and his knights were slightly flustered. For the crown prince himself to come out and greet them was an extraordinary event. Yet the other party was completely unimpressed and intended to simply pass by. In fact, he felt they weren’t even trying to hide their insolence in wanting to leave quickly. The prince felt a faint flicker of irritation in his mind. The Flowers knights standing behind him must have felt the same way, for their irritation slipped from their lips.

"How insolent... To think the Crown Prince himself has come."

The Frontier party members who caught the whisper looked at each other in confusion.

"That is why I am asking. I presumed you had some business with us. If not, we must depart in haste."

Dorfen’s words held a hint of exasperation.

"In haste? Why is that?"

It was a back and forth that seemed to probe the other’s intentions. Just as the Little One was about to open her mouth to answer Prince Marcello, who was evasively dodging the question, something jumped down from the top of the carriage. All eyes immediately focused on it. They were staring at a single frog. It looked up with a bothered expression, as if it were sizing up Prince Marcello. But then the prince realized its gaze was directed further behind him and he spun around with a gasp.

Sometime, somehow, a large feudal lord frog had appeared there. The Flowers knights gasped at the sight of the nearly four-meter-tall frog and unconsciously formed a protective circle around the crown prince. But it was the crown prince himself who objected.

"Fools, lower your weapons! That is a Lord of the Forest."

At those words, Chihiro’s face lit up.

The Lord of the border forest, known as King. The crown prince knew of him.

Behind King was a large fissure. The kin who ruled the earth could travel through underground water veins to hide or move to distant locations. He had previously hidden deep beneath the forest to conceal himself from adventurers who were running rampant over the monsters.

Before the frog in question, the Flowers knights and the crown prince bowed their heads respectfully. King offered a faint smile in return and then bowed his head to the Little One.

《It has been too long. Have you been well, my king?》

A golden light shone in his left eye.

At the sight of a familiar face, the Little One couldn’t help but smile. Mugi-ta, who had jumped down, was also hopping about happily.

"You look well, Moruto."

《Thanks to you. The forest has thinned, but the people are working hard. I am grateful.》

Apparently, the people of that farming village came to plant trees with all their might.

"Cherish the forest."

With this as their motto, they had maintained a good relationship with the Lords.

Some things never change.

The Little One’s eyes widened when she heard that they had faithfully followed her words, at times even standing up to soldiers from the royal capital. To protect the forest. To protect their farmlands. They had driven away adventurers who came to hunt monsters for materials, which led to a standoff with soldiers who arrived after receiving complaints from said adventurers.

"Hunting for monster materials is supposed to be done in the frontier! This may be the frontier, but it is a border granary under our management. We will not permit such lawlessness!"

The farmland had finally been revived and was gradually expanding. The farmers, who were keenly aware of the connection between the land and its Lord, pointed to the reservoirs the Lord’s kin had made and the sky that brought just the right amount of moisture, shouting loudly.

"It is because the Lord is here that we can farm this land. We will never forgive you for desecrating the forest of our great benefactor! If you insist, no more harvests will reach the royal capital!"

The soldiers and adventurers, at a loss against the unyielding farmers, appealed to the royal court. Prince Marcello, who was not unacquainted with the Lord of the Forest, heard the circumstances and offered to mediate. After listening to both sides, he acknowledged that the farmers’ explanation was correct, declared the vast, ownerless wilderness around the border to be state land, and forbade adventurers from entering.

There were monsters in the Flowers frontier. It took seven days by carriage or five days by horse, but the requests could still be fulfilled. The Lord’s forest, a three-day carriage ride or a one-day horse ride from the capital, had been a prime hunting ground, but now the adventurers who had been banned were on the verge of tears.

Since then, this border region had been placed under the crown prince’s management, and King reported that they had been living peacefully.

"Huh."

So he was the one.

The crown prince remained motionless, his head still bowed to King.

As the Little One watched him with curiosity, Prince Marcello was thinking about the little girl to whom King was bowing. There was only one person who fit that description.

Even with her black hair and green eyes, she was the Golden King. The Golden King who was called the Little One.

He had come to the border to verify the rumors about the count’s daughter. Was she an imposter or a fake? Knowing the Golden King from ten years ago, Prince Marcello’s heart was in turmoil. The many rumors that disparaged her. It was true that Princess Fatima’s memory had been lost, and her golden eyes had vanished. She was no longer the Golden King. However, that did not change the fact that she had saved the border forest. He had to repay that kindness. That’s what he had thought.

But now, the story was changing.

At first, he had watched with suspicion, but seeing her in person, no one could deny it.

This little girl was the Golden King.

There was no one else who could converse with a Lord without writing. Nor anyone a Lord would personally come to greet.

Ah, so the rumors were true.

Sighing inwardly, Prince Marcello pictured his princess in his mind. Her gentle, innocent smile, her modest and fresh demeanor. Since their engagement during her studies abroad, they had met several times a year, written letters every week, and slowly nurtured their love for one another.

That, too, was the truth.

The Princess Fatima he knew was neither the Golden King nor the Little One. But she was the woman he had cherished and loved over the long ten years.

Faced with reality, Prince Marcello felt an overwhelming urge to see Fatima.

What was she doing now? He would go see her when spring was in full bloom.

Once the mystery was solved, it was nothing. Just the fact that his benefactor and his beloved were two different people.

The crown prince, having come to a conclusion through his own soul searching, decided to follow the Frontier party to the farming village. The Little One squad, also known as a one-man army. He couldn’t just leave them be, so he announced that he would accompany them part of the way on their journey to the frontier.

Wait, are we dangerous people?

It seems the person in question was the only one unaware.

Flowers, being well-acquainted with Frontier, did not feel a great sense of crisis. But the distant countries that only knew of rumors would not be so calm, the crown prince thought, as he gazed at the little girl with an exasperated look.

Hey, I don’t know anything about that. What should I do?

"Well, you’ll manage somehow, won’t you? Just as you once flatly refused my invitation."

The crown prince, riding alongside the carriage, grinned at the Little One, who was poking her head out the window.

Was that about the inn? How nostalgic.

No matter where she was, the Little One was the Little One.

Prince Marcello knew this well. He would never forget the shock of seeing her create a forest right before his eyes.

"Hey. I made a forest in the capital after that. I learned from the farming village at the border. It was a struggle, but I think I managed to create a forest of a decent size... Is it possible for a Lord to move?"

The Little One’s eyes widened at the prince’s halting words. He remembered their conversation back then. And he had acted on it. An indescribable feeling of bashfulness spread through the Little One’s chest.

I suppose I have to tell him. We’re in this together now, yep♪

Prince Marcello rode his horse with a sullen face. Little did he dream that he was about to be dragged into a world-shaking commotion.

The Little One's sly grin was pure mischief.

It's a charming little quirk that the unknowing crown prince would later return to the capital, clutching his head in his hands.

Reuniting with familiar faces brought a wicked smile to her face, and the Little One is full of energy today♪