âSpeaking of which, thatâs quite a cute ribbon.â
âUm, you know? Itâs a charm. I was told to put it on during our trip.â
Rita stared at Latinaâs ribbon which was tying up her hair and asked, and Latina answered happily.
âMy friends in Tisroh. They made it, and gave it to me.â
âYou made friends as well. It seems you really had a lot of fun, thatâs great Latina.â
He wasnât worried, but seeing Ritaâs smile and Latinaâs smile as she answered her, Dale once again had a strange look on his face. Kenneth notices made an indescribable expression.
ââŠDid Latina do something?â
âI was shocked a while ago to find out the truth, that Mythical beasts were living right next to our village.â
ââŠ.Thatâs⊠quite the tale youâre bringing back to us.â
âIf the situation was handled poorly then it wouldâve been dangerous, you know? It wasnât a regulated breeding ground. It was settlement they gathered at.â
âAnd you confirmed this yourself?â
âYeah, I went to take a look. But itâs really there so, if some greedy adventurer goes out to look for them, theyâll die for sure, without a single bone remaining.â
âEven you?â
âI talked with the herdâs leader butâŠ. I wouldnât want to face off with himâŠ. I probably wouldnât lose in a one on one fight, but there was so many of them. It wouldâve only gotten worse and worse.â
âI see.â
âShe seemed to be interested in that herdâs leader.â
âWho?â
âLatina.â
âI see.â
In the middle of Daleâs conversation with him, Kenneth who had reached that same conclusion, had a strange expression on his face, just like Dale.
Being heavily scolded, Latina who had been doing the same thing over again, wasnât a bad child who couldnât sympathise with others. If she wanted to go play with the Heavenly Soaring Wolves, then she has to get permission from her guardian first and should go play in the mountains all by herself. Having made that promise, she made sure to keep it.
Since their existence was a secret known only to the ăClan headsă, she could only go when either Wenn-baa or Dale had time, but despite that, Latina was still having fun when she played with the Heaven Soaring Wolves.
âLatina is going back to Kroix. Itâs been really fun. Stay safe ok?â
âUuu?â
After they decided on the day to leave, she decided to tell them the news, resulting in the cub to look up at Latina curiously.
âKross?â
âItâs called Kroix. Itâs really far over in that direction and, itâs the city of humans. Thereâs a lot of people, and itâs a really large city. I live there.â
Checking the position of the sun, Latina pointed her arm towards the North-west. In between was a dangerous mountain range, but itâs true that if you head over in a straight path, Kroix was in that general direction.
âHuman children canât fly in the skies so, itâs quite inconvenient.â
It seems the leader of the Heavenly Soaring Wolves main worry was limited to Latina. Well, it didnât really concern Dale though.
âLooking like that, without any fur or fangs, and with such a weak body, you would probably be hurt by the tiniest of critters.â
Boom. Boom. For some reason, Dale couldnât feel any sense of danger from the large carnivore moving its tail restlessly, like he did in the beginning.
As Dale was thinking that, the ăLeaderă and his ăchildrenă, both looked at him.
âUse this.â
ââŠ.A feather?â
ăHeă says, and points at the several feathers that fell from where he had been sitting, to show Dale.
âIf you hold something that has our magic in it, then even those beasts with no brains would be afraid and wonât go near you.â
âThat would be helpful⊠Iâm grateful.â
Due to both sides wanting to pamper Latina, they were able to establish a communication that crossed the barriers of species and different culture.
When Dale told Wenn-baa how he got a ăFeatheră like that,
âYou probably canât use it when you go hunting, but we put these in the coats to warding off animals from the fields or when you go travelling right?â
âNow that I think about it, thatâs true.â
âInside of those coats, the fur of the Heavenly Soaring Wolves is woven in.â
He whistled unintentionally hearing something so ridiculous said so calmly.
âWha-âŠ.â
âItâs because Latina-chan gathered quite a lot for us this year. We wonât be short on materials for a while.â
Now that she mentions it, after finishing brushing them, Latina had been diligently stuffing the mountain of fur that fell off into a bag. So it was grandmotherâs suggestion.
Which means that they had been annually getting the fur that naturally fell off during the molting season.
The skin, fangs and bones, etc. of Magic beasts carry magic in them and are valued highly as ăingredientsă. There are a lot which are used as materials for Magic tools. It was also a quick source of income for adventurers.
Furthermore, if it was the material of an extremely powerful existence like a ăMythical beastă, the value would jump up even further.
