kscans

Chapter 38 - A New Pilgrimage and the Little One, Part Four

"Still, I’d heard about it, but this place is really something."

The Little One and her party had passed through the wilderness on the Flowers border and were now in a mountainous region. The towering mountains were almost devoid of vegetation, and rocky peaks and canyons reminiscent of the Grand Canyon on Earth narrowed the expanse of the sky. This landscape had continued for about two days. It was a desolate scene familiar in Arcadia. Even in Arcadia, where half the continent was desert or wilderness, such magnificent mountains were a rare sight.

"If we go a little further, we’ll reach a town called Bastok. It’s my country’s prized mining town. In fact, these mountains are filled with ore everywhere, not just underground. There are scoundrels hoping to strike it rich, so be careful."

At Prince Marcello’s words, the Little One’s eyes widened. This vast mountain range, stretching as far as the eye could see, was all a mine?

Currently, the carriage was descending a mountain it had just climbed. Even looking out the window from there, rocky mountains of all sizes continued in every direction, all the way to the horizon. Well, this is spectacular in a different way from Frontier.

Frontier was farmland as far as the eye could see. She fondly remembered how her eyes had sparkled ten years ago at the sight of fields that continued unbroken even after a full day’s carriage ride.

"A mine, huh. This might be my first time seeing one."

Unable to hide her excitement, her mouth curved into a grin and her large eyes sparkled. Prince Marcello couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of the little girl shaking her head from side to side like a roly-poly toy.

"You haven’t changed a bit."

The Little One didn’t have any memory of spending enough time with him for him to say such a thing. She looked back curiously and tilted her head. Ah, yes. She hasn’t changed.

Just a brief scolding and a few days of marching together.

It was only that, yet how vividly he remembered it. The little girl racing on the back of a monster. The little girl loudly complaining about the food situation during camp. The little girl standing tall before them as they looked on in admiration at the meal prepared with the help of Frontier’s cooks, her eyes curving in satisfaction. And the little girl who affectionately clung to the Lord of the border forest, climbed onto its head, and laughed.

He had been truly shocked at the time.

Just when he thought it couldn't be, other monsters joyfully jumped on the Lord, climbed up, and began to frolic and dance with the Little One. While giving a high five with a "whey," she headed towards a large spring and placed both hands on the ground.

In that moment, several bolts of lightning shot through the area, and in the next instant, after we were blinded, the little girl’s figure had vanished.

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

Prince Marcello’s heart clenched, as if caught in an invisible net with no escape. Even now, he had not forgotten that feeling. A critical alarm bell rung by his instincts. Ten years had passed since then. This feeling had saved him many times. The little girl snatched away right before his eyes. According to King, it was a summons from the gods. If that was the case, there was nothing a human could do.

The Frontier knights, perhaps accustomed to such abnormal situations, proceeded in an orderly fashion despite their confusion. The Little One squad simply gave a light farewell to the bewildered members from Flowers and began their return journey. At that time, Prince Marcello felt a wave of nausea at his younger self, who could do nothing but stare after them in a daze.

I am different from who I was back then. Now, I can surely be of help to her.

The painful memory from ten years ago had neither faded nor healed, and it would occasionally torment him.

The deeply embedded wedge of regret. This memory had flashed through the prince’s mind many times when he faced similar crises, and it had saved him from his predicaments. He would not make the same mistake twice. The stubbornness peculiar to youth. The memories of that time became fuel for Prince Marcello’s rigid self-discipline, shaping him into the man he was today.

This time for sure.

Dorfen and the others, sensing something similar to themselves in the crown prince’s earnest gaze upon the Little One, shrugged their shoulders.

Another case of trauma lying around. The Little One’s disappearance seemed to have spread its roots deeper and wider than they had thought.

The carriage, filled with three different kinds of sentiment, sped silently toward the town lights that had finally come into view. The carriage was equipped with makeshift tires, an invention of the Little One’s, made by stuffing long, thin leather bags with air and covering them with multiple layers of netting. It was much quieter than a regular carriage and made no noise. Prince Marcello would look upon it with astonishment, but that is a story for a little later.

