Chapter 15: Blue-Haired Girl
After clearing a quest—
By the time we reached the nearest town, it was already morning.
“It took longer than I expected.” (Jade)
“It would’ve been better if we finished earlier. The monster this time could go invisible!” (Dorami)
To be precise, it could change the color of its body. Though, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that it’s nearly transparent.
Moreover, it’s an extremely vigilant monster that doesn’t mess with anything stronger than itself.
I could tell it was nearby, but it blended into the background, and the darkness didn’t exactly help me in spotting it either.
“It was really tough, but it was a coward. It probably would’ve been fine if we just left it alone.” (Dorami)
“I’m sure it was just wary of us. If it was a five-petal class, they’d definitely be swallowed by its long tongue.” (Jade)
The reason why it didn’t attack Dorami is probably because it could tell that she was a white dragon by instinct.
If Dorami was a normal little girl, it would have definitely attacked her while taking advantage of the openings she had.
“I never thought that it’d get caught in a pitfall! It’s surprisingly clumsy!” (Dorami)
“I’m sure it’s the first time it actually saw one. If someone tries to dig a pitfall near it, they’d probably be eaten immediately.” (Jade)
“When Dorami was still borrowing vegetables from the field, I never got caught in traps! Dorami wins this match!” (Dorami)
While chatting like that, we reached the station.
We sat on the bench to wait for a train and Dorami let out a big yawn.
“I’m sleepy…” (Dorami)
“Well, we did take up until morning. Go to sleep once we get on the train.” (Jade)
“If I sleep, I won’t be able to eat ekiben…” (Dorami)
“I’ll take you to the store in the capital.” (Jade)
“Really?” (Dorami)
“Of course. You also helped dig the pitfalls, after all.” (Jade)
“Yay! I’m going to sleep! When is the train coming?” (Dorami)
“It should be about time…” (Jade)
…That girl’s been staring at us for a while now.
She’s a young girl with blue hair who looked about ten years old.
It looked like she was traveling because she had a large rucksack behind her.
“Is something wrong?” (Jade)
“Umm, please show me your feet!” (Little Girl)
“…My feet?” (Jade)
“Should I take my shoes off as well?” (Dorami)
“I made a mistake! I meant I want to look under the bench!” (Little Girl)
“It’s alright.” (Jade)
Dorami and I raised our feet up.
The girl peered under the bench…
She then let out a sigh.
“It’s not here…” (Little Girl)
“Did you drop something?” (Dorami)
“Yes, my money…” (Little Girl)
“How much did you lose?” (Jade)
“All of it…” (Little Girl)
“That sounds like a big deal…” (Dorami)
“It is… My adventurer ended on just my second day…” (Little Girl)
It looks like she started traveling alone yesterday.
Forget getting to her destination, she won’t even be able to go home if she lost all her money.
“Where were you planning to go?” (Jade)
“The capital. I was going to the guild.” (Little Girl)
“If you just want to go to a guild, there’s one in this town too.” (Jade)
“I decided that my first quest definitely has to be from the royal capital’s guild! Now that it’s come to this, I’ll have no choice but to walk to the capital…!” (Little Girl)
“It’s too dangerous to walk. There are a lot of monsters on the way.” (Jade)
“A bloody and exciting adventure is just what I’m hoping for…!” (Little Girl)
Her blue eyes were sparkling.
How nostalgic.
I also wanted to have a bloody adventure and become a hero when I was a kid.
“Want me to take you to the capital?” (Jade)
I couldn’t think of her as just some stranger, so I suggested it.
“Eh?! The capital?! W-why?” (Little Girl)
“You don’t need a reason to help someone in need. Of course, if you really want to walk, I won’t force you—” (Jade)
“Riding a train is good! But, I’d feel bad if you just helped me for free…” (Little Girl)
She really has it together.
Even though she doesn’t really need to mind it.
“Then, how about you pay me back when you become successful?” (Jade)
“When I become successful?” (Little Girl)
“Yeah. When you manage to earn money after becoming an adventurer, you can return it to me.” (Jade)
I thought she’d become excited but on the contrary, she drooped her head.