ForăMagic toolsă made of such materials to be used for farm work. If the adventurers in the city heard that, they would probably cry tears of blood.
âWe cannot make it known to the public how we got the raw materials. So we canât use it for the stuff we sell ăoutsideă.â
ââŠ. Thatâs true.â
After that, rustle, rustle, Wenn-baa took out a long, thin cloth out from the drawer next to her.
âI made this as a prototype. I chose the thinnest piece of fur I could and weaved it into this.â
A part of the woven bit looked like a pattern. It was the traditional design of Tisroh, an emblem of a plant. And on top of that luxurious ribbon, some more embroideries were sown on.
âPut it on while youâre going back. Itâll probably give you a piece of mind.â
ââŠ.If that had a price, it would be so ridiculous.â
Maybe it was because it used such a thin piece of fur, a satin-like glossy texture could be seen. Even if it wasnât a magic tool, it still looked expensive at first glance.
âItâs might be better to not wear it in the streetsâŠ.â
âItâll be fine for you to wear it as something ăSpecială for the festivals.â
Returning a shocked look as compared to his grandmother, laughing out loud, Dale held that piece of cloth with its hidden sparkly properties, and held it up slightly, towards the light.
âWhich means, this is a new ăMagic Toolă, a ribbon.â (Dale)
âWhat a piece of work.â (Kenneth)
It wasnât needed for adventurers who made a living off killing magic beasts, but it would probably be highly sought out by merchants or travelers.
It wouldnât be good to rely on it too much, but as long as they believe it raises the probability of their safety, it would be something they would cling onto at all costs, since the world is full of dangers.
âEven though itâs an accessory, itâs a piece in which you can sense the seriousness of Tisroh.â
âI donât really understand accessories, but I know that it had a lot of work put into it.â
âIt really is a beautiful piece of work.â
ââŠ..â
Dale turned speechless after hearing a sudden addition to the conversation. He stopped moving completely before slowly turning to look behind him.
ââŠ..He-HermioneâŠ.?â
âItâs been a while, Dale. I thought it was about time that you came back so I dropped by, just for you.â
Standing there, was a beautiful young woman, with blonde hair and a brilliant smile.
âWho is she?â
Latina tilts her head and looks at Hermione, who was being so intimate with Dale.
It was a strange question for Latina, who would usually immediately greet the other person if it was their first time meeting.
Even though Latina was so rude, Hermione giggled, seemingly unable to resist her.
âThis child sure is the ăLittle Magiciană. Sheâs as cute as I heard.â
âLatina, isnât little, mon.â
Pout. Her tiny cheeks puffed out in discontent.
âWh-why are you hereâŠ.â
âLike I said, I came here for you. I had a message to give you, so I had been waiting. Once you came back, I am to take you back to the Royal Capital with me. Since it was decided that Iâm going with you on your next ăJobă.â
Dale was trembling slightly, and didnât have the leisure to scold Latinaâs rudeness. If he was to speak the truth, he wasnât very good at dealing with this beauty.
And yet, for that person to suddenly appear right in front of him.
Of course he would be slightly shaken.
ââŠ.Youâre bad with Hermione as always huh.â
âRa-rather than badâŠ.â
âOh my, thatâs mean. You donât like me?â
In Kennethâs voice, there was a tint of sympathy rather than shock. And Hermione, after hearing Dale and Kenneth, didnât look hurt in the slightest.
âEven though you said so many adorable things back then.â
ââŠ.Which is probably why Iâm bad with you. Seriously, youâre the same as back when I was just starting out.â
âWasnât it you, who asked to be my partner?â
Turning towards the astonished Kenneth, Hermione posed, tilting her head slightly before asking. Her delicate lines running from her neck to her shoulder was captivating. It was an experienced pose, knowing exactly how to show herself off.
âMy type is a woman like my wife.â
âYou sure know yourself~â
Hermione, still giggling, didnât look like she was uncomfortable despite all that sheâs said.
Rita took a look at Latina, who was still puffing out her cheeks, unhappy.
ââŠ.Well.â
This woman named Hermione, definitely had qualities that would make other women unhappy.
Since Rita dealt with her in a business sense, she didnât feel too bad about it.
âLatina is still a girl after all.â
As she spun the small souvenirs that Latina had bought for her at Cuvare around the palm of her hand, Rita smiled bitterly.
Authorâs note: Hermione last came out in Chapter 29. In a certain way, our ădaughteră is slowly growing up.