GalaxyTL
I dozed off during the trip! Now that I think about it, back when I was Megu, I’d often fall asleep on the train during my commute. It seems like I fell asleep because the flowing scenery overlapped with that. I used to be able to sleep even standing up, I thought, reminiscing. It’s impossible for me now, even if they told me to.
“We’ll be entering the city soon. From here, we’ll walk slowly. Do you want to walk with me, Meg? You can also stay in the carriage.”
Ludo-sensei, skillfully dismounting while holding the reins as the beast carriage gradually slowed down, asked me this. I’m sure we’re going to walk through the city, right? It’s a bit awkward to just be leisurely riding alone. I decided to get off, saying I’d walk with him.
“Fuu-chan!”
『Okay! Leave it to me!』
As I jumped off, I called out to Fuu-chan. “I knew you’d ask,” she seemed to be saying, as she enveloped me in wind. Using that power, I landed softly on the ground without falling.
“Your magic really has improved. I miss the days when I had to carry you.”
Ludo-sensei, praising me, sounded a bit sad. It’s not just him, everyone’s been like this recently, when they see me growing up. I’m also a bit sad, but that’s what growing up is about. Letting go, both sides. Let’s both do our best…
I walked next to Ludo-sensei after getting off the carriage. The ground feels like it’s swaying because I was in the carriage for so long. I stumble every now and then. Yup, it really makes me realize how bad my motor skills are. But I’ve become so much more agile thanks to all my hard work! It’s just that I have no talent. I know it myself. There are walls that can’t be overcome with just effort…!
“Are you alright? You’re stumbling a bit.”
And he noticed! I knew it. Ludo-sensei can see through almost anything. I laughed it off, saying I was fine. But he held out his free hand, so I obediently took it. Honestly, thanks for that.
“Let’s have lunch after we return the chett. You can rest there.”
Seeing Ludo-sensei smile as he said that, I was finally able to relax. Because somehow, while we were riding on the chett, he seemed a bit… down. I thought maybe I was intruding. We’re going to visit a grave, after all. There are times when you want to be immersed in happy memories or sadness.
But Ludo-sensei brought me with him. So it means it really is okay. No matter how soft he is on me, he’d gently refuse if it was an important occasion. I can trust that he thought about it and decided it was okay to bring me. So even though I worry about all kinds of things, there’s only one thing I can do.
“Ehehe, I’m hungry!”
To be my usual cheerful self. And to not be a bother! This is important. Since it’s a visit to a grave, I don’t want to be a burden. I’ll do what I can on my own, and be a good girl and listen to him so things go smoothly.
See? Ludo-sensei smiled at me like he always does!
And so, we entered the city, walking side by side, and safely returned the chett to the main beast carriage branch. We were getting a lot of stares while walking through the city. Well, it can’t be helped! Please forgive me for looking around, we’re tourists.
We then reserved a flying beast for later and left the shop. We need to do that, or it might be rented out! If we can’t rent one here, we’ll have to go to another branch. We don’t know if they’ll have the beast we want there, so we reserved one here.
“At the main branch, they’ll immediately bring a beast with the desired abilities, even if it’s not currently available.”
In other words, if we choose one here, we’ll be able to rent the beast we want. As expected of the main branch.
“Since we’re here, let’s have lunch at Special-grade Guild Annulus. You haven’t been there before, have you, Meg?”
“! No! Actually, this is my first time at any other guild!”
There are only three Special-grade guilds right now, including Ortus. Because, well… Nemo’s gone… after that incident. I’d heard that Annulus, one of the three, was a commercial guild. Ortus is also indebted to them, and we often have customers, deliveries, and people who come for work-related matters.
But it’s my first time! It’s exciting to even be entering another guild.
“Because of their line of work, Annulus is excellent when it comes to anything food-related. So you can look forward to lunch.”
“Fwah! I’m excited!”
I couldn’t help but jump up and down in excitement. I’m so simple… but I am a stickler for food. You could also call me a glutton!
I was humming along, excited, but then we spotted two people arguing in front of Annulus, our destination. We’d normally just ignore them and go inside, but I couldn’t pretend I didn’t see this. My body just… automatically started heading towards them.
“Um, what’s wrong?”
