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Chapter 84 Silver-haired Maiden, Going to the Red God’s Night Festival. Three.
The trio left Marcel and were finally getting to the central plaza of the city. As expected, there were a lot more people than usual. The day was starting to dim, and the sky with its sunset glow, was chasing them behind their backs.
There weren’t that many chances for them to go to 『Ahmar’s』 shrine in their normal daily lives. Different from the 『Blue God(Azraq’s)』 shrines that operates as banks, and the 『Yellow God(Asfar’s)』 shrine that they went to as children, there weren’t that many reasons for ordinary citizens to go there, after all.
Sometimes the citizens would even be able to happen upon the priests of 『Ahmar’s』 shrine in the city.
The ones who were tasked with maintaining the peace of Kroix, were the guards that the Mayor hired, but since the upholder of the law was 『Asfar』, the priests of 『Asfar』 were also related to controlling any incidents that happen in the city, together with the guards.
“I wonder where Anthony is?”
“Ufufu…. Before that, I heard this from my senior, but apparently you can see the warrior priests from over here before the ceremony began.”
“Heh…. So like going behind the scenes?”
“Yeah.”
The three of them look at each other before heading towards the direction Silvia was pointing towards, whilst trying her best not to laugh. Their hearts’ race as they were moving secretly, looking like they were committing a crime together.
Even though there were a great force of warrior priests orderly lined up over there, the equivalent of the rear of 『Ahmar’s』 shrine, they were all enveloped in an atmosphere that made you feel a sense of hurriedness and enthusiasm before the actual event.
The three of them stood there and peeked at them sneakily.
It’s not like they were doing something that would get them scolded for, but they didn’t breathe, and kept quiet.
“Looking at it again closer, there seems to be a difference amongst the uniforms of the warrior priests.”
“You’re right.”
“True~….There should be a slight difference with the troops that work for the mayor.”
They were having fun just talking quietly. Even though these seemed to be meaningless events and topics to talk about from an adult’s point of view, for these girls their age, it was 『special』, like every single moment was full of spring.
“That person’s pretty cool, don’t you think?”
“Which one?”
“Look, the one over there with two lines on his shoulder…. The one with the olive-brown hair….”
“Heh…. So that’s your type Silvia?”
“Ehh…. Rather than that guy, isn’t that golden-haired guy over there better?”
“Nnh…. That guy’s no good. There’s going to be problems when he flirts with girls all the time.”
“….Where did you hear about that, Silvia?”
“Fufufu….”
Having so much fun, they noisily talk about topics that girls their age go on about.
Although Latina also contributed to the conversation, her friends didn’t really question 『her type』. Firstly, because the answer was already decided, and also because Latina herself, wasn’t one to judge a person by appearance.
Considering that Latina was born with the 『Ability to sense danger』, she was a person who most valued one’s personality rather than appearances.
Something like Latina’s 『type』 was difficult to consider in the normal scope of things.
“Wanna leave?”
“Yeah.”
Nodding at Chloe’s words, they finally head towards the main grounds of the festival at the central plaza. The three young girls headed towards the crowd of people.
Anthony was someone who was still going to high school. He was currently in a place, close to the Mayor’s office, wearing a graceful smile on his face because he was surrounded by his father’s superiors and co-workers.
Although his father was working as a low class official at the Mayor’s office, it didn’t mean that Anthony was going to be able to work in the same line of work once he graduates.
However, this didn’t mean that it was impossible either. As an opportunity to increase that 『possibility』 in any way, he was following his father around, greeting people.
Then, hearing some voices he hasn’t in some time, Anthony turned around.
“Anthony! Long time to see!!”
There’s no way he would mistake the owner of that voice.
With an innocent smile, unchanged from their childhood, it was the smiling Latina with Chloe and Silvia standing right behind her. The three of them.
The three of them immediately understood.
That, his current situation, being surrounded by unfamiliar adults, was one that would make it 『difficult for him to reply』. Which is exactly why she was 『Latina』.
This was most likely Silvia’s decision.
Although Latina herself didn’t realise this, just her showing up had the ability to quieten down her surroundings by a little bit.
Currently, starting with Anthony’s father, all the adults around him were all stunned.
“Father, these are my friends who attended 『Yellow God(Afmar’s)』 elementary school with me.”
