CH 21

Chapter 21: A Date-like Time

T/N: Couldn’t find a better word for it so I just translated it as is but it literally just means that their time together felt like a date.

After completing her first quest—

“So cool!” (Dorami)

“It really suits you!” (Marin)

After changing into the outfit I was going to wear for the dance, the two of them complimented me.

While having lollipops, the two spread out a bunch of sweets on the table.

Cookies, pies, fruit tarts, gelatin, sweet beans, juice, and many others.

I usually make them choose only one, but today is a special day.

It’s a party to celebrate not just Marin-chan’s first quest, but it’s also a party for the last night the two of them will be together.

“Jade, when are you going to the party?” (Dorami)

“After Garnet-san gets off work, so we have a bit more time.” (Jade)

The guild closes when it gets dark, and Garnet-san comes home after that.

I wonder what she’s wearing… I want to see it.

As I was impatiently waiting for that moment, I heard a knock.

“Is that my sister?” (Marin)

“It’s a bit too early though…” (Jade)

When I opened the door, a beautiful woman was standing there.

She wore a white party dress with a flower headdress.

It was Garnet-san.

“Uwaa~! Onee-chan looks so cute!” (Marin)

“She looks so beautiful~!” (Dorami)

You’re right! She’s so cute! It looks like a wedding dress!

I’m going to dance with such a cute person?! This isn’t a dream?!

No, no, it doesn’t matter even if it’s a dream!

Garnet-san is all dressed up in front of me, I need to compliment her too!

As soon as I made up my mind, Garnet-san put her hand on her chest and looked at me.

“Jade-kun… what do you think?” (Garnet)

She called me ‘Jade-kun’!

I knew she called me that, but this is the first time she’s said it to me directly!

“Y-you look really wonderful!” (Jade)

“That’s a relief.” (Garnet)

My heart was pounding as I gave her a weak smile.

She’s already really cute but when smiles, she becomes even cuter…

“That really suits you too.” (Garnet)

“T-thank you! Well, umm… Do you want to go now? It’s a bit early, so we have to go kill some time somewhere though…” (Jade)

“Let’s go to the fountain in the plaza, I like it there.” (Garnet)

“Understood! I will guide you there!” (Jade)

“Have a nice day~!” (Dorami)

“Take it easy~!” (Marin)

With the two of them seeing us off, we left the house.

When I got outside, the sky was already dyed orange by the sunset.

…Hm? Sunset?

“Did the guild close early today?” (Jade)

“It’s still open. I went home early because I didn’t want to keep you waiting.” (Garnet)

“So that’s what it was. There was no need to go so far…” (Jade)

“Don’t worry about it. I was also looking forward to this.” (Garnet)

“R-really? So, you like to dance too?” (Jade)

“That’s not it. It’s just that when I look at you having fun, it makes me look forward to it as well. I’m not that good at dancing, so please don’t expect anything special.” (Garnet)

“I’m not good at it either, so please don’t worry! And, even if we’re not good at dancing, I’ll still do my best to entertain you! I’ll do my best so that you won’t regret having come with me!” (Jade)

So, next year, and the year after that too, please dance with me as well! …Is saying that going a bit too fast?

Anyway, let’s just focus on today! I’ll do my best to get through this day!

If I entertain her well enough, I might be able to invite her next year too!

“We’re here!” (Jade)

“There’s a special seat right over there.” (Garnet)

“A special seat?” (Jade)

“The fountain is the most beautiful when you look at it from that bench over there. Right now, the sun is even reflecting on the fountain, so it looks even better.” (Garnet)

“Then, let’s go and sit down!” (Jade)

Garnet-san and I sat next to each other on the bench.

The fountain is beautiful, but Garnet-san is even more so. If possible, I just want to keep looking at her profile from the side.

But if I do that, the people around is will find me strange so I just shook off the temptation and kept my eyes on the fountain.

After a while, Garnet-san said quietly.

“Thank you for taking care of Marin today too.” (Garnet)

“I didn’t do anything, I just watched over her.” (Jade)

“Even so, I’m able to spend today with peace of mind because you’re here.” (Garnet)

Does she mean that she’s worried about Marin-chan taking the quest all by herself?

If that’s the case, then as I thought…

“Are you against Marin-chan becoming an adventurer?” (Jade)

Garnet-san nodded slightly.

And then, her expression darkened.

“I’m worried that she’ll end up like our father.” (Garnet)

“Was your father an adventurer?” (Jade)

“Yes, he loved adventures and rarely came back home. The last time I saw him is twelve years ago.” (Garnet)

“Twelve years…” (Jade)

So he hasn’t been back since her mother was pregnant with Marin-chan?

If he hasn’t come home for such a long time, of course, she’d be worried…

It would be fine if he didn’t return just because he enjoyed having an adventure too much but what if he already lost his life?