I asked them that, and then the two, who had been arguing, turned towards me. Ah, as I thought!
““It’s all your fault!!””
They even said the same thing. How impressive! I couldn’t help but be amazed.
“Oh, are you twins? That’s rare. But you’re going to bother people if you fight here.”
Next to me, Ludo-sensei was crouched down to their level, admonishing them.
That’s right, these two are children! And they don’t look that different from me in age, so I instinctively approached them. Because there aren’t any kids my age near Ortus. There are babies and toddlers, though. Someday they’ll surpass my apparent age, but right now we can’t even have a conversation.
“S-Sorry. But, but, but… Goot’s being… wait, Goot? Hey, Goot? What’s wrong, why are you spacing out?”
It was the girl who immediately responded to Ludo-sensei’s words. How admirable, properly apologizing. She seems like a reliable one. As for the other one… he really is spacing out. He was bickering so intensely just now, but all that energy seems to have vanished. …Hmm? Or rather, is he looking at me? I wonder what’s wrong. Do I have something on my face? Thinking that, I tilted my head and asked,
“What is it? Is something… strange?”
Maybe the mark from sleeping’s still on my cheek. I touched my cheek to check. It feels like it’s gone… The boy, as if rebooting, hurriedly straightened his posture and exclaimed,
“N-n-n-n-nothing! There’s nothing strange about you! You’re so cu… ah, um, I mean… there’s nothing strange at all!”
Then he started panicking. Wh-What is it? He was frozen, and now he’s flailing his arms around. Ah, his ears and tail are out. His fluffy, cream-colored tail is also swaying. …Cute.
“Hahaaaan. Goot, you…”
“It’s nothing! I said it’s nothing! Rune, don’t say anything unnecessary!”
“Fufuun. Well, whatever, but your ears and tail are out.”
“Gah!?”
The boy, pointed out by the girl, hurriedly hid his ears and tail. Aw! The fluff’s gone!
“You can make your ears and tail appear and disappear already? That’s amazing, for someone so young.”
“Young, you say? We’re already over fifty!”
The boy proudly puffed out his chest, but I’m sorry. I still haven’t completely grasped how demi-humans on the Demon Continent age. I don’t really get it when they tell me their age. So I base everything on their appearance. It’s the most accurate way! But it’s often wrong because most of them seem to stop growing at their prime age. Demi-humans are confusing.
“No, that’s even more impressive. Most children can’t do that before they’re adults. Even I wasn’t able to do it until after I became an adult.”
Ludo-sensei said that, so I realized they really are children. If I remember correctly, they’re considered adults once they’re over a hundred years old, regardless of their appearance. In other words, even though I still look like an elementary school student, I’ll be an adult in another thirty years. I hope I’ll at least look like a high school student by then, no, middle school’s fine. It’s an emotional thing.
And Dr. Ludo’s half-beast form is incredibly interesting. He’s a spider, right? It’s a mix of wanting to see it and not wanting to…
“That’s only natural. We want to work at Annulus as soon as we become adults.”
“We need to at least be able to do this much!”
The twins both said this, placing their hands on their hips and puffing up their chests. So cute. It’s a bit of a shame they don’t have their ears and tails out, but of course I’ll keep quiet about that.
“But you’re able to do it even though you’re still so young!”
The girl stepped towards me, and I instinctively backed away. Oh, it’s been a while since I’ve felt this. I had a friend who was always so forceful. She was a really good kid, but I was always overwhelmed by her. That’s right, I’m being overwhelmed now too. But I need to clear up this misunderstanding!
“Y-Yeah… but it’s different. Because I’m an elf, I don’t have a tail, and my ears are always like this!”
Unlike demi-humans, elves can’t transform into beast forms, and we don’t have those features. Just like humans, our appearance is fixed from the moment we’re born. So to show her, I touched the back of my ear.
“Eh, an elf… no wonder you’re so cu… ah, um… I mean your hair! It’s so pretty! So sparkly!”
The boy complimented me, his cheeks a bit red. Yeah, yeah, I know. Elves are known for their shiny, beautiful hair. I also couldn’t take my eyes off Schlie-san when I first met them!
Happy about the compliment, I did my best to smile and thank him. The boy then froze again. Huh? Did I say something weird?