“I can’t earn money yet because I’m only 11 years old…” (Little Girl)
“Really? You can’t become an adventurer at 11 though…” (Jade)
“I’ll be turning 12 next week and I couldn’t wait, so I left home early!” (Little Girl)
Huh, so that’s it.
She’s exactly like me when I was younger.
“You don’t have to be in a hurry to repay me.” (Jade)
“But, I don’t know when we’ll be able to meet again.” (Little Girl)
“It’s fine. I live in the capital so just come back when you’ve saved the money.” (Jade)
“I will!” (Little Girl)
We finally got to an agreement.
The train also arrived so after paying, we boarded the train.
As the train moved, she looked out the window with her bright eyes.
She had her face pressed to the window and her breath was making it cloudy.
“When are we going to arrive at the capital?” (Little Girl)
“Probably in the evening. Once we arrive at the capital, we’ll head home but… you don’t have any money to lodge at an inn, do you?” (Jade)
“I don’t, but there’s no problem! I’m going to be staying at my big sister’s house!” (Little Girl)
“So your big sister lives in the capital, huh.” (Jade)
Then, it should be fine if she just borrowed money from her sister.
If she’s not saying anything about it, she probably doesn’t want to rely on her sister too much.
That’s probably it.
Since she’s going to be an adventurer living independently, she probably wants to solve her problems on her own.
“She’s been living in the capital for over 10 years. Since she rarely comes home, she may have forgotten my face…” (Little Girl)
“Is your sister an adventurer?” (Dorami)
“No, she works at the guild.” (Little Girl)
“I see. Working at the guild is a tough job, too.” (Jade)
The staff manning the counter in particular work almost without any rest.
After all, the appraisal magic needed to confirm the authenticity of magic stones is a rare skill to have.
“Does she work at the counter?” (Jade)
“Yes. My sister has an auxiliary crest so I might also become a support type…” (Little Girl)
“The odds of an auxiliary crest are the lowest though.” (Jade)
“There are odds?” (Little Girl)
“Yeah. The order is defense, attack, reinforcement, then auxiliary.” (Jade)
“So it’s third place…” (Little Girl)
“You want to have a reinforcement crest? That’s pretty unusual.” (Jade)
Defense types are always the first to be invited to parties while the attack types are typically the ones that garner the most attention.
People don’t usually want to get the reinforcement crest…
“I admire Jade-kun! That’s why I want to have the same reinforcement crest as him!” (Little Girl)
“Jade…kun?” (Jade)
Jade-kun… It’s rare for me to be called like that so I had to ask again.
T/N: He’s surprised cause -kun is typically used by friends, by people older than oneself, or by those of higher status. In this context, she’s talking like someone older than him.
“Onii-san, have you met him before?” (Little Girl)
“Well, I’m actually—” (Jade)
“This guy is Jade.” (Dorami)
“…eh?” (Little Girl)
Dorami’s half-asleep talk made the girl blink her eyes.
She looked at the back of my hand and her eyes widened in surprise.
“It’s the Reinforcement Flower Crest! And it’s even in full bloom! Are you really Jade-kun?!” (Little Girl)
“Yes, I am.” (Jade)
“I’m your fan! I’ve admired you ever since I first heard about you! Every time my sister comes home, she would always only talk about ‘Jade-kun’! She says you’re a really hard worker!” (Little Girl)
“Did she say anything about Dorami?” (Dorami)
“I didn’t hear anything when we talked last year.” (Little Girl)
“She’ll definitely be talking about Dorami this year! A dignified girl who accompanies Jade everywhere as his partner!” (Dorami)
“Amazing!” (Little Girl)
“Do you want to hear about Dorami’s adventures?” (Dorami)
“Yes, please!” (Little Girl)
“Then, I’ll tell you all about it!” (Dorami)
Dorami’s drowsiness disappeared as she told stories about her adventure—glad that the girl was very invested in it.
T/N: I’m currently testing out how links would work with scheduled posts so they may or may not link, I’ll fix them when I get home later.