The reason why he purposefully emphasizing that they are 『friends』, was because he wanted to give himself an advantage in some way.
“Eh….Oh….?”
It seemed that Anthony’s father had noticed Chloe as well. In addition to living close to one another, his father also knew that they were friends who played together when they were young.
“…It’s the 『Fairy Princess』.”
It wasn’t just his father who carelessly spoke of his friend’s nickname, but even the surrounding adults were being rowdy.
“Wha….『She’s』 the rumoured….”
“She actually exists…..?”
Somehow it seemed that his childhood friend was being treated as some rare animal or an urban legend.
Her rumours had traveled to even the Mayor’s office.
In this city of 『Kroix』, it was important to know the attitude of those known as 『Adventurers』 had. Seeing this 『existence』 that had gathered all of their support, there was no way the officials working for the Mayor’s office that ruled over the city, would not pay her any attention.
There was no evidence that she would not be someone who would incite mutiny from adventurers, in order words, people with great combative power.
However, in the case of the 『Fairy Princess』, the soldiers working for the Mayor’s office had also reported that “She is harmless, so there’s no problem” and so she wasn’t seen as a problem.
— Who would’ve believed that the leader of the military, was one of the top members of her fan club. There were no officials in the Mayor’s office who knew of this ridiculous matter.
Latina’s main center of operation was in the Southern District with the 『Ocelot』, as well as the Eastern District, the Commercial District. There weren’t many opportunities for her to go the Western District where many of the officials lived, and the people who lived there, would not visit a shop like the 『Ocelot』 where ruffians gathered.
That was the reason Latina’s 『existence』 had remained nothing but a 『rumour』.
“We went down to Marcel’s place before we came here. So we heard that you were here Anthony.”
Although the smiling Latina seem to have become more adult-like, the way she laughed had not changed in the slightest.
“It really has been a while, everyone. It really is great that none of you seemed to have changed.”
“You’ve grown taller Anthony.”
“Doesn’t it make you annoyed somehow, that he’s looking down on you?”
“Although I can’t really stop him from growing, it would be fine if I got him down on his hands and knees, right?”
“It seems you two really haven’t changed at all, Chloe, Silvia.”
Even though he, as a man, should have the advantage in height and figure, he felt like he couldn’t win against those two for some reason. Anthony was sweating on the inside.
“Since I’m always with Dale, I don’t really know what’s good to see at the festivals. I heard from Marcel that, you might know so….”
“Ahh, right, I see…. It is dangerous for you girls to be alone in this kind of place with so many adventurers….”
Latina had seen the festival every single year, together with Dale. He would weave about the crowds, and sometimes he would let her sit up on his shoulders to watch the festival. There were also times when he would slip into a corner where their acquaintances had some attractions set up. However, she couldn’t do something like that today.
“If I go to a place where regular customers are then, it will be no different from being with Dale, mon.”
Pout. It seemed that the sulky Latina, took a different meaning from Anthony’s words than what he had intended.
“What’s wrong with Latina?”
Anthony quietly asks the person he has known the longest, and Chloe smiles bitterly, lowers her voice and answers.
“The people at Latina’s place are all worrywarts, you know. So it seems that they were quite persistent even when she left today.”
“Ahh, I see.”
“Although they’re probably only worried since Latina is an airhead.”
“I think that it was them sheltering her that spurred her on, though.”
As they were talking, they got into an even more pleasant mood. The childhood friends were talking with each other almost as if they had forgotten how 『long it has been』.
“I’ll ask my father and the others. If you don’t mind, then I think that it might be alright if you watched on from around this area.”
The reason why Anthony said that was because he had noticed that all the adults around, starting from his father, were all intrigued with the rumoured 『Fairy Princess』.
And he also knew that if his childhood friend was to wander around aimlessly, then on the one in ten thousand chance that something happened to her, there would be a terrible panic happening everywhere.
“I’ll introduce you, father. She is Latina. The girl who living in the shop with『Green God(Ahdar’s)』 flag.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Latina. Seeing that I was born in a region with no family names, do forgive my manners.”
“And here is, Silvia Fal. The daughter of Vice commander Fal of the Mayor’s troops.”
“Nice to meet you.”
Just as Anthony had expected, the young girls smiling at him, were invited to a private location by the Mayor’s people to go watch the festival.
Anthony had made a decisive move.