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Chapter 34 from “Miniature Garden Chemister part 2 – Miniature Garden”
“No, Takuto is not ready for this yet…!”
“It’s okay. I’m already 15 years old!”
“Ugh. But that doesn’t mean… you’re not even good at magic, either.”
“Miruru is a worryward…and I got here from Agdis without a hitch, right?”
What is it?
Just now, a little before noon, when I went out to the dining room of the inn with Ikuru to have a late breakfast/ early lunch, we noticed that a young boy and a beautiful girl were arguing with each other. The girl was trying very hard to convince the boy, but he was pushing her to agree. It didn’t seem like it would develop into a fistfight, so that was good.
There aren’t many people in the shop, as it is a little earlier than noon. Other than the two people arguing with each other, there were only two other groups of customers.
“Look, Hinami-sama. Today there is a stir-fried vegetables set meal or a meat bowl.”
“Ah…yeah, I’ll have a meat bowl.”
“Oji-san, one set meal and one meat bowl for us, please.”
“You got it!”
Ikuru showed off his brilliant ignoring skills, acting as if he couldn’t even see the two people who were arguing. Yeah, that’s right…Ikuru is the kind of person who doesn’t care about these things. I wondered why that was, but laughed a little bit because it seemed just like how Ikuru looks.
“What are you laughing at?”
“Well, Ikuru never changes.”
“…What are you talking about?”
“There it is, Ikuru’s exasperated face again. What can I say? The day just doesn’t feel complete until I see him making this expression at least once. I’m not sure why, but seeing Ikuru like this makes me feel like he’s more of a modern person than me. Something like going to a coffee shop alone and hanging out with a smartphone for hours on end…Wait! He might even become a recluse at that rate so that wouldn’t be good.
“What are you thinking about? Anyway, the food is here.”
“Ah! Thank you.”
“…Oh, it really is a meat bowl.”
In front of me, there was a bowl of meat, a bowl of soup, and a salad.
You could tell it was a meat bowl after the first bite! It had the usual salt and pepper seasoned meat on top. It’s a shame, because I had slightly faint hopes that it might be like the meat bowls I had back in Japan. I put the rest of it in my mouth, thinking that I’d try to see if I could make one for myself next time.
“Forget it, I’m going to go off on my own!”
“Takuto…!”
The louder voices of the two who had been arguing earlier, echoed in the room. It seems that they hadn’t been able to settle the matter and the boy had decided to leave.
I only caught a glance of him, but I think he had honey-colored hair with a sword strapped to his waistband. I was guessing that he was an adventurer…
The girl seemed troubled, but didn’t chase after him. When I looked at her face a bit, I saw that her beautiful light blue eyes were moist. Her honey-colored hair, just like the boy’s, hung down on both sides of her face with a bun at the back tied with a red ribbon. Her ears, which gently peeked out from behind her hair, were long…An elf? Her simple dress was elegantly tailored with decorations here and there. She was probably around 15 years old…or maybe 6? Elves usually look younger than they are, right?.
Miruru as seen from the manga
I couldn’t help but worry at seeing a girl younger than me in tears, so I called out…Although, with this body, we’re probably around the same age…
“Are you okay?”
“Ugh…Oh, I’m sorry. Such an unsightly scene…”
Perhaps she just remembered her location and waved her hand as she flushed red.
“Hmm, it’s okay. I’m Hinami. Hinami Kusunoki. I’m staying at this inn.”
“My name is Miruru Lambert. I’m also staying at the inn. I came here from the village with Takuto earlier…But we got into a bit of a fight.
“Are you okay with not chasing after him?”
“Once he makes up his mind, there’s no stopping him…”
She let out one sigh and looked at the door where Takuto-san had left. But what were they arguing about? A question mark was floating around in my head until Miruru-san told me why, smiling bitterly.
“Takuto went to become an adventurer.”
“What?”
“It’s dangerous, and we have to go back to our country immediately, but he just won’t listen to me.”
“I see. It’s always a boy’s dream to become an adventurer, right?”
“That’s it! I don’t want him to be an adventurer, I don’t want him to be a savage, and I don’t know why he would want to be one.”
It seems that my words hit the nail on the head for her. It’s pretty troublesome when someone starts complaining, or is it?
“…But aren’t you an adventurer?”
“!!?”
While Miruru-san and I were talking, suddenly Ikuru, who had been quiet, interrupted us. When I looked closely, I saw that he had neatly finished his meal. Is that why he entered the conversation? Or is it a way of saying we should hurry to make our appointment?
Wait, wait. In her conversation with me, Miruru-san had said that she didn’t want to be an adventurer. So, if you think about it in a normal way, Miruru-san should not be an adventurer…
“…How did you know that I was an adventurer?”
“Eh!?”
“I just had a feeling. I can’t allow Hinami-sama to get involved in any trouble.”
“Miruru-san…?”
“Yes, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get you involved, and besides, I was really just torn between Takuto becoming an adventurer, so we fought about it.”
Once again, Miruru-san bowed her head. I honestly didn’t mind. Besides, she might have her own circumstances of keeping her being an adventurer a secret.
“I’m sorry for speaking in a deceitful manner, Hinami-san. I come from an elven village in the continent of Agdis. Well, to put it simply, we came here on an errand to find something that can only be obtained on this continent. But…Takuto has been longing to be an adventurer since he was a little boy, and I’m at a loss…I’m in trouble…”
“So that’s what happened.”
“Yes. If Takuto found out that I was an adventurer, then it really would be impossible to stop him. Honestly, I was already an adventurer before I knew it. It was just one of those rare situations.”
“Ah…but he’s a boy, so isn’t it okay?  Not that I can really say much about it.”
“Under normal circumstances, yes. But Takuto…is very weak.”
““……””
Um, doesn’t that sound just like me?
So that’s it. I don’t know what Miruru’s criteria for “weak” is, but the fact that she doesn’t even want him to register with her makes me wonder just how weak he is.
There is a delicate pause between the three of us, and then Miruru-san cheerfully breaks the delicate pause with a clap of his hand.
“This atmosphere is not good! I have to snap out of it” she says.
“For now, I’m going to go after Takuto. Thank you, Hinami-san!”
“No, no, sorry for butting in.”
“Not at all! I’ll be staying at the inn for a while, so let’s talk again!”
“Yeah. It was nice meeting you!”
In a hurry, Miruru-san left the shop while saying, “I’ll at least let you take the guild course.”
Yeah, she’ll be fine. Those two…they were from the same village. I hope we can meet again.
“You really should try not to get yourself involved with any troublesome situations.”
Ikuru…how did you know that Miruru-san was an adventurer?”
“I saw her guild card in her pocket.”
“Oh…that’s right.”
I didn’t notice it at all.
I thought it could have been one of Ikuru’s hidden skills. I was kind of hoping for a more exciting answer, but who would have thought that it was something as simple as that?
“Anyway, you should probably consider taking the “beginner’s guild course” that she mentioned earlier, Hinami-sama.”
“Oh, that’s right!”
“We might need to make an appointment for it, but in the meantime, let’s head to the guild.”
“Yeah. Let’s stop by before we go to Thia-chan’s house.”
If so, I’ll call Thia for the time being.
It’s not early in the morning nor is it late at night, so this is a good time to contact her. I took out the hand mirror I kept in my pocket so that I could contact her at any time. I’ve never used it alone before, so I wonder if it will work…? No, all I have to do is press the button on the hand mirror, so it’s easy.
“This is exciting…!”
“Really?”
I open the hand mirror with the pretty ribbon on it and wait for Thia-chan to respond. Like last time, I hear a cute ringing sound. If I thought the sound was coming from my own hand mirror and not the other person’s, I would have heard a response from Thia-chan after about five sounds.
“Hinami-san!”
“Oh, Thia-chan!”
“You came to the city…! Congratulations.”
“Thank you~!”
Behind the hand mirror, Thia-chan was as cute as always.
Her beautiful red hair looked like it was in a ponytail today. She was wearing earrings in her ears, so she might have dyed her hair up so that they would be visible.
“Actually, I’m in the Adventurer’s Guild right now.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes. Where is Hinami-san?”
“I just had some food, and was just about to stop by the Adventurer’s Guild where you are right now.”
“Is that so! Then I will wait for you here.”
“Yes! I’m on my way!”
“Okay! I’ll be waiting for you.”
We close the call after we finished talking. Somehow, communicate like this with magic was so exciting! It might be like the video calls from back home? I could put it like that…but I promise not to mention it.
“Hmm, I completely forgot that Thia-chan was an adventurer. She is a cute aristocratic young lady, so she doesn’t really give off that fighting image.”
“Well, I suppose its normal that noble ladies wouldn’t want to act roughly.”
While getting up from his seat, Ikuru muttered, “I wish I could have a cup of tea.”
That’s right, I feel safe here and there’s not many scary things…what drives Thia-chan and the others want to become adventurers so much…I don’t think I’ll ever understand how they feel but I have a feeling that is what fantasy is supposed to feel like!
“Well, if we keep going, we’ll probably see Miruru-san again.”
“…I guess so. Well, I guess it’s good to be friends with an elf, right?”
“Yeah?”
“Elves tend to be less font of going out. There are exceptions, of course, like that boy who wants to be an adventurer, and other adventurers and merchant elves too. But more than half the elves do not leave Agdis.”
“Is that so…”
“But she said that she came to this continent on an ‘errand.’ An elf who is not very fond of associating with others…took the trouble to cross the sea to this continent. I would prefer not to be involved with something that sounds so troublesome.”
With that said, Ikuru speeds up, saying “Let’s go faster, we’re making them wait.” I also speed up a bit and walk beside Ikuru.
I guess elves are that kind of race now that I think about it. Thia-chan and Ikuru are both human…I don’t know much about other races. Although, Ikuru is so protective that I’m not sure I’ll be able to see others.
“She didn’t seem like a bad kid…”
“Well, you should keep in mind that some people often tell lies. Hinami-sama is especially gullible and easy to deceive. I mean, have you ever even doubted someone before?”
“Hmm! I’m thinking about it. Well, I may not doubt people often, but that’s because I want to believe in them.”
When I asked Ikuru, “Is that okay?” he surprisingly replied, “That’s fine.” so I was surprised. I had been expecting to get an answer more like “You should be more careful” or something like that.
“What are you looking like that for? Well, even if Hinami-sama gets deceived…I’ll protect you.”
“……Eh!”
Once again, I received a reply that I hadn’t been expecting at all.
But, then it is true. Ikuru is my escort, so it’s not wrong if he says that. He’s like a bodyguard specialist…! I was a bit surprised.
“…What?”
“Nothing…I’ll be in your care?”
“Yes, yes, Master.”
I started giggling behind Ikuru as he replied like a joke. His words sound harsh, but I know that they’re very kind as the same time.
“Alright! Let’s race to the Adventurer’s Guild!”
“Hey, what are you talking about?”
“Ready, set…go!”
“Hinami-sama!?”
I turned my back on Ikuru and started running down the main street.
The goal was the Adventurer’s Guild that had come into view, and where Thia-chan was waiting for me!