kscans

Chapter 39 - A New Pilgrimage and the Little One, Part Five

"And that is the situation. Do you understand?"

"Yes..."

This was the town of Bastok.

Afterwards, the Little One’s party had entered the town and been taken to a villa used by the royal family, where Prince Marcello was now giving a lecture to everyone, including the entire knight contingent. The Little One was sitting formally on the sofa, small and dejected, her head hung low.

"This is not an incognito visit. If you are to wield authority, you must also fulfill the responsibilities that come with it."

His words hit home.

The Little One curled up even smaller.

That monsters are not commonplace and inspire fear and caution in others. Furthermore, Bastok, being near the border forest, was often attacked by monsters and its people were on edge.

"The soldiers’ response was entirely appropriate. You merely picked a fight. By silencing them with the authority of the kings, what kind of impression do you think you gave them?"

His lecture was perfectly reasonable.

Chihiro curled up even smaller.

Unable to watch any longer, Dorfen couldn’t help but step in to help her.

"May I be permitted to speak?"

"You may."

The crown prince gave a magnanimous nod to Dorfen, who had raised his hand slightly.

"Certainly, Lady Chihiro’s response was not commendable. However, she is still a child of seven. I believe she is too young to possess such sensibilities."

With a slightly dramatic gesture, Dorfen furrowed his brow and spun his words. But Prince Marcello fixed him with a sharp gaze and let out an exaggerated sigh.

"Are you being serious?"

"Pardon?"

"I am asking if you are seriously suggesting that this is a seven-year-old child, acting her age."

Dorfen was at a loss for words as the crown prince gestured to the Little One with his chin. The knights lined up behind the Little One also unconsciously averted their eyes. Their gazes darted about like minnows making ripples on the water’s surface. The crown prince gave them a lukewarm smile and sighed inwardly. They know, don’t they.

Sensing an awkward undertone in the knights’ attitudes, Prince Marcello knelt before the Little One.

"You have power. If you are to flaunt it, then act accordingly. If you dislike that, then be discreet in your actions. Do you understand?"

The Little One gave a small nod to Prince Marcello, who met her gaze with a serious expression.

I messed up. I thoughtlessly used whatever I could without thinking. This isn’t Frontier. They have no tolerance for monsters, and it’s an authoritarian country where the elite are absolute. If the top says it’s white, then it’s white even if it’s black. In a place like that, if you brandish the highest authority, of course everyone will be intimidated and subservient. The Frontier royal family, which approves of rebuttals from the lower classes, is the strange one. It’s strange, but to the Little One, who knew that was how things should be, it didn’t seem odd. That’s why these cracks appear.

Prince Marcello averted his gaze from the dejected and silent Little One and began to lecture the knights instead.

"And you are all to blame as well. It is a retainer’s duty to skillfully admonish and guide their master."

The Frontier knights were also at a loss for words at his nagging lecture. Dorfen personally had tried to get the Little One to behave in a manner befitting her station, but he couldn’t stop her from completely dropping the act in front of those without rank, even though she was perfectly sociable in front of those with rank. For royalty, she acted like royalty. For nobility, like nobility. For commoners, like commoners. The Little One’s atmosphere changed completely to match each group. Dorfen was impressed that she could switch between personas so well, but he had still made an effort to get her to maintain a noble demeanor in her actions and dress at all times. However, all his efforts ended in vain.

Because all of them were the Little One.

She wasn’t switching or acting. All of it was a natural change. She transformed to match her company, and all of it was the Little One. Basically a commoner. Sometimes a noble. Rarely, quasi-royalty.

Her attitude and way of speaking changed so naturally. Dorfen didn’t understand it, but seeing how she treated those she trusted as a commoner regardless of their station, he was sure that her base was that of a commoner.

But that ambiguity was what caused this kind of friction.

Dorfen couldn’t stop it. He couldn’t prevent it. At this rate, he was a failure as an attendant. He had to do something.

With a pained expression, he felt terribly sorry for the Little One, who was slumped over dejectedly.

Pochiko-san and the others gently snuggled up to the Little One as if to comfort her. They rubbed their cheeks against her shoulder and wrapped themselves around her hand, licking her fingers. Chihiro gave a wry smile at the kindness of the small creatures.

"Thank you."

Saying so, the Little One took out honey cubes from her bag and gave one to each of them. Besides magic, monsters also eat regular food. Magic is like a luxury item for them. Monsters are particularly fond of sweets, so the Little One would occasionally give them sweets as a snack, separate from their meals. The snacks she carried around for easy access were various cookies and honey cubes. Honey cubes came in fruit and grain varieties and were a convenient item that was also useful when you were a little hungry or tired. She unwrapped the apple-flavored cubes and handed them out one by one. Pochiko-san and Mi-chan ate them happily. Mugi-ta was also overjoyed. As she handed them out to the other monsters that crowded around her, the Little One’s hand suddenly stopped.

She had handed out the cube without thinking, but what was that unfamiliar hand just now?