“I hope he comes home soon.” (Jade)

“I want to see him again. That’s why I became a guild employee.” (Garnet)

“I see. If you become a guild employee, you can gather information about adventurers.” (Jade)

“Yeah… But, I haven’t gotten any information yet.” (Garnet)

“Is that so… By the way, what was his name?” (Jade)

“Onyx.” (Garnet)

“Onyx? Um… Did he have a scar on his cheek?” (Jade)

“There is, it’s a wound that he got when he saved my mother from a monster. …How do you know about that?” (Garnet)

“I knew it! I met him before!” (Jade)

Garnet-san’s eyes widened in surprise.

“When did you meet him?” (Garnet)

“He came to my hometown 12 years ago. I decided to become an adventurer after listening to Onyx-san’s stories!” (Jade)

To me, Onyx-san is a benefactor.

Without him, I would have never become an adventurer.

And, thanks to Onyx-san, I was able to meet Garnet-san.

I wanted to meet him again and thank him. ‘Thanks to you, I was able to become an adventurer’.

On top of that, Garnet-san wants to see him again, so I have no choice but to find him!

“I’m sure he’s in a different country!” (Jade)

“In a different country?” (Garnet)

“The world is a big place! We’re at the edge of the continent, so if you want to travel around the world, losing contact for 12 years wouldn’t be strange!” (Jade)

“Will he come back someday?” (Garnet)

“I’m sure he will! I’ll help you! I’ll help you gather information about him and if you want, I can even go to another country!” (Jade)

“I don’t want to burden you.” (Garnet)

“It’s not a burden at all! I want to meet Onyx-san too! Garnet-san, you accepted my invitation to the dance so just think of this as a repayment!” (Jade)

“…Will you really help me?” (Garnet)

“Of course!” (Jade)

As I nodded strongly—

Garnet-san gave me a big smile.

“To show my gratitude, I’ll do my best to dance today.” (Garnet)

“I’ll also do my best! Let’s make some fun memories together!” (Jade)

“Yes, let’s. …Isn’t it about time?” (Garnet)

“Most likely. Should we go to the castle now?” (Jade)

Garnet-san nodded and stood up.

Her skirt got caught on the bench.

No, the skirt didn’t get caught on something, the bench was sticky.

“Did it get dirty?” (Garnet)

“…It’s a bit darker.” (Jade)

I should’ve been the one to sit there.

The dirt won’t stand out on my black pants, but Garnet-san’s skirt is pure white. It’s very visible.

“Sorry, I didn’t notice it…” (Jade)

“It’s not your fault. But, isn’t it rude if we meet the king like this?” (Garnet)

“The king isn’t such a narrow-minded person but… If you don’t mind, would you like to come to my house to change? I have a lot of dresses there.” (Jade)

“Dresses?” (Garnet)

“I-I bought them for when Dorami grows up!” (Jade)

“I’d feel bad for Dorami-chan.” (Garnet)

“Please don’t worry and just help yourself!” (Jade)

I managed to persuade Garnet-san to go home.

“I’m home~” I entered the house as I called out.

…It was silent.

They were having a party just now, were they asleep already?

I looked in the bedroom but Dorami and Marin-chan couldn’t be seen anywhere.

I have a bad feeling about this…

Just in case, I looked in Garnet-san’s house too but they weren’t there either.

They couldn’t have…

“Did they go to the guild?” (Garnet)

Garnet-san seemed to have had the same fears as me.

There’s still some time before the party starts so I rushed to the guild.

It was about to close.

I called out to the employee who was about to close the door.

“Did two little girls come here? A girl with white hair and a girl with blue hair?” (Jade)

“Ara, Jade-san. Yes, those two were here earlier. They were excited to subjugate some slimes.” (Garnet)

They really did come here…

Why did they accept a quest even though they were already celebrating the completion of one?

No, the reason doesn’t matter.

“Garnet-san, please wait at home. I’ll make sure to bring them back.” (Jade)

“…What about the party?” (Garnet)

“It’s a bit rude to say this after inviting you, but the two of them are more important than the party.” (Jade)

Instead of getting angry, Garnet-san smiled.

Then, she gave me a look full of trust.

“I’ll leave those two to you.” (Garnet)

“Yes, just leave it to me!” (Jade)

Garnet-san saw me off as I left the capital.

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Translator’s Corner:

This is just a rant so skip this if you’re not interested in the specifics of the translation.

So much weird stuff happened to me in this chapter. I usually leave my browser open with Drive, google docs, etc. open so I can continue translating when I open my pc the next day. I accidentally hit my power button so my pc shut down but my tabs were restored so I ignored it, then I made like 10 bullet points showing my confusion about the chapter and things I had to change but had to delete most of em. There were ghost sentences that just appeared outta nowhere. I even thought the author was drunk when he wrote it but it was apparently just google.

My copy-pasted stuff was literally different from what I copied. Marin called Garnet “imouto (妹)” when I restarted my pc but when I double-checked with the source material she said “onee-chan (お姉ちゃん)” I don’t even know how that’s possible to convert.

The subs were going to be a disaster cause Marin and Dorami would keep switching dialogues cause their verbal tics disappeared (Jade says -yo, Dorami says -noda, Marin says -desu, Garnet says -wa)

Pretty much everything changed so I had to retranslate the start of the chapter (pain). Here are some examples that I managed to get and no, I didn’t type these, these are literally copied from the source material and Google’s stored thingy respectively: