kscans

Chapter 75 - The Foreign Prince and the Little One

"So that’s it. Hmm, it’s looking pretty grimy."

Departing the next morning, the Little One and her group reached the Lord’s Forest before sunset. Like Legion’s forest, it was sparse and patchy. The ground was exposed, and the thin layer of green was a painful sight.

Buun, the carriage circled once above the forest, and the Little One noticed a desert had formed in what was likely its center.

Is this the effect of magic depletion?

But it was a suitable place to land. The Little One instructed the honeybees to set the carriage down in that desert. The desert was deserted. There were no signs of life, only the reflected sunlight baking into the sand.

Are the monsters in the green parts?

She started running, teke teke, and the moment her foot touched the desert sand, zari, numerous monsters emerged from beneath it.

"Ueh?!"

Instantly, Mugi-ta-kun on her head threw up a barrier. Noticing the commotion, Dorfen, the other knights, and Chihaya came rushing over.

Again! Why is it that the moment we notice, she’s gone?!

Just like in Yāman ten years ago, and in the western forest. The moment they took their eyes off her, the human pinwheel of a Little One would vanish somewhere. No, this is my failure. I know full well that she is that kind of creature.

Surrounding the Little One were giant scorpions. They ranged from palm-sized to adult-sized. Katakata, their mandibles chattered as they made a strange hissing sound, shuu shuu. The honeybees shot past the charging Dorfen and flew straight for the scorpions. But the scorpions kicked up a cloud of sand with their many legs, washi washi. Their vision and wing beats were obstructed by the massive amount of sand, and the honeybees hovered, stalled a short distance above. Narrowing his eyes at the vast cloud of sand obscuring the area, Dorfen made a rough guess and leaped toward the Little One.

"Chihiro-sama!"

"Dorfen!"

"Chihiro!"

Mugi-ta-kun’s barrier allowed the Little One’s family to pass through. The two, recognized as family, embraced her just as they reached her. All around them was a sea of white sand.

"What should we do?"

"For now, let’s head back to the carriage."

The moment Dorfen, holding the Little One, tried to turn back the way he came, the sand beneath his feet collapsed, gako, and began to suck them in like a funnel.

"Wha?!"

Dorfen and Chihaya were already buried up to their knees. With all his might, Dorfen threw the Little One into the air. He tried to grab Chihaya and throw him as well, but the small boy was already buried up to his shoulders in sand, and Dorfen, unable to get a firm footing on the collapsing ground, couldn't pull him out.

"Damn it! Chihaya-sama, can you climb up me?"

"The sand! It’s pouring in…! I’m scared, Dorfen!"

Hugging the terrified, crying Chihaya, Dorfen covered the boy’s head with his cape.

"I am with you!"

Clutching Chihaya’s head, the two of them were swallowed by the sand.

"Nīni! Dorfen!"

Thrown into the air, the Little One was caught by Pochiko-san and screamed at the sight of the two sinking into the sand. Pochiko-san carried the wildly struggling Little One back toward the carriage and handed her to Zack.

"Zack, Zack, Nīni and Dorfen are…!"

The Little One shrieked, her eyes wide with terror.

As if mocking her, the desert fell silent, and only silence filled the air.

"We intended to invite the king, you know."

Looking at the two who had fallen before them, a large scorpion and an antlion laughed faintly. The creatures, larger than the Little One’s carriage, blinked their eyes slightly upon seeing Chihaya.

"Well now, this is…"

The two of them seemed to be at a loss for words.

Behind them, a field of blackish-purple magic crystals glittered.

"Here I go!"

The Little One’s eyes were sharp as she placed both hands on the ground and sent her golden magic power racing through it with all her might. The magic power, crisscrossing the earth, instantly created a forest, and the moment the Little One released her hands, it withered away with a zann. Immediately, the ground began to sink, boko boko. The roots of the many plants had shattered even the hard bedrock, and the destabilized ground collapsed.

"I’m counting on you for the rest!"

As the Little One shouted, numerous honeybees and frogs flew around the area, searching for any likely spots. Frogs used earth magic to clear away the rubble, zarazara. Honeybees used wind magic to blow away the sand. As the Little One watched with bated breath, several frogs began to jump up and down.

"You found it?!"

As the Little One rushed over, her eyes fell upon a large cave that had been carved out at a downward angle. The hole, about five meters in diameter, looked somehow familiar.

"Aaargh, a woman’s gotta have guts!"

Steeling her subconsciously flinching self, the Little One charged into the cave along with the monsters.

"Wait for usss!"

The Frontier Knight Order hurried after her.

Zack and the others watched them go with worried expressions. They left the remaining knights to set up a base and began to prepare a meal.

The Donautil contingent was utterly bewildered by the sudden turn of events.

"What happened? Is it alright to just leave them?"

Glancing at the flustered Prince Masahad, Zack answered curtly.

"We’d just… be in the way."

"Yeah. The professional knights are here. We’ll leave the guarding to them and stick to what we’re good at. We’ll do what we can."

But if necessary, Adonis and the others were prepared to charge in too. Just not now. The few remaining knights also nodded in agreement as they set up the tent. Though there was no discussion, their actions were perfectly synchronized.

For them, this was probably just another day.

Prince Masahad furrowed his brow in a complex expression, then suddenly realized Marrow was missing and whipped his head toward the newly formed cave.

"It can’t be…? That fool!"

As Prince Masahad impulsively started to run, his Donautil subordinates, noticing he was about to enter the cave, stopped him.

"Wait, Your Highness?!"

"What are you thinking?"

The retainers held Masahad in a full nelson, stopping him with all their might.

"Let go! Marrow is…!"

At these words, those who had remained behind realized for the first time that the younger prince was gone.

"You must not! If something were to happen to you, Your Highness, your brother’s life would also be forfeit!"

"Please endure! He should be with the Frontier Knight Order, he must be safe!"

Gritting his teeth, Masahad glared at the cave with a look of bitter frustration.

"Aaaah, so that’s what this is about!"

That sense of déjà vu she felt as she descended the downward-sloping cave. When she reached the innermost chamber, the Little One was greeted by a scene filled with white bones and carcasses.

No wonder it felt familiar. It’s the same as that time in Bastok!

The reason the border villages and towns were being attacked was probably the same. There was a burial ground for magical beasts like this nearby.

Knowing that the Little One had been unable to proceed before when faced with monster corpses, the knights gently lifted her up and moved forward.

"Uris?"

"Close your eyes. I will carry you."

The Little One gave a small nod to the grim-faced archer.

Proceeding in this way, they found an open cavern, just like last time, filled with blackish-purple magic crystals. It was as beautiful as ever, but for some reason, its somewhat ominous magical power was actively moving. Following its trail, the Little One saw Chihaya pinning down Dorfen.

"Nīni!"

Pyon, she leaped down from Uris and ran toward them, but she stopped dead a few steps away. She would never forget this heavy, warped, cold magical power.

"You…"

Dorfen, pinned by Chihaya, was bound tightly by blackish-purple magic.

"Run away, Chihiro-sama!"

Struggling against the magical ropes that dug into him with a michimichi sound, Dorfen looked at the Little One with a desperate expression. As if following his lead, Chihaya looked up, and the Little One swallowed hard.

A faint, cold smile played on his lifeless face. His eyes held no warmth, and the slight upturn of his lips offered none either.

"Chihiro? Ah, she was my sister. Let’s see? A sister is to be doted on? What does it mean to dote?"

Chihaya muttered to himself, as if repeating something. At the drastic change in him, the Little One and the knights were speechless.

Last time, I was able to drive him back with golden magic. Then, this time too.

Unconsciously, the Little One gathered magical power in her hands, but Chihaya’s hand shot out and grabbed hers without a moment’s delay. With a sinister grin, he twisted the Little One’s slender wrist with all his might.

"Uah! It hurts… uh!"

"Chihiro-sama?!"

The Little One let out a faint scream, and the knights grew flustered. Wrapping his arms around her small body from behind, Chihaya used her as a shield to hold back the monsters that were on the verge of pouncing.

"Don’t move. It would be easy to snap a neck this thin."

Chihaya’s eyes narrowed fiercely as he gripped the Little One’s delicate chin.

"Nīni…"

"Huh? Ah, right. She’s my sister. I don’t want to do anything cruel. So be still. Hm? Cruel? What was that again?"

Again, Chihaya muttered something to himself. Dorfen writhed on the ground, trying desperately to crawl toward them.

With everyone’s attention focused on these two, the members from Frontier had failed to notice the two gleaming black monsters.

"My lord. We’d rather you didn’t harm the Golden King."

"Indeed. We still have need of the Golden King."

Startled by the sudden voices, the Little One looked up at the monsters, which had been camouflaged by the blackish-purple magic crystals.

"You two… are the Lords of the Forest?"

"Indeed, indeed. It is a pleasure to meet you for the first time."

Two pairs of eyes stared intently. A giant scorpion and an antlion, both with jet-black bodies.

"Were you the ones who kidnapped Nīni and Dorfen?"

After a moment of looking at each other, the two creatures clicked their mandibles, kachikachi.

"We tried to summon the King. We did not expect these two to come."

"We can’t leave this place, you know? What can you do?"

"The King? I am the master of this world. Who is this King?"

Chihaya tilted his head.

This is total chaos. Help me, Romel!

The Frontier Knight Order stood there, stunned and confused.

Though the situation should have been serious, a strangely carefree atmosphere drifted through the innermost chamber, and not even the Little One noticed the small something that was scurrying through the gaps between people.

Fraught with a touch-and-go tension, the situation was about to take an unexpected turn.