Two hands like maple leaves were held out, and the Little One instinctively placed a cube on them. The little girl cautiously looked to her side and saw something unfamiliar. It had shaggy hair and a beard, a leather hat like a Borsalino on its head, and its bangs came down to just above its button nose, obscuring its face.

"Who are you!"

At the Little One’s involuntary cry, everyone’s gaze gathered. And like the Little One, they were speechless at the sight of the unfamiliar creature. Sitting next to her and eating a cube was a human smaller than Chihiro. Not a child, but a human. An adult. An adult smaller than the Little One.

"Hmm?" the creature seemed to say as it tilted its head.

It held out its small hands again, and the Little One was dumbfounded. Dorfen immediately scooped her up.

"What is this? Is it one of yours, from Flowers?"

The Frontier knights recoiled at the sight of the roughly thirty-centimeter-tall human. Prince Marcello shook his head vigorously in response, his face pale.

"I don’t know! What is this thing?"

The commotion of the people slowly backing away drew the attention of the villa staff, who came rushing into the reception room.

"Is something the matter?"

"This! What is this?!"

The villa staff’s eyes widened at the thing being pointed at.

"Isn’t that a gnome? How rare."

"A gnome...? You mean, the legendary one?"

As if realizing it upon hearing the word, Prince Marcello looked at the small human with an expression of astonishment.

"A spirit?"

Dorfen, seeming to understand as well, stared at the small creature munching on the cube. The marquis’s family, with their Golden King fetish, knew of the spirits that the king had commanded. There was a passage about gnomes in their texts.

According to the stories, gnomes had appeared in Flowers since ancient times. Back when the land was full of magic, they were not uncommon, and humans and gnomes lived together in harmony. They mined ore and tilled fields. Flowers had benefited from the gnomes’ help in many areas.

However, as magic disappeared from the land, gnomes were seen less and less, and now they were only recorded in legends.

"I only know of them from fairy tales. Well, I am surprised."

‘Hoh hoh.’

The gnome, having received a new apple cube, unwrapped it with delight. Around it sat the people, looking at each other in confusion, unable to comprehend what had happened. Amidst them, only the Little One’s eyes sparkled as she stared at the gnome.

So this is a gnome. It’s like a doll.

Apparently, the gnome had taken a liking to the honey cubes and was munching away happily. It then looked up at the Little One and held out a tiny index finger from its small hand. The Little One, sensing she should, also held out her index finger. The moment their fingers touched, something slithered out of the Little One’s body.

"Ah…"

The moment the others reacted to the Little One’s small voice, a small lizard appeared between the gnome and the little girl.

‘Kyau!’

‘Hoh hoh?’

It was a salamander that had manifested. It wagged its gunmetal-colored tail back and forth and happily played with the gnome. At first glance, it was a heartwarming scene, but a tremendous chill emanated from behind the Little One.

Oh no. I don’t want to turn around.

The source of the chill was, of course, Prince Marcello. He narrowed his sharp eyes and kept the little girl fixed in his sight without moving a muscle.

"Explain. What is that lizard?"

How should I explain this?

This was the first time Colon had appeared without being summoned. What on earth had happened?

"Um... A salamander?"

At the little girl’s words, Prince Marcello’s mouth twisted into an uneven smirk. By the time the Little One realized the danger, it was too late. A roar echoed through the reception room.

"Explain yourself!"

The Little One, huddled together with Colon, the gnome, and the other monsters, broke out in a cold sweat as she looked up at the crown prince. As the surrounding knights looked up at the heavens, the Little One haltingly explained the events that had taken place at the Frontier Royal Palace. Prince Marcello’s interrogation did not end even as the night wore on, and it was around the time the sky began to lighten that the two, with exhausted faces, faced each other and sighed.

"So, in other words. You have become the master of this gnome. ...But why you, when you are in the land of Flowers?"

"I don’t know! It was just next to me when I noticed! It’s not my fault!"

True enough.

The Little One thrashed about, half in tears.

The gnome was happily conversing with Colon, Jirō, and the other salamanders.

‘Kyau, kyuu.’

‘Hoh hoh, hoh hoh.’

‘Kyafu.’

Listening to the incomprehensible conversation, the people still found themselves soothed by the happy trio. Only Chihaya, sitting on the sofa, looked at the gnome with a complicated expression.

Unaware of his serious expression, the Little One, who had been sitting, suddenly fell backward.

"Lady Chihiro?"

Dorfen rushed to catch her and found her fast asleep, still with a tear-streaked face, breathing softly. With an exasperated smile, Dorfen lifted the little girl into his arms.

"Let us conclude for the night. I will take her to bed."

"Ah, my apologies. Is it morning already?"

The whitening sky outside the window hurt his eyes.

And so, without really understanding how, the Little One obtained a gnome.

A laughing gnome and a dancing salamander.

Prince Marcello secretly biting his lip in frustration.

Later, the persistent Prince Marcello, after a great commotion, managed to get a gnome for himself. It is a side story that he beamed like a child and doted on the gnome.

The Little One is still unaware of the commotion to come.

Sucking her thumb, the little girl sleeps with a troubled expression. Her future is fraught with difficulty.