"Whoaaaaa."

The tall rocky mountains on either side served as a natural defensive wall, and a sturdy checkpoint stood before the town called Bastok. At the checkpoint, with its large open gate, stood burly, grim-faced soldiers, their sharp gazes fixed on the line of people waiting for inspection. The white spider queued up in that line, politely waiting its turn. The sun had already set, and the Little One’s group was probably the last in line. There were separate gates for carriages and pedestrians. Seeing this, the spider got in the line for carriages. A man who appeared to be a guard for the carriage that was formerly last in line noticed something behind him and unconsciously turned around. He froze at the sight of a spider as tall as himself. And in the next instant, he screamed in a voice that could tear silk.

"A m-monster!"

The ear-splitting cry, frozen with terror, spread instantly, and the area around the Bastok gate plunged into a crucible of chaos. A tide of people pulled back with a cry, and through the gap they created, soldiers clad in armor came running. Upon confirming the spider, they raised their weapons without a word. However, their weapons never reached the spider. A barrier surrounding it repelled the men’s resentful blows. Some had their weapons knocked away. Some were sent flying along with their own bodies, and they looked up at the pure white spider before them, not understanding what had happened.

Then, a carefree voice drifted over.

"Hey, hey, isn’t this a bit sudden? What did my children do? They’re just pulling a carriage."

"A carriage?"

At those words, the soldiers also realized. The pure white spider, illuminated in the twilight, was so distinct that they hadn’t been able to see what was behind it. The dark brown carriage connected to it. The veil of night acted as camouflage, and the vivid whiteness of the spider stood out so much that neither the soldiers nor the people around them had noticed the carriage behind it.

"Oh, honestly. You poor thing. There, there, it’s okay, Canon."

The little girl nimbly hopped over the spider’s legs and back and patted the pure white spider on its head. The eight eyes of the spider, which had been glaring at the soldiers, softened into a drowsy look. Despite being an inorganic insect face, it was a mystery how one could tell it had softened. The atmosphere the spider exuded was completely different from before. Another similar spider emerged from behind the first one, which was purring and nuzzling up to her like an affectionate pet. The soldiers let out short screams at the two identical spiders.

"Don’t worry, Fugue. It’s okay."

The little girl jumped down from the spider with a light thud, took something from a knight beside her, and spread it out before the soldiers with a snap. It was a single sheet of parchment. A travel permit written under the joint names of the King of Frontier and His Majesty the King of Flowers. The text indicated not only a free pass between the two countries, but also permission to travel anywhere in Flowers. In other words, this little girl was a guest of His Majesty the King, who had been granted authority by the King of Flowers.

Blood drained from the soldiers' faces as they timidly looked up. The Little One gave them a faint smile and a slight lift of her lips.

"So that’s how it is. Well, it was probably confusing, so I’ll let it slide this time... But there won’t be a next time, you hear? If you point your weapons at my cute monsters, I’ll make you regret it so much you won’t even be able to cry."

Watching the back of the little girl as she drove her point home, Prince Marcello, who had been about to step out of the carriage, narrowed his eyes. No, you’re not acting very noble either. Why are you lining up with commoners? You should have sent a messenger ahead and gotten priority entry. If you had, the soldiers who received the notice would have come on a fast horse to confirm. Please, I beg you, realize that you’re the one making things worse.

The knights who should have prompted her to do so said nothing about the little girl’s actions. In fact, like the Little One, they were looking on resentfully at the current situation.

This isn’t Frontier, you know. How much free rein do the people of Frontier usually give her?

The temperature difference between those who knew the Little One well and those who didn’t. Prince Marcello’s head began to ache at the Frontier party, who seemed to have no understanding of this at all.

But this was just the beginning. The crown prince of today did not yet know of the great commotion that would occur during their two-day stay in the town of Bastok. Prince Marcello, dreaming of moving a Lord. The day his ambition would be fulfilled was still